Thesis idea

So there are about three weeks to submit thesis scripts. Of the 100 or so submitted, 28 will be geen-lit (approved) for production. I haven't written my final one yet, but I've been cooking it for a while now, and it's changed shape and form a million times. Finally, I think I've decided what it's going to be. If I were in a Hollywood pitch meeting where I had to describe it in one sentence, I would say it's The Matirx in a Coffee Shop. No sci-fi elements, but just the concept of the matrix, the idea that we are stuck in a system, and one man wants to be free. Here, as it is a slightly smaller production than the Joel Silver trillogy, the matrix is represented by the coffee shop manager, to be played my dear friend, Brian James. You see, this film is a dark comedy. And the man who would be Neo, I am writing the role for my other friend, Jemuel Morris, as the underdog employee who keeps getting humiliated and berrated. He decides that the only way he can release himself from the clenches of humiliation is to kill Brian. So there you go. All in 20 minutes of pure fun entertainment.

Brian was in Heavy Weight, The Big Day, Hold On, Too Many Crooks, The Portrait, and If. Jemuel was in If... and The Portrait. Now with thesis, I can have non-union (SAG) actors, and I'm going back to my friends. Tremendous talents that I hope to take into the feature film world with me.

So that's my focus along with Captain Abu Raed. I fear that my cycle three film will suffer from lack of attention, as it has become the lesser priority. I'm going to Jordan in two weeks and will have very little time to prepare. I'll try to wing as much as I can in this third one, directing much of it on the spot. Yikes. Could be a great learning experience I suppose.