A Busy Screenwriter is a Happy Screenwriter

Hello, there, Constant Reader. 

As you know, I have been collaborating with my high school friend and (now) actor-director Juan Carlos Hernandez on some of his new short-film projects. We have, in fact, been trying to join forces creatively for a decade now, but after I co-wrote a screenplay ("After the Ball") with Juan in 2009, my mom's last illness caused me to shift priorities and I had to stop working on another project ("Gym Rats") because I had way too much on my plate at the time.

"After the Ball" never got made; Juan and his wife Adria couldn't get financing for it, so that, folks, was that. Same happened to "Gym Rats." So Juan decided to focus on his acting career (which is not as glam or fun as it seems to outsiders), as well as being there for his wife and son, Anthony.

Long story short, this year Juan decided to get back to making films, this time with a digital camera. This year, we have collaborated on three projects:

1. "A Simple Ad," which I conceived and wrote on my own
2. "Clown 345," to which I contributed the middle section
3. "Happy Days Are Here Again," a comedy-drama that I'm working on at present

About "Happy Days Are Here Again".....

I wrote the screenplay for that in June; it took me about a week from start to finish (it's intended to be a 25-minute film). I wrote it quickly because I thought Juan was going to shoot it last month, but he decided to shoot "Clown 345" first. "Happy Days Are Here Again" was supposed to be next, but one of our three actors had to go overseas for a college drama studies-related gig, so we had to postpone the shoot.

This means, of course, that if we want to make "Happy Days Are Here Again " this year, i need to rewrite the script a bit. Not a lot, but it will have to be adjusted for the fall season and one key scene totally rewritten.

So, between that and my blog, I'll be pretty busy this week.