December 21, 2007
1:11 P.M.
Well, I have very good news to report. Although dB and I weren’t finished with the new cut yet, it didn’t make much sense to have the “are we still in business?” meeting with Tony today unless he saw at least where we were. So we worked until about 10 PM last night, and output a copy for Tony to see.
I walked into the meeting under the operating assumption that we were done, and were on to Plan B. However, Ton loved our new version, and is on board with where I want the series to go - hell, he may have always been, it may have just been that we had not gone down the path far enough together creatively yet for him to understand what I wanted to do, and for me to appreciate fully what he brings to the table as well. The entire problem may have just been caused by a bad confluence of not enough real time, not enough real communication, and not enough creative work on my part in true partnership with an editor. All of that may have led to what seemed like a breaking point, but was actually just a tipping point for us to get on the same page and path. At least for now, and almost certainly for the long haul, we are functioning as a team, and not just Tony and I, but everyone involved with the project. Everything has it’s path, and this was ours, this was “Young Americans”. Long and short of it: “Young Americans” lives with Tony Scott and his team and Showtime.
And I owe it to all of you for providing the financing necessary for us to keep editing this week, and get the cut to where it was when Tony saw it.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays
Semper Fi,
Pat Dollard
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Congrats to you and dB, Pat. And Tony too. I think if you had to have dropped him for Plan B Tony would have kicked himself for the rest of his career …
We love ya, Pat. Ya did good.
Merry Merry, Happy Happy, Joy Joy to you too … and dB … and to Tony.
Maggie
December 21st, 2007 at 1:42 pmAwesome Pat! Congrats! I am so looking forward to seeing it. I plan on subscribing to Showtime long enough to see the show and I definitely want it on DVD!
December 21st, 2007 at 1:49 pmNow go get some sleep.
December 21st, 2007 at 2:28 pmYeah!
Glad to hear!
Kick back & Relax for a few and breath again Pat.
You did it.
December 21st, 2007 at 3:16 pmMerry Christmas Pat and all!!!
http://www.thecompassgroup.biz/merryxmas.swf
The Drifters 1955 White Christmas cartoon.
The lead singer is Bill Pinkney (Santa) and the falsetto voice belongs to the late, great Clyde McPhatter.
December 21st, 2007 at 3:39 pmI am hearing Handel’s Hallelujah chorus. It’s often divine how things just work out, isn’t it? Excellent news. Congrats on the reward for all your hard work.
Merry Christmas to all home and abroad!
Infact, have two. 
December 21st, 2007 at 4:09 pmMerry Christmas to Pat and everyone Involved!
Peace,
December 21st, 2007 at 4:28 pmDan
Two thumbs up! Merry Christmas.
And, a Merry Christmas to all you evil conservatives out there in Dollard land.
December 21st, 2007 at 6:05 pmMERRY FUCKIN’ CHRISTMAS to all!!!!!!! Especially those of you downrange. Keep up the good fight. CHEERS MATE!!
December 21st, 2007 at 6:22 pm… “Everything has it’s path, and this was ours, this was “Young Americans”.”
It sure does. Glad to hear everything is coming together so well.
Cheers to all of you for the dedication and hard work to make it all happen.
Merry Christmas Pat, dB, Tony, and everyone that has done so much to help support and fund this project that must be seen.
December 21st, 2007 at 6:30 pmGood to hear! Merry Christmas!
December 21st, 2007 at 11:57 pmRight on Pat. When I came back from Ramadi, and looked you up, I was pretty excited about where you were going with this, and it’s good to here that it’s picking up momentum again. We need some good stuff to counter this liberal sort of crap like “Redacted”. Hey your still in the hearts of us boys from 3/7 that you were kickin it with. Keep it up dude!
December 22nd, 2007 at 1:25 am-Combat Carl
A week ago Pat asked if anyone had seen “I Am Legend” (with Will Smith) …
I went last night with my college coed daughter and her boyfriend.
They had not seen “Omega Man” (with Chuck Heston), but I intend to rent it this week for them to compare.
While I found the new film adaptation of the Richard Matheson sci-fi story clean and crisply done, I wasn’t disturbed the way my two younger pre-med students companions were (When they return after winter break to college my daughter has garnered the prized student-assistant position in the science department’s genetic’s research lab). Although, I did pick up on a couple important points in the story that they did not because they were too involved in the “horror” aspect of the theme.
While it plays like some new angle version (or not) of a “Night Of The Living Dead” - type movie, you have to see things more as an objective observer than as a sympathetic viewer on the sole survivor character’s shoulder. At some point in his long and lonely three year stretch in post-viral Hell Lt.Col.Dr. Robert Neville has lost his “objectivity” (one of the points I picked up on) and quite under estimates the “Dark Seekers”.
These creatures, for those who are undoubtedly going to compare and contrast this version with the 1971 “Omega Man”, are not the eerily pious robe-clad preachy cult of albinos that Heston had to deal with.
The trouble I have with this movie version (especially today) is how in the hell does this virus actually transform the human physiology and anatomy from one set form into another? It’s that “wolf man” syndrome thing. I felt, as did my two college companions, that the movie should have taken a little more liberty and time with the story and gone into some explanation of this bizarre effect of the virus, and less on Neville’s daily lone-man survivalist trysts through NYCity. I mean, we GET that he is lonely, but the fact that he has insisted on remaining in the city three years after the fact because he says it is “ground zero” for the infection and he is trying to find a cure … well, today’s audiences expect a little more background and explanation. We can handle a couple minute scene dispelling or detailing something we are naturally going to debate in the car on the way home from the theater. (If you’re a fan of the stupid flick “Mars Attacks” you’ll recall the Earth scientists discovered the Martians had shit-for-brains while doing an autopsy on one, which explained their behavior …)
Anyhow, go see it (or not), or wait until it comes out on DVD. Out of a 4 Star rating I give it, almost 3 …
Some things to watch for in the spring from the pre-movie trailers (search engine them for the trailers on line):
Adam Sandler’s “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” looks f-ing ridiculously hilarious (he’s an Israeli counter-terrorist who comes to the States in hopes of being a hair stylist)
The next installment of the Narnia story is coming out
And there is this … thing … called “Iron Man” with Robert Downey Jr. that I couldn’t tell if it was an actual comic book hero, a comedy, or a serious story … Looked interesting, but … I dunno … He appears to be a weapons manufacturer exec. who gets captured by the enemy and decides to create something [other than] the massive weapon the bad guys have imprisoned him to make. Looks sort of cool …
December 22nd, 2007 at 8:22 amre movies, check the trailer for Ironman, of course you gotta love the scene where he busts out the cave
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/ironman/
Drillanwr, eat the popcorn and quit thinking, big budget films are not designed to create intelligent conversation and reflection. Sort of like the political debates so far.
December 22nd, 2007 at 8:36 amSteve -
I try hard NOT to think so deeply in the flicks, but second nature to me as a writer, I guess.
BTW, passed on the OVER $6 a bag popcorn! Holy sheet! I DID sneek in a bottle of water so I wouldn’t have to pay $5 for one of those either … sue me.
Yeah, the “Iron Man” movie looks like it just might be a goodie … Robert Downey Jr. seems perfect in his “campy” nature to play the part. He kind of won me back over as the very distracted Harry Lockhart in “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” …
Oh, BTW, forgot to mention the trailer for “The Dark Knight” (the second The Batman movie) … The whole theater let out a loud cheer when the trailer came up!
December 22nd, 2007 at 10:47 am