"The Car Chasers" Season 2 wrapped on the 3rd of December for me.  The future was unsure job-wise, but I had saved some money in case I would not be able to find a job until after the holidays.  That night, it was a Tuesday, I received an email from a fellow former Car Chaser with a job lead.  She  had sent my resume to an executive producer, she might be contacting me.  I made the mistake of checking my phone in the middle of the night that night and I had an email from the EP telling me to contact her about the job, so I was nervous and excited and didn't sleep great.

The next day I phone interviewed and the EP asked me to come in for an in-person interview as she was going out of town the next day for a shoot.  I shaved my "relaxing into unemployment beard" and went to the interview.  I got the job offer in the room and accepted.

It was a perfect situation: same rate as my last show, shorter commute, two weeks of work before the two week holiday break then at least a couple of months of work in the New Year.

So I'm now the Story Associate Producer on 51 Mind's Heroes of Cosplay for SyFy.

Heroes of Cosplay is a tantalizing docu-series that lifts the veil on the imaginative world of cosplay and the passionate fans - from legends to newbies - who put their imagination and skills to the test to make a name for themselves in this colorful and competitive world.

Cosplayers and cosplay contests are a fixture and highlight at the many comic book and genre fan conventions around the world. These conventions provide an international stage for fans to showcase often spectacular handcrafted costumes and portray their favorite characters from sci-fi movies, video games, anime and more.

And now I have that money that I saved for unemployment just burning a hole in my account, maybe I'll use it to buy some L200 foam to make a Gijinka version of a legendary Pokemon...

And tonight is the wrap party of "The Car Chasers" Season 2.  You can watch episodes of "The Car Chasers" here.

The Car Chasers, tonight on CNBC at 10pm

My show The Car Chasers premieres tonight.  Two episodes, 10pm and 10:30pm on CNBC.  Look for my name in the credits (and send me a picture of it please, ha!  I don't have CNBC...)

Quick Update

On Monday I started a new gig as the Story Associate Producer on CNBC's "The Car Chasers."

A new season of The Car Chasers is coming this fall! Jeff Allen and Perry Barndt are gamblers… their game, classic and exotic cars. They travel the country looking to buy and sell cars. Whether it's a rare Shelby Mustang or a vintage hot rod, the key is buy low and sell high, something that doesn't always happen. Selling cars is a dangerous business… but perhaps there's no greater danger than negotiating with your own dad.

Right now you can watch 3 television shows that I've worked on.

The first of the Final Five episodes of A&E's Intervention starts tonight.  I had the privilege of working on over 100 episodes as a transcriber, logger, production assistant, and eventually story assistant.  One of my last tasks on the show was writing a webbie, that was posted on the official website last week (and I have posted in the "Reality" tab on my site).  I am proud to have worked on the show.

When my time at "Intervention" ended I logged for We's Pregnant & Dating.  This was the best job.  I logged from home and basically got paid pretty well to watch great footage.  I'm excited to see the episodes!

Currently I am the story assistant on Oxygen's I'm Having Their Baby and I have assisted the story producers and editors on every episode.  I am also in charge of all of the digital content for the season so I have compiled extra interview bits and preview scenes from the episodes, as well as writing and editing new Bonus Videos for each birth mother.  I have learned so much in the handful of months that I've been on this show.

So watch Intervention, Pregnant & Dating, and I'm Having Their Baby!

Another kind of screenwriting

I wrote a webbie for A&E's Intervention!



And this will be the first video in a new page I'm adding to my site: Reality.  I'm currently in charge of all of the web content for Oxygen's "I'm Having Their Baby" so I've been writing a lot more webbies and putting together interview pieces and things like that.

When Sushi Met Saki

Right now, in Tokyo, the cast and crew are finishing shooting a movie I wrote called When Sushi Met Saki.

I got the gig through Craigslist!  I sent in an email and the Producer called me for an over the phone job interview of sorts.  He sent me a movie that he had previously produced, I watched it, and we met.  I got the job and we spent 6 or so months writing the script.  I outlined, he gave notes, I did several drafts, he gave notes and sent ideas and I incorporated them (or occasionally argued as to why I didn't want to).

When I started writing it I worked at night at "Intervention" so I would work at night and write during the day when I wasn't with Christian or catching up on sleep.  Then, I got a promotion and started working during the day so I had to adjust.  You would find me on my laptop during my lunch break, writing a couple pages a day.

So I finished the script and sent it in, the Producer had already done a lot of the Pre-Production, including visiting Japan a couple times to get a crew and scout locations.  He would send me casting videos and I got to weigh in.

One actor who auditioned was one of the leads on one of the most popular after school TV shows in the 90s, he did a good job but didn't get the part.

The cast was set: Jonathan Scherr, an American actor who was in the popular Japanese movie My Darling Is A Foreigner, Itsuka, a Japanese music artist, and Jason London from Dazed and Confused.

And they started filming mid-March.  They've been updating me and I've gathered together the pictures they've posted in one album here.

I'm excited to see the finished movie and then go from there.

New Job

"Intervention" went on hiatus in February and I was out of steady job for the first time.  I freelanced for another show that was being produced by the company that produces "Intervention" and began looking for a new gig.  I got to spend time with my family and write, and in that time I wrote a new feature and chipped away at a larger project that I hope to focus on at some point.

Very soon after I finished writing that feature I was hired at another show, it was perfect timing.  I'm now the Story Assistant on I'm Having Their Baby on Oxygen and I'm really happy with the position.

Here's a promo that I worked on for the upcoming season:

         

A bit about my latest screenwriting gig

I haven't yet said much about the screenwriting gig that I've been working on for the past few months, but I finished the script recently and today a Producer sent me the flyer below:

The flyer is for a real event where some scenes of the movie will be filmed.  The text is probably too small to read but under the blue hand with 'Advance Tickets' on the sleeve it reads:

This event will be filmed and take part in a movie entitled (SEARCHING FOR SUSHI AND SAKI) by "MCLIPS" and Japan Video.  MCLIPS is an Independent Hollywood Film Company that makes movies that are not only innovative and meaningful but are meant to "MAKE A DIFFERENCE" in the lives of those that have seen them by inspiring others to do good as well.  Japan Video Support is a Tokyo based video production company that specializes in providing English speaking video production crews for international video productions taking place in Japan.

Then, under that film strip it reads: 

The film "Searching for Sushi and Saki" is about Tom, an American thirty-something who has recently moved to Tokyo from LA for what he thinks is just a temporary gig, struggles with feelings of isolation in a land where he doesn’t speak the language and all of his relationships are online.  He’s self-absorbed and pretends to be a cooler version of himself on the ‘net.

Then he meets Saki, a free-spirited Japanese woman who teaches him about Tokyo and relating to others in a more personal way.  She tries to help him live in the present and communicate with words, not with texts and email.  She gets him to attend a fundraiser concert that she is performing at, which leads him to a whole new outlook on life.

So yeah, I wrote a movie that's going to be shot in Tokyo soon.  I'll keep you posted.

2012 in Review

In 2012, I...

Got a raise, switched from the night shift to the day shift, and got two promotions at my job on A&E's TV show "Intervention."

Freelance logged footage for a show that hasn't premiered yet.

Took a sketch writing class at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

Had a couple meetings with a Producer at Funny Or Die and interviewed for a position at Break.com.

Participated in 4 sketches and wrote 3 articles that were featured on the front page of Funny or Die.

Started and ran The Best Sketch Comedy On The 'Net Tumblr blog which led to free comedy shows, new connections, and a position contributing to Comedy Nerds United, a popular blog that has over 125,000 followers.

Shot a video for fun of my son and my dog dancing to an Adele song that so far has over a quarter of a million views on Youtube.

Wrote a sit-com spec script for my writing packet.

Began writing a novella.

Signed a contract and began writing a paid feature length movie for an Independent Producer.

I'm looking forward to 2013 even though the future is never certain.