I had made a bunch of films and the only distribution offers I had were not good deals for me. (I will post more about this at a later date…) The distributors would have done okay financially, but I was the one who took all the risks and made the work so I figured I deserved to make money off of my work as well.

I toured with my films and books for years and here are a few things I’ve figured out.

I was one of those people who didn’t know what I wanted to do after high school but drinking and partying seemed good at the time. That time didn’t last long.

I am a huge fan of S.J. Perelman. I started reading him in college when I found out he was one of the writers on Monkey Business and Horse Feathers, two of my favorite Marx Brothers films.

“That was before we knew who you were...”
Sometimes all it takes is one person in Minnesota who likes odd little films about cars...

“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it.
That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” - - Octavia E. Butler

Writing Is a Disease
“I think all writing is a disease. You can’t stop it.” - William Carlos Williams

In my mind it doesn’t matter what the medium is, it’s about the story and the most effective way to tell it.

That Time I Met Billy Wilder

He was donating a bunch of stuff to USC and Tom and I were picked to go meet him and haul the stuff he was donating back to USC. The stuff was mostly junk, some old beat up cases, stuff like that. One jewel stood out among the crap.

Do You Believe The Universe Sends You Signs?

I’m not one of those “New Age” people who sees signs and believes in crystals and all of that.

My Last Tour Ended On 11-02-17

A lot of people ask if I miss the road and when am I going out on tour again?

Not going into an office everyday has cut people’s expenses, leaving more money in their pockets.

She hit the roof! She believed we were totally fucking everything up because we didn’t have a trio of Oscar winning mixers at the controls. She stayed for a few hours (which were very tense), then hopped a plane back to LA. At that point we weren’t sure what was going to happen so we just kept working.

So many artists say they don’t want to be involved in the business side. That’s too bad because if you’re not aware and involved with the business side, people are going to take advantage of you.

I’ve been brainwashed!

I’m sitting at my desk attempting to get work done. It’s going slow and I’m getting down on myself for not accomplishing enough yesterday, or the day before. Hell, I’m looking at my writing output and I’m pissed that I didn’t bring out a new book in 2022. It’s December of 2023 and I still haven’t gotten the new book out.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Visions of the Moonchild And Other Strange Tales is the newest collection of short stories by Jeb R. Sherrill.

The first sentence in Cupa’ Joe is “It had been a half an hour since death and we still hadn’t been seated.” You quickly find out that the narrator has died and gone to Denny’s. It appears that an afterlife Denny’s is pretty damn similar to the ones that exist here on earth. Good luck getting service in the afterlife.

I can wander around my house and be swept up with all of the things I’ve accumulated over the years that have stories that I’m always happy to share when asked.
No matter how many times I move or decide to declutter, I end up hanging on to many of the things that are “clutter”.

I’ve decided on occasion to post about a book that I’ve read or a film I’ve recently watched. I don’t plan on doing this with any regularity but who knows if the response is good maybe I’ll make it a regular thing.
Here is my first one.
Sometimes you just need to back up, take a break, and read some Mark Twain.
I decided I wanted to read some of his shorter works so I picked this up and was not disappointed.

“The first draft of everything is shit.” — Ernest Hemingway
Okay this may be a bit extreme, although not having read any of Hemingway’s first drafts, he may be right. My early drafts are not great, but they’re not supposed to be. They serve more as an outline, a rough path for me to move forward.

Jeff Bezos doesn’t need any more of your money. And it’s not just him, all of those big companies and CEO’s don’t need your money either.
Don’t get me wrong, they want your money, all of it. But they don’t need it.

Do you know who needs your money?

This is the very first film book I ever purchased that was not assigned. It’s also the first book that wasn’t about “movies” it’s about making films.
I found it at Larry Edmunds BookShop in Hollywood right after I had moved to LA in 1977. Larry Edmunds BookShop became my go to bookstore for film books that were not assigned for a specific class. The selection was and still is amazing.