True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak is one of – it not the – most exciting and fulfilling projects of my career.

My 300-page-plus script for the ten-episode fully immersive audio drama, directed by Robert Meyer Burnett (Free Enterprise), is in production now. Frank Nitti has just been cast and a very famous actor (I’ll be able to reveal it next week) is being recorded by Rob Burnett the day after this update/blog appears.

Here is the full San Diego Comic Con “True Noir” panel (minus my prerecorded introduction – posted here last week).

Rob Burnett is an incredibly talented, smart human, and you can get a glimpse of that in this True Noir-centric interview conducted (again) at the recent San Diego Comic Con.

All of this comes from an article here.

If you’re interested and able, please support this project. I’m really proud of this one.

When this update appears, we will be less than two weeks away from the first day of our two-week shoot on Death by Fruitcake, which will bring Vivian and Brandy Borne, the sleuth stars of the Antiques novels, to life.

We had a terrific table read with all but two of the cast present at producer/director of photography Chad Bishop’s house. Here’s a glimpse at our three stars, Midwest broadcasting legend Paula Sands, Midwest superstar performer Alisabeth Von Presley, and Iowa’s most honored actor Rob Merritt (the latter two are stars of Blue Christmas), pictured with yours truly, very much outclassed.

I will be full time on the production now through the two weeks of shooting at the end of this month. We are spending a good deal of time at the New Era Church playhouse, on the edge of Wild Cat Den (some of you will remember it as the setting for the climax of Mommy’s Day). Much cleaning and sweeping and arrangement of sets within the playhouse has been going on, as well as scoping things out to see how the script conforms to the actual locations. I had taken a trip out to the playhouse before I scripted Fruitcake, but a few photos and my fraying memory weren’t enough – I need to spend some time there, some of it with Chad Bishop, figuring out where and how to shoot things.

Our house is piling up with props and wardrobe and what have you for the coming production.

I am working on a shot list for the entire movie, which is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever attempted. There is a strong possibility this will be my last indie film production, so I intend to bring everything I can to it. That includes Barb and me funding the production. As was the case with Blue Christmas, we did not get the Greenlight Grant (Iowa Arts & Culture) grant we applied for, despite a knockout “look book” submission by Chad Bishop. I am convinced this program is looking only at projects that are deemed politically correct and not entertainment-oriented – despite their mission statement indicating otherwise.

Or perhaps my involvement hurts us with Greenlight, because the assumption may be made that I don’t need their help. They remind me of the starlet who was so dumb she slept with the writer.

Next Sunday (Aug. 11) will mark the end of my rock ‘n’ roll career, which began in 1965. It’s possible a reunion or two could happen at some time in the future, though that’s perhaps unlikely. This major part of my creative life is hard to shake loose of, but the time has come.

We have our last rehearsal tomorrow night (the Monday before this appears).

Information about the event is here.

This update and the next few will be rather short because my time is gobbled up by this film production. But I will be sharing behind-the-scenes photos and info with you, as well as exciting news about True Noir, including who we’re casting as Nate Heller and Frank Nitti.

Again, we did not run a crowd-funding campaign for Death by Fruitcake, because I want to put that emphasis on True Noir. When you go to Kickstarter to support that campaign, you will be able to purchase the entire ten-episode audio drama at that point – the projected delivery date to those who’ve pre-ordered the drama is the end of September.

If you’ve ever read a Nathan Heller novel and thought, “Wow, this would make a great movie,” you will want to support this (and own the result).

A first-rate look at the film version of Road to Perdition can be seen here. This one is good enough to have been excerpted several places, including the IMDB.

M.A.C.

Tags: Antiques Series, Crowdfunding, Crusin', Death by Fruitcake, Nathan Heller, Road to Perdition, Trash 'n' Treasures, True Noir, True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak