After hearing that we were finalists in the "shooting poverty" film competition, the first thing we knew we needed to do was, revisit the script. I thought it needed some changes, as did Brice. The producer, Lucas Gath offered some valuable input, and it wasn't long before we decided to take a weekend off, and re-write the script entirely, though saving a few key elements/themes that we thought were sound. Brice ended up researching, then reading, then condensing all the material that has been written on the topic of small arms and light weapons in Burundi. We spent a week meeting with Government, United Nations, NGO's, and other experts who shared their input with us on the "small arms disease." Then like Doctor Dre, I got my pen and my pad, and and I hit the lab. Brice and I shut ourselves off to the world for two days. It was a profitable two days. We also improved our skills at the game "doodle jump" for Iphone/Itouch. But after the two days were over, we emerged with way too much information on small arms, along with a second draft of the script, in addition to some pretty savvy high scores on "doodle jump" which we later posted to our facebook profiles. A few days later I met with Teddy, and showed him the second version of the script. He would have a bigger roll to play in the second version, and I wanted to know if he'd sign off on the new direction/material. No problem, by the end of happy hour at a local restaurant next to his house... he was on board. He added some dialog to the second draft, and now I'm back in the lab, half way through writing the third draft of the script. Like anything you've written, you start second guessing everything a few days after you finish whatever it is you're writing. It's so hard to be completely satisfied with your work, and such is the case with this film. I'm getting there, I'm happy with a lot of it... but it still needs work.
