The First Steps

The story of my current situation goes back much farther than this past weekend. When I examine things, I realize now that my compass has pointed me towards the City of Angels for several years now. Although at what time and in what capacity had always remained ambiguous.

In the winter of my freshman year at college, I auditioned for and was cast in a play for which I had no desire to be in. I still held onto the vague belief that I was an actor and was going to make my living as one. By the second rehearsal I already knew that acting was, for now at least, not what I truly wanted to do and I quit the show.

Resigning myself to a normal career, outside of the creative community, I was unexpectedly cast in a short film for a local filmmaker whom I had connected up with before in High School. His name was Vince, and he was the only person I knew at the time who was making movies. It suddenly became clear to me. I didn’t want to merely act. I wanted to create.

Throughout High School I had worked at a video store and I had seen and analyzed countless films. I have distinct memories reviewing movies even as young as the age of six! My best memory from High School was when I single-handedly put on a one act of my own version of Romeo and Juliet. I wanted to make movies and I wanted to be deeply involved in the creative process.

So I asked Vince, “How can I make a movie?”

“Write a script first.” Was his reply.

I set to it. In a little over a week I had written a 30-page piece of crap. But I was extremely proud of it and I showed it off to Vince. He liked the concept but felt that there was more to it.

“Why stop at a short?” He asked.

Since I couldn’t give him an answer I set out again and in a little over a month, I had finished my very first 120-page monstrosity of a screenplay. Keep in mind I had absolutely no concept of structure, format, character development, what have you. I just had the idea in my mind that a story set in the future, about a boy living in a ghetto who was setting out to commit a suicide bombing of massive proportions was both topical and entertaining. I showed my script to Vince and he told me to re-format it and toy around with the descriptions, which were detailed and novelistic in length. This very first foray into screenwriting was the first step on the long road that has led me to the wonderland in which I now live.