Zombie movie & cold feet, or ban the beige

Just write a screenplay this summer, I thought, a fun zombie movie, just the thing to distract myself from the economy flushing down the crapper. And it worked, I was actually giddy every time I thought about it, talked about it. My friends & family loved the idea, especially my kids. We talked & laughed; we added scenes. Friends started saying, wow, can I be in it? No, it's just a screenplay, I'm not making a movie. But, then the offers to help, to edit. But it wouldn't be that hard, 10 hours shooting for a 20 minute movie. Then I saw the call for entries in the Zombie short film fest. And it started to look doable. I started to ask people to work on the movie. Hey, I know someone in the theatre department who lives 2 doors down. Wow, he does fight scenes, his wife does zombie make-up. Hey, the kids in karate could be in a fight scene. We'll write in July, shoot in Aug, edit in Sept and submit to the filmfest on Oct 1. I can direct it, and star in it, too. There's a famous actor/director among my family; it's in my genes. It was all so: hey kids, let's put on a show in the barn.

Now, the giddiness is fading, cold reality sets in. I have to organize this movie shoot; call the golf course & ask if we can shoot; get props, supplies & tons of make-up; and the dreaded task of setting up a shooting schedule. And the fear grips me: I've directed many photo shoots, never a movie. What if it's totally Ed Woods, or worse Terror of Tiny Town. We have all these kids, it's going to look like a mom & pop zombie movie, like a haunted house at elementary school. I don't want to be beige, bland, and mediocre. I dream of being great.

So, it's 4am, on the last day of July, and I can't sleep. Tomorrow is Aug. I have to decide if I should go forward with the movie, or be satisfied with a screenplay. Everyone would understand if I backed out. My husband even said it was a pipedream, which makes me mad, and I want to go ahead & make my movie, prove something. Do I give up or go all in?

Would you let a teenager choose your career?

Would you let a teenager choose your career? If you went to college, that's basically what you did. And what I did, too. At 17, I wanted to be a marine biologist. then at 19, I changed my mind & became a graphic designer. I'm so happy being a designer, I can't even imagine how different my life would be, if I stayed with biology major.

Now, I'm a mom. And I see it from a different angle. My first son was a mechanical engineer major. But the rigors of college, combined with late night video gaming with friends, led to a dead end. Switching majors to forensic chemistry, at an easier school, has been a good move for him. he's working in a chem lab over summer, and enjoys the work, which indicates for me that this is the right direction.

Middle son is a senior. He's smart, tests well, works hard, etc. But he's changed his mind about majors a few times: neurology, bioengineering, mathematics, with a computer science minor, or a music minor. I really want him to go into college undecided, and find out what he loves to do, and pursue it.

cheap glasses!

Check it out! I got these prescription glasses & sunglasses from Zenni Optical for about $15 each. That's frames, tinting, & shipping. So, if you're broke or cheap, you can still take care of your vision. Or if you're loaded, you can have glasses to go with every outfit you own.

You can thank me for it later!

Zombie Golf Lodge

I was reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a delightful adaptation of Jane Austin's classic costume drama, lifting the text whole cloth, and inserting brain-eating zombies! And it really works. Anyway, I'm reading this & I had a vivid dream about zombies, golf, making commercials for dental floss, and a rock band. Thus Zombie Golf Lodge was born. I talked it over with my family & they thought is was a rocking idea, we talked characters, scenes, dialog, jokes, even the movie poster. And started a super, double secret blog to collaborate on the project. I wasn't sure about the secrecy issue, since I felt anonymity was a greater threat than plagiarism.

Imagine my surprise & delight when I learned this morning that there's a Zombie Short Film Festival call for entries!

From Boingboing:
Talented Toronto writers & filmmakers, Jim Taylor & Cory Laffin, have announced the first and are calling for submissions. The festival will be held in Toronto, at the glorious Revue Cinema (in my friendly neighbourhood Parkdale) on October 30th. The criteria for submissions is pretty straight forward: 1) It must be a short film with a maximum running time of 20 minutes; and 2) It must involve zombies. Further details can be found on their web site."

So anyway, I asked Teressa at work if she could help me on this. She's produced tons of newscasts and even written a screenplay which garnered recognition. Teressa loved the concept, and had great ideas to add. Her husband can be the sleazy bartender that makes a great flaming zombie!

Also talked to Jessica at work, & she knows a local metal band who might want to be in it.

I"m so pumped for this project!!!!!