Thank Heavens for Rick Wilson and Stephon Litwinczuk

Miracle of miracles, two amazingly professional, passionate and super-nice crew members have materialized and are on board for our Manzanar Pilgrimage shoot coming up Saturday, April 27.  Welcome aboard, Stephon Litwinczuk (camera) and Rick Wilson (sound)!

Finding super-skilled crew to work for food and "deferred payment" (they get paid when money comes in) is harder than trout fishing. Finding any applicants who even bother to read the ad that I placed is even tougher. Most prospective crew simply e-mail their resumes en masse without mentioning they've read the details of this shoot:  how long it will be, where it is, etc. They send out generic cover letters.

Then they get upset when they find out we can't pay $400/day up front.

Rick Wilson is a consummate professional sound engineer with a resume and awards longer than my arms. He laughed when he told me, "I can't believe these people who post on Craigslist, How dare you expect me to work for free...." He said if a project is worthwhile...well, he's got the time and the willingness. The same goes for me. For the past 4 years as we've limped along without adequate funding.

Here's the thumbnail sketch of Rick's impressive career:  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1975069/

The first film he sound edited on was The Buddy Holly Story. He's worked on Michael Jackson projects. And this Pasadena resident knows the way to Manzanar since he usually passes it on the way to ski at Mammoth.

Stephon Litwinczuk contacted me today. I don't think it was a reply to any of my ads since his application went to a different e-mail address of mine. But I am soooo grateful that he found out about this shoot! He's married to a Japanese woman and they have visited Manzanar. He can fill us in on details and history that we might otherwise miss. And he is a director/interviewer as well as a Director of Photography. His reel knocked my socks off.

Here's thumbnail sketch of Stephon's Emmy-nominated work: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3277661/

Every year I wish that I could go on the Manzanar Pilgrimage and every year I miss out due to financial constraints. I have some good friends whose families were interned there. It is important to remember what happened there, I believe. So it will never happen again.

Starting to get excited....