screenwriting

Teach me, o wise feline

Maximum Z Movie of the Moment, reading, Save The Cat!, screenwriting, Sherlock Holmes, writing
I swear I’m not trying to copy Emily Blake

With a sigh of relief, I’m managing to work my way through the end of Act Two. As has been the case before, it wasn’t as difficult as I expected it to be. This seems to happen a lot. I stress out over how hard I think something’s going to be, then it isn’t. Why do I keep torturing myself like this?  Must be part of the writer’s genetic imprint.

Fortunately, not as much stress about Act Three. I scribbled out a rough version a few months ago and should be able to use that as a foundation. Further proof why you should never throw anything away.

Speaking of holding on to things…

I have about a dozen books on screenwriting. Some were worth the purchase, some not (looking at you, Mr McKee). Then there’s Blake Snyder’s SAVE THE CAT! This may actually be the last one I bought, probably a year or so after it originally came out. Honestly, I don’t remember much about it. Something about ‘fun & games’, but that’s about it.

But I’ve heard it mentioned more than a few times lately, and thought maybe it was worth a second read.  So I dug it off the shelf, blew off the dust and dove right in.

Chapter One was interesting. If I’m reading it correctly, it asks the question “Is your story irresistible?” This includes the title, the logline and whether or not it’s high concept. Anything that makes somebody not just want, but NEED to read it. While I figure out my answers as they apply to this story, it’s inspired me to try a kind of experiment:  while I work on this script, I’m going to take the rules/guidelines as interpreted by this book and apply them to my writing process.

What will be the end result?  Hell if I know. I’m not expecting any kind of major breakthrough or eye-opening revelation. Maybe it’ll make it easier to figure things out, or give me a better idea of how to guide things along.

Details as they evolve.

-Movie of the Moment. SHERLOCK (2012). The one from the BBC. Not necessarily a movie, but fantastic examples of incredible and smart writing. These DO NOT treat the viewer as an idiot, and force you to pay attention, making for an even more satisfying viewing experience as the stories unfold.

Even better, you don’t have to be a fan of the original material to enjoy them. If you are, it’s a thrill to watch how the stories have been adapted for the present. People will claim Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett make for definitive Holmes, but Benedict Cumberbatch is certainly worthy to be added to that list.

Stumped!

Maximum Z creativity, dialogue, ideas, rewrite, screenwriting, writer's block, writing
At least it gives me a place to sit and think…

There’s this one line of dialogue that’s giving me a lot of trouble. Actually, I hate it. The way it’s written now is too much tell, and not enough show, rather than the other way around.

I know what I want the line to say, but coming up with exactly the right words is proving to be quite the challenge. This line is pretty important on several levels, so it really has to pack a punch.

Time once again to step back, take a breath and not think about it. That usually helps the solution present itself. Not time for panic mode yet.

Despite this minor setback, this summer is still off to a pretty good start.

Putting an even more positive spin on this, while part of my creativeness figures this one out, the other part can get back on track and resume the fine-tuning of the western-adventure outline.

Thank you, gods of creativity – surefire hit #2!

Maximum Z action, adventure, animation, creativity, Disney, screenwriting, writing
Do you know how hard it is to find a picture of these guys looking badass?

After the debacle that was the recent THREE STOOGES feature, I’m not holding my breath for the studios to come a-runnin’ and embrace my much, much better idea.

But my muse has once more slapped me upside the head, resulting in…

A Disney cartoon version of DIE HARD set in the Magic Kingdom.  I know!  Brilliant, right?

Initial thoughts: The traditional Disney villains, tired of always losing, have taken over the park, and it’s up to Mickey, Donald and Goofy to save the day. Mickey as the John McClane-ish hero, Donald as his Justin Long-type sidekick (but without the whole computer angle), and Goofy as the Reginald VelJohnson cop.

Tell me the public wouldn’t flock to this. The possibilities are endless!

Why hasn’t anybody thought of this before?  It practically screams “MONEY-MAKING MACHINE!”

Disney execs, you know how to reach me.

You can’t rush this kind of thing

Maximum Z confidence, creativity, editing, feedback, Movie of the Moment, productivity, proofreading, rewrite, screenwriting, writing
Almost what being really productive feels like

We’ve all been there.  After countless hours of slaving away on a project, you’re closing in on finally being done. Hallelujah, the end is in sight! The urge to steamroll your way through whatever’s left and be done once and for all overwhelms you. That is an option, but it’s also one of the worst things you could do.

My work on the current polish/rewrite is about 20 pages from being done. While the ambitious part of me is ready to start researching professional script analysts, and maybe some agents and managers, the more rational part is saying “Hold on there, speedy.”  When I finish this draft, I’m going to go through it at least 2-3 more times with the proverbial fine-tooth comb, as well as get additional feedback from my trusted colleagues.  A fresh pair of eyes on something you’ve practically memorized by now can be extremely helpful.

Even during this current stretch, I’ve found a few story points that needed a little touching up and some typos here and there.  Nothing major, but I want to make sure everything is how it’s supposed to be. Even though all of this is pushing back the inevitable sending out, it’s more than worth it.

You’d think it would be common sense for somebody to make sure their work was as perfect as they can make it before submitting it to a professional. But this happens all the time.  There are countless tales of somebody reading a script and easily identifying problems with it, both in terms of appearance and execution.

When you’re presenting something this important, wouldn’t you want it to be the absolute best it can be? Of course you do. Then check it as many times as possible to make it that much harder for somebody to say ‘no’.

-Movie of the Moment: Jam-packed edition!  With V out of town, my movie-viewing has been plentiful.

-PROMETHEUS. As a friend put it, “A big hot mess.” Such a letdown, especially after all the hype. I didn’t like it. Pretty to look at, but a muddled plot that raised too many questions (as in “Would a person with any common sense really do that?”). Especially disappointing because of bad writing. Expected more from co-writer Damon Lindelof.

-MOONRISE KINGDOM. Loved it. I don’t have a problem with Wes Anderson’s style, but it did seem a little too similar to his earlier works. Still, a great story with perfectly-cast actors in each role. Nice to see Bruce Willis once again exercise his acting chops. The two leads, 12-year-olds who’ve never acted before, were really impressive.

-THE WOMAN IN BLACK. Wonderfully creepy gothic horror with a surprisingly spot-on lead performance by Daniel Radcliffe. What I liked most was that it seemed as if half of the scenes were dialogue-free, relying on mood and sound to raise goosebumps. Best when watched in the dark.

-TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL. I’m not a fan of slasher flicks, but this was a clever spin on the “college kids in the backwoods” story. Funnier than I expected.  Maybe one more run at the script wouldn’t have been a bad idea, so call it almost-great.

Hacking my way through the rewrite jungle

Maximum Z confidence, creativity, Dreamship, editing, feedback, ideas, rewrite, screenwriting, story, writer's block, writing
Yeah, it can feel like that sometimes…

Man, this rewrite is just zooming along, especially with the much-appreciated, very helpful feedback I’ve received. Spending so much time plotting things out before churning out pages really paid off. I tried to make sure any possible questions that arose could be easily answered through the course of the story.  One or two small issues may still need a little work, but looks like they can be handled without too much heavy lifting.

Nevertheless, confidence levels still running high.

Most of the edits took no time, but the biggest challenge was changing how the antagonist’s story ends. This has been in place since day one, but I’ve received more than a few comments saying it seemed too intense compared to the rest of the story.  So change was necessary.

I must have spent around two hours trying out at least a dozen scenarios until I finally came up with something I like. It may need a little fine-tuning, but the execution is pretty solid and I think it fits in nicely with the rest of it.

You know how a writer’s mantra is/should be “write every day”? I’ve tried to adhere to that as much as I can, and it really feels like it’s paying off in terms of being able to think my way out of potential writer’s block situations. Getting stuck trying to figure something out isn’t as much of a hassle as it used to be.

Cliched as it sounds, your creativity really is like a kind of muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. And you don’t even have to break a sweat.