Three years later, Jeff decided to visit
Australia, convinced they could make their own feature-length film together. But
Billy was in the throes of post-production on a short film. And a feature film would
have to wait.
So Jeff moved to New Zealand in pursuit of the almighty Xena. A year later, the
two were no closer to making their feature film. 
Billy was
pitching investors on an action script he'd written called Monkey on a Stick, but
wasn't having any luck. So Jeff decided to write 6,000 Miles from Hollywood,
a film they could make in the garage.
Not wanting to make a cheesy, low-budget action or horror flick, and still being
confined to the realm of the "micro-budget," Jeff decided to write a script
around easily-accessible elements Billy had available in Sydney. That way, if nobody
else showed up, 
Billy and Jeff could still make the film
themselves.
Billy had acquired the 16mm film equipment needed -- camera, lights, sound equipment,
flatbed editing table -- to make their film without paying for rentals. So they were
pretty flexible. They could shoot whenever, wherever, and didn't have to rely on too
many other people.
They considered casting other actors to play David and Spy, but, in the end, it just
didn't make sense. 
They'd have to work around actors' schedules, and if someone dropped
out along the way, they'd be royally screwed. Most people underestimate just how
long it takes to make a feature film. Especially when it's being made in a garage.
Besides, they were both working, professional actors in their own right. And
Billy and Jeff knew that they were in it for the long haul, even if no one else
was. So the decision to "do it all ourselves" was made. A pragmatic
decision, borne of the desire to make feature films, and the fear that no one else would
have the stamina to spend three years (and counting) working on it.
And that's how they wound up on both sides of the camera in the greatest Hollywood film
ever made in a Sydney garage.
who had come to L.A. to study acting. They both wanted to
make films, and they both believed each other's delusions of grandeur.
