It’s spring break this week, so script progress has been somewhat limited, but at least it’s still happening. In the meantime…
-Had an unusual case of writer’s block yesterday. Scene notes in the outline had the main character asking something completely out of the blue, and I didn’t want that. Just couldn’t fix it, so rather than sit and stew in frustration, I stepped away. Potential solutions have been brewing ever since.
-Been reading some great material from assorted gurus – check out recent scribblings from Lee Jessup, Erik Bork and Michele Wallerstein. Each has some info and comments worth hearing.
-For all my fellow Passover celebrants, do NOT be misled by the way Manischewitz portrays its products on the packaging. Just about every one of their items tastes the same, no matter what it looks like. Trust me on this one.
-Seriously considering entering DREAMSHIP in the Tracking Board’s Launchpad contest. deadline is Sunday night. Details here.
-2nd year in a row of not being able to attend Wondercon this weekend in Anaheim. It’s usually here, but the idiots who run the venue can’t get their act together so it’s down in SoCal again. Hope fading it’ll return for 2014.
-Movie of the Moment: Since it’s spring break, V and I had a double feature yesterday. First up was OZ THE GREAT & POWERFUL (2013). Liked it, but didn’t love it. Thought it felt kind of sluggish in parts.
And you know how an antagonist’s goal is supposed to be contrary to that of the protagonist? Didn’t really get that here. If they really wanted to stop Oz, wouldn’t they have been more active, rather than just sitting around?
Still, nice to see Sam Raimi include Bruce Campbell’s obligatory cameo, and I think I figured out where the 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 made its appearance (courtesy of a teaser from Campbell himself at a personal appearance a few weeks ago).
-Second movie was JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (2012) Never saw the first film – JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, but this looked like something V would like, and she did. Family-friendly Disney-esque adventure with some honest laughs (courtesy of Dwayne Johnson and Luis Guzman). Not a bad choice for family movie night.
-As always, what are you working on this weekend?
Maximum Z 
The coolest part of the Tracking Board Contest actually happened at the semi-Final level. All 25 scripts were read by a list of top managers and agents most of us only dream about reading our material. That was the real prize.
Believe me, I’m thrilled I made it that far, but unfortunately nobody ever contacted me about it. I’ve gotten over it.
I heard from a few other semifinalists who had similar results, except one guy did hear from somebody’s assistant. Curious to know how the 10 finalists are faring.
As a Semi-Finalist, I got lots of new downloads on the Black List Sales Site (which got me an invitation to some sort of Black List focus group/networking event next week). And an editor for the L.A. Times Sunday Calendar Section called about doing an article on the script and the real-life character in it. Management and agency contacts, so far only someone from Management 360 I already know personally (not sure if he’s just being nice).
But contacts can still happen months down the line. A friend of mine won a contest and heard from Circle of Confusion ten months later (because his script sat in a “slush pile”). I think immediate response from those companies is actually fairly rare.
Not familiar with the Black List Sales Site – what is it in relation to the public site?
But I was pretty lucky in getting a manager via the BL public site before I even entered the TB contest.
I think we’re referring to the same site. I call it the “Sales Site” to distinguish it from the original Black List everyone knows. Good things have come to me on the public site too. Wednesday night, I’m going to a focus group meeting for the site. They seem like they’re reaching out for writers’ experiences to improve the site.
I didn’t realize you’d made it to the top 10 – congrats, and good luck!
Re: BL – I got a slight increase in views, but nothing worth noting for downloads. Like before, it was a little disappointing at first, but I’ve been so busy rewriting the script and related materials, it’s become less of an issue as time passes.