I'm very, truly grateful to all who've shown their support and kindness in recent months - you're the definition of "awesome-sauce"! - and just wanted to post a quick update/acknowledgement of the love, as well as to seek further inspiration.
I've relocated back to the (currently) frigid Midwest, just outside Chicago, to be near family as I try to sort out some longer-term health issues (losing my sister Carole last September having especially reaffirmed, to me, that we must appreciate those we love while we're able). And to keep my own spirits up regarding my own health, I am also trying to focus on the one thing that has always made me feel the most alive: my writing.
The goal is to finish two big projects that had gotten sidetracked a bit when the health issues bloomed, and I am just seeking inspiration. Since I started writing at about age eight, I've always used actors, writer, singers - celebrities who were personal favorites of mine - for inspiration when creating characters. Even now, with the projects I am working to finish in order to keep my positivity and focus strong, actors from Kenton Duty to Debra Messing, Randall Park to Michael B. Jordan, Melissa McCarthy to Dane DeHaan and many more have helped me, visually, to create entire worlds on paper - and to that end, starting when I was about ten and my mom taught me how to write my first "fan letter," growing up I actually collected and framed and displayed autographed photos of my favorite actors, writers and recording artists - those who've personally inspired me to create - all over the wall above where I would sit down to write every day. Such a "Writing Wall" has been my rock, creatively, for decades.
It's been many years since I created a new Writing Wall, and when recently putting together the little writing corner of my new bedroom, it occurred to me that if ever I needed all the inspiration I could muster, it'd be now.
Am a movie JUNKIE, complete with a film review blog I write (the link will give you an idea of recent favorites), and below is a list of TV series that even (along with the actors in them) have helped me create characters in the novel I am working to complete, as well as the current comedic series I am working on first episodes for, "Lizzie Borden's Home for Aspiring Actors". From big names (like the ones earlier in this post) to future A-listers I pay attention to when no one else - YET - seems to know their names (Austin Falk? Henry Zaga? Fady Elsayed? Don't know who they are? You should!). For anyone reading this, if you know of WHERE or HOW I could get an autographed photo from any of these actors or projects - a business address I could perhaps send a self-addressed stamped envelope to, or maybe you have access to that person or set yourself and could maybe get a note to them - could you please let me know? I don't have money to purchase autographs, but then again I wouldn't do so, anyway - surely not unless the money was going directly to the person whose autograph is it (which is as it should be!) - and besides, some of the magic is when it comes from the heart ... when that person or production office KNOWS I am a fan, and the photo maybe even comes back signed "To Don" or something. For me, I WANT the person or office to know that what they do, their work, has not only touched me in some way, but also kept me shooting for my own dreams.
I can be reached at my email address if you have any "leads" or can help, or could also send you a mailing address if you can actually send something. Have started emptying out a dozen or so 8x10 frames so far, God Bless if you can in any way help me to fill them again; to help in creating a new Writing Wall so that I can stay positive and focus on my craft.
Either way, thanks for reading - and THANK YOU ALL TO HECK, especially, if you are someone listed on this page, whether individually or as part of an incredible cast, who's inspired the heck out of me!
Don
FAVORITE ACTORS (pretty much anyone in the cast of anything above, but these are probably those whose work I try most NOT to miss, and/or who've directly influenced my writing): Chloe Grace Moretz, Debra Messing, Courteney Cox, Kenton Duty, Tom Hardy, Adam Scott, Meryl Streep, Dev Patel, Maggie Smith, Randall Park, Reno Wilson, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Tom Hiddleston, Taron Egerton, Michael Fassbender, Steven Yeun, Idris Elba, Melissa McCarthy, Tony Jaa, Russell, Tovey, Will Poulter, Robbie Kay, Zach Gilford, Gong Yoo, Mark Ruffalo, Gavin MacIntosh, Lana Parrilla, Charles Michael Davis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Viola Davis, Iwan Rheon, Armie Hammer, Connie Britton, John Boyega, Dane DeHaan, Jessica Chastain, Michael B. Jordan, Robert Sheehan, Keean Johnson, Tony Revolori, Aziz Ansari, Chris Evans, Margot Robbie, Ryan Reynolds, Taye Diggs, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Claire Holt, Robert Pattinson, Rupert Grint, Fady Elsayed, Henry Cavill, Luke Bilyk, Booboo Stewart, Joseph Morgan, Adam Driver, Ezra Miller, Morris Chestnut, Tye Sheridan, Kunal Nayyar, Johnny Galecki, Kim Bum, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Adam Scott, Eddie Redmayne, Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, Jason Sudeikis, Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander, Anthony Mackie, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bradley Cooper, Taylor Kinney, Lady Gaga, James McAvoy, Ian McKellen, Michael Pena, Dylan Minnette, Jude Law, Helena Bonham Carter, Matthew Goode, Kathy Bates, Ben Whishaw, Judi Dench, Ryan Gosling, Vera Farmiga, Dominic Cooper, Hugh Jackman, Orlando Bloom, Helen Mirren, Chris & Liam & Luke Hemsworth, Miles Teller, Anthony Mackie, Gerard Butler, Channing Tatum, Colin Firth, Colin Farrell, Chris Evans, Emile Hirsch, Zac Efron, Dave & James Franco, Nicholas Hoult, Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniel Craig, Evan Peters, and more ... many of which I've left off, but it was fun listing them, just bringing back some great film and TV memories!
