March 8, 2012: Ruby, birthday lunch, and horrors of horrors!

Over the past two months, I've had a lot of friends send me pictures of themselves reading my comic book, Dark Matter, obviously seeking to impress in the hopes that I will think of them when it comes time to cast the series/mini-series.  While I've certainly appreciated the gestures, none have really moved me enough to decide right there and then: "That's it!  I have to cast this individual!".  That is until today when I received the above pic from my former Stargate ace editor Mike Banas P.I.  Mike informs me that he and wife (former Stargate Associate Producer Jennifer Johnson) have been so busy working on home renovations that their dog, Ruby, has had to entertainment herself.

I guess it's true what they say. Golden Retrievers ARE smart dogs!

Today, I celebrated Ivon R. Bartok Day by going to lunch with the birthday boy.  We were joined by Robert Cooper at La Tacqueria for – what else? – tacos!

The Birthday Boy!

Rob!

The tacos = chorizo and mushrooms, tongue, mole chicken, and beef cheeks.

And Mexican coke!

We talked projects on the go including Rob's own terrific horror feature (based on true events!) that I'm sure he'll tell you all about the next time he swings by for a Q&A.  We got together for a couple of hours and then it was time for Ivon to head back to his place and get back to work on our horror movie sizzle reel.  Birthday or not, that trailer aint gonna produce itself!

Two conference calls scheduled for today but the second one, rescheduled from last week, has been rescheduled to next week.  The first one, I'm pleased to report, went very well.  We discussed a terrific property that, if done right, would be a lot of fun to work on.  The people I spoke with are apparently eager to get going, so Paul and I will take the weekend to go over the source material and then get back to them early next week and see whether we're on the same page creatively and production-wise.  In the meantime, our agent will continue his inquiries.

It would seem that, lately, everything is coming up horror for me. From a creative standpoint anyway.  Over the past few days, I've been working on fleshing out the story for a new horror feature idea (I do some of my best thinking while I'm driving or walking the dogs) I'd like to get started on once I've finished my rewrite on the first one.  I've lined up some horror viewing to get me in the proper mind frame: The Devil's Backbone, Cold Prey, Calvaire, and Imprint (Takashi Miike's banned episode from the Masters of Horror series).  Of course, I'll be watching alone.  Akemi can barely get through an episode of The Walking Dead.

Fortunately, while I'm focused on screening horror movies, she can turn her mind to equally productive matters.  Like, say, making pistachio chocolates…

Some interesting entries in the "It May Surprise You To Know (t.v. edition)…"  And plenty of surprises.  Reminds me of the time Ming-Na told me she was a closet Hoarders fan.

Today's blog entry is dedicated to belated birthday gal Deni!