Fish, Diego de Juarez news

The last few weeks have been incredibly busy as I've been directing one film, writing another, and preparing another one for a pitch to be produced as part of USC's 546 class.

The first day of shooting on "El Pez," or "Fish," was really great and we have some beautiful footage to work with.  We were originally going to shoot today, but cancelled due to impending thunderstorms.  Of course, the entire day has been overcast and would have been perfect for the look we're going for in the film.  But the bright side is that we have the weekend to prepare for what promises to be an incredibly productive day on Monday.  I've been so busy I haven't been nearly as immersed in the film as I like to be as director, and this gives me a couple days to really dive in and be breathing it for awhile before shooting again.

Another script of mine, "Diego de Juarez," was selected as a finalist to be produced for the higher level production class.  It's a personal drama set against the backdrop of the drug wars going on in towns all along the Mexican border (a really important subject to me).  I'm happy to have teamed up with Nicholas Nides (director) and Gabriel Blanco (producer) to pitch the film next Friday.  The selection process is a bit of a circus: about 20 scripts, 9 directors, and 12 or so producers are all chosen and then form trios in order to pitch.  Of the pitches, 3 films get green lit for next semester.  We're up against some tough odds, but we have a really talented and excited group.