“Blayne isn’t a name, it’s an appliance,”
Jon Cryer as “Duckie”, Pretty in Pink 1986

This week I had the pleasure of talking to Blayne Weaver, the director and writer of Weather Girl, a film that is due out later today. The premise is a weather girl finds out that her boyfriend is cheating with a co-worker, and decides to air their dirty laundry on live TV, resulting in the loss of her relationship, home and career. The release timing is right on–in this economy, I’m sure a lot of people will relate to the story.

Blayne originally moved to LA when he was 19 and attended UCLA. He started out as an actor, and like many other successful writers, started writing to create work for himself. Today, he has a company called Secret Identity Productions, that he runs with Brandon Barrerra. The two guys are childhood friends from Louisiana, and have done a few projects together, including their first film, Outside Sales, which resulted in them selling their house to finance the project. He told me he ended up waiting tables at The Village Idiot for the next two years, and still recommends it as a great hang out.

I ask about the company name and I get a funny story about one of their initial projects, where they both had to dress in tights the whole time. Blayne also adds that he was a fat kid and that the cool director persona is kind of like his secret identity. This guy is not at all what I expected! When I ask him if he knows his star rating is up 6% on IMDB, we both laugh when he says yes.

Anyway, Blayne’s not waiting tables any more. This week, the Hollywood Reporter announced that Weather Girl has been picked up for home video by Screen Media Films and for television by Lifetime, which plans on airing the pic in October. Blayne told me that the project is now officially profitable and that nothing will make him happier than signing the back end checks for actors who put their faith into the project. Popular actors in the film include Mark Harmon (NCIS), the male lead, Jane Lynch (40 Year Virgin, Best in Show) who plays Tricia’s boss, and Jon Cryer. (Two and a Half Men) A fun fact about Blayne’s working with Cryer is that apparently when they first started working together, the actor called to apologize for making the director’s life miserable as a child with his character, Duckie’s memorable unfavorable statement about the name, Blayne, in the John Hughes film, Pretty in Pink.

Blayne’s star is Tricia O’Kelley, (The New Adventures of Old Christine) who worked with him before in Outside Sales, so he probably thought he knew her pretty well. Then she revealed that she was pregnant when shooting was getting started for Weather Girl. She didn’t want to tell anyone, so Blayne didn’t either. When a scene came up where she was supposed to rough house with an actor who was playing her brother, they just brought in a stunt person. Apparently Tricia was afraid the crew would think she was a prima donna though, so she started to confide in some of the females on the set. Finally, just about everyone knew, and Blayne laughed that he was probably the only one keeping the secret.

They shot Weather Girl in Seattle, which was the first time Blayne had ever been. “I wanted to give this romantic comedy a completely different feel.” When they got up there with the crew, though, it was sunny, beautiful weather and he actually had to obtain a rain machine for one scene.

He gushes over producer Steak House, who he talks about as a key player in the production. He says,“We hit it off” after he originally hired her as a line producer, and she became “irreplaceable immediately.” Ultimately she got much more involved as a producer, including interviewing potential crew, and even taking over firing one individual when it had to be done.

Blayne’s a disciplined writer, and says he works daily, “usually with coffee, pizza and eventually wine.” He feels lucky, especially when he drove into Westwood yesterday and even though he’s stressed out all the time, emphatically told me “I love my job.” I asked him about a life work balance and he laughed “there is no such thing.”

The budget for the film is supposed to be $500,000.00 and the P&A budget for this film is a paltry $60,000.00 (so far). Blayne seems to think their Internet marketing has helped build a grassroots momentum and we discuss Facebook, MySpace and of course, Twitter. I tell him I’d like to see more tweets, and as I’ve pointed out before, since they had 8 followers last time I checked, I have to think that tweeting more will help build a larger fan base. Blayne is fun to talk to, and is as warm and open as an old friend. I think fans would definitely enjoy following his tweets in his continued successful journey in the biz.

I am scheduled to be on the Red Carpet tonight for Weather Girl at the LA Film Festival tonight. LA residents, it will be playing at the Laemmle Sunset 5 beginning July 10th. Like most fans, I look forward to seeing the stars and team behind the film, especially Blayne.