Chasing Cabs
When my friend Jeff asked me if I wanted to brainstorm story ideas for a film he and a friend were making for the National Film Challenge, I jumped at the opportunity. It’s been a dream of mine for years to be involved in making a film, and here was a chance.
On a Friday night in a dimly lit Starbucks, five of us tossed out ideas for a story that fit the Suspense/Thriller category they’d been given. It was like an electrified game of verbal volleyball as we bandied about concepts before choosing the one we all liked the most. For the next four hours, we built a story. Sometimes we argued. Usually we laughed as we threw out outrageous ideas and followed the trail to the inevitable absurd consequences. I don’t remember the last time I’ve had so much fun.
The rules of the contest gave them 72 hours to write, cast, shoot, and edit. Somewhere around 11pm, I grabbed a notebook and said, “We’ve got to get organized and story board this or you guys won’t ever be able to write the script tonight.” I had a commitment early the next morning and couldn’t help with the writing, but I knew an outline would be helpful. A half hour later, there were 20 scenes and I went home, euphoric from being around such creativity.
A week later, Jeff posted the “director’s cut” on YouTube. I tried several times to watch it, but my Internet was acting funky and the video kept hiccupping. It took a few days, but the stars finally aligned and I was able to watch it. I didn’t expect the finished product to be much like the outline, but I was surprised to find it was remarkably close.
I felt like little kid when I recognized parts that had my fingerprints on them. The ending was what we’d all decided that night and I grinned from ear to ear as the credits rolled. Much to my surprise, as the “Written By” names flew by, I realized mine was one of them.
I was blown away. I was just helping out a friend, who has lent his creative talent to my endeavors more than once. It honestly hadn’t occurred to me that I would be given credit of any kind. And when I saw it, it was the realization of a dream. When I shared it with my friend, Rita, she said, “He included you in the credits long before you knew about it.”
A few nights later, I had a dream that I was going somewhere and all my friends kept pushing me to look for a cab so I could get to the airport. Despite their insistence, I chose to relax and watch a movie because I knew the limousine was already on its way. And sure enough, the limo showed up and I made my flight.
I’ve wasted a lot of energy chasing cabs. For now, I’m trusting in what’s already been done – even though I don’t know about it.
To see the film, click here.