Growing Pains

 I am so happy that the crew really has the project's best interest at heart. We have an important message to share and need only those who can work together and share our vision to help us go forward. I want to thank all of our supporters and our awesome cast for their dedication. There is so much to putting a movie together and I think we are all feeling some pressure to be as prepared as possible for the first day of filming planned for Saturday August 5th.

Allen is sending out an email to all the cast to help them with any questions or concerns. I want to focus on helping the cast with background and how I see their characters. So I will be addressing a few characters daily in an effort to give our actors some perspective.

Oscar: Oscar is Cooper's Dad. He has a great sense of humor and is very proud of his son. Has opted to stay very involved in Cooper's care and helps Kelly when ever he can. He is also a devoted grandfather to Tiffany and Jessie. Oscar is devastated at the thought of losing his son, but tries to stay strong and not show how heart broken he is. Being overtly affectionate is not his strong suit. He demonstrates his love for Cooper through humor and sarcasm.

Cooper: Cooper has been ill on and off for three years. He thought he had his kidney cancer under control until his wife Kelly forced him to see a doctor for his ever increasing back pain. Tests showed his cancer had spread to his spine and his back pain was due to a tumor. Cooper is having a hard time loosing his independence and is able to keep his temper under control most of the time except when he is in severe pain. Cooper is struggling to keep himself together emotionally for his family. He loves his wife Kelly deeply, and tries very hard not to have her upset.

Michael: Michael was deeply affected by the death of his 14 year old sister Emma, when he was 12 years old. She died of leukemia and Michael has always blamed himself. Michael's bone marrow was not a match, and Emma died before a match could be found. Michael saw her suffer and never wanted anyone else to experience that kind of pain. He has a natural sense of humor and an ability to be very caring and compassionate, but he hides behind a kind of tough rock star image to balance the stress of his job. He turned to music to help him deal with his sister's death, but now only occasionally plays his guitar. He is good at his job and his patient's love him.

Hope this additional information helps both the actors and those following my blog to get to know the characters of our film. Keep those candles lit and the good thoughts coming. We need all the positive energy we can get!