March 27, 2003

I’ve been trying to write a screenplay on and off for over a year now. It is without a doubt the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to do. It’s way harder than that whole Netboot thing I was working on for 2 and a half months. I’ve gone through a few ideas and I’ve settled on one that excites me and that I can’t get out of my head.

Now here’s the crazy part.
I’m going to apply for the Sundance Feature Film Program.

In order to apply I’ve got to submit my application along with the first five pages of my screenplay by May 1, 2003. If you make it to the second round, you’ve got to submit the rest of the screenplay right away. So the whole thing has to be pretty much done by May 1. One of the only things that gives me hope is that I’ve been working on characters, settings, and the plot for a while now. So it’s not like I’m starting from scratch today. Of course I don’t have even one page of a script written yet. The other thing that I’m taking as a “sign” is that yesterday I was working on my idea and thinking about this declaration and then I ran into Jimmy Mendiola at Taco Haven. Jimmy is a filmmaker from San Antonio who I know through a couple of mutual friends. He got accepted to the Sundance program a couple of years ago and has offered to advise me in applying. I thought he was in L.A. and I didn’t have a number for him but when I went to pick up my tacos, low and behold, there he was. So I’m calling it a sign.
So that’s enough procrastination – back to work.