Talked to Patrick on the phone this afternoon about Red 71.

He's still waiting for an answer from Michele Belegrin's agent and that has him anxious. And of course he is fretting about the budget and the financing.

We talked a little about marketing. He's going to send out some notice about Angus before we start production. This will get some early buzz at some of the locations he's sent Mercy to.

He sent Scott and I several location shots today and the main purpose of his phone call was to discuss how they will impact the script.

He included shots of the Sheriff's office, the exterior of the the Sheriff's office and Charley's office at the club. We're going to move the interrogation sequence from the card room into the office.

He has some concerns about the scene in the desert and is going to look at the dump today. I really like the idea of shooting at the dump.

He is also looking for an alternate location for the trailer park - a house more in the style of the noir movies set in L.A. All good.

It looks like he has everyone cast except for the young Mexican man in the scene with Jack Kenny. He described some of the actors to me and I'm trying to get my head wrapped around how they look.

He also had another idea about Thelma that I'm going to work on. We also discussed an idea he got from Jim Sherman about Shane's money. I really like that one and think I have it worked out.

He hasn't read the last draft yet, but I need to get started on the next one. He may just have to skip one.

He is ridiculously busy.

I wish I were there to help him.