OK, so it’s T-minus 2 weeks and counting. We are occupied with the various tasks of shutting down our 8-year stay in London: selling the computers, divesting ourselves of our tat, saying bye to friends. With all of that to do, we have been remiss in working on the script.
To be honest, I had come to a road block. Happy with the first act, seriously unhappy with the second, and in the wilderness with the third, I just stopped writing. Then not writing because frustration, self-loathing and, finally, panic.
Reading Spout Blog yesterday, I came across an article about Katrina films:
Well, I must say, this weakened my resolve a bit…until Patrick quite rightly reminded me about the timing of this whole project. We actually decided to make this film back in 2004. We were visiting my mom who was living in Chalmette at the time. And, we were riding bikes through the neighborhood. Looking around Patrick said: “This is where we should be making films. The world, the characters…so rich.”“The sheer number of films on this subject––I’ve heard more than one person joke that in late September 2005, there were more independent filmmakers in New Orleans than residents left in their homes––is so overwhelming that it makes sense that one would need the backing of HBO or the credibility of a Sundance Grand Jury Prize to breakthrough.”
Obviously, this was before Katrina, and it just took us this long to get our asses out there. So, on the walk back to Spencer’s from Crouch End, we began to discuss what we have known all along…that this is not a story about Katrina. This is a story about “da Parish.” Now, obviously, da Parish has been affected by Katrina, so we’re not going to ignore it. But once the thought entered my head that the film isn’t about Katrina, the road block exploded.
So, I am truly excited. We are going with open minds and open hearts. We are going to hear the stories and to capture that wonderful place and those wonderful and unique people.
