Ladies and Gentemen... The cast and crew from "The Evidence Project:"





We had a great shoot last weekend. It was the first of what I hope to be many opportuntiies to shoot in my newly acquired court room set. I've sent out many thanks already, but I have to say "Thanks" again to everyone involved. That's me (on slate), but I'm not actually THANKING myelf... I WOULD like to thank... From L to R... David Saucedo, Alex White, Jonte LeGras, Judge Diana Hart (not a real judge), Bailiff Paul Brunel (Not a real bailiff), Cinematographer Kingsley Opara, Katharine Jameson, Cinematographer Alex Watson, Jailene Arias, Kellie Dantzler and Ana De La Cruz. I also need to thank NON pictured supporting players Vince Freeman (Sound #2), Karen Wright, Brian Cashen, Edwin Ford, Ray Chao and Yolanda Bernal. To the entire cast and crew, Thank you. I'm so grateful for your professionalism and positivity. And last but never ever least my incredibly helpful and supportive wife, my ever patient PA/Kick Ass Crafty/Queen of the Land ...Kristen Huffman. I love you.



Court is adjourned. Have a great weekend.

I just discovered that I can make video of myself from my laptop. It happened accidentally during breakfast....

The view from Nelson's Cafe at Terranea in Palos Verdes, CA on Mother's Day 2013.

I had the mussels. Larry had fish & chips. The ladies had veggie burgers, which were purple.

Must have been beets in those burgers.

We all applauded when the sun sank into the Pacific.

Enjoy.

A few production stiils frome the recent "Tax Law" project that I produced and directed for Wolters Kluwer Law & Business....



Delpaneaux Wills shines as a high level compliance officer in Episode 8: "Recreational Recourse" Produced for Wolters Kluwer Law & Business by indie city entertainment. Directed by James Huffman.




Kristina Johnson kicks butt as Attorney Jennifer Moore in Episode 7: "Borselli's Debt."




Julianna Bolles-Morrison and Raj Jawa talk taxes in Episode 2: "Midcoast makes Good"




Cinematographer Wes Greeson and I mull over the camera moves while actor Gill Hellmund eavesdrops.




PJ Evans plays "Daniel Murphy Jr," as he preps for a meeting with a potential client




Karen Wright was great to have on set. She was a lot of fun.




Karen Wright, keepin it real.

MUNNN-Dayyyy

Raining in LA this morning. The Puppies are soaking wet. After a quick visit to the tub and a thorough towel-down. We're all good. Dy enough.

Now the puppies are playing roller derby. I'm siting on the couch trying to get some work done on my laptop and avoid incoming friendly fire, and spilling my coffee.

Meeting a few new actors today to finish up casting for "The Evidence Project," which is an educational/industrial film in the form of a courtroom drama. I'll be shooting this one at my NEW OFFICE this month. I recently became a tenant at 2000 Riverside Drive, which is about 3/4 of a mile down the street from where I live. I have a little hole in the wall office that I can call my own for a very small monthly fee. That very small monthly fee gives me access to a fully dressed mock courtroom in the basement, which I am very excited about. I really want to take advantage of the new space. I have one script right now... The Evidence Project... and I'm hoping for more.

Anybody out there need a court room exercise... lesson... hypothetical... on video? Let me know... I'm your man.

So we saw Iron Man 3 this weekend. Aside from Sir Ben Kingsley stealing the show, it was absolutely awful. I mean yes, millions and millions of dollars were spent of special digital and 3D effects... and it definitely shows. There is a lot of action and explosions and Iron Man war machines flying around and doing amazing things. But as a movie, as a film, with any sort decent story and compelling characters, Iron Man 3 is crap. What was I expecting?

I was expecting that with all the money and resources that they have to make a movie like this, they could spend a little extra time polishing up the script and pay more attention to some of the "human" details.

Has ANYBODY ever been to Tennessee? Does anybody realize that people in Tennessee have accents? Thick southern accents. This little kid... however bright and cute he may be... lives in some PO dunk town in TENNESSEE!! He would have a F%%% accent!!!! How hard is that? EVERY character in their fictitious little Tennessee town should have an accent. Drives me crazy.

Its like when they cast Jack Nicholson in The Departed. WHERE IS THE BOSTON ACCENT? The character was designed to resemble Whitey Bulger, who lived in South Boston. Most of those characters were from South Boston. ANYBODY ever been to South Boston? THICK THICK Boston accents... everyone... ESPECIALLY a crime lord like "Frank Costello." And this is the guy who Matt Damons character supposedly idolizes. Matt Damon plays "Colin Sullivan" and HE certainly has an accent. Don't you think if Colin would try to emulate everything about his idol and mentor? Oh.. whats that you say? Jack Nicholson can't DO a Boston accent? THEN F%%% HIM. CAST SOMEONE ELSE. That's pathetic if you are million dollar actor and you cant pull of a Boston accent.

Ok sorry, I went from Iron Man 3 in Tennessee to Jack Nicholson in The Departed, which I really enjoyed as a movie, I'm just saying. THE DEPARTED by the way, as good as it was... was entirely based on the Japanese film INFERNAL AFFAIRS... like verbatim... scene by scene... an exact replica. Scorcese won an Oscar for The Departed... but The Departed is a knock off. I love Scorcese. He has done some legendary stuff. ORIGINAL cinematic masterpieces. The Departed is not an original cinematic masterpiece. That Oscar was an HONORARY award given to Martin Scorcese for punitive damages after being passed up time and time again... which is fair enough. He deserves cumulative compensation for his collective body of work, but THE DEPARTED is really somebody ELSE'S work. I'm just sayin.

Iron Man 3 is great for kids and the comic book corn balls but if you give a shit about story and acting, mind, body and soul, this movie is a big fart in the wind.

I'm just sayin.

(Anybody notice the little ear piece Robert Downey Jr was wearing... that which was clearly visible? Word on the street is that he doesnt rehearse or memorize lines. He apparently has a coach feeding him lines through that earpiece in EVERY scene and he basically just WINGS IT.)

(PS: IRON MAN 3 made around 550 million this weekend worlwide)

(Just sayin)

Puppy Snuggle #322




Mitchell & Whitney blowing it up in B&W on Instagram yesterday.

Producing and Directing two separate projects right now. Many roles have been filled. Some have been cast and recently vacated... mostly due to scheduling difficulties. A handful of roles havent even been touched. Today, I'm trying to get all the poking, prodding and touching out of the way and get my cast up to speed and ready to roll...

I modified and added new projects to LA Casting this morning...

The new LAW SIMULATION SERIES was modified. I added the role of NIGELLA SAUNDERS...

Nigella Saunders is a partner in a British corporate law firm. She is a tough business woman, polished but not stuffy. In dealing with some troubling tax issues, she has decided on a necessary course of action, but a colleague's point of view is sure to shake up her strategy. Please indicate in your notes if you are a native Brit.

I've lost 2 actresses due to shifts in shooting schedule and overall scheduling conflicts and I have auditioned a handful of American women who felt pretty good about their believable British accent... which has brought back to square one... searching for an authentic, native Brit who can play a polished attorney. Wish me luck.

AND... the newly created breakdown for THE EVIDENCE PROJECT....

Indie City Entertainment is now casting for “The Evidence Project” an educational/industrial film in the form of a courtroom drama.

Ive filled a few of the key roles in this one because I wanted to bring in a bunch of actors who I know ad trust. I'm excited about this one because its a little different than the past conference room, single office scenarios. This whole script takes place in a courtroom and deals with some dramatic subject matter. There's a battered wife, an abusive husband, their 14 year old daughter, some shady neighbors, an ER physician and a rookie cop. Should make for some riveting work. I'm hoping.

Still looking to cast....

Nancy Smith (vignette 1-5), F, 40-45, any ethnicity. Proud woman, wife and mother. Claims she was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her husband Sid. She testifies through 5 two-page scenes.

Kathy Smith (vignette 23), F, 13-16, Nancy’s 14 yr old daughter, nervous and sad about what’s happening to her family. She doesn’t want to do anything to hurt her father but she wants to answer all the questions correctly. She answers questions regarding an incident when her Father threw a bottle of beer against the wall in the house during an argument.

Mack (The Neighbor) Mack is Vera’s husband (Vera also testifies). He is a friend and neighbor to Nancy (battered wife) and Sid (abusive husband), a little rough around the edges, not sure whose side he is on. Turns out later that he has a a few priors.

Sid Smith, Male, 35-45. any ethnicity (Have to match with wife & daughter or vice versa) Sid is standing trial for domestic assault. This guy could be the obvious type, or stereotypical, a rough neck wife beater. OR, he could be a man that you would NEVER guess to be abusive. I could go either way. The best actor will make the call. Regardless of portrayal, I want to see shades of his dark side, however subtle and discreet they may be.


If you are an actor or actress and want to submit for any of these roles, please send an email with a link to one fo your casting profiles and any clips or reels online to Jhuffmanproduction@gmail.com

Thanks

A few shots from last Sunday's shoot at Sandstone Peak/Circle X Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains...  and later at Griffith Park. We were out shooting B Roll for my short film "Trails of Gray."




Taken at Griffith Park...





Another shot from Griffith Park....




From the base of Sandstone Peak (I played around with a few filters for effect on this one)





Same shot (Different filters)




Of course, we brought "Flat Stanley" along for the ride... he will not be appearing in the film however...

TRAILS OF GRAY on Facebook >>> https://www.facebook.com/TrailsOfGray

TRAILS OF GRAY on Twitter >>> https://twitter.com/TrailsofGray

TRAILS OF GRAY on Pinterest >>> http://pinterest.com/trailsofgray/


And of course... there's http://www.flatstanley.com/


HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Saddens me to see what happened in Boston today. Cruel and unfair. I can only hope that this brings us together as a Nation and we can find a way to keep something like this from happening again... and again.

I pray for the folks who were affected by this despicable act. I pray for those we lost and their families.

I pray that the perpetrator is NOT American.

I don't know why. I gues it kills me to think that another twisted kid from our own community might have set off explosives and hurt innocent people.

Then again, if this WAS done by one of our own, it should force us to dig deeper. It reflects on all of us and we need to own it. Just like Newtown. Look in the mirro and own it. Do whatever it takes to fix it.

Sad.

DAMN it is windy outside right now. High winds are hittin Hollywood right now with a VENGEANCE. Watch out for flying objects (seriously)

HEY.... how was your weekend?

Mine involved a little work, a little play, some house sitting, hot tubbing, dog walking, footage swapping, sniffling and sobbing for a really touching movie, Yankees losing, Yankees winning, pizza, popcorn and the season premiere of MAD MEN. So THERE. Interesting premiere of Mad Men last night. Definitely enjoyable. Kristen is SO mad at Don Draper right now. Whats up with all the changes in hairstyle? Like EVERYBODY, all at once. Some strange company-wide style adjustment... longer hair, sideburns, bigger, bolder beards... everyone except for Don Draper, he was just really really tan. So what happened? Did they jump 5 years? Or did we miss a memo? I would have beefed up my beard had I KNOWN. Aside from all the facial hair, the episode seemed a little disconnected. There were a handful of moments that seemed to come out of nowhere. Like they shot a 3 hour episode and whittled it down... sacrificing a handful or reasonable (and arguably) necessary story points. I still love the show.

Kristen and I watched UNDEFEATED this weekend as well. I dont know if you recall, but one of my favorite shows in the past few years has been FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS on NBC. It was a critics favorite, but didnt get the respect it deserved, probably because it aired on Friday Nights and fewer folks are home watching TV at that time. Anyway, that show would make me cry almost every time I sat and watched it. So then there's UNDEFEATED, "which chronicles the journey an inspiring high school football team in an impoverished part of Memphis, scored the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature -- becoming the first overtly sports-themed documentary since 1996 ("When We Were Kings") and only the fifth ever to take home that award, which dates to 1942."

 

It was SO good. Really moving.. motivating. I had a lot of tears running down my face with this film. If you are a fan of football, this film is Fantastic, but even if you are not that big of a football, sports fan, its a really heart warming story. I highly recommend it.

Getting set for another shoot day this Friday. It will be Day 2 of a "Tax Law" series that I'm in the middle of producing and directing. We shot Day 1 on March 29th in Beverly Hills and Day 2 will go down at the same location. I'm actually shooting a few scenes for a separate project, the "Law Simulation Tort Series." My publishing client has been sending me more work than usual lately and they are telling me that is much more to come, so I'm excited about that. Bring it on.

Started working on this today. http://indiecityentertainment.tumblr.com/ If you are a fan, follower and/or user of TUMBLR, Let's connect over there why dont we? It's a space, very similar to Pinterest in purpose, but requires a lot more management and presentation from the account holder. Pinterest is much simpler and allows people to browse the internet and simply "PIN" and share stuff they come across and deem worthy.

Here is some more good news.... I just got a job offer. Like... just now. I'm not going to say from WHOM, but I've been interviewing with several companies over the past few weeks and my ONE of those companies has finally stepped up and made an offer. VERY much leaning towards TAKING that offer. I'm going to wait a few hours before making my final decision, but right now, I'm feeling a big "First-comeFirst-served" vibe. That's not the only reason I would accept the offer, but suddenly that comes into play.

See you soon.

Found this collection of "digital sketches" this morning. Actually someone I know shared the link on Facebook. It's titled "Gorgeous Portraits of Movie Characters & Classic Shots." Not sure why it was created, aside from it juts being a cool thing to do. There are a lot of great portraits in there. Many from legendary (and a few obscure ) classics that date back to 1940 and take us up to a few "Kick-Ass" contemporary titles. Some of my favorites are No Country For Old Men, Toy Story 3 and Drive.

Just thought I'd pass it along. Enjoy







(Source: http://sketchesnatched.blogspot.com/)

Post Easter Wednesday... very busy juggling multiple projects... personal and professional projects....

Sunday celebrated Easter and Family time with a nice buffet brunch, Terranea Style. The Huffmans, Haryungs, Mangolds and Bryants all huddled around one big table down in Palos Verdes... and we stuffed ourselves with everything from shellfish to sausages to cinnamon roles.... all while overlooking the ocean. It was lovely.

I'm a very lucky man to have my wife, who I love with all my heart and soul, and her parents and little sister Colleen as my cherished family. They all mean the world to me and I love spending tie with them and their circle of friends, all of whom have welcomed me with open arms. Days like that also make me miss my other family. My Mother, My father, My Brother and is wife, are all scattered across the country and the world. I dont get to see them that often... and often, on days like Easter, it hurts. I miss them all terribly and wish we could have the same sort of closeness that I'm able to enjoy through my in-laws. Fortunately we'll be able to all get together in North Carolina this Summer, but that just seems like a drop in the bucket compared to other families.

A few Easter Sunday shots from the seashore....




The Huffmans, Haryungs, Mangolds and Bryants pose for a family shot after brunch, Terranea style.




Larry got caught sneaking off to have a smoke.





(My Mother will like this one)




(My Mother will hate this one)

On set in Beverly Hills yesterday....




We knocked out a day of Law Simulation scenes yesterday. That's actor Ralph Tarr playing the sinister IRS agent... and of course little sister-in-law Colleen doing sound.

“At some point in our lifetime, gay marriage won't be an issue, and everyone who stood against this civil right will look as outdated as George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from entering the University of Alabama because he was black.” - George Clooney

Sitting here on a Saturday morning. Sipping on a coffee with a little stir of sugar and a spoonful of coconut oil....

Yes, thats right, I've been drinking coffee with my coconut oil... or having some coconut oil with my coffee. I like it. It makes the coffee a bit richer and the more obvious things is that I get the health benefits of coconut oil.

I've been drinking a lot of coffee lately. Think it may be time to switch back to tea. Coffee makes me feisty.

Had a fantastic time on set yesterday. And I'm sore as hell.

I booked a commercial for TELECOM a few days ago and we shot yesterday morning, bright and early, at a boxing gym in South Central LA called the Broadway Boxing Gym. The setting for the spot was a gym in 1963 England. Call time was 6:30AM. I had a breakfast burrito from the food truck at 7:30AM. I was dressed, wrapped and ready by 8AM. One of the reasons why this shoot was so cool, was that I got paid to to work the heavy bag for 2 hours. I love boxing and one of m favorite workouts is pounding the heavy bag. They got a good set of medium shots and close ups of me working the bag, landing left hooks and body blows. I was in heaven. Having myself a good ole time going all George Forman on em. Actually I like to think I fight more like a Roy Jones Jr or Sugar Ray Leonard than George Forman, but hey, thats just me. Anyway, Heavyweight, middleweight or welterweight, I probably pushed a little too hard, cuz, like I said, I'm HURTIN right now. So, a couple hours and few thousand calories later, they had me sitting on the edge of the ring, digging into my 1963 style gym bag and puling out a laptop and sending a few emails. Then, just like that, it was all over. We were packed up and out of there before noon. Which is also why yesterdays shoot was so cool. I thought we were going to be there for AT LEAST 10 hours.

ALSO, Craft services had a big JUICER on set too. You could do it all yourself, They had a series of trays filled with fruits and vegetables that You could pick out and throw into the juicer... make yourself of big fresh juice. One of the guys from craft services walked around on set with little cups of carrot juice, berry juice and green juice. After my two hour workout for the camera, I was really happy to see this guy. I threw back like 4 things of carrot juice. I got a few dirty looks from the guy because I was basically hijacking his tray and chugging all his stuff... but at that point I was dying.

HOPEFULLY, this spot will be available for your viewing pleasure on the web at some point in the near future. It's very unlikely, but I would love to have some boxing footage for my reel. That would be cool. At this point, I'd be happy just to see the spot. Be on the lookout.







NEXT PROJECT...

That's right, there IS a next project and its going down this week. It's kind of rare, but I booked two gigs, basically in the same week. I was cast as the CHANNEL MANAGER for a ROOTER HERO training video. I'm working with a 5 page script that I have to learn by Wednesday. Its not the SEXIEST project in the world, but its WORK

(and its money)

(Happy Saturday)

Watched THE IMPOSTER the other night. Blew me away....

The twisting, turning tale begins with an unsettling disappearance – that of Nicholas Barclay, a 13 year-old Texas boy who vanishes without a trace. Three and a half years later, staggering news arrives: the boy has been found, thousands of miles from home in Spain, saying he survived a mind-boggling ordeal of kidnap and torture by shadowy captors. His family is ecstatic to have him back no matter how strange the circumstances – but things become far stranger once he returns to Texas.

Seriously... one of the best documentaries Ive seen in a while. As a film, captivating and unique. This movie grabs you in the first few minutes and never lets go. I love the way the storyunfolds. And as a story? WHAT the F%%%??? If this was written as a dramatic feature... you'd never believe it.

'The Imposter': Documentary Reveals Stranger-Than-Fiction Story Of Frédéric Bourdin's Mind-Blowing Deceptions

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/13/the-imposter-documentary_n_1669745.html

FRIDAY... "beware the IDES of MARCH"

William Shakespeare brought us the line "Beware the Ides of March!" in his play, Julius Ceasar. But the Romans had long held the ides (the middle of every month, either the 13th or the 15th) as sacred to the god Jupiter and kept them as legal public holidays. Courts closed, public business ceased, employees and even slaves refrained from work.

SUNDAY... St Paddys Day and the end of Mercury in Retrograde...

Mercury retro in Pisces turns stationary direct Sunday (St. Patrick’s Day). Mercury stands still for three days before slowly moving forward. All that we held off (big purchases, decisions) can move forward now. Slowly and carefully.

ONE of these upcoming days... I will have the new INDIE CITY ENTERTAINMENT website up and running and ready for business. Ive been tinkering with design, branding and text options all week.

YESTERDAY, Kristen and I walked Whitney & Mitchell over to the WOOF DOG BOUTIQUE in Atwater Village yesterday to pick up some Bully sticks for them to chew on. Our Property Management was testing the fire alrms all day and the constant ringing and piercing sounds of fire alarm tests were freaking the puppies out, so we took them out for the day. We were going to go to a coffee shop where I could get some work done, but we needed someting for the digs to keep them occupied. We've been to this tiny little pet shop on Glendale Blvd quite a few times, but never with the pups. The woman who owns the store is always really friendly and never fails to personally express her gratitude for choosing her small business as a place to purchase pet supplies. What made this visit more interesting was that John Legend and his wife and I'm guessing, his in-laws were all there buying a bunch of stuff. I didnt quite recognize him at first, mainly because I was dealing with Whitney & Mitchell and trying to bring them into the store and not BARK at everybody. They actually did quite well. While I was purchasing my two little bully sticks, John Legend walked up to the counter and dropped a few more items onto the pile of stuff they were purchasing. I said "Wow, man, you guys are stocking up." He said "Yeah, we are having a little birthday party today." I said "Right on... Right on." Or "Okay... Okay." Or "Cool-Cool." I can't remember what I said, but it was some little double up response like that. At that point I wasnt really aware that he was John Legend. I dont think the lady who owns the store knew who he was either. I only say that because she was very willing to step away from him and his group to help Kristen and I pick out some bully sticks... and then she let me cut him in line, make my purchase and leave. Then again, they weren qute finished picking out stuff... so I wasnt really cutting. So there. The store owner just didnt seem very star struck... nor did she seem the type to actually know who John Legend is. Of course, she could have been trying to rush me out so she could pay more personal attention to the couple accrueing quite a collection of items up on her counter. That would be the smart thing to do. When I came out of the store, I said to Kristen "Do you know who that was? That was John Legend" She was like "No. I dont think so." As she pointed out a Richard Simmons doppleganger crosssing Glendale Blvd. Like a dressed to the NINES Richard Simmons doppleganger... and actually ALMOST as impressive as the Real John Legend shopping for pet supplies. Anyway, when we got home we googled John Legend and saw a bunch of photos of him and his wife... and BY GOLLY... that WAS John Legend and his wife... and what looked like his in-laws.. at the WOOF DOG BOUTIQUE in Atwater Village. Fun times.