They didn’t just ignore me, they sent me a:
Dear Ashley:
Thanks, but this isn’t quite what we’re looking for. Best of luck.
Out By 6 Productions
I’m so excited that they actually spent the time to reject me. Woo! That’s the classy people who ask for submissions through Inktip 🙂
I like numbers and I like knowing things that are useless. If you like that two, here are some lists for you! And photos!
Google Search Terms that Got People Here
Weirdest: Mygay Fellowship
We’ll call these people S and T. S is a manager/producer type, T is S’s assistant. F, my creative partner, has a connection with S, in that she really loved Prombies!, the short he and I made that was about erections turning boys into zombies, and she has been in touch with him a couple times about his interest in directing some fairly middling (read:bad) zombie comedies.
Anyway, F was kind enough, with some heavy pressure from myself, to suggest that they read my script when I found out it was a quarter-finalist at Nicholl. Well, I immediately got a “Please send it” but, as the months passed, although I was diligent with follow up, I figured it would never get read.
And then it got read, and he likes it. And he wants to see all my writing. The only problem is that the only polished thing I have other than the feature, is a Television Spec for Mad Men. It’s not a bad spec, but it’s also not much use for people who produce features. Luckily, I have the first act of another screenplay, Dyke for a Day, written, but in severe need of polishing. He wants to see it ASAP, so I’m going to spend the weekend writing.
I’ve also been in contact with a few people from Craigslist about editing or working on some different projects. One is a short, the other is a feature documentary that appears to be about Gay Jews. <3
I have a pitch with a web producer as well. I’m going to go make that phone call now. Fingers crossed!
Things in Theatres I want to see: The September Issue, Fame, Paranormal Activity, Jennifer’s Body, Capitalism: A Love Story, Coco Before Chanel, Bright Star, Whip It, Anti-Christ, The Men Who Stare at Goats
They’ve already taken down that The Soup/Naughty Kitchen clip apparently. I can see it because it’s mine but apparently no one else can. Boo.
http://kanyelicious.appspot.com/http://ashleyfmiller.wordpress.com
I officially have my own cubicle at work and that is very exciting. Weird working for a place for 11 months without ever having your own space. I will now be able to leave my jacket at work for when I get cold instead of lugging it to and from work every day. Huzzah.
Girlfriend’s gonna decorate!
Yesterday was a strange up and down day. My job is in a state of change, and I’m not quite sure what the outcome will be. It seems likely that I will be promoted to Story Assistant, which would be fantastic. That’s a sort of cross between editing and writing assistant, which is rather perfect for my interests and strengths.
At least… I think that’s what the job entails. No one’s actually told me, and it seems like the term “Story Assistant” means whatever each show wants it to mean. I’ve been told it means I’ll be researching the footage, I’ve been told it means I’ll be cutting story lines, and I’ve been told it’s somehow assisting the writers or the editors. I guess in reality those lines are blurred.
But I’m excited if this is true. Hopefully it’ll be more money, which is good because my medical bills are ridiculous, and I think it will at least mean an end to the letters that say “Oh, you’re a logger, gross, please don’t apply for work until you’ve washed the stench of that embarrassing job from your flesh.”
So the webseries thing keeps ping ponging back and forth between happening and not happening. If it does happen, I’m probably going to lose my Thanksgiving. Theoretically also my Christmas, except I’m not willing to give up my Christmas and my Thanksgiving. So.
There’s another short that I’ve been contacted about. I just got the script, it’s cute, but quite long for a ‘short’. I find that to be a common problem. Short shorts get shown more!
And! Excitingly! A producer/director team contacted me to read my script. This was from an ad on Mandy (see the link on the sidebar) and they contacted me very quickly. So far Inktip has been a complete disappointment. The script has come up on maybe 6 people’s searches, and no one’s read the synopsis. It could be a problem of the logline, but, seeing the company names, it just seems like it’s not being found by people who are interested in comedy.
I took a benadryl and a claritin this morning, meaning I had two antihistamines in my system when I went to get my allergy skin test done. My reaction was so terrible that they called everyone who works there in to see.
Dr: Are you trying to win a prize?
Me: No allergies would be a good one, you got that?
Dr: Oh. Um, well.
And, for people like me who can’t get enough of other people’s medical melodrama, you can click here for the picture.
Last night I had a long production meeting about a webseries that I’ve been tapped to be the Post Supervisor/Lead Editor on. Which is exciting, but we’re not sure when the production is actually going to get produced. So, right now, there are 3 different web series that I’m theoretically on board for but that aren’t quite getting produced just yet. I’m still hoping that something comes through in the next couple weeks, but we’ll see.
The production was in the house of someone with cats. I am very allergic to cats, I don’t understand why people have cats. It’s like rubbing peanuts all over your house. Sure, not everyone is allergic, but a lot of people are, and the ones that are have a real bad reaction.
Anyway, I was already woozy and weird and now one of my eyes is swollen shut. So I called in sick to work, because I didn’t want to drive with one eye only kind of working and then have to sit in front of a computer in an allergic haze. Yeah.
I’m trying to get in to this medical research thing about allergies. I’m going to get a skin prick test today. Seriously, anything for money out here. I was disappointed when the ad for an adult film editor was taken off craigslist. Hey, it’s work!
K. I’m going to crawl back in bed for a while. I’m hoping my eye returns to a normal size before I’m supposed to go to the doctor.
It’s sort of strange to be out here actively pursuing two different careers — writing and editing. Writing is in some ways a much more natural outlet of mine, I don’t know that I could stop writing if someone told me I had to. But, editing is a craft that I’ve been well trained in and is easy to market as a skill. And I think the two seemingly different focuses are actually very similar.
You write the script, the director paints the film, and then the editor does a final polish. In the editing room, I’ve created stories whole, rewritten things that didn’t work, and done things as simple as putting the shots in the order they’re supposed to go. I can see how some people would find editing tedious, but massaging cuts is very rewarding to some OCD part of my brain. Making comedic timing perfect or letting someone linger just long enough on a difficult moment. The things you can do to cheat a shot are never ending. Warp the time to fit words in someone’s mouth, speed things up when a take is too long, splice two shots together. Cheating is fun.
I’m going to most likely be cutting a reel for an actress in the next couple weeks. I find this exciting for lots of reasons. I love seeing actors ranges. I worked as Casting Director for the Thesis Films and held casting in Tallahassee, NY and LA. I loved seeing actors audition and give different renditions of the same words. I also got thousands and thousands (not exaggerating) of submissions, many of whom sent in reels. I watched a couple reels and almost inevitably the reels made me not nearly as enthusiastic as the headshot. But occasionally, just occasionally, something in a reel really spoke to me. I’m hoping to have the chance to do that for someone.
Of course, the difference between writing and editing is, when you edit, no matter how much you cheat, you can’t change what’s in the footage.
I didn’t get any writing done this weekend. I’m still feeling poorly. I’m not sure what it is. I have a history of unreliable health, but I’ve got a doctor appointment Wednesday. Hopefully that’ll clear up whatever this is. I’m just dizzy and woozy. Which makes writing sort of hard, in that it makes thought difficult.
I mean, and I’m lazy, so there’s that. I did talk a bit with F who has some thoughts for Bible Con. We made up a stupid joke about Christians being like gay people — the only groups you just have to claim membership and you’re in. You love Jesus? You’re in. You love other men? You’re out. Ah, it was funny at the time anyway — helped that we were at In-and-out. Still working on that setup.
Other than that I pretty much played board games, slept, and went grocery shopping. Oh, and expended way too much mental energy on this webseries gig that may or may not happen. I’m hoping that it does, but if so, it may eat up any and all of my free time. So that whole writing thing might be put on hold for a while.
I keep trying really hard not to get my hopes up for Nicholl. I just don’t want to set myself up for disappointment. It just would be so nice to be able to write. And to have a little more money to live off of. I am hemorrhaging my savings.
We didn’t actually play Pandemic (best game ever) this weekend. I bought a new game called Space Alert! It has a goofy voice that tells you what to do. It’s crazy and awesome and reminds me of Galaxy Quest. I’m excited that it’s my first official board game purchase. I’m a big fan of cooperative games.
I’m a big fan of Pharyngula and PZ Meyers, and I think he’s seen right through some bullshit in this post, or at least, he’s mostly seen through the bullshit.
Basically, there’s a film about Darwin that has gotten foreign distribution but hasn’t gotten a distributor in the US. And the producer is claiming that this is because it’s too controversial to pick up. Really, Religulous got picked up, but you’re too controversial? With your story of a man who never admitted to not believing in God because he didn’t want to offend his wife? Huh.
I’m pretty sure that controversy has nothing to do with the film not getting picked up. Distributors are driven solely by their bottom line and American film audiences are very different from foreign ones. We don’t go to the theatres for small movies, that’s why we have TVs. The American market picks up less films because it’s much more competitive. Hundreds and hundreds of films get made thanks to Foreign Distribution money and we just never see them here because America has got ‘better’ films to spend their money on.
Don’t forget, most foreign countries like Canada, Australia, and the UK have tons of government money to support filmmaking that’s considered artistic or educational or otherwise important. The US does not.
I’m 100% sure that, if the film is any good, it will get distribution. Probably on television or DVD, maybe with a small theatrical run, but maybe not. There are hundreds of great, small movies that are distributed in foreign markets and not here. I think that the evolution content has absolutely nothing to do with it.
Yeah. In other news, I’ve got to get on some writing this weekend. It seems possible that this webseries thing is going to kick into high gear and I’m going to lose my free time. I absolutely need to have a new draft by the end of October. And I really want to have a first act for a second script and a treatment for a third.
