Category : Mud On The Flaps

Top of the mornin’ to ye! Yes it’s that time again, to gas up, pack up and drive for five-plus hours back to San Jose. The Los Angeles screening is over, and we have our final screening today at 4pm in Cinequest. Now I know it’s a Saturday afternoon, so I’m not sure how good the crowd will be, but just in case, we have to be there. The only bad thing is we will miss the closing night gala here for KOFFLA. The awards will be handed out, and it will be the kind of razzle-dazzle the actors haven’t experienced before. So all in, it would be fun and you never know we might win something. But to get back in time, we would have to leave as soon as we got to San Jose, so obviously the choice has been made.

Elvis is proving to be a bit of a challenge when it comes to late night activities. I forgot he’s not 21 yet, and he is the worst liar I have ever seen in my life. Let me restate that; he doesn’t know how to lie. We tell him to say he left his I.D. in the hotel, and yet there he is, pulling it out of his pocket. He’s like an android learning how to be human (why do you cry?) I guess it’s a good thing, but it means we really can’t go to clubs or bars with him, and none of us want to leave him at the hotel. That’s why we went to karaoke yesterday so we could drink in the room, but it was still a hassle getting him in. Luckily, I pulled out my Korean ID and spoke Korean and…voila!

Yet more highway haiku with the boys as they make their way to Los Angeles from Cinequest.

Today we leave our stuff in the hotels and head down for one night to attend our Los Angeles premiere at the Korean Los Angeles Film Festival. I’m driving down with Elvis and Erik Jinks (Redeyedrove). Everyone else is headed out with Carlo Corbellini to visit his friend at the Facebook offices. I told them to take a camera and get some behind the scenes stuff…enjoy!

Jet lag sucks. Usually a five hour drive is no big whoop, but after 2 hours I had to let Eric take the wheel. Since then I’ve been in and out, and now it’s night and Eric’s driving through the rain. We are on the 152 cross-over that anyone who’s drove to S.F. knows as “Garland Garlic smell”. As soon as you hit this nice stretch of winding hilly roads you are hit by the scent of garlic.  At least when you smell it you know you’re almost there. San Jose is just an hour or so away, and the actors from Chicago are waiting at my hotel room. I hope they aren’t in the mini bar.

Wednesday March the 3rd on the road already and headed 5 hours north to San Jose. Meeting the actors at the airport and tomorrow we premiere. Cinequest is unknown territory for me, but my friend Greg Pak said it was a good festival, so we will see. I have a feeling I’m starting on a journey of bad nutrition as I pull over to In and Out.

Picked up the t-shirts in L.A. and got the DVD covers made up in S.F. This merchandising thing is new to me, but I’m feeling great to have stuff ready for the screenings. Erik Jinks the musician who did most of the music is driving up with me. It’s the first time we’ve met face to face and I think he’s going to have to drive pretty soon because the jet lag is kicking in and when it does I am “gonezville”.

Ok, so I’ve been making films for the last ten years, and during that time I have logged over 10,000 miles of driving. Why did I do this, even before the airlines started charging for peanuts and water? There are many reasons-

1. I need to carry my equipment

2. I was raised in the midwest and like the open spaces.

3. I like to sing in my car.

4. I like back spasms.

5. My films had something to do with it.

So whatever might be the reason, the fact is with God Is D_ad, the film itself takes place on the back roads and interstates of the U.S. And, supporting the film, I will be driving to the festivals with the actors and the musicians in the first week of March. I think it will be fun, the others may not share my opinion. But whatever the case we’ll be sharing our experiences with you here, accompanied by video and pics-woohoo. We’ll be documenting everything from the best (if not cleanest) cheap hotels, in which state I will first be referred to as “chief” or “chinaman”, and anyone we might meet that will talk in front of the camera. Most importantly, I hope to hear from you on your own insights into a mode of travel that may be replaced by high speed trains or donkeys in twenty years, so let’s talk.