screenwriting

Don’t count me out just yet

Maximum Z Black List, Dreamship, screenwriting

Really nice progress on the DREAMSHIP rewrite today. While I like what I had to begin with, what I came up with today is quite an improvement.

I also realized I was taking my ScriptQuack notes too literally.  I don’t have to accept everything they suggest.  While some of their comments definitely have merit, it’s ultimately MY script, and I can pick and choose which of their suggestions to use.

If I can keep up this kind of pace between now and the end of the month, I may make that deadline after all.  I’m not saying it’s definitely doable, but the odds are slowly working their way back in my favor.

-The stats feature for WordPress tells me what categories are leading readers here.  Several of the more recent ones are connected with some of the Black List scripts I reviewed earlier this year.  This reminded me I have about another 12-15 to check out.

I’d forgotten what great reads they can be, but they’ll have to wait until after the rewrite.  Time for a nice cup of GET BACK TO YOUR SCRIPT.

Ain’t lookin’ good

Maximum Z Dreamship, Movie of the Moment, screenwriting, The Walking Dead, writing group

The good news is I may have stumbled onto a great new angle for DREAMSHIP. The bad news is Act Two will most likely have to be completely rewritten, which will put the proverbial kibosh on getting it done in time for the Nicholl.  It’s possible I could get it done, but I’d rather take my time.

On one hand, I like how the story seems much, much stronger now. There are also a lot more possibilities regarding what could happen.  Those notes are proving very helpful.

But on the other hand, it would have been nice to get it done by May 2nd.  Ah well.  There’s always next year.

-Finally heard back from the lady who runs the writing group.  She does a lot of freelance work, so hasn’t done any writing since February. She wants to contact the rest of the group at the end of April(!) and suggest two potential dates in May(!!) to meet.  Since I’m still a newer member of the group, I don’t want to make any trouble by telling her that’s a terrible way to approach this.  Which it is.

Exactly what’s the problem with setting a definitive time and see who shows up?  Fortunately, I can still meet with my fellow former-groupmember and we can discuss our stuff.

Another member of the group appears to have moved back to LA, or is at least housesitting there through June.  She seems to be a very fast writer, mentioning that she finished and polished a werewolf script after our last meeting (which may have been in February).

I admire someone who can really crank them out like that.  I can’t, but I also don’t think her life is similar to mine (married with children), so maybe she has more free time to write.  I find it when I can.

Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not.  But I still enjoy it.

-No Movie of the Moment tonight, but I’m almost done with Season One of WALKING DEAD.  Still loving it.  Great storytelling.

That’s something, I guess

Maximum Z Dreamship, Movie of the Moment, Nicholl Fellowship, outlines, screenwriting, zombies

As I’ve mentioned before, when I do the midday traffic shift, it usually results in some good output.  Something like that happened today.

I’m working my way through the first part of DREAMSHIP’s second act, and was trying to figure out how to approach a sequence from a different perspective. I think I may have reached a solution, so that’s good.

Not so good is a problem just like the one I was having while working on the LUCY outline: what does my antagonist want?  My ScriptQuack comments ask the same thing.  I thought I had an answer to that in previous drafts, but now I’m not so sure.  Once I can figure that out, putting more of this together should be easier – I hope.

I’m doing the midday again tomorrow, and the noon-to-6 shift on Saturday, so here’s hoping those are productive shifts as well.

Movie of the Moment: We started watching THE WALKING DEAD.  Wow.  Great stuff.  I especially like the ever-present feeling of ominous dread.  I’m dating myself, but I like how this is the same station that years ago played nothing but black and white films and their first original series was set in Pittsburgh during the Golden Age of Radio.  My, how times have changed.

There was a trailer for some set-in-space video game or something before it got to the menu page.  It got me thinking: somewhere out there has to be a spec script about zombies in space.  Think about it.  They don’t need air, but that whole vacuum-of-space thing might need a little planning.  The hard part would be to avoid having it come across as too cheesy.

But then again, that could be part of the fun.

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.

Ugh.

Maximum Z Dreamship, Nicholl Fellowship, screenwriting

I hardly got any work done on DREAMSHIP today. Just a day in, and I’m already running late.

This cannot continue.  Focus, boy, focus!

Putting a positive spin on this, I was at least able to fill in the plot points.  Not what I was hoping for, but it’s something.

No Movie of the Moment tonight. Inadvertently watched all of RED last night.  Could have been a little shorter, but still fun.

Up next: THE WALKING DEAD, Season One.  K likes zombies, I like Darabont. Everybody wins.