Netflix

Hard-workin’ guy

Maximum Z craigslist, Netflix, YouTube

Real quick script update: Got to page 3. Like what I have so far. Nice feedback from fellow writer/other remaining member of previous writing group.  I really need to relax and have fun while I write; helps make it an easier experience.

I can officially add a new work thing to my resume: on-camera personality.

There was a listing on craigslist around the end of May looking for screenwriters.  I applied and got an offer to come in for an interview.

Turns out it had nothing to do with screenwriting whatsoever.  They’re a small startup looking to provide short narrated videos; such potential subjects are Top 5 lists, real estate listings, the SPCA and so on.  The writing would be putting together the scripts; about 10-20 a week. A lot of work for not much pay, but I didn’t mind.

I had asked about the narration and was asked if I wanted to audition.  Sure; why not?  It could have gone better – I was faster than the teleprompter, but kept a good attitude.

Two weeks pass and I hear nothing.  Ah well. Back to combing the internets. Then I get an email congratulating me on being selected as one of their on-camera narrators!

Boy, they must have thought my writing really sucked.

A date to film some samples was arranged.  I ride out to the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. One I had heard of, but never been to.

Their studio is a converted basement in a house. Very low-tech, but work is work.

It takes me a while to get used to the iPad-based teleprompter, but it goes well.  I also learn that this is considered my second audition, and that the writing has been put on hold for now.

After that first day, I hadn’t heard anything from them for almost two weeks. I dash off a quick-yet-tactful email asking what’s going on, but hear nothing.

Is it over before it began?

Yesterday, I get an email saying my payment for the previous session had gone through. Literally five minutes later, the producer calls, asking if I’m available to come in today for another session. You bet!

I wasn’t n my A-game today. Lots of flubs, but easily corrected.

When it’s a wrap, I ask if I passed the latest round of auditions.  Most definitely is the response.  I also learn that one of my writing samples is the highest-viewed video for their YouTube channel.  (I offer no explanation for the guy reading it) My on-camera one – okay, but there’s me in all my dorkiness.

But that’s okay.  This is occasional, semi-steady work that can only yield positive results.

-Movie of the Moment – finished IP MAN. Loved it. Phenomenal martial arts sequences, complete with several jaw-dropping moments.  Slightly more inclined to watch the sequel.

-Regarding Netflix price gouge/increase. Understandable, but 60 percent?  Couldn’t 20 or 25 worked?  We’re opting for the 1-disk/streaming combo. I suspect we’ll be watching a lot more on streaming in the coming months.

Not so fast

Maximum Z Lucy Steele, Movie of the Moment, Netflix, outlines, screenwriting

Well, crap.

I got to do exactly zero work today because I was busy doing dad stuff.  Not necessarily that I mind, but I was hoping to get more done on the outline.

I’m going to have to bring my creative hat with me to work tomorrow.

Movie of the Moment: THE SPY NEXT DOOR. Oh, Jackie Chan. The Drunken Master has been reduced to mega-crappy family comedy. But V liked it, and again, that’s the important part.

Also got to finish watching SALT. I liked the first half better.  How exactly would this have been different with planned original lead Tom Cruise?  really glad I did this on Netflix.

The reverse-engineering approach

Maximum Z District 9, Let Me In, Lucy Steele, Movie of the Moment, Netflix, outlines, screenwriting

I’m not calling it writer’s block, because I have a general idea of what I want to put on the page.  Problem is, I need to come up with something I like AND that works for the story.  There are blanks that need to be filled in and the challenge is finding them.

I’m thinking of starting at the end of Act 2 and figuring out what happened before that.  How did Lucy & Co get to where they are?  Since I know what happens in Act 3, I can try to piece together the events leading up to it.  Or at least try to.

Time to break out the idea list again and see what my brain can come up with.  That seems to always trigger something.  Hope it can do it again.

Movie of the Moment: a 2-for-1 day!

While my computer was being stubborn again earlier today, DISTRICT 9 was playing.  I saw it on the tail end of its theatre run about a year and a half ago.  What a great movie.  An intelligent original alternate take on a sci-fi staple.  See it if you haven’t already.

I remembered parts of it, but what was pleasantly surprising was the filmed footage portion of the beginning.  I didn’t realize these were taking place after the main portion of the story.  It was also great to see how the stakes kept getting raised in each scene, and for the most part, how every scene led into the one following it.

I really hope they don’t make a sequel.  It doesn’t need one.

The second movie is LET ME IN, the US remake of the Swedish vampire flick LET THE RIGHT ONE IN.  K and I liked the latter and we’re still working on the former, but so far it’s not too bad. It’s hard to not keep going back to the original while watching this.

Some of the scenes are a little slow, but it’s that kind of movie. And because I know what’s going to happen, that heart-quickening sense of anticipation isn’t as strong as during the original.

Put both on your Netflix queue, but watch the Swedish one first.  With subtitles.  It’s better that way.

Ink: a review

Maximum Z Netflix

For some reason, I was really exhausted today, so didn’t get any work done on the outline.  But the ideas are neatly organized in my noggin, so hopefully it won’t be too difficult to get them down on paper tomorrow.

But I finally managed to finish watching INK, courtesy of Netflix. I can’t remember how it popped up in my recommendation list, but it looked interesting. Something about it seemed vaguely familiar.

The description reads: Late one night, a lost soul named Ink snatches 8-year-old Emma (Quinn Hunchar) into the world of dreams. There, he hopes to use her soul to join the ranks of the evil Incubi. In the real world, Emma lies comatose, to the despair of her father, John (Chris Kelly). But the Incubi’s benevolent opposites — the Storytellers — rally to help Emma, motivating John to wage war for his daughter. Jessica Duffy co-stars in this dark fable.

Hmm. Forces of good and evil, dreams, a child. Where have I heard that before? Getting a little too close to DREAMSHIP territory for my taste. But I didn’t have to worry.

While my story is more action-adventure, this one is more…artsy. I went into it expecting a straightforward kid-oriented story, but it wasn’t. Not by a long shot. It’s almost adult in nature, seems a little too cerebral in some parts, and some story elements were never really explained. Or if they were, I missed them.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s well done. I get the feeling they had a limited budget, and did a great job in getting the most out of it. The special effects also fit in nicely, not drawing too much attention to themselves, but just enough to support the story where necessary.

There’s a fascinating 10-minute video diary of how this film was put together, ranging from the writer-director documenting the assembly of the business plan they were going to present to potential investors, to the cast’s audition footage, to choreographing the fight scenes, to filming in a wide variety of locations around Denver.

Even more fascinating is that the filmmakers couldn’t get a distribution or studio deal, so they pitched it to independent theatres and handled the video aspect of it by themselves. After it’s release, it became one of the most downloaded movies on file sharing torrent sites, which resulted in higher video sales.

One of the things Jamin Winans, the writer-director says in the making-of segment is that they started out with no money, but didn’t let stop them from moving forward. Good for them.

INK is available on Netflix’s Instant Queue. Check it out.

Where exactly do you put a 300-pound Irishman?

Maximum Z characters, Lucy Steele, Netflix, outlines, screenwriting

Not the set-up for a joke, but a question that will be answered shortly.

I took yesterday’s work on the outline and inserted it into the main one today.  Still have some gaps to fill in, but it’s coming together nicely.  This is really turning into a rip-roaring adventure story, let me tell you.

But I couldn’t help but notice one thing about everything I had worked on last week, especially those scenes from page 45 to the midpoint.  There were a lot more than I remembered writing.  While it should be somewhere around 15-18, this was more like 27.  Way too much!  Some emergency editing was necessary.

As much as I hated to do it, I was going to have to get rid of the scenes involving a character I really like.  That would be the somewhat rotund fellow in the title of this post.  He and his flunkies would have to go.  One of the many rules of screenwriting: Kill Your Darlings.  So I did.  The end result is still satisfying, but not as much as it was when I had two sets of double-crosses in the works.  Now it’s back to one.

But all is not lost.

Since I’m now focusing on the next set of scenes, the midpoint to around page 75, part of those involve a mine.  I don’t know what kind, but originally it was going to be abandoned.  Not anymore.  I’m working on turning it into a kind of hideout where this nefarious band of ruffians is currently holed up, thereby increasing the level of conflict in the story.

It keeps surprising me how writing something one day, and maybe jotting down a thought or line, even just on a whim, can really pay off somewhere down the line.  I really like when that sort of thing happens.  It’s almost a kind of self-vindication.

I’m hoping to have a Movie of the Moment for tomorrow.  I haven’t had a lot of spare time lately, so I’ve had to spread my film-watching out over a few days.  Surprisingly, parts of this film are eerily similar to DREAMSHIP.  Crazy, huh?