creativity

Boing boing boing

Maximum Z creativity, Dreamship, motivation, Radioslot.com, rewrite, running, screenwriting, scriptshadow, The Script Adventurer!
Yeah, kind of like that

What a day.

Avid readers/followers of ScriptShadow will no doubt be aware that an amateur script is currently the absolute hottest thing in the film industry right now.  Said script will be officially reviewed tomorrow (there, not here). There is so much buzz about this script that when Carson sent it out to his readers yesterday, he mentioned how he’d received more voicemails in one day asking for it than any other time or for any other script he could remember.  And that the writer had received calls from just about every single major agency, production company and studio, asking about making a deal and/or representation.

To put it in perspective, that’s like being the holding the only winning ticket for the highest-ever lottery in the history of mankind.

The first thing I thought: Wow. That must be some script.

Second thought: Lucky bastard.

Third thought: Wish I could get that kind of response from my stuff.

I’m sure there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other writers who are thinking the same things.  But I can’t stress enough that I don’t resent this writer his success.  I read the script, and it is extremely good.  Definitely high concept. Compelling premise and story. Interesting characters.  A definite page-turner.  Smart.  This guy has earned his rewards.

(Without giving too much away, it came across as a modern interpretation of THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. Not necessarily a bad way to go.)

While it was easy to feel sorry for myself, I didn’t like disappearing into a “poor me” mood and instead opted to do something about it.

I went for a run. (New Orleans Half-marathon is a week from Sunday. I think I’m ready.) That always helps me reflect on whatever might be bugging me at the time.  It’s also good for clearing one’s head.

After I got home, I knew I had some time to work on DREAMSHIP, including incorporating the additional scenes I mentioned yesterday. That went a lot better than expected. One scene I really wanted to do just wasn’t going to work, but I managed to find a good alternate way of doing it.

I also reminded myself that my script is completely different from his on several levels, but still has to be rock-solid.  And more importantly: this is only the first draft of the rewrite, so I shouldn’t be so hard on myself.  Once I type in “FADE OUT”, then I can go back and see what needs to be fixed.

So a day that started off making me upset ended up with me feeling pretty darned good about things.  The key now is figuring out how to keep that latter feeling going into the next day.

Shameless self-promotion: The Script Adventurer! on Radioslot, live on Mondays 1-2PM PST, and replayed Sundays at 7PM PST. What, you’d rather watch 60 MINUTES?  Of course, the Oscars are this Sunday, so I won’t be offended if you opt to watch that instead.

 

Air! Stat!

Maximum Z contest, creativity, Movie of the Moment, screenwriting, script doctor eric, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, writing gigs
And...exhale

Despite a busier-than-usual weekend, I managed to crank out a kinda-sorta decent revised outline.  It’s far from perfect, but hopefully the director will find it acceptable.  When your subconscious is screaming at you to wake up and get to work, you tend to listen.  Especially when you only have so much time to work with.

Sometimes a tight deadline can make you come up with things from completely out of nowhere.  For a while I thought I was stuck, but took a step back, considered “how about…?” and out it came. It’s nice when your brain cooperates.

-This is the director I wrote a 10-minute short for last year.  I got a pair of DVD copies of the finished film, but it’s also on YouTube here.  Overall, not too bad for a first produced effort.  Only problem is he cut out a key scene in the middle that really tied all the subplots together.  He included it on one of the discs; I’ll see if I can post the entire film in the Portfolio section.  Give it a look-see and let me know what you think; feedback is always welcome.

-I found another motivator to finish DREAMSHIP here.  The logline always seemed like it was almost perfect; this is the chance to make it so and see how the script fares.

-Movie of the Moment – WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? (1988) This was playing at the movie theatre I worked in after graduating high school.  We were the only theatre playing it for what felt like the entire tri-county area, and had the crowds to show it.  I’ve seen this more times than just about any other movie that doesn’t involve Jedi Knights or flying DeLoreans and can jump right in to any spot in the dialogue and follow along.  Some of the luster and novelty has worn off, but it’s still a tight story and definitely told in an original way.  It’s also better enjoyed in a theatre, rather than at home.

K suggested V and I watch it.  One thing you should know about my child is that at the end of a busy day (i.e. school, or in this case day camp), she tends to slow down. Significantly.  Not to the point of actually falling asleep, but darned close.  She wasn’t as full of questions while we watched, but sometimes would ask why something was happening.  I don’t think she has a full understanding of what constitutes a traditional cartoon, so a lot of the jokes and gags went right over her head.  Maybe we’ll try again in a few years.

Good and not-so-good

Maximum Z creativity, loglines, mystery, outlines, screenwriting, scriptshadow, writing gigs
much nicer to be thinking out here

Working with this director is becoming an exercise in keeping my sanity in check. We had a brief conversation the other night about what exactly he wants, or at least is looking for, in this short project.

I came up with something I thought was pretty unique and, according to a friend who actually writes mysteries, contained some good setups with a “sucker punch twist” at the end. I’ll take that as high praise.

But it didn’t jibe with what he wanted.  Because he’s been reading some mysteries on his own, including a few Sherlock Holmes.  He says there’s a pattern to be followed. Victim, clues, solution.  And he also has a list called something like “50 rules of mysteries”.  Oh dear lord.

I offered that if you saw 4 mysteries, and 3 of them followed the same pattern and the 4th was different, wouldn’t you be more likely to remember the different one?  Didn’t work.

While he appreciated my take on the story, he wanted the more traditional approach, but also to punch it up even more. “Go bigger” seemed to be his mantra.  For some reason, he again referenced INCEPTION. I really hope he’s seen more movies than just that.

He wants the outline by Tuesday, which I’m fine with. Most of the story is in place. I just need to move a few details around.  But he wants a ready-to-go draft by January 1st so he can immediately start on pre-production and casting.  Based on how his previous project progressed, I think he’s being a little too ambitious.

The only positive spin I can put on this is that it’s really testing my abilities.  On several levels.  I don’t mind. It’s good exercise, writing-wise.

Now, while I probably should have been spent time on his outline, I opted to do some more work on DREAMSHIP.  I had two scenes that seemed way too similar, and my protagonist was being more reactive than active.

Implementing the changes wasn’t as hard as I expected, and I think both turned out better than before.  Honestly, this thing is really coming together.

-Just a brief note on something going on over at ScriptShadow. The First Ten Pages competition is taking place this week. Readers were invited to send in their log line and first ten pages, and the rest of the readers would vote on which ones looked the most interesting.

I meant to take part, but never got around to it.  I don’t know what kind of chance I would have had. After reading some of the 50 finalists, I can’t help but wonder if some of these people have a grasp of what is expected of them.  Some of the loglines were just too confusing, or didn’t make the story sound interesting.

I always thought the logline summed up the protagonist’s objective, who/what stands in their way and what could happen if they don’t achieve that objective, all in a way to make the reader/viewer want to know more. How do you screw that up?

Apparently quite easily.