Matthew 13 Blog

I have always had a strange relationship with deadlines.  Maybe because I am a procrastinator by nature.  Especially in high school, I can remember instances where a due date for a term paper would be ever approaching on the calendar, but everything else in the world just seemed so fascinating.  Sit down and write my paper?  How could I possibly do that when my room is such a mess?  Just look at the dust that has accumulated on those base boards!  No, it’s not time to write, it’s time to clean.  Almost anything would prove to be more interesting and important than the task at hand.  Why write your paper when there is a riveting program on PBS about the manufacturing of drywall?  Given the choice, I must say, gentle reader, there is no choice at all, it’s going to be drywall.  Then there is the transition from procrastination to boredom.  Once I would finally force myself to sit down, and write the term paper, there would be that all...

Greetings, gentle reader, I trust that all is well with you and yours.  Today's post is going to be a little bit different.  Instead of continuing to catch you up on the events that transpired during my absence from the Matthew 13 Blog, I thought I would share some recent thoughts I've had on DIY distribution.  Last week as I was roaming the Inter Web I came across a blog post by independent writer, director, Mike Vogel.  If you would like to read his post please feel free to do so, you can find it HERE .  But to sum up, Mike is exploring the idea of using You Tube as the primary platform to distribute his independent film.  Now, placing films on You Tube is certainly not a new idea for me, it was something that I had always planned on doing, but only as a last resort.  My thinking about You Tube was more along the lines of, "well, if all else fails, I can always put the movie up on You Tube... to die". As I read Mike's post it changed my perspectiv...

A break.  Usually it's a good thing.  Something to be desired, unless of course, the break being discussed involves a personal appendage.  In that case most people will take a pass, unless of course the person in question happens to be an actor, and the appendage to be broken is a leg.  But, in most cases, everybody needs a break.  This includes the late Nell Carter, who would go so far as to ask for said break in no uncertain terms.  One might even say she demanded one, singing loudly "Gimme a Break" on a weekly basis for several years back in the eighties.  Now, as a person who dreams of going from an aspiring, to a real live, honest to goodness, filmmaker; I have always known that I would need some sort of "break".  How that break would come, or what form it would take has always been a mystery, but if one is going to make it in the movie biz, eventually one's work is going to need to be seen by someone else who can help the first person to be ...

So, when we were last together, gentle reader, I had fifteen pages and a severe case of writer's block, not exactly how I had hoped my first attempt at writing a feature length screenplay would wind up.  But, truth be told, it was exactly what I had always feared would happen if I made an attempt to write something other than a short.  Now that fear was proving to be a reality and every other form of fear and self doubt was beginning to find its own voice and shout from the rooftops.  It was a discouraging place to be, but all was not lost.  Help was on the way, via the United States Postal Service.  Help was also taking its sweet time in arriving due to my desire to have everything shipped to me free of charge, but it was on the way nonetheless.  One afternoon, five to nine days after I had placed my order, I was rewarded when opening my mailbox with not only two utility bills and an offer to get cheaper car insurance, but a small key.  Oh yes, Christ...