outlines

Tough, but not impossible

Maximum Z Dreamship, Nicholl Fellowship, outlines, screenwriting

Taking on this rewrite has made me done something I haven’t done in quite a long time.

I am really approaching this with the intent of almost completely starting over from scratch.  The last time something even got near this level of difficulty was when I went through the Chinese restaurant script page-by-page with my then-manager.  But even then the suggestions were “make this funnier” or “tighten this up”.

Using my ScriptQuack notes as a starting point, I’m writing down what scenes I have from a previous draft of DREAMSHIP and changing each one as necessary.  Surprisingly, making those changes may not be as daunting a task as I originally thought.  Still challenging, though.

Hoping to have a more solid first act by week’s end, then once again into the abyss of Act Two.

I have doubts about having a draft I’m satisfied with by the Nicholl deadline, but I’d rather take my time and make this as perfect as possible than rush through it and send in something not good enough.

Finally!

Maximum Z Lucy Steele, outlines, screenwriting

I did it.

After seemingly endless hours slaving away on the thrilling story of a gutsy female train engineer in post-Civil War America, today I got to type those two magic words: “The End.”

Rapture.  And…breathe.

Now I put it aside to focus on rewriting DREAMSHIP for more-than-likely entry into the Nicholl, then on May 2nd, dig out LUCY and start that rewrite.  I’ve already got some ideas on how to improve it.

I really do love doing this, and hope someday I get to do it all the time (with pay and everything!).  That would be definitely be awesome.

I’m feeling pretty good right now.

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.

Into the home stretch!

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

Where have I been these past few days?  Why, making tremendous progress on LUCY, that’s where. I managed to get through the high-action parts of Act 3 and wrapped up yesterday with the death of my bad guy.  No big spoiler there; if you read the story, you know it’s inevitable.

All that remains now is the resolution and denouement, then going back and tightening a few things up, including a recent idea for a small subplot.  I may actually make my self-imposed pre-Wondercon deadline by a few days.  Nice.

I hadn’t looked at it as a whole for almost a week, so I had forgotten how big and imposing it seems at first glance.  Once this draft is finished, I’ll probably go through and hack it down. More darlings may be killed, but I’m willing to sacrifice a sequence like the buffalo stampede rather than keep the whole thing bloated.

I have to keep reassuring myself this is just a first draft and the end result may be extremely different.  Lucas’ original draft of Star Wars about Luke Starkiller is a good example of the benefit of rewrites.

Movie of the Moment: SALT. I’d heard it was a good, fast-paced thriller clocking in at 90+ minutes.  Pretty accurate so far. I can’t remember the last Angelina Jolie movie I saw where she wasn’t utilizing an accent.  Some of the movie requires much suspension of disbelief (freeway chase, assassination of Russian president), but it really moves and keeps you wondering how she’s going to get out of each particular situation.  I also find it amazing that any piece of clothing she steals fits her perfectly.

V is off for spring break this week, so there’s a lot of TV and Wii going on at our place (more than I’d like there to be, but that’s another story).  I took a break from the outline yesterday so we could watch ALADDIN.  I’m fairly certain this was from the tail end of Disney’s “animated Broadway show” period.  I didn’t realize two of the four credited writers were Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, future writers of the SHREK and PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN series.  A quick check of IMDB shows that there were 19(!) writers connected to this.  Further proof that story is everything.

It’s still a fun movie, especially the Robin Williams/Genie scenes.  Talk about perfect casting.  V really liked some of those parts.  Although it was a little sad to see some of the very dated pop culture references such as the William F Buckley and Arsenio Hall impressions.  I suspected she’d like it, but I’m not holding out for THE LITTLE MERMAID.  All that girly stuff just ain’t her thing.

The end is that much closer now

Maximum Z French, Jeunet, Lucy Steele, Movie of the Moment, outlines, screenwriting, westerns

Yet another milestone has been reached: I got to the end of Act 2. And I like how it ended. Stakes are raised. Subplots are beginning to tie together. Outcomes are in doubt. Thrilling stuff indeed.

Surprisingly, I’m not as concerned about Act 3. I know how the thing is going to end. A lot of elements I originally thought of are still in play. I’m fairly certain I can keep things edge-of-your-seat exciting and still wrap it all up in a satisfying manner. The brainstorming and outlining has begun. My self-imposed Wondercon deadline has been set, and I’ll do my best to make it. If not, I can take comfort in knowing that the end if somewhat near.

Movie of the Moment: Another two-fer.

We finished watching Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s MICMACS (still no idea what it means), an utterly charming French film about the takedown of two arms manufacturers. There’s a definite sense of whimsy throughout that it could be considered almost fantasy-like.

It’s a shame more American films don’t take this kind of approach, but I think Terry Gilliam may come closest.

-On a whim, I pulled out a copy of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN that K got me years ago. Good God, this movie is 51 YEARS OLD!

I love THE SEVEN SAMURAI and am so grateful Hollywood got its version right. It may not be possible to watch this and not feel extra manly. A double-feature of this and THE GREAT ESCAPE would be dripping with testosterone.

As I’ve said before, I’m a sucker for a good western and this definitely falls into that category.