Last Week I get a text from an actor that was supposed to be in one of my scenes in Dead Giveaway. The actor in question texted and emailed me promoting an album he's putting out. Now this wasn't the first time I got a text from this person but I found it ballsy that this actor who flaked on me kept texting and emailing yours truly like it was no big thing. I could no longer be silent on this so the next time he hit me up I reminded him about the shoot he missed. What does this particular actor do?

Imagine doing a shoot which you had in your head would last about five to six hours. Now imagine unforeseen circumstances occurring that are beyond your control which forces your shoot to go over the extended time. You become frustrated and the natives get restless and one of the members of the tribe says, "I need to leave." Or "Do you still need me because I have other stuff to do?"

During my first film I had scenarios such as these spring up on me and let me add these weren't the kind of situations I wanted to be a part of.

You know what the hardest part of this movie is? Being the bad guy. When you're the bad guy you're in positions where you have to do things like tell an actor you're recasting their role, tell an actor that you're reducing their scenes or fire crew people and get rid of interns. In short you're forced to do things that may be looked upon as unpopular, cruel and evil but in the long run its for the greater good of the movie. It was hard because me like all human beings has the desire to be liked and be friends with everyone.

Aside from casting, screenplay and cinematography, you what makes the film? Location. Yes, locations are that key piece and are just big of a character as the actors you cast in your film. If I had to think of a difficulty I had with locations it would have to be either people reneging on their permission to use their locations or location owner not keeping the area which you reserved shut off to the public. Since I'm all about helping the next crop of filmmakers that come behind yours truly I decided to share what I learned in regards to locations.

When I use to work as a camp counselor I remember my boss saying to me that negativity is like a brush fire, it spreads quickly.  I reflected on that very statement when I was filming Dead Giveaway: The Motion Picture. There were some days on the set where I had to deal with a negative actor or negative crew member and being concerned about their cynicism spreading throughout the set. When you're shooting a movie you're dealing with all kinds of frustration but the last thing you want to deal with is someone with a negative disposition.

Hey future filmmakers, you know what an actor's best friend is? No it's not a script! Nope it's not the camera either! Give up? It's Google!!!!!! You see around my parts Google is the universal friend of a lot of actors. You newbie coming up in filmmaking people like to Google you and find out what you did prior or if you have arecord deal(CORI check). It's a frustrating process but no one said doing a film and putting it together was easy. So here are some tips to make Google work for you.

You know what my wish is for my next movie? I wish the next time I interview someone for a role or a crew position that they'll have the same polite and courteous demeanor throughout the whole project. I wish the actor that was an ace in rehearsal won't be a disappointment when the cameras roll. I wish the person that says they're "your boy" or they "got your back" would live up to their word. I wish the people I meet in this business don't have an ulterior motive.  I wish the people you gather for a project would be on the same page.

Her name was "Sheila" and she was from Dedham MA. She came to the audition wearing a button down sweater that revealed her bustline. She was wearing fishnet stockings and payless pumps. "Shelia" was looking at her compact mirror and applying her lipstick. The script was on her lap. She was so confident that the role was hers that she felt she could walk right in and we hand it to her.

As the producer, director and screenwriter of this project I have should have a colossal ego! I should be like King Kong stepping over people and snatching a blonde and climbing the Empire State Building. In fact I should be on ego trip so high that I should have frequent flyer miles. Did I have such an Ego? Nope. In all reality I was humble and from what I learned in this business (even if you're at the bottom) humility is taken as a weakness. I mean, if you're not cocky or very arrogant people think you don't have balls.

So last night I get a call from an actor who'll remain nameless about the impending release date of Dead Giveaway: The Motion Picture.  I get asked not once but twice about when the movie's coming out. This is no big deal to me as people haven't forgotten the movie and its still fresh in people's minds. Some facebook pages I check out that are devoted to indie films share the editing process of their movies. I'm just letting you know that there's nothing I find more tedious then posting around the clock reports on editing.