In Development

So after months of writing, re-writing, kick-starting, casting, meetings, preparation and scheduling , we finally wrapped In Development late Sunday evening. I'm so ecstatic over the story we were able to tell, but I'm also pretty sad to say goodbye to these characters (and of course the talented cast that brought them to life & crew that worked so hard to capture them.) Eric & I truly believe we'll have plenty more stories after these initial episodes and I think you guys will really like what you see. There's just nothing like it out there and I think we might have something really special on our hands.

We had such an amazing camaraderie on set, almost like a fun film summer camp with everyone continually asking when we'll be doing more. It's a great feeling to have the almost the entire cast ask where their characters will be in future episodes and crew members telling us that they've never laughed so hard on set from the performances or writing of a show.

Just for an idea how hard everyone worked on this, we only shot for 4 days. Our cast & crew knocked out almost 30 pages of script; that's basically 25%, or more, of a feature film in FOUR DAYS. The cast put in such phenomenal performances and the crew worked their asses off to make this happen in such a short amount of time. I am so proud of everyone that was involved in this. A huge thank you from us to them for allowing us to be able to tell this story at such a high level.

Later this week we'll be delivering the footage to, the more than capable hands and skillful eyes of our editor, Chris Ninness of I Can Fly Pictures. As you can see I linked his Twitter, but he literally will not follow you no matter how much you love him, no matter how many horrible films he'll make you watch. After compressing the files, syncing the sound and other editing magic, he'll start cutting everything together and putting his awesome skills to the test. We are hoping for a Holiday 2012 release and I just can't wait to see it or show it to you guys ... and the world, let's show the world too.

We were able to pick up actual behind the scenes interviews for a small featurette, and a ton of production stills, which we will compile and put up on the Make Believe Facebook soon, but I've put together a small video of our time on set just to show you guys and keep you in the loop. Please note this is just iPhone footage and the actual show will look NOTHING like this. Hope you enjoy the tiny peek inside to the inner workings of Mike Bay Productions.

Thanks for reading & watching. Share with your friends, enemies, immediate family members, pets, little old ladies crossing streets (as long as they don't mind cursing) primates and anyone else ... or EVERYONE else.

Kyle

Kyle: Year One

Exactly a year ago today, I hopped into a pre-loaded Honda, pushed play on the first of many epic road trip CD's and started one of the biggest adventures of my life: moving to Los Angeles to finally give my dreams a run for their money. (you can find out all about that right here.)

I said tearful goodbyes to my wife, daughter & family; the people who raised me, shaped me, loved me and helped foster these fanciful dreams into a possible semi-reality. Thankfully, I was reunited with Amanda & Madison after four months (still ridiculous to think about missing 1/3 of a year of our lives together) but it's been a year since I've seen the rest of them, and I miss them more than I can explain.

But just like every door closing is another opening, those goodbyes brought on a new set of hellos.

I was saying goodbye to my past and hello to my future.

Goodbye to everything I had ever really known, and hello to the reality I was setting out to make.

In a lot of ways I was saying goodbye to the Kyle I used to be, and hello to the Kyle I'm meant to be.

Don't get me wrong, I'm the same guy that I've always been at the core: I make jokes, I love movies & music, I'm inappropriate and I write (yeah ... that's about it.) But things change when you take on something of this magnitude. You shed away all the things that have stopped you from REALLY BEING YOU.

You're taking on the world! Not just a job, or your dickhead boss at work giving you hell or even just your normal day to day routine. You're raising the veil on what reality was, how you were told to perceive it and what it actually is. Yes ... just like The Matrix. Just without Keanu and the pink slime from Ghostbusters II.

Sadly, there's no Vigo, The Scourge of Carpathia either

Life blows by so quickly. You guys know this, you've seen your kids grow in front of your eyes, all the good times you had in school just yesterday are fifteen years ago. Life isn't waiting on you. And by falling in line, and doing what we are raised to do, what we "want" to do, we only help it go that much faster.

Life isn't about where you end up; it's about the adventures getting to that end and who you became and helped others become while doing it.

It's about growing into YOU! About having goals and accomplishing them, then doing that again and again and again. Why waste time on things that aren't making you happy? I can't say for sure we are only on Earth once, but I'm gonna make the absolute most of it while I'm here. I'll be that party guest that won't leave, I'll ride this shit till the wheels come off. All these things you say you want to see and do, figure out how to see and do them! Talking about what you want to do, turns into regrets about what you wish you could've done. Don't let that happen.

You shed a lot of fear doing this, a lot of rules you've been told to follow don't matter anymore. From a kid into adulthood you get told "You can't do this. You shouldn't do that" and we accept it as the norm. I say screw that, question everything, ESPECIALLY "Why CAN'T I do this?" "Why SHOULDN'T I do that?" In fact, WATCH me do it.

Of course I don't mean the commonsense things like, why can't I rob a bank (...no really, why can't I rob a bank?) but the general rules of life. Who you can become, what you need to do, where you need to do it. When those rules stop having meaning, you're free.

I'm not saying stop paying your mortgage and run off to the islands, (really don't do that, there's so much paperwork and inoculations, bleh.) I'm just saying, take an assessment of what is holding back your happiness and change it.

I'm not on this quest to make a ton of money or become famous. I honestly don't care about any of that. I want enough to take care of people I love and fame can suck a dick or if you are a Kardashian, many dicks until you get a reality TV deal.

I have a desire to tell stories and to connect with people. I feel that is what I'm here to do. This isn't vanity. This isn't for fun. This is a need, a desire, a thirst that can only be quenched by doing this. It's a spark inside me and I hope I get to share it.



I've gone through hell and I'm expecting heaven. I've had so many downfalls, disappointments, heartbreaks and shortcomings in this past year, crazy things I wouldn't have written to put "our hero" through. But I stay and I grind away.

Persistence is my best weapon and I use it like it's going out of style. Reasonable men and women, wouldn't do this. It's damn hard. Harder than expected and I expected it to be EXTREMELY rough. Thankfully, I've always been stubborn and I'm just not one for taking no for an answer (rape joke? you decide.)

It's a challenge; none of this has come easy and I have to keep working at it daily to continue this outlook. Life likes to have it's hooks in you and it's easy to let it, but this can be done. All you have to do is try and keep trying. And it also helps to have people that believe in you, pushing you to be the best you, you can be too.

I'm doing this because I love it and I can't imagine not doing it. To show Madison, and myself, that dreams can and do come true, it just takes will & work. I'm not doing this to prove other people wrong, I'm doing it to prove myself right.

I know that sounds a lot bigger in scope than what I did but in all reality, that's what happens, or at least what happened to me. It was life changing. I'd been on this path since 2002, aimlessly walking it until I found people that inspired me and challenged me and had that same passion that I did. Since then it's been a whirlwind of change, some bad but mostly good. It all leads to the same conclusion; that this was inevitable. This is where I'm supposed to be.

On this anniversary, I can happily say that I live and am settled in Los Angeles. I wake up everyday and go to work in Beverly Hills, not doing what I want to, but closer than I've ever been. I see my amazing wife & daughter every day now. I not only talk to but see my best friend all the time. No more working across country, through late night phone calls and skype sessions. We are in the process of doing everything we ever set out to do. And we will.

To put it in a better perspective: I arrived in LA last year in the wee hours of August 11th. Scared, missing home, and wondering if I had made the right decision for my family and myself.

Do you know what I'll be doing in the wee hours of August 11th exactly a year later? Filming our first day on our first project here. With your help, we're making In Development into reality. We'll be making Make Believe.

Putting aside the struggle, it's been an amazingly positive year for us creatively. We finished 3 full projects, begin filming one in just a matter of a few short days and we've planned out so much more. We are mapping out our futures, one story at a time.

I'm lucky that I have such amazing and supportive people around me, to help me stay focused, to keep my drive alive, and when it's all said and done, to help me look back on what we've done and celebrate what we will have accomplished.

Here's to my first anniversary in LA. Here's to dreams and MAKING them come true.

Thanks for being there guys, I love you to death. I want to make you proud.

And thank YOU for being here, reading this and for supporting us on this fantastic journey.

This is just the beginning.

Kyle