Month: November 2011

More days like this, please

Maximum Z comedy, found footage, Movie of the Moment, outlines, screenwriting, story, Willy Wonka
We all deserve one

In terms of writing, Monday was fantastic.  I got to the midpoint of my revamped LUCY outline, and I really like how things are developing.  It has a genuine pulp-y feel, which is kind of what I was going for.

The rest of Act Two still looms, so how that works out is still being developed.  The previous draft has a lot of stuff I can’t use anymore, so getting through it will be a bit of a slog.

Didn’t get to work on DREAMSHIP pages, but the editing of the first act continues. Hoping to get back into that sometime next week.  Over the weekend I realized it’s been about a year since I got my Script Quack notes. That really was the kick in the pants I needed to get started on this rewrite.  Definitely worth it.  Click on their link over there on the right to check ’em out.

-You’ve probably noticed the growing trend of the ‘found footage’ genre.  THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, CLOVERFIELD, and the forthcoming CHRONICLE.  And the spec market seems to be growing with more and more unique takes on it.

I think I’ve stumbled onto a potentially great idea for one.  And even better, it fits perfectly with a story idea I came up with years ago.  I don’t want to divulge any details just yet, but I’ve got the logline down on a long-standing list of story ideas, with the intent of coming back to it later.  What’s nice is that I can keep track of the market and see how any new scripts compare with mine.  Knowing me, I probably won’t get to this until sometime next year, but it’s definitely an idea worth holding on to.

-Movie of the Moment: BRIDESMAIDS (2011). It must be me.  I didn’t think this was the comedic work of genius I was led to believe it was.  There were some funny moments in the second half, but overall I wasn’t impressed.  Some of my co-workers thought it was hilarious, so maybe I would have enjoyed it more in the theatre, rather than at home.  But this isn’t something I would have paid to see.

I bet as soon as this was a hit, they announced plans for a sequel.  No doubt this time it’s Annie who’s getting married.  Such originality!  Puh-leeze. Spare me.

-On a more positive note, we watched WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (1971) because V had caught the second half on TV and wanted to see it from the beginning.  She loved it.  One of those films that holds up after numerous viewings.  We’ll probably see the Tim Burton version this weekend.  While Gene Wilder definitely makes for a more interesting Wonka, I like the Danny Elfman songs in the Burton version a little more.

If we’re really lucky, we may even very slyly ‘convince’ V to read the original book for school.  That would be quite a coup for us.  And even better, she’d probably like it.

I needed that

Maximum Z editing, inspiration, Movie of the Moment, outlines, screenwriting

(One of my absolute favorite clips ever. Impossible to not enjoy.)

For the first time in what feels like weeks, I actually got to do some writer stuff!

A very nice meet-up with the sole remaining member of my old writing group. She liked the first act of DREAMSHIP, then we discussed a stage production she’s working on. Bonus – it involves time travel!  Also got her thinking about how to expand the number of characters and how each could play a role in the overall plot.  I think I like editing and consulting on other people’s stuff almost as much as writing my own.

Then it was typing up what I have so far for the first half of the LUCY outline. I’m still stuck in the latter half of the second act, but figured this was a good way to clear my head and possibly stumble onto a solution.

(I really should have been working on DREAMSHIP pages, but a friend made a great suggestion that I’d like to work in, so I need to make that fix before picking up where I left off.) 

It’s hard to describe, but writing out each scene, expanding it a little, putting in some detail that links it to something that comes later, was incredibly satisfying. Honestly, I got chills putting it on the page. And I’m only up to around page 12.

Part of the thrill comes from the editing.  Scenes I felt were vital turned out to not be, so out they went. Streamlining your story is a wonderful thing.

If I can find about an hour to 90 minutes a day to just focus on writing, I will be such a nicer person to be around.  And that’s really saying something.

-And now, the long-awaited return of Movie of the Moment!  This time – TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON (2011). Still incredibly cheesy, but worlds better than #2.  I’d heard the last hour was pretty good, and I’d agree, but maybe a few too many Amazing Escapes for me.

Nothing unexpected throughout, but the John Malkovich subplot took a weird turn, then completely disappeared about halfway through.

Ear candy

Maximum Z cycling, Filmsack.com, music, Nerdist, NPR, old time radio, podcasts, script doctor eric, The Bugle
From our mouths to your ears

If it’s not raining, I ride my bike to work.  Since it could still be considered the middle of the night when I do (4AM), it’s pretty quiet.  My iPod helps make the ride a little more tolerable.

Probably unlike a lot of people, I don’t do a lot of music. At first it was old radio shows, which I still enjoy, but some of them are starting to lose their luster and I’m slowly adding more podcasts into the mix.

The appeal of the radio shows comes from the quality of the writing, which could be extremely good.  They didn’t call it ‘theatre of the mind’ for nothing.  Even decades later, a lot of the material still works.  You can’t go wrong with a solid episode of Jack Benny or The Shadow.  It’s also fascinating how a show serves as a time capsule, preserving a moment 60 or 70 years in the past.

A few years ago, I attended a panel discussion about old time radio. I must have been the only person there under 55.  The guest of honor was an actor who had been on The Lone Ranger for a few years; his name currently escapes me.  They recreated parts of well-known shows, commercials and jingles and an episode of The Lone Ranger, complete with sound effects.  Probably not the same as watching it back in the day, but still fun.

While there’s no direct modern equivalent, podcasts come pretty close. There are shows covering just about every subject you could think of.  In my case, most of them deal with film (Filmsack), writing (Scriptcast) or a slightly different take on current events (The Bugle and Wait, Wait, Don’t  Tell Me!).  And for overall entertainment value, you can’t go wrong with The Dinner Party or The Nerdist.

The only downside to all this great material is that I can’t listen to it when I want to write. It’s great for bike rides, runs or working in the kitchen, but for work on the outline or pages, that’s when the music kicks in and I thank my lucky stars for the wonderful gloriousness that is Pandora.

What are you listening to these days?