Bill made contact today with the actor William Sage, a great favorite of mine from Hal Hartley's films (SIMPLE MEN, FLIRT, THEORIES OF ACHIEVEMENT). Sage wants to read the script and says he'll audition for us. It's interesting that reasonably successful actors are willing to give consideration to no-budget projects like this one.
John Nuler and his wife Kit looked at pictures of my grandparents' cottage, our main location, and pointed out to me delicately that the decor and wallpaper are on the garish side. It had never occurred to me that that issue needed to be addressed--I grew up with lower-middle-class taste in decoration and am inured to it, whereas I think John and Kit are used to better judgment. They suggested mentioning the decor in the script, which turns out to be a great idea--it lets me have fun with the idea of a class difference between the newlyweds. I made the changes on the spot.
It is a distinct shortcoming of mine as a director that I am relatively insensitive to issues of art direction, costumes, etc. I'm fanatical about where the frame goes and where the actors go in the frame, but I'm real likely to miss out on the particulars of the environment. A production designer could more or less have his or her way with me.
I wandered all over Brooklyn today, looking for locations at Brooklyn College and Prospect Park. The college is being weirdly cooperative with us, but I can't follow up with them until Tuesday, thanks to their shortened summer hours.
Alex got a two-day gig as a production assistant, and is pretty much incommunicado until tomorrow night.
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