ON THE SET: GOING TO L.A.

I’m going to California in about a week to watch Jon Byron (my cousin) film the script he and I worked on together.

Shooting will start this Friday, February 4th and will last about a week.

I’m flying out Monday, February 7th and will get there in time to watch them film the primary part of the script. Shooting is from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The movie is Jon’s final project before he graduates from Chapman University. He has been getting a lot of positive recognition for his work so far and has proven to be a talent that is catching the eye of many influential people.

The film is temporarily called “Alma’s Mantra,” but more than likely that will change. The script is intentionally meant to be patterned after Alfred Hitchcock’s work. The story is about a middle-aged woman with a dangerous heart condition who must help her husband deal with the repercussions of a dangerous business arrangement.

The woman playing the wife has been cast. She is an unknown actor, but very good. Jon went through hundreds of readings to find her.

The actor John Hawkes was all lined up to play the husband, but his Oscar nomination for WINTER’S BONE unfortunately complicated his schedule and he has since had to pull out. He has already told Jon he would still like to work on some kind of project with him in the future.

On the plus side, Hawkes is making an effort to get someone else to take his place—someone who is well known. Both Gary Sinese and Donny Wahlberg have been mentioned. If that doesn’t work out, there is an unknown all lined up just in a case. And he is also extremely good.

I will be trying to enter daily posts on this blog, keeping a record of my time on the set.

It should be a lot of fun, if I can stay awake during the all-night shoots. But I’m sure I’ll be too excited to sleep.