Guam Travel: Standby Style

The circumference of the earth is approximately 24,900 miles. That's about 2 roundtrips from Guam to LA. That means that I have traveled the equal distance around the earth in the last three months. On standby.

Here I am back on another layover at the Honolulu Intl. Airport. Sure, it's fun for the first two or three times, but after you get too familiar with the drill, it becomes a chore to travel so many times for so many miles. But because of this, I can tell you where to find the best corner to sleep in. Or the best bathroom large enough to change your clothes, brush your teeth and wash up without any interruptions. Or the best place to charge your phone and laptop while enjoying a tropical panoramic, open-air view of the relaxing outdoor gardens.

I'll be sure to give this info out as soon as I can access my photos. But for now, as I sit at Gate 14 awaiting the boarding calls, I need to figure out just how to plan for yet another leg from Hawaii to Guam. Shoot!

Photo by Jim Frazier

The AMPTP CEO Salary

Curious to know just how much money AMPTP CEO's make on the average? Just click on the link below.

AMPTP Salaries

Sources are The Huffington Post for 2007 CEO salaries, and HR Reported data as of January, 2008 for Los Angeles, CA as found on Salary.com. Design by PaperCut.

Writer's Strike - Not Over Yet

After four months of the WGA on active strike, headlines state that it's all nearing an end. Not exactly. Not yet anyway, according to the United Hollywood site. The amount of work needed to be done as far as agreement terms are concerned are far from over.

Consider the amount of power currently held by the WGA:

1. According to Medialifemagazine.com, advertiser's spent $9.3 billion in last year's network TV. That's $9.3 BILLION. If the networks can't deliver the amount of guaranteed viewership due to the strike, the networks need to either give the advertiser's their money back or giveaway free makeup spots to compensate the loss in revenue.

2. Award ceremonies. The writer's strike hold all the cards to keep the Oscars alive this year. Many have seen the impact of what can happen with the past Golden Globes. Many dollars are invested in the ceremonies - especially the Oscars. The Golden Globes cost Los Angeles alone over $80 MILLION in revenue loss.

3. Paradigm shift. Again, the longer the holdout, the easier it is for regular folks to find out how much they love online viewing and independent productions. From news, movies that find distribution, webisodes and more digital content from social media, the viewership online is one that hasn't found its true potential yet.

So I'm pretty sure that the WGA knows the strength it has in its people and in its fight. I think it's safe to say that unless they feel absolutely confident in an agreement to terms with the studios, that they'll continue to fight for the long haul. Read up on some of the agreement details at Variety

10MPH Documentary

From Hunter Weeks and Josh Caldwell comes a very interesting premise for a documentary - riding a personal transport vehicle across the country. A Segway to be exact. They call their filmmaking debut 10mph which is the speed that they travel from Seattle to Boston as they embark on a cross-country journey while riding a Segway that not only takes them, but also takes us through the country's heartland, colorful citites, different terrain and most importantly different walks of life.

You can download the movie for free here.

The Big Game vs. Shiro's Head

Staying with the one year production birthday theme, I found this pic from our production photos. This is how I spent last year's Super Bowl. Good ol' Durwin let us borrow the 13" that you see in the background. We used it for our monitor while capturing footage. But this particular day, even though I was invited to some SB parties, I stayed in and used it to watch the game as I took care of business with Shiro's Head pre-production notes. And yes, I used a plastic chair for my desk...which Don borrowed from Nick.

One Year of DIY Commitment

Happy Production Birthday
It's officially been a year since Shiro's Head went into its production phase. To some, a year may seem like an inflated amount of time needed to produce a no-budget movie, I know it was to me - at least initially. But then I think back on the journey and remind myself that this was a two-man, no-holds barred, do-it-yourself team. No budget, no special industry pull...just two guys with an idea and acting on it.

Just Do It
I'm reminded at how quickly Don and I began shooting on location and all of the uncertainties that we faced, not knowing if the production would actually materialize or fizzle. Not knowing if we'd find a cast, much less a committed one. But we took the chance - and it paid off.

Because of the production, we found the coolest, most talented and committed group that we could've ever asked for. We were so grateful! Even under the circumstances of a small, DIY project, these folks wanted to be a part of it and committed themselves every single day. Some would think that such a thing would be impossible on such a small project. But I'm glad to say that it's true. Tons of people lent a helping hand in the production one way or the other and the support is just mindblowing. Although Don and I put in a lot of hard work on the production of Shiro's Head, sometimes the stars were aligned and we just got lucky.

Land Hoooooo!
Fast forward a year later and the movie is chugging along. However, the 12 hour shoot days, the sugar-free "Rockstar" breaks and expensive phone cards have been replaced with 12 hour editing days, countless foley sessions and score. Since wrapping production and entering post production, Don and I have been at the helm everyday since; trying our best to move this vessel forward towards its destination.

We're almost there.

So to all the cast and those that have helped behind the scenes... Si Yu'us Ma'ase! The best is yet to come.

2008 SAG Award Winners

In a time when the movies that are being released are more story-based (There Will be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Little Miss Sunshine, Atonement, Juno, etc.), vs. CGI FX based (LOTR, King Kong, Harry Potter, Spider-Man, etc.), it's refreshing to see that specific level of talent has emerged and in some cases re-emerged (Josh Brolin, Daniel Day-Lewis) onto the movie scene.

You can view the complete list of the 2008 SAG winners here and listen to sound bites from acceptance speeches here.