Today I decided that I would get serious about writing my blogs on here. Unfortunately the last time that I had posted here was in December of 2006 and I couldn’t remember what my login name or password was. It was driving me crazy at first and I tried everything to get in. I even tried searching under my name, “Torry”. I discovered that the name was already taken by someone else though so on a lark I decided to investigate who this other “Torry” was. (I’ve never met a Torry who spells his name the same way as I do so I was curious.)
What I learned about the other Torry is this:
1) He’s a Libra. (So am I but I don’t buy into horoscopes)
2) He’s a Christian (So am I)
3) He was a finalist for a reality show. (So was I)
4) He lives in Tennessee (So do I- we are about an hour and a half away from each other)
5) He enjoys working with teens (So do I- I perform at youth conventions and write for a teen magazine)
6) He enjoys writing (Duh- me too)
7) He apparently enjoys the arts and attended a show on Broadway. (Ditto here.)
8) He believes in the importance of mentoring. (I mentor several people in the arts)
9) He has recovered from leukemia (I recovered from anorexia. Heh-heh- just joking)
10) He had all of his wisdom teeth pulled. (Me too but it was the salt-water taffy that I blame)
11) He was the featured lead in a documentary that was filmed. (I'm the featured lead in a documentary that is filming now.)
12 He has a great sense of humor and a love for God. (likewise and ditto etc)
Anyway, it was pretty interesting and it felt like it was sort of a holy introduction of sorts. He’s a REALLY good writer too by the way and I enjoyed reading his blogs. (You should check them out. I cracked up reading “Birfday”) Soooo…since I am a BIG believer in how God directs our steps, the thought occurred to me that this may be something that He set up. Keeping that in mind, I have decided to make a record of this just for fun, in case it does indeed turn out to be a “God thing”. If not-oh well. The other Torry seems like a kindred spirit regardless so I sent him an email and introduced myself to him. I’ll keep up to date postings on what, if anything, develops.
Now, for the latest in the ORIGINAL Torry’s life. (I’m older that the other Torry so that makes me the first. Heh!)
I participated in the 48 Hour Film Project last month and I had an absolute blast. There were 47 teams competing in Nashville this year and I got picked to be an actor on the most amazing team assembled. Ryan Hamblin and Jeremy Mazza were my directors and they were absolutely brilliant. I even got to act opposite the talented Kenton Foster who was in the Sheryl Crow Superbowl commercial last year and was great in it. The whole experience was wonderful. It was especially fun to see the film that we made up on the screen at the Belcourt Theater with all of the other entries that were filmed. Man, Nashville has some talented film makers! The best part for me though was that the night of the awards I ended up winning “Best Actor”. I was stunned when my director called to tell me. I was teaching at a writers conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the time and couldn’t attend the awards in Nashville myself. Anyway, I was in the lobby of my hotel when my cell phone rang with the news and it made my whole night for me. Just a great feeling. If you’d like to view the film you can check it out on youtube by going to the following link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wALyvGAz91o
A few days later I heard about how Heinz ketchup was having a contest to make a commercial for them so I called Ryan (my 48 Hour director) and asked if he wanted to team up and enter it together. Ryan said yes so I quickly set about the business of writing the commercial which I thought turned out pretty clever and a bit goofy. We had a lot of fun filming it and kept cracking up all the way through. The unfortunate thing about it is…well, apparently a few (meaning 4-5) of my fellow Christians had a problem with the commercial because they thought it had sexual innuendos in it. I was talking about ketchup though so I have no idea what they were thinking. Perverts! (I’m kidding!) Anyway, a part of me feels bad for upsetting a few folks, another part of me feels like I was passed judgment on a little too severely (but then we Christians are known for that), and another part of me just feels like these people need to lighten up a little. I have to honestly say that it was not my intention to upset anyone however and I do regret that I did. I’m a bit surprised at some of the response though because I had run the commercial by three of my mentors, my Pastor, and 2 of my publishers before I even filmed it and they all thought it was funny and not a big deal. Oh well, even the best laid plans go awry. Here is a link to the commercial on youtube though so you can form your own opinion.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QZV0rs8qvWg
Please let me know in the comment section what you thought of it. I’ve only been a Christian for ten years now so I’m still a little naïve when it comes to what offends other Christians BUT I’m serious about my relationship with God and I am always open to correction and discipline. Besides, how do we get to be better followers of Christ if no one explains in a loving manner how to achieve that? I need you folks to educate me and hold me accountable so share your thoughts. Just for the record though, I thought it was actually pretty funny and I still don’t think it is the big deal that a few others did. In fact, in my opinion I think they are kind of over reacting. Lemme know your honest thoughts as it is my greatest desire to be the very best follower of Christ than I can be. Your insights will also help me in my decision making for any other future comedic endeavors as well.
Let’s see…what else? I recently started filming a movie last Saturday and I was pretty excited about it. I had a great part and got to meet some fantastic people on the set. Jerry Foster (11 ASCAP awards, several #1 hits) was one of the folks and Glenn Douglas Tubb (relative of Ernest Tubb and also a songwriter) was another. They were great guys and very talented actors. Then the unthinkable happened. On Monday the production shut down completely. The movie as it stands now is going unfinished. I’m disappointed to say the least but there is still a chance that it might get picked up. I’m praying that it will.
Okay, that’s all for now. I’m starting a screenwriting class in Nashville tonight and am already excited about making some new friends with my fellow writers. I’ve gotta get some work done first though so off I go!
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