Though I’m Happier Now

We’ve finally gotten the Canon HDV footage to cooperate with our Sony Vegas/Architect to produce the DVD Master.  The Master will be sent out for duplication and printing which, I’m told, will take 2-3 weeks.   I will be sending out emails to everyone who bought the “Fundraiser DVD” which will include more detail about the DVD and when they can expect it in the mail. 

 We’ve been putting a list of festivals together and will make annoucements about Delirium on the official website www.thethicknessofdelirium.com (which will be redesigned and running in early October).

Brian James McGuire

I’ve been extremely busy since returning from Los Angeles a few weeks ago. It’s looking more and more like Though I’m Happier Now might be moved to Spring 2009. There is just so much to this story from casting to other production elements, that there might not be enough time to raise enough money and get everything ready to go before the winter sets in. Although we’ve started location scouting (and we’ll continue working on pre-production), a more realistic production date is probably going to be April, 2009.

This will actually work out pretty well. With Brass getting closer and closer to production and the tentatively titled c l o s e moving into pre-production - Happier is going to have to slip into next year. Both Brass and c l o s e are super micro-budget films, where Happier is a little more expensive with cast and crew coming from Los Angeles/Chicago.

Even though things keep changing and moving around, I still feel pretty relaxed and excited. I’m busy as hell and I love that. I’m on about 4 hours of sleep a night writing, editing, sketching, outlining, designing… On top of the three jobs I have. Every once in awhile I stop and think about how much I’m doing at the moment and I’m amazed that I’m not freaking out. Life feels good. Very good. Probably the best it’s felt in years.

The brianjamesmcguire.com website will be up and running properly in about a month’s time. I’m redesigning it to include Woodhouse Films and its offerings for production services (pre-production through post-production, scriptwriting services, education, etc.). Woodhouse has been a private company exclusive to my work until now. I will be launching Woodhouse Films as a full production studio for first time filmmakers early next year.

The Delirium DVDs are delayed a little. Working with Canon’s HDV has been the biggest hassle I have ever had to deal with. Not to worry, though. We are very, very close to finalizing the DVD master. As soon as the DVDs are available (to those who have purchased the Fundraiser DVD) I will send emails out and post it here.

Exciting times over here.

Take care,
Brian James McGuire

I had a great time in Los Angeles. Thanks for the emails about seeing me on the Chelsea Lately show. That was a good time. Back here, I have a lot of work ahead of me for the fall… Three features on the plate (I’ll talk about the latest one another time) as well as some photo and art shows. Sorry this one is so short. I will have a lot more to say in a couple weeks.

Brian James McGuire

I have been working very hard on Happier over the past few days and I’m happy to say that it is very, very close.  We should be able to start location scouting and other elements of pre-production starting in September.  Very Exciting.  Brass is also moving along very well as well.  I am looking forward to learning how to play the trumpet.

 Los Angeles tomorrow… 

Brian James McGuire

Sorry for the time between posts. I’ve been busy with pre-production on Dan Wilson’s film Brass, writing the fifth draft of Happier and working on the cover for Record Album - a poetry publication. I’ve also been working on the bjm website which just isn’t going as well as I’d hoped. Right now it’s a mess… I hope to have it looking a little better by tomorrow.

Tomorrow… I’m leaving for Utah then I’m back for a week and I’m off again to Los Angeles. Once I return from LA, we’ll be getting close to principle photography for Brass which will span late summer and early fall. Pre-production for Happier will overlap Brass production a bit and start soon after.

DVDs for Delirium are in the packaging stage. I’m looking forward to getting the DVDs out to everyone and entering some film festivals.

Brian James McGuire

I know this comes out of the blue, but we’ve decided to begin pre-production this coming Monday on an untitled film. I have mixed feelings because I was getting excited about starting Happier and it’s a little disappointing to see it moved to late fall. But on the other hand, this new film is very exciting and is season/weather dependent. So… there you have it. Untitled, first and Happier, second. I’m cool with that.

Visit:
bjm site

Brian James McGuire

Dan is mastering the DVD for Delirium. Right now! I’ve designed the DVD cover, disc and menu so we’re just about there. If you’ve already purchased your DVD, then you’ll be receiving it in the mail pretty soon. The Fundraiser DVDs are only going to be on sale for a few more weeks, so make sure to get your copy. How? www.thethicknessofdelirium.com

We are still going through the list of festivals to narrow down the choices. It’s expensive to submit to festivals so we really need to select the fests that fit our film’s theme. Underground festivals seem to be the most obvious choice right now.

I’ve taken a little time out of my busy schedule to try learning html. And it’s not as fun as I thought it might be. I’m committed to creating the www.brianjamesmcguire.com website without a template or without any real help (well…I’m going to be asking Dan for help every so often). It’s not that HTML is all that difficult, it’s that I’m bored stupid every time I start reading about it, or try to apply it to the page. We’ll see how long this lasts. I’m committed, but I’m also reasonable. If I can’t get myself interested enough to create a nice looking site, then I’ll just have to hire someone to do it. Take a look at the site now, then come back in a week or so and see what happens.

Dan and I met yesterday to talk about Delirium, Happier and another film (that Dan will be directing – but I’ll let him tell you about that) and it seems like all the ducks are lining up. We’re going to meet this weekend to start the ball rolling on Happier!

I’m heading to Los Angeles during mid August. I’m looking forward to the trip.

Take care,
Brian

It’s time to put it down for a week and think about other things.  I have the DVD case and disc cover for Delirium to finish, so I should be able to clear Happier out of my head for a short time. 

Brian James McGuire

This week I’ve been working on the fourth draft of Happier. I spent a few days just looking at the storyboard - reading it, studying it, playing the scenes backward and forward looking for holes. Then I reorganized the scenes a few times: played around with different scenarios and story paths which certainly made it easier to see the bigger picture. Then I went back to the script and read through it a few times. I felt differently about it each read, which was confusing to me. I went through a lot of different feelings about the script from hating it, to liking it, to loving it, to seeing potential…

I sat back and looked at the script for a few minutes tonight. There are so many different styles and forms a script can take. I’ve read scripts that read like novels, scripts that read like plays and scripts that read like a combination of each. My scripts, I believe, read like bare bone blueprints… “James walks to the door.” – of course, how he walks to the door is pretty important in the film, but in my script, it’s not. I don’t really put too much information about types of movements, or feelings, or descriptions of environment or character. I make notes, and keep those separate from the script. I’ve always written scripts like that and I’m not sure if I was taught that or if I just started doing it like that.

Right now I’m waiting on a few friends to get back to me with their thoughts and ideas before I consider the fourth draft to be complete. After I finish the fourth draft, I plan to put it down for a week. I’m going to start working on a story sketch (photos and drawings) to get all my visual ideas in one place. I also need to gather my notes (which are all over the place) and put them together in ~one~ notebook.

Tonight: Fear X and The Edukators. I saw Fear X at Sundance a few years ago and loved it. The woman next to me thought the film was crap. Two completely different films, we saw. At the end, I could feel she was going to start talking to me and I was excited because I had a few things I wanted to say as well. Then she went on about not getting it, it was too slow, boring, and “how the hell does this film get into Sundance?” I decided not to say anything to her. I’m certainly not going to debate its validity with someone who clearly felt her time had been wasted. To me, Fear X’s beauty is in its sadness and stillness but that’s just me. Anyway…

I’m waiting for Behind the Sun and Central Station from Netflix.

Brian James McGuire