My memorable exchange with a fellow Christian

I don't know how many times I've given the elevator speech for our documentary "Out Here In Kansas," but considering we starting shooting on it about a year ago, I'm guessing it's about 365.
I do know I've not had an encounter quite like the one I had when I was taking down a road barrier when we were tearing down our first set Saturday in Augusta. (You can see the photo gallery here.) A woman, maybe 70, approached me on the curb and asked what we were doing.
Me: We are making a documentary.

Her: Oh! What's it about?
Me: Well, it basically centers on the relationship between Christianity and homosexuality.
Her: Oh. Oh no. Well I'm a Christian. And I don't believe in gays. Are you a Christian?
Me: Yes ma'am, I sure am.
(At this point she insists on shaking my hand.)
Her: Well God bless you. Do you believe in gays?
Me: Yes ma'am, absolutely I do. They are real. I've seen them and talked to them myself.
Her: (Frowns.) That's not what I mean. The Bible has some things to say about gays. Do you go to church?
Me: Yes, in fact I grew up in First Baptist Church right up the street.
As I pointed in that direction, this woman realized she knew my parents, and thankfully the subject changed.
But the exchange left me with a sad feeling. She identified herself as a Christian, but the way she represented herself is exactly why many gay people are uncomfortable going to church.
So if you're a Christian, even if you believe the homosexual lifestyle is unacceptable, please be careful with your words. The Bible has something to say about a lot of things we don't understand, including women remaining silent and submissive. (I haven't heard anyone bring that one up lately.)
As I've said many times, the purpose of this movie is to tell Burt's story and to invoke a discussion. This woman could have a gay family member and not even know it. Because who would tell her?

Let's just say she was a savior

I didn't really know Dona Lancaster until a couple of months ago, when we were starting rehearsals for the journalist-performed Wichita Gridiron. Director Rick Bumgardner introduced her to the cast this way ...
"Dona," he said, "is God."

Dona was quick to tell everyone she is not God, and she was just there to help out however she could. She is a longtime fixture in the local theater scene, currently with Wichita Community Theater, and we became fast friends.
The more I thought about the shoot I wanted to do for the opening credits for "Out Here in Kansas," the more I realized I could really use a good acting coach on set. Yes, it's a documentary, but this particular scene was going to require some facial expressions and body language from Burt that were going to be hard for me to communicate. (You'll know what I mean when you see it.) And yes, I know what I wanted - but Dona was able to make Burt feel what I wanted. It was really pretty amazing. Don't let anyone fool you - acting is hard.
Bless her heart - Dona (pronounced DOAN-a, pictured here with Burt) not only came to help us out, she spent the entire day with us on set. And it was a long day, particularly for Burt, who was wearing a suit doing take after take in the 90-degree heat.
Burt hugged Dona when the day was over, and so did I. After going over the footage with Kenny later that evening, I wanted to hug her again. It just wouldn't have been as good without her.

There's no place like home

It was not my plan to be shooting any of this movie in my hometown of Augusta, but it definitely should have been.
Let me back up for a minute. I've had this day - June 6 - circled on my calendar for weeks. Without getting too much into the technical aspects, we knew it would be difficult. But in the days and especially hours leading up to the shoot, we encountered one unforeseen challenge after another.
For one thing, we needed a truly traditional church front. Now, there are a few of those left ... but good luck being granted permission to use it for a movie set.
Then I remembered this stone church (that's Kenny and me standing in front of it). I walked by it nearly every day for four years on my way to Garfield Elementary as a kid. It was absolutely perfect, and the owners are wonderful people who supported our cause.
Once we closed this set, I asked a favor from the folks at the Augusta Historical Theater, and they came through for me too. Boy, did they.

This picture gives me joy

Here is our editor, Kenny Linn, geeking out over a camera stabilizer that just arrived from Memphis. When I carried the box to his door, he had the same sparkle in his eyes as kids do on Christmas morning.
Today we're getting prepared for a somewhat complicated shoot we're doing Saturday in Augusta, Kansas. I'm sure I'll have some good photos from that as well.

Los Angeles, Day 3

Unlike the previous two days, this morning was not good.
I got up plenty early. A couple hours later I was supposed to meet two of my new screenwriting friends for a real Hollywood style breakfast. (You guessed it: Denny's).
But I started to realize I hadn't truly researched the people who were going to be asking me questions at this morning's PitchFest. At least, not the way I would have as a journalist. I guess you could say I was gripping a little bit.

* gripping *
(verb) To choke or lose control; lose your grip on an object or situation; scared.
When LeBron got to the free throw line with the game hanging by a thread, he was gripping and shot a brick.

So I called them up and told them I wasn't going to make it to Denny's. "I am not prepared," I said. And man, did I mean it. I did my best to map out what I was about to get into. But what did that mean? I'd never done this before (or known anyone who had).
Furthermore, I had to be smart about my strategy and not waste time. Not every project is for everyone, no matter how good it is. Most executives were there to hear about unproduced screenplays. I could certainly talk about the ones I've written, but what I really wanted to do was go to bat for our little documentary.
Then the event started and ... what can I say? When the lights come on, I'm ready to play.
Three takeaways ...
1. Our name and our logo, both created by Jon Pic, took me a long way. In fact, I've got a hell of story to tell him when I get back.
2. If someone out here does know anything about Kansas politics, they probably learned it from The Daily Show.
3. "Out Here In Kansas" is an awesome idea for a documentary. Not that I had any doubt about that.

Los Angeles, Day 2

Another fortuitous start to my morning.
I was the last one to walk into the first of many screenwriting classes they offer at this festival. Before I could sit down, the instructor asked me to pick a number between 1 and 15. I chose 14, and the rest of the class groaned as he announced I was the winner of a new watch.
(Which is kind of funny, because I actually flew out here on an airline ticket I won in a similar contest a few months ago. A ticket that expires on Monday, by the way.)
Anyway, I spent the entire day inside the hotel, going from one class to another. Some of them were focused on the craft of screenwriting. Some were focused on how to better network in the movie business. Many of them were focused on being prepared for tomorrow's "PitchFest," which is the main reason most of us are here.
To be sure, Sunday is going to be crazy. There are a lot of Hollywood executives and agents here to listen to pitches, and there are 500 of us. Naturally, a lot of people are nervous.
But I'm not. Because I've got nothing to lose. Since I've been here, I've already made many people from across the county, and a couple overseas, aware of "Out Here In Kansas." It's going to be made - and worst case scenario, we're going to have an excellent independent documentary that invokes discussion about an important social topic.
The night wrapped up with a party on the hotel patio, followed by a trip to In-And-Out. I can't believe how many fellow screenwriters I've become friends with since I arrived here. Probably more than a dozen. This afternoon I met a guy named Erik Harshman, and if you saw us side by side you would think we had nothing in common. But we're both from the Midwest (he's a St. Louis native), we both teach college remedial English (he teaches high school as well) and we both think the original "Robocop" is one of the most underrated works of genius ever made (and think last year's remake was a crime against humanity).

Los Angeles, Day 1

It's been an eventful trip so far, and the fun started before I even left Wichita.
In the wee hours at the airport this morning I ran into former Congressman Todd Tiahrt, a man I've gotten to know just a little bit over the years through various events and mutual friends. My timing was great: He was behind me in line at Great American Bagel and picked up my tab.
He was on his way to D.C. and asked why I was going to Los Angeles. Of course I told him about "Out Here In Kansas," which is a film that centers around the topic of gays, Christians and their relationship with each other.
Tiahrt, in case you didn't know, is a conservative Republican whose stance against gay rights is well documented. (And in case I didn't know, he reminded me.) But he wished me luck and said he hoped to see it soon. At least, I think that's what he said. It was awfully early.
The first thing I did when I arrived in Burbank was meet up with my new friend Paul Thomas Arnold for lunch. Paul is an LA native who has been acting most of his life, not including the several years he took off to serve in the military. Amazingly, he returned to acting immediately afterwards and finds plenty of work between stage and screen. I have to admit, I took a sudden interest in Paul when I discovered he'd been on the Adult Swim cult favorite "Eagleheart." I started following him on Twitter and ... well, a year later here we are. He's a funny guy, a great storyteller, and less menacing than he looks. Believe me when I tell you, he's a Hollywood actor you should admire.
Tonight, there was a great social event in which we got to discuss ideas with several other screenwriters. Off the top of my head, the ones I met were from LA, Sacramento, San Francisco, Washington, Connecticut, Texas, Iowa, Michigan and Alberta, Canada. I know I'm forgetting a couple, but it's been a long day. Actually, I just realized I've been up for 23 hours. More tomorrow.