Where The Heck Have I Been These Past Months?

Howdy folks! Well, I've been even worse than usual about keeping you all up-to-date on what's been happening in Trish and my lives (and for me, that's saying something!)... it's been a busy couple of months, to be sure. I wanted to take a little time this morning to fill you in on what's been happening since mid-November.

>>Ok, first lets talk about the big news: the Twilight premier. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past month, you're probably aware that Twilight, the adaptation of the popular book series by Stephenie Meyer shot here in the Portland-area, opened in November. Since Trish played a small part in the film (the "High School Administrator," who appears in one scene about a quarter of the way into the movie), we were invited to the Portland premier party and screening on Thursday night.

The evening was, in a word, surreal. Knowing that this was going to be something of a big deal, Trish went out and bought some new clothes and got a little spa treatment. Then, before she knew it, 7pm rolled around and we were at Rocket in Southeast Portland - the place was packed with cast and crew members (and members of the Oregon Film Office, who sponsored the event) - and news cameras. Trish was interviewed by a bunch of media outlets - click here to visit casting agent Lana Veenker's blog, where many of the interviews are posted.

After media left we chilled at Rocket for about an hour, then it was off to the Lloyd Cinemas in (if you can believe it) a Hummer limo. After Trish worked the red carpet a little (yes, there was one), we got into the theater a little early so we could sit in our reserved row... then the people started pouring in. The frenetic energy at the premier was, frankly, a little frightening. LOTS of patrons slowed down or came up the aisle to stare at Solomon Trimble, sitting a few seats away from us. Once the film started, the auditorium erupted in screams each time one of the hunky stars came on screen. Trish's scene didn't last long, but it was gratifying to see her up there.

It was around 3 am when we finally left the Lloyd Cinemas and headed home. All in all, the premier experience was a bit of a whilwind. I think that by the end of the evening Trish was glad that she had as small a part in the film as she did - seeing the mob scene Solomon gathered around him every time he moved was a bit intimidating. She was quite happy to fade back into obscurity as we drove home.

Now then... lets talk about what else has been happening...

>> It's the holiday season, which means it's Murder Mystery time! Wth the worstening economy Trish and I weren't sure that Wild Bills, the company we do these interactive mysteries for, was going to have any corporate clients willing to hire us in. It looks like area businesses still wanted to throw a party this year, though. We were contracted to do four performances of Yuletide Homicide (one of which got postponed due to the weather - we're most likely going to mount that production in early January). I knew that once I put on my "Ned the Nerd" costume, Christmas time was here. I've been doing this show so long (check this old post from 2005) that it doesn't quite feel like Christmas if I'm not goofing around with a bunch of people in a hotel banquet room. It sure was nice to get out and wish people a little holiday cheer. It may not be Thom Bray's one-man Christmas Carol, but I always feel like I'm doing the holiday season a little service when I can take people on a ride and give them an excuse to forget their troubles during this time of year.

>> I'm back on drugs again, and traveling the country once more. The Oregon "Node" of the Clinical Trials Network (a sub-division of the National Institutes of Health) has contracted with me to do another study at drug treatment centers throughout the nation. Well, technically, "ORNode" was sub-contracted by a different "node" based at the University of Miami. In any case, I'm back on the road again.

This time I'm playing a recovering heroin user. The study is actually looking at the efficacy of using rapid HIV testing at treatment centers, so my character ("Mike") is going to have an HIV test administered to him in five states. Fun stuff, huh?

First I traveled to Plainville, CT (1) the week before Christmas (and almost didn't make it back... more on that in a minute). Next up is Salisbury, NC (2), then Tucson, AZ (3), and Cape Girardeau, MO (4) after that. Some time later, I'll be working here in Portland at CODA (5).

As I mentioned, my first trip to Connecticut was... complicated by the weather. Yeah, that's the nicest, family-friendly way to put it. My travel partner (well, more like my boss) Lynn and I took off from Portland at 10:30 am and arrived in Chicago at about 4:30. After waiting at the gate for around three hours, we were told that our flight to Hartford had been cancelled. So, we had to stay overnight in Chicago (thankfully the Hilton Garden Inn still had a few rooms left). We headed out to Hartford at about 10:45 the next morning - which didn't leave us any time to work at the treatment center we were slated to be at once we landed. The following day we did manage to put 10 hours in at the Wheeler Clinic in Plainville. The following day was supposed to be a half-day, but a new snow storm was headed towards Connecticut so the councilor we were supposed to work with declined to come in.

The snow started to fall as Lynn and I left Plainville for the airport in Hartford. Then the adventure REALLY began... I'll let my Twitter feed pick up the story from here - click here and start reading from the bottom... when you get to the top, scroll back down and click "newer." It'll be like you're experiencing the pain with me in "real time." Oh what fun!

Luckily, the rest of my visits are pointed towards warmer climates. Hopefully this will be the last of my weather-related mishaps... but just in case, keep checking that Twitter Feed. You never know what I'll be sticking up there!

>> As part of this mad re-cap of the past two months, I (finally) updated http://www.haroldphillips.net/. Check the "Latest news" box at the top of the page for links to some new trailers for a couple of my upcoming films, Episode two of Animus Cross, a voice job I did a couple months back, and other goodies. There are a couple of items I didn't go into too much detail about, though (that news box was got way too full as it is!):

>As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm working with filmmaker Erick Mertz on his new film, The Collector. He sent me a new draft of the script while I was in Connecticut, and it's really going in some exciting directions! He's now actively seeking producers for the project. I've passed on names and contact information for some of the producers I've worked with in the past (yeah, you guys know who you are...), so don't be surprised if you hear from him. If any other producers are interested in taking a look at the project, feel free to contact me.

>I've also been working with cinematographer Randolph Sellars on developing a new web series... but this one is going to be a little different than what you've come to expect from me. The series is tentatively titled Vicky Vixen, and it's about the rowdy, completely un-PC alter-ego of a shy high school girl. I'll be playing "Victoria's" father in the series. Before any of the episodes are shot, however, we're shooting a "pitch promo -" a six minute "prequel" episode that introduces the character to potential funders. We were slated to film my scenes in late December, but the weather got in the way. Now we're shooting for mid-January, with the release of the promo "trailer" some time in March.

>I've alluded to this several times in the past... but The Wasteland is coming back. I've had several conversations with Lady Wasteland director Mark Roush over the past few months, and he's definitely planning on going back into production in early 2009. I'll be posting more details as they become available (and as they're cleared for sharing... Mark likes to keep his secrets!)

>> After fighting against it for years, I've finally joined the Blackberry world with the purchase of my new Blackberry Storm. It was long past time for me to retire my old Palm Treo 700P, and my use of HoldonLog's PerformerTrack system made a full-featured hand-held web browser a priority. I've read a lot of complaints about the Storm online, but I have to say I'm very happy with the phone... the touch-screen takes a bit of getting used to, but the internet connection is fast and strong, and the number of app's available for the Blackberry has grown substantially in recent years. I'm still looking for a good, solid, Quickbooks app that will let me interface with the Quickbooks Timer, but other than that... it's been serving me well thus far.

>> Somehow, inexplicably, I've become a "lifestyle" model. It's the most bizarre thing... some of you may remember this post from back in July, and how wierded out I was that I got a print gig at all... I mean, sure, I've got a print agent (Option Model Management, headed by the lovely and talented Kit Garrett), but I never actually expected to get any work in the print world. I figured Kit would submit me for the occasional gig and I might, once in a blue moon, get cast in the background of a photo shoot here and there.

That's not exactly how things have been playing out, though. Strangely enough, I've actually been getting work. November saw two shoots - one a large-scale commercial shoot for IBM, and one a set of stock photographs for local photographer Erik Isakson. It's definitely been one of the big surprises of the year... I never would have thought that a photographer would want to risk his or her high-priced lenses by pointing the camera at this gawky-looking mug... but I'll sure take it! I'll post copies of the shots, once I get them, at http://www.haroldphillips.net/.

Well, that's pretty much it for the moment. That's what's been occupying my time for the past month or so. If you've read down this far, congratulations! If you've only skimmed to this point, I understand. The important thing, however, is the message above - please take it to heart as you start 2009 and remember, we all have the power to make our own way in the world. Keep your chins up, and make next year the best ever. I know that's my plan!

-Harold