Surreal day...

Interesting day.

I'm still on the "stay up all night - sleep during the day" schedule for when I come back from China. Otherwise - I just end up sick in two different countries. However - it inevitably ends up being that I sort of make it a mix of sleep part way through the day and part way through the night - never committing to either - so that I see my wife and kids and don't make them want to kill me...

Too much...

After staying up all night - I met with Ryan - the other half of my Indian writers group. Although neither of us have been prolific enough to call it a writers group much anymore. Ryan has written a lot this year - but since his marriage... not so much. I continue my quest to sabatoge all good will I generated from my movie by not doing anything. So mostly we get together - solve the problems of the world - and in the case of yesterday - talk about Harry Potter.

Good times, Good times.

Crashed about 11am.

Woke up last night and the wife was determined for us all to go see Ratatouille - which I really want to see. I love Pixar and still believe they haven't made a misstep yet - and the reviews of the film sounded incredible - but everyone had seen it but me - and so I suggested the Simpson's Movie instead.

She agreed. Reluctantly.

I talked with two people yesterday about the appropriateness of the film for kids - and I didn't really hear any red flags - but I should have just used my head and thought better.

The movie is hillarious. Wildly so. I laughed harder and louder than anyone in the theater. But there is a lot of content that flies by really fast that is probably not best for little kids. My kids - like all kids that get to see something they know they wouldn't get to see otherwise - loved it. My wife slugged me. She wasn't too happy with me or my discernment.

While the movie is wonderful - with the benefit of hindsight - we would have stuck with our first choice - and gone to the Simpson's on our own.

Where else can you hear the line "why do all the thing I whip end up leaving me?"

Or my son's favorite "I'm a weiner."

Now a normal post would end here. But this is not a normal post. It is a specially enhanced all night in America post.

After getting home from that - and talking things out with the wife - I climbed back in the car to drive an hour to a real theater with my buddy to go see Bourne Ultimatium at the midnight show.

A long time ago, Shawn and I moved out here to do our movie. In the time since - the movie crashed and burned - Shawn got a real job traveling the world and manipulating global events like a tiny Dick Chaney - and I go to China to do TV shows.

Every now our schedules sync up and we get to do something fun - like seeing a movie. Even if its the midnight movie.

On the way up - my LA producer called. We got call backs from a couple of people interested in the project from an investment side. The big star he had dinner with the other night about another project is interested in my film. The big star we have an offer out to has set a meeting with his manager for today. So there was actually some movement forward. He is really excited and he is pushing it.

Or so he makes it sound - which is all I care.

We saw the movie - which opens today - which is really great. Best finishing film of a trilogy - possibly ever. It is what it is. Hardcore. Serious. Great filmmaking - even with the shaky cam - and great acting. Really great writing - even though there are huge sections of the film without any dialog. Just relentless from start to stop and probably the most existential film series ever done as big action movies go.

Set it self up for a sequel - but ended in a great way for the franchise to be done.

On the way back - Shawn was swept up in events in New Zealand and Australia on his cell phone for most of the ride home.

Hard to believe two losers from Virginia are still making things happen - even on a tiny tiny scale - from a 3000 person town in the middle of nowhere.

Two great films. One you need to go see today. And a really nice time with a great friend. All in all - not too bad.