mcdougherty

Yesterday we traveled down to Berlin, MD and checked out Frontier Town to make sure that this location would work for us to begin filming on April 11^th. We also checked out the Francis Scott Key Resort which will be using to house our actors/crew.

Where’s my head, let me catch you up if you don’t already know. With the help of people far talented (and greatly more attractive) than myself, I’m working a “Browncoats:Redemption” an independent film set in the Universe of Joss Whedon’s “Firefly”. (If you don’t know about Firefly please feel free to leave this blog and check out http://www.hulu.com/firefly and then come back to keep reading) Now I know some of you are going to cry “I smell fan film” and you’d be only partially right. We’re treating this more like an Indie film than a fan film. Real locations, seasoned actors/actresses, talented crew members that have worked on films, and then there’s me. In just four weeks I get to direct them all. (If you don’t already know enough about the film, go leave this blog and check out http://www.browncoatsmovie.com and then come back)

Until now I’ve been playing a support role, helping my business partners, in whatever way I can, to get this thing to the day where I get to live a dream of making a film. Hell I even wrote the thing after establishing the plot and characters with my friend Steve Fisher. We established that the films proceeds will go to five charities supported by the creator and crew of Firefly. Also, with the help of some really honest friends, than I’m thankful to have, the script became something that I’m still amazed that people are like “Hey...this isn’t half bad” or variations of that.

Where some people would probably let this thing get to their head, I’m so damned focused on seeing this through and not fucking it up that I’ll wait till it’s done, I’ve had enough alcohol afterwards to probably destroy my liver in celebration, and finally caught up on some long lost hours of sleep to figure out if any ego will be attached to this. Could I write a longer sentence? Probably. Just give me time.

So back to yesterday, we (Steve the business partner, Bart the Director of Photography, and Tara the newly christened (why does that always sound religious to me?) Production Manager/Location Scout guru) crammed into Bart’s SUV and trucked the two hours and a few down to meet Alex (Production Designer Extraordinaire) and Fran, the property manager, at Frontier Town, a western theme park where we will film what looks to be a good 60-70% of the film.

For a little background, from the age of about eleven to about sixteen or so, my parents used to take us camping at Frontier Town as a summer vacation with my uncle, aunt, and their typically Irish family of four kids. The beauty was that Ocean City was just twenty minutes away, but if they didn’t want to take the drive that day to the beach, or the boardwalk, there was the Frontier Town Western Theme Park where from 10am to 6pm the Wild West came to life with gun fights, bank robberies, attacking Indians, and can-can dancers…I wonder which got the most of my teenage time. ;)

Anyway, for jackass family squabbling reasons beyond my comprehension to this day, we stopped going as a family, but the place never left my brain. With its overly colorful buildings and lived in feel, I’ve always wanted to return to the place, but haven’t figured out how to convince my wife, who already patiently tolerates my geekdom, to suffer a two hour drive to watch me turn into a twelve year old boy again. But now…she gets to help make a 12 year olds dream come true (twenty-one years later) as the costume designer for the film, along with the help of some extremely talented people backing her up.

I can not wait to begin filming at this location. Alex, Bart, Steve, and Tara all seemed stoked to be able to do their creative thing to help bring this film to a reality. From the main street, to the saloon, to the small bar where

ceosanna

I can’t wait to keep you posted and return back to blogging more often to give my already crowded head a break.

I am re-instilled with hope.

Hope that the new president can show the U.S. and the rest of the world that we are more than just old white guys in suits making bad decisions.

Hope that my charity movie project will be successful (more on that in a later post, but for now visit my Facebook page and look for “Browncoats: Redemption”).

Hope that in the next few years, I will have lived in a time where I can say “History was made…and I was a part of it”.

And ultimately, hope that I can become the person I am to be. Fully and completely. No more living from “to do lists”, no more standing in the shadow of the screwed up family life I had as a child, and no more fear that I can accomplish any damned thing I want.

I now live in a time where I have seen the ultimate American Dream realized to it’s fullest. I think no one in this country can rely on the excuse, any more, that “it’s not possible”. Because it is… if you work for it.

But this is a dangerous time... it's early and hope, much like a candle, can be blown out at the hardest wind. Our new president, as of January, carries now the mantle of hope for all Americans...and I hope to whatever dear and fluffy lord you believe in... that he doesn't fuck it up!

Close to twenty-four hours after the news broke I learned that one of my favorite comic book artists, Michael Turner, died of cancer. The story of my going basement for Dawn creator Joseph Michael Linsner at last years DragonCon are still told, but that doesn’t overshadow my love of other comic artists.

I actually met Michael Turner several years back at both Baltimore Comic Con and one of the Wizard Cons. He was a really great guy to talk to. Cool, relaxed and genuinely made you feel like he was listing to you talk. Now I’m rarely one of those guys that goes gushing over what issue was great and how this did that, in my non-comic book career having opinion, but I remember asking how his battle with cancer was going and how he was feeling. Not in a smartass way, but genuinely asking. He stopped the line of people autographing and talked to me for about ten minutes AFTER signing the Tomb Raider End Game poster he drew and my limited edition hardback“Wizard Collects the Works of a Comic Art Master – Michael Turner” (#203 of 299). When enough people seemed to complain he said, “Come back a little later when the line dies down and we’ll talk more”. Of course, him being extremely popular and on a tight schedule, that never happened, but it left me feeling like this is one of those people that set the bar very high for those dicks who want to charge $30 for an autograph, but haven’t done shit in years.

Michael Turner, I will miss the new artwork you could have put out, but you still inspire me to pick up a pencil and draw

Happy 4th of July. As we celebrate this federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Less than 200 years later, really there is only 7 day’s difference, I was born. It makes me realize just how little, and how much, has changed since then.

John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

"...July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

First and fore most, I tried to update my amazon.com wish list and ended up having to create a new one. I think I did it wrong, because I can't see it. If you want to look it up it will be under Michael C. Dougherty Baltimore MD. It gives me the link of

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1JS80JU8LZB9T

I just can't seem to figure it out. Bah...

The day has come. I'm officially Old +2. 

I woke up this morning, did the usual routine and drove to work. Not much out of the ordinary, but being a grouch in the morning before I get coffee...I'm not pleasant to be around.  Needless to say everyone who saw me stopped me with "Happy Birthday...How old are you now?" When the response of "You never ask a woman her age" didn't get a reaction the "Old enough to know that I need coffee to be polite at this hour" seemed to do it. 

It's not that I didn't enjoy, want or welcome the Birthday wishes, but I am just really NOT a morning person in any way shape or form. Give me till you see the first cup of coffee downed or the first hour after the wake up to be done.

in the blog or in the head?

I had created webmonkeyjr as a livejournal account here a long while back and just feel that, for some strange reason, I need to be releaved of it. I'm coming up on Old +2 (that's 32 in Uncle Mike speak if you're a 6 year old neice who insists on asking your age) in less than a week. 

I'm taking the time now to spend one day a week, at least, to update my life here in livejournal in a way that is far removed from the overly gregarious personality that most people have come to know. Show that side of me what the wife see's of just spending a lot of hours being quiet for no reason other that I don't feel like I have much valuable to say. 

I'm getting to a place spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically (as the saying goes) where I can relate to a crab (a Cancerian reference) shedding it's skin and growing by 33%. I'm taking a very good friends advice, albeit a bit late, and going over my accomplishments...soley so I can put perspective into the things I've done in my life, but enjoyed very little because I was focused on just doing them:

I'm am:
an accomplished poet
published a comic book series (that may see the light of day again one day)
musician
actor (Lysander in A Mid Summer Nights Dream)
stand up comedian
a former soldier
a former business owner

I'm wrapping up a novel that's taken a good year of my life to work on. My heart just wasn't in finishing it out of fear of completing it. It's one of the few things I've worked on where I don't want it to end because I really just enjoy what I've created. 

 I'm blogging about marketing and design on a popular site. I'm a bit behind and that's my fault, but I'm working on a few more posts. Those are on http://www.technosailor.com


When you put them on paper, any one of those can easily be someone's life goal. For me, until now, they have been a list of things I've accomplished. I'm set on making sure the next 32 years are not just filled with a list of things, but are filled with things I've enjoyed doing and filled with people I enjoyed spending time with.