My cinematographer is coming over today to watch a rough cut of the short film we shot three weeks ago. She’s the first person to see a cut of the film, which is both exciting and completely nerve-wracking. (Not nearly as nerve-wracking as the first time we show the film to a big audience, though). Until she gets here, I figured I would get some “blogging” done like a good boy.

Saturday morning I went to yoga, another one of those mandatory LA activities. When I first entered, however, I was surprised to see the usually jam-packed room had only a handful of people inside. It occurred to me as I unrolled my yoga mat that maybe the yoga fad had come and gone, replaced by low-carb-tae-bo-pilates or something, but by the time class started the place was once again full of beautiful women getting their “downward dog” on. (In addition to its obvious health benefits, yoga also provides a chance for a single guy like me to be one of the few men in a room full of attractive women. Which makes up for all the teasing I get from friends who insist that “only gay men do yoga.” If they only knew…)

The afternoon was spent out in the Valley (that’s what we call the San Fernando Valley, a huge sweltering patch of dirt just north of LA), on the set of an independent film a few friends are producing. It’s a high school movie, low budget (which means just under $1M, if you can believe that), and the crew was fairly small. It’s amazing- it doesn’t really matter how much money you have, most movie sets really just consist of actors, a core crew, a camera and some sound recording gear. I guess the bigger the budget, the more people you have hanging around on set drinking Snapples and talking on their cellphones. There were a few “B-list” celebrities there (I’m not at liberty to name drop, unfortunately), including one of those “reality television stars who became famous because they are the daughter of a real celebrity.” Apparently, casting her in the film meant something to the investors, who naturally want the most appealing cast possible to appeal to distributors when the film is finished. (The more recognizable the cast, the better their odds of selling the film and making their money back). Nonetheless I was surprised to see her in the movie, and as expected, her acting proved she should stick to “reality.” I hung out and met the crew, some of whom will hopefully be working on a teen comedy I wrote that is being produced by the same company and is supposed to shoot this August. (More on that later). And of course I timed my visit perfectly, as the crew broke for lunch an hour after my arrival. To live as a writer means never letting a free meal opportunity pass you by. I had the swordfish.