I am so in love with the filmmaking process that sometimes I think my head might explode about it.

Alex and I watched The Darjeeling Limited last night.  I liked the film just okay.  It had some great moments and the scenery was pretty incredible, the actors were great, it made me want to travel across India on a train - but the plot left something to be desired.  I also thought the featurette at the beginning with Natalie Portman was way overrated.  It felt like a bad scene study class and I totally didn’t believe the acting, which was strange because I am usually such a fan of Miss Portman’s work.

Anyway, after Alex went to bed (all tuckered out from his second week of teaching, reading, and writing, not to mention the celebratory afternoon shots of Jack Daniels with his new friend, Ben), I flipped on the DVD’s special features and watched the behind the scenes footage... 

Lemme just say that I LOVE watching that stuff.  It is incredible to see how involved the process is and how much preparation is required to make the movie machine go.  Yes, I have been involved in the process first-hand from a few different angles (as an actor, production assistant, and occasional producer), but still when I watch behind the scenes footage I just can’t seem to get enough.  It makes my whole body ache because I want so badly to be a part of it all over again.

The movie business is like crack, I swear.  I was talking recently with my friend and fellow actor, Amber Bollinger (hi, Amber!), about how difficult each and every aspect of this business really is.  We were marveling at the insanity of it all – and how we just can’t seem to stop obsessing about how we can get roles and stay involved in the process.  It really is addictive!  Whether you’re a writer, an actor, a director, or even a PA, it seems impossible to get enough.  It really is tough to break into, but when you’re in it and working it’s truly incredible to be involved with such a cool industry - and so much fun to fantasize about doing more in the downtime…

I fell asleep last night with a big ol’ smile on my face, romanticizing it all, head full of dreams about my future films, co-stars, movie star buddies, and all my hardworking friends back in LA and New York making it happen every day. 

We may not be saving the world, per se, but I really feel like we’re involved with something truly great…

Sometimes I feel like I might just explode about it.