"Danny Trejo's Eyes" -- The Fandango Sisters

Livin' a SD Life in a HD World

Lately I've been enjoying the wonders of HD entertainment... vicariously through someone else's HDTV and Blu-ray player. I have to say... I'm sold. I've had a chance to see some new movies (Incredible Hulk, Rob Zombie's Halloween, Iron Man), old movies (The Searchers, The Warriors, A Clockwork Orange), and animated films (Kung-Fu Panda, Wall-E), and I have to say they've all looked pretty great. It makes you want to watch all your favorite films over and over again. See and HEAR them (uncompressed audio) in a whole new way. I was especially knocked over by The Searchers and today Wall-E. The colors just pop! The detail and the fine grain (in the Searchers' case) is beautiful.

I was one of those people that really didn't get too worked up when HD first came out. HD content at the time just wasn't really available. But now with Blu-ray winning the HD software war and most satellite and cable companies offering HD channels, I really can't wait to jump in head first... I've actually already started buying Blu-ray movies (The Godfather Trilogy and Wall-E) and I don't have a Blu-ray player yet!

Ah, yes, you see, it's still not cheap to acquire all the things you need to watch all the lovely lovely HD programs and movies. Well, not cheap to me anyway. I mean if I just wanted the TV and Blu-ray player, that's 2 and a half months pay... if I got the shit on sale! That's not even counting monthly HD satellite/cable fees or the still way too pricey Blu-ray discs (they're running about 10 dollars more expensive than the same DVD titles). Not in the budget of the average book seller.

I admit I have a bit of the HD fever right now. Looking on the Internet for deals on TVs and players knowing that I can't really afford it. But as a movie lover, it's hard not to be tempted. It's worth it alone just for the Kubrick movies. I know that if somehow someway I did end up with all the shiny equipment, I probably would buy as many BDs and as I did DVDs. I mean DVDs are so cheap now, but BDs, like I said, not so much. Still... the classics are always worth upgrading. I mean I can't wait for Lawrence of Arabia, Wizard of Oz, Psycho, Seven Samurai, and others to hit HD.

And then there's December 9th...

Revenge of the Blog

It's been two months since my last blog, but it's not for lack of anything worth talking about. I just haven't had Internet. But now I do and I'm ready to spill...

First off, I'm probably the worst at self-promotion. Even without Internet, I should have found a way to get this out there. But anyway... Back in September, Fort Worth Weekly released its Best of 2008 issue. I was selected as the Critic's Choice for Best Local Filmmaker. To be honest, it gave me a bit of a charge to see something like that in print. I've never really had any local recognition. I have to thank Steve from Darth Vato for his influence there. You can still read the article here: It's about 2/3 down. Or read it here:

Local Filmmaker
Readers’ choice: Chad Feehan
Critic’s choice: Jose Juan Sauceda
Yeah, yeah, we know. Austin is set to be the next cinema hotbed. For like the past 10 years. But you know what? Cowtown births plenty of talented indie filmmakers of its own. One such is up-and-comer Jose Juan Sauceda, a prize-winning graduate of the RTVF department at the University of North Texas and master of gritty DIY shorts. Working primarily in horror, Sauceda has a keen eye for clever shots of knife-wielding psychos and an even sharper one for subtle jabs of visual wit. Plus, he pretty much does it all: writing, directing, editing, and presumably catering. Watch out when someone wises up and gives him a budget!

Finally finished up an editing job that I was working on for Don Young's Felliniana website. It's a website for Fellini fans. He also owns the largest collection of Fellini film posters. The video was shot by someone else a couple of years ago when he had the posters on display at the old Modern.



Kim and I went to the opening night film for the 2nd Annual Lone Star International Film Festival last night. It was called Sunshine Cleaning with Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, and Alan Arkin. I like it. Made me want to go to the rest of festival, but I somehow got scheduled to work so that I miss everything that I want to see. Including all the Sidney Lumet films. But if you're free, you should definitely go.

I'll insert this here now: The screenplay that I wrote a few months back, the one I sent around to a few contests, made it to the second round of the Austin Film Festival. That's about it. But I've been letting a few more people read it lately and feel that making it next year is becoming more of a reality. And if you're one that looks for signs in life, check this out...
My sister asked me back when I wrote it that if I were to cast known actors in it, who would I pick for the two female leads. My top two choices were Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Lies) and Melonie Diaz (Be Kind Rewind, Guide to Recognizing Your Saints).


Well, in a weird twist of fate, my sister may be working with Eliza Dushku's mom and Melonie Diaz is in town for the festival. Not that I think anything is going to come from these coincidences, but I just find it interesting.

There's still lots more to talk about but I don't want to overload you. I'll try and start writing a bit more regularly again.

Waiting for a YES

Well, it has been a couple of months since my last blog. A lot and not so much going on.

On the movie-making front, it's been hit and miss. I just haven't been inspired to really work on anything. I'm finishing up an editing job (I'll post it later), but it's not mine. Ya know? I did start working on a new script, but it's stalled since I still don't have a laptop (or Internet) and have to wait until I can use other people's computers. I've written the first draft on paper. I know.

I'm also still working on that "surprise" thing I mentioned last blog. Frankly, I'm a perfectionist and it takes me forever to feel like I'm ready to unveil something.

As you may remember, I submitted a screenplay into five contests/fellowships/workshops. I got the "NO" from the Nicholl's Fellowship and the Sundance Screenwriter's Lab. Those were my long shots, but it still kinda stung a bit. Yesterday I got a letter from the Austin Film Festival. I made it to the second round, but didn't make the semi-finals. Which I guess for my first screenplay isn't that bad. They received over 4000 submissions and only 12% made it to the second round. But I had high hopes for that particular festival. That still leaves Final Draft's Big Break and Slamdance.

So about this time a year I start feeling down about the whole film making business. But luckily, also about this time of year, something usually happens to make me realize this is what I want to do. Last year it was the Lone Star International Film Festival job that did it. The year before that was having "Anniversary" air on the Independent Film Channel. So right now I'm waiting for a "YES." That thing that will keep me going. I probably won't see it coming. I never do.

Lastly, I want to write about The Galaxy Drive-in in Ennis. I maybe have blogged about this last year, but it warrants another write-up.

My girlfriend and I went Wednesday night and saw to very drive-in appropriate movies -- Death Race and Tropic Thunder. If you've never been, you should seriously consider going. It's $6 for a double feature, fully stocked snack bar (they have Dipping Dots ice cream!), and if you've got a good car stereo system, better sound than you might think. I always have a great time when I go.

P.S. Death Race was actually pretty entertaining. My girlfriend, who has seen Mamma Mia three times mind you, loved it. She said "Oh, snap!" like 37 times.

Okay, not a great blog but there ya go.

I Ain't Dead Yet!

It's been over a month since my last blog, but not out of laziness. Quite the opposite. Busy as all hell. I'll try and condense all the goings ons so this won't be another epic blog.

Got a job. Working at Half Price Books now. I was offered a temp position for the summer. I took it. Needed the money. A week later they offered me a full time gig. I took it. It's a great place to work. You're guaranteed 40 hours a week, sweet discounts, and benefits unlike I've ever received at any retail job. And the people there are awesome too. So, bonus points.

While I was doing that, I was also editing a movie/play called "The Boxer and the Blonde" for the Butterfly Connection. It was written by Rob Bosquez and directed by Adam Dietrich. It's a project that is 60% video and 40% stage. I basically had two weeks to edit an hour of footage (12 hours of raw footage). I usually spend a week on 2-3 minutes of footage. It was crazy stressful. I just couldn't give it 100% and that drives me nuts. In the end, it came out okay by my own standards. I saw the live show during its second weekend and thought it was great despite the limitations of time and budget. I look forward to working with those guys again.

In between all that, I saw Girl In A Coma twice. Once in San Antonio and again in Dallas. The Dallas show was the second most memorable GIAC show so far. It was at Sue Ellen's, a lesbian bar. I went with my girlfriend and my sister. It was pretty cool. The band was great. They had new t-shirts so we stocked up. During the show, the manager or the owner (or Sue Ellen herself, not sure) got up on stage and blotted the sweat from the girls' brows and then tossed the towel into the crowd. Girls pounced on it. Two girls got in a tug of war fight over it. I think neither wanted to give in so they ended up holding on to one end of the towel for the rest of the show. Another tipsy girl was in the front row next to us and kept yelling "Eternity!" We didn't know what she was talking about. Even Nina, the lead singer, wasn't sure. "We don't have a song called 'Eternity'." It wasn't until they played their encore that it became clear. They have a song called "Celibate Now" and Nina usually book ends it with the Ritchie Valens song "We Belong Together." And if you've never heard it, it goes "We belong together for eternity..." I think "Eternity" is the new code word for "Celibate Now." Oh, and Wanda Sykes was there.


Not much going on in the movie biz. I won't hear back from any of the competitions until late August or later. I am working on a project that is connected to my script, but more on that later. Should be cool though.

And I'm finally getting rid of that post tour weight. I lost a few pounds on the GEM Tour but as soon as I was back home with real food, I just packed 'em on. But I'm down almost 15lbs and getting close to my fighting weight.

Tonight's my 10 year high school reunion. Weird.

Lastly, I went on the game show WHATTA YA THINK?! It went well. I came in second. But I was robbed! The last question is like a Final Jeopardy question. You bet points and write out your answer. The last question is a logic problem. So I wrote out my answer AND the logic that led me to it. I got it right. Well, the girl that won had the right answer, but just guessed. No logic to the logic problem. Eh. I had fun and got some chewy vitamins out of the deal.

I guess that's it for now. I kinda want to do a short film for the Lone Star International Film Festival this year, but unless something really motivates me to write, not sure I will. I just don't want to toss something together that I don't believe in. Have to see. I'll keep you posted.

RIP George Carlin.

Job Hunting

I hate job hunting. I've applied and/or called over a dozen places so far without much of a response. I've hit up Half Price Books, Lone Star Comics, Movie Trading Company, the Independent School District (as a substitute), and various other places. A flew places are looking for summer help, but I'm sure they'd rather higher a high school kid or a young college student that will take minimum wage without much of a fuss. Though at this point, I wouldn't put up much of a fuss either. We'll see how it goes.

I'm probably going to enter Slamdance's screenplay competition... if I can't scrounge up the $40 to apply.

Saw Baby Mama and Iron Man this last week. Baby Mama was the Mother's Day movie. I really wanted it to be funny, but it just wasn't. All the best moments are in the trailer. Hopefully Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will get better material to work with in the future. Can't really say anything bad about Iron Man. I really enjoyed it. I thought Robert Downey, Jr. did a great job. And if you haven't seen it yet, stay until the end of the credits to get an extra chance to nerd out.

Picked up an application to the Rave while I was there.

Had some Pho Ga at a new-ish Vietnamese place just outside Ridgemar Mall. I think it's called Pho Little Saigon. Good stuff, and the staff was really friendly. They don't have as many options as some other places, but they have the basics. I recommend it.

Jammin' on the one!

A lot going on. I'll try to catch you up.

Leading up to the 29th, I was finally getting a lot of feedback from the few people I gave my script to. After the first person put their notes out there, it created a snowball effect. I'm so thankful to everyone that took the time to do so. All the notes were really helpful and I know I have a better script for it.

April 29 -- Spent the day finalizing my script. Last second modifications, checking for spelling errors, grammar, etc. That night I went to buy paper to print out copies of the script for competitions. I also picked up some card stock for the covers and envelopes for the mail-outs. What I didn't buy were brass fasteners/brads because I already had a box...

I have to add this here. When you're writing a screenplay at this level -- trying to get an agent or sell your script -- there are a lot of rules you have to play by. Your script has to be nearly perfect. And not just the words you write, but how you write them. And even beyond that, how you present it. You have to show that you at the very least know the proper way to bind a script. The proper way being three holes with two or three solid brass brads, 1.25 inches to 1.5 inches depending on the length of your script. You're not supposed to give a reader any excuse to not like your script before they even open it up.

We also went to the final screening of the Green Eyed Monster movie tour. Kim, a couple of friends, and I met up with Gabe at the Studio Movie Grill in Addison. Our friends hadn't seen the film before. They dug it. Gabe talks more about it on his blog. Speaking of which, if you haven't noticed (can't remember if I've mentioned it), there are links to other relevant blogs and websites in the column on the right for easy access.

April 30 -- Woke up and did one last polish of the script then started printing everything out. That's when I noticed it. The brads I had were brass-PLATED. Not solid brass. And they had pointed ends, not ROUNDED. Fuck! What to do? What to do? Time was ticking away. It was already close to 5PM. The postmark deadline was May 1st, so I decided to hold off sending and try to find the right brads. But I did register my script with the WGA.

May 1 -- My gf called every office supply store in the area... Not a one carried SOLID brass brads. They only had brass-plated. What to do? What to do? I just needed two! I was applying for the Nicholl Fellowship and the Sundance Institutes's Screenwriters Lab. Only Nicholl required a full script. Then I remembered that a couple of screenplays I bought were bound with brads. I pulled out a couple and put my script together. I had another copy to send to the U.S. Copyright Office, but I just used the brass-plated brads for that one since it didn't matter. It felt good to see my script printed out, with cover, and bound together. When I print out drafts, they're usually two per page, doubled-sided, so it's not the same. My gf helped me address the envelopes and get everything ready. We hit the post office and mailed everything off.

I have to mention how much stress I was under. If it was just the script I had to worry about, I might have been fine, but there was much more than that. Sundance only wanted the first five pages of the script, but they also wanted a cover letter, resume, bio, and 2-page synopsis. You can imagine how much work I put into those. They judge you more on those attachments than your script. I know I don't have the most impressive resumes, so I tried my best to highlight some of my more unique projects -- The GEM Tour being one of them. Thanks to VJ for her help with all the paperwork.

There was a bit of a relief after that. Now it's just a waiting game. But I wasn't quite done. I still had to enter the Austin Film Festival's Screenwriting Competition and Final Draft's Big Break contest. Final Draft wanted a digital copy, so no worries about printing one out. AFF wanted a hard copy, but I still didn't have the right brads. The deadline is the 15th, so that gave me more time. I went online and found that Office Depot had them (online only). The last few things I've read say to get Acco Brand #5 or #6. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find them. Most of these major chain stores have their own brands now. So I ordered them. $5 for one box, $6 for the other. The kicker was that with tax and shipping, it cost over $20. Good thing they'll probably last me a long time.

I got the brads a couple of days ago. There was one HUGE box and one small box. When I opened up the big box, it was loaded with paper and packing material. The brads were in a tiny box in the corner. Seemed like a waste. They could have put both boxes of brads in the little box. I'll try and post a picture of the ridiculousness later.

During all of this, I was also looking for a job. I went to a bunch of places, picking up applications. It's hard to explain that I've been working as a freelance filmmaker the last two years that's why there's a hole in my work history. We'll see how it goes.

So yesterday I mailed off my entry to AFF. That one could be interesting if I win. They have a bonus award that could mean a production company offer to make your script into a film. I also digitally sent my entry to Final Draft. In total that's four competitions. I'll keep everyone posted.

In other news, Kim and I were both selected to be contestants on Whatta Ya Think?! Kim does her show on June 8th, and mine is June 21st. Should be fun.

I went to a table reading of the play "The Boxer and the Blonde" by Rob Bosquez. It's a play that incorporates video segments. I was "hired" to edit the videos. I say "hired" but it's more of a volunteer job. It's being put on by the Butterfly Connection. Everyone there seemed cool. The director Adam Dietrich is the one that contacted me about it. The writer wasn't there tonight though. His material is interesting so I look forward to meeting him. I think he's acting in a play at the Rose Marine Theater this weekend called Lincoln Heights. Kim and I might go.

I guess that's it for now. A few other things in the air. I'll write more about those soon. Keep checking in. I'll try and update more frequently.