After a good deal of planning I am on my way.  Joining me for the duration of this trip are two assistant cameramen.  My first A.C. is Tony Martin.  He’s based out of L.A., but let’s not hold that against him.  Tony cuts quite a profile.  Mutton chop side burns and dual hoop earrings.  He’ll create quite a stir in some of the smaller villages we shoot in Egypt.  The Copts, Hasid’s, and Kurds are all going to learn a thing or two about style.  He has worked with me before in Israel and Guatemala.  He can quote a million bad movies, and for this reason alone he is a valuable member of my team.  My second A.C. is Matt Gordon.  He’s New York based, but extremely well traveled.  He’s done documentary work in Serbia and the Czech republic.  He’s in training as an A.C., and if he doesn’t get beat up by the 1300 plus pound of equipment we are carrying, this should prove to be a real learning experience for him.  He and Tony have worked together a few times and they seem to have developed a comedic shorthand which will make the wearying elements of life on the road that much more bearable.  Although this is the first time I have traveled with Matt I am confident that he will prove to be an asset, too.

I leave New York with the right balance of excitement, anxiety, enthusiasm, Maalox, and Power Bars.  There will be no parasites on this job.  I had enough antibiotics after the Guatemala shoot to kill an infection one might normally get from having a leg pitched in pine tar after a quickie amputation.  So, if it looks delicious, don’t succumb, eat the Cliff Bar.  Don’t worry Mom!

The first stop is Tel Aviv.  Israel means a great deal to many people around the world.  A spiritual ground zero.  The birthplace of Christ.  The Dome of the Rock.  The Wailing Wall.  Chicks with guns!  It’s all how one chooses to look at it.

We will travel to Jerusalem, The Dead Sea, the Negev, and the Red Sea.  Along the way I’ll film a variety of people and landscapes.  I’m most excited about filming at a Bedouin ranch in the Negev. We’ll sleep in tents, albeit a little more comfortable than the standard Nomad’s accommodations.

I urge you all to write obsessively.  Not novels or screenplays, but e-mail to your friend in the Holy Land.  I’ll put in a good word with God.