My New Organic Desk
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Billy Joel's "An Innocent Man"
watched "Primal Fear," "Little Voice," and "Benny & Joon." all excellent movies. each in their own right. very different films, but i thoroughly enjoyed each. if you're a fan of Ed "Fight Club" Norton, check out his first acting gig in "Primal Fear." can't get enough of Ewan MacGregor, Michael Caine and/or British comedies that revolve around music? "Little Voice" is for you. ever hear of Johnny Depp? go watch "Benny & Joon" and marvel at his Buster Keaton-esque moves.

went and saw "War of the Worlds" on Saturday night. excellent flick. Spielberg is still the king. wow. i was on the edge of my seat the entire time, despite having read the book numerous times growing up. perfectly realized. if you haven't seen it, go see it!


my boss/supervisor Rob Howell recently had to take his laptop into the shop so he's moved into my office and taken over my desk, installing programs he insists i need but have never used nor felt the need for. as such, i'm forced to lean against the wall and do what work i can on my laptop, which is in my lap (my new organic desk).

i'm a little put-out over Independence Day. Chattanooga celebrates it on July 3rd (do they know something i don't?). thus making July 4th just an odd day off from work for mowing the lawn. if we had it my way, we'd celebrate Independence Day on October 19 (when, in 1781, the British surrendered, thus securing our independence -- because, really, if we lost the war, July 4th would hold no relevance). but i'm okay with July 4th as long as we do it up right. but now we shoot of the firework on the 3rd?! WHAT IN THE WORLD?!

oh well. when i take over the world, that'll be the first thing to see change -- actually, it'll be the second. i have to get my face on the dollar bill.

A Message for Henry Vrolijk
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: John Williams' "Battle of the Heroes" from his score to "Episode III"
yes, you have reached T Scott Fogg of San Pasqual Academy's blog. yes, you are welcome here. yes, all your base are belong to us.

for those of you who aren't Vrolijk, well i can't really help that. you should have been. you really missed out. but on to relevant!

beat Medal of Honor: Rising Sun last night. it's the third game in a row i've beaten, not realizing i was on the last level and being a little disappointed in the ending (the others being Halo 2 and Enter the Matrix). i've had the games since their release dates but haven't had time to play them till recently (how sad is that?!). anyway. Halo 2 had a great cinematic ending, but even that felt like an in-between levels movie. i didn't realize i had beaten the game until the credits were rolling. same with MOH last night. oh well. it's not like i'm going to boycott the next installment in these beloved franchises. i'll own all of 'em. next up on the Xbox? Max Payne. never played and found it used for 5$.

but if you're a computer game programmer and you're reading this, PLEASE, let's go back a decade or so when you played a video game and you were on the last level, you knew it. the level/mission/dungeon/castle would start off with a sense of impending doom. there was a gravity to it. if you can't remember this far back, go play Chrono Trigger as a refresher course.

i digress.

meeting with Stephen Lamb for lunch today to discuss the film's score. watched it a couple of times last night and there's some editing i need to do still. need to tighten it up a bit. there's a few beats that could be stronger. overall, i'm very pleased with the product (as it stands). i only hope that it serves it purpose, which is to ask people the question, not give them the answer.

the question?
"The First Commandment says 'I am the Lord thy God. You will have no other gods before Me.' What does that mean to you? Does it apply today? Was that a rule created by the Hebrew god to weed out the Israelites' gods they had brought from Egypt? Why is this a Commandment?"

i'm just not sure that line of reasoning is there. the film may be a little too subtle. oh well. let's see if Stephen can save it with his score!

Ode to the Taco Bell Girl
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: Alan Silvestri's "Back to the Future III" score

we wrapped on "Respect" last night. LOL. that's a sentence that you can write and more clearly express what you're saying than by actually saying it. if i told someone we wrapped last night, they would probably think we rapped last night. ah, phonetics, comedy gold!

but confusing phonetics aside, the shoot went amazingly. i think we accomplished more shots last night than we ever have (not combined, mind you). we were a well-oiled machine that set up, shot, tore down, set up, shot, tore down. i gotta tip my hat to Morgan who did her routine ad nauseum so i could get the shots i wanted. thankfully, it was not hard (at all) to make her look good. she's a very talented gymnast.

all the footage is capturing right now. i began editing yesterday, as we filmed the beginning and the end the night before and it's gonna turn out good. after i edit it, i'll pass off the video to Stephen Lamb, who's onboard to compose a score for it. i love this stuff. i might complain about it, but nothing feels so completing as to work on a film.

but that actually wasn't the highlight of my day. yesterday, between work and the shoot, i was STARVING. starving and running late. i didn't have time to run home and make supper, so i swung by Taco Bell's drive thru. i ordered two bean burritos, nachos, and a medium Dr Pepper and pulled up to the window.

"Four thirty-three," said the window clerk.

I checked my wallet. I only had two ones, a five dollar coupon to Media Play, and a two dollar and one cent voucher for McKay's. I handed her my debit card. She handed me my Dr Pepper.

She leaned back out the window and handed me my food. But not my debit card. She disappeared back through her window and didn't return for a moment. When the windows opened again, she leaned out, holding my card.

"Your card has been declined. I think its our machine, it's been doing this to people today. Do you have another card or any money?"

My stomach growled and my heart plummeted. "I only have two dollars."

She glanced over her shoulder. "Gimme the two dollars."

"What?" I gasped. "Are you sure?"

"My manager's in the back." She whispered. "Don't tell anyone."

I handed over my two dollars and lock eyes with her. "You're amazing."

She smiled and winked. "Get outta here before you get me fired."

Which I did.

now mind you, this is a total stranger. i'm sure some of you are chalking this up to my dashing good looks, winning personality, or my oh-so-witty comedic humour, but i know the truth. i'm a balding shmoe she doesn't know from Adam -- or atom. not really sure what that phrase is, only know what it means.

as i drove off, i prayed that God would return the favour she bestowed on me. i prayed that He would bless her. there's not enough good people in the world. people who are willing to help out poor film graduates. i know a lot of people would have just smiled at me and thrown the food away. but not her. she took what i had and gave me what i needed.

thank-you, Taco Bell Window Clerk. you have restored and renewed my faith in humanity. and secured me as a life-long Taco Bellian.

Read this and Win 500$
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: Lindsay Lohan's "Rumors"

if you act now, you can win a 500$ gift certificate at any participating Denny's* or Waffle House**! all you have to do is read this blog and respond within fifteen (15) minutes of it being posted and you're on your way to spending five-hundred (500) dollars ($)!

this incredible offer i'm . . . uh, offering was inspired by an offer i recently received. i thought it to be such a good idea, i should share the wealth. good luck!

filming went amazingly last night. we completed the opening shots as well as all the dialog. tonight we'll be focusing on her gymnastic routine. as soon as i finish this blog, i'm gonna start capturing the footage and subsequently begin editing what i can.

how poor of an independent filmmaker am i? should i choose you to be in my film, you may be so lucky as to by me and the rest of the cast and crew pizza, as actor Phillip Graham did last night! thank-you Phillip!

the much postponed meeting with David Rodney is going down today at 1pm. here's hoping we have a wonderful partnership spawn from this!

anyway, time for me to dash off. i'm all jittery and jazzed on coffee and it's at times like this i need to get work done, before the caffeine goes bye-bye and i'm useless to everyone.



* "Denny's" is not to be confused with the popular semi-fast food chain, but is actually Denny MacIntyre's Basement of Frivolous Fun and is located at 5231 Silver Lane, Apison TN.

** "Waffle House" is not at all a reference to the popular truck stop place of dining, but rather "Martha's Incredible Edible Waffle House," which will be built as soon as the batter thickens.

Rehearsal A-Go-Go
Mood:  smelly
Now Playing: Ennio Morricone's "Passeggiata In Paese" from his score for "Malena"

dramatic and gymnastic rehearsal for "Respect" went very well last night. i'm extremely excited about the visuals we'll be pulling off with this film. it will be the most visual project i've ever worked on. most of my scripts rely on the dialouge to tell the story or to reveal the characters. this one is almost entirely non-verbal and has everything to do with what you see. tonight we shoot and tomorrow we shoot, unless we do exceptionally well tonight and get everything done in one night -- which isn't that outlandish of a thought, considering the script is a whopping three pages.

the visuals have presented an interesting challenge to Brian and i, as we are poor film students (or rather, poor film school graduates) and we don't really have any fancy-shmancy equipment. so we're stealing a page out of Robert Rodriguez's book and are using a wheelchair for our dolly shots. for our lower dolly shots, we're using a little something i like to call "the Marty McFly dolly," which really just constitutes of strapping the camera to a skateboard and pulling it. the nicest equipment we have is the Panasonic DVX we're shooting with and the jib we found on e-bay for 10$. when you don't have a studio throwing money at you, you have to get creative, which is half the fun. the other half of the fun, for me, is writing it. and the other half is casting it. and then directing it. and watching it be edited into the film.

i have begun The Poor Man's Diet. i don't usually do diets, especially the fad ones, but this one seems to work. it's been tested throughout the ages, being put to especially good use in Ireland around the turn of the century and there are places in Africa where they are still using it en masse. but basically, the way it works is: no money = no food = no unslightly weight gain. i'll keep you posted on how well it works or doesn't work. i'd hate to be the instigator behind a fad diet that doesn't work out.

and since i know you like them so much, here's some pictures from last night's rehearsal:

Sadtimes in Scott Town
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: Bon Jovi's "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"
okay not really.

i came into work today, made my way to the kitchen, and found not one, but two pots of cold coffee. someone forgot to brew a fresh pot. i swore under my breath "sad times strike Scott Town," but then i remembered . . .

today's our anniversary! four years ago today Kelly and I shared our first kiss. awww . . . and now we're getting married -- December 18th! mark your calender! to commemorate this day, i will share our first picture together. i took it on the porch of my cabin (Cherokee!) at camp:

also, if you have seven minutes free, check out this exclusive Internet teaser-trailer for Cameron Crowe's latest film, "Elizabethtown," starring Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom. i love Cameron Crowe's flicks. his style is one that i connect to and would love to emulate within my own. his connection with human emotion is astounding. be sure to check it out. and if you have no idea who Cameron Crowe is, go watch "Almost Famous."

When the Cake is Stale
Mood:  chatty
Now Playing: Foo Fighter's "Still"

MU-WAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!! i got the last of the birthday cake! even if it had completely dried out and the only redeeming factor it had was that it took the bite out of the bitterly black coffee i was sipping on, i got the last piece! ENVY ME!!

this ends Scott's power trip of the day. tune in tomorrow when he robs the offering plate, accusing church goers they owe him ten percent of their income.

we're shooting a voice over test today for the IVF DVD. i have to convince the powers that be that i do know what i'm doing and that my casting decisions can be trusted.

pre-production on the first of the short films is nearing completion. we have a dramatic and gymnastic rehearsal on Monday and then we begin shooting on Tuesday! wish us luck!

pray for Ripple Productions. we're going through a defining (or re-defining, depending on who you talk to). the next couple of weeks are going to be very, very big for Ripple as we make decisions about where we're headed.

Have a great weekend!
-Scott "Carb Conquistador" Fogg

Magic Hour
Mood:  cheeky
Now Playing: Chris Gaines' "Right Now"

i can't explain it. it's just a natural occurance. but it doesn't matter how tired i was, how little sleep i received the night before, but when i hit 10am, i wake up and life is good.

i love when we have birthdays in the office. once a month, we celebrate everyone who was born that month. we buy a huge cake and have it at lunch. they always buy a cake that is half chocolate and half . . . white -- vanilla, i guess? sugary frosting, the whole nine yards. the cake is so big that no matter how big they cut it, there's always cake left over. that cake sits in the kitchen, waiting for someont to consume it or at least keep it company. during the "birthday week," as i like to call it, i come into work, pour myself a cup of coffee, and have a slice of cake. there are much worse ways to start a day.

i'm about to buzz outta the office, i have much to do and less time to do it in. i have to sort out costuming for "Respect," i have to make sure the actors can make it to rehearsal, have to coordinate transportation of our lights, have to test the lights and have to go down to Tenessee Temple to inspect their theatre, as we may be moving our venue there -- they at least want us to perform That You May Believe there. we shall see.

The Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Jan Hammer's "Crockett's Theme" from the "Miami Vice" score

you may caught this, i just wanted to let all my fans (both of you) know that i'm in litigation to clear this misunderstanding up. i'm not dead.

:) isn't that great? if you'd like to see your name in the headlines, click here and then click on "newspaper prank." follow the directions and soon you'll be facing a gristly death!

enjoy!

Red Light, Green Light
Mood:  sharp
Now Playing: Kylie Minogue's "Love At First Sight"

the film industry is a very stop and go process. so much so it can drive ya' nuts. take right now for example. last week, my life was a whirlwind as i raced to finish the script for the IVF video. now that it's finished, i wait. i wait for script approval, i wait for casting decisions to be made, i wait for people to get back in touch with me. there's little to nothing i can do right now. but that could all change in the matter of a moment, when someone walks in and says "we have her, let's do it." and BAM! i'm off. this is why i stagger and layer my projects, so when i'm waiting on something to happen, i still have something i can be doing. there's still scripts that need to be written, costumes that need to be found, and actors that need to be contacted.

which is where i'm at right now. i'm waiting till 10am to call anyone, as it is summer and if these actors i'm wanting to call don't have a job, it's just mean to call them before then.

i watched "A Love Song for Bobby Long" yesterday. if you enjoyed Lost in Translation, you'll dig this flick. i did. it takes place in New Orleans and it has a lethargic melancholy to the whole picture that i really enjoyed. there's also a subtly to it that i appreciated.

anyway, gonna go inject another round of coffee into the veins and make some phone calls, ta-ta!