Less is more

Erin and I recently have started watching ONCE UPON A TIME. Actually, we both started and she cruised on ahead, logging in all the episodes before I knew what hit me. As I've been playing catch up, it's become a running joke for me to imitate Robert Carlyle as Rumpelstiltskin. He does a fine job, but it's quirky in just enough ways to have some fun mimicking. Well, tonight she was telling me about an interview she saw of him and she mentioned his full name and IT HIT!!

I quickly pulled up YouTube to show her this fascinating video. She was ready to head to bed and asked, "How long is it?" to which I replied, "Just watch." She watched the video in its entirety and I marveled at it again and decided I wanted to share the video, but it almost felt wrong to just do so simply by posting a link to it. I then found myself googling the story of it and was even more impressed.

Back in September, I was invited by good friend and fellow deal finder, E-Kan Soong, to attend a Johnnie Walker tasting event.




Having been to a similar event in the past for Dewars, I was excited to check it out, mainly because of the free food that usually accompanies these things. I also was interested to see if I'd get to taste (on someone else's dime) the famous Blue Label. These types of things are fun and if you ever get a chance, you should definitely check one out. I couldn't really handle the Dewars, but it taught me a lot, even if it was simply, "if I don't tough that stuff again, I'll be ok."

We showed up, with mutual friend, John Park, and make our way in, and of course head for some hummus and olives before being brought in to the tasting room.


I got excited...would my JW Blue surface? Would I finally get the famed Johnnie Walker Striding Man Pin? Would they have MORE olives inside?

We sit down and see a few glasses placed before us with labels underneath...it ended at green. Uh oh...not to worry, I hide my concern once I spot a projected screen of some sort of twitter feed. Johnnie Walker had plugged into their twitter hashtag of #johnnieWalker and if you tweeted, it would pop up for everyone to see. I refrained from tweeting, "I drove here from Jersey for #JohnnieWalker Blue. Get it together." I settled for "#johnnieWalker knows how to party" or something equally lame.

Well, in comes the MC of the event and in with him comes his glass of what we could only assume was some Blue JW Juice (or at least I was). Of course he is flanked by a couple of promotional models. Ok, no need to flaunt... See you have more Whisky in your glass than we do in our little tasters in front of us...

At this point, I realize the olives didn't make their way into this room either...it's too late to get up, surely the staff cleared them all out. Sigh. Back to having fun on the twitter screen, "@Mistakan doesn't want anyone to know he is here. Keep this a secret." It flashes on the screen and disappears before E-Kan notices. I laugh.

So the MC, who i was disappointed to discover wasn't Scottish, or at least faking an accent was starting in (Dewars had a Scott in a KILT MC).

He says a few things, but I sense he is holding back. A smirk creeps across his face as he directs our attention to the screen for a movie. The lights dim.

You hear bagpipes and then for the next 6 minutes, I'm completely in awe. Robert Carlyle is on screen in a video that is simply incredible. I hear the guy next to me say, "That steady cam is incredible!" to which I am reminded we are in LA and probably surrounded by people that are appreciating this short film for many of the same reasons I am.



It finishes and I'm hooked. I'll never order another Whisky in my life. I'm then struck by my previous thought of people enjoying this because they are, "in the business." I realize how untrue that would be because not only was I impressed by the single take, the production design, the direction, the SCRIPT, the director of photography, steady cam-op and Robert Carlyle's master class I just witnessed...I was engaged by the entire ad and REMEMBERED everything. The whole thing was a master class!

In a time where our attentions spans are growing shorter and we're adopting, "Less is more" in many ways aside from 140 characters-- this video rises above and succeeds because of the very same sentiment. It IS a six minute video, but I find that just like Erin didn't bring it up again while watching, most people can watch this and just be engaged. I also think that the Johnnie Walker people would be happy to know, their product is also being featured well and the promotion is effective. Kudos to them for taking a risk above a 30 second commercial. It works because, "Less is more." They didn't need fancy editing or any of the other tricks we've grown hip to, and we all have, regardless of profession. It's the reason why you can see something playing from the 30's and point to how, "bad" the special effects are. We've just all grown smarter with technology advances.

I just love everything about this video because of its simplicity. Don't be fooled, it was no easy feat. They shot for two days and did 40 takes of it. The once you see is the very last take of the second day, no probably the last one the fleeting sun would allow. I read a few articles about the shoot and the first day they were having issues with timing of when Robert approaches the wall of TV's. They were in a wrong position and it was forcing him to slow down his walk, while speeding up his dialogue which left him with a very unnatural read during that section and threw off the proceeding parts of the film. They realized and because it took hours to assemble, they had to call the day early to rebuild, losing valuable time. Every prop had to be placed perfectly to time out Roberts speech. The next day Robert showed up and on the very first take, he nailed it in one shot to kick off the day. Every little thing could throw off the entire take, because they committed to not having any cuts/edits in the film. The cow in the short happened to look in the right direction on ONLY that take. It ended up being up there as one of the longest single takes in cinema. There was also apparently a bad case of midges (which I had to google) which are essentially little flies that gather in clouds and bite humans frequently, drawing blood. The crew had their clothes pulled over their heads, but obviously Robert had to carry on without any indication of the swarming pests. So many stories.

Again, it worked because it is simple(not from a technical standpoint), GOOD STORYTELLING. I mentioned the writing earlier and again, it needs to be given another round of recognition, because none of the things I mentioned earlier would make any difference if their goal of selling their brand and giving its backstory wasn't effective. I can't think of many companies that could promote a 6 minute video about the history of their company that would have people lining up to watch.

Well done. When something isn't working...simplify it.

TiLL NeXt TiMe..

Make each moment count.

EDIT- as I was proofing this, I got truly unfortunate news about a family member of one of my dearest loved ones who suddenly pass away. I won't go into details as I'm completely shocked and want to respect everyone involved. It's so in line with this whole blog post it's scary and just want to say, there are more important things than most of what we allow ourselves to be concerned with and I believe family comes first here. Think about them often, let them know you are thinking about them and be grateful for their influence in your life. Forgive me if this post is all over the place or full of errors, as I didn't finish going through to check once I heard the news.

A few nights ago I had this really unsettling dream...I was on my deathbed.

Dreams are always so strange for me. They start one place, or with certain people and before you know it, you are in another part of the world with someone else entirely and it's no big deal. I don't always remember my dreams thoroughly, but this one stuck with me in some ways.

I wanted to write about this for a few days and like everything, there is a time and place. While eating dinner last night, Erin mentioned a story she heard and as she finished the story, I realized that this would be the time to write this blog. Strangely enough, I had also planned to blog about something that happened on Valentines day, but it ties into this dream in a way, so I'll share that here too.

There has been a lot going on it seems. With the ending of 2011, I set some serious goals and mentally focused in on a lot of things, some of which I've shared in some of my other posts here. The year has started off in a bang...In fact, it feels like I've been non stop since late last year. I really have felt the affect of it in different ways. In a physical sense, I've been fighting to stay healthy and fresh. For a few weeks I had a lingering cold, which turned into a flu that wouldn't leave for a week and a half & then I also I caught a stomach flu that set me back a few days. All in all, it's been a careful balancing act to keep everything in order, especially when I had to do the TOUGH MUDDER, which I'll detail in a later blog.





Aside from dealing with being sick (which I've finally kicked!), I've had some amazing blessings lately, which would be the main reason for the crazy couple of months. There have been some big changes, most of all my new representation and a few great gigs in a short period of time that I have worked on or booked to begin shortly. It's been great and I'm really excited for so many things that are going on right now. My new teams have been keeping me super busy, which is great! I've also gotten back into an acting class to polish up and work out some bad habits I've picked up along the way. It's been a few years since I've been in one and I've missed it. Very thankful for what I've been learning. It's been great to learn and be able to put things to use in auditions or on set recently.

I find myself taking on some pressure on the career front as a result. Not horrible, stuff, just things come with the territory mostly.

I'm excited to be busy and value appointments, but it's also important to not get caught up in an outcome. We're told it's a numbers game, and you'll book one out of a hundred. That's crazy right?! Just imagine going on ONE job interview. Now think TWO...5...20...50...this is what we do. At some point you have to be ok with rejection. Still...I'm human. Great to have the opportunity, but there is some work that goes into not letting yourself get caught up in what happens AFTER. Here is that, "pressure." At least..or up until my dream, that was all I thought. It's tough to argue that it's anything but me putting it on myself I guess, cause in the end you alone have to accept what you take on. Of course I want to nail all of the things I'm being considered for.

It's dangerous what we do. In life, you are taught you can't try to please people...but, in our business that is the very nature of what we do. Is entertainment not that at its core? You are pleasing someone just by entertaining, and throughout our job you have to please SO many people. You have to please your reps, you have to please the people hiring you when you audition (sometimes that alone is like 6 rounds of pleasing in that phase), when you get the job, you have to please everyone involved; producers, directors, DP's, costumer, makeup...its endless. In some way, they all have their expectations. Somewhere in there and what we fight for in the first place is to PLEASE YOURSELF. That's as much of the game as anything else. Just...Make every moment count...for YOU.

This ties in to the Valentines Day.
Erin and I were walking to dinner and discussing career stuff and how some actors prefer to be on shows that are on the HBO or Showtime networks because those shows don't film as long as some of the others so you have more flexibility to do outside stuff. Obviously, it sounds like an ideal situation and as we were discussing this we happened to be walking down an alley way. As we were mid sentence, a homeless man startled us as he looked up excitedly and said, "Yay! I just found a chocolate chip cookie!" It was a quick rush of different emotions. Obviously it was startling, but then kind of funny considering and then it just instantly made Erin and I look at each other. Without words, we knew that we were thankful. Here we were talking about the "challenges" or tough times some people face in our business but it was plain silly. We'd been caught up in discussing the trivial differences of obvious successes and how they could cause hardships in different relationships, but this man was just happy to find a cookie to eat.
High class problems right?

After our meal, we were walking back and were stopped by a older man. His name was Ron. He was from Seattle. He had a weird energy. I could see him coming from down the block and I knew he was headed for us. He stopped us as most people do in that area and it felt like it was, "pitch time." He was going to be asking for money in some way. 20 minutes later this is exactly what he did, but I NEVER had experienced anything like this. Ron was a Cinematographer who hadn't archived his dreams as he so put it. He was very unique and reminded us of Dustin Hoffman in RAINMAN. He was completely fascinating and obviously BRILLIANT, probably one of the smartest people I had ever come in contact with. He repeated his fascinating stories, while interjecting and cutting himself off to communicate who Erin and I reminded of, before starting back in sometimes remembering details he covered or asked us, others times not.
What struck me beside his obvious brilliance was his PASSION about his dream and in a sad way his understanding of how he hadn't achieved them. This plain scared the shit out of me. I thought about it for days and weeks after. Here was someone that was I'm sure a genius...but what happened??
I would hope to god that he reached some happiness, but I couldn't help but feel like what he was communicating in some way was true, that he wouldn't attain it. Obviously, I don't know his story or anything else that would tie into what he could or couldn't do, but I just found a relevance because of how hard everyone I know, myself included, is working to achieve our own dreams. Hoping to tackle each one. Will we all do this?

Back to my dream...

In my dream, from what I remember, I was thrust right into it. It felt like I just turned on the TV and it was the middle of a show or movie.
I was dying. And...it felt REAL. I've never had that experience before. It was like I was OBSERVING it, even though I was in it...really weird. This gave me a really strange perspective within it. I relate it to the classic Scrooge movies when he is standing beside the ghost, watching his life. I was instantly drawn into this world and I felt pain. Pain for everyone in it. I was in a hospital I believe and was surrounded by a few of my loved ones. I cant recall who exactly, but it FELT like my family and Erin. I could feel their pain. Instantly I was sad, but I wasn't feeling it viscerally like you sometimes do when you are being chased in a dream or the classic FALLING DREAMS. I was sad as the observer. It wasn't made clear what I was dying from, but it felt like cancer of some sort. This could have been because of my Dad and recent encounters with people who've been affected by Cancer in some way.

But what struck me most was that in the dream, I understood it was SUDDEN. Not only was it going to happen soon, but it came out of nowhere. Not that any death should be expected, but obviously there are the cases that it's been a progression of some sort. This was not that. It definitely felt like...it was something that JUST happened...like three days ago. It was that feeling. Shock, disbelief, despair, sympathy, pity..I don't know...but this is the thing that I think affected me most, and continues to. My mind was informing my dream I believe, that this was just pain unfortunate because, "he had potential." This could have just been my ego trying to throw in its two cents. But I also think it's ties into the pressure I've felt recently, because throughout the dream, while I was sad...I was also angry. I was angry because this would be it. I would not get to do the things I've dreamt about since I was a kid. I would not have the chance to surpass goals to be able to provide things for my loved ones...things I think they need (and who's to say they do?). This is what affected me the most. This is the thought that I woke up to. Like I said before it wasn't a dream that you wake up from and sigh because you realize it's not real. It was like I was witnessing it so I was aware it was a dream, but was so caught up in it, I Almost couldn't differentiate it.

When I woke up. I was grateful. Thankful I wasn't causing pain to anyone, thankful to have another go to see things through...but then it hit and I was thankful to realize this alone...I will be ok. I wouldn't have enough paper to jot down the things I am blessed to have in my life, but most of all, the only thing I would need in this moment is to know that air was traveling in and out of my nose (or mouth because I was stuffy). I was alive.

With all of the things I've mentioned earlier there were things that made me scared--What if that happened to me? There were things I was grateful for--I have a roof, food & loved ones to share it with. There are also things in a way that Even though I do my best to move on to the next, as a result of other things that have happened in my life, I've allowed some of then to sit on my shoulders as I accepted to carry them along.

In the grand scheme of things...of life, it defines a very small part of me. Of course I hold it in high regards, but there is a reason I haven't referred to this dream as a nightmare...like I said, it taught me and put things into perspective and it showed me that it's only MY perspective that creates this worry or pressure. I like to take things on by myself at times and it can sometimes get me in trouble I guess lol. I'm very thankful to have been worked into a stir with this dream.

The story was on Ryan Seacrest's radio show about a little girl named HANA HWANG. Erin was so touched by this and she shared how this little girl who just turned 13 has the body of like a 90 year old. It's a rare fatal disease and the life expectancy is 13 years old. She said that the Hana's tutor broke into tears talking about her, saying that even though she was when tutor, Hana had taught her more than anyone ever had.

I was really touched by the story because of how it just put my dream and feelings into perspective. This little girl does not have much time left. She knows this. She has never led anything close to a, "normal life"-- but she has inspired so many people and touched their lives. She fights and keeps moving forward. It's also very Clear that she has SO MUCH love from her family.

This link points to an audio clip of her story. If you have time, check it out.

Hearing this story made me think of this story my sister shared with me a while ago about Ben Breedlove and how this young kid passed away on Christmas, just a few days after posting a couple of videos about a dream he had. He had a heart condition since he was a kid and the doctors didn't believe he would make it past early teens.



These things always just make me think about how silly certain things in life are that we get so worked up over.

I was meant to be made aware of these stories and I was meant to have this dream. I thank my mind as well for knowing that it needed to teach me a lesson by creating this dream.


Love to all.

Madison County: Home has many reasons.

It's been an exciting time for MADISON COUNTY these last few weeks.

We've been prepping the final details for distribution and finally, we're able to sign the dotted line and make everything official! The movie has found its home.


Pop the champagne...or in our case, apple cider!!!


It had been almost a year of dealing with a few companies in different ways to find what would be the best fit for our movie. I really feel we've found it! One company was playing a solid game of, "come here/go away" and couldn't really pull it together to make it happen, another wanted to try to throw its weight around, another wanted to offer little and even less for, "future rewards" and then the other...we signed with!


In the end, it was a lot of waiting around and we knew we could have made this happen a year ago. However, the rest of the business doesn't move as quickly at times and while there is a lot of, "Hurry up, and wait..." It was a valuable experience...one that continues to teach many lessons. It's trying and also tests you in a lot of ways. It takes an edge off, but also creates more pressure. It's funny how it changes so many things. I focus on the ground...must keep my feet firmly pressed against it.

"When does the movie come out?" "When can I see it in ________?" (<~~ insert your city there) Those are always the fun questions. As quickly as we've moved, it's never fast enough, and if that was the case for THIS film, our follow up, ROADSIDE has even more haste surrounding it. We've heard it's a marathon, but even we are learning how the race really is run. Must. Be. Patient.

It's rewarding to have some of these fun things to share though. Aside from the excitement I get from someone watching the movie, these little notches on the bar really put a smile on my face the most. I've mentioned before, I just like to genuinely SHARE EXPERIENCES.

A few months ago we were contacted and it looked like we were going to have a chance to share the experience on another level. THE LITTLE ROCK FILM FESTIVAL was creating another festival through it's growing yearly program and it was going to be specifically focused on horror. With the attention we've been getting in the genre, and us being a home grown Arkansas film, they reached out and asked us if we would be interested in being the opening film of their new festival branch!

We had submitted the film for their bigger festival, but thought this would be a great opportunity. What better way to possibly bring the film, "home" than to kick off a NEW festival as the eye candy of the series??

This wouldn't prove to be the easiest thing because we were not sure if they would be able to bring Eric, Daniel and I out. We've worked closely together since the beginning of this thing. All decisions are made between the three of us and this movie and brand has tied into the three of us directly on more than one occasion.

It's actually amazing to me how many of my friends or peers will talk to me about the movie and bring up the other two fellas. Maybe I'm just good about paying them their due. They deserve it though, and no one has done this solo, that's for sure. No I's in this team, as much as that gets tested. It's caused challenging moments, especially on ROADSIDE, but it gets worked out.

Well, the festival was graciously offering to fly us in, put us up, bring us to parties where we'd drink for free and have drivers to get us around. The only catch was...it was just for two of us.

From the jump, I told the guys this wasn't going to cut it. I knew Daniel would probably be the first one to take one for the team and not go (it was also on his birthday lol), but I would want to fight for us, "All for one, one for all!" It wasn't like we were trying to be greedy, we really just wanted to all go back and I was/am working on another deal that would bring the movie back to Arkansas and I didn't want to spoil the possibility of premiering in that area if we couldn't all be there to complete our cycle, so to speak. They couldn't afford the extra ticket as an upstart, and we couldn't either as broke film makers.

Daniel and I spoke and decided we'd make it work and as I suspected, he bowed out. So we were headed back to Arkansas!

We were all pretty excited to say the least! Our Arkansas fans have been pining over this film for some time. Some came out to LA to see the world premiere at Screamfest! They have even been mentioning that they'd drive to a neighboring state to see it, if they had to (More on that later). Well, we wanted to bring this back for them. As soon as we announced, the Facebook LIKES were coming in like mad, but so were the complaints of it not being DIRECTLY in their backyard. What happened to driving to another state?? Hopefully, this would pass..

As it got closer and we were promoting, it was clear people were not going to be letting up. Not only that, but the festival was going to be only offering a single pass for once price ($40) that included the entire festivals weekend lineup. While not a bad deal overall if you were planning to make a bunch of the flicks, we started to get complaints from our fans. Not only would they be driving a good deal, but they didn't want to be spending the full price when they were only coming to see our film. This was going to be an issue.

Eric and I joked bout Kevin Smith charging a buttload for the chance to attend his Q&A in the past and here we were in a position where it would almost be double for us! Lmao. There definitely was more innocence behind ours, I mean, it wasn't even our choice, but we didn't want to just let that slide...especially if that meant people were not going to come out. I would expect people to be able to afford a hotel, gas AND $40 per person.

The festival meant well, it was simpler for them to just have one option. They also had to pay for...yea, the flights, hotels, drivers and bar tabs for all the filmmakers not to mention every other expense for this new project they we're hoping to make a yearly thing. We ended up finding out tickets could be purchased at the door for $5-- problem solved!

Well, we found out we were going to be having not ONE, but THREE screenings of the movie. GREAT! Apparently they were anticipating HUGE crowds and wanted to offer another screening 30 minutes after the first one and then one more a few days later on the last day of the festival.

So, it comes time to fly out and it seemed like Eric had a voodoo curse placed on him. Someone did not want us in Arkansas. Perhaps Daniel was growing sore that he would not be attending? Lol. Our flight was at 10am and Eric was supposed to pick me up at 8am. At about 9:00 when he got to my house after INSANE traffic kept him stuck in Beverly Hills, we thought we might be cutting it close. We pull up to the airport at 9:30, surely people were beginning to board at this time. We make it to the security checkpoint at 9:35...thank god we were not checking bags. I get through. Eric doesn't. His ticket won't scan. I take my shoes, belt and watch off...empty my pockets and proceeded through before looking back...Eric is still searching on his phone for something that would scan. I get dressed and look up-- he's gone. I'm trying to text him so I could pull up his info, no luck. He finally reemerges with his recently printed ticket that he just jumped in front of all the first class passengers to get. He gets through, we board.

We land in Dallas for our layover and head to our next gate, "that was changed to C27." Shit. That means we have to hit the tram sky link. We have 20 minutes, no problem! Then we start talking and we get into a really passionate conversation about a project of ours and start brain storming about how we intend to get it off the ground. We get on the tram and get off one stop early. We get back on and make it to our gate...nope, they moved it...again, And it's back to where we first stopped! As our time is ticking and the moment intensifies, so does our conversation. We have to stop chatting to focus...then we go RIGHT back into it. We finally get back to our gate after another trip on the tram and don't know where we are sitting because of the mobile boarding pass. I look at the plane and ask if it was expected to be full cause I see so many empty seats, "yes it is." We make our way back and see a set of two empty seats and grab them, hoping no one is going to be seated in them. As soon as we sit, "Ok prepare for takeoff." (or whatever it is they say). They were TOTALLY waiting for US! No one else was coming on the plane to fill those empty seats she claimed would get used. Whatever, we made it...

We land in Arkansas and were picked up and it looked like the guy HATED his life at that moment. He ended up being very nice and was great the whole time we were there thankfully.

We got to the hotel and Eric didn't know that we each had our own room, SCORE!! King mattress allllll for me!!!


Every night we were there, there was at least ONE party planned for the evening. Some nights two. We also had a driver to help us get where ever we wanted to go which was really nice. Weird, (cause we had never experienced that), but nice.

Eric and I met up with his family and grabbed food and got our hair cuts courtesy of his Mom who is one of the best stylists ever, before heading back to Little Rock for the movie screening on Friday night.


We had been curious to see what the turnout would be because as I mentioned earlier, people were still complaining about the distance. Maybe we should have just said Little Rock was in a different state? Lol Thankfully, we had good turnouts for both screenings from the buzz, even without a good portion of our fan base missing. Booooo.

Regardless, people really seemed to like the film.


Sunday seemed to go just as well. I wasn't there because I flew home on Saturday, but not before Eric and I would stumble upon an amazing rap group called LORD T & ELOISE. Thanks to the military homie we met, Josh Mitchell, who treated us by paying for our cover to get into the club that lead to our discovery of this gem! Check them out live if you can!!

Sunday night came and I got a great text. It was this picture


We won AUDIENCE CHOICE! The people had spoken! The festival director made sure to let us know it wasn't attendance based, but purely vote calculation/percentages and I have to trust it since it is not Florida.
Of course, that only created a new problem, who gets to keep the award? It never ends.

We are so happy to have our first award and even though we wished months before that Screamfest was still giving their own version away


(since we were the only film to sell out and get an encore = sounds like audience choice to me), it was only fitting that our first award could be given to us by its very own Arkansas family!


Thanks to The Little Rock Film Festival for treating us like KINGS. Thanks to the great people of Arkansas who came out to support the film!

While official details have yet to be released, I will say that May 8 will be a great day :)


As always stay tuned! My next two blogs are on the way. One deals with the Aladdin show I've been doing for the sat three years, and the other is about a very strange Valentine's Day experience!

TiLL NeXt TiMe...

I won't forget you 2011

365 days. 2011 will be a year I will never forget.

I've mentioned that I like the comedy & tragedy symbols, in fact my company mission is to continue to join the two in any work I produce. It's no surprise to me that this year has brought me some of the happiest moments and some of the saddest.

The blog received a jump start earlier this year when my dad was battling Cancer and I was needing a way to express my thoughts. I've since mixed in some other things as I felt the need to share random things.

I'm not one to set concrete goals, maybe that is why it is always hard for me to think of a New Years Resolution. It's not to say I don't have a list of things I plan to accomplish, but, I'm just not the type to really make it a hard priority. Perhaps I need to split the difference a little more, because I do know, I get distracted by interests in many things. I've just always KNOWN what I want and somehow through will, determination and fate...I find them.

There is an exception of a time I was going to be meeting with an Acting Manager, and I was jotting down the things I see myself having in 2,3,5,10 years time and actors I admire, or career paths I'd like to follow. I lost that book, but I never forgot the gist of it. I can't remember EXACT details to say I've been checking things off the list, but when they happen, I know.

Well, for some reason I was looking at something related to my acting endeavors and started to look back at 2011. I realized that this was the third year in a row where I was a lead or starred in a feature film. In 2009 I was the star in a MICRO, MICRO, MICRO budget film, HOSTILE ENCOUNTER. The film had been written specifically for me by Eric England who would go on to become one of my dear friends and collaborators (we've worked on 7 projects, 3 of which are features). That lead us to 2010 and MADISON COUNTY which I was one of 5 leads & a few short months later, a starring role in ROADSIDE for 2011, a film I'm so proud of. One that is special for many reasons, but most because everyone involved rose to a new level when working on it. It's the type of movies I would love to continue making and has tastes of some action elements that I plan to one day find more of.

Thinking abut ROADSIDE and it's importance to me and my growing career, I started to look back at 2011.

January brought be good news that Daniel, Eric and I would be going into production on our 3rd feature in less than 15 months, ROADSIDE.


I also attended The Sundance Film Festival for the first time which was INCREDIBLE & I didn't even know where to begin there. Instantly it became something I would make sure to attend every year from then out. I'm really looking forward to it this year, because I have several friends that have movies premiering there and the last two years have really helped me come grow as a filmmaker to appreciate it all that much more. It was also something that left me SUPER inspired to get back to Los Angeles and make some strides! (We'll be returning in a few weeks for 2012!)



I returned to go into pre-production for ROADSIDE and prep for a great table read of a feature by James Helsing of THE ACTRESSES.




I made sure to watch a bunch of the Oscar contending films since it was the season and had the honor of doing do at the Academy's theatre.



I'm a huge MMA enthusiast and was asked to be a correspondent for the the new website, MMASAVVY.COM where I did a few fight pick videos and analyzed some upcoming fight cards while make my predictions.



While continuing to prep ROADSIDE, I was asked to do a short film, SNAPPER, that was written and directed by a good friend and ALADDIN cast mate, Scott Damian. We shot in an awesome location and banged out over 20 pages in a day. It was a great experience and everyone was incredible to work with. I'm fascinated by prison themed movies so it was a treat for me to do this film. It's gone on to make a bunch of appearances on the festival circuit.






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to view video!

March brought some fun times. We launched the official trailer for MADISON COUNTY which spread like wildfire!



I'd also been auditioning tons for pilot season, but made sure to take some time to play. I came up with a concept that would tie into my production company and the comedy/tragedy element. It was a photo shoot by Nikki Dalonzo that would show good vs evil. She named it GEMINI. I ended up using several of the images on my website. Ryan Gosling later drew some inspiration for his Esquire cover ;)




Oddly enough, the day I was shooting the Gemini shoot, I was called in last minute, straight to Producers for LAW & ORDER: LOS ANGELES. It was a scene with me and one of my favorite actors, Alfred Molina. I knew in my bones, it was mine, but ya never know. Thankfully, LOLA did too and booked me!



That ended up being a very nice treat and send off to Virginia, where I'd spend most of April filming ROADSIDE! I was very excited to be teaming up with some returning crew members and friends. My little sister also came out to work on the film! It was great to be back on set and although it would prove to be our most challenging film making endeavor, it would be an experience that would teach me a lot and change my life.









I never had been more excited to return home after filming a project. Thankfully, it wasn't for negative reasons (entirely). With drama and stress playing major factors, it didn't get in the way of getting good stuff on the screen. I couldn't wait to get back to see my girlfriend Erin and our dog Wolfy. There was also good stuff brewing for MADISON COUNTY. As soon as I arrived, our editor and friend of mine, Levi Blue, told me about a race that he thought I'd be interested in. It was the TOUGH MUDDER which would be making its debut in SoCal. A 10+mile obstacle course designed by British Special Forces to benefit then Wounded Warrior Foundation. I decided to run it in honor of my uncle who had passed away from cancer and my Dad who had been presently battling his own. This would take place in less than 30 days, near the end of May...not really the preferred time to train, but heart goes a long way.








It was also Erin's birthday month so we celebrated throughout the month as is customary ;)










June brought news that I had been booked with another ALADDIN castmate, Hilary Maiberger, on a nice gig for CARLS JR! We had a great time filming a rap video, corporate training video and then MC'ing a corporate event!




During the CARL's JR gig, actually between the first and second part (they were spaced out about 3 weeks) I got word that my Dad's cancer had returned. I ended up flying home and it was at this time that I started blogging again. Here is the first entry:
My return to blogging.

I ended up being home in NJ with my dad and family for most of the summer. I've blogged a lot about that, so I won't go into great detail, but this would be the sad part of the year I mentioned. Even with the great sorrow we encountered, there were many beautiful things to be grateful for. We went on a what would become out last family vacation and it was a great time.





It was the longest I had been around my family since moving to Los Angeles and I got to spend a very special birthday with them and Erin.








August was the toughest month. We lost my dad on August 3rd. It is still so real and fresh and everyday there are reminders of my dad. I've since been back to visit for Thanksgiving and most recently Christmas and it was tough. We all dearly miss him. Before he passed away he was able to see a rough cut of ROADSIDE. The film wasn't complete so he didn't see the end, but he was really into it and it was a great moment for me to share it with him. Towards the end of August I flew back to LA. It was a crazy time. Bittersweet. We had to prepare some things for MADISON COUNTY & we submitting it to different festivals.

I was also contacted by a friend and the Cinematographer of ROADSIDE, Dan Hertzog, to see if I had interest in helping to produce the feature, FOR BLOOD OR JUSTICE. The concept piqued my interest so I agreed to jump on board.

September hit and we got word that MADISON COUNTY was accepted into SCREAMFEST for it's World Premiere! On the other end Roadside was making great strides in the editing lab and was looking great!




This would be a crazy month and it was a lot of prep to get the film ready. We also got word it would be making its European Premiere in Barcelona!



October did not show signs of slowing down. I began working with a publicist and had been attending some press events to promote MADISON COUNTY & my other work and I was arranging stuff for our premiere. Eric also approached me about shooting a Halloween themed short called the TRICK OR TREATER. We shot this and planned to release it before the premiere a little appetizer.






This got my brain going and of course I wanted to develop this further and Erin approached me as well about another Halloween short and asked me to Produce it for her. This one was called MEET THE TWEEDS. As stressful as it would be to add another juggling ball to the mix, I loved the idea and Erin's passion!





It was time for the premiere of MADISON COUNTY & time to sit back and enjoy the work put in. I've blogged about the specific experience so I'll keep it short, but it was amazing. Here are pics from our red carpet & sold out screening!










November was incredible because we received a bunch of offers for distribution for MADISON COUNTY & as a result things are moving along nicely. More on that later. It was also the month that we were going to be filming the teaser trailer for the movie FOR BLOOD OR JUSTICE. I played a psychotic killer and the whole shoot was incredible. I can't wait to share the teaser! I also then went home to NJ for Thanksgiving and to celebrate my sisters 18th birthday!


December hit and I wanted to shoot a scene for a character I had in mind and it grew into a short that is going to be used to pitch for a new project I'm developing. Eric directed it for me and did an incredible job. It should be completed in a few days. I play detective and I'm coming for you...


Erin and I had our famed cooking/holiday party which was an absolute blast and of course I passed out like years before, with Wolfy on our couch,


figured this was going to be my last effort for 2011 & to my surprise someone had another plan. I booked a great role and two weeks of filming on the ABC show BODY OF PROOF. I worked right before Christmas break and will return in a few days. The cast is great and I am working closely with Luke Perry, who's a great vet.


Christmas was spent with my family in NJ and then visiting Erin and her family in St. Louis.
Today marks the last day of this year and I have plenty to be thankful for. Even with the heartache. I've learned a lot...a lot about love. I know that 2011 has changed me. I've experienced things that are shaping me in many areas to be the man I'm destined to be.

2011, you've made me appreciate a nice professional year, but more importantly, you've made me realize and appreciate life so much more on a personal level.

I've squeezed a lot of juice out of your orange and I say goodbye as I welcome a new year. It's now your time to rest, 2011.

To everyone who has read or may read this or any of my blogs..thank you. There is something strange about the very act of writing in this fashion. It's private, but public. It's meant for me only, but everyone too. I can't figure it out, but it's helped me and you are a part of it.

I wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

As always, HAVE FUN.

ACE

Ps- 2012, let me introduce myself to you. My name is Adolph "Ace" Marrero II and I will be a relentless force of nature, but I promise you'll have a good time. A few things for you to look forward to in January alone; filming for BODY OF PROOF, my second TOUGH MUDDER run (in Arizona this time) & a trip to Sundance. Get ready.

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Location:I won't forget you 2011.

Thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It is impossible to reach every person I am thankful for right now. No amount of phone calls, emails, texts, messages, tweets & blogs could reach them all. In actuality even if I did, I'm sure I'd miss a lot of people.

I'm someone that believes, "everything happens for a reason." Sometimes, that can ease my frustrations because I'll remind myself of this and just, "know" that there is a bigger plan for me. I believe in fate. I'm also someone that like's to play Monday morning quarterback, where you can look at how things COULD have, SHOULD have or WOULD have been, but it's usually to extract the lesson that is hidden, waiting to be learned. Because in my opinion, there is always a lesson to be learned. I feel people use that phrase and it has a negative vibe to it, but I don't mean it in that way. I am a student of life. I like to learn and I'm thankful to be taught.

For this, I am thankful for EVERYONE.

Even people who have not had the most positive impact in my life, I am thankful for. A lot actually! I mean this sincerely...and positively. I do my best not to get caught up in some deep desire to prove anyone wrong, it's not about that really. I am human, so I may get caught up in that from time to time. I am naturally a stubborn individual, so I tend to hold onto my beliefs or passions tight, and have no problem defending them. I'm also very competitive, so sometimes they all factor in and I'm more than ready to go to war. But really, I like to think I've learned a few lessons to know better. For the most part; I always check myself, address my ego and do my very best to be open, reasonable and available. Because after all, I enjoy that in people.

As much as I like a challenge, I like to have my cake and eat it too! Who doesn't?! LOL Really, it's a respect thing. We are all human...or even further, creatures of some kind...and we all deserve some respect.

I recently attended a screening of THE DESCENDANTS that ended with a Q&A with Shailene Woodley, Matthew Lillard & Judy Greer. The movie was Directed by Alexander Payne and starred George Clooney. I've known Alexander for a couple of years since my old long time Acting Coach, Tom Todoroff brought him into a class. They were close friends and he spoke at length and then a few of us went out to eat with him as well. Alexander Payne is a great director and after hearing him speak, he was someone I knew I wanted to work with. I can go on and on about the methods he shared, but this is not about that. As an ACTOR, I was very appreciative of his directing ways, as a person I really responded to how much RESPECT he had for the WHOLE process. It's not simply a camera, some lights and a body. A lot goes into it and it's no surprise to me why a lot of the stories he chooses to tell are slowly paced. He really gets into the psychology of his world. Well, the three Actors who attended the Q&A are at all different places in their careers. About twenty minutes in, the moderator asked each what it was like to work with Clooney. Usually when a question is asked, if the moderator is smart, they'll address one person and then ask the next, because if not, they all sit there looking at each other waiting to see who would respond. This one was being navigated smartly and they had it down. Well, when she asked the question, they all just let out a large sigh of some sort and it was almost like a brief, "where do we begin?" You could tell immediately, that it was going to be very positive. They went on to absolutely RAVE about him. It didn't go on forever, but you just got it. They said, he was exactly as you would imagine him to be in person. Now, I realize that might not be relatable to everyone, because that would imply everyone thinks he would be the coolest person ever, but I understood luckily. To me, regardless of what you think of his work, his personal life or whatever...he just looks like he would be a really cool dude! They said his charm was just as real as you see on any show or interview. He's just a good guy. Very respectable and respectful. To me, I was very happy to hear that. Because it proves, that it works. It's not just a show for him. You can be one of the most successful or powerful people and still be a good guy or gal. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes, but I really enjoy that type of dynamic.

I'm thankful for the experience of that Q&A.

I'm thankful for my mom and sister. I love them dearly. I am thankful for my Dad who continues to teach me lessons from above and who did a great job of leaving me with things that I am starting to realize more and more with each day. I'm thankful for my my girlfriend Erin who shows so much love and is an incredibly powerful and fearless woman. I'm thankful for my dog, who is the BEST EXAMPLE...of CONSTANT LOVE. He only knows how to love me or anyone else and no matter what, can bring a smile to my face. He teaches me a lot by this. Showing me that you can live simply by just giving love to all. I'm thankful to be healthy. I'm thankful to be making a living by living my dream. I'm thankful for the people I have worked with and for my team of players who come to bat willingly whenever needed. I'm thankful for pain, because it teaches me pleasure. I'm thankful for the mistakes that teach me how to do things right. Even death I'm thankful for, because it helps to celebrate the importance of life.

Grab your loved ones and if you can't, think about them.

I'm thinking about ALL OF YOU.

Love to you all & let's enjoy today, right now! Take each day as it comes, while this year approaches its end, because we'll never have them again.

Tomorrow is not promised, the past is over -- right now is all we have.

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Location:Thankful

"To Remember Me" - what I draw peace from at times.

When we were going through some of my Dad's belongings, my Mom showed me this newspaper clipping my Dad had saved. We always knew his wish was to be cremated and it just made sense after reading this.

There are times when I hurt or think and I do my best to refer to this poem Dad left behind. Almost as if it was his way to help us find peace.

Recently I attended a memorial service for a son of someone I had worked with in a play. His son was my age. He remarked how difficult it was for a parent to lose a child and for my whole life I could sympathize with that idea. Having been through what I have been through though, I don't think there is ANY way that is easier at all to deal with. The memorial service really hit home and I felt so much for my friend and his loss. It made me think about my own loss greatly and reminded me of this poem. I'll have to share this.

"The day will come when my body will lie upon a white sheet neatly tucked under four corners of a mattress located in a hospital; busily occupied with the living and the dying. At a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function and that, for all intents and purposes, my life has stopped.

When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body by the use of a machine. And don't call this my deathbed. Let it be called the bed of life, and let my body be taken from it to help others lead fuller lives.

Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a woman.

Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain.

Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play.

Give my kidneys to the one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week.

Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk.

Explore every corner of my brain.

Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that, someday a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain agianst her window.

Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flowers grow.

If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weakness and all prejudice against my fellow man.

Give my sins to the devil.

Give my soul to God.

If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever."

--Robert N. Test




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A lot happens in 112 days

My plane ride back home made it a perfect time to catch up on some much needed blogging.

It has been three months since my Dad passed away.

It's so hard to explain what these 112 days have felt like, because honestly, I've felt so much.

Leaving my Mom and sister in our new home, to leave for my home, was not easy. They didn't move into a new place, but it is obviously just different now. I was left to be the man of the house, but...from afar?

My sister was starting her senior year in high school, my mom was starting a new job, two actually as she is now also the main provider of the household.

I got back home to LA and had to take a week to just...be. I was due to return to ALADDIN, but I wasn't ready, even after it being almost three weeks since Dad passed. Coming back was strange. There was a lot to get done, with one of my movies gaining steam, but I needed time still. I had been good about keeping to my responsibilities from afar, but I was back now and things were different. I felt differently. I held a higher regard for certain things that I'd mostly taken for granted. Who knows if that is even fair to say, because I wasn't really in a position to be, "aware" until now. I took the week and went on hikes, got a massage, be around Erin, my cat & dog and just relax. I needed it.

I started to really take notice of things that previously were bothering me and I addressed them. Personal things, but mostly professional things. For me, I'd just lost the person that was the biggest advocate of, "family time" and I was not going to let smaller, petty things continue to eat at me. I'd address them and if that meant going in a different direction, so be it. Time is precious. I'm still sorting those things out, but I feel loads better as a result.

MADISON COUNTY had been accepted to World Premiere at the famous Grauman's Chinese as part of the prestigious Screamfest Horror Film Festival and it was time to take the charge.






Last year, Eric, Erin and I attended one night and I made two promises. One to Eric, that the next year, we'd be in it for MC, and to Erin, the next year we'd be walking the carpet.

I tend to be an extremist at times. Sometimes I carefully plan and attack, but mostly, I am driven by instinct, passion and my heart.





This has gotten me into trouble, but I cherish it more times than not as it's lead to a lot of great things. I like being impulsive and doing spontaneous things, sometimes it saves you from nerves getting the best of you. The night before my 28th birthday I decided go jump from a plane. 30 days before the event, without proper training, I rallied a team of soldiers to tackle the Tough Mudder (10+ miles of obstacles designed by British Special Forces in the mountains of Big Bear). I can go on and on. This festival was going to take 20% planning and 80% instinct/passion. After all we didn't have time to wait. To be fair, I had been doing tons of work for over a year now for the film, but my next promise to my team was that we were going to sell this event out and get an encore screening.

As much as getting ready for the festival could serve as a distraction for my recent loss, it also served as a reminder, because every little achievement, every bit of news or any success was something I wanted to share with Dad.

It also was time for Football season to kick in, a sport I grew up with thanks to Dad. The last seven or eight years I really got INTO it, calling Dad on Sundays to talk about the game, or to see if he just saw a recent touch down. Now every week, when Sunday hits, it's tough. There is always some point during the day, that I instinctively almost reach for my phone to call him. A few weeks ago, one of my hardest days came on a Sunday. I was just hurting...no other way to describe it. I miss him. It was a Sunday that I was going through past texts on my phone to drop a line to friends to remind them about our upcoming premiere, when I came across an old text from Dad as I scrolled down. I literally let out a, "Ohhhh!"

Weird-- I just recently stopped receiving emails from Dad with the subject line, "How are you?" His account has been phished or something. I didn't want to report it though.

If Sundays weren't enough, September was the time I was set to begin a 9 week basketball league on Wednesdays through Disney. It's my favorite sport to play and one that I always played with Dad. I decided to change my longtime number of 15 for that of my Dad's, 53.

There was an issue EVERY week and had to use someone else's jersey for every game because mine didn't come in. Every week I'd show up with only one thing on my mind, "Is my jersey in??" It pissed me off. Still does. I need that jersey.

In between Sundays and Wednesdays, I was back getting into the swing of things. Back home, Mom was not liking the new job, Alexis was prepping to visit and apply to schools. I'd also get calls or emails from the two of them venting a little about the stress the other was causing he other lol.

I started working with a PR company to help take advantage of the big premiere and they started getting me out to events and in front of some of the horror crowds and such.

I did a some radio shows, tv shows, interviews, podcasts which was great exposure.



It was a lot of fun and even though a lot of the same questions are asked repeatedly, it helped at the time reinforce what I was here to do...constant reminders of my goals. My new focused mission. As I would share with my friends or send to my family back home, I would always think of Dad, but I started to grasp that he was already aware and watching it all unfold :)

One night I was due to hit an actors tweet up (a meetup organized and attended by twitter users). I'd failed to make any previous ones, but promised I would attend this one. It was a week before our big premiere and I thought it would be a great way to spread the word so I said I'd go. 8pm rolls around and I'm not feeling it. I don't want to leave the house. I had so much work to do and didn't want to disrupt the flow. I tweeted a few people telling them I'd be "flaking out" (so LA) and that was that. A friend then messaged me saying they were not going to go, so I even felt that much better lol. I started to work, and then it just hit...I NEED TO GO. I ended up rallying and going. I saw some friends and spoke to a few of them at length, which was very nice, but it was a few hours later and I was ready to hit the road. At the very end, as I was saying goodbye, a friend of a friend said bye and I introduced myself. We started to talk and somehow it got deep fast. I can't remember how. I think we were talking about auditions and I had explained how I recently had one that really hit close to home and we ended up talking about my Dad's passing. I think I was mentioning how I was in a position at an audition where it was just a real situation for me, one I could relate to now and how I felt IN THAT MOMENT, that I had really changed. He went on to speak about how he too had experienced similar loss and mentioned a quote or something he heard. I can't remember the exact quote but it was basically, "Not until a son loses his father, will he become the man he is intended to be." It just really brought my recent discovery full circle. More so, I realized that my chat with this new friend was the reason I was meant to SHOW UP. I left energized.

The day was quickly approaching for the premiere and now my sister and best friend, Peter were flying in. I was excited.




My mom couldn't make it because of her new job, but I was ok. I was still busting ass to get things together. I had ordered shirts, a back drop, posters, post cards, posters and came up with giveaways, raffles and everything else to get people excited about the premiere. I wanted this to be more than just watching a movie, this was to be an EXPERIENCE. I was fitted for a new suit and spared no expense-- that was for Dad. I knew he'd see to it that I looked sharp for this so I carried it through knowing that would be his wish.

I was a machine. Early estimations on ticket sales were sounding good, but I wasn't letting up. I caught wind that there was a free screening at Arclight in Hollywood for the remake of THE THING and I was read to attack. I called up Eric to see if he would help, but he was going to instead try to sneak in as a "non-filmmaker" to see the movie. I went early, grabbed my dog (nothing is an easier condo starter than my pup) and grabbed a shit ton of post cards and headed for Hollywood. I was going to be a one man street team for the night. I started at the front of the line asking people jokingly if they were horror fans or just along for the free movie. Most people were big fans of the genre so it was an easy in. I'd tell them that about our movie; how we did this for little money, how we were going to be premiering at Grauman's and people were hooked. If I needed to, I'd pitch further about there being a free movie playing right before ours, so that they could see two movies for $5 a piece. More? There would be some tshirt and poster giveaways (people LOVE free shit). More? I had more for days. The best feeling was about 15 people KNEW of the movie already and most of them already HAD tickets! I wasn't done though. I went into the parking decks and post carded all of the cars. I would not be denied.

Well the day of the event hit and it was game time. The place was PACKED. INSANELY PACKED. People were being turned away AFTER an hour delay due to stand by tickets. MADISON COUNTY...had arrived. We had huge names in the genre show up to support and WITNESS THE RISE (one of our tags)! One of which, provided us with a cool story. James Wan (the man behind the SAW franchise and director of the recent hit, INSIDIOUS) actually payed someone a good chunk of cash to have their ticket. He also was VERY complimentary to the film and took the time to send a bunch of us personal messages on a job well done.

After over an hour delay, the theatre was packed and some people were sitting in the aisles. Daniel, his girlfriend Bri and I were not going to have seats. Eric had a seat saved that he tried to give to Bri, but she wouldn't take it, so he was safe. We finally entered the theatre and walked to the front and when I turned around...I was in shock. This must be an ounce of what it feels like when you are a rock star on stage in front of a sold out arena.






500+ people were pumped (some crabby at the delay)! We were beyond sold out and ready to play our baby on the big screen for the first time for everyone, including us! We said a little speech to thank everyone for coming and then we intro'd the film. I had put together t-shirts and Posters (with my sister and Peter's help) and threw them into the audience creating even more of a frenzy and headed to our aisle seats. Our logos hit the screen first, beginning with Daniels then Eric's and then mine.

At that moment I looked up and just teared instantly. I thought of Dad, sad he wasn't here, but I was very, very happy. I knew my mom would be there if she could, my dad was watching down and I was SURROUNDED by my loved ones. Erin, my closest friends, Peter & my sister were near me. Even Erin's family flew out from St. Louis. I had so many friends show up to support including my Aladdin family, which always rolls deep! I recently heard from a friend who wanted to let some time settle before dropping me a line to tell me how much they enjoyed the film, I didn't even know they had come! Thank you to EVERYONE who made it out and who supported from afar. The movie was a hit that night & the energy in the room was incredible!

Leading up people were asking me if I was nervous and I honestly wasn't. I was prepared. I've been working hard for a while and this was my time time to enjoy. The most nervous was about two hours before the movie was due to start. We were having dinner and I wanted to hurry to get to the theatre, so I could change into my suit and do my hair lol. I was worried if get held up and not have time. It worked out.







Erin and I got to sneak a few pictures in together on the carpet. Both my promises from a year earlier had come to fruition.



The movie was done and I still had more work to do, I needed to get over to our after party venue to set up our, "press room" for the night. We didn't really end up using it, but it looked good lol

The next two days...sick. Lol. The high of what we had just experienced was not calming. Then we get the call..."Do you guys want to have an encore screening...tomorrow?"

Holy shit.

Here comes instinct and passion 100% I quickly confirmed, got on the computer and typed up a press release to announce our sold out hit, encore screening and used the momentum of the sell out to try to get as many people as possible. I pulled out the big guns and offered free tshirts to the first 50 people and free posters to the rest. We also had a Q&A planned since we didn't want to do one so late the night of the premiere. In less than 24hrs we had just under 100 people show up. I think it's a success considering it was strictly word of mouth.

The dust was settling, the festival was over and it was bittersweet. We had such a great time and now it was over. We were also a little bummed that we didn't get some kind of audience appreciation award, considering we were the only film to sell out the festival and gain an encore screening. But, on well. That's life. Screamfest was very appreciative of the job we did and we are beyond proud to be a part of their history. Thank you Rachel & the Scresmfest team!

Now time to sell this bitch. It was around this time where I started to really be affected by my dad's death. Things were settling in and it was about the two month mark and it was hitting even harder. Everything was reminding me of him. I started to think back to everything and had those brief regrets or sad thoughts of, what if?"

I had a couple of dreams about him recently too. One was he and I running in wooded terrain. We were trying to get away. All of a sudden he yells, "watch out for the scorpions!" and before you know it there was a scorpion flying at me! I woke up. Dad was a Scorpio.

I had a couple of others, nothing as intense though lol

I started to think back to something we found in Dad's briefcase a few days before I was set to fly back to LA. I felt it deserved it's own blog, so you can check it out by clicking this link: http://acemarrero.blogspot.com/2011/11/remember-me-what-i-draw-peace-from-at.html

It really helped me and continues to help me during this time.

Things are going well for the most part. MC is about to be sold to a great company & we are really excited to be working with them! We have another company selling territories over seas for the movie to bring it to an international audience. Our follow up film ROADSIDE, is going to be incredible. It's been submitted it to the big festivals so far, so we'll see what happens. This film is special to me for many reasons. It's my juiciest role to date and closest to the types of films I want to do for the rest of my life. It also is one i showed my Dad when I was home and he was really into it!! At the time we only had the first 3/4 ROUGHLY assembled, but he was hooked and wanted to see more. This one will be dedicated to him. I can't wait to see what this does when it is ready for the world!






I helped Eric shoot a halloween short which was a lot of fun and a much needed, no pressure shoot that brought back a lot of our gang from our past two features.

I then helped Erin on her film directing debut, another Halloween short. This one was shot by Daniel, who was not able to work on the first one. It's called MEET THE TWEEDS & I was solely a Producer on this, but it was such a great experience! I'm very proud of what Erin did! Her past experience with directing theatre and her technical awareness was impressive.

Erin and I also had a very nice trip to Palm Springs and are planning our Sundance trip as we speak!

I had a chance to shoot an episode of SPARAH a web series by Virgin Mobile and it was an absolute BLAST!


I'm flying home to Jersey as I type this and its going to be the first time I visit our home without Dad. I expect it to be tough, but I'm very thankful to be spending Thanksgiving with my family and WOLFY who is visiting too! In a few short weeks we'll be back again for X-Mas, this time with Erin! My sister turns 18 the day after Thanksgiving so I wanted to be here for that. How fast time flies. 112 days flew by. I can't believe it's the holiday season already. Last December my dad was having his surgery for the cancer. Crazy.

When time flies as fast as it is now, it's important to value the things that really mean the most to me. No more time for non-sense.

It's game time.



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