Self-Aggrandizement: Joshua Bryce Newman

Now with 137% more unabashed egotism!

Doubtless one of the best sites on the internet, Self-Aggrandizement is the story of Joshua Bryce Newman, a 29-year old film mogul, entrepreneurial wunderkind, and general smart-ass, living in New York City. Learn more about Joshua (according to Forbes, "sharp and supremely confident, a veritable Doogie Howser"), or simply follow his mis-adventures as they unfold below.

Wrapped
Filed Wednesday, July 1.

Faster than expected, and with much better weather than we could have hoped for, we made it through our stadium mini-shoot. The footage we've gotten back from the lab so far looks amazing - the swooping shots that pan up and across the old stadium to the new, for example, make nearly getting killed by oncoming traffic while we held cars to drive our crane through totally worthwhile.

Now it's back to the office for eight weeks of pre-production (and, in parallel, eight weeks of pre-production for the other film we're shooting this fall) before heading back to the trenches to shoot, shoot, shoot.

Old stadium on left, new on right, 4 train heading downtown in the foreground.

Old stadium, interior. The seats are gone, chunks of wall are missing, and the field is an uneven, muddy mess.

Our director, cinematographer, first camera assistant and visual effects supervisor, checking out potential shots.

Me, coordinating crew and rocking the hard hat.

Moving the crane from the old stadium to the new.

Looking into the empty new stadium.

Watching the crane shot on monitors.

Spiraling
Filed Wednesday, June 24.

The 'skeleton crew' shoot in and around the old Yankee Stadium scheduled for next week has now expanded to include a 100-foot crane, trucks and teamsters, about three times the head-count originally anticipated, and a plan to lay dolly track down a stretch of one of the South Bronx's busiest thoroughfares.

As predicted, downhill indeed.

Father's Day
Filed Sunday, June 21.

My grandfather is in the hospital today, apparently not doing well. Please send Father's Day get well wishes his way. He's a kind and loving person, a talented painter, and an endless repository of Yiddish jokes.

When I last spoke with him a few weeks back, he shared this one:

A nice Jewish girl brings her fiance home to meet her parents. After dinner, her father invites the young man to the living room, for a glass of Schnapps.

"So, nu, what are your plans?" the father asks.

"I'm a Torah scholar," the fiance replies.

"A Torah scholar," the father says. "Admirable. But how will you provide a nice house for my daughter to live in, as she's accustomed to?"

"I will study," says the young man. "And God will provide for us."

"And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring?" asks the father.

"I will concentrate on my studies," the fiance replies, "and God will provide for us."

"And children?" asks the father. "How will you support children?"

"Don't worry, sir, God will provide," replies the fiance.

So, the daughter and the fiance head home, and the mother asks the father, "nu, how was he?"

The father says, "well, he has no job and no plans, but the good news is he thinks I'm God."

Get well, grandpa.

And, to my own father, best Father's Day wishes and all my love.

It's always worth being reminded that life is unpredictable, that we'd best appreciate, share time with, and love our friends and families while we can.

Rain, Rain, Go Away
Filed Saturday, June 20.

Today is the three-year anniversary of my first date with Jess, the best thing that ever happened to me.

To celebrate, we had wanted to go away somewhere fun for the weekend. But it's raining torrentially here in New York. And, at least according to forecasts earlier in the week, it should also be pouring in the Hamptons, Miami, New Orleans, Connecticut, and nearly every other fun, two-night destination we could come up with.

In this weather, our living room seems like a comparatively excellent idea.

Knock-Down Drag-Out
Filed Friday, June 19.

[Remember when I used to blog? Me too.]

The old Yankee Stadium is a crucial backdrop - nearly a character - in Keeper of the Pinstripes. So, we'd based much of our production plans around the demolition schedule we'd received from the Yankees' management.

Turns out, there are actually four different crews working on the demolition, only one of which works for the Yankees. And the schedule we'd received was for the slowest, by far, of the crews. Stick to our original shooting plans, and by the time principal photography started, there wouldn't be much stadium left.

So, very quickly, we've rejiggered our approach, throwing together a small four-day shoot to capture as much footage of the old stadium - during the day and at night, from the ground and from above, next to the new stadium and by itself - as possible.

That way, with the requisite footage in the can, no matter how those four teams' schedules shift, we'll be spared worrying about the ticking time bomb of stadium demolition as we shoot the rest of the film.

A week from Monday, then, our mini-shoot will be underway. We hope. So far, we've had to convince the City of New York (who now control access to the inside of the old stadium) that, though they denied similar permission to CBS and ABC, they should let our little crew in. We've had to convince agents that, though we'd already negotiated deals with department heads based on a specific number of pre-production and shooting weeks, they should let us tack on a few additional weeks at no further cost. And we've had to lock down decisions on things like lenses and film stock, set design and visual effects, that we'd otherwise have far, far longer to work our way through.

So, suffice it to say, we've been busy. And, frankly, I think it just goes downhill from here.

Still Going
Filed Tuesday, June 9.

Production offices are open, and the shoot countdowns are on. Things are totally insane, though, fortunately, still in a good way.

Stay Calm
Filed Tuesday, June 2.

"There cannot be a stressful crisis next week. My schedule is already full."
-Henry Kissinger

Seriously
Filed Monday, June 1.

Today I sat on the bench in the Yankees' dugout, then took the field with Jackie Martling.

Movies Moving
Filed Sunday, May 31.

We open production offices this week for both Keeper of the Pinstripes and Yelling to the Sky, as it looks like both will actually be shooting late this summer. More details on the two soon, especially once we lock down final actor contracts, but suffice it to say they'll be getting Cyan 2.0's production slate off to a very, very strong start.

In Memoriam
Filed Monday, May 25.

"It is the patriot's blood that seeds Freedom's tree."
- Thomas Campbell

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Now with 137% more unabashed egotism!

Wrapped Filed Wednesday, July 1.

Spiraling Filed Wednesday, June 24.

Father's Day Filed Sunday, June 21.

Rain, Rain, Go Away Filed Saturday, June 20.

Knock-Down Drag-Out Filed Friday, June 19.

Still Going Filed Tuesday, June 9.

Stay Calm Filed Tuesday, June 2.

Seriously Filed Monday, June 1.

Movies Moving Filed Sunday, May 31.

In Memoriam Filed Monday, May 25.