Next Up - Purgatory, USA

Now that Club God has exited the post-production phase and is entering the distribution phase, we're hard at work putting together our next project, a six-part Christian web series called Purgatory, USA.

The wacky little comedy is about Nikki, played by DC, who is forced to spend the summer with her exceptionally flaky cousin, Babs, played by Tiffany Ross.

We've already had a read-thru and just recently figured out some of the costumes we'll wear as well as do some behind-the-scenes interviews.

Dorothea and Tiffany

We are scheduled to start shooting in July.

As always, you can follow our progress here.

Michael Clayton (2007)

Michael Clayton doesn't have a lot of explosions or gun play or alien invaders. What it has is an excellent script and an impressive performance by George Clooney as the lead character.

And it's just a really good movie.

Clayton is a "fixer" in a law firm, a lawyer who fixes problems of important clients by whatever semi-legal means necessary. The wear and tear of fixing other people's problems for 15 years is finally catching up to him. He's feeling trapped, lost, and helpless. What was once an intriguing role as "fixer" he now dubs as a "janitor." He no longer really practices law and he's overcome a gambling addiction only to lose all of his money in a restaurant venture he undertook with his sporadic and previously drug-addicted brother. And the money he used to help get the restaurant off the ground was from dubious sources who are now itching for payment.

All of this pressure has built up within him, trapped in a world where neither his professional nor personal life offers any release.

And it's at this precarious moment that he gets his next assignment... to coddle a lead litigator (Tom Wilkinson) who's apparently flipped his lid. This litigator's apparent mental meltdown has put into serious jeopardy a decade long and massive lawsuit protecting a chemical company from paying people to which they may have caused cancer.

Throw in there an ambitious new attorney (Tilda Swinton) hired by the chemical company that will do anything to protect them and things get dicey in a hurry.

How can Clayton, who's barely holding his own life together, bring a brilliant, but unstable litigator under control before the law firm's greatest client, the chemical company, walks away in embarrassment?

That struggle and that pressure are evident on Clooney's face throughout the film. You never know if the very next second on the screen will result in Clayton finally being pushed over the edge. It's a great performance.

The film is directed by Tony Gilroy, who earned his chance behind the camera by penning such hits as the Bourne trilogy, and manages his directing effort with great ease. In his hands, Michael Clayton is successful as a legal movie, a thriller, a drama and a suspense film.

The film is not earth shattering or trend setting, it is simply a really good old-fashioned movie telling an intriguing story with a career best performance by Clooney.

Club God - Finished!

I was finally able to get a missing audience shot required to finish the Sonlight Pictures short comedy called Club God. You can see a still of the finished product below.


So, I have a high-def version completed. It will take a few weeks to get a regular definition version completed and uploaded to various sites like God Tube and You Tube. As always, you can read more about that and other projects over at the Sonlight Pictures Blog.

We Will Miss You Father Mike

There have only been a few priests in my life that have been both friend and counselor, a leader and humble, someone who inspires us to God's lofty standards without forgetting his own human frailty.

Father Michael Morris is one such priest. We have been blessed to have him in our parish for the past three years. As a family, my wife, children and I have shared meals and trips and rallies and private Masses and jokes and the Word of God. He's a passionate man who is willing to speak from the pulpit that which is not easy to hear, but what is necessary to be spoken.

During his time with us at Espiritu Santo Catholic Church he has grown to accumulate an immense following, while, at the same time, growing as both a priest and a man. He never goes anywhere without being dressed in his familiar black clothes with a white collar... in an age where off-the-clock priests and nuns are often not dressed in their religious clothing, I asked him why he remains "old fashioned" and his response was very wise. He said "My collar is my wedding ring. Would you leave your house without your wedding ring? If you do, you are only making yourself available, intentionally or not, to find yourself in situations that could be misinterpreted. When I go out everyone knows that I am married to the church and there is never a misinterpretation of who I am and what I represent."

If only more religious would value holy symbolism as highly as Father Mike does. It can be a very powerful statement.

Father Mike with us after the last Mass
Gabriel and DC will ever serve with him.

Father Mike is blessed with the gift of holy gab. His homilies are impassioned and full of humor, detail, life experiences, but most importantly, truth. His words challenge us and make us reevaluate where we are in our relationship with Jesus. He holds the sacraments to the highest regard, reiterates the saving grace of Confession and treats the Eucharist at every Mass as if he were indeed holding the hand of our Savior.

He instituted the Elijah Cup at three Masses at our church in an attempt to foster religious vocations. He often lead the parish in Eucharistic Adoration, attended Pro-Life rallies and headed a group to the Holy Land. He had personal experiences from his military days with the cultures and religions in the volatile Middle East. He is able to speak multiple languages and would, with amazing ease, translate the original words from which the Bible was written and explain the deeper meanings behind the original authors that has been lost when offered to us in English.

His love of the church, his love of his vocation and his love of orthodoxy was a refreshing and welcomed infusion of spirit into a parish named after the Holy Spirit itself.

After three years with us he has been blessed to be able to combine his two greatest joys... his priesthood and his love of the military. He will be leaving us soon to head over to Germany to be a chaplain.

He will be missed. .. his smile, his humor, his love of family and his endless supply of selfless energy to the parish. They say when you become a priest that you give up your ability to have a family. On the contrary. Father Mike now has an immense family of faithful at Espiritu Santo.

He is an important part of our faith community and extended family. We are happy for his next assignment and will pray that he can influence those men and women in the armed forces with the same gusto, the same commitment and the same love of Jesus that he has afforded us at our parish.

God speed and God bless you, Father Mike. You will always remain with us in our hearts and our prayers.