Blue Like Jazz: Another Update

There's another twist in the Blue Like Jazz plot line. I learned today of an effort from a couple of fans who weren't taking the news of BLJ's indefinite postponing lying down. They've started a fundraising campaign to raise the final $125,000 to get this movie filming by October 25th. In film terms, $125,000 is not very much. It would be a shame if this was the amount that stopped this great movie from happening.

We have a little under a month to raise this money. Almost 1.5 million people bought the book. If everyone that bought the book would just donate $1 we would have so much more than enough to make this movie happen. If you aren't able to donate anything, that's totally cool - but please pass this on to your friends. Post it on your blog, on Twitter, or on Facebook. Maybe somebody around here has a rich aunt.

Watch the video they've made below, go to www.savebluelikejazz.com, and decide if you want to give. I know I'd appreciate it. Thank you!

Blue Like Jazz: An Update

As many of you know, two years ago I was cast in the film adaptation of Donald Miller's book Blue Like Jazz. This was a huge deal for me for several reasons. First, it would make me eligible to join the Screen Actor's Guild, the largest and most respected union for actors. Without having to explain too much, just know it is very, very difficult to become eligible and this was a huge blessing for me. Second, I would get to meet a lot of great actors, including Marshall Allman. He's an actor whose work on the shows Prison Break and True Blood has kickstarted a great career.

Thirdly, doing this movie would have let me meet and network with quite a few different agents and managers that I was looking forward to meeting. To put it briefly, this movie was the perfect diving board into an acting career that most people never get.

Now if you're wondering why I'm speaking of Blue Like Jazz in the past tense, here's the bad news. I found out a few days ago that after two years of budget struggles, BLJ has been "indefinitely postponed." The script was a very difficult one for a lot of Christian investors to accept, and Don and Steve Taylor (the co-writer/director) had turned down offers from a very prominent studio to make the film. They wanted - and rightly so - to retain full control of the script. Also, Marshall resumes filming on True Blood in a few weeks, which basically closes any window of time we had to shoot with him. And since he was our lead, it's pretty important to have him around. You can read all of this in more detail and straight from Don's mouth over at his blog.

It goes without saying that Ellen and I are disappointed. In fact, when we found out, we were both speechless. This movie is what brought us to LA, and now it's not happening. I felt before that I had a leg up on other actors who were new to LA - now I'm simply back in the pile, fighting to stand out.

It's important to mention that our sadness stems also from the fact that we both feel very strongly that believers and non-believers alike truly need to see this movie. The script presented a real picture of Christianity. It was not the idealized, false picture many "religious" films paint. It was gritty and honest and I believe it was something that was very God-glorifying. But unfortunately the content also scared people away. But that's what a good film should do, right?

While we're sad and feel a little bit like we're mourning a loss, we're not defeated. The contacts I've made in my first year in LA and the film experience I've already gotten out here have been invaluable. And frankly, that has all happened even faster than I expected it to. God used BLJ to get us out to LA, and as difficult and discouraging as a career in the entertainment industry can be, Ellen and I both believe we are right where God wants us. I do not feel that my acting career is unattainable. Living in LA has shown me just how present opportunities are, and just how possible it is to be an actor. But it is a LOT of work.

I wanted to update all of you guys since you've always been interested and supportive of our involvement with Blue Like Jazz. We would love some prayers for God to open other doors and to continue to lead our steps. Also, that we would trust Him with our lives, not ourselves. Thanks a lot, and on to the next project.

Love

Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling…If the old fairy-tale ending “They lived happily ever after” is taken to mean “They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married,” then it says what probably never was nor ever could be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep? But, of course, ceasing to be “in love” need not mean ceasing to love…It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by the grace which both ask, and receive, from God.

C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Minnie's Moonlit Madness 2010

If you look back through our blog, you'll find plenty of posts that tell you how much we love going to Disneyland. Sure it's a little nerdy, but it's an awesome place that's close to us where Ellen and I can get away and have some time to ourselves. In fact, we just renewed our annual passes so we get another year of admission to the park.

We happen to have a couple of very good friends - Tanner and Molly - who are Imagineers. Recently they invited us to something called Minnie's Moonlit Madness. Every year at Disneyland all the employees get together for charity and compete in a gigantic scavenger hunt throughout the park after closing time. It happens in teams of four, and you are chained together to your teammates.

When the Disney throws an event like this, you can count on it being elaborate. And elaborate it was. To give you a feel for it, this was how our first clue went down. All the teams started in the same area and answered a set of trivia questions.

Then, when it was finally time for the real games to begin with opening the envelope that held our first clue, we were showered with multicolored confetti with holiday messages written on it ("Merry Christmas," "Happy Halloween"). Frankly I didn't think anything of it. There's nothing odd about a starting gun with confetti. We opened our envelope and were faced with a code. An empty page full of fill-in-the-blanks, under which each blank had a letter and number combination.

You could tell everyone there was pretty baffled. I was surprised how quickly the code dawned on Molly. She picked up pieces of the confetti and figured out that the letter in the code corresponded to the color of the piece of confetti and the number indicated to count that many letters in. Once the code was completed, it spelled out a specific place in the park where our hunt began.

All in all it was a great night. The scavenger hunt kind of kicked out butt, though. We didn't even finish all the clues in time...I'm a little scared to see how we placed. But it was very cool hanging out with friends and walking through Disney when it was basically empty.


Now we know what to expect for next year.

If you can believe it....Another house tour

Here it is. FINALLY. And again, while this post is mostly for my mom (she constantly is asking to see pictures of our new place) I like to think that someone else out there is interested in our humble abode.

Below is the only before picture we have of our place. We had taken some more but in the time that has passed they some how got deleted. Let's just say the new house wan't exactly inspiring. We decided to go with it because it had all the amenities on our must have list (washer/dryer, dishwasher, hardwood floors...can I get an Amen!) and because it is in a great location. We'll cover that in a post to come but, trust me, it is great. Other than that, at first the new place looked very old and was basically a big box. Our last place (which I try my best to no longer compare it to) had all these great details and quirks that were fun to decorate around. The new home called for more creativeness and more effort to make it look like a cozy home.

As you can see, nothing too special:

And here is our house afterward. It is finally feeling like home.

This is what the house looks like when you walk in the front door. After painting the walls, hanging curtains, and finally finding some fun artwork for the walls at a local flea market the room feels complete (even though I plan on filling up that wall with more quirky art work as time moves on).

The dining room:

The Kitchen:

The Bedroom:

The Bathroom:
There you have it. Our new home. I can honestly say I am more grateful for this home than any other because I know how blessed we are to have it. I am always struck with how much we have that we don't need let alone deserve. God is good, may he be glorified with this home and may our lives point to him, the giver of all good things.

You give and take away, but I will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name.