Happy New Year - For Auld Lang Syne

One of my favorite songs is Same Old Lang Syne, by Dan Fogelberg.

For a long time, I listened to his lyrics not quite knowing what those words meant. I mean, truthfully, how many people actually know what Auld Lang Syne means anyway? And yet we all sing it every New Year's Eve when the clock strikes midnight.

Well, a few years back I was listening to Same Old Lang Syne when I hit me that I needed to fully understand what Dan was singing about. And here's what I found - the following is an excerpt from an article written by Stephen Lynch of The Orange County Register...

"Auld Lang Syne means 'old long since' and is adapted from a traditional Scottish folk tune. The song recalls the days gone by and says we will always remember them. And even though people aren't sure what it means, it sounds sad and soothing at once. It's a song about loss, but also about love -- a hope that you'll see the same people you love next year."

The Wikipedia says that...

"Auld Land Syne is one of the best known songs in English-speaking countries. Yet, it is sometimes referred to jokingly as "the song that nobody knows", since many people can recall the melody easily but know only a fraction of the words, perhaps because it is written in the Scots language."

And now with a little background into the history, sing along with me...

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?

And here's a hand, my trusty friend
And gie's a hand o' thine
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.

As I raise my glass to everyone I've had the pleasure of befriending along life's great journey, I give this toast...

Here's to old friends, and new ones that we've made along the way. Here's to those who have made a difference and touched our lives. Here's to the fond memories we carry with us, and the new ones that we will create in the new year. Here's to gifts of love, laughter and life. May you all enjoy them to the fullest in the coming year. Cheers!

Touching Lives

A producer friend of mine made an interesting comment to me the other day. He told me that one of his main goals in making films is to touch peoples' lives. The reason I found it so interesting was for two reasons: 1) you don't hear that sentiment often, and 2) that is the exact reason I got into film making myself. (Actually, one of my main daily goals is to make a difference in someone's life, but I’ll save that for another post).

The arts have always had a big impact in my life. It’s amazing to me how much a certain song can change my mood, or a particular movie can change my outlook. I realized this at an early age, and I began to develop the passion to create art that would impact others.

When I decided to join the acting (and film making) world, my main motivation was to be able to create art that would touch someone’s life. I wanted to contribute to the pool of art that had already touched mine. From a young age, artwork ranging from music to film to comics had a tremendous impact on the course of my life. I would connect with a song or a character so deeply that it altered my perception, which (in some cases) ultimately changed the course of my life.

To best describe what I’m trying to say, let me refer to an excerpt from The Intent To Live, a wonderful book by acclaimed acting coach Larry Moss:

“When you [create art], you can affect people in ways you may not ever imagine or know about. One night at a midnight screening of Steven Spielberg’s film ‘ET’, I watched a very angry, lonely teenager sit down in front of me, sink way down into his seat, and look at the screen with complete contempt. His vibrations were so powerfully violent that I wanted to move, but by that time the theater was full. At the start of the film, the teenager shifted noisily in his seat, but soon he stopped moving completely. I saw him go from disdain to amusement to surprise to awe and, finally, to unashamed weeping. Just as the movie was ending, he ran out the theater, embarrassed to be so moved. He didn’t want anybody to see how vulnerable he really was. As vulnerable as I was at eleven when I watched James Dean.”

“That’s what our work can do: we remind people that things can change, that wounds can heal, that people can be forgiven, and that closed hearts can open again.”

I share Larry’s sentiment, and I want to create films that will have that type of affect. Simply, I want to make a difference.

On that note, I will conclude this post (since it’s already my longest to date). But before I go, let me share with you the artwork that has made a difference in my life. Some you may understand immediately, and others you will not get at all - but I assure you, they all touched me deeply (I may explain some of them further in future posts).

• Paul Thomas Anderson’s film Magnolia
• Mimi Leder’s film Pay It Forward
• Pink Floyd’s album The Wall
• DC Comic’s Batman (The Dark Knight)
• Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar
• Leiji Matsumoto’s animated series Star Blazers
• Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek (while all of Star Trek had a huge impact on my life, one particular episode Tapestry from The Next Generation was monumental)

Rehearsing for "Untitled"

The rehearsals are underway for Untitled, and everything is shaping up nicely. We will finish up with our first round tomorrow, and then come back in a couple of weeks for round two - that's when things get serious!

For our second rehearsals, the director has asked us all to be off-book (meaning we have to have all of the lines memorized). It will be interesting to be that far along so early in the game - but it will be a blessing if everyone can get there. It will allow us time to focus on and adjust any of our blocking and the director can also have us try different intentions for the characters. The director's goal is to have us so sharp on set that 1) we can get the shots down as quickly as possible, and 2) our blocking will be precise so we don't have continuity issues later.

It will be interesting developing the character over the next couple of weeks. This is my most intense role to date (I am in 63 of the 74 total scenes in the film). To me, learning the lines was always the easy part - justifying them as the character is the challenge!

I am so excited about this film, but so nervous at the same time. I have a great cast surrounding me, such as actors Robert Maus, Sara Marx Mitchell and Valensky Sylvain. It will be up to me to pick up my game to their level! I am looking forward to the challenge.

Bulk Delivery

There is just too much to talk about these days! I can't believe how much happens over the span of a few days. So, here is my bulk delivery of what's going on...

- Chris Seligmiller is currently going through all of the dailies from The Misguided, and he hopes to have the edit list for me by the end of next week. Then, I can begin to create the rough-cut of the film. Post-production is a long process!

- We completed our first read-through for Philip Bache's Untitled, and we will be having rehearsals starting this Saturday. In addition, Phil and I have been busy trying to find the last of the locations that we need. Also, we are thrilled that Timothy Riese has joined our team as Director of Photography. I had the privilege of working with Tim on Underdose, and I was very impressed by his knowledge and professionalism. He brings a lot to the table, and we are excited that he is on board!

Well, that's about it for now. But stay tuned, because things happen fast, and if you blink, you might miss something!

"Underdose" - It's A Wrap!

Principle photography was completed yesterday for the film Underdose, by writer and director Alan Ronay.

Underdose is a psychological film about the effects of memory after a tragedy. I play Patrick, the unfaithful husband to the main character Helen (played beautifully by Melanie Ginnett). This is the second film that Melanie and I have been in together, and she is a complete joy to work with.

My girlfriend in the film was played by Stephanie Chefas. Even though this was our first film together, we worked hard on creating the type on chemistry needed to make the film powerful. I think we accomplished just that, and I thank Stephanie for all of her hard work and effort (and patience) going through the process.

This film also marked two firsts for me - a death scene and a love scene. I had to overcome my nerves for the love scene, but Alan and his crew were very professional and made the shoot seem easy. I am happy to be over that hurdle.

I must say that I was very impressed with Alan - he was extremely organized and prepared, and it made the whole shoot run smoothly. I can't wait to see the finished product!

Let The Editing Begin!

We've completed shooting principle photography on The Misguided, and now it's time to begin post-production. Our final day of shooting was this past Sunday, and I've taken the last few days to recover (which is why a few days went by before this post). It was an exhausting shoot - but worth every second!

I have learned so much producing this film, and there is still so much I need to learn. It has been a great experience thus far, and I could not have done it without a great team by my side, as well as the faith of Director Chris Seligmiller that I could produce this film to begin with. For that, I am thankful!

I know post-production will bring a whole new set of challenges to the table, but I am ready for them. I can't wait to see this all the way through, one step at a time.

Until then... stay tuned!