We are getting all geared up around here to get our latest project, “One Hand Clapping” off the ground. And we realize the mountain we have to climb is much higher than the one we climbed when we shot “Dreams Awake” on Mt. Shasta several years ago. We are a few years older, and wiser, and are preparing ourselves for the tough marathon that awaits us. Having said that we are excited and fired up to get this rolling. Me, I just prefer to be in production, as that is where the real fun is for me.
Script. The screenplay is pretty much ready to go, even though of course I continue to tweak it, because a script I write never actually seems to be ‘done’ to me. In fact, just recently I had a completely different idea for the opening scene. But I think what we may do is shoot both of them and see how the edit goes. Of course, we have all heard about shooting multiple endings, but what about shooting multiple openings? Well, we shall see, as I might be overruled if the budget can’t accommodate that.
Cast. We have been throwing around casting ideas for several weeks now, and that is getting fairly tricky. We have a large male cast, along with a couple female roles. We need a late ‘70’s male, and three brothers aged 49, 45 and 40. The female supporting roles include one in her late ‘40’s, another in her early 40’s, and a third in her early ‘30’s. And in addition, we need an 8-year-old boy. But to top it off, we need the three brothers at other ages in flashbacks, as young children and then as early teens, and the oldest male in his ‘30’s and 40’s. That makes casting a complicated piece of work. But we just see this as a great challenge to undertake, and so we need to get to it.
Finance. This is always a very rough and tough mountain to climb, especially now with the current state of the economy. And also, because the budget of this film will be more than twice that of our last one. (the script is currently being broken down and budgeted, and then we will have a better idea of where we are) That will put some serious pressure on us to find the right people who are willing to give up their hard-earned $$$ to fund not only a risky film project, but one with our film’s particular themes. However, we feel they (You!) are out there somewhere. The real trick will be finding them, communicating what we are trying to do, along with a little bit of romancing (sweetening the deal) along the way 😉
Location. Yes, we will be shooting this film in Texas, which means making several trips there to firm up our locations. Locations are very important to me, because they serve the production design and thus the backdrop through which the story is told. And story is what it’s all about in the end. In fact, I will be heading to Austin, Texas to attend SXSW in March. We will be checking out possible locations in small towns around Austin; Bastrop, Smithville, Taylor, Lockhart, etc., where we can still get some 1950’s and 1960’s looks for our multiple flashback scenes. If anyone wants to connect up with me at SXSW, go here and message me – http://social.sxsw.com/users/52604
And finally, if anyone wants to contact me concerning our new project, you can find me here:
Linkedin — http://www.linkedin.com/in/jerryaldendeal
Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/jerryaldendeal
Twitter — https://twitter.com/#!/JerryAldenDeal
JAD