Coming Out Party

I finally took the plunge. It is one thing to consider doing something - actually doing it is another thing altogether. Since we decided to move forward with the documentary the logical stepping off point was my birthday. We put together a Villain theme party at Austin Studios at which it was decided that I would publicly announce my intentions. The event went off without a hitch. We had a DJ, poker table and Venture Brothers playing in the screening room. Attendence was good and not only did everyone come dressed "dark and dangerous" about a third were in full costume. My kind of people. I came down with a case of nerves but eventually got a handle on it. As a young man I did some theater but I'm not really an actor so the prospect of the whole on-camera thing was daunting. When the time came, it didn't help that contacts had slipped, making it very difficult for me to read the speech I had prepared. I have been told that I did all right but it is clear that I'm going to have to do some work on my public speaking skills. The reaction to my announcement that I plan to become a Villain was everything I could have hoped for. I got a round of applause and spent the next hour or so fielding questions from folks eager to be a part of the project. I signed up several potential henchmen, a spy, a marketing major, a brand manager and a police officer willing to act as an advisor. One of my guests actually got down on one knee and swore his loyalty. How perfect is that? When you are working without a script (or a net) the unexpected opportunities that present themselves are often better than anything you could have planned. In this case we were fortunate to have had a gentleman playing Cobra Commander in attendence. He stayed in character for more than three hours and had an enyclopedic knowledge of GI Joe lore that was nothing short of awesome. Cobra Commander assumed the role of mentor and gave me my first lessons in villainy. Darren captured something like 40 minutes of priceless improv. It was a minor miracle that we managed to film the thing without laughing our asses off. We have officially begun filming. My thanks to everyone who made the night a success, especially the staff at the Austin Film Society, Amanda, Bryan, Dan, Shauna, Matt, Hale and Joseph Fotinos (who bares a striking resemblence to the scoundrel in the blue uniform I spent most of the night talking to).