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Filmmaker's Diary:
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Writing this diary is kind of a curious thing. It's an honest and more or less spontaneous reflection of my thoughts as I navigate through the process of finishing this movie, but it's also part of the movie's and the band's web presence. And as such--unlike any other journal I've ever kept--it's meant to be read by others. I can't just write in stream of conciousness; it needs to be reasonably understandable. Maybe I shouldn't worry about that. Just put it all down.
Also I need to keep writing them. Unlike a personal journal where I only write when I feel the need, this has to be updated regularly or its purpose is defeated. The purpose being to keep people aware of and interested in the movie. And according to response, it actually is being read. And not just by Ned. Poet, know it. In fact, a new entry has been requested by a number of people.
Well, one is a number. **
Anyway, here it is.
There
actually are a few new developments. The most exciting of which is that I have
some help in the edit room. My good friend and colleague Dionysus Burbano is
very soon going to be knee deep in PopCanon (right now she's in Fiji, but she'll
be back this week), and that's a real good thing. I'm not sure if she knows
exactly what she's signed on for, so let's just keep this between you and me,
smashed hat. [Dropping the Nahasapeemapetilon reference--very
sharp!] Di is a very smart and talented person, and did a lot of
terrific work editing a short called BROKEN CHILD, which she also starred in.
Incidentally, that short was directed by another friend 
Kristin
Scheimer, and was screened at last year's UNDEREXPOSED FILM FESTIVAL. UNDEREXPOSED
is a festival that Kristin and I founded to showcase movies shot on DV that
deserve to be seen. This, of course, includes ours. UNDEREXPOSED II is planned
for this December. Kristin has also proved invaluable when it comes to figuring
out why my editing system isn't doing what I want it to, or when I can't fire
up my scanner.
Anyhow, I'm anxiously awaiting Di's return so I can get her started.
Obviously, Mike Lopez doesn't really have the time (and possibly the interest) in the project to work on it as an editor, so I'll have to make due without him for the time being. Hopefully, he'll be able to help when the sweetening process comes along. Right now is the slapping process. Slapping pieces of video together until they begin to resemble a story. It's coming along slowly.
Actually, it's stopped for the last week because Ned and I have been busy putting
together the content for the two webites I'm putting up. AlexFernandez.com
and SpareroomPictures.com, the
site for my production company Pictures from the Spareroom. The first site is
my personal site, designed as a marketing tool for my acting career. It's rough
right now, but thanks to all the work Ned has done on it already, I can see
it's going to be a very effective marketing tool. It'll be chock full of shit
about me and how much I rock as an actor. Of course, the thrust is that it's
an 'unofficial' site, and that I am not in any way involved with its creation
or upkeep. As far as I can tell, it's the work of a fan or group of fans singlemindedly
dedicated to promoting me, Alex Fernandez. And if the webmaster is captured
or killed, I will disavow any knowledge of their activities. Still, I'm very
excited. I'm also excited about the Spareroom site, since I've come up with
an idea which is going to work great. The site is going to feature everything
anyone would ever want to know about the PopCanon documentary, as well as all
of my past and future film and video projects. 
Basically
the home page will be the door to a sort of punk rock clubhouse, or rock practice
room. The door will be covered with... wait a minute. What am I doing? You'll
see it soon enough. Michael Murphy,
PopCanon bass player extraordinaire and resident webmonkey, has agreed to design
the pages and I couldn't be happier. Along with Ned's help, they're going to
be awesome. Stay tuned.
......
My mom's coming into town tomorrow. She and I are going to paint my apartment. She lives for it. I had to talk her out of going directly from the airport to Home Depot.
** [Neditor: In fact, we received an email today that read, in part, "I simply cannot endure this anymore--I simply must know what color Alex Fernandez has painted his apartment!!!!!!!!!! For God's sake!!!!!! Post a picture from Sherwin-Williams, or something!!!!!!!! Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!" signed by 'longtime fan, C.S.' PopCanon is thrilled that Carl Sagan has taken an interest in Alex's apartment ... unless it was good ol' Charles Shultz ... or, disturbingly, C.S. Lewis. Hmmm, the world is a hell of a place.]
Last night, I attended the screening of THE BARRIO MURDERS, a feature I acted in which was part of the Los Angeles screenings of the New York Independent Film and Video Festival. It's sort of a latino SHAFT. I play a white supremicist with a huge swastika on my chest. I'm the comic relief though, and Caco (that's the Shaft guy) kicks my ass, so the audience loved it. Wake up, white people!
In September I'm going to begin rehearsals for PAINS OF YOUTH, a German expressionist play which I'll be doing in November. It's a play not too many people have heard of, but I and a fierce group of artists love it passionately and we need to put it on. I'll also be directing it, but I don't want to hamstring the production by making it seem like a whole vanity thing, so I'll be doing it under my nom de guerre, Guillermo Cienfuegos. That way we'll be taken more seriously. Also, as a publicity angle, I can make up some shit about this mysterious, foreign director who read the play in prison or something. But again, that's a secret, so don't tell anybody.
Right now in the movie, I'm working on the band's last dinner together before the last show ever. I feel compelled to spend a lot of time on this footage because I hate it so. As I believe I mentioned before, nothing happens and the audio sucks. Well, some stuff happens, but the audio does suck. Still I'm determined to mine something from that three-hour debacle. I'm exaggerating, but not that much. For comic effect. For your amusement you SICK FUCKS! I'm sure that the Neditor will point out from whom I stole that line. [From me, that's whom! You SICK FUCK!]
Speaking of Ned, he'll be in charge of the huge job of editing the tremendous footage shot of the band at the Florida Theatre (it's called something else now, but I can't remember what). He, of course, has his hands full with his beautiful daughter Harper, but I was happy to see just tonight that he's getting started on it. He and Mike Rotolante will also be mixing the sound recorded during the performance somewhere down the line.
Step by step, inch by inch...