Sami had a hot date, so we had to get his scenes done quick. The amazing thing about Haj is the guy is very talented. He comes with a clear idea of how to play the part, and he takes direction SO well and so quick. It's just "hey Haj, this time look THAT way and say it THIS way" and BAM! He knows exactly how to do it. He was great in Spade, but watch out for him this time around. He's playing a character type that has never been portrayed before in any medium to my knowledge. It's not an easy task. Judging from the first day, he's got the innocence, spontaniety, cheerfulness and directness the part demands. Wait until you see actual clips, he does better than I'm describing. And fast! It takes barely any time to film him.

Michael Backus and Layth Al-Khatti (sorry if I mispelled) played 2 cops. After trying the scene a few times, I've switched Layth to another part. Not because he did bad, but because originally Mike and Ed Finn were to reprise their idiot roles from 'Spade on the River', but Ed was called into work. Ed just has this odd comic energy that works very well alongside Mike.

I shot my scenes after all this, and then reshot them the next day. As a matter of fact, I'm reshooting some of them again tomorrow. It's hard for me to find the right mix. My character is inept, but not stupid, he's childish and innocent but so selfish. Very zany. But how do I reach the audience with my performance? My job is to make a good lovable goof the audience can laugh at and partially relate to. Sounds so cliche', but only about 5 comics have ever been able to pull it off succesfully: Lou Costello (Who Done It, many more), Steve Martin (The Jerk), Buster Keaton (Seven Chances), Chris Farley (Tommy Boy), and I hate to say it but Adam Sandler (The Waterboy). Jim Carrey has never tried, neither did Chaplin really. Jerry Lewis can hardly be called loveable. I gotta make this a character people remember long after seeing the movie. Countless comics have failed. Corky Romano was horrible, Master of Disguise, Dumb and Dumberer are some recent examples. What made those characters so terrible? Corky was quirky without humor or any semblace of connection to the audience. He was mere spectacle. I gotta mix the right amount of zane with humanity.

There were a few times I went a little Jim Carrey and a few times I went a bit Steve Martin. However, I can see something original happening in there some places. There's a great performance hidden somewhere in what I'm trying, and I hope I can find it during the course of the movie. Some parts are easy, some parts are insanely hard. The easy part is the physically hard part: I get to fall, run into things, get beat up, jump over banisters, flip around, and my favorite moment will be when I fight myself (well, Kitsy, but he's invisible). I am so comfortable and secure in that area of acting. I really believe I am more willing, and can do it better, than anybody else. Even if somebody else has the talent to do it, I doubt he would really be willing to risk serious injury or death for a stupid movie. This is one of the reasons I'm so confident about this movie, I know it will entertain, because I know I can entertain in that way. If the rest of the movie sucks, people will still laugh everytime I do a stunt. It's the REST that's hard.

I still don't think I'm a very good ACTOR. I think I'm a very capable actor, but I've done virtually nothing to polish my skills. I just rest on whatever talent God has given me and energy. But hopefully I'll learn, and this is ideal for me, because I can hide behind the pratfalls. Maybe one day I'll actually be able to entertaing people without pulling myself inside out.

SHOUTOUT TO THE CREW!
Ron Rhinehart is the man. He's my DP, AD, or whatever initials you wanna stick on it. He's also done a few movie of his own, including translating King Lear into a feature film. He did that in HIGH SCHOOL! What was I doing in High School? Trying to put together wierd film noir projects with lines like "murder is a game nobody wins." Ron has great camera work, an eye for the camera and a nose for the script. Too bad he doesn't have a mouth, it makes him look kinda odd and he has to talk from his ears. Alas, nobody is perfect and who am I to judge?

Kaleen Woods rocks. She's the cinematographer, does all the lighting and occasionally sound and the clapper. She's always on time, she has a good sense of humor and generally makes things lighter on set. She doesn't take away from anything in any way, which is absolutely ideal. She brings nothing but positives. I'm so blessed to have cool people helping me out.

Nate Archer!!! My homie from Spade is back on the set. I'm impressed at how much Nate has helped me out behind BEHIND the scenes if that makes sense. He knows a lot about people and history, and kinda tells me ways to be a more effective leader. He also looks a lot like a cartoon character. He's frickin funny, every day he makes me laugh hard at least once. Everybody on set loves him (except Kaleen, who secretely despises him and is currently plotting, well... I shouldn't say). He also plays Tony.

And finally I thank God for providing all this. I'm looking forward to a great few months of shooting. This one has all the tools to be great, it's just a matter of putting in the work. The end result will be way worth it.