NBTT is a bona fide hit!

The actors' reading of my comedy feature screenplay, Nothing But The Truth, got rave reviews - and most importantly, tons o' laughs .. and in the right places!

Thanks to the Lake City branch of the Seattle Public Library, we had a great room in which to hold it.

Some great notes* were made by the participants - some of which I built upon right then and there as they were mentioned.

In attendance was the fantastic script supervisor Kay Taylor - with whom I've worked and always enjoy her feedback because it's so constructive. Kay has worked on huge Hollywood and minor indie films over the years - so her understanding of character, drama and structure for the screen is impeccable.

Kay worked on Peter Boyle's last film before he passed away in December, and has very fond memories of him.

The cast really kicked booty! I am so fortunate that these exceptionally talented artists were willing to put all the work they did into this reading - preparing and performing, not to mention traveling long distances to be here!

One of them passed up a significant audition to participate today; another made it back from an audition interview in LA just in time for the reading - and she got the gig! She was cast in the lead of a Warner Independent film (details when they can be made public) to be made this coming fall.

Thank you all!

Patricia Gauthier narrated the action; Michael-Ellyn played the mercurial Angela, Kevin Hart won hearts as Gary, Rodrigo DeMedeiros wowed us as the duplicitous Yaro, Agnes Muljadi was all over the map as the multi-faceted, wise Inona and Mike Liu impressed us with his rendition of the ambitious, win-at-all-costs lawyer Brad.

Other outstanding cast members include one of the Northwest's top character actresses and voice-over talents (always a delight to work with!), Dolores Rogers, joined by the exceptionally talented AJ Tolliver, William Wiese, Sara Klein, Shannon Colcher and Kristen Hulscher.

Assisting me is Lance Myers - who has a rich background in drama and whose insights and understanding of film is outstanding. He's going to be a big help to me.

Thanks to the reading today, my work on the rewrite will be a breeze - it also helps that there's not that much for me to do in order to take it to a highly producable level. Imagine - a good film with lots of commercial potential!

The only problem I encountered: I forget that I am recovering from major surgery and did *far* too much starting early this morning - so I started feeling quite ill and had to leave as everyone was enjoying the snacks after the performance.

I slept for a couple hours - then got up to write this blog - several readers (people from *68* nations tune in to my blog almost daily!) wanted to know how it went!

The rewrite should be finished within a week or two (depending on my coaching schedule), then it's ready to show established producers and backers, some of whom are waiting to see the script!

Meanwhile, I realize I need to start taking pictures of this process - I can't believe I forgot my camera today so I could show you photos of the cast et al - even during the performance!

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*notes = suggestions. For some reason in the biz of show, people don't like to use the words "suggestions" or "direction" or "criticism." Instead they say, "I have a note for you..."