April 15, 1996

Diane, the second actress to read the script, called today to tell us that she liked it, wasn't bothered by the nudity, wants to audition. So it's looking more as if the sexual subject matter won't be a major casting obstacle. It's interesting that actors as a whole are having a better reaction to the script than non-actors. A lot of the people who read the script up until now were fairly reserved with their praise, finding the subject matter too sobering or the lead female character too unsympathetic. But actors have been saying nice things about how real the dialogue is. Maybe they come at it from a different point of view, or maybe they just read a lot of garbage and I'm getting the benefit of the comparison.

I sort of like the script, myself. The subject matter is indeed hard to look in the face, and the characters aren't always likable, but I'm cool with that sort of thing. It's fun to hit the sex angle so directly, and there's something about the shift of moods between beginning and middle, and middle and end, that appeals to me. I can't predict if the film will have an audience or not, and I've decided that I can't afford to worry about that now.

Finding actors is a tricky business. If we put an ad in a trade paper, we're likely to get a great many responses, and spend a lot of time on the selection process. So we're trying word of mouth first, asking around for recommendations. This process would be easier if we were better connected to other filmmakers or to the theater scene. As it is, we're turning up fewer candidates than I'd like. If we don't find the right people through the grapevine during the next few weeks, we'll do a cattle call in May.

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