Hung out with Filmmaker J.D. Mata this morning talking about his feature, "Mexican-American Psycho" and his music.

The guy is so nice and talented.

He was a bit sore because he had just shot a scene where he is wrestled on a bed by a beautiful Karate girl and his neck is twisted from that activity. He is doing his own stunts!

By choice!

There is a scene in the film where he falls from an overpass and lands on a moving truck. He really does it!

I wondered if he had missed the truck and died, if his crew would have just packed up his gear and left without calling for help. Crews can be like that sometimes.

Years ago there was a horror film being shot in Texas, I won't say what the film was just to be safe, but there was an AD on it that was pretty horrible to everyone, even fondled one of the actresses inappropriately.

Things turned really bad when a PA threatened to call the Cops when he caught the AD selling drugs to some of the locals. In retaliation he set the PA's car on fire, supposedly...

At a strip club that was one of the locations, the AD was knifed and found dead by a dumpster behind the club. The assistant cameraman feeling it should be documented, shot footage of the AD's body in the morning light with what was left of the night's film stock.

That footage ended up in the film!

Horror film with REAL DEAD GUY!

That's so wrong, dude!

Now, back to J.D. Mata...



I'd say we've known each other for years, just from seeing one another at the same places all the time, but mostly because I think we have similar likes and dislikes. Old souls, I think.

We were talking about making our "art" and meeting interesting people along the way. Everything is connected and the fun part about your journey is the relationships you make along the path.

Doing my Acting Workshop, I've learned so much about people. Some good things and some bad things, but all very interesting.

There are people that want to be creative and just dive in and splash around and have fun thinking stuff up and making it happen, but so many just fight it every step of the way.

This is one of my favorite spots I've used in my Acting Workshop, the Whitley Terrace Steps!

I love this place!

This Whitley Heights neighborhood was home to Rudolph Valentino, Pola Negri, Judy Garland and Charlie Chaplin.

I believe I've lived here before.

One time a friend found a picture that he thought looked like me at a yard sale, it was of Kurt Weill walking up Whitley Terrace in the 1930's.

Sadly, I've become so out of shape that my Acting Workshop students worried I was going to pass out as we were shooting on the steps. I was sweating and red and out of breath...

I thought I was going to die!

I wasn't even running, or moving fast, I don't get it...

So, I took to the steps all alone to see what it was all about. I still got winded. I believe it's psychosomatic. Maybe it's my fear of heights too.

You can't tell from the picture by it's a long way down, or up...

One wrong step and I'm the priest in "The Exorcist" that tumbles down the stairs and ends up with his head twisted back.