"Hey! Look what Zog do!"

One of the great things about vacation was losing all track of time. The downside of that is when you let an important date slide. So Happy Belated Birthday, Tim Herzog.

Zog is my oldest friend, and no I do not mean he is old. I mean I have known him longer than anyone else outside my family. My memory is we met when we were 4 years old, but my brothers tell me it was later than that (although given what they do not remember from our childhood, they could very well be wrong). I know it was before 1st grade. We went through most of grade school and all of high school together.

Smarter than smart, he was the guy everyone wanted to cheat off of in Chemistry and Calculus classes and now he has his Ph D in chemistry. (I dropped Chem 1/2 way through the year and never touched Calculus so I never had the chance to cheat off of him. Just sayin'.) Top notch bass player with a love of jazz, he is currently living in Utah with his wife and 2 daughters. (Of whom, I have no pictures. Just sayin'.)

Would love to get him and his family back into the civilized world (yeah, Zog, I just dissed your state; whatcha gonna do?), but until then Happy Birthday, Zog.

Back from vacation...

...and a great vacation it was, too. Since I finished the Duo pitch package, there was not a single deadline hanging over my head so it was a completely stress free week. A day trip to Bainbridge Island with Todd and Raechelle, and an overnight trip to Portland to see one of David's baseball games were interspersed with a whole lot of lounging around in the sun, reading books and watching movies. The week ended on a high note with the combination 40th birthday party for Todd and me on Saturday, with lots of family and friends.

Had to end, of course, but even going back to work today did not dim my mood. There is plenty of work ahead though. Have to start planning our pre-production phase so we can hit the ground running once Duo is financed, get The Ties pitch package up and running, get the Ordinary Angels production bible in shape and then read through Trish's book and Jenni's script. And all of that should help me get my mind off of turning 40 at the end of July.... I hope.

Picture below is Todd and me getting toasted/roasted at the birthday bash.

Here's the pitch

At long last, the Duo pitch is completed. This afternoon has been a mixture of pride in a job well done and giddiness at coming one giant step closer to getting this made. And if I am allowed a moment of pride on this I think it is damn good. This was a monster chore over the last 7 months and at times I a) never thought I would finish, and b) never wanted to look at it ever again. So it was good to get an immediate call from writer/director Todd with thanks and congratulations. Always good to have your collegues appreciate your work. It is in the hands of the first of the potential financiers, so now we see if we can bring this thing home. I feel like a real flippin' movie producer right now... which seems like a great way to start our vacation.

Brothers and sister

Tom made a comment on the Happy Birthday post not remembering the punch in the face. I was going to reply in comments but decided to turn this into a post and explain it a bit better. And I would like to point out that Tom did not remember hanging me from a hook on the back patio until sister Katie backed me up a few years back, so.... ya' know.

Anyway, it was back in Spokane at the house on Waverly Place in the upstairs bathroom. I was in grade school and Tom was either in the 7th or 8th grade (he's three years older than me for those who don't know). We were having a fight over some thing or another. He insulted me and I lost it - as I often do in an argument - and yelled some idiot nonsense about backing it up (which by the by I never do, but a brother can get under the skin). I put up my fists and Tom took one swing and hit me smack in my left eye. I took a step back; we looked at each other for a minute; he walked away. Later that day he mocked me for losing the fight and I tried to salvage my pride by saying he was the one who walked away. Ha!

Two points in telling this story. One is that I do not remember what the fight was about but there is every chance I deserved the hit. Two is that it doesn't matter. The fact is I have great siblings. We had plenty of fights when we were kids and we did plenty of rotten stuff to one another, but that was when we were kids. As adults, my brothers and sister have never been anything but great to me. Supportive in the rough times, sharing in the good times and always there to keep me grounded. They're good friends and when I bring up stories like this it is to laugh at how different it was.

So Mike, Tom and Katie, here's to you. Thanks. And it gives me a great excuse to post this picture of the whole clan (minus Madeline and David) from a couple of weeks ago.

ML022991

In my day job, that document review project I mentioned before is still going on. Over 2 weeks we distilled 360 boxes (they found more) into over 25,000 pages. Over the past three days I have single handedly reviewed 22,991 of those pages for redactions, privilege claims and documents that are not relevant. Trying to get all of it done by tomorrow and then get all of my other cases cleaned up so we can start our vacation Friday. Thank God we canceled the Gigi project because otherwise I would be going n-v-t-s nuts. (Movie geek points if you recognize the quote.)

In my night job I am this close to finalizing the pitch package. I just have to expand 4 bullet points - romantic comedy, geek chic, local independent music and local independent artists - and explain why they are marketing strengths. Small case of mental blockage around this one, so feel free to pipe in with ideas.

Happy Birthday, Tom!

Older brother Tom's birthday today. Tom who used to hang me from a hook on the patio, gave me my only punch to the eye, and once told me an attractive woman was "way out of [my] league."

Tom who found me a job when I needed one, is always quick to lend a hand moving, and often took me to Mariner games (before he got married and had a built in game partner).

Tom who encouraged me to go to my first play auditions in high school, taught me much of what I know about sports and poker, and has attended just about every play or movie I have ever done.

My favorite Tom story is from a few years back when he, my dad, my other brother Mike and I were in Reno for a weekend. It was late and I sat down at a poker table (pre-Texas Hold 'Em craze so the game was 7 card stud) filled with guys who were either really drunk or literally falling asleep at the table. That was enough of an advantage for me to start winning a fair number of hands. About an hour into it, Tom sits down at the table, too. A couple hands in and I am showing a possible straight but have nothing and start bluffing. Because I had been winning earlier all the other guys folded until it is just Tom and me. He gives me a long hard look and then states, "Screw it! I can't let my little brother bluff me." He calls and beats me with two pair. Could not win another hand that night.

Happy Birthday, Brother. Thanks for everything.

Father's Weekend

Good weekend with family. On Saturday afternoon, we took Trish's dad and mom out to see the Incredible Hulk and then out to lunch. (By the by, Hulk is a good, fun popcorn flick with a couple of great bad guy performances from Tim Roth and Tim Blake Nelson.) Always nice to get time with just the four of us. Plus Trish's dad loves movies and, like me, will get all little kid excited over a good super hero flick. So during lunch we geeked out over some of the best moments in the movie and then somehow switched to quoting Mel Brooks' lines at each other. Good times.

Sunday night was dinner with my family. Brother Tom and Kathryn hosted a backyard barbecue on a perfect day. Joined by Tom's mother-in-law Sung-Ju and Katie's mother-in-law Jerri. Lots of vying for time with Leo, and with both grandmothers there, you had to be pretty aggressive to get any time in with him at all. Sitting down with that extended family really brought home how the ranks of the Heinrich family have swelled over the past 4 years. Long way removed from the five of us sitting down together then getting a phone call from Mike in Portland. And you can see plain as day how much Dad loves it. Good times all around.