Mona Finally Released

Not too long ago I had a comedic role in the movie Mona. I'm happy to announce that the movie was finally released and has even won some awards.

I'm flattered, honored and definitely thrilled that one of my scenes even made it into the trailer which can be seen here:

http://www.monathemovie.com/

Then click on: Trailer and Photos.

I played the crazy Persian who yells out "Your shoes! Your shoes!"

I've been very busy working on the movie career. I'll soon let you know about the monumental project that I've taken on.

There's no doubt in my mind that the Law of attraction is constantly reminding me of its power.

Screenplay Progress

Well, it looks like there's some progress with “Set ‘em up, Joe”... the screenplay adaptation I was writing for Dino Pavlou who I told you was one of Frank Sinatra's closest friends and part of the inner circle a propos the Rat Pack.

Dino called me with an enthusiastic exuberance in his voice. He told me that he had some good news. As it turns out, he managed to get the script to an incredible Hollywood heavy by the name of Mildred Iatrou Morgan. There's not enough room here to list her Hollywood credits so I'll provide this link which lists a lot of them.

http://imdb.com/name/nm0406375/

To cut a long blog short, they liked the script. I'm thunderstruck and positively flattered!

We're all getting together for a dinner meeting tomorrow to discuss the next step.

There's also some progress with one of my other screenplays called Not Until She Sings. I'll expound on that a little later.

Health and happiness to all!

Writing a Screenplay for Frank Sinatra’s Inner Circle Friend

This year is definitely turning into an extremely busy one. I'm not complaining though... I thrive on it, although I'm looking forward to eventually recharging my batteries.

It blows my mind when I think of all the diverse paths my career has led me to. I now have a paid writer's job.

If you had told me 13 years ago when I came to New York this time around, that one of Frank Sinatra's inner circle and dearest friends would be at one of my shows, I would've probably been flabbergasted.

If you told me that this person would like my show so much, that he'd want me to open for his Rat Pack tribute show all over the country, I would've been honored.

And if you told me that he would want me to write a screenplay adaptation of his incredibly powerful story that starts with him as a persecuted victim in Nazi occupied Greece fighting Greek communist rebels until he came to America and opened Jimmy Weston's Supper Club and mingled with Kirk Douglas, Mohamed Ali, Johnny Carson, Richard Nixon, I would've been flattered and beyond blown away.

Well, I guess I'm flabbergasted, honored, flattered and beyond blown away!

His story is extraordinarily powerful... along the same lines as Schindler's List, Goodfellas and The Godfather Part Two. The atrocities that the Greek communist rebels inflicted on their own countrymen (which included my grandparents) will tear away at your heart.

When he told me about his tumultuous life, I hung on to every word. It's absolutely fascinating. So much so, that before he died, his good friend actor Anthony Quinn, suggested he write a book about it. Now, the powers that be would like him to turn it into a screenplay. That's where I come in. He read some of my work most of which consists of romantic comedies and asked me if I would be interested in writing the dramatic and prevailing screenplay.

I was a little hesitant at first but I'm always inspired by a challenge... especially something of this nature.

When I read his book, I was riveted. We made a deal and in the last month, I've been writing the screenplay to his remarkable story.

It's called, "Set "Em Up, Joe". I’m amazed by the heavy hitters that are speaking with him.

It feels fantastic to be paid to write something, especially of this caliber. I like the challenge of writing something overwhelmingly dramatic as well.

Most comedians, me included, have a dark and dramatic side and we sometimes secretly want to flex that part of our creative muscle. My little dark and dramatic posing trunks are on right now. ;)

I'll keep you posted on the outcome.

HAPPY NEW POSITIVE YEAR!

My New Year’s resolution is to always remain positive. Last year, after digesting some phenomenal motivational and inspirational tools like The Secret, I felt as though I was going back to the way I’ve always thought.

The minute I resumed thinking this way, I not only got to see the miraculous positive results but the people being introduced into my life were also very positive and strong willed individuals. I’m currently putting together a comedy tour with one of them. He’s the epitome of positive thinking.

There’s been some progress with both my movie projects however it can be very frustrating playing the waiting game. Harold Ramis said that a lot of actors become waiters because this is mostly what they’ll be doing between projects and even on the set. It’s certainly been the case with me. Nevertheless, I’m convinced that the difference between success and failure is perseverance.

There’s so much negativity around us that sometimes it can be a little difficult to ignore. To help me with this, I’ve now chosen to discard many news stories on my homepage and I really don’t even bother reading newspapers anymore. Yes, it’s important to be informed but I think there’s a tendency to be inundated with all this dire news. Moderation is the key.

Unfortunately, the terrible news constantly garners the most attention. All you have to do is think of this: there are more wonderful people on the planet than there are evil people. As I write this, children are being born into families bringing great joy, Lord knows how many people were just told, “Yes we can do that for you!” Somewhere, a fireman has just saved a life. Somewhere else, a surgeon has just saved a life. A wonderful man just asked a phenomenal woman to be his wife… somebody with cancer, like my friend’s mother, just went into remission for the fourth time…you get the picture. It’s a shame the media doesn’t cover these kinds of stories.

One of my favorite motivational speakers and teachers is Jack Canfield. Are you reading this Jack? Let me take this opportunity to thank you for encouraging me to reach my goals day-to-day. I’m looking forward to the day I actually meet you. It’ll probably be at a movie premiere. Do you like romantic comedies?

Speaking of which, one of my favorite suggestions is the idea of a vision board. This exercise involves putting up pictures of all the things you desire. I put up a picture of a movie premiere and last year I ended up at a couple of them. Perhaps next time, I should superimpose or Photoshop a picture of me in there. ;-).

When you think about it, we used to do that when we were kids. It came instinctively. In our teen years we surround ourselves with pictures of all our heroes. My room had Bruce Lee, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rocky and Al Pacino plastered all over the place. Isn’t it sad how when we get older we take those pictures down because we think we have to grow up? I say leave them up!

Interestingly enough, whenever I look at all these motivational speakers of today, I realize that there were plenty of motivational speakers of yesterday. Jesus for example. No, I’m not going to get all religious on you. You have to admit that whether you believe in Jesus or not, his philosophy is unparalleled. “If you believe that you can move this mountain and cast it into the sea and not doubt in your heart you shall have whatever you say. Believe that you will receive whatever you desire when you pray and ye shall have them.” Tony Robbins is getting some of his stuff right out of JC’s book.

Whatever it is that you hope for this year, believe that you’ll get it and you probably will. Of course, just saying it is not going to bring it to you. You have to do the work. I guarantee you though that when you have a positive attitude the work certainly doesn’t feel like its work.

Stay positive, have an attitude of gratitude and watch all these wonderful things start entering your life. J