March 1, 2006

HC Newsletter - March 1, 2006

Friends,

This being the first day of March, it's time for a fresh edition of the "Humboldt County" newsletter. February was an active month, and we made some marked progress. Here is a bit of insight into our efforts and accomplishments during the last four weeks:

1) Script: Based on recent feedback and notes we've received from a number of respectable sources (many of you included), we have completed another version of the script. Structurally, thematically, and tonally, the screenplay is the same, but we have enriched several of the characters and enhanced Peter's (the protagonist's) internal struggle and conflict with others. The script will continue to evolve until the day we start shooting, but we are confident that these recent improvements make this version the most compelling by far.

2) Casting: We continue to engage in lengthy discussions and/or face-to-face meetings with the most prominent talent agencies in town with the aim of attracting their clients to this film. As I mentioned in last month's newsletter, casting is a slow process. Industry practices only allow us to make one offer at a time for each role, and it can take nearly two weeks for a response. We have had a couple of meetings with interested actors, but at this point, we haven't made any hard commitments. We promise to share names of actors as soon as we make any deals, but for now we're going to keep this information confidential, for obvious reasons.

The most significant development in the casting area this month was Darren & Danny's decision to adopt different roles in the film. Previously, Danny was going to play the lead role of Peter, and Darren was going to play Max. Danny & Darren will now be playing Steve & Bob, two supporting characters who are Humboldt born and bred. This change was made to improve the chances of attracting more widely recognized acting talent to the project as well as to speed up the process of fully financing the film.

3) Financing: This month was filled with meetings with prospective investors. We are increasingly upbeat about achieving our financing targets in the not-too-distant future. This is not to say that we've stopped pounding the pavement for funding, though. So, as I do every month, I'm asking you all to introduce this opportunity to anyone you think might be interested. It's very important, as without sufficient financing, we can't make this movie.


We have also been making progress in assembling our crew and in identifying locations in which to shoot. We have a good deal of work ahead of us in every area, but our growing team will help us to divide and conquer.

Finally, due largely to the change that we made to the cast last month -- namely that we're recasting the lead roles -- we have elected to push back our start date to mid-July. It is possible that we'll begin production earlier than that, but this rescheduling should give us ample time to complete our cast, finalize our financing, and over-prepare for the our next set of challenges.

Until next time, please don't hesitate to contact me, to ask a question, voice a concern, or shout some encouragement.

Regards,

Jason

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