A short film I wrote (ABDUCTED) has received a SC IndieGrant!

I am thrilled to announce that a short film that director Ben Joyner and I have been stewing on for years has received a South Carolina Indie Grant big enough to finally allow us to do this right. We will be shooting some time in the next few months.

Ben and I previously collaborated on a short I wrote called Two for Tea, and I couldn't be more excited to see what Ben and the rest of the team do with this project.

Stay tuned here for updates, and be sure to "like" on Facebook!

Here's a little blurb about the Indie Grants Program:

The INDIE GRANTS are a one-of-a-kind training and professional development program for independent filmmakers and other production professionals.  We fund and support independent short films by South Carolina filmmakers, bring in top-notch production professionals as collaborators, and have Trident Tech film students work under union crews as real-world training.  Recent collaborators include Oscar-winning DP Russell Carpenter (Titanic, Ant-Man), actor AJ Bowen (You’re Next, The Sacrament), actress Cate Freedman (TV Land’s Teachers), DP Peter Simonite (The Perfect Guy, 2nd Unit DP on Tree of Life), and writer Brad Land (Goat).  INDIE GRANTS shorts have been celebrated by top international film festivals, including Sundance, SXSW, Slamdance, Austin Film Festival, Palm Springs Film Festival, LA Film Festival and many more.  Find out more at www.indiegrants.org.

Now presenting... AT EASE

A short film I helped to write just premiered online today. At Ease was co-writer and director Jacob Kirby's senior thesis film at Savannah College of Art and Design. It's a nice little story and a feast for the eyes.

Enjoy...

At Ease from Jacob Kirby on Vimeo.

Now Is Not the Time for Punching Nazis

I don't know why my grandfather went off to fight in Europe, or anything specific about what he did when he was there—he didn't like to talk about it and died of cancer before I got a chance to ask him—but I like to think he went to stop a megalomaniac and his Nazi compatriots' evil, racist plan to eradicate the Jews.  

If there ever was a time for punching Nazis, that was it. 

And my grandfather was a gentle, thoughtful man—the sort of man who would see the threat of Hitler and the Nazis and the need to stop them. 

So it's possible that this is why he went to war... but perhaps not all that likely.

Hi! I'm Josh, I'm Thirty-Eight, and I Am Below Average...

I read somewhere that the average professional Hollywood screenwriter sold his/her first script at the age of thirty-seven. I am now thirty-eight, with no sale. This means I've passed my Mozart year (he was twelve when he wrote his first opera), my Michelangelo year (he carved his "David" when he was twenty-six), my Jesus year (he saved the entire universe when he was thirty-three), and finally my "you are an average Hollywood screenwriter" year. Le sigh.

Of course, since I'm now older than thirty-seven, the argument could be made that I am above average. Right? Right?!

bugs

Mr. Nystrom didn't know what he was unleashing when he told our high school biology class that fifty percent of our semester grade would be for our insect collections. Or maybe he did. Maybe he knew that we'd neglect a lot of other schoolwork to spend our nights shimmying up rough, creosote-soaked light poles with jars in shoulder bags and syringes of formaldehyde clutched between our teeth. Perhaps he cackled a little to see Michael Smith rip off his tattered 1990 World Cup hat at recess and run screaming off through the jungle, to return late for class with the abdomen of a perfect blue morpho butterfly pinched between his fingers—completely oblivious of the blood seeping through his freshly ripped T-shirt.

Jo-Ben's Near Miss

Last night in my dream I broke into my older brother's house and then out through his upstairs window, pushing one of his guards off the roof and prompting an all-out manhunt as I made my escape. My brother's goons were relentless and I was forced to stop repeatedly, pull a gun on them, and explain that it had all been a joke and that if they hurt me in any way, Jo-Ben would probably fire them, or worse.

Eventually I holed up at the ballet. I've never been to the ballet, and was surprised to find it an intensely moving experience. Like, dream-tears-running-down-my-face type moving. When I woke up I was somewhat shaken.

As I ate my breakfast I started thinking of Jo-Ben's visit last month from out in California, when I had randomly remembered a story of his and forced him to tell it at the dinner table, on camera.

Gratitude

The toilet in my house is a capricious jerk. Overload it with "material" and it will sometimes go on strike, mutely demanding that I sit there waiting to flush a second and sometimes a third time before it'll swallow its foul load.

I have decided that this is wonderful.

What Does Everyone Do on a Film Set?

I occasionally get asked what all those credits mean at the end of a film. This 25-minute video from Filmmaker IQ gives an accurate breakdown of the credits as you'll see them on a major motion picture. At least, I think it does.

I actually just watched the first part about the above-the-line people to make sure they got writing credits right. For all I know, the rest of it degenerates into a hilarious-but-incorrect detailing of the on-set responsibilities of people like the "Chief Pig-Sticker" and the "Ergonomic Lube Dispenser."

Enjoy!