#1 New York Times Bestselling Author & TV Producer
I saw RUSH HOUR 3 today. The story made no sense at all, but I 
had a good time anyway…mostly because of Chris Tucker. He was the movie. He made lines funny that weren’t funny. Max Von Sydow was in the movie, too, which I also found amusing. If you cast him in a part, you might as well hang a sign around his neck that says: ——-
Well, you know what it should say.
Now that FAST TRACK is finished, we are deep into post…working on the score, etc. I’ll be flying to Montreal later this month to record actor Andrew Walker’s ADR (to replace poor tracks and to record new dialogue) and to meet with potential Canadian broadcasters for the show. And then, in early September, it’s back to Berlin to record the ADR with our European cast. We’re also actively trying to find a U.S. broadcaster for the show…but more on that later. In the mean time, here are some publicity stills from the movie, taken by photographers extraordinaire Gordon Muehl and Stefan Hoederath.
I finally saw LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD and BOURNE ULTIMATUM. DIE HARD was over-the-top, by-the-numbers, and dull. BOURNE ULTIMATUM was fresh, invigorating, and exciting…I loved it. I wish more movies were as smart and exciting as the BOURNE trilogy. The geek in my can’t wait to get ULTIMATUM on DVD so I can watch all three movies back-the-back in one sitting (as if I will ever have the time for that).
I also caught up with the last five episodes of THE SOPRANOS. They were definitely a big improvement over last season’s episode, a real return to form dramatically and comedicly for the series. But like everyone else, I don’t really get the point of the abrupt ending that felt more like a technical/broadcasting error than a scripted, dramatic moment.
Next on my Tivo… JESSE STONE: SEA CHANGE and the last five episodes of the season of HEROES and LAW AND ORDER: SVU.
I’ve finished my producer’s cut of FAST TRACK: NO LIMITS. The studio loved it so now we’re just making some tiny, technical tweaks before I screen the cut for the network on Wednesday. Then I get their notes, do my final cut…and await the word on whether we go to series or not.
I really enjoy the editing process…the frustration, the exhiliration, and the discovery that comes with it.
It all starts with the show you imagine…and then it becomes the show you’ve written, which is always a bit different because it evolves as you are writing it. Then there’s the show that’s shot…which is never quite what you imagined, since you are taking a dream and asking hundreds of people to help you make it real. Their creative work, along with the reality of taking what’s on the page and making it live, shapes the show into something new. And, finally, there is the show you create in the editing room. You can’t expect to see the show that you first imagined. As you cut, rearrange, choose angles, drop dialogue, add dialogue, etc., you discover the show amidst the footage. Yes, the show I created is still there…but it has become something else…and, luckily for me, something much better.
Today I head back to Cologne, where a DVD of the director’s cut of FAST TRACK: NO LIMITS is waiting for me at my hotel. I’ll watch it tonight, make some notes, and then head into the editing room on Monday to do my cut. I can’t wait to get started. The movie has come in at 102 minutes and I’ve got to get it down to about 95, but that’s not going to be a problem. I’m glad I have some minutes to play with…it would have been a disaster if the cut came in on time or, worse, short.