Mail Bag!

Hello Readers!

Hope you all had a great week. Mine wasn't too bad. So lets start off with some updates,

Updates:

So I fell off the wagon. I had a Dr. Pepper on Saturday, so for those of you who had pools on how long it'd take for me to give in, the winner is three and a half weeks. But in my defense I lasted a lot longer than I thought I would for giving up cold turkey. And the bright side is my production's budget is now $10 richer because of it.

The next update is the recently donated prizes to the fundraiser's raffle! Salon Bella has promised to donate services to the raffle which will include at least one haircut and styling by none other than the super talented Isabel Colla (check out the commercial I produced for them).

Another included prize is a one hour massage from Anne O'Donnovan of Body Elements, who is also an amazingly talented professional. The price has been set for the raffle tickets, which will be $10 each and I'll begin to sell at the end of this week. Don't forget, the fundraiser is August 29th email me at gguardado@gmail.com if you'd like to come or want more info.

Speaking of fundraisers, the next official one will most likely be in November. At that one I plan to premiere my latest short film "Marta's Last Exit." We'll also be doing a silent auction at this event which will have some pretty awesome stuff (more to come on these items in later articles).

The last update is to inform everyone about Opificer's Twitter page. Yup, that's right you can now be informed of a recent blog posting or article via Twitter. I promise not to use Twitter to tweet mindless crap. It'll just be used to inform you of postings on the blog, so spread the word. Look us up at: www. twitter.com/Opificer

Mail Bag!

Alright enough with updates lets answer some questions I've been asked a lot since I started the blog. Oh and allow me to encourage you to either post questions in the "comments" box on the blog or to email them to me directly, again at: gguardado@gmail.com

1. Gus what the hell does Opificer mean? And why's it your production company name?

This is a good one. Opificer means skilled artist, and at the risk of tooting my own horn, that's what I like to think of myself and the people I collaborate with. So it made the most sense to name my company that which I am and strive to be. Good luck finding it in a dictionary as it's not a commonly used word, another reason why I chose it. Hell it took me learning of it from watching the 2008 National Spelling Bee finals.

2. Is your movie autobiographical?

Yes and no. Much of the stories premise is ripped right out of my experiences growing up in good ol C-town. But I've taken quite a bit of artistic license in the names, events, and people (or lack thereof) in which these events actually took place. So I think of it more as a hyper-reality than an autobiography.

3. What about Concord motivated you to create a movie about it?

Growing up in Concord I realized it was a very unique place. It was a somewhat quiet town, but occasionally had big town problems. So it always bothered me that no one had heard of Concord. Whenever I traveled as a kid or met a family member from El Salvador, they always asked what San Francisco was like living in. And I'd have to say "I have no idea! I live 45 miles away and it's like a whole different world."

So for me this movie is as much about sharing the uniqueness of one's hometown with a mass audience who may never have heard of Concord. But at the same time telling a story so familiar to others that one can't help but relate to the characters problems.

4. When is "Marta's Last Exit" coming out?

You can't rush art, is what I always say. But honestly this is the longest it's taken me to finish a movie. But I promise it'll be wrapped up and done by the next fundraiser event in November. Hell I might even finish it sooner if given enough encouragement and pester from my readers (wink-wink, hint, cough).

Well that's it for this week. Please keep the comments and questions coming. Until next time....

Forward!

-Gustavo