The concept for my most recent writing assignment began with an idea by Nikki and Drew Mayer-Oakes (San Antonio’s Film Commissioner). And when Nikki shared said idea with me, of course I was in.
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Oscar Laun
Where I’ve Been, And What…
I know it’s been a bit of a while since I last wrote. I hadn’t meant to be away from the blog for so long.
But the silver lining of that long delay is that I have a lot more to write about… Continue reading
The Magnolia Chronicles, Days 4-6: Wrap Stars
Were I to put a lesson to the production of Magnolia, it would have to be that patience, persistence, and preparation ultimately pay off. (Were I to put a lesson to my blogging, it might be that I rely a little too heavily on alliteration – but that’s a post for another day…)
Over six weeks, we’d had to make occasional adjustments for locations, actor availability, and especially the weather. We’d faced drought one week, deluge the next. But Nikki and Chadd had brought a great team together, so we were able to keep moving forward, knowing that as long as we kept doing our work, it would still come together.
And in our last weekend of principal photography, it really did come together. Continue reading
The Magnolia Chronicles, Days 2 & 3: Our Time In The Adjustment Bureau
It pretty effectively goes without saying that filmmaking, especially independent filmmaking, is a process of adjustments. The unexpected will happen; there’s no way around that. And while I’m not entirely convinced it’s possible to expect the unexpected – if you could, it wouldn’t really be unexpected, would it? – it’s still possible to prepare for it, to be ready to make the necessary adjustments to get the shot.
Over the last few days of production, Magnolia has been an object lesson in how to be ready. Continue reading
The Magnolia Chronicles, Day 1: Matters Of Degrees
My first experience as a PrimaDonna production assistant (a PDPA, if you will) was on Dating Danielle, almost exactly 5 years ago this weekend. I have a lot of great memories of those 48 hours, but one of the greatest has to be the spirit that developed between cast and crew, as we all bonded while shooting on one of the hottest days of the year.
August is funny that way… Continue reading
In Which A Strange Magic Visits The Cameo Theatre
Many of us, if not most, have at one point or other in our lives shared a fascination with magic and magicians. And many of us, if not most, may outgrow that.
This story is about what happens when you don’t. Continue reading
Lee Hurtado, Writer 