The website is up!!!

The website is up and running. It took a lot of work to get here but we here nonetheless. I like the simplicity of its navigation yet it holds a catchy and creative edge. I am waiting for my merchandise to come in between this week and next week so I can start posting that on the site. Right now I had to just work with what I have.

I am eagerly awaiting for the trailer to be cut by a very generous man named Dick Campbell. He is usually swamped with projects and is an engineering professor on top of that so I can understand why it takes so long to complete a trailer for someone when you are doing it pro bono. That is why budgets are a beautiful thing because you can actual get things done at a pace. But the important thing is things are moving and as I recall it was the turtle that won the race.

Thanks for reading and if you haven't go and read over the website. If you can, take one dollar and donate it to the cause. Instead of spending that dollar on a sticky bun, throw it to us so we can use for a good purpose....helping soldiers and their families in need.

Gregory Hines

Website, merchandise and trailer oh my!

Yes I have been completely engulfed in this film over the last couple of weeks. The amount of work that it takes to do something that seems so simple to the layman's point of view is amazing. I have been overseeing every inch of the way in regards to the website in that it comes out all right. There are so many factors that are involved and that can go wrong it is easy to get away from you if you don't stay on top of it. I can see how easy it is to have something come out like complete garbage too. The hope is that all will be alright and I will get a lot of traffic to the site.

In addition to the site I have been busy with promotional merchandise. I have been taking copious notes on all manner of things that would be potential high sellers. As of date, I have ordered specialized logo dog tags, stickers and just now...specialized bracelets. Next up is getting this poster finished.

I have been working closely with the poster artist and so far I haven't liked what is coming out so we started form scratch and are trying again. I should see another draft tonight. When dealing with an actual poster it is critical that it is near perfect because it is the central theme or focus of the film. It is the silent voice that speaks for the entity of my precious jewel. If it takes weeks to complete than so be it but it must be done right. Once that is complete and I am happy with it, I will most likely use that for the t-shirt design and move on getting the shirts made. I am starting with small orders on everything to see how they will sell. For example, I bought 40 hats of Medium and Large in simple colors of black, white & pink. We'll see how those and other items sell. It really depends on the amount of traffic generated towards the site and how generous and supportive people will be.

I find this film a little different than most as it is a film that directly supports a cause. Most films are out for self gratification and success. Granted the film costs money and funds must be generated but how many films are out there promoting a cause? Moreover, how many films are made by the very same type of individual that the proceeds are being generated for.....a film by a Wounded Warrior for Wounded Warriors!

Soon the website will be out and following behind that will be the merchandise. As a viewer/consumer we will be asking to either purchase an item in support of the film or simply donate directly to the film. Furthermore, all we ask is a donation of $1.00! That is it. If we get $1 from a couple thousand people, which is not many people, than we are doing well to raising funds. Our goal is to raise a minimum of $10,000 for the Wounded Warrior funds so the better we do the more money the funds make. Everyone will make out. So, keep an eye out for the site and please donate a dollar and pick up a braclet or perhaps a shirt or a sticker. But show your support to the wounded and the arts.

Gregory Hines

Under the Skin

Well, the holidays have passed and since then I have gotten married to my fiance from which, prior to my arrival to seeing her, we had been separated for over a year.

The Army unit that I am in keeps me busy with appointments and next week, March 17 I am going in for surgery on my back. I would be a liar if I said I wasn't nervous but they say it is an easy procedure. We'll see!

As far as the film work is concerned, I have been doing a lot behind the scenes work from creating a website, that is nearly complete to introducing a line of merchandise on the website. It has been a lot of logistical work but it has been keeping me busy and mind off of this upcoming surgery. I'll keep posting about the events as they unravel.

Happy Holidays

It has been one of the longest years of my life. I started 2010 on the way to deaths door. Laying in the hospital thinking....well...not good things and as 2011 rolls around I am breathing fire and spitting flames! I have no idea what they really means but it just was really fun to write.

I am processing the footage for my documentary and when that is complete the editing will commence. I am also headed out to the Philippines next month for a lovely and well deserved vacation. When I get back from there then I would say this project should be complete by this summer. That is my goal anyway......

My next goal is to get a website up and running, get some merchandise and there is still some more changes I want done to my logo. If you feel like drawing...let me know!

I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday and thanks for reading and all of your support. Thank you to my wonderful family and friends. Dad and Lynny for keeping me alive both physically and in spirits. Also, thanks for all the abundant support in my arts and with my asawa. Andrew Gamboa whom from which I would not be alive it if it weren't for him taking care of me while I was bedridden in Korea. Then My Army buddies Elliott, Jim Nguyen, Jared & Dee, Jim Diedrich, Jimmy J. Jones, Gabriel Estes, Shak, Cousar, Kevin Oliver, The Golsons and all the cast and from Under the Skin and the rest of all my dear friends...


Gregory Hines

Under the Skin: Reshaping As I Move Along

Hello and thanks for those of you taking the time to read this. I just love to write and love to document my story as I go through this process of making my first film. The process of making your own film is trying, long and arduous but so rewarding and for me, a spiritual path.

When I tell people that I am an independent filmmaker, they give me a look as if I am a dreamer who will never record a thing. Then they see what I have accomplished already and then it all changes. It was once told to me, "People who tell you what you CAN'T do are really telling THEMSELVES what they can NOT do".

I have circled the globe and seen many cultures and still so many more to experience. I open myself up to each and every experience as if it were to be my first and last opportunity and it has yet to fail as a life altering event.

As of yet, we finished the Captain Cook and the Polynesian segment and that was such a moving experience. I actually had an Army soldier come up to me after wards and tell me how he just left theatre and is preparing to go back to Iraq/Afghanistan and before he showed up on my set he was emotionally in turmoil. After just 2 days on my set he claimed how much it helped him. He said it gave him a sense of internal peace to be on my set and watching what I was doing with this project and the segment material. I truly believe that this film will make waves turning over people lives in a positive way.

So, since I left Hawaii last week for my home in NY I am still running the final shot of the Vietnam segment. Once that is complete, then post and then you all can see the promo trailer!

In the mean time, I am concentrating on getting better and getting through this medical separation and getting out of the Army so I can finally move on with my life.

Well, I'll write as much as I can when I can. Take care.

Under the Skin: Never Give Up!

I can't believe September is upon us! This summer has proved to be such an insane struggle and it pushed me through some real tests to see if I would make it out clean on the other side.

Towards the end of June and all through July and August I spent with an immense amount of doctors and July I spent time in the Emergency Room at least once every week for the entirety of the month. With the decline in my health which really felt like a continuous roller coaster, I struggled creatively. I watched all the hard work, time and money invested into this project thus so far begin to sail away. So, I through a lasso around that baby and yanked 'er back in!

I was being told by the Army that I would be here for another year then it went to me being transferred in a matter of a few short weeks then I was brought in and told that I was going to being kicked out of the Army on grounds for mental health issues (5-13).

This of course was in and of itself totally insane! I have health problems, sure but to the point they I was told that I am too sick to stay in the Army but not sick enough to get medically discharged. So, I left that meeting with thoughts of me getting kicked out of the Army which was devastating since I have served honorably for over 3.5 years. Eventually and to my surprise my case does not fall under 5-13. Furthermore, I took a psychological examination and it shows that I am not making this up rather I do indeed meet criteria for a medical discharge.

So anyway, despite the ups and downs I have continued to hold faith in myself and my film. I dropped the idea that I would film the entire feature as this was too much of a beast to conquer. What I did is come up with the following: Make a 2-5 minute promotional teaser to showcase my film making capabilities to attract potential investors.

This has been working very successfully so far as I completed a modern day Iraq segment and I am preparing top film a Polynesian segment where Captain Cook and his sailors come ashore onto their island during the 18th Century. I am very fortunate to have the honor and privilege of working with a local Hawaiian, Mr. Kaina Yasuhara.

Mr. Yasuhara has taken the role of casting director and location scout and just that alone, he has lifted up a massive amount of pressure. He has working to get me in to Waimea Valley so that I can film the native Polynesians moving through the jungle dressed and armed in traditional 18th Century fashion.

In addition to that, I am also working to get into the Kaulao Ranch which is an infamous filming locations used in numerous Hollywood films from Jurassic Park to Tears of the Sun. If I am granted access to the ranch, I plan on filming three war eras there; the Revolutionary War, Civil War and Vietnam War. I am also in hopes that I can use pyro on ground as I have a resource that is charging me cost for each detonation. I may also have access to a horse(s)!

So, in the mean time I have been keeping myself busy with teaching myself how to sew. You may laugh but as in Indie filmmaker, I have to become a Jack of all trades. The logistics alone is insane and requires weeks of prep. For last weekends shoot, I planned both breakfast and lunch for the cast and crew, all the hit times from arrival, gearing up, training, and the HOT times. I was running two simultaneous parties at once. I had a squad being trained for Urban Assault and then I had two actresses training on a emergency fire in their engine on a CH-53. The end result was hands down, AWESOME!

Well, time to eat dinner then back to sewing these costumes.

Sarge.....on its way

I haven't written in this for a while as I have been busy as hell. Sarge has at long last been cast. We have had our first table read last Friday where it served as an opportunity for everyone to meet one another and begin to build a relationship. I am waiting for Bill or DOC to send me the gear and once he does I will set the actual film date. I am hoping to shoot within 3-4 weeks.

Also, the interviewing process has been great. We have a Psychologist who deals with soldiers with combat related injuries. A tattoo artist who specializes in Polynesian style gave an excellent interview and several soldiers telling their story.

I can't wait to see Sarge come full circle......