Going out on a ledge:

Where are the bar codes? Williamsburg cats:

From the streets:

Just as I was making a few more edits to Miles’ short, he invites me to an actor’s event in the East Village. A series of actors go on stage and give a three minute monologue. Sounds OK? It was great.

If you are in Manhattan on the first Monday of the month, go to The Manhattan Monologue Slam at the Bowery Poetry Club. It is full of energy, comedy, excitement, actors, agents, casting people and odd hosts.

We were there to support Miles’ leading lady: Brea Cola. She was in competition with seven other actors. They each performed three minute monologues. Brea ended up in the top three with Carl Kissin and Kyle Grooms. Kyle Grooms performed an excerpt from a speech by Al Sharpton, Carl Kissin played a deranged motivational speaker in a piece called Sell Cell. Our Brea told a tale of the curse of having a wonderful smile – an not much else.

The second part of the evening was members of the public coming up on stage, having 30 seconds to impress us, the energised audience. As people walk on stage – classic music from the last 30 years is played mixed in with TV themes – the crowd joins in singing.

What makes it work are the hosts: the Galinsky brothers. They joke, play parts and gong off people who don’t need 30 seconds to show they shouldn’t be on stage.

Make sure you get there for 7pm! By 7.15, the seats were taken and people were sitting and standing in the aisles.

Yesterday I went to Washington Heights with Donna.

There I am, at 1:30 in the morning, near the till of the local bodega. A woman that a vaguely recognise asks me a question. As I answer I’m aware that however debonair I am, there’s a limit to how impressive can be. I’m holding a box of microwaveable White Castle burgers. Oh well. I’ve seen many chain restaurants in my explorations around Manhattan and Brooklyn, but not the fabled White Castle. One of the few fast food chains mentioned in at least two film titles. The closest I’ve come to trying their legendary food was in 1991, when Burger King did a limited edition run of ‘burger buddies’ – a mini double-bun containing two little burger patties. No doubt inspired by White Castle. So, within the next few days I’ll be that much closer to the real thing.

Wish me luck!

New Yorkers are so friendly. They ask for directions. They strike up conversations about Graffiti artists. They ask if they saw you earlier on the subway.

Megan heard me talk to Jean earlier on the subway. She gathered that we might be something to do with the New York film community (is ‘scene’ an old-fashioned term?). Of course, as we’re meeting late on a Saturday night in Chelsea, it turns out the she’s a film maker too. I’d be surprised if this sort of thing happened to me in London. After these last few weeks in New York, I almost expect it here.

Maybe Jean will be able to get both Megan and I into the Brooklyn Filmmaker’s Collective meeting on Tuesday. As guests only of course.

Jean and I were on the way back from a successful meeting of the Epiphany film networking group. We all enjoyed watching Terrell Perkins’ artistic short film ‘A Struggle’s Paradise.’ An impressionistic short film that owed a lot to ‘City Lights’ and the music of Mozart and Orff.

One of the other people attending was DJ Uch, who runs a film showcase each month. There’s a chance that he might show my new 1 minute short ‘First Cut’ at his next event on 22nd July.

All that and it’s only two in the morning!

Met Miles in Brooklyn – at the very chilled and homely coffee shop named above. As well as three different kinds of iced coffee and freshly-made pastries, there were also a couple of decks on the street outside playing perfect summer music.

We chatted about movies and ideas while he downloaded some music and sound effects for his second ‘full-length’ short film: Man Up. It has just been accepted into the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival.

I worked the rest of the day getting my ‘Additional Editing’ credit for my work on the film. It was about using alternate takes here, sorting out the soundtrack there, loosening out and tightening up. After seven hours of work we ended up with a version that was 6 seconds longer but twice as good (of course I would say that, wouldn’t I…)!

In the coming few days we’ll be working on completing the Miles Maker 2005-2006-2007 DVD. You can see his micro-short ‘Street Sense’ (2005) on my web site. The DVD will also contain ‘Lark and Cher’ (2006), ‘Man Up’ (2007) and a behind the scenes documentary on the making of ‘Man Up.’

You’ll be able to purchase the DVD from Miles Maker soon.

Went to the 25th Annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade. At least I assume it was a parade. Maybe this is what most summer Saturdays are like in most parts of Brooklyn…

The parade snaked around Coney Island, along the broadwalk to Surf Avenue. Jean and I picked a very good spot. The marshals were very easy going – we managed to mix in with the parade whenever we wanted to.