Action!: Catching up.

I haven't had a chance to post about what I've been up to the last several weeks, so I will catch up here.

• Helped with casting for a Lifetime channel movie, and met the screenwriter. Very friendly, and seemed willing to talk with me about my projects.   
• I was an extra for a theme park commercial (which will air, locally, in the spring).
• And an extra for a short film about religious freedom, which will air soon.
• Then I was selected for a photo shoot to be used in a training program. (It was fun to experience being in still photos, rather than video.)
• I attended the screening of Christmas Oranges. I was an extra in that film (see post: Extra again.) and was pleased to see that I didn't hit the cutting room floor entirely.  
• I am nearly finished retyping my second screenplay into my screenwriting software. I planned to edit and rewrite as I typed but decided to type it as is...in its first draft. I think it's important to see the difference between the first draft and completed work. (A good way to measure progress.) It's painful, at times, typing it as is. I see so many areas I want to change, and think, "Good grief, that scene needs major work." But I take comfort that first drafts are always "poo."  I'm anxious to begin the actual re-write.
• I've made time to watch movies! I know, I know. Don't faint. DVDs arrive in the mail and aren't condemned to sit on the counter for a month. Miraculous! I don't have time to write a full "Take" on each one of them, but I'm preparing a post with MINI TAKEs. Tune in next Tuesday for that. Some of the films I've watched the last couple months:

• The Gumball Rally (1976)
• The Wedding Planner (2001)
• Mission Impossible III (2006)
• Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
• The Princess Bride (1987)
• Men in Black 3 (2012)
• Valentine's Day (2010)
• What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
• The Italian Job (2003)
• The Iron Lady (2011)
• Tower Heist (2011)
• and, of course, Christmas Oranges (2012)

There. See? I'm taking action toward my goals. It seems like I've done a lot of "extra" work, and some of my friends get confused, thinking that acting is my goal. But I do little acting gigs to earn some cash. I tell people, "Acting supports my writing habit."