Short Film Project Delayed, Actor Demands "Preparation"

LOS ANGELES, United States, July 20th - The Short-a-Week Project experienced delays today as principal talent Lawrence Long refused a request to film until "we have something in mind to shoot."

"I don't want to just wing it," he added, a reference to past works such as Post No Bills and Rock Star. Each of those shorts began with little or no script, and were essentially created on the fly.

Those "winged" shorts have had mixed results for The Short-a-Week Project. Post No Bills became a surprise hit, while Rock Star did not fare as well with general audiences, possibly leading to Long's reluctance to film without a plan.

The shoot was rescheduled for Monday at 10am, before which time a script and shot list will be sent to Long. All parties agree that such planning on future shorts can only improve the finished product.

Could it be? Lawrence's Directing Debut?

Say it ain't so...Eric hands over the reins to the second installment of Post No Bills to Lawrence who has some ideas about how he wants (Eric) to shoot it.

In other words, I'll be DP-ing this one.

Which seems a bit strange, since I can't even spell cinematography.

Never mind, it appears that I can.

Holy crap we have to post something by tomorrow morning

And we have nothing filmed...

Was out of town last weekend. Then last night Lawrence said he could meet around 11:30PM to shoot the sequel to "Post No Bills." So I got to my girlfriend's apartment.

Then at 9 he says that 10 or 10:30 is good. Then at 9:45 it turns out he meant more 10 than 10:30. I'm on my way to meet when he calls again:

Me: What's up, man? Can you shoot at 10:30?
L: I guess-
Me: You got something to do afterwards?
L: Yeah.
Me: Oh.

[Pause]

In the pause I'm thinking how I haven't printed out the props that he's going to need for this week's "Post No Bills," and more importantly, I haven't planned out the shots. There is no way it can be done in less than an hour.

Me: Wanna shoot tomorrow night?
L: Sure.

Now tomorrow night is tonight, and I'm thinking some advanced planning might save on editing time. We shall see.

French Titles are tricky

Turns out that "Post No Bills" is actually translated "Defense d'Afficher"

And that it was already the title of a short film shot in 1896. I kid you not.

Security Trailers, Planks, Shots, Wardrobe Changes, and a Short Film Called "Post No Bills"

To clarify even more, here's and addendum to Lawrence's post about what went down that fateful Sunday night/Monday morning.

Eric was back at the apartment by 12:05. He has a text-message from Lawrence at 12:06am. Lawrence likely spent the next 30 minutes deciding what to wear (see post). He then came over. By that time, it was nearly a quarter to one.

There were shots. Oh yes, there were shots.

Eric did not think the trailer was spooky. He thought the possibility that a deranged serial killer was hunkered down inside the trailer - fresh from killing the security guard - waiting for punks to mess with the construction site nearby; he thought that was a little spooky.

Post No Bills (De Ne Pas Poster des Annonces)

So, "Post No Bills" (De Ne Pas Poster des Annonces) is turning out to be a black and white French film; thus the parenthetical French title. Confused? Perhaps a text message exchange from last night will clear things up.

Key:
A is for actor (Lawrence)
D is for director (me)

D: You up? Let's film.
A: Bills?
D: Yeah.
A: Yeah, let's do it. Be there in 10?
D: Okay.
A: What should I wear?
D: Clothes.
A: Like what line of clothes. What's the story with this guy, we decide on that?
D: He's a rebel.

Lawrence doesn't respond.

D: But a reluctant rebel.
A: Hmmm.
D: And he's gay. I mean, blind. (A reference to this video that apparently Lawrence had not seen)
A: Really?
D: No, not really. Just wear anything and come over

We then shot it, to uh, mixed results. We'll see what we can do with this croissant of a film.

Foot in the Mouth and Future Shorts

Coming tomorrow: Foot in the Mouth. It will be delicious.

After tomorrow? Good question. Possibilities:

1. "Dishwasher" is shot and edited with music by Streets on Fire. BUT it is really short and well, strange.

2. Post No Bills - Hopefully Lawrence and I will shoot this sometime this week. Tonight? Not tonight?

3. Harassing Matt Hill for sequels to "Foot in the Mouth." Yeah, it's that good.

4. A short about shorts. - This was a suggestion from a friend. Not bad, not bad. All we need now is a story, characters, actors...

Seriously though, we really do appreciate any ideas...