07.20.07
Heavy Edits
I was thinking about this quote from Teddy Roosevelt:
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
Chris, my longest standing friend in the world, turned me onto that quote years ago, and it fits perfectly about what I’m doing with my life and the direction it seems to be heading…
In the past 3 days, I have spent a little over 24 hours with The Director, on what has proven to be some of the hottest, most humid days of the year, editing ‘Sovereignty’. We just kept cranking out from late afternoon to the wee hours of the morning. And sat back last night and watched the first rough edit.
(In my attempts to be a better person, I’ve been trying to temper my foul mouth, thinking that one can express oneself far more eloquently without using expletives. Not this time.)
Un-FUCKING-Believable.
The look, the acting, the pacing - it all fell together into a juggernaut - this film is going to make people roll on the floor laughing and bawl their eyes out - all in the span of twenty minutes.
And this is just a rough cut. No sound effects, no soundtrack, more editing to be done, the opening and the final credits aren’t even done yet. And still, its one of the most amazing things I’ve ever been a part of. I was telling this to Shannon the Baker the other day, of everything I’ve done as a creative person, I’m most proud to have my name attached to this one particular piece.
I was burning the rough cut to DVD, and rendering out a Quicktime move to send to the composer, when I got an email from The Director:
“Thanks again for everything. I cannot thank you
enough. You are invaluable and I am in your debt.”
No Sir. I am indebted to you. For inviting me on this journey. For pushing my abilities and my talents far beyond anything I had previously thought possible, for perhaps some of the greatest triumphs (and tragedies) I’ve ever experienced. Nothing has come close. For showing me the path that I’m on, and having the time of my life being on.
Re-read that Roosevelt quote; we’re about to win a very glorious triumph.
