All I want for Christmas is a budget...

Principle cast is in place, and we've got a great group of talented actors. We've had to turn down many superb actors, but that's part of the game. I am excited about our cast and I think they will carry this movie a long way.

The cart may have been placed before the horse with the cast being named before any part of the budget is in place. I am confident we will have money soon which will lift a huge burden off my shoulders. I have been working with a talented attorney who raised the money for "A Prairie Home Companion," and his insight and guidance have been wonderful. This is a very low-budget movie by Hollywood standards, but we're still looking at more money than I've ever seen. Shooting a movie is not cheap, and in order to compete with the big boys, you have to have some money in place. And we will.

So, aside from casting, all my effort has been going into creating a fundraising plan. Did I just say "all my effort?" Ha! So much of that effort is actively going into distracting myself from working on the fundraising plan. The creative side of producing is great - assembling a talented team of cast and crew, working out story details, shooting the movie - but the business side, which makes up probably 95% of producing, sucks. For me anyway. But the more difficult the journey, the more rewarding the destination, right? Right.

At any rate, things are moving along. Slowly, but surely. Hence the time between blog entries. I will continue to update as often as it seems worthwhile. When the movie gets more momentum, I hope the blog gets more visitors. Ultimately, I hope the movie finds commercial success and that people are curious enough about the movie making process to take a look at these old entries. If that's the case, I hope people will learn something along the way. After all, I still have a heart for teaching, even if it's not in the classroom anymore.

For now, I plan to enjoy Christmas. God bless!

- Justen