2004-07-20
Remember the unbridled optimism of my last entry? Well, I jinxed it. Not five minutes ago, I officially let go of my lead actor, Dale, who had to bow out of our production due to contractually-obligated scheduling conflicts. We shoot this weekend. This is nothing short of a crippling blow.Dale, a popular staple of Webster film's acting pool, is an accomplished screenwriter who won Cinema St. Louis' city-wide feature screenplay competition, the best of 200+ entries. When I told him that I had to let him go, he was genuinely disappointed. He actually fumbled for words. Dale had been the first person to come onto the project way back in March when I first handed him the script. He's offered a lot of film roles, and he was especially excited about working with us. Before he hung up, he complimented my script and told me that he would still clear our failed alternate shooting dates on the off-chance that we could still use him, because the writing was that affecting.
Though bittersweet, coming from him, that is one of the best compliments I've ever received as a writer.
I got a fever, and the cure is Pin-Up Bowl.
-Andy