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September 17, 2011:

NO MORE BULLETS IN DODGE CITY

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, there are no more bullets in Dodge City, Nudie Musical-wise. The title has gone to replication and I will have copies in two weeks and happily in time for the Ray Courts show in Chicago, where I think we might just sell a few. Now I have to buckle down Winsocki and set an official street date, get the website up to speed and figure out exactly when to officially announce. So, that’s all very good. One of my least favorite things about most Blu and Ray discs is that when you stop them, unlike DVDs, when you resume they go back to the very beginning of the disc – the FBI warning, the menu – instead of returning you to where you left off. Our disc does return you to where you left off. I really wanted that feature and they’ve done it in a very cool way. The first check disc I got from the authoring place did it perfectly. But the check disc I got from the pressing plant didn’t do it. Then I went back and checked the second check disc from the authoring place and that didn’t do it either. So, I called to see what went wrong, but apparently it’s my player – Samsung, especially the model I have, is very bad with this particular code. They think it was a total fluke that the first disc worked correctly. They tried the pressing plant check disc in five different players, none of them Samsung and the return function worked perfectly, so I guess we’re all right.

It was nice to have a day sans bullets in Dodge City and I’m glad all bullets were successfully dodged. I had a very good night’s sleep, got up, answered scores of e-mails, had some telephonic calls, and kept trying to get out the door to jog, to no avail. The helper came at noon to pick invoices so she can prepare the packages for Men In War. Then I did the four-mile jog finally, after which I did errands and whatnot, picked up some packages but no important envelope, and then ate a late lunch at Hugo’s – I had my usual small Caesar salad and I had a craving for mac and cheese and I really like theirs, so that’s what I had. After that, I came home, tried to relax a little and then it was time to go to a screening.

Last night, I went to a screening of a film entitled The Ghastly Love Of Johnny X. Way back in 2004, the director of the film, Paul Bunnell, asked me to play a TV news anchorperson. I wasn’t really doing that sort of thing, but it was only a day and so I said okay. I shot my stuff – my memory is that it went very quickly and I had very little to do. And that was that. He said he wanted to bring me back for one little sung thing, so I prerecorded that vocal, but never came back because they ran out of money with only half the film completed (I’m actually not sure how much was completed). Mr. Bunnell then went on a six-year quest to raise the rest of the dough and finish his film, which he finally did last year. I have to say, I truly admire anyone who has the will and the drive and the passion to pursue a dream like that. And now he has his film. What will happen to that film is anyone’s guess, but his work on it is very good. It’s shot in black-and-white scope and looks terrific. The only really known actors are Kevin McCarthy, who has one short scene, and Paul Williams, who also has one scene. The rest of the cast are talented and come off well. I was a little taken aback by how much I’m actually in the film – I just had no memory of having done very much, but he’s sprinkled me throughout the first half of the film. I do sing those two lines in a song but when they show me I truly wasn’t sure if that WAS me – again, I have no memory of it and I have some sort of toupee on my head for that one shot. I’ll have to ask him about it. I do know he wanted me to come back to film something last year and they got to me too late and I couldn’t clear my schedule. The film is something of a musical – it’s got about six numbers by composer/lyricist Scott Martin, who I know, and who wrote a musical called Scream Queens. And I have to say, the film has a really good score (can’t remember the composer, but I think his first name is Ego) – big, orchestral, and very classic 50s sci-fi in sound. I told Mr. Bunnell that if he wanted to talk to us about putting it out that I’d be very open to it being our first soundtrack to a new film. So, we’ll see if that happens. I wish him very well. The indie world is a very tough one right now – not like when we made Nudie Musical – it’s much tougher now to sell films and even get in festivals.

After that, I came home and ate some Fruity Snacks – that was exciting. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must try for another good night of beauty sleep.

Today, I shall do the four-mile jog early, I shall hopefully pick up some packages and an important envelope, I shall do errands and whatnot, perhaps watch a motion picture, eat, and then attend a play by our very own Mr. Doug Haverty.

Tomorrow, I’ll be working with Grant Geissman – don’t know how long that session will go but I’m hoping it will be at least four hours. After that, I’m not sure what’s going on. I’ve been invited somewhere to watch the EMMYs but I don’t really LIKE the EMMYs and basically have no interest in them, so I don’t know that I’ll go. Monday, I’m seeing a reading of a new musical of Sleepless in Seattle – our very own Mr. Barry Pearl is in it, and he told me he just got cast in Musical Theatre West’s production of Hairspray, playing Wilbur. After the reading, which is at noon, I’ll go directly to the editing room to fine cut two episodes and see the rough cut of the Jason Graae episode. The rest of the week is quite busy, with several Alet rehearsals, trying to find a camera person for our October shoot (I think my sound guy can come back to do it), meetings, meals, and that sort of thing.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the four-mile jog, I must pick up some packages and hopefully an important envelope, I must pick up some dry cleaning, I must do errands and whatnot, I must eat and I must attend a play. Today’s topic of discussion: What is the single best mac and cheese you’ve ever had? What was your first experience with mac and cheese? Have you had any exotic variations on mac and chees? In other words, all things mac and cheese. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland happy that all bullets have been dodged in Dodge City.

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