They Should've Never Given Me an Extra Day Off:Weekend Wrap-up

Thursday:
I rehearsed my scenes for Spin Cycle along with Nataki Caver and Derrick Engleberg, who have the lead roles of Emma and Alex. Director/Big Dog Filmmaker Rod Pitts was also there. I rehearsed my Film Geek scene in the hopes of filming it on Sunday. It didn't happen, due to miscommunication, and I am unable to get a decent haircut for another week. I love filmmaking!

Friday:
My mom had a belated birthday lunch with my brother. I popped in on that. Hey, it was a free meal....I mean, a perfect opportunity to spend quality time with my family who I love dearly. From there, I rolled out to Somerville, Tennesse and picked up my cousin Anwar. We saw Take the Lead at the Malco theatre in Collierville. Yes, it was cheesy and predictable. But, doggone it, I like the movies where the underdog comes out on top! Plus, there were some cute actresses playing high schoolers that had to be in their mid-20s. And I was glad to see Marcus T. Paulk still working (http://imdb.com/name/nm0667207/). He was the little brother on Moesha. Plus, Antonio Banderas is just cool, man. He's Zorro!

Later, after dropping Anwar off at his parents' house, I cruised to the University of Memphis area, picked up the homeboy Bryan Newcomb (Mail Call, Just the Two of Us), and we rolled out to the Muvico Theatre at Peabody Place and we saw Scary Movie 4. I liked the cameos of Shaq and Dr. Phil, and they parodied Million Dollar Baby, Saw, War of the Worlds, Brokeback Mountain, The Village, and The Grudge. I liked it! Hey, I don't always want Citizen Cane or Bridge on the River Kwai. Sometimes I like simple and entertaining.

Saturday:
I assisted Rod on Spin Cycle. We shot scenes with Derrick and Taki from about noon until almost 8 PM. Derrick's a bad influence on me, but he keeps the mood light. We shot mainly around the U of M and at a nearby McDonald's. I didn't see those scenes because I was lugging supplies to the next location. PAs and sound men are unsung heroes, kinda like Lee Majors in The Fall Guy. I'm the unknown soundman that made Pittstop Productions such a star...okay, I'm getting carried away. It's a good thing I act, too. I'll get a little shine off of this production, hopefully.

Sunday:

I rolled around, ran some errands, and that night I went to the KRS-One hip-hop show. My good friends the Iron Mic Coalition and Rogue Squadron opened for him. The Rogue Squadron includes some members of IMC (www.ironmiccoaliton.net), members of Poisonous Dialects (www.myspace.com/poisondie), IMC's Fathom 9 (www.myspace.com/fathom9thebrotherhoodofdoom ), Ptah Maximus( whose muic can be heard at www.myspace.com/ptahmaximus), and others. They put on a good show. Next, the Iron Mic Coaliton brought down the house. They all came out with dress shirts and ties in secret identity mode, then opened their shirts to reveal different superhero t-shirts. Fathom 9 was Batman. Daian aka Darelic was Spider-Man (my favorite). They rocked. Then, there was a lengthy intermission before KRS-One came on. KRS-One gave us old-school hip-hop at its finest. His hypeman, S-5, also rhymed. The crowd was hype. KRS-One did a lot of freestyling (making up rhymes on the spot) and he also told people to call home on their cell phones so he could leave a message. One guy actually called his mom and KRS-One had a rhyming conversation with her. That was just cool! Afterwards, I ate at Perkins with some of the IMC and this other MC who performed, Cosmo. He's a local cat that raps and sings. Cosmo has an album called Blue that's on cdbaby.com. He's also at www.myspace.com/cosmomusic. I was proud of my people, man. I'm tired, but it was worth it!

Today, I plan on seeing the 7 PM screening of Across the River, directed by UofM grad student John Harvey. I auditioned for it, but was unsuccessful in securing a role. I still plan to support. I do believe that fellow blogmaster Jon "Sparky" Sparks is in the film. Hey, it's not always about me...just 91% of the time. Be easy, readers.