In the Mix with Aaliyah Miller

The Kent Film Festival. Where to begin? Let me start off by thanking Patrice and Frank Galterio and the Kent Film Festival staff. They ran an awesome festival that felt good from when I went to their offices to grab my festival passes and goodie bag until the last film was screened. Frank and Patrice make you feel like family, for the weekend I was part of their filmmaking family. This past weekend I enjoyed some good films, talked with fellow filmmakers from all over the country, and had a few celebrity spottings, but at Kent even if you are a celebrity, you don't bring that Hollywood vibe with you. Kent is to chill and laid back for A-list egos. There are many memorable moments, but if I typed them all, this blog would go on for to long. Besides I figure you, like me, have lots to do in your day and reading this blog may not be your first choice. In lue of that, below are my highlights from the 2010 Kent Film Festival. The order is fashioned like Letterman's "Top Ten....

I'm a little sad about this entry. Today is the final day of the 2010Kent Film Festival and it's a rainy day. The rain puts me in a somber mood. Despite that, I would like to thank all the folks who trucked it all the way up to Kent to check out the screening of After the Headlines . I'm honored to have your support. It is was a small group of people, but I know the folks who were there really wanted to be there and that means the world to me. Indie screenwriters and filmmakers make the films they want to make, we tell the stories that we know the studio system isn't interested in. For the most part our films aren't high-concept, which just means that have a simple plot set-up and can be mass-marketed to large audiences. Basically, keep it simple stupid. Yesterday, I had the chance to check out some really good shorts and feature length films. I was really impressed by the other films in my short block. I also attended a workshop that was on the Red...

The 2010 Kent Film Festival officially kicked off yesterday. I wasn't able to make the first night of the fest because my allergies were kicking my butt. I also think my travel for work this week also had me spent. I had a night to recuperate and am ready to go. Wednesday night, I attended Campbell Scott's screening of his film Company Retreat . Scott wrote, produced, and directed the mockumentary film that looks at the world of reality television. The film is definitely quirky and has a lot of funny parts, but the ending threw me for a loop. After the film there was a great Q&A with Scott. He explained how he came up with the film's ending, which I still sorta don't get, but that's okay. Scott is a veteran actor that has been in a bunch a really good films, he is also a resident of the area. You can currently see him on TNT's hit series Damages . It was interesting for me to learn that he also has a passion for storytelling wearing the screenwriter and di...

Hello all, I'm thrilled to share the link to the local story on After the Headlines in the Republican American. Click on the link for the article. Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for the down low on the 2010 Kent Film Festival. http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2010/04/21/entertainment/movies/478672.txt

Hello all, I planned to write this entry much earlier in the week, but I just couldn't seem to find the time and focus (a problem I seem to have, but if you read this blog on the regular you already know that). If I would have written my entry on Thursday like I planned, the title would have be Seven Days and Counting. The 2010 Kent Film Festival, http://kentfilmfestival.org/ is just six days away, five if you count the private benefit screening of Company Retreat” , written and directed by acclaimed actor/director Campbell Scott . The screening will take place on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at the Kent Community House, the evening before the start of the 5th annual Kent Film Festival, a celebration of aspiring independent filmmakers. I'm really looking forward to attending the festival and the screening for After the Headlines .It's my first film festival for After the Headlines , and the fact that it's taking place in Connecticut makes the honor of being...

This week I was pretty tired. I still am. My fatigue has definitely hindered my writing process this week. I did not write a word outside of my sporadic morning pages. I'm pretty disappointed in myself. No forward movement on my spec script and I'm almost half-way through the month. Not good and all. I need to get my buns in gear. I'm looking for divine inspiration, but I know that isn't the answer. I've not put in the work. The divine inspiration will come when I get to writing. Even if I think it's crappy I need to get it on paper and then on the computer screen. On a more positive note, I have some new writing exercises to try. Tomorrow afternoon I have a video shoot with some alumuni of foster care. Their interviews will eventually be edited to short clips for the web. I'm looking forward to capturing their stories. I'm hoping that it will energize me so when I come home I can capture my own. I let you know if I make progress.

If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don’t hoard it. Don’t dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke. - Brendan Francis I thought I'd start of my entry with this quote. I read it today on the Daily Screenwriter, http://screenwriterdaily.blogspot.com/2010/04/screenwriting-just-screenwriting.html , a blog with motivational advice from Michael David Jensen, who currently serves as the executive producer and director of the groundbreaking documentary MAKING BETTER DOCTORS ( http://www.makingbetterdoctors.com/ ). I think this quote really fits me today. It's a reminder that I have to do the work and when I do the work I need to put it out there. It's been easy for me to rest on my previous accolades and make excuses for why I'm not writing. However, there are no good execuses, because if I'm going to master this craft, I have do what all writers do and that is set time aside to write. I finally feel like...