movies

A world of my own design OR Atlas, schmatlas

Maximum Z creativity, geography, history, Movie of the Moment, outlines, research, screenwriting, storytelling, westerns, writing
The land is mine to manipulate as I see fit. So there.
This land is mine to manipulate as I see fit.  So there.

Making some good progress on the western outline. This “working at least 30 minutes a day” thing has really moved things along; actually much faster than originally anticipated. Give it a try if you haven’t already.

Sure, there are still some small details here and there that need to be hammered out, but for the most part the majority of the story is pretty close to being done.

When I started this, I wanted to make it as realistic as possible (or at least as much as a story about a female train engineer in the Old West can be), and that included using real geographic settings.  I wanted the fort here, the showdown here, etc.

But that just raised more questions. If the fort’s here, how far is it to this other point, and how fast would the train have to go in order to get there, and could trains go that fast during that time, and was there even a rail line between those two points?

This was becoming way more complicated than it had to be. I want to tell a story, not set up a math word problem.

So as I was going back and forth between the new and previous drafts, it dawned on me: I can just make stuff up, including where things happen.

I’m the writer. I’m allowed to do that.

So out went locations that actually exist, and in came totally fabricated ones (yet another benefit to all those years of listening to old-time radio westerns).

The feeling’s quite liberating. No longer do I have to worry about making sure every single detail is spot-on accurate, and can now focus on developing a rousing tale of adventure populated with colorful characters.

Which is how it should be.

-Major crisis narrowly averted! I’d lost a flash drive with a lot of script stuff on it. Only during the DREAMSHIP rewrite did I start making additional copies onto my hard drive, so a lot of projects I’d started before that were apparently gone forever.

I did a fairly good job of masking my pain, but was internally kicking myself for not having more backups (20/20 hindsight and all that).

Happy ending – K found the flash drive. Lesson learned – I’m in the process of saving everything on Google Docs so I never have to panic like that again.

You’re probably thinking “that’ll never happen to me. I’m always careful.” I used to think that too. Now it’s all about taking extra precautions.

-Movie of the Moment – FRANKENWEENIE (2012). A lot of fun that cleverly pays homage to classic monster movies. Parental advisory – V cried when the dog was killed (done very tastefully offscreen)

Can’t forget B, C and possibly even D

Maximum Z characters, Movie of the Moment, Netflix, outlines, plot, rewrite, screenwriting, script, storytelling, subplot, Wizard of Oz, writing
It’s not all about Dorothy, right?

It’s been a productive couple of days.  I worked a ton of hours on the air, made two well-received pies for Thanksgiving, and even got some writing in.

I’ve reached the part of the outline that says “The End,” but it’s not time to celebrate just yet.  Far from it.  There’s still a lot that has to be done before those words can really be applied.

While the main storyline has wrapped up, it became glaringly obvious that I’d completely ignored my supporting characters. I was so focused on the main character, I forgot to give the others something to do during the climax/showdown portion of the story.  And that’s just wrong.

This has the potential to become a somewhat sticky problem. It’s important that the individual arcs and storylines/subplots each come to a satisfying conclusion, but just as important not to overdo it and drag things out too long (e.g. LOTR: THE RETURN OF THE KING).  There’s always a way to wrap things up. The challenge is finding the right one AND making sure it works.

As always, this is going to take some carefully-orchestrated and organized planning.

Still, any progress is good progress.

-Movie of the Moment. This weekend was also good for making a dent in our Netflix queue.

-BLACK DYNAMITE (2009) A hilarious satire on blaxploitation films that really feels like it came out of the 70s. Star Michael Jai White was also one of the writers.

-DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (2010) A great combo of martial arts and supernatural mystery set in 7th century China. V was really excited to watch this at first, but in the end was too freaked out. End result – more kids movies for now, leading into…

-PUSS IN BOOTS (2011) or IF ZORRO WAS A CAT. Since there’s a western element, I enjoyed it, and probably would have loved it if I was a cat person.  A sequel to this would be more preferable than yet another SHREK film.

Figuring my way out/through

Maximum Z Disney, goals, ideas, motivation, Movie of the Moment, outlines, problem-solving, rewrite, screenwriting, script, story, storytelling, writing
The solutions are in there somewhere. Just gotta work at finding them

In an attempt to keep the outline momentum going, I’ve been making a sincere effort to squeeze in some writing on a daily basis. Sometimes it may only be 30 minutes or an hour, but I can’t keep making excuses as to why I’m not writing when I’ve got the opportunity to do so.

Lighting a fire under my ass is the only way. This thing ain’t gonna write itself.

And this is especially true now because I’m a few scenes into Act Three, and it’s quickly becoming all uphill from here.

I’ve got a semi-workable previous draft to work from, but some of the story details have been changed.  My next task is basically figure out what happens next using the practical approach: plot out each storyline, then weave them all together into an intricate, compelling and satisfying finale that ties up a lot of loose ends.

Daunting, but not impossible.

Also doesn’t hurt that I’m working a double shift on Thursday, which means lots of time to make some good headway. Dare I even consider reaching The End? We’ll see…

-Movie of the Moment. WRECK-IT RALPH (2012) – the latest from Disney*. If you were part of the 80s arcade experience and stayed involved with video games into the present, then you’ll probably enjoy this.

I liked it, but more for how the story was told, rather than what it was actually about.  It was impressive how there were a lot of setups throughout Acts One and Two that all paid off during the climax of Act Three. (I’ll be keeping this in mind for my outline).

Maybe the one thing that really stuck with me was that during the second half of Act Two, the focus seems to move away from title character Ralph and more towards supporting character Vanellope. I’m trying to figure out how it could have stayed more on Ralph.

As always, the voice talent is perfectly matched with their characters – especially John C. Reilly as Ralph, Jack McBrayer as Felix and Jane Lynch as Calhoun.  It was also surprising to see Sarah Silverman have a much bigger role than expected.

I’d categorize this as another movie I enjoyed in the theatre, but don’t feel like I need to own it. Same thing applies to BRAVE from earlier this year. Still, Disney always does high-quality work and it’s a feast for the eyes on the big screen.

*I originally thought this was a Pixar production, but it’s not. Proper edits have been implemented.

New place, new start

Maximum Z comic books, Marvel Comics, Movie of the Moment, pie, running, screenwriting, writing
Fall is here! Time for pie! (subcategory – pumpkin, subdivision – whipped cream)

Packing was stress-inducing, but the move went smoothly (including movers who were reliably fast and efficient), and the unpacking stage seems never-ending.

But it’s all in the past now. Time now to realign my focus back on the outline and get things done.

Despite not having a chance to actually write over the past week, my creativeness was definitely being put to work, including coming up with a potentially stronger beginning.  You don’t realize how much you miss working on a project until you’re forced to not work on it.

Suffice to say, I’m really hoping to be super-productive over the next few weeks.

-I’m fully recovered from last week’s half-marathon, and now have to resume training for the one next month in the City of Angels. I was hoping to get a run in tomorrow, but part of the move involved switching out TVs, so I’ve got to spend tomorrow afternoon waiting for the friendly neighborhood Cable Guy to show up and check stuff out. Unfortunately, the run will have to wait.

Always seeking the silver lining, I plan on utilizing my time waiting for him by either a) unpacking some more, or b) working on the all-important rewrite. Maybe a little of both.

-It’s been a while, but time now for the triumphant return of MOVIE OF THE MOMENT! – Up today: GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE (2012)!

I think “disorganized mess” sums it up nicely. It veered back and forth between fun comic book-style popcorn flick and predictable, cheesy thriller. Nic Cage was all over the map, but seemed to be enjoying himself.

Too hard to sum up the plot, but something about the Rider having to prevent Satan’s representative on Earth from taking over the body of a 13-year-old boy.  I think.

It wasn’t what you’d call easy to understand, which is especially surprising since David Goyer is one of the credited writers.

Possibly a minor complaint – not enough of the title character in action. Something like 3-4 sequences, including a humongous fiery mining vehicle, but I was hoping for more.

Overall, not a terrible way to spend 95 minutes.

Patience and meticulousness required

Maximum Z agent, Batman, Hollywood Creative Directory, Hollywood Representation Directory, manager, Movie of the Moment, production company, query letter, research, screenwriting, writing
Obviously, a lot of effort went into creating this. See how it paid off?

You think writing a screenplay is hard? Well, it is. But that’s just the first step of the process.  Getting it out there is an even harder hill to climb.

I’ve got a what I consider to be pretty good query letter put together, but will utilize a little more professional feedback to give it that extra ‘oomph’. While consulting various forums, websites and the like, the general consensus is as follows: show the strength of your writing ability with a finely-crafted logline, a minimal amount of words about you and a maximum amount of professionalism.  This thing has to make somebody stop in their tracks and immediately think, “I HAVE to read this script!”

That’s the first part of what I’ve been working on.  The second part is proving to be quite the challenge: who to send this letter to.

I’m taking the scientific approach to this and doing my homework to find out who would be the most receptive to reading my script. Since it falls into the fantasy-adventure genre, I don’t want to look like an amateur and approach a place that does something completely different, such as horror or indie drama. It makes me look bad and wastes their time. Again – maximum amount of professionalism.

Digging through thousands of listings of agents, managers and production companies is proving to be the biggest hurdle. The last time I did this, I had the benefit of using the Hollywood Creative and Representation Directories, but I’m not sure if the publisher is still around. It may be time for another trip to the always-helpful public library and see if the latest editions are available.

Part of my brain is saying “Quit stalling and get moving! There’s no time to lose!” Then the rational part kicks in and says, “Would you rather get it done fast or professionally?”

I’ll take option number two.

Movie of the Moment – THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. I’ll write about this next time, but for now – not as good as THE DARK KNIGHT, but still pretty enjoyable.