I’ve been watching a lot of the old black and white TV series Highway Patrol from the fifties. They did a lot of shooting on location around the Los Angeles area. What’s been very interesting is that when they shot on cloudy days, the imagery has much more contrast. They also switch to lenses with narrower depths of field, putting some of the imagery into blur, especially in moving shots. I think at the time it was considered a handicap but it actually brings more life to the image. Makes it seem more real.

Below is a clip from a movie I always reference when asked about my favorite films. Seeing it now, I know it was an influence on Sanity.

www.sanitymovie.com/Tshirt.htm

Please share with your friends!

Also, the developmental reading had to be postponed. Getting the Tshirt available for all of our fellow sanity participants became first priority. We will now get back to more traditional pre-production tasks to take care of.

Todd Worden, an experienced and well crafted actor has agreed to take on the role of Wallace, Valorie’s older brother who still lives with their parents. I’ve known Todd and his work for a couple of years now and I am excited to see what he does with the role. Tood and I have already had preliminary conversations on Wallace which has brought fresh insight into the character.

Shayne Eastin will be taking on the lead role of Valorie. There are multiple reasons I am thrilled by this. Shayne is not only a well crafted actress but, just like the character of Valorie, she actually is a singer in an indie rock band (Spider Problem) on the verge of success. Her on stage performance as the lead singer of Spider Problem match exactly what I had in mind when I envisioned Valorie on stage with her band. Shayne also has significant insight into Valorie’s trials and tribulations.

Mike Maio has agreed to take on the musical chores for Sanity. Mike is a member of Spider Problem as well but also is significantly talented in terms of writing music. The most important thing for me is that his sensibilities match how I think of this film. I felt this in conversation with him and it was confirmed to me after I took some time out to listen to a CD of soundscapes he created. Listening to the CD I felt the urge to start putting imagery to the sounds. This is a very good sign.

Moving forward…

Jack

The title of the play is FAMILY FOLD, which is related to the theme of the movie but isn’t a good entry into the story. FAMILY FOLD was more of a working title anyway, even though it stuck after it had been performed in readings on stage several times.

In the preliminary discussion of whether the play should be made into a movie, the idea of SANITY for a title came up. It felt right and stuck. Anyway, check out the definition below and maybe after you see the movie you can share with us all if you thought the title choice was a good one.

What is the definition of sanity?.

Last week I put the final touches on the underlying code to enable email recipients the ability to click on a link, go to the Sanity Paypal page, become a subscriber or member, then automatically be redirected to the Sanity Movie Blog registration page. I think I detected a broken link in the chain tonight but it isn’t major and we can move forward while working on a solution. I’m not the official webmaster but this has given me the opportunity to freshen up my skills which is awesome. Onward and upward!

The talented singer Lee DeWyze gave me some positive feedback on the status of the project today. Yay! If you don’t know who he is, look him up. He’s a genuinely nice guy with an amazing voice.

Here’s a picture of Mr. DeWyze: