Right. Flat move complete. Clothes unpacked from bin bags and into cupboards. Ikea furniture built and in place. Easter break over.

Time to get the show on the road.

Now, where was I ? Oh yeah, I was MAKING IT IN HOLLYWOOD !

So, to bring you, and me, up to date, the film is complete. I've got some parallel activity that has to take place now. I've got to practise what my interviewees have been preaching - "Be an island of your own and start doing your own thing".

1. Film - I have to go with an edit of some sort to Cannes. It's too late to enter it into the competition but I can take a new fresh 10 minute edit of the film and book meetings with sales agents in advance. I've applied just in time for accreditation and a facebook friend has some space in their flat ! Result.

2. Online - I'm talking to Myspace, Bebo and Raindance to consider the options of publishing it with product placement as a revenue stream. Raindance have an open evening on Thursday in London if you are interested let me know.

3. TV - A facebook friend has been introducing me to some interested people at his local members club for media types. Time to pursue with vigour and start to get some decisions made.


Onwards and upwards !



Douglas

The sun is trying to break through and clear the drizzle of rain. It looks like it should clear in time for the show to start later this afternoon. The Fox News team (below) were creating stories as best they could to go out live to America. Everything is discussed from the suppliers of the flowers, to the spotlights being used on the Oscar statues.

The red carpet is getting a beating from all the preparations and I even noticed someone taking their bike through.


Walking down the carpet with my kilt on, certainly gets some attention. There's not much to film pre-show, so I took their attention for a short period of time. I was interviewed for a Hollywood magazine, asked to be photographed with a tango dancer from South America, and filmed by numerous production teams. Americans love to emphasise the international nature of the Oscars. I guess it's to avoid criticism similar to "world series baseball". A kilt is therefore a simple visual for the voiceover to say "Oscars continues to attract an international audience". Happy to do my bit for Scottish tourism ;-)

Hey there

To finish MAKING IT IN HOLLYWOOD, I thought I had to aim for the top and get an interview with someone at the very top of their career.

At first I thought Arnold Schwarzenegger would be great to talk to about the economics of the business and whether he'd be back ;-) His website however says that 30 days notice is needed in writing as a minimum.

Then George Clooney came to mind. He's clearly a hit with the ladies in terms of his looks, which I realised a few years back at the BAFTA Film Awards when ALL the women at my table stopped in mid-sentence to get their mobile phones out to take a picture of him on his way to the toilet. He's also a talented actor and director and could well win an Oscar for the first time this year.

So....I set out last week to get a hold of him. My internet search skills are finely tuned now. I know how to get agents and publicists quickly, so I called them and left a concise voicemail.

Two days later, the agent called me back and was very interested, but the publicist hadn't called. I then started to realise that the agent was financial oriented and if I had said there was money involved, he may have put the idea forward. An agent earns a commission from any deal, so why would they invest time and energy in something that doesn't earn them anything I thought. I called them back and again left a voicemail, detailing that there was no budget and I hoped he would still be interested. I got no further interest.

So, I decided to follow up with the publicist. I called twice and finally caught the publicists personal assistant who provided me with a personal email to send the details.

Within minutes of sending the email, I got a reply. "Sorry, I know his schedule and it's not going to be possible". Publicists are less interested in money and more interested in speaking to the right people and on the right projects, so I continued to appeal to him through further emails. I'm Scottish. It's about independent film. It's taken a year to make on my own budget. He's a great subject to finish the film. Every trick I had in the book was used and I had several ping-pong emails with him before he decided to say "sorry, it's not going to happen".

Then I learned that he was also publicist for Robert De Niro and others, so tonight I left him with that thought and my number in case he changed his mind. With a "sorry to bother you again" footnote.

One thing I've learned over the last year is that if you don't ask, you don't get. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. And the more people you ask, the more chances you have of identifying someone who will be interested.

So, tomorrow morning I'm off to finish the journey of Making It In Hollywood. I have one bit of filming booked up and I'll keep that quiet for now, in case it becomes the ending, and you don't really want to know the ending until you've seen the film. Other than that, I have no idea how the weekend will turn out. Which is really how the journey started. Serendipity will lead the way and the ending will be whatever transpires. I'm in the right place for things to happen but that doesn't mean they will. Even if I come home empty handed, I have had a fantastic year and I wouldn't change it for anything.

I have a short time when I come back to enter it into Edinburgh Film Festival and a few weeks later to enter it into Cannes. Dishad Husain, who I worked with on the Film London bid, will be working with me on the final edit but if I am not happy with it, I may wait a little longer. Alternatively, Paramount may continue their interest, they were busy with Berlin Film Festival when I last spoke and asked me to wait until after that.

There's a saying in the film business "Nobody knows anything", which refers to the fact that even major studios don't know which films will be hits, right up to opening weekend. It's true of this experience. I have no idea where it's going to go, but I'll definitely keep you po