FIREBALL POP (Anthony Lawrence) passes quietly at 96…

Last night, we had a screening of our film 21 MILES in MALIBU at the Santa Monica College Annex here in Malibu. A very tough film to watch, even though I’m Executive Producer and have seen it many times. But the emotion was compounded by the news that my father ANTHONY LAWRENCE finally succumbed to his illness and passed about 2 hours before. It was rough…

We have all experienced loss, but moderating a panel of experts on the subject of PCH about grief and loss was a unique experience as I felt the raw pain so close in my loss. But it was important for so many that we share our grief together in one location that it helped tremendously. We had the entire Malibu City Council, Pepperdine and Santa Monica Chairs and faculty and concerned residents. It was a huge success and I’m grateful to all…

My Dad was a very high-performance person and he never shied away for the idea that working hard created results. But as he built an enormous body of work, he struggled with childhood trauma that haunted his every step. Demons of an unwanted child. But he did something with that pain that my good friend Producer Michel Shane did in last night’s film. He channeled and transformed this pain into power by writing for film and TV in a way that was severely unmatched.

Thousands of published pieces came for the hunt and pecking fingers of my Dad over nearly 70 years in the Industry. On a typewriter. The list far to long to place here, but included OUTER LIMITS, BEN CASEY, BONANZA, HAWAII 5-O, Marcus Welby MD, Wagon Train, The Rifleman, 3 ELVIS films, Route 66, The Fugitive, Rat Patrol and SO many others that it boggles the mind. He was an icon of precise power, channeled into story-telling for the enjoyment of others.

But the thing is… he had the same thing that we all have. Time to build on our passion and make the world better. And he did this for 96 years. So thinking about whether I should have done the event last night or not was a no-brainer and I heard my Mom’s voice say… “Get busy, dummy.” So I did.

We are all given this gift called LIFE, but many of us squander it on pettiness with arguments and criticisms instead of getting off our asses and getting busy. It’s a sad excuse, but it’s an excuse and you know it.

My Dad got a call a few years ago from the President of the Motion Picture Home where he lived here in LA. Someone wanted to meet him and was a big fan. A HUGE fan. So, about 20 minutes later, there was a knock at the door. My dad opened it to find Director Christoper Nolan standing there with a big smile on his face. You know, the Award Winning Director of OPPENHEIMER, INCEPTION, INTERSTELLAR and TENET to name a few small films. (Google it) My Dad was his writing hero as Chris knew that he was one of the pioneers of 60’s Science Fiction Television.

They sat for an hour and discussed story-telling, ideas and much more. (I’m sure there was food in there somewhere as well.) But all I could ponder was the idea of getting a knock like that at my door and James Cameron standing there. I’d fall flat on the floor and go into a conceptual convulsion. It’ wouldn’t be good to watch. But imagine, sitting there with my Dad and Chris as they discussed ideas for film future. I’d me sitting there drooling with no control over body functions.

I loved my Dad tremendously and had incalculable respect for him and his work strength. It drives me every day in building something special for you guys. Without comparing to others or what they’ve done, but just putting my head down and producing massive amount of car and movie coolness. Will I succeed at it? Well, my grand-kids like it, so I’d say yes. But I work every day to LIVE LIFE FULLY. And I want you to think about this.

Stop waiting and GET BUSY. Stop worrying and GET BUSY. Stop criticizing others for race, color, size, pronoun, voice or anything else that WASTES YOUR TIME and GET BUSY.

Choosing to be happy now, despite what’s happening in the outside world or in your life, is the key to a wonderful life.

We all have crap to contend with, but you can either waste your time in the importance of BEING RIGHT, or you can KICK ASS in the world and produce at a level that you never have before. Be a Machine. It’s up to you, but I don’t give a shit about being right anymore. I just want to have fun, love much and create cool shit for the world. And that’s my commitment to you with my Dad’s spirit beside me now.

I love you Dad. Enjoy your time with Mom. I don’t think she’s done kicking your ass… and you’re gonna feel it.