Well, here it is, the one that started it all. What inspired me, I can't say exactly, but in the summer after 4th grade, at the age of 10, I decided I wanted to make a movie. So, after gathering my family, I embarked on my first adventure - and the result is the mess you see here.

   Obviously, you can't be too hard on a kid for his first movie, so I'll bypass harsh criticism, and just talk about the creative aspects. Please, watch the movie before reading this - I wouldn't want to ruin any of the mystery and surprise. So, we start off with the title. In my ten year old mind, I envisioned the title really popping off the screen with my explosive drawing. Instead, we have a faint colored pencil drawing. I wanted to scroll down to reveal my name as Producer, but obviously the scroll didn't work out too well. And now, on to the movie.

   What I imagined as the seedy streets of LA was really just the family living room. A man approaches me from behind - my dad. He hams it up throughout the entire movie, playing 3 separate roles (though you'd never know it since there were no costume changes). I deliver some cheesy faux-tough response, and we fight. I can distinctly remember seeing this for the first time and being extremely disappointed by how it looked. My plan was to have my mom (the camera operator) wave the sword in front of the camera to spice up the fight. I didn't have any clue how to explain it then, but now I can tell you that what I was imagining were insert shots of the sword flying through the air. Genius! During my dad's long and over-dramatic death, you can hear my sister in the background first laugh, then shout out, "That's a mess up!". I had already lost control of my own movie.

   Apparently Michael has some sort of sidekick, but who knows for sure. She enters with him in the next scene at Michael's apartment - my bedroom. She has zero dialogue, and really only serves the purpose of giving me someone to talk to. As to why she is dressed so strangely? Well, my sister is a girl - and I wanted the character to be a guy. So, my sister's long hair is tucked up under that bright orange hat, and the baggie tshirt is supposed to appear more "boyish". Go figure. Oh, and that fancy telephone ring? I made that sound with my mouth on the spot. Genius!

   The next scene brings a surprise - has Michael's sidekick turned on him? No. You see, with the bright orange hat turned BACKWARDS, this is a completely different character. Ah, the joys of limited actors and a brave imagination. Again, this scene is basically threat, cool response, and then the bad guys die. Keep your eye on me, though, after my enemies fall to the ground, I attempt to direct my camera operator by telling her to stop rolling. I am ignored. And yes, that is my dad humming the Godfather theme. Like I said - ham.

   Finally, the last scene of the movie. Michael and his sidekick (notice the direction of the orange hat), are having a conversation about one of Michael's cases. For some reason, I was obsessed with the line (and it's variations) about LA never changing. Don't ask me why - I was ten and the dialogue was all improv. Now, the final bad guy is upon us. He looks familiar, but it doesn't matter. Come to think of it, this movie is alot like an old video game - repetitive characters and final bosses with henchmen. Of course, in this movie, the henchmen are two stuffed bears. Once again another brief fight occurs, with me and my sister fighting with these two bears. After besting them, we challenge the big boss, and ultimately, we win. Right before my dad's final death, my sister ends up getting tickled and laughing, but otherwise the scene plays out ok. And so Michael and his sidekick have protected the city, and are walking off into the sunset.

   Or our kitchen - depending on how you see it.


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