DIRECTOR'S JOURNAL
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"This women is one of the most underrated actresses out there."

5/31/99 -- Memorial Day -- Sean Young called to thank me for the flowers I sent her to welcome her aboard. In reality I sent them because I was so touched that she gave an incredible performance in auditions (she auditioned with the boys -- we never actually auditioned her for the part). It was so good. and so perfect for the character -- I was blown away. This woman is one of the most underrated actresses out there. I'm really surprised - and I think she recognized I was surprised - in a way, it's a bit of an insult for me to be shocked that she's got so much talent. She's been acting for years and years with big stars, in big films, with big directors -- but I think she tapped into something here that she's never done before. She's a mother now, and she plays a mother in the film (albeit a criminal mother). I think audiences will really respond to her work here.

5/30/99 -- Spent the morning working through some locations/scenes with Peter Kowalski. We're having a great time creating new angles and styles of shooting. Peter is very gung-ho, and seems to move as fast as I do. Tim Kazurinsky said yes - he's our Carlton Rasmuth!

5/28/99 -- Just send flowers to Mom & Sean Young -- Mother's Day is a bit late, but Sean gets her flowers on time. Nice. We signed her yesterday -- had Mimosas and took pictures. Everything was great -- a fun, relaxed atmosphere. The rest of the day we were feeling good. So good in fact, that I called Bruce Dern at home (I got his number through an acquaintance). It was a 30 minute conversation that was exciting and tense and filled with the possibility that I could convince this classic actor to do my movie. Unfortunately, schedule became the big conflict, and I asked Mr. Dern to read the script and maybe we could work something out. But he's getting very busy right now -- I think people are rediscovering how great he is. Damn...too bad for us.

5/20/99 -- Sean Young seems to be locking down. She asked for my home phone today and she loved the rewrite, so.I think we have our Linda. Next up, is casting Ron Lake, Carlton Rasmuth and Jim Bronco. Tim Kazurinsky will probably be fine, he's a big fan of Kingsize, and I emailed him to say I'm a fan of his.

5/18/99 -- Casting at Katy Wallin's office. We're reading great kids. Sandy is a worrisome role because the actress has to rock. People are talking about Jaime Pressly. I've auditioned some incredible women -- but so few can get the accent right -- and many are playing it like it's a soap opera. Very bad. Read Rachel Hunter -- beautiful, and actually a very good actress. Damn, I wish she wasn't from New Zealand! It's probably my own problem, but I want the accents of Southern Illinois to be perfect.

5/17/99 -- Waiting for a big meeting with one of the key investors. We'll talk about the heart of the film. Which is.the movie is about a mother who's trying to help her kid get out of the trailer park. A good parent gives her child all the opportunities that she never had. In this case, Linda feels as if she's backed into a corner, and needs to steal to help her son. The first robbery is from a man who himself is a thief -- stealing from senior citizens in an old age home. The second is a burger stand where the owner distrusts banks and keeps all his money in a safe in the office. Linda, her new lover (who's the son of the local sheriff) and the two boys steal. but it's a means to an end. One decision to perform a criminal act to help your child proves to spin out of control. My descriptions tend to be wordy and meandering. I hate pitching - it's completely inorganic to what making films is about. If I'm describing the movie in pieces -- I enjoy it, but describing the whole movie quickly -- not fun for me.

5/14/99 -- Auditioned more Sandys yesterday. Some good. One girl stood out -- marked her for call backs. Hilarious. Did a thing where she completely lost it, then smoothed down her bangs at the end. Made me feel like Sandy needs to have bangs just for that one gag (it's in the details). The whole audition room busted up at that one.

5/13/99 -- Yesterday, had a meeting with Sean Young. She seemed very charming, smart, lucid and strong. Not at all psycho. She wants to change the ending. Just the chase actually. A lot of what she said there makes sense. Actually I can see rewriting. The bigger question is, can I handle her as a first-time director?

BEGINNING OF JOURNAL...

EXTRA PICTURES

SEAN YOUNG SIGNING ON FOR POOR WHITE TRASH

L to R: Mike Addis (writer/director), Sean Young (lead actress: Linda Bronco), Mark Roberts (producer), and Lorena David (producer) in the offices of Kingsize Entertainment signing the deal bringing them all together to make Poor White Trash.

L to R: Mark Roberts (producer), Lorena David (producer), Mike Addis (writer/director), Sean Young (lead actress: Linda Bronco), and Katy Wallin (casting director) in the offices of Kingsize Entertainment just after signing up to make Poor White Trash.

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