Good luck with your project. This definately sounds to me like a variant of Training Day, not especially in plot, but more in character style et cetera. As for 'gritty cop dramas', you really can't beat Training Day for visual style, acting ability, script and authenticity. If you haven't seen it already (which I doubt), please do. Maybe its content will inspire you like it did me.

Hugh, like you I came of age in the 70s.
I liked Joseph Wambaugh, and will never forget the first time I saw 'The New Centurions' with George C Scott. I think that
movie had a tremendous influence on modern day cop shows.

Are you hoping to make something along those lines, as far as depth and character development?

The New Centurions is a classic. In fact I have a future cop script which is headed in that direction.

Day Two:
 

You know, the more actors in a project, the more problems arise. It is very difficult to get actors together at one time since many have previous engagements and such. So, this production is moving forward in baby steps. I shot my first footage last week. My two Asian actors are fabulous. They have this uncanny sense of camera and a natural screen presence that just blows me away. They have been friends of mine for over ten years and have bugged me to allow them to play "gangsters" in my movie. Well, I have not been disappointed thus far. It's true that certain people just "have it" and others don't. These guys have it. Just their screen presence actually makes my project look like a "real" movie. They have no acting experience and yet they need very little direction. They hit their marks, their movements are fluid. A pleasure to work with. The first scenes shot were where the Asian bad guys pick up the Buddha statue (the audience does not know it but the statue is hollow and filled with stolen diamonds that the Asians are snuggling out of the country). I will shoot the next few scenes with them tomorrow (Saturday), where they make their airport getaway. Unfortunately, I have to film around my star because he needs some time off since he was involved in an ambush where the homicide suspect he went to interview opened fire with a shotgun and shot his partner in the face through the trailer window. His partner is doing ok but my star is still a litttle shook up. And rightfully so! But, on a happy note, filming is going well and I will keep all my conrades abreast of the film's progress.

By the way, I just watched The New Centurians th eother day and it still brings a tear to my eye. My big brother took me to see that when it first came out. My particular project is nothing like training day and not gritty at all because of the storyline. It's sort of light. The cops are seen in a comedic lighthearted way and the bad guys are seen as ruthless. I love the dichotomy in that sort of story. Th ebad guys are BAD an dthe good guys are FUNNY to the point where you'd like to be their friends in real life.

Bounce Down is moving along nicely. It seems the only time people are available is on Sundays so the filming is slowwwwwwwwwww going. You have no idea how production values pick up when you take the time to light properly. Never cut corners. Shoot using a monitor, light your scenes and I guarantee you will enjoy a moviemakers high like you never felt.

Sounds like the short is going well. Can't wait to see this one. Are you posting it online? I was a big fan of Narc and Training Day. I'm always interested in watching cop dramas. Good Luck!

This is nothing like NARC or Training Day. This is more like a movie version of a Wambaugh novel. If you've ever watched the short-lived but fantastically entertaining television series "The Job" with Dennis Leary, my movie is more in that vein. I've been a cop since 1981 and I assure you, police work is more like Barney Miller, "Homicide: Life on the Street" and Dennis Leary's "the Job" then the Miami Vice garbage.

What stage are you at in the project now? Is it still going well?

Well, we are in a production haitus because of the holidays and my two Asian bad guys have gone back to Hong Kong for 6 weeks. Other than that, what I've shot looks good. I cannot wait to get back into it. I am having more fun than a barrel of monkeys.