Since my ankle still won't seem to cooperate, I have decide to take an extended break from running and give it a rest. In order to satisfy my craving for aerobic activity, I have taken up swimming. The park where I run also has a pool that opened on June 21st and I figured I should take advantage of the situation. The first night, I swam for about twenty minutes and then went home and cried for three hours. Not because I was particularly upset, but because I didn't have goggles on when I was in the water and my eyes felt like they were on fire. The next day, I bought some goggles. If I get out of work on time, I can swim for about a half hour before they close the pool and I sink to the bottom in a state of pure exhaustion. But the goggles help a lot.
To celebrate the July 4th Holiday weekend, I went to a Bob Dylan concert down in Del Mar, just north of San Diego. Originally, I was planning to go to the concert in Ventura (about an hour north of here) with tickets I won from the radio. But the tickets never showed up. Fortunately, the nice lady at the radio station offered to replace them with six tickets to the show the next day. Cool! I went with Brian and two other friends. However, when we got there we found out that the six tickets were actually three pairs of tickets: one for the fair and one for the concert. We didn't find that out until we had already bought fair admission tickets, though, and I had to buy an additional concert ticket as well. Bob was very good and did a really nice version of "Wheel on Fire."
Instead of driving all the way back after the show, I had made arrangements for a nice motel room just up the road. But when we got to the motel, we were told that my credit card had not 'authorized' and so they gave my room away. I had just used the card to buy the Dylan ticket earlier that day and made the guy recheck it himself. Of course, this time it 'authorized.' It didn't matter though, because there weren't any rooms left in that or any other motel in the area. So we drove home, arriving at 3:30 a.m. The next day I got a parking ticket.
Somehow, during the weekend, I also managed to lose a copy of my script: IN YOUR DREAMS. I had been working on another rewrite because a production company called Armada Pictures got in touch with me and asked to take a look at it. They liked what they saw and offered me an option. But first, they had some suggestions for a few changes. To my surprise, their ideas were excellent. They showed me where I could cut some extraneous material and helped reformulate the ending. They also had some great casting ideas. Since the movie is about a guy who dreams of being James Bond and then gets entangled in a real-life Bond-style adventure, they want to get Roger Moore or George Lazenby or Timothy Dalton (or any two, or all three) to play the villains. They keep sending me e-mails about how they are really eager to contact the "Ex-Bonds."
Before they do that, they have to have a signed option agreement from me, giving them permission. The original offer they made was about as low as you can go, although they offered me a "bonus point" for the rewrite I am doing. In other words they would give me an extra percentage point on the 'back-end' profits they receive. As any Hollywood writer will tell you, there ain't no back-end profits. Or to paraphrase a character in Mamet's 'Speed the Plow': "There are only two rules in Hollywood -- the first is there is no "net", and the second I don't remember..." Anyway, I looked up a few standard options on the Internet and counter-proposed an additional point on the 'front-end' i.e. percentage of the final budget once the film goes into production (or "real money"). I sent them my offer on Friday and worried all weekend. On Monday, I got a response from them giving me the extra point up front plus two extra points on the back-end, which was actually more than I had asked for. But, apparently they thought what I was asking for didn't include the "bonus point", so I ended up with what amounts to a standard Writer's Guild option agreement, even though I am not a member of the Guild. Pretty savvy, huh?
I still haven't received the agreement yet and I so I still have my fingers crossed, but it looks like as of next week we will be in business. There's no money in it for me at this point, because they are just starting out and they don't have any money. But, I am confident that the script will generate a great deal of interest and when we get the Ex-Bonds on board, the investors will be lined up around the block.
Tonight I am going to Cousin Blake's birthday party. Haven't seen those folks in a long time. I'm looking forward to telling them the news.
Hope everyone is doing well. Next month at this time I'll be in Maine.
Love HWD
First let's review the American Film Institute list of 100 Funniest Movies. I note that several selections from our own Favorite Flicks contributors made the list: #9 The Graduate is on Jane Halliday's list; #23 When Harry Met Sally is on Annie's List; #29 This is Spinal Tap and #31 Raising Arizona are both on Cousin Randy's list, #31 is also on Jane's list; and #88 The Jerk is on Sister Cindy's top 5. The only comedy on my list, Midnight Run, did not make the cut.
I got an e-mail from my old Mariner's Gate sidekick David "Tex" Hamburger, who has recently moved to Austin, Texas. Having lived there once myself I am certain he will eat it up with a greasy spoon. Fellow newsletter subscriber and Wes Alum Bob Sweeney lives there too, hey -- maybe you two should hook up for a couple Lone Stars and some Honky Tonkin'
You can also visit Dave at his website: www.davidhamburger.com
Speaking of Mariner's Gaters -- I've been spending some more time hanging with Jon Sperry and his lovely sidekick Ivana. They've given me some excellent notes on my screenplay APRIL FOOL as well as plenty of delicious pasta. They have recently returned from France where they closed up shop in Paris and then stopped off at Cannes to crash the Coen brother's party. They are the only people I know who can arrive in the middle of the Cannes Film Festival with no credentials and no hotel room and within hours they are partying with George Clooney. Actually that's not true, because they introduced me to a guy named Ralph who apparently crashed more parties and mingled with more celebrities than anyone could count. Ralph, among other things, is a professional 'pitch' man -- he goes to the studios with ideas for movies and sells them based on the idea alone and then hires a writer to do the screenplay. Beats working.
I got an email from another guy in Texas who wanted to know more about IN YOUR DREAMS, so I sent him the following description: "In Your Dreams" is more parody than farce in the sense that I took the classic James Bond adventure and turned it inside out by focusing on the person who gets rescued rather than the 'hero'. I actually got this idea from Ian Fleming's novel The Spy Who Loved Me but I reversed the genders. While there are certainly references to Bond sprinkled throughout, the story takes on a life of its own as the young lawyer is plunged into a world that exceeds his wildest dreams and meets a woman who makes those dreams come true. First and foremost, however, IN YOUR DREAMS is a comedy about what happens when the line between fantasy and reality becomes blurred and incredibly hot female secret agents have sex with timid, semi-geeky corporate lawyers.
The guy sent me another e-mail in response asking for a copy for 'production consideration' -- i.e. for one of our flunkies to read and the toss into the 'recycle' pile. But, it's worth a shot.
Brian and I have been doing some awesome hiking lately. Memorial Day weekend we drove out to a place called Crystal Lake in the San Gabriel Mtns. It's a campground about 5800 ft above sea level. We then proceeded to hike up to the top of Mt. Islip, elevation 8200 ft. It was rough going for those of us used to breathing oxygen, but the scenery was magnificent and the feeling of accomplishment was unbeatable. Last week, we went down to the peninsula of Palos Verdes and hiked around the rocky shoreline, past the wreckage of a Greek freighter called the Dominator that ran aground in 1962. Plenty of oxygen this time, but very treacherous footing. Again, though, the scenery was amazing. I, however, have one question -- since ships are always referred to as 'she' shouldn't the name of the freighter have been the 'Dominatrix'?
Happy Dad's Day to all the Dads.
Happy Graduation to all the Grads.
Love, HWD
Three weeks ago I took my first paid vacation since 1987. Kevin and Susie and the kids were here to see Susie's dad, Tim, who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. I was invited up to Tim's house on Easter Sunday where the whole family had gathered -- all the Kiley kids except Susie have migrated to California.
On Tuesday, Kevin and his sister Barb (who lives in Santa Monica) and I took Megan, Ian, Molly and Casey to the Santa Monica Pier for the day -- some of us were even brave enough to jump in the ocean. Casey wound up in the water too, but his baptism was unplanned.
Wednesday we left Casey safely with Susie and joined forces with Chris Kiley and his kids, Samantha, Taylor and Andrew for a trip to Disneyland. We rode all of the rollercoasters and other major attractions and kept going until 10 p.m. by which time we were all pretty wiped out. That afternoon, Tim went into the hospital where he stayed the rest of the week.
I spent the next few days playing with the kids in Tim's pool while the grownups took turns visiting the hospital, some of the kids made a visit too. Friday night Tim called his kids in to say goodbye. He died the next night.
They held his memorial service at Forest Lawn on the following Wednesday and had a reception at the house afterwards. I met some of Tim's siblings and heard some funny stories about his first directing job, which he lied his way into, and how he would invite friends to see the Sullivan show and seat them behind whichever celebs Ed was introducing from the audience, so they would be on camera.
Susie and Kevin stayed around a couple more days -- their last night here, we had pizza at Tim's house with Susie's sister Laura, who lives in the guest house. Susie was trying to come up with an epitaph for her dad, but was having trouble finding something appropriate. She remembered one her father had seen and said was his favorite, it read: "See, I told you I was sick."
Last weekend, I went for a hike in Griffith Park with Brian Nesin and his brother Seth and Seth's wife Taunya. We took them up to the Observatory and hiked to the top of Mt. Hollywood. On the way down we decided to take a shortcut, a steep trail that cuts straight down the slope and avoids the long switchback. Tanya and Seth slid down successfully, getting pretty dusty in the process. I decided to try and remain upright and slid most of the way on my feet. When I got near the bottom I thought I could just run the rest of the way. I failed to take into account the large gully at the foot of the trail and the fact that I am no longer 16. I tried to jump the gully, but when I landed I pitched forward, diving onto my right arm and tumbling ass over teakettle. I wound up sprawled like a rag doll in the dirt. I sprained my wrist, bruised my forearm and my hip and scraped up both legs pretty good. I also damaged my ego.
Wednesday I was part of a group that was taken out to lunch by a sales rep from one of the court reporters we use. I had the fish. That night I woke up with major stomach cramps, dizziness and nausea.
By Friday I was barely functional at work. I've spent most of the weekend in bed. I think I am coming down with a cold.
By the way my health coverage started last week.
Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers.
Hope everyone is well.
Love HWD
