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It's Monday. Is there anything else that really needs to be said? I spent the weekend cursing about having to purchase a trash disposal we can't afford, installing said disposal and then marveling at what a handy man I'm becoming. At this point, the only thing I haven't replaced in the kitchen sink is the kitchen sink. Knock on wood that will never happen.

The Writer's Guild has gone on strike and that effects me in no way possible, at this point and time. The one opportunity I had to join the union passed before I even knew it was there. The producers of "The American Standard"... er "Deceit" offered to help me get into the union. Unfortunately, filming had already begun and according to the rules on the WGA website, I missed my opportunity. Great. Still, I figured another opportunity would be right around the corner. Yeah, I'm still waiting.

As a writer, I am in agreement with everything the Guild is fighting for. The studios make a shitload of money off of DVD sales (like, how many times do the release and rerelease movies just to make another buck? New Line alone released how many versions of "Lord of the Rings"?) Despite their claims that DVD sales are needed to offset the high costs of shooting movies, I think that's a crock.

The bad thing about a strike is that a lot of people struggling to make ends meet are now without a paycheck. I have friends in the Guild who have children and are barely getting by. This is going to kill them, especially with the downturn the California economy has taken in the past six months. Hopefully this will be worked out soon. With the DGA and SAG contracts up next summer, things could get really ugly real out here in CA.

One positive from the weekend was a meeting with Jay Ellison, who graduated from Bowling Green and hails from Medina, Ohio. He's a filmmaker and has a good head on his shoulder. Jay read my script, "Blood Brothers", a werewolf story, and wants to raise the money needed to make it with Tony directing (and supervising the monster effects). We're in the early stages and there are hundreds of things to work out (a meeting between the director and Jay would be nice) but I feel positive about this one. Julie and I have discussed his age (mid 20's) a couple times. Is he too young? Is he in over his head? But I look at guys like Spielberg and Tarantino, who dove headfirst into filmmaking. Age didn't matter. Any guy who approaches me with a business plan is ahead of the game, in my book. We made "King's Highway" with none of that organization and have suffered numerous times because of it. I'll keep you updated as things progress.

Speaking of "King's Highway", I have removed it from the iKlipz website because of some very, very interesting developments in the past two months. I can't say much more, but things could be very exciting come February.

I hope to have the Springsteen review in a couple of days.

Aloha

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