Portland = Done.

We added Portland. 10/26 at the Hollywood Theater.

Also getting very close on Birmingham for a screening at the University of Alabama through their Counseling Center.

You might feel a prick ...

Kurt is a genius!!! Check out his posters for The Grind House. My favorite is the "You might feel a prick" one. Classic.

That sweet ass smile

Tonight's Aaron and Debbie's Going Away get together. They're headed to Los Angeles next week. One last plea, don't go, guys. I know Debbie's starting grad school next month and I'm beside myself with pride over that. And I know, Aaron, that you'll get out there and kick that city wide open with your mad artistic skills. Hell, it's just a matter of time for the studios to discover how crazy talented you are. I remember when I met you back in the summer of 1999. We were shooting cicadas and someone, Debbie Smith maybe, brought you out to the set to help grip. You were this tall, lanky UT kid with bright white golfer shoes and a sweet ass smile. I don't remember how or why we started hanging out after that, probably film related, but we became fast friends. You've been an amazing, friend, collaborator, inspiration, editor, advisor and human being. I sincerely hope that life brings you back to Austin, but deep down in my heart, I know that great things are just around the corner in Los Angeles. Remember all of our crazy adventures from cops in Johnson City, tornados in Wichita Falls, to the last picture show in Archer City. I'm gonna miss you guys something fierce.
Love.
Kat

Mad frenzy

We added Boston today. 10/7/06, 6:30pm at the Capital Theater. And Tracy's about to nail Portland. I'm still waiting to hear from folks at Counseling Centers in Baltimore, Birmingham and Denver.

We're gearing up for our Dallas screening. We've been hounding the press, making flyers, targeting the universities, mental health groups and suicide prevention coalitions.

I've been on a mad writing frenzy. I'm about 47 pages into a new script that I started about 2 or 3 weeks ago. I camped out every morning last week at 6:30am at Quacks. It's a fun one. And yes, it involves kids. I had to take a break from another one that I was working on. I made a pact with Justin to swap scripts in mid-August so I'm trying really hard to not let it suck when I put it in his hands.

Headed to Dallas this weekend to give a workshop. I'm very much looking forward to seeing Mr. and Mrs. Aguilar. Those kids. Just love 'em.

Lady in the Water

I loved this film. I'm a little beside myself as to why everyone's bashing it the way they are. Yes, the story is pretty out there and kind of ridiculous, but it didn't matter to me. Just like all of the tenants in the complex, I let all of the implausibilities fly out the window and went along for the ride. Mark and I had a long discussion about it and he can probably explain it better than me, but it's the first film that Shyamalan let his heart ripple onto the page. It's not about the twist or the camera movement or trying to be a great filmmaker, it's about a love for humanity, community and hope.

August Screenings

August 9th (Wednesday), 7pm
Angelika Film Center (Mockingbird Station)
Dallas, TX
Ticket Price - $5
Filmmakers in Attendance
http://www.videofest.org/2006_pre/

August 11th (Friday), 7:30pm, New Firehouse Theatre
Louise H. Underwood Center for the Arts (511 Ave. K)
Lubbock, Texas
Director in Attendance
www.flatlandfilmfestival.com

JOB Tour in the works

Here's what we have so far. We'll be adding dates and locations to the list as we lock them down.

The Weird, the quirky, the plotless ...

One of my most anticipated films of the year is Monster House. I watch the trailer and giggle and get excited like I did when I'd see a trailer for the next muppet movie or Indiana Jones adventure.

Mark and I have been walking the 7 mile loop at Town Lake on Saturdays and Sundays. The two hours gives us lots of time to talk and shoot the shit. This weekend we talked about how my writing and my movie ideas are slowly creeping away from the more independent minded films. Hmmm .... yeah, I can see that. I sit and wonder, is this such a bad thing? I always gravitated towards the weird, the quirky, the lengthy, the plotless kind of films that I emulated. I still do. But my ideas ... they're digressing. They're becoming more commercial. Yikes. That god awful word. Shit, I don't care.

Please accept my apologies.

Larry Clark, I apologize. I take back the mean things I said. I take back any doubt that I had about you. Wassup Rockers, though completely flawed, poorly acted, not well written and sometimes absolutely ridiculous is one of the sweetest films I've seen in a long time. Your affection for these kids is written all over the screen. Not the old dirty man kind of affection that you're so often accused of, but the sincere, genuine kind. It's a sweet, sweet film with a heart the size of Los Angeles. So please accept my apologies. Sincerely. Kat Candler

wassup rockers

larry clark is a strange bird to me. i have a love/hate relationship with his films. well at least the two that i've seen ... kids and bully. i take that back, i saw half of another day in paradise. i think i fell asleep or got bored or something. but kids and bully ... i was riveted and disgusted. those two left me with a belly ache and a need to crawl into a ball on my bed and cry over the humanity of these children. i never rented a bootleg copy of ken park. mainly i stayed away because i heard it was way too gratuitous for my taste. rumor has it, wassup rockers is the tamest of them all. i'll find out in a few hours. i can relate to mr. clark in his obsession with adolescence. however, i question sometimes why he's obsessed. but who am i to say. i love stories about youth. it doesn't matter the genre or style. i've seen almost every teen film ever. from can't hardly wait to elephant to the outsiders to confessions of a teenage drama queen to over the edge. someday i need to write a paper, "why i can't shake my fixation with the adventures and misadventures of teens". my friday afternoon, ready to go home, ramblings.

Hello Jacksonville

Things are brewin' with Brain Brawl. Things are movin' and shakin', hoppin' and floppin'. All hands are pointing toward the Mayor of Jacksonville. John Peyton. Little does this man know, he will fall in love with us. Mayors have a tendency to do that. For good reason of course. I think we're pretty cool, nice down to earth folk. We mean well and try to be good people. That's our way. Good things come to people who are nice and treat people with respect and kindness. More words to live by.

Words to live by ...

Mortgage meeting = very informative. I can now intelligently talk about loan origination fees, hazard insurance premiums and FHA loans vs. conventional loans. It's fun being an adult.

In other news, I sat on the patio of Central Market last night pouring through each scene of Brain Brawl. After much deliberation, I told Stacy I wanted 40 days of shooting. There was a long pause over the phone. Hmmm ... I think we'll have to compromise on that one. But really it's gonna be tough. We'll be dealing with child actors (in every scene), several HUGE scenes that involve lots and lots of child extras (like pep rallies, auditoriums, school hallways) and more involved camera moves. It's a big production, no doubt.

Stacy keeps calling in from Jacksonville with reports about this and that. She's gathering info and meeting all of the players. I'm excited for her visit to The Bolles School. Her tour's tomorrow afternoon. This would be Hampton Academy, where most of the script takes place. I envision the other school Lee Junior High at my old high school, Stanton College Prep. Back in the day, Stanton was rated the #1 high school in America by U.S. News and World Reports. Stanton is basically my inspiration for Brain Brawl.

Stacy's also meeting with several teachers to talk about putting together an internship program with the Duval County School System. When I thought about the process of how a movie was made as a kid, I had no idea. No clue. Never thought I could ever do something like that. No way, no day. So yeah, it'd be cool to teach these kids that it's totally possible. As my dad always told me, you can do anything you put your mind to. Words to live by.

No Central Austin for me.

I saw a raccoon and a possum on my morning run. I think I was more afraid of them than they were of me. I'll usually head in the opposite direction when I see a stray dog. I almost headed in the the opposite direction both times. I'm a wimp when it comes to animals that can bite huge chunks out of my legs.

Stacy's in Jacksonville right now doing what she does best ... getting shit done. I know I don't say this enough ... Stacy always impresses and inspires me. She may get a little stressed out sometimes, but then again don't we all, but I couldn't have dreamed up a better partner in crime.

On that note, I have to go home and pour through the current Brain Brawl budget and schedule before she gets back on Friday. That's my major homework assignment.

And I have a meeting with a mortgage guy tomorrow. He can make it official by telling me that Central Austin is not happening. Not in a million years. Not in my lifetime. Not even if I get a raise next year or get a second job. Sigh. I'll continue to dream about the cute little houses with square pillars and gables. No one can take that away from me.

Zillow and Zillionaires

I've kept busy the past hour or two with mortgage calculators, home searches and my new friend, Zillow. Yes, I can pretty much find out the value of all of your houses. And, in a fit of boredom, I probably looked up a few. When Mark and I took a preliminary house hunting excursion last Sunday I became pretty troubled by what we discovered. How do people afford to live in this city? Seriously? What do people do here that affords them the luxury of purchasing a $300,000 home? I don't get it. It's not enough to have a decent paying job, a husband with a decent paying job and a little bit of savings? I have to be a zillionaire I guess. We'll take another drive this weekend to check out some more affordable neighborhoods. "Up and coming" as some of them are called.

We're having a lazy reunion of sorts this weekend for our JOB cast/crew. They're all off being brilliant these days, god bless 'em.

Oh and if you live in Austin and are anti-meat, you should try Nu Age Cafe. Don't get turned off by the website. It's cheesy, I know. Specifically try their House Salad. It's the kind of salad I dream about.

Loud Landscapers

I'm learning that things get done much quicker by phone. I know this is a stupid lesson to learn. And one that I should've known long, long ago. Perhaps I will conquer this fear. It's just a matter of confidence. Something I have a lot of and then later on find myself having very little of. It comes in waves.

I got lots of writing done this morning at Quack's. That is until three people sat next to me and talked about landscape design quite loudly and disrupted my flow. Damn landscapers!

I'm ready for a good long walk on Town Lake. I hear it's beautiful outside, although I wouldn't know sitting in my windowless office. But soon, in fact 40 minutes I'll be out that door so fast I might forget to turn off my space heater. Yes, I have a space heater in my office. Because it's friggin' freezing in here!

Lazy 4-Day Weekend

I fell asleep at 7:30pm last night. And I didn't wake up to the sounds of fireworks or roman candles in the streets. I heard it rained. But I wouldn't have known. I guess I needed the 10 hours of sleep.

It was a good weekend. The highlights include:

1) Running the 7 mile loop with Stacy Saturday morning. I love to see all the familiar faces each week as we pass the morning runners. It's like being a member of a morning club.
2) Riding in a car with my boy Sunday afternoon looking at houses. Despite getting a little depressed over the outrageous housing costs in this city, it was still nice to drive around aimlessly.
3) Watching Harriet the Spy for the umpteenth time. I don't know why that movie charms me so much but it does. Each time I make a movie, I have a film that I make everyone watch. For cicadas it was What's Eating Gilbert Grape. For jumping it was Elephant. For Brain Brawl, it's Harriet the Spy.
4) Spending July 4th with Mark's sisters and then getting to hang out with Meredith and Ryan for the rest of the afternoon. I'm so glad Ryan's back. I miss those stupid talks we have about nothing in particular that last for hours.

I was sad to miss Bryan Poyser's party on Monday night. Sadly a meeting that lasted until 9pm and an upset tummy kept me from going. It would've been nice to see the Austin film folks that I rarely see anymore.