Netflix

Gimme a few seconds to catch my breath

Maximum Z half-marathons, hockey, Movie of the Moment, multitasking, Netflix, networking, parenting, running, screenwriting, script, Stage 32, writing
I'll get back to work in a minute. Promise.
I’ll get back to work in a minute. Promise.

Hokey smokes, am I exhausted. But it’s a good exhausted because there’s just so darned much going on in my universe.

First and foremost, the churning-out of pages continues. It’s a good thing I know how to edit, because it’s really going to be necessary. Basically, my scene-to-page ratio is rapidly becoming misproportioned. A scene originally intended as half a page ends up being one, one and a quarter pages, so I’ll have to figure out how to cut it down to the absolute bare bones and make it, say, a quarter of a page. Challenging, yes, but doable.

In some ways, the transition from outline to pages at first seemed rash and premature. But since I think my writing is a lot stronger than it was before, it doesn’t bother me as much. As a result, I can crank out 1-2 pages a day with confidence, and be as equally confident that the inevitable editing phase will be just as effective.

What’s also cool is being able to write while V takes part in her many after-school activities.  I find a nice, quiet spot and type away. Productive and makes the time fly by. Even better if there’s free wifi (loves me that Pandora!).

-Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve become more active within the online community Stage 32, which connects all type of creative folks from around the world. I’ve made some great connections, including the sharing and critiquing of pages, as well as somebody who read my script and offered to forward it to an associate with a ‘highly recommend’ label attached.  Nice.

-I haven’t been able to run as much as I’d like to, but I make sure to get a good one in on weekends. This past Saturday, I did 12.44 miles in 1:50 and change, for a pace of about 8:45. It felt great, and boosted my hope of breaking 1:55 at the Oakland Half-marathon on March 24th.

Not sure if it’s my shoes or just me getting old, but lately my right heel has been getting really sore after I run. It seems to hit a few hours later, and originally lasted for about a day, but the length of time and intensity of pain have each been shrinking. My retired-doctor father says it’s bursitis. K thinks it’s the shoes, which are about a year old. Knowing me, it’s probably both.

-Movie of the Moment – GOON (2011) If you like hockey, you’re going to love this.  I don’t even remember if it was released in theatres, but it’s on Netflix streaming now. Seann William Scott plays completely against type and is very effective as a soft-spoken, nice guy thrust into the ragtag world of Canadian minor-league hockey.  A lot of fun, but knowing something about hockey will definitely increase your enjoyment.

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.

Not yet, but almost

Maximum Z creativity, half-marathons, Los Angeles, Netflix, outlines, productivity, rewrite, running, screenwriting, story, The Walking Dead, writing
Must…stay awake…finish…rewrite….zzzz

Man, am I pooped.  But it’s a good pooped. Which actually sounds somewhat disgusting. But back to my original point.

K’s out of town this week, which makes me the guy responsible for getting V to school on time. As a result, I’ve had to stay home but have been really busy.

Apart from the usual dad stuff (rides to school, soccer, etc), this week has been prime “getting stuff done” time, especially in terms of running and writing.

For running, I’ve been getting ready for the Los Angeles Half-marathon this Sunday. If you’re anywhere along the route, I’ll be the panting, sweaty tall guy.  This’ll be my third half-marathon this year, and I’ve beaten the 2-hour mark for the first two. I’m hoping to hit  1:55 in LA, but don’t know if that’ll happen, although it would be very nice.

Running’s been good to me this year. That, combined with the biking everywhere, as well as trying to eat healthier and avoid crappy stuff, has resulted in me losing about 15 pounds. I’m hovering just below 200, and my jeans are 5(!) sizes smaller than the ones I wore in high school. Not to shabby.

Next up – upper body.

As for the writing, I dove into this rewrite with the intention of finishing it before week’s end.

Mission accomplished.

It’s 7 pages longer than the previous draft, but there’s lots of editing and fine-tuning to work through. Bet I can trim at least 3-4 pages before all is said and done.

Those notes I got over the summer really helped.  I was able to make changes where necessary, as well as throw in some improvements I never even considered before.  The hardest part was coming up with and implementing those changes. At first I resisted, but had to keep reminding myself “This is a rewrite, not a cut-and-paste. There are some things that need to be different.”

You’d be surprised what you can come up with when you throw willingness and openness to change into the mix. It’s almost freeing.

I wasn’t used to being able to spend so much time on a project. Several hours at a stretch.

I came pretty close to burning out at the end, but knew enough to step away when necessary. A short game on the iPhone or some brief internet surfing can actually be beneficial to one’s productivity, but don’t quote me on that.

-Movie of the Moment – still working my way through Season 2 of THE WALKING DEAD. Man, that is some quality stuff. Practically addicting. Looking forward to Season 3, and I still have 4 eps left of Season 2.

Slow, steady, etc.

Maximum Z Netflix, rewrite, screenwriting
vital part of a self-editor's arsenal

Got to page 6, followed by the realization that scenes I had designated in the outline as, say half a page, were turning out more like three-quarters to almost a whole page. This could put a serious dent in my plan to fit the next 5 scenes into the next 4 pages. I suspect I’ll have some serious editing to do. I hope I don’t have to cut scenes, but if I do, so be it.

-Since Netflix drastically raised their rates, we’ve gone to the 1-disc/unlimited streaming plan. It’ll take some getting used to, since it was nice being able to finish one disc, send it back, watch the next one the next day, then get the first one’s replacement the day after that. Now we send it back, then deal with the 2-day gap.

I suspect I’ll watch more TV series via streaming since that appears to be an easier option.

On a whim, we checked out an episode of the old Spider-Man cartoon from the 60s. While the animation is still pretty simple, the colors looked brand spanking new. Really bold and vibrant.

This may finally be the kick in the pants I need to finally check out Battlestar Galactica.

Still going strong

Maximum Z Movie of the Moment, My One and Only, Netflix, rewrite, screenwriting
Yeah. Kind of like that...

Except for the very last scene, I’ve made it through a revamped outline of Act One.  I know I’ve said this before, but the scenes really do seem to move along at a somewhat brisker pace.  I also noticed how a lot of extra, unnecessary action has been cut.

There’s always this feeling of…accomplishment when I rewrite something in a completely different way. Not only does it still work, but it works better.  That’s kind of how it feels with this.

The goal now is to get the actual pages done, which may not take as long as I think. At least that’s how it seems.

Since I’m working extended shifts this week and next, my “get it done at work” mode has been severely inhibited.  I’ll try to make some progress with tightening things up for at least the first half of Act Two during that time. My editing hat sits at the ready.

-Movie of the Moment – MY ONE AND ONLY, a drama about well-tanned actor George Hamilton’s mother, before he was famous. K put this on our Netflix queue, but I had heard about it.  Renee Zellweger plays the lead, and does a formidable job portraying a beautiful woman past her prime who leaves her philandering bandleader husband (played by a leathery-faced Kevin Bacon), and takes her two teenage sons across the country, looking for a husband, or at least somebody to support her financially.

For such a specific story that you know has a happy ending (George becomes an actor), it was the literal journey the characters took that was so interesting.  For the most part, they work their way west from New York to Los Angeles, stopping wherever there may be a chance for help.  Throughout it all, Zellweger keeps the mother’s attitude positive, despite the obviousness of how desperate she’s becoming.  It was nice to see her really work her acting muscles.

Although this looked like a small production, there were several well-known actors in small parts, primarily those of the mother’s potential suitors.  Even more interestingly, the real George Hamilton never appears whatsoever. But there is a line of dialogue soon after they get to LA where George is told to get to the beach and get some sun because he’s so pale. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was intentional.