DOG-e Studio

03/10/2025

Two years ago I was living in L.A. I had a meeting with Max Timm of International Screenwriters Association. He looked up my IMDb page and shook his head. What? “You might as well give up now.” Why? “You have too many awards.” Want me to give some back? “You’re missing my point.” Obviously. “If you had a dozen or even twenty awards, you could get a Lit Man.” But now? “Everyone is going to wonder why you don’t already have one” Might be because everything I’ve done has been on the East Coast and I just got here? “No, you’re never going to make it, just quit.” I sat in my 8’ x 8’ “apartment” with no A/C or bathroom for two days wondering if I had given up everything and everyone that made me feel safe to drive 3,000 miles because of a silly dream. “What if he’s right” I kept asking. And on the third day I answered. “Okay, if 250 is too many, what if I double it?” So I began writing an additional 35 feature screenplays to my already 25. I shot two SAG-shorts when everyone said no L.A. Crew would work for free. When the Strikes shut down Hollywood and I could no longer enter writing contests either, I moved back to VA. I shot my 12th short film in the “black hole” of the film industry. (I saw Capt America last week and was the only one in the theater.) I’m already Green Lit to shoot two more shorts this year. I just received my 450th IMDb Laurel and am on schedule to meet my goal of 500 by the end of this year. In 2026, I’ll ask for another meeting with Mad Max and when he looks at my IMDb page I’ll quip “I’m sorry, I thought you meant I didn’t have enough.”

03/01/2025

Getting ready to shoot our 13th short film starring Donald Imm as Solo Lead and Marc Goodman as D.P./Editor. Script already has two Laurels so should do well on the festival circuit. As always, anyone coming on board as Producer or Asst. Producer would share in all IMDb Awards. Great (and cheap) way to establish an Awards Ribbon on your own page.

12/13/2024

I'll take it. :)

09/29/2024

They put my Discovery I.D. Episode on Amazon. What an into to my character at 16-minutes in, "She has no idea what is lurking on the other side of the door." My first Close Up. Shot at night, in the rain. I had my own. P.A. with an umbrella.

See what happens when the search for love turns into a fight to the death as men and women share their personal stories of how something that started out as dinner and a movie quickly transformed into a terrifying tale.

09/23/2024

Ahhh, L.A. memories. "Nice to meet you, gotta go." 5-minute Skype meeting with Lit Man Nicholas Bogner just now.

Affirmative Entertainment literary manager and producer Nicholas Bogner shares his tips on receiving notes on your screenplays.

08/30/2024

“Hi Lawrence, Once again, congrats on being named a Semi-Finalist for our fest! We are posting all selections on social on Friday.” Laurel #35.

08/03/2024

My father died when I was 18. His best friend Joe Higgins became my mentor. Joe was a successful L.A. actor (on IMDb) and wanted me to ride my motorcycle cross-country then get me a job as a stunt man. But I had to stay home and help pay our bills. In 1999, Joe died. To honor his memory, I heard "Gods & Generals" needed local B.G. I figured to work in "just one" film. As soon as Robert Duvall walked on-set, I was hooked. In 2011, Tom Todoroff Acting Studio & Conservatory challenged our class to "choose." So I quit my school system and went everywhere to meet everyone and do anything not caring about getting paid. My IMDb STARmeter reflects all of the above.

03/18/2024

Stop the madness! Is there no end? Why does this keep happening to me? Oh that's right, I spent 5 years learning from the best how to write scripts. Well okay then. "His whole life he knew the truth and it nearly killed him. Only the mother he never knew, can give him absolution."

03/07/2024

What better way to re-start my love of filmmaking than to be able to write this NYCIFF review. "Been a long time since any film captivated me in its first two minutes. The Opening Title backgrounds are inspirational. And the film just keeps getting better and better. Credits are still rolling eight minutes in, but they are perfectly timed. Professionally made in every way, it was a pleasure watching this. This Czech Writer/Director knows how to make a beautiful film. A Dying Man is ignored as a vegetable. A former-alcoholic becomes a famous Painter and new father. His best friend, a Writer, types. A scene where his Asian Businessman gets bad news from the Doctor is filmed beyond brilliant. All of the storylines interweave flawless. This film casts a line of interesting premises, then reels you in with superb directing, camerawork, and acting. The inured deer scene is so creatively crafted, I found myself taking notes for my own future films. This Director takes Tracking Shots to a higher plane. A 360 shot of the Asian Businessman NOT talking? Never have I seen the use of Voice Overs so impeccably used in any movie. This is a storytelling masterpiece of human interactions and failings. It should be shown in every university film school."

1h 33m

03/07/2024

Felt like I was back in L.A. with all its negativity when I checked the below Producer Post on another page last night. I had to double-check its Header twice. Yep, I was on the Virginia Filmmakers Page. Nothing but haters with hostile comments. "How dare you sell a Producer Credit!" Hmmm, pretty sure studios do that every day? "Insulting to say you're award-winning when you haven't won Toronto or Tribeca!" Actually my romance script won Toronto years ago? On and on with back-and-forth comments how I'm a "pretender." The sheer about of vitriol was over-whelming. It literally sucked the energy out of me. I deleted the post there, unjoined the group, and went to bed. What struck me most was the comment I had only entered "meaningless festivals." So as Virginia Filmmakers, my projects Winning Alexandria, The NOVA Fest & CAPITAL Film Market, and Richmond International Film Festival mean nothing, huh?

03/04/2024

Shooting 12th SAG-Aftra short film at end of March. "It's All Good...not" (on IMDb) script already has two Laurels. All my other films have 23-60 awards each and I SHARED ALL of them with Actors & Crew. PRODUCER CREDIT FOR ONLY $250! ASSOCIATE PRODUCER CREDIT for only $100! If you are serious, I mean really serious, about building your IMDb Awards Ribbon, Why would you pass this opportunity up?

03/01/2024

I told Adrian (below Post) a true story from my life. He told me to write it. Boom, it's done.

02/28/2024

Is this the defining moment in my stalled screenwriting career? I just spent 45 minutes on Zoom with Director Adrian Bol. He's interested in taking my "The Handler" scripts to the producer level. His own film which broke him through the "if you're not in, you're out" Hollywood cycle that I kept bumping into in L.A. is streaming free on Amazon Prime. It is the #2 action film on Netflix.

In this pulse-pounding spy thriller, Scott Adkins (The Expandables 2) stars as an ex-MI6 agent who gets dragged back into the world of espionage by a beautiful journalist.

02/26/2024

Spent half the day at Va Tech (do NOT call it VPI). I got driven around their huge campus (100 buildings). Saw where their wrestling team holds free matches. Then to their Virginia Inn (hotel with a great restaurant) where they had Open Day. (Sunday Brunch has Eggs Benedict, oh yeah.) Driven around all day then back home for free by BT-Access buses. I filed for 501(c)3 to set up a Blacksburg Film Festival. This place is amazing.

02/15/2024

How DO you obtain 400 IMDb Laurels in just 10 years? Appear in 91 movies as an award-winning Actor? Write 25 award-winning Writers Guild of America, East feature screenplays? Write 15 award-winning short scripts with 10 of those self-made into award-winning SAG-AFTRA Short films? Help others write their own award-winning feature and short scripts? How about all of the above? Go everywhere, do everything, help everyone.

12/19/2023

I am reminded of peoples prejudice when my films are Judged. "Saving Robin Williams" has 63 Laurels with 63 "Not Accepted" because those Judges rejected us for explaining, not condemning, Robin's su***de. Some of them were quite visceral in their comments. Our "In-Closure" is a Twilight Zone ode about the 72,000 Homeless in L.A. being literally ignored by Angelenos. "In-Closure" now has 11 Laurels, but also 11 "Not Accepted" by California Judges who prefer to sling arrows rather than look in the mirror. If the purpose of a film is to make its audience think, then we have always succeeded...both ways.

09/01/2023

I shot my 10th SAG-Aftra short film in Los Angeles. It now has 9 Awards on IMDb.

When do you answer the last pay phone in L.A.? Only when your conscience has nothing to say. His does.