What I missed

For the last two weeks I have been working on the sound design for How I Got Lost and living in New York. And there isn't any place like New York. People ask me, "oh, no shit, Los Angeles? How's the working out?" It's great, but yknow it's not New York. And they nod. They know it isn't. But I don't really think you appreciate New York living here. Or at least I stopped, in the crucial part of my imagination where I imagined New York was a romantic place.

And that's what my movie's about. The romantic part of New York. But in the movie the character Jake ends up still back in New York, having conquered something. But I'm not Jake. I'm not a sportswriter, or an actor, or an idea, the way the character of Jake is. I am just who I am.

I have been drinking a lot in New York and enjoying it with the people I love. It has been a very, very good trip.

I mentioned in my last post that I sent out a VHS of the movie to dozens of people. I received a lot of replies, and in the last three weeks I made big changes that I wouldn't have been able to make if I hadn't had at least one person call who hated it, one person who was confused, and one person who loved a few little things in it. Part of the process of every movie being finished should include and absorb the responses you get, positive and negative, to your project. That's my theory. It's funny getting feedback because you really have to consider: is this person right, or wrong? And of course, am I right or wrong? It's always a toss-up and once again you have to make these crucial decisions. I decided on a catch phrase for the movie. "It doesn't matter where you're going." This is partially because there was some feedback that the movie didn't know where it was going.

Most feedback is 100% right, but it's always from a perspective, and always pretty personal. That's how all the feedback I give is anyway.

For the last two weeks I have been pretending I live in New York still. It has been wonderful. But now tomorrow morning I have to leave and get back to work in LA. I don't mind so much. But it's hard packing up an apartment.

For the last two weeks I have been finishing my movie with Dom, one of my best friends and one of the people I value working with most. It has been great.

I will miss New York until I'm back in November.