Ladies & Gentlemen: The Final Draft.

On the perfectly-numbered 7th draft we have a winner. A balance of all things we've wanted from the very beginning. Subtle yet intense. Ambiguous but clear. At about 18 minutes (which should keep us at a 20-minute projection reel with credits) we have our final draft.

Now, as Chris said, "Let's find a spot and shoot this fucker!" No better words could possibly be said. So onward and upward.

I found the $200 left over from my Christmas bonus two years back that was being held onto for tattoos. Since we're pretty tight on cash until the folks close and we get our check, I'm "donating" the cash to myself (don't ask) and buying the origami book to get started on the angels. Once I have the book and I have a decent angel made, I can get some photography cooking and get the promotional materials going and drum up some interest in this crazy thing.

Meeting of the Minds

This afternoon saw the first real discussion between myself, Chris, Kurt and Matt about the script and actual production. Still some fine-tuning to do and the hunt for a location is on. It might be tough to find the perfect location, but it's out there. And to find a set designer to help things along as well. Good, good talk and some good Mexican food to boot.

Kurt's officially on board as director of photography, which makes me very happy, because I know he can bring a style to this thing that will make it super great. Plus, being a director himself, Kurt's an awesome guy to have on set.

Greenlight October 1st

The official start of pre-production is set for October 1st. That's when the first (hopefully not the last) wave of cash will come in. In the meantime the script is getting some fine-tuning and we'll be working on the budget to see how much it will take to get to a rough cut.

We have a producer

Matt Wilkinson of Abe Froman Productions (who did the last two UMC spots) has agreed to be the producer for "The Bet." Very exciting news indeed. Matt's knowledge and experience (not to mention his sense of humor) are going to be great assets creating the film.

Additionally, there's a lead on a director of photography (fingers crossed) who could bring some amazing talent to the project.

On the script front, draft 4 is done and waiting some fine tuning. Initial repsonses have been mostly positive, with a few flags thrown up in places that we kind of expected. Hopefully all the little problems will be ironed out shortly.

“The Bet” Lands a Producer

Matt Wilkinson of Abe Froman Productions (who did the last two UMC spots which Michael Dunn created) has agreed to produce “The Bet.” Very exciting news indeed. Matt’s knowledge and experience (not to mention his sense of humor) are going to be great assets creating the film.