How to Kill Yourself in One Year #12: "Last.Worst."

and so it ends where it began...

Apologies to anyone (it could happen) waiting for this to be posted only to be D.E.V.A.S.T.A.T.E.D. to discover a glitch that freezes the video @ 5:55.  This was a youtube upload issue that has since been resolved!!!

In the coming weeks/months, I'm going to be waxing philosophic on this series and hopefully spilling forth and multitudes of lessons learned...but for the forseeable future, I'm going to play with Maggie and Zack and not worry about any of it...

photos from Last. Worst

same locale as HTKYIOY # 1 Bookends, baby!!!

Austin seriously considering my "just add Jazz Hands" note.

Not sure what my "shit eating" grin is all about. Either a) man this project is almost over  or b) man I write real good

Franny's patented "whatchoo talkin' bout, Willis"  look.

This was either a moment in the script or a reaction to Austin's "tick" story.

"I never said I was sorry"
"yes you did, many times"
"I didn't mean it. Then"

For a moment I considered firing Franny and playing the role myself but couldn't fit into the red dress.

Austin, seconds before running for the hills after I exercised the "pants optional" clause in all my performance agreements.

This is it.

the final script. the last film.  the end of the road.  this time next week, It'll be all over but the crying.

here we go:

last.worst

I find that sometimes the autobiographical ones are easier to write and they may also bring with them the added absolution that comes from putting something that had been festering inside you into a tangible expressive form.  I don't know if that will happen with this one or not but this story does come from a true place in my past.  anyone who knows me probably already knows that.

anywhoo...

We're shooting on Saturday in the exact same location that we shot the first one, "little ditty 'bout black and dyin'"  because I am a firm believer in the power of BOOKENDS, BABY!!!  I'm actually quite (no pun intended) curious if the raccoons are still there. Last year (can't believe I get to say that...) there were babies so I wonder if this year there will be teenagers. Actually I don't know the developmental process of raccoons so they may be adults who've left ma and pa behind for all I know.  but hopefully we'll get another cameo.


the other great thing about this one is my cast!

First of all I get to (finally) do one of these with my best friend in the universe, the yin to my yang, my heterosexual life partner, my first college roommate, my first producing partner, my first (and only) co-writer, best man at my wedding and the only person in my life who knew me as the piece of shit I was at 19 and CHOSE to stick around.  I'm talking about the one and only...

wait for it....

wait for it...

AUSTIN JONES!!!

Austin Jones

My oldest and bestest friend and the one A.J. (go figure) is based on in F**k New York  (interesting side note, the character was originally named "J.J." but Tim flubbed it during the only speech where he called him by name and accidentally said "A.J.",  making it a WAY obvious nod to Austin instead of the subtle one I had intended...oh art, why must you happen so...)  and is the guy many moons ago who moved with me to NYC to chase the dream and live the heartbreak of F**k New York.  It was Austin who shared my first (and only) real brush with "almost", after we wrote a script together that got some moderate attention...

to have him on this project is, and I mean this without a trace of hyperbole, the GREATEST FLUSHING THING IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE.

and as if that weren't enough....

People....fan(s)...followers....

WE HAVE FRANNY!!!

HTKYIOY #1

HTKYIOY # 3

HTKYIOY#9

This will be Franny's FIFTH (yes, I said fifth and my math is not wrong because she is also in our "Baker's Dozen BONUS Film, to be released soon!) time with us and we love her more and more every time. She generous, patient, beautiful, talented, fearless...all those good actor adjectives and beyond all that she's a freakin' delight to be around; a truly great human being (which trumps talent any day...but she's got the talent too). Honestly, one of the very best things about this project was finding her.  she is the real deal. I hope we work together until we die.  or quit. face.

Okay...enough gushing. let's get to the getting to. Let's make this puppy.  let's make some big ass art!!!

How to Kill Yourself in One Year #11: "Term"

this one goes to ELEVEN. the penultimate script...

it's hard to believe that we are damn near finished with this whole shebang, and yet, here we are.

I guess we're going to have to wait until it's all over and I have a bit of a breather before I write the "wisdom I've learned" entry. right now I'm just too freaking busy making the damn things to think about them in any depth; which I guess was the original point: remove the whole "preciousness" from the process and just get to the gettin' to.  but I would be lying if I told you that any of this...especially these last few months...has been really satisfying.

in the end, the victory I'll have with this project is merely in the finishing of it and that kinda sucks.

however, I will grant that a lot of this is probably coming from exhaustion.

frustration.

and exhaustion.

but I digress...

here's the 11th script:  Late Term  and I'll probably shorten it to "Term" by the time it's all said and done.

it's a bit controversial and probably the truest "edgiest" thing i've done.  however, it was not my intention to be edgy. it was my intention to write a Christopher Durrang short.

enjoy.

How to Kill Yourself in One Year #10.5: "22"

and just because it was seriously raining and I couldn't resist...we did one kick ass "real time" take in the spirit of Mike Figgis (who is not, technically Dogme 95 but still pretty kick ass)

and yes (as if you can't tell) this is ONE TAKE, no overdubs.

How to Kill Yourself in One Year #10: "22"

And here it is...number TEN.  Like I said HERE, I did this under the Dogme95 Vow of Chastity and...fair warning...one of those vows is that you must record sound at the same time as you record the image and you can't do additional sound recording (no ADR, no Voice Over, no score).  I tell you this, because, this restriction can often (and in our case, oh yeah it does) lead to some discrepancies between cuts... 

just remember that the purpose of Dogme95 and its manifesto is to remove the fear of making mistakes from you and relieve you of the burden of perfection so you can focus on the task at hand, which is capturing truth...a moment of truth.

and we have definitely done that...in spades.

Special thanks once again to my dream team cast for going along with me on this dashing bold adventure.

I love you both...

and I love YOU!