September ~ October

The months flash by and I can hardly keep up with them. I'll try to fill in the last two.

I had a meeting with Dennis O'Brien about non-profits and he was pretty sure that the Melodrama and for sure Greater Wallace were at the peak of grant money. I asked him about reinstating Dream Gulch Productions and he said they are making it easier to do, but there is a $400 fee. I've downloaded the paperwork and secured Board members. I've got the raffle going in the meantime, so it should work out well. The tickets cost $265 and the raffle prize is $500 (not the Black Hills Gold Bracelet.) So far we've sold a couple hundred. They're at Harvest Foods, thanks to Jon Cantamessa and at the 1313 Club … Thanks to you Dean Cooper and Jill. Need $765 to break even of course, so this may just be publicity and nothing with which we can start the next film. Lisa, the office manager at the Elks will handle the entire dinner for just over $600. A huge savings from last year, but still we need the people to turn out. Panhandle Linen can supply the table clothes and napkins for around $160 then there's the matter of settling up with the Elks. I think that will be very little as John Turner is letting us use his discount. I'm sounding more and more like a business administrator instead of a film director.

Gordon Turner our cameraman runs a Mining Outfit place and wanted to design T-shirts for us. He came up with a great half-tone in black and white from the stills of the 1-sheet.

The Cast the Crew Screening was on October 12 at the Shoshone Building. We had a little wrap party beforehand down in the flower shop. Indy works there part time and was able to get the location for nothing. I got an ice cream cake at Walmart as usual and we had sparkling cider for a toast. Indy had real glasses, so I didn't have to use the plastic. Gordon had the T-shirts ready and passed them out. I didn't know he was doing this for free so it was quite a surprise. Christmas in October.

I herded about thirty of us into the upstairs of the Shoshone Building when it was dark. I had forgotten that the entry light at the stairway doesn't work so people had to use their cell phones to go up the 26 steps. I sat up benches earlier in the day and had the PS3 and my video projector as well as the amp and speakers set up to go. I was pleased with the projection. A couple of shots need muting and the sound was all over the place of course. The group seemed to like the movie and the only question was about the “in memory of Jeff Busby” chryon at the end. I let them know that Jeff tried to work on the last movie but got too ill to continue. He passed away in February. We never got a chance to patch up our disagreement before his death, but I still feel like Jeff and I knew each other in another life and were shoved together in this one to try and figure things out. The memory of him is of the good things, though he wasn't an easy soul to be around. I keep the coffee mug that he and Vickie gave me in sight, and it gives me a lift when I feel down. It's a white, sturdy mug with black letters that simply say “BELIEVE”. I do believe Jeff. Maybe that's what we needed to work out. I know we'll meet again, maybe in one of those dimensions Across Bank Street somewhere.

I'm continuing my membership with the Historic Silver Valley Chamber and also met with the new director of the Wallace chamber, Meaghann Bell. (love that name) She is an energetic person with a background in marketing and publicity. I showed her the new Premiere Passes and covers. She charged me the non-profit fee for membership. Very good. I'll attend the meeting on November 19 and hopefully be the main speaker at the December 3^rd meeting.

Mary Heston, who is taking over the marketing for the Across Bank Street series, set up the Trunk or Treat space for Halloween in Kellogg right across from Yoke's Grocery. There must have been 3 or 400 people there and we got to give out our candy and she sold several raffle tickets. She had their truck decorated for Halloween with “The Last Witch” written all over it. Tom, her husband was there and Alex, her son and our production assistant, helped with the lights and all. Every little bit helps.

I continue to work on the timeline and DVD cover. I still need covers for the premiere passes printed up.

On the home front, I have installed a pot belly stove and purchased wood from a local man who helped split it up and stack it on my front porch. I hope it will help cut down on the high heating bill here in the winter. In the meantime, I'm thinking about the holidays and what a mess my house is. I started remodeling the downstairs bathroom in April and still have a ways to go before it's usable. I have a guy coming over on Monday to see about the dishwasher which has been down for the last year. It's a “must have” appliance during the holidays as far as I'm concerned. My son is looking for a cat sitter for either Thanksgiving or Christmas. It would be great to have them here for either one... or both! Wow wouldn't that be great! Finances are at a low. It didn't help to take on the summer jobs, it just took time away from promoting the films. I'll have to change that next year. Stan Lee always said to stay in debt... it makes you work harder!