When Sushi Met Saki

Right now, in Tokyo, the cast and crew are finishing shooting a movie I wrote called When Sushi Met Saki.

I got the gig through Craigslist!  I sent in an email and the Producer called me for an over the phone job interview of sorts.  He sent me a movie that he had previously produced, I watched it, and we met.  I got the job and we spent 6 or so months writing the script.  I outlined, he gave notes, I did several drafts, he gave notes and sent ideas and I incorporated them (or occasionally argued as to why I didn't want to).

When I started writing it I worked at night at "Intervention" so I would work at night and write during the day when I wasn't with Christian or catching up on sleep.  Then, I got a promotion and started working during the day so I had to adjust.  You would find me on my laptop during my lunch break, writing a couple pages a day.

So I finished the script and sent it in, the Producer had already done a lot of the Pre-Production, including visiting Japan a couple times to get a crew and scout locations.  He would send me casting videos and I got to weigh in.

One actor who auditioned was one of the leads on one of the most popular after school TV shows in the 90s, he did a good job but didn't get the part.

The cast was set: Jonathan Scherr, an American actor who was in the popular Japanese movie My Darling Is A Foreigner, Itsuka, a Japanese music artist, and Jason London from Dazed and Confused.

And they started filming mid-March.  They've been updating me and I've gathered together the pictures they've posted in one album here.

I'm excited to see the finished movie and then go from there.

New Job

"Intervention" went on hiatus in February and I was out of steady job for the first time.  I freelanced for another show that was being produced by the company that produces "Intervention" and began looking for a new gig.  I got to spend time with my family and write, and in that time I wrote a new feature and chipped away at a larger project that I hope to focus on at some point.

Very soon after I finished writing that feature I was hired at another show, it was perfect timing.  I'm now the Story Assistant on I'm Having Their Baby on Oxygen and I'm really happy with the position.

Here's a promo that I worked on for the upcoming season:

         

A bit about my latest screenwriting gig

I haven't yet said much about the screenwriting gig that I've been working on for the past few months, but I finished the script recently and today a Producer sent me the flyer below:

The flyer is for a real event where some scenes of the movie will be filmed.  The text is probably too small to read but under the blue hand with 'Advance Tickets' on the sleeve it reads:

This event will be filmed and take part in a movie entitled (SEARCHING FOR SUSHI AND SAKI) by "MCLIPS" and Japan Video.  MCLIPS is an Independent Hollywood Film Company that makes movies that are not only innovative and meaningful but are meant to "MAKE A DIFFERENCE" in the lives of those that have seen them by inspiring others to do good as well.  Japan Video Support is a Tokyo based video production company that specializes in providing English speaking video production crews for international video productions taking place in Japan.

Then, under that film strip it reads: 

The film "Searching for Sushi and Saki" is about Tom, an American thirty-something who has recently moved to Tokyo from LA for what he thinks is just a temporary gig, struggles with feelings of isolation in a land where he doesn’t speak the language and all of his relationships are online.  He’s self-absorbed and pretends to be a cooler version of himself on the ‘net.

Then he meets Saki, a free-spirited Japanese woman who teaches him about Tokyo and relating to others in a more personal way.  She tries to help him live in the present and communicate with words, not with texts and email.  She gets him to attend a fundraiser concert that she is performing at, which leads him to a whole new outlook on life.

So yeah, I wrote a movie that's going to be shot in Tokyo soon.  I'll keep you posted.

2012 in Review

In 2012, I...

Got a raise, switched from the night shift to the day shift, and got two promotions at my job on A&E's TV show "Intervention."

Freelance logged footage for a show that hasn't premiered yet.

Took a sketch writing class at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

Had a couple meetings with a Producer at Funny Or Die and interviewed for a position at Break.com.

Participated in 4 sketches and wrote 3 articles that were featured on the front page of Funny or Die.

Started and ran The Best Sketch Comedy On The 'Net Tumblr blog which led to free comedy shows, new connections, and a position contributing to Comedy Nerds United, a popular blog that has over 125,000 followers.

Shot a video for fun of my son and my dog dancing to an Adele song that so far has over a quarter of a million views on Youtube.

Wrote a sit-com spec script for my writing packet.

Began writing a novella.

Signed a contract and began writing a paid feature length movie for an Independent Producer.

I'm looking forward to 2013 even though the future is never certain.

New Sketches on Funny Or Die!

I wrote, co-produced, and acted in a couple of sketches.  Criminal Mimes was featured on the front page of Funny or Die and we just released Thanksgiving? today!

Criminal Mimes - watch more funny videos

Thanksgiving? - watch more funny videos

Thanksgiving? is a sequel to my sketch Valentine's Day?  You can watch all of my sketches here or on my Funny Or Die page.

Since I last blogged I changed positions at my job on the show Intervention.  I was a Night Logger, I logged the show's raw footage from 7pm to 3am 3 nights a week and worked an 8 hour shift each weekend day as well.  I am now a Production Assistant during the regular work week day shift (I have also been covering for the Story Assistant while he is on vacation).  It's been pretty great, I now have nights and weekends like a regular human!  And my day is broken up a bit more, I have a variety of tasks to take care of instead of exclusively watching and logging 40ish hours a week of footage of people using drugs and their lives spiraling out of control...

I recently shot another sketch with some friends culled from the crews of Beats by Dr. Dre and Valentine's Day? and "The End."  I'll post it once it's posted.

I'm still working on my latest top secret feature writing gig.  The outline was approved and I'm writing pages while the Producer scouts locations, casts actors, and all that good stuff.

And of course you can follow The Best Sketch Comedy On The 'Net, which I run, and Comedy Nerds United, which I contribute to.

I applied for and was chosen to be a CNtributor to the popular blog Comedy Nerds United!

Look for my posts on there, some probably in conjunction with my blog The Best Sketch Comedy On The 'Net, including my recent submission What You Were Doing If You Didn't See 'The Master'

And follow me, Comedy Nerds United, and The Best Sketch Comedy On The 'Net on Twitter.