The Voices in Frank's Head

The Science of Sleep, from Warner Independent Pictures - The Official Site I am looking forward to this movie sooo badly. It won't be out until September - and even then it will only be in limited release - but I am so going to have to see this one. No word yet if Detroit will be one of the cities where it's shown. But if it's not - this movie looks like its worthy of a road trip.

Lance Bass: I'm Gay | Lance Bass : People.com Earlier this week, People magazine reported that 'N Sync singer Lance Bass was gay. CNN was quick to refer to this as a "boy band bombshell" in their on-air news coverage. I was flabbergasted when I heard that. Not the part about Lance Bass being gay, mind you. It was more the fact that anyone considered this to be newsworthy that was so downright shocking. It's nothing more than an official confirmation of what we've known (or at least strongly suspected) for almost a decade. All of this means that in another 6 years or so - CNN will start reporting that President George W. Bush misled the American public about Iraq weapons of mass-destruction.

Detroit woos Hollywood filmmakers - 07/24/06 - The Detroit News Online About a year ago, Matt Clayson (then of Detroit's Tourism Economic Development Corporation ) and I sat down and discussed ways in which we could lure more Hollywood film projects to Detroit. One of the things we talked about was forming a regional film office that would be modelled after the Detroit Metro Sports Commission . And now it looks like it's starting to happen.

Oddly Enough News Article | Reuters.com Okay - having held a few open casting calls as a director and received a few dozen unsolicited resumes and headshots from various aspiring actors, I have to say that I'm really, really glad that nothing like this has ever happened to me. A gun-toting actor, clad only in swimming trunks? Just when you think that things can't get much more bizzare.

Okay - so I got mugged last week. I lost a camera and my cell phone. I was at my local police station the other day; going through mug shots and looking for the two guys who assaulted me. While there, I was suprised to learn two things: A woman that I had a crush on way back in the 8th grade is now a cop (and married); A shocking number of suspects manage to have their mug shots taken while wearing a D.A.R.E. t-shirt. It's just weird. Truly, truly weird.

The 4th Fridays with Ford are always good. The 4th Friday Film Festival is always a great change to see some great indie films that are made right here in Detroit. This month, however, the 4th Friday Film Festival is going to be even cooler because folks also get a change to win a walk-on role in an upcoming movie. That's right, one lucky person who stops by the 4th Friday Film Festival table in Campus Martius this Friday will win a walk-on role in the upcoming film, Sleepy Guy . Of course, even if you don't win the movie role, you still get to see some great locally made movies - ones that you simply can't see anywhere. Demonology – directed by Brooks Tomlinson and Chad Schaffer of Canton and starring Jonny Victor of Novi. Demonology is short comedy about why it’s a really bad to summon a demon in order to solve your money problems. It was a crowd favorite at both the Mitten Movie Project and the Planet Ant Film Festival. Kill the Scorpion – directed by Jay White of ...

There are moments when I absolutely adore my friends and am tempted to kiss the very ground they walk on, like when they bail me out of one jam or another . There are moments when I get such a kick out of being around them, like when we head out and do some of the darnedest things . There are moments when I'm downright proud of them, like at any of the weddings or bachelor parties that I've been to lately. And then there are moments when I am so incredibly jealous of them. Like when they get to have their photo taken with the Stanley Cup, just because they work for Compuware and their boss owns the Carolina Hurricanes . *sigh* Hey, Amanda! Please tell Mr. Karmanos that he needs to commission a documentary or something - and, of course, hire me onto Compuware's staff to do it. LOL

Microsoft likes to think of "Argo" as an iPod Killer - but looking at what was leaked, I have to say they must be dreaming. The screen size is nice and I'll assume that it has decent memory & processor. However, the control wheel is seems too small to be operated on the fly. This is especially true if you're doing something else like walking, roller blading, or making a mental list of all of President George W. Bush's screw-ups . They'll probably tweak this a lot before it gets released. My suggestion to any Microsoft techie who finds this post - give us a larger, easier to operate control wheel. Oh, and Apple's decisions to allow you to a) get it in black as well as white and b) get your iPod engraved were both inspired. If you're going to mimic the iPod, don't forget to include those two things as well.

I had a casting call for my next movie over the weekend. It was kind of odd to spend the day with Marc-Antoine Serou (a French filmmaker who is part of this project) and then head over to a Bastille Day party at Francis Grunow & Claire Nelson's home, where I stayed until well past 2 a.m. - just drinking and talking. Anyway, the casting call itself was impressive. The quality of talent that came out of my casting call was seriously impressive. It basically ranged from "good" to "why the hell aren't you on Broadway?" I had a lot more women try out for the parts than men - even though the ratio of male to female roles was about equal. I may have to juggle a couple of things around in the script in order to include as many of them as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for Friday, August 11 through Saturday, August 13. We have a deadline of Thurday, September 14 to have this complete so I can overnight it to the folks at the Sundance Ins...

newsobserver.com | CEOs to look for synergy I have to admit that I get this weird thrill when ever anyone uses the word "synergy", especially when they use it connection with anything that's going on in and around Detroit. But then again, as public relations co-chair for Detroit Synergy , I probably am biased in that regards.

Detroit hopes tax cut slows flight from city According to an article in yesterday's Freep, 25 different neighborhoods in Detroit are slated to get a 20% reduction in their property taxes. Warrendale is not one of the lucky neighborhoods. Quite frankly, I'm not concerned about the fact that someone else in Detroit is getting a tax cut while those of us in Warrendale are not. However, what I do wonder is this: If a cash-strapped city like Detroit can find a way to give a 20% reduction in property taxes to some of their residents then why can't they also find enough money in the budget to ensure that there's always a cop available when I call 9-1-1?

I was chatting yesterday with my partner-in-crime from Detroit Synergy , Paula Turner . She said something that I thought was incredibly profound. She said that dating in your 30s is a lot like shopping for luggage. Everyone in their 30s already has a certain amount of emotional "baggage". The whole dating process at this point is really about finding someone with a matching set.

Japan may postpone North Korea resolution - Yahoo! News I've said it before and I'll say it again - the United States is wasting its time in Iraq. The real threat that we need to worry about is North Korea. They're highly unstable, they have nuclear weapons and they're working on a missle that can hit the United States. With all of that in play, one really has to ask why we're keeping our military tied up in Iraq.

I was going to log-on and write a pithy response to the news coverage over the "terror plot" to blow-up the Holland Bridge in New York City. But then the folks at Gawker.com beat me to the punch and posted it before I could. Dang, it! Foiled again by those cursed New Yorkers. All I can do now is post a hyper-link to their post at http://gawker.com/news/top/another-day-another-terror-plot-185759.php Instead, I'll just point out how ironic it was that this "plot" was broken up the day after The New York Times reported that the Central Intelligence Agency has disbanded the unit that was charged with hunting down Osama bin-Laden. (If you haven't read the story already, click here ). Because folks with no weapons or means of carrying out a terror-plot are far more dangerous than the guy behind 9/11.

Knemonic Productions, LLC ( http://www.knemonic.com ) in association with Prince Igor Productions, Inc. (my production company - on-line @ http://www.igorfilms.com ) and Roaring Kitten Studios, LLC are looking for actors to star in two short films being shot in and around Detroit during the month of August, 2006. "Eve", a drama, is about a Polish immigrant haunted by a relationship from his childhood. "Sleepy Guy", a comedy, is about a guy who has extreme difficulty waking up, but with a twist. Auditions will be BY APPOINTMENT ONLY on Saturday, July 15 in Troy, MI. Directions and details will be given along with your scheduled audition appointment time. Both films are non-paying projects up front, but contingent compensation will be available. Also, food and beverages will be provided for actors and crew during principal photography. We are interested in viewing resumes and headshots of actors of ALL shapes, sizes, and races. However, we do have specific needs for t...

I was talking with my friend Joe the other day. He asked me why I had never posted that photo of me with the ladies from Hell's Belles . My first inclination was to think that Joe had lost his mind. I mean, obviously I had to have posted a photo that was that cool, right? Well - I went back through the archives for this blog and it turns out that I didn't post it. Without futher ado, here are the ladies from Hell's Belles and I at the Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak. Joe: Thanks for reminding me about this one. And I'm sorry for thinking disparaging thoughts about you, even though it only last a few seconds.