“It’s a place where they’ve taken the desert and turned it into their dreams. I’ve seen a lot of L.A. and I think it’s also a place of secrets: secret houses, secret lives, secret pleasures…”  L.A. Story

And, I might add, secret fears.

A few weeks ago, I was approached by a a firm seeking short animated scripts. They wanted to know if I had anything available. I dusted off a little piece that was lying around and, on inspection, thought that it might serve their needs.

Of course, it did not – their projects are more politically-driven, and my short revolved around a young man who encounters a crazed beauty in a park.

At the same time, I was in the middle of production training, surrounded by an amazing group of women. We supported each other, we cheered one another on. It was most delicious. Writing is a very solitary craft; I was feeling very isolated.

You don’t get into the creative arts with a brain that is perfectly wired; we’re all a little out there… and with the outsider mentality can come abject loneliness. Add in a spoonful of insecurity, for they say you are only as good as your last project, and we find ourselves running marathons through this town, our hearts laden with the fear that someone will find us out.

What we don’t always realize, is that we all feel this way.

At the same time, I was struggling with my creative identity. I felt castrated as an artist. And then, I had a dream… I saw a fallen angel, and I realized he was in love with a prostitute.

I sought out my angel… and ended up in DTLA, walking through Skid Row.

I came home. I mulled this over. On my left, was Shakespeare. On my right were two scripts of mine, a short titled BOY MEETS GIRL, and a feature, titled LET’S DO LUNCH.

I thought. A lot. I wanted to tell snapshot stories of the lives of outsiders… and realized that the ultimate outsider is a supernatural being. And so, I typed FADE IN. Three days later, I had episodes 1-3 of THEY LIVE AMONG US.

This morning, I began my Kickstarter campaign, in order to raise funds for my project, which I hope to have completed by the end of the year. I’ll blog about the campaign, about the individual episodes (there are three this far, with a couple hanging out there if the first three go well), and, of course, about the micro-budget production process from concept to completion.

It’s an exciting time to be a filmmaker; we’re so much more empowered than in years past. I’m looking forward to sharing my adventure with you!