Me & Paco getting things done (Hardcore!). (Outside Jesse's House of Art)

Even as far as cliche’s go, today was a very f***ing beautiful day.

And actually, these whole past two weeks have been nothing but amazing, but enough of the generalities and let’s get down to the meat of it all:

• Sunny skies, not warm, not cold. Perfect weather all-day-long.
• We finished our shoot with Jody (Parks and Rec, San Antonio), which was cool (we got to earn our cash).
• Then we went to the Barnes and Noble and stumbled upon a really cool f***ing book called “Film Club”
• Next we visited our good friend Jesse Treviño, to clarify some stuff for the script AND to get another dose of f***ing enthusiasm.
• Next we visited with our good friend Robert G. Rdz, to clarify some financial questions we had for the movie.
• Next we visited with Office of Cultural Affairs (with our dear friends Lindsey & Sebastian!)
• NEXT we went to the hospital. My new nephew Santi Harbison Mendoza (picture below) was born today. Which was THE f***ing highlight of the day. My dear sister Luana was in labor for quite some time until she finally made it through. We were all worried sick, until the news came of the delivery. It’s quite a rush and a quite a heavy feeling of love for a new human being that will take this earth and bend it to its knees. FTW.
• NEXT, Paco and myself were homesick and we hit the road back home. Frank Turner, Basi and propagandhi provided the entertainment for the ride home.
• NEXT, here I am, writing this post. A new uncle. A new perspective. Happy.

On Jesse Treviño: I am happy to report that he looks great and I just admire his f***ing enthusiasm (There’s no other way to put it, there’s “enthusiasm”, and then there’s “f***ing enthusiasm”). Even though his health is not at 100%; his persistence is very overwhelming. Even if I wasn’t making a film about Jesse, I feel very privileged to be in his presence. I don’t think I have ever met a person like him in my life and I am very glad that this movie will let audiences around the world to finally know Jesse.

Me, Jesse & Paco after probing Jesse for some cold hard facts. Picture taken by our good friend Gabe Velasquez.

Also, I am trying my best to write the best f***ing script anyone has seen. I am glad to report that after many, many, many, many rewrites, I have finally grasped the whole concept of the movie. I have been wrestling with the script for almost a year and I am (finally) very happy with what I have right now.

It is filled with surprises and hits all the right notes, but there is still much left to do. And in keeping with my writing spirit I will be in hiding from the world for at least two more months until I finish this damn thing.

Thanks for all your well wishes and support for THE HEART OF TREVIÑO. I can’t wait to finish the script.

Until next time,
Your friend, Ricardo (f***ing) Mendoza.

PS: Thanks again to Jesse Treviño for formalizing our relationship and setting it in stone last week. A handshake can only go so far, but a signature is a commitment. Thanks for trusting us. You will NOT be disappointed.

My sister Luana with my new nephew. aaawwwwwwww.

Basi, Me, Paco & Roger. Happy with contract in hand. Taken Feb 8, day after Frank Turner gig.

This is one of my favorite Treviño paintings. Tribute to John Lennon. Imagine.

WARNING: This blog post is for the few people that have asked me about my way of writing, how do I write, what’s the proper way, etc. Here’s a short-short version on my way of writing:

There’s many ways to skin a cat, if you were so inclined to, and if you’re in a country where that’s legal, like La Pryor (just kidding).

The way I like to write a screenplay is to first jot down all of the important pieces you’ll need for the script, like grabbing the necessary ingredients before making a meal. This time around I am jotting down not only ideas but shots I have planned, cool quotes, background information and an extended outline. All this is put into my trusty moleskine notebook.

This screenplay is a little special because I’m dealing with true life events and there’s hundreds of pages of research, hours of recordings (both audio and video), and hundreds of pictures to go through.

Once I have a strong feeling for structure in my notes I would type it all up, (I’m not here yet, but I’m close). I would read it, edit, cut, add and do it all over again, until it is completed.

When completed, (and this is the fun part!) I get a stopwatch, turn it on and start  visualizing the movie while reading the script. The movie unfolds as if I were watching it, I feel like a kid playing with a cardboard box. After this I would tweak, add, edit, cut, delete, paste until my heart’s happy and singing zip-i-dee-doo-dah out of its valves.

I hope to have a first draft really soon.

Also, please spread the word, rate and comment our promo on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SSvqVlXxKw

Stephen King’s book On Writing is very recommended and some screenwriting blogs (google them) are also quite helpful!

Our new promotional teaser for our upcoming new film!

The film’s website is also open for business at: theheartoftrevino.com

We’ve been working on this project since mid-2008; thanks to all our friends who have helped us make this promotional teaser, thanks to you we are one step closer for this film to be in theaters worldwide.

Jesse Treviño has been an inspiration to all of us and we are humbled and excited that he has put his life’s story in our hands, and naturally we won’t disappoint.

In no particular order we’d like to thank the following folks whom have helped us along the way in this project, and will continue to support us:

• Jesse Treviño (of course)
• Jesse’s family
• Felix Padron- Office of Cultural Affairs
• George Cortez and the Cortez family
• Bert Cecconi
• Gabriel Q. Velasquez
• Robert Price & Luisa Wheeler
• Robert G. Rodriguez
• Frank J. Garza
• Rosemary Kowalski
• Juan & Terry Vasquez
• Ricardo Romo
• Arturo Almeida
• Lionel Sosa
• Frank Herrera
• Elizabeth Rodriguez
• Alicia Treviño
• Alex & Jesse Villarreal

I also want to appreciate the following, on the making of this promo:

• Paco Flores
• Roger De Los Santos
• Hector Hernandez
• Rolando Garza (Piano on “Pintando las calles…”)
• Oscar Ortiz LBASi (Score for The Heart of Treviño promo teaser)
• Alexander Probst (Logo design)
• Gaby, Rickito Mendoza and Marcus Moncada
• And me, for my hard work (ha-ha)

There’s also many artists working behind the scenes that we’d also like to thank: Patricia Vonne, Lorenzo “Chacho” Saldaña, Alonzo Avila, Jacqueline Martinez, Alfredo “Huesos” and many others that have pledged their support!

This film is under development!
We will be posting news and updates right here on this blog, but you may also want to add us on twitter: www.twitter.com/heartoftrevino

Our new teaser for our third film will be unveiled at a private event at the Museo Alameda on the evening of October 21, 2009.

Thanks to the hundreds of people that have helped us out along the way in making this a reality, all the artists around the world! Thank you! (We’ll put a listing of credits soon)

We still have a ways to go. We are in full pre-production mode and we don’t expect to be in production anytime soon…

HOWEVER, We are very, very, very excited to be working on this project. We have been at it since May of 2008 and we are very humbled to have been selected to make this happen.

I expect the website to our film to be live on Thurday Oct 22nd, along with the teaser…

Thanks again to everyone that has pitched in!

We love you

More to come…

Don’t take your pajamas and ditch the sleeping pills. At 11:59pm, October 10 (Saturday) Ash Wednesday: Capitulo Unus will finally screen in San Antonio!

Capitulo Unus will be the closing event for Una Noche De La Gloria organized by our friend Gabriel Quintero Velasquez.

The screening will be in the Westside of San Antonio at the Guadalupe Theater at 11:59pm

This glorious cool event is an art festival featuring more than 300 artists, including the illustrious Jesse Treviño, LBASi, Chista, and many, many others…

It’ll be a fun event; get more info here:
http://myspace.com/lagloriaarts