I hope the past couple years have been good to everyone. It's crazy times the world's been going through and there seems to be no end to daily news events. From revolts to occupations, economic collapse, world famine and natural disasters...our headlines have been filled with some pretty depressing shit. But the human spirit continues to thrive and our resourcefulness will keep us from falling into darkness. Alive not Dead is not simply a forum for self adulation or even mass adulation, but I look at it as a paradigm for hope. In dark times we artists are the ones to bring hope with perspective, creativity and insight into the human condition. This is why I love telling stories and why I think it's important for all of us to share our experiences. Human reflection is a universal truth we all have in common. (Even if it's only a blog every couple of years haha)
When I last communicated with you guys, I told you about a screenplay I co-wrote with a friend called Deadmonton. Ironically the project is now dead. I've learned this a few times now, don't name projects their future demise, because it usually happens. We went through a series of development stages, but long story short the project never took off. I have no regrets about it though and learned invaluable lessons about writing and working with other producers. It was truly a great experience because sometimes it's not about the destination but the journey. It was a passion project with no money and ultimately paying work really took us away from a short timeline. Grace moved on to Hawaii Five 0, and I'm so proud of her. (My sista from anotha mista)
I was fortunate enough to work on the A-Team film which we shot for over three months and worked with some A-list talent. (Jessica Biel is one of the coolest people you'll ever meet). Not long after, I shot a series for ABC in the USA called COMBAT HOSPITAL. We just aired 13 episodes over the summer and it's a show I'm very proud to be a part of. We dealt with an incredibly provocative subject matter, the war in Afghanistan. We have tried our best not to politicize the show, but to tell human stories that people could relate to. The story centers around a Role 3 hospital on the front line of the war, circa 2006. It was an actual hospital that serviced all seriously injured people coming in from the front line, including Taliban, Afghan soldiers, civilians and of course NATO Allied troops. I played US Army Captain Bobby Trang, one of the new recruits who gets throw into the deep end of the trauma department of the hospital. The show was incredibly engaging and received much support from Army personnel who served in the war during 2006. It has been released to foreign markets so keep your eyes open for it. If you missed it, all episodes can be found online from your favorite servers. We're still waiting on renewal, so I'll keep you posted. Regardless if we get picked up or not, I'm just happy to have done the full season and worked closely with one of my favorite actors, Elias Koteas. A truly talented artist and just plain good guy.
Currently I'm back in Canada filming another TV pilot called BOREALIS 2045, a science-fiction show about settlers in Borealis trying to lay claim to the last oil reserves in the world. Filled with different nations all trying to stake their claim. In this reality Beijing is the center of the world and I play the lead Beijing representative. Can't say much more as it's only the pilot but if it gets picked up I'll let you know more.
I finish this project tomorrow actually then fly off back to LA to shoot a film starting November 9th. I'll save the story on this one for my next entry because I'm sure everyone's bored of reading this by now. But rest assured it'll be cool.
Until next time my friends. Be well and take care of each other. I'll be back soon.
Peace and love...T
