Movie of the Moment

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.

2-4-6-8! C’mon gang, let’s motivate!

Maximum Z motivation, Movie of the Moment, screenwriting, scriptshadow, writer's block
Everybody deserves their own cheering section

Some days the words just won’t come, no matter how much you want them to.

I’ve read lots of accounts where some established screenwriter talks about how they have to sit down and write, even if they don’t feel like it.  But they’re getting paid to write.  Most of us are not.

But what if you want to, like really, really, aching to get it done, but you can’t put words on the page?  Or you’ve been stuck at a particular point, and still can’t figure out how to move forward?

How do you get past this dreadful feeling?  It ain’t easy.  It also doesn’t help much to read high-quality scripts. Those are the competition, and my stuff has to be equally as good, if not better than them.  Somedays it’s hard to think my scripts will be that good.  But I take a look at my earlier work, and see some definite progress.  Maybe I have a shot after all.

I also remind myself that I like doing this.  It’s fun.  If it got too work-like, then I would dread sitting and facing the empty white screen.  But it’s not, and I don’t.  This is what I was meant to do.

Things are a little hectic around here, so my dedicated time to write has been severely limited. But I’m working on fixing that, or at least, arranging to be able to write.

Once I do, conditions will improve, blocks will be torn down and pages of oh-so-impressive work will flow forth. See?  The creativity is already starting.

I feel better already.

-Movie of the Moment – MARS NEEDS MOMS (2011). Mars kidnaps Earth moms to extract their child-rearing abilities. Boy accidentally comes along, sets out to rescue her. Neat idea, but poorly executed. Overall, kind of dull.  Clever use of motion capture technology, a la POLAR EXPRESS, but too many parts just dragged along.

It was obvious that Joan Cusack was the mom, but I didn’t realize it was Seth Green as the boy (with a younger actor providing the voice).  Apparently this had the 12th-worst opening in US history. I can see why.  This was also based on a Berke Breathed book (creator of BLOOM COUNTY), which I haven’t read.  Feels like when they take a short source material and try to stretch it into a feature film, the material always suffers.

-Sorry to report that ScriptShadow did not choose my Zombie Western for the Halloween week Amateur Friday script. Can’t that I’m too surprised. I wrote that about 8 years ago, so the writing’s probably a little weak. No complaints, though. Maybe they’ll use the Jewish Cook, Chinese Restaurant script in the future.

Feel free to write in and tell him so.

Argh again

Maximum Z Movie of the Moment, screenwriting, writer's block
Summing up my mood quite nicely

Ever have one of those days where you think you’re going to have a breakthrough moment, but nothing does?  Or the answer to a nagging problem seems just out of reach, but then you realize it’s even farther away than you thought?

That’s what’s happening to me right now with the LUCY outline. I’m stuck in a section right after the midpoint, and can’t figure my way out of it.  Which is really frustrating.  I really like everything that’s led up to where I am now, which has apparently become a big ol’ unscalable wall.

I’m waiting for that one little spark of creativity to put things back in motion.  More importantly, trying to force it out will make its appearance even less likely, so I have to step back, take a deep breath and other kinds of relaxation cliches.

Regarding the DREAMSHIP rewrite, progress on that front has also been slow due to working a ton of split shifts (morning and afternoon drive), reading and commenting on scripts, a freelance project and the usual daily routine.  I used to shoot for 3 pages a day, which is a pretty good system, but lately I may have to alter that to an hour a day because it may be easier to acheive.

Part of my frustration also stems from wanting to be done. This is more of a ‘sense of accomplishment’ standpoint, rather than ‘I just want this to be over!’ one.  I know I’ll finish this eventually, but prefer it were sooner than later.

And now, return of the Movie of the Moment with still another double-hit. First, THE CRAZIES (2010), a horror about a small town in Iowa that gets hit with a virus that turns its victims into mindless killers.  Some good moments of suspense, not as much gore as I was expecting, and a female lead who can’t stop wandering into dangerous situations.  Nothing special.

Second, REAL STEEL (2011), or as some like to call it, ROCK ‘EM SOCK ‘EM ROBOTS: THE MOVIE. V was keen on seeing it, so we took in a matinee.  Basically, this is ROCKY with robots. It was fun and pretty predictable. I didn’t mind seeing it in the theatre, but wouldn’t have had a problem with watching it on Netflix.

While the special effects were high-quality, I was most impressed with the acting of Dakota Goyo as Hugh Jackman’s son.  The kid really holds his own.

The kid has potential

Maximum Z Movie of the Moment, screenwriting, scriptshadow, Triggerstreet
What that first draft seems like

Reading so many scripts over the past few weeks has motivated me to consider sending some of my older work to TriggerStreet and ScriptShadow to see what kind of response I might get.  I like to think my writing has improved since I first started out, but it would be interesting to see what others think of some earlier efforts.

I have two scripts I’d be willing to put on display, but first I had to find them from within my scattered files and flashdrives.  I managed to dig up my zombie western from just over 8 years ago. I skimmed through the first act, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought.  The writing’s a little weak, but it moves along nicely.  I had completely forgotten just about everything apart from the main story.  I think a lot of it still works, including some of the jokes.  Some of those still hold up too.

This isn’t my best work. Far from it. I had to stop myself from rewriting certain lines because I wanted to leave it untouched.  I like the idea of sending it out as is to see what kind of reaction the me of 8 years ago would get.

A writer should occasionally go back and look over their early stuff to gauge how their skills have developed and (hopefully) improved.  You may be pleasantly surprised by a scene or snippet of dialogue you don’t remember whatsoever, then be even more surprised when you realize “Hey, I did write that, didn’t I?”

Movie of the Moment: THE RED SHOES (1948). I’d been led to believe this was a classic. Apparently it’s one of Scorsese’s favorites, but I was bored, and subsequently disappointed.  I don’t mind ballet, but this just didn’t do anything for me.