The deadline for the Nicholl Fellowships is coming up fast – May 1st! – and I keep going back and forth as to whether I want to submit DREAMSHIP.
I like how the rewrite’s been coming along and think it’s pretty solid, but I want to be absolutely sure the end result is what I want it to be, which could mean another pass at it once I finish this rewrite/edit.
A tough choice, actually.
I’ll have more time to write between now and then, so I’m hoping to have a better idea of what I’d like to do near the end of the month. Either way, I’ll end up with a script I like, and that’s the important part.
If you’ve already sent yours in, good for you. If not, are you and your script ready?
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.
I didn’t have a lot of time to write today, so I made a point of finishing the first two scenes.
It may not sound like much, but I had discovered after almost finishing the first one that I had completely ignored its original intent and done a slight revamping of an earlier draft.
That’s when the light bulb went off.
I had the complete and utter freedom to write whatever I damn well felt was best for the scene this time around, and didn’t have to refer back to earlier drafts.
I erased about half the scene and started anew. I also realized I could put in, or at least hint at some exposition here, which would save me from trying to cram it all in later. I could spread it around accordingly.
It felt great. I’ll have a little more time tomorrow, so with luck I can maybe get to page 5 or so. Which would be very nice.
-Jeffrey Wells, the brains behind Hollywood Elsewhere, was in town yesterday and today to check out something at Dolby. I suspect he left earlier today, but I passed his hotel around 9:30am. Couldn’t help but slow down to see if he might be around. Given the opportunity to meet him, I’d just tell him I really enjoy his work. Nothing too overly gushy.
While I don’t always agree with his reviews, he’s a great writer about a great many other things. Definitely not one to pull his punches. One of a handful of blog/sites I check daily.
-Movie of the Moment: IP MAN, a thrilling martial arts flick set at the outbreak of WWII. I’m only 35 minutes into it, but some of the fight scenes have been phenomenal.
I heard about it through Ain’t It Cool, which is not exactly the most objective of sites. Still, I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of it. Have to think about whether or not to see the sequel.
As always, recommendations for any film, any genre, are welcome.
Except for a few tweaks and added-in details, I think the latest outline is done. Still not entirely sure the last few scenes are a little rushed, but for the most part, I like what I’ve got.
Looking at all that text makes me wonder if I tightened this thing up that much, if at all. But my initial overall feeling is it’s better than it was before.
I’ve also been wondering about some of the set-up scenes; are they good enough? Do they explain enough? Will the reader be able to follow along? I’ve been guilty of writing with information the reader may not have, so I’ll have to be careful about that.
Because I think it may be time to move on to the next level:
Pages. Which I’m pretty excited about.
My s.o.p. in the past has been at least 3 pages a day. Seems doable.
Ideal situation – done by the end of August/Labor Day. Again, seems doable.
Into the abyss.
Movie of the Moment – K and I watched FIDO, a much better-than-expected zombie flick from about 5 years ago. Imagine WWII was against zombies, and they lost. Now the living dead are outfitted with collars inhibiting their flesh-eating tendencies, so now they function in society as a kind of subservient, manual labor.
This particular story is about a loser kid who at first treats the family’s new zombie as a pet (hence the title), but soon kind of sees him as a sort of surrogate father.
Set in a well-presented 50’s setting, the film takes the subject seriously but adds equal amounts of camp. Not as gory as you would think, but an interesting take on a subject near and dear to K’s heart.
Added bonus – comedian Billy Connolly in the title role. He never says a word, apart from the standard grunts and growls, so his acting is all expression. Very impressive.
-I started watching EATING RAOUL, which I remember Siskel & Ebert reviewing way back when on Sneak Previews, which aired on WHYY in Philadelphia.
I knew Paul Bartel co-wrote and directed, but had only seen clips, and even those were a long time ago.
Even though I’m about halfway through, everything so far has been freakin’ hilarious. Extremely dated, especially with the whole swingers lifestyle subplot, but just a smart little comedy that still generates laughs. Can’t wait to finish it.
-Still don’t know if I’ll get to X-MEN or SUPER 8 in theatres. I’ll try, but looks like they may be sentenced to Netflix while HARRY POTTER and CAPTAIN AMERICA get closer.
Benefit of working ridiculously early hours – catching the first show of the day at the local AMC theatres. ticket price – $6! Makes my bought-at-Walgreens-and-smuggled-in M&Ms taste that much better.
You never realize how much you miss writing on a semi-daily basis when you don’t get to do it for a while.
But I’m back home and ready to tackle my assorted projects. Actually, we’ve been home since early this week but I’ve had practically no time to work on the outline or on this blog.
The time away was nice. It’s always pleasant to visit the in-laws, but eating and big meals are a constant part of these trips, so I feel like I gained about 5 pounds. Lots of carb-, sugar- and sodium-heavy stuff. But now that I’m home, I can eat things my body is used to. Like vegetables.
As expected, I didn’t get a lot of writing done during this trip. The closest I came to anything like that was during the flight out. K took a look at what I had so far for DREAMSHIP. She liked it. Good enough for me.
Problem now is I need to take care of Act Three, but I don’t want to rush through it. I want to make sure everything works the way it’s supposed to.
I did the midday traffic shift yesterday and was frustratingly blocked. I like to think it’s my subconscious saying “For crying out loud, don’t mess this up!” Or at least hope that’s what it is.
Hoping to get the outline done this coming week, fine-tune it as necessary, then start on pages. Fingers firmly crossed.
-Movie of the Moment. Never got around to seeing SUPER 8 or X-MEN in theatres, so will probably catch ’em both on Netflix.
The day after we returned, I took V to see GREEN LANTERN. What a disappointment! I’d tried to not read too many spoiler-laden reviews, but the one thing I kept hearing was “lame second act.” And that really applied.
When you’re watching a comic book/superhero movie, you should not be thinking “why isn’t the main character doing more superhero-ish stuff?” Hal should not have returned to Earth. I wanted to see him really learning what it took to be a Green Lantern.
It didn’t help that it took Carol telling him something like “you don’t need to be fearless; just have courage to face your fears” for him to complete the character arc. Just awful.
Why would you make a movie about a space cop and keep him on his home planet for most of the time?
I didn’t have a problem with the cgi/ring effects. I thought they were pretty good, and there should have been more of them. After all: that’s what the ring does.
And that mask? Ugh. I was really worried they were going to go the ‘can’t recognize him ‘ way, but was pleasantly surprised they didn’t.
In summary” First act: pretty good. Second act: terrible. Third act: good for what it was, which isn’t saying much. I feel bad for Warner Brothers, but you should make a good story to appeal to all moviegoers. Not just the fanboys. They’re never happy.
I hadn’t realized it until the other day, but this summer movie season seems to be going on forever.
I’d still like to see CAPTAIN AMERICA and COWBOYS & ALIENS, but those don’t come out until later this month. And CAP would have been an appropriate open for this weekend, but I suspect everybody was already suffering from comic book movie fatigue.
Maximum Z 