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Derek Housman

Derek Housman has been making videos since the age of 10. His first video was a set of fake commercials with his sister, a tape he continues to taunt her with to this day. He worked his way through high school at a local video store where he gained his influences such as Quentin Terintino, Kevin Smith, and Steven Spielberg. He continued his love for making movies by working on over 30 short films in college, culminating in shooting a pilot for a TV series. Derek worked in the New York film scene and studied for two years until his eventual move to Los Angeles. He has worked in various fields, such as motion picture development, reality television, and most recently new media. He continues to write, direct, and produce content for various media outlets, such as Comedy Takeout, and Web Telenovelas.

Currently you can see his work at ThisWeekIn.com.

Posts

  • April 26, 05:13 PM

    Building the Future

    Dear Web TV Community,

    It seems like only a short time ago we were here talking about how we needed to move on from the problems of yesterday and move onto tomorrow. It seems like tomorrow has come for many of us.

    Today, the team of people behind the Streamy Awards have published their website Rebuild the Trust. Their desire is to gain support for two important changes in the IAWTV and the partnership between the Academy and the awards show.

    I believe both of these issues have merit, but are not truly fleshed out by the manifesto.

    First, the Academy is in need of a lot of work, both in their structure and how it’s perceived by non-board members and the community in general. Since the organization only was legally created in December of last year, the current board will continue to guide the IAWTV until next December.

    The makeup of the board is not a great representation of the Academy. There are few to one creators, mostly executives, and all are people who DO make a living in the New Media world. And as such, they’re very busy with their own jobs, unable to pour the necessary resources into a growing organization such as the IAWTV. Additionally, the membership has doubled since the board was elected and will continue to grow this year.

    So I do agree, the board needs to open up elections, and they should be held shortly as there is much work to do.

    The second issue is how the Streamy’s/IAWTV partnership should be handled. I don’t have all the information to make an informed decision on how much or who controls what, but I can say this: The IAWTV does not have the manpower to effectively run an award show by themselves. We can barely inform our members how to vote correctly, or how any of our processes work. An agreement of sorts is needed. The board should be reorganized, and they should be empowered to make these decisions.

    However, to tie the two together is unwise. Too many issues are on the table and they need to be carefully analyzed. It works to the Streamy producers advantage to have the board reorganized as they gain a significant partnership with the Academy and more recognition for the Streamy;s. Agreeing to one is agreeing to both and not having the full understanding of how the Streamy’s are currently run could cause future repercussions. I agree with elements of the proposal, but not the language used within. Barrett Garese makes several good, but speculative, points about what might have led to this decision.

    I ask the board to hold elections in the near future and for the community to speak out about your concerns, not just about the transparency needed within the academy, but how we can grow and show the world what great content we make. The future doesn’t belong to the Academy, but to the community that fuels it.

    Sincerely,

    Derek Housman
    IAWTV Academy Member

    Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • April 12, 05:52 PM

    A Letter to the Web TV Community

    Dear Web TV Community,

    Growing pains, that’s what the Streamys and the community experienced last night as they attempted to put on a show to rival its big sister awards, the Oscars. With coverage in Time and Vanity Fair, we felt as if our moment had arrived. However, due to a number of problems including poor content choices, we are reduced to remembering a show filled with crass humor and seemingly unplanned interruptions. Live television is tough, and it’s compounded by the basic principal of Murphy’s Law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Thankfully our host, Paul Scheer, stuck with us through the night and shepherded the crowd to the end.

    There were some great moments to take away from last night. Before we hit that curve in the road we had a great monologue, some impressive entertainment pieces, and most importantly, we recognized some truly wonderful talent in the digital space. Acceptance speeches ranged from the thoughtful to heartfelt, and for a time you could feel the energy in the room grow. The technical issues would have been forgiven had the show not derailed as far as it did.

    The problems that arose came from inexperience, poor planning, and a general disregard for the audience. I saw parents walk out, leading their children to the exits as fast as they could, members of the academy shifting in their seats as the tone shifted from light and cheerful to dark and somber. We knew that the night was a loss, even as some presenters and winners tried to salvage the night with impassioned speeches to rally the crowd, but it was too late, the damage was done.

    I sat there, sharing glances with my fellow academy members, we were ashamed. This was our night and it had derailed into farce. And it was put on for the whole world to see. That was yesterday.

    Today is a new day, we’ll pick up the pieces and start anew. It’s up to us as members of the community to rebuild from here. We’ll move forward and continue to put out good work, work that will be the lasting impression we leave on our community, instead of one awards show. We’ll continue to seek out major brands and companies to partner with to build this growing medium, one that cannot be shut down by a single event. In a year’s time, we won’t have forgotten what happened last night, but we’ll have learned our lesson.

    I humbly ask the viewers, the community, the sponsors, and the rest of the academy to forgive. We are young and inexperienced, perhaps naive that we could pull off something of the magnitude that was planned. Let’s look forward to the future of the industry together, help us grow and learn from our mistakes and make the next year a better and brighter year.

    We’ve only just begun our work.

    Sincerely,
    Derek Housman
    IAWTV Academy Member

    Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • March 03, 05:31 AM

    Random conversations on the internet!

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  • March 01, 11:29 AM

    The Short List: How Did We Get Here?

    Well, the hard part is over, you’ve finished your series, campaigned to get recognized, and now all you have to do is sit back and wait for your name to be called. But how did we get here? How did over a thousand submission come down to just five. Here’s what i’m going to do, i’m going to outline the process it took to get to the short list so you can understand why, or why not, your show did not make it into the final list. Why am I doing this? Because it was very clear this year that many many people will be disappointed. I am one of the lucky few that doesn’t have a show in contention this year. I have worked on several web series, one of which won the first Streamy ever, several of which are nominated for awards this year, but they’re not mine.

    Up until a month ago, the Academy consisted of about 100 individuals from various parts of the Web TV community, some are major players (production company executives, agents, stars, previous winners), others are not. These 100 people decided last years Streamy’s. This year, as membership opened up, the Academy grew and now we’re a much bigger group of assholes who will not vote for your show.

    Members were asked to volunteer to help cull the thousands of submissions down to a manageable sum. This process weeded out anything that was in the wrong category, ineligible, or submissions that did not merit being considered (i.e. terrible). These were then tallied up and the Academy as a whole was presented a “long list” of potential nominees. We were given a week to watch 20 series, across multiple categories. Some members, as part of a peer group system, were responsible for the technical and creative awards short lists. I can’t speak for everyone, but I believe most of us made the effort to watch every series that was nominated. This could mean as little as one episode, or the whole series.

    This morning, we will all find out what shows are on the short list. Most likely, if your show was not filmed well; was billed as a comedy and was not funny; or just plain sucked; then you will not be a nominee.

    As i’ve said before, and will doubtlessly have to say again, writing will always be the key. A lot of web series are started by actors who feel they’re not getting the roles that they think they deserve. These are not writers, but then again, everyone has one great story to tell. That’s why some shows that are done this way are very successful. But most of the time, they’re not.

    Most writer’s who are really good already have jobs doing what they love, for actual money. That leaves newer writers, bad writers, and my favorite, people who think they’re writers to create web series. Then again, you could have written a great script, had no money, and therefore you’re masterpiece looks like shit. Or, you could have had money, a great script, but decided to make it with your friends, leaving us to watch your friends break character or look at the camera. But maybe you have all the necessary parts, it’s a great script, good solid cast, you’ve got all the equipment you need, but you forgot one thing. You’re show has to be online for us to watch it, not behind some curtain, or on iTunes.

    So, when you don’t see your name on that list, figure out which one of these is the reason you didn’t get nominated, then fix it, and try again next year. We’re not going anywhere.

    P.S. If you did get nominated, congratulations, keep making great content and i’ll see you on the other side.

    Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • February 24, 09:34 PM

    Untitled

    If you’re going through hell, keep going.

    William Churchill

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  • November 09, 04:58 PM

    Untitled

    Check out my Doritos commercial!

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  • October 21, 07:55 PM

    All things Simon

    I’ve been working in new media almost since I moved to Los Angeles, it’s the future of the industry and allows me to combine my “Jack-of-all-trades” type skills to a really unique situation. Recently, i’ve taken on the responsibility of producing the behind the scenes videos for a webseries titled “Simply Simon”, as well as coordinating their marketing strategy. Not only do I enjoy the people I work with, I get to really polish a lot of skills I have, and some I didn’t know I had.


    I really didn’t know where I’d be after two years in LA, but i’m glad this is it.

    Thanks!

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  • September 12, 08:04 PM

    Untitled

      
    Download now or listen on posterous
    tumblr_kpvux25ggc1qa089eo1.mp3 (120 KB)

    An undiscovered singer, playing in the Cannery, San Francisco.

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  • September 12, 04:18 AM

    Untitled

    This is the reason for my downfall.

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  • September 03, 02:09 AM

    Untitled

    My weekly poker game (not my huge stack of chips).

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  • August 25, 01:00 PM

    Why District 9 is Amazing

    I rarely write movie reviews because most movies don’t stick with me past a day or so, but I want to remember this film, and remember what it showed me and hopefully everyone else who sees it. The following contains spoilers, click through to read.

    1. The Movie – District 9

    The last time I was this interested in seeing a movie was the Dark Knight, a movie in which I knew the story would be good, the actors great, and the tone and feel of the movie was just right. Going into District 9 was a whole different experience, while it’s marketing campaign was creative and quite expansive, you still weren’t sure what you were going to see. The teaser trailer kept you guessing while blurring the view of the aliens, until the full trailer came out and you realized this was something different, something amazing.

    2. The Producer – Peter Jackson

    Taking a relatively unknown South African commercial director, giving him 30 million dollars, and then telling him to go off and make a movie is madness in a town where the studio likes to keep a close eye on the project and a tight fist on the money. Jackson allowed for the director’s vision to be seen and more importantly, to be noticed. I expect to see more from Jackson as a producer going forward.

    3. The Director – Neill Blomkamp (Who?)

    That would be the South African commercial director who was given the opportunity to direct a Halo feature film after making his impressive short film Alive in Joberg and three other short films set in the Halo universe. After that fell through, Jackson decided to give him another chance, which led to District 9 itself.

    4. The Star – Sharlto Copley

    This guy is going to be everywhere, fast. It’s like Tom Cruise and Christian Bale had a child 35 years ago and didn’t tell anybody. He’s an amazing actor that seems destined for stardom. Through the course of this movie, the changes his character goes through are so natural that you don’t even realize how much the character has evolved until the end.

    5. The Story – The Fly meets Aliens

    Take one ordinary geeky guy, and then throw him in an extraordinary situation. Then douse the whole thing in jet fule and you have District 9. There are several story-lines running through the film, the main one dealing with Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) who’s only goal is to save himself, and ends up saving an entire alien race. Then there’s the story behind MNU and their exploitation of the aliens and their technology, and finally the story of Christopher, an alien who has spent 20 years perfecting a plan to save his people. All three weave together to create a reality that you can believe in.

    Of course on the surface, this movie is also about cool looking aliens, bad-ass fight sequences, and seeing shit blow up. Who doesn’t love that?

    6 – The End

    The story itself sets up a nice ending, with Wikus having fully transformed and making a flower for his wife. And with Christopher off traveling back home, it allows for an interesting sequel that could really spin the story in a whole new direction. Overall, this is an amazing movie that will capture people’s imaginations and propel it’s director and star to new heights.

    Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • August 11, 03:00 AM

    Comic-Con: A Primer

    1: Slowly wrap your brain around the fact that you’re volunteering to spend the next 4 days and nights with fan boys, geeks, nerds, costumed heroes and villains, artists, celebrities, booth babes, and the ever evolving and ever increasing pop-culture machine.

    I bought my ticket to Comic-Con two days before the start of the convention. Having never been I was unaware of the Professional pass and spent $80 on Ebay to secure my entry. I did not, however, have a place to stay. LA is about two hours from San Diego, but commuting four hours each day seemed impossible and unlikely, but a follower on Twitter happened to hear my plea and let me crash on his floor. It seemed we were off to a good start.

    2: This is not going to be like anything else you’ve ever experienced, no trade show or comic book convention in the basement of the downtown Hilton will prepare you for Comic-Con.

    I arrived on Thursday morning, already half a day late as Wednesday is Preview night, where 4 Day pass holders can get a sneak peek of the exhibition floor and start collecting their swag. I parked my car and headed right for the convention, making my first, second, and third mistakes of my trip. I wore pants, at first you may think this isn’t the worst thing in the world to happen, but believe me, after spending more then 6 hours in a convention center surrounded by some of the most “enthused” of fans, things get pretty odorous and overheated. To be frank, my boys needed to breath.

    3: Pack like you’re going to the desert and you might be spending time with pack animals.

    My second mistake was to try and grab my badge right away, because I was directed to a line that wrapped around the entire convention center, I should have just come later. And in doing so would have not even realized my third mistake until later, plan ahead. There is a set schedule of events and programs that happen during Comic-Con, not to mention the parties, we’ll get to those later. But not included in the guide book is the little get meetup’s your friends plan.

    4: Remember, you’re sort of on vacation, try and enjoy it.

    As I ran around the convention, I ran into and followed friend after friend, keeping a close eye on my text messages and Twitter feed. The battery goes fast, but if you’ve planned ahead, you have a charger at the ready. At least I know for the future. I must have walked in circles for hours, never wanting to settle on anything in particular because I didn’t know exactly why I was here. Most of the panels include information on upcoming comics or movies, all of which would be available as soon as the bloggers hit POST on their respective blogs. I didn’t need to see the footage or hear the Q&A’s first hand to brace myself for whatever might be coming next.

    I must have had lunch at some point, but I don’t remember where or with who on that first day. A flurry of text messages over the next few days was the only way to get in touch with most of the people that I meant to spend my time with, and this is how we met for lunch, drinks, or dinner and parties after the convention closed for the day. This being the 40th, and largest, Comic-Con in existence, I was surprised at how lonely one can feel when surrounded by strangers. Most are lost within thier own heads, salivating over the thought of getting to shake Lou “The Hulk” Ferrigno’s hand, or take a picture with a former Playboy Playmate.

    5: Celebrities are not your friends; friends don’t charge you money for their autographs or pictures.

    SIDEBAR: There’s something to be said for never meeting your heroes. You lose that sense of innocence, that the character they portrayed, or book they’ve written, or image they’ve conveyed, can not be measured to the real live human. I thought my experience was going to be different, but it wasn’t. A quick handshake, a blurry photo, and a few words about how they’d set me on a course with which i’d spend the rest of my life following. This is not to diswade you from seeking out your own hero, just a primer for the experience you might go through. Years have gone by, and the people i’ve met as i’ve lived in this place; this place that’s part glossy news-magazine, part documentry, has made me realize the biggest gift you can give yourself is realizing that everyone is the same.

    6: Spend your time wisely

    The best panel I ended up going to during the convention was the Genre Writer’s panel, where several TV writers spoke about their experiences getting into the industry and how they developed their craft. I felt a sense of urgency to continue my writing after this panel. In the same way I get caught up in the emotions of a film i’ve just watched. I want to be these characters, I want to live their lives, because I can see the end. But maybe I should realize that i’m only watching the best part of their lives, not the parts that i’ve been living this entire time.

    7: Indulge yourself, this happens once a year, and next year Aunt Enus might die the day before the convention.

    Sleeping on a floor is not the worst way to spend your night, the worst way would be to not go out to a party and end up spending 8 hours on the floor wishing you had gone out. If you manage to get more then 6 hours of sleep during Comic-Con, you’re doing it wrong. Also, wear comfortable shoes. I nursed a quarter-sized blister on my foot for 3 days during the convention, and then for 3 more days after that. And if no one else will tell you, wear deodorant, for everyone else’s sake, including your own.

    8: Depending on what your at Comic-Con for, making a complete ass of yourself in any situation is to be avoided at all costs. Unless you’re a friend of mine, and happen to have a great reason.

    It’s easy to get really drunk at Comic-Con. There’s a ton of open bar parties throughout the weekend, add to the mix that you’re tired, and possibly have been standing in the sun all day, and you’re going to be flying home instead of walking. As a writer, I suppose I should be expected to get good and sauced, but the desire has left me some time ago. I try to experience as much of life as it has to offer me, and I believe between the full glass of vodka, and the pitchers of beer from sundown to lay-down, i’ve accomplished this at Comic-Con.

    9: Make some memories, make some friends, eat well.

    I didn’t spend all of my time in panels or on the convention floor. I had lunch with a nice kid, still in college, who’d been going to Comic-Con for over 4 years already. I got to spend time with friends who I only got to see about once a month as it was, and some who I only saw through other friends. This created new friends, and hopefully long lasting ones, as we’ve bonded over a shared experience. I also got to see an old friend, who introduced me to a real life comic book artist. We shared an memorable meal and I got to see him in action, signing copies of his book, as well as sketching for free, drawings for passerby’s. This above all endeared me to him and I look forward to future meetings.

    10: Swag, you want it, come get it.

    I can’t really describe the feeling of getting free stuff. We’ve all recieved something for free, even getting something we didn’t really want is better then not getting something at all. Somehow the entertainment industry has turned this into some sort of contest of intelligence, agility, and luck. During the course of the convention, the bigger media outlets give out giant bags, usually decked out with the logo of the company, or the branding of one of their products. These bags can fit a small to medium sized child, the contents of a breakfast buffet at one of the surrounding hotels, or the other swag that you accumulate during the day. Without trying, I received buttons, shirts, posters, lanyards, postcards, and flyers for other convention events, within a matter of minutes of landing on the convention floor during my last day there.

    11: Sunday is the day to spend your cash.

    Most of the trade floor is occupied by two things, companies that want to show you their new show, book, movie; and then companies that want you to buy their things, so they don’t have to ship them back home. Say it with me children, DISCOUNTS. Granted, some of the things you might want will be sold out, but you should have tried to get them on day one if you really wanted them. The last day is for those purchases you weren’t sure about, that now make a little more sense at a 50% discount.

    12: Grab opportunity whenever possible

    I got to spend a good portion of my time with my friends, talking over new ideas for shows, new concepts to bring home, and plans for the following year. I also was fortune enough to meet celebrities that I found entertaining, interesting, or just plain attractive. Brea Grant, in the hotel bar, as well as Stan Lee and Morgan Spurlock, whom i’ve met in passing already; the entire SlashFilm podcast crew, whom I enjoy even more after meeting them all in the flesh, as well as getting together with the Totally Rad Show guys several nights in a row by pure coincidence; and the cast and crew of The Guild, Safety Geeks, and The Legend of Neil. And lastly, Mark A. Altman, writer and producer on several movies and television shows and J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5.

    But don’t forget your friends. Thanks to Shawna, Joe, Julie, Eva, Ryan, Nat, Mike S., Mike D., Stephanie, Marc, Brandon M., Bernie, Michael T., Taryn, Dan, Rudy, and Casey.

    13: Go home

    Pack your things, don’t forget anything, gas up the car, pay the crazy parking fee, and prepare to sit in traffic. You’ve just experienced Comic-Con.

    Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • July 06, 08:05 AM

    8 months of silence

    So here I am. I finally arrived in Los Angeles after a brief stopover in San Jose (my old college town) to visit some friends. I had researched two places to check out as soon as I pulled into town, and by a weird sense of irony, I ended up getting off the highway a block away from the apartment without even knowing it. I had no map, just a loose set of directions.

    1. L.A. is confusing, buy a Thomas Guide, or get GPS.
    2. Talk to someone, anyone who lives in L.A. to get an idea of where you should live.
    3. Research more then a few places to live.

    I checked out the first apartment in the afternoon, 2 girls were looking for a roommate in a nice 3bd 2bth in Sherman Oaks. It was clean, the girl I met was nice, but I wasn't sure. So I checked out the second apartment, which is directly in Hollywood, close to the Arclight theater. The light was out in the elevator, my first indicator of a less then plesent experience. I was told that I could move in after they had seen a few other applicants, but they told me that I would have to keep a low profile so I didn't have to be added to and thus extending their lease. I spent the night in a hotel to ponder the move, and when I woke up I decided then and there to get the first place. My first real decision turned out to be fairly comical and ultimatly OK. There have been ups and downs to living there, which have added to the colorful life I have developed since moving to "The Valley".

    4. "The Valley" is not a horrible place, don't let the detractors get you down.

    After moving in, I started applying to every production company I could find an ad for. I actually got a few interviews right away, but since I was so discombobulated from the trip, I came off sounding like an idiot. It didn't help that I was dressed pretty poorly too.

    5. Own something that you can wear to an interview and to a wedding.

    After a few false starts I was leaving an interview when I got a call about an intership I had apperently entered. I thought, why the hell not, i'm not doing anything else. After having a great interview, doing some fast coverage and turning it in as quickly as I could, I got the job. 2 days a week I work in development as a reader mostly. My job has changed over the last seven months i've been there, but primarily i'm just a reader.

    6. An internship in development is almost as good as an actual job in development.

    I found out pretty quickly that I needed actual cash, so after not hearing back from anyone, I went to the movie theater, applied, and was quickly hired. My previous retail experince pretty much paves the way for me to get hired about anywhere. I spent a good five months doing that until my sister's college graduation got me to quit and visit home. It was for the best, because when I returned, I actually got my first production job, in reality tv, as a transcriber.

    7. A job is a job, just keep repeating that to yourself.

    So what do I take from the last 8 months into the next 8? Not much, i'm pretty much where I started, abit a few thousand dollars lighter. You do need money to get your start here, there's no question about it. So unless your current job will transfer you, save some cash before making the big trip. I've made some serious contacts through the internship, and made a ton of new friends, even reconnecting with an old high school classmate that I never knew existed! I got to know L.A. pretty well and can honestly say that even though i'm not really any further along in my career then I was when I got here, I still feel that I made the right decision in coming here.

    Besides, I doubt my parents would let me move back in with them... right?

    Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • July 06, 03:23 AM

    Hello Cruel World

    Warning, the following is an introduction to myself and where I came from, so that you the reader might better understand where i'm coming from. This is in part to help you relate, but mostly so that I can vent a little before giving you any new information with which you can use.

    Hello, welcome to this blog.

    Let's see, what's the first question, ah yes, from Suzie who writes: "Who the hell are you, and why should I spend countless seconds reading this?" The former I can answer, but I regret the latter is for you to decide.

    I am.... a writer! But then again, so is anyone who puts pen to paper, chalk to sidewalk, or pee to.... well, you get my meaning. What kind of writer... well that has yet to be determined. Since I am not currently getting paid to do such work, I dabble in this and that... this being the blog and that being both television spec writing and feature film writing.

    I did not grow up wanting to be a writer or even work in the film industry. Up until the age of thirteen I was heavily into Lego's (another story, another time). When I moved the summer before high school from New Jersey to Florida, I was happy, I had a chance to completely reinvent myself, and when I sat down at the school two weeks into the new school year I had to pick my electives. It was then when I saw it, like Moses's burning bush, TV Production 1... I was ecstatic. I had spent the previous year helping to film the school's basketball games, because I was that kid, the one who just wanted to help everyone. When I told my school councilor that I had made my decision, she entered it in the computer and I saw her face scrunch up, and I could tell what was coming. The class was full and I had to pick something else.

    I asked if it was possible to get into it next year, and while it would be, I would never advance to the actual production class, number 4. My fate was sealed, I chose typing since I figured I'd be doing a lot of it in the next 60 years of my life as some office drone. I realize my life would be completely different had someone dropped that class, or if I had registered earlier, but i'll never know...

    3 years sped by, and before I knew it the summer before senior year was upon me. I was almost exactly the same person I was when I had arrived, except for hitting an old lady with a bike (again, another time), nothing really happened to me. Figuring I could waste the summer indoors again, playing whatever game I could find or reading books till I fell asleep, I got a job. Not just any job, but one held by many a starving Hollywood scribe before me has held. Nope, not a waiter, that's for actors. I found myself working at a Blockbuster Video, right down the street from my house. It wasn't until this point that I was truly a film fanatic, I would go to the movies with friends, or by myself when no one was around, but I mainly stuck to big blockbuster movies, never venturing to far outside my comfort zone.

    Then one day I was putting tapes away and I passed by the independent film section and saw a little movie made by a guy in New Jersey about a retail clerk and his directionless life. Clerks was one of five movies I rented (for free, perk of the job) that week, and for the next month. I loved every second of it, and then I found out he had a second movie, Mallrats, and a third, Chasing Amy. I don't mean for this to turn into a Kevin Smith love fest, but I do have to hand it to him for introducing me to movies that could be more then just big explosions and even bigger stars. I started to devour the entire independent film shelf, which I quickly learned held a few other gems, and a lot of crap. I also took Drama for the first time, and I really broke out of my shell. I became every one's friend and I finally had realize that part of me that was missing, and that something was growing inside of me.

    It didn't happen quickly, it almost took another 3 years for me to fully realize what the hell had woken up inside of me. I think I can place my exact moment of breakthrough to sitting in the math/science building in college and looking around at my fellow students. They all seemed like they had the burdens of their respective worlds thrust upon their shoulders. My grades hadn't been fairing well either, even after a switch over to business (an attempt to emulate my father). I had been lurking around the school radio station, trying to find something to do with all my free time and something just clicked on. I called my parents and told them the news, the silence was deafening. In my excitement I didn't think how this news would take my parents, they are a fairly liberal, easy going and somewhat nutty duo, and they give their children a pretty free reign, but to let their boy go off and do something that had no safety net in place... let's just say they were left hoping for the best.

    I spent about a year and a half in the film program, I completed one screenplay, one spec pilot, and a smattering of sketches. I worked on 30 short films and one feature. When I received my degree, I looked around at all my fellow graduates and started to wonder if they felt as ripped off as I did. I didn't feel like I was prepared to go out and start making movies, I barely felt like I was ready to get out of bed and find a job. I spent the summer on a couch in my fraternity house finishing up a 3 credit class I needed, and mostly just watching TV and reading the new Harry Potter. Right after my birthday, I packed up my car and started on a road trip back to New Jersey... I don't know exactly why I didn't think to move to LA right away. My guess is that I was homesick, that I wanted to be around something comfortable and thinking that they shoot films and TV in New York, I could find something. And I did, I worked for 2 weeks on a foreign film as an office PA, where I learned how to navigate the NY Subway System, drive a cube van, get groceries, and how to wear the wrong shoes.

    After that I ended up working at a bookstore for 2 and a half years. Between work, video games, movies, and TV; I didn't do much. And I sadly dragged a friend down with me into a pit of despair of my own making. We could have spent all that time writing the next hit movie, but mostly we slept and ate and worked. The one bright spot was taking a Second City intensive during one summer in New York. I spent an entire week crafting new scenes in the morning and discussing them and then in the afternoon, learned the basics of improv. I made a good friend, who continues to do improv today, following her dream.

    My family was getting ready to take a cruise around the Mediterranean, and as I had never been out of the country, I went along. We visited Spain, Italy and France, saw Barcelona, Rome, Pompeii, Pisa, and Monte Carlo; and when I got back to the states, my father offered me a trip to Israel with him as he was going on business. At some point between these trips I decided that it was now or never, at 24 and very little in terms of a goal in life, I decided to pack up my entire life and move to LA to pursue "The Dream". I started asking friends already out there for advice, most of it was vague and sometimes hard to understand, but I knew I couldn't stay in New Jersey and hope that David Letterman would come in and point at me, as if to say, it's your turn. Coincidentaly, he did come in one day, but I was too chicken shit to really bother the guy.

    So at then end of October 2007, I packed a few bags, shipped my car off and boarded a plane. I had no place to live, no job, and very few friends I could count on for help, but I felt something pulling me there. I had to go, I had no choice.

    It's 8 months later, gas prices have skyrocketed, there has been one strike so far and another one that that's looming, but i'm not very worried. These things happen, and will happen again.

    Next: The first 8 months!

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