Tracking Board

Dispatches from the road

Maximum Z feedback, goals, loglines, manager, movies, representation, rewrite, screenwriting, script, Tracking Board, travel, writing , , , ,
Who doesn't love finding one in their actual mailbox?
Nothing like finding one in your mailbox

Visiting my folks this week, so not much time for writing. That being said, there are a few items worth mentioning…

-The Tracking Board Launchpad top 10 finalists were named earlier this week, and I was not one of them. It was a little disappointing to not see my name on the new list, but I can still claim to be one of the semifinalists, which is at least something.

The logline to DREAMSHIP is now officially posted as part of the contest update, so now it’s a wait-and-see situation regarding being contacted by potential reps. Which leads me to…

-Having an actual face-to-face meeting with my manager today, so I’ve been working on questions to ask and topics to discuss. Looking forward to hearing feedback on the latest (and hopefully final) rewrite.

This is a great chance for both of us to further explore what we’re both hoping to achieve, and what we can do to get there. Should be interesting.

-Your thoughts on summer movies so far? Hoping to see STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS this week, and looking forward to MAN OF STEEL next week. IRON MAN 3 was fun. No interest whatsoever in HANGOVER 3 or AFTER EARTH.

As much as I enjoy a lot of these fanboy films, it would be nice to see more original stuff (the forthcoming PACIFIC RIM, for example). Sequels, remakes and reboots can only carry you so far.

-The fine folks at United were generous enough to let us use the DirectTV for free on the flight here, so got to see WRECK-IT RALPH again. Still fun. Wish they’d do that all the time.

Just call me the human perpetual motion machine

Maximum Z contest, Dreamship, half-marathons, Movie of the Moment, Nicholl Fellowship, productivity, rewrite, running, screenwriting, script, Tracking Board, westerns, writing ,
Stop working? That's crazy talk!
Stop working? That’s crazy talk!

Well, this has been an interesting week, to say the least.

-Rewrite was completed and sent it off to my manager. Hope they like it.

-Found out DREAMSHIP was one of 25 semifinalists in the Tracking Board’s Launch Pad competition. The top 10 finalists will be announced at the end of the month, followed by the winner a few days later.

Even if the script doesn’t advance, I don’t mind (although it would be nice). I’m just thrilled to have made it this far.  As K said to me after I got the email from the Tracking Board people, “See? Somebody who doesn’t know you thinks you’re a good writer.”

That’s a nice reminder.

-The Nicholl deadline came and went. DREAMSHIP was sent to that back in March, which makes it one of at least 7,200 submissions. The final count should be tallied sometime soon.

(If you have the time, do a quick search to find out what past winners are up to these days. It’s a fascinatingly diverse range of material, including film and television.)

-With a lot of this contest stuff out of the way, it’s time to return to the first draft of LUCY.  It’s been about a month since I last worked on it, so it’ll be interesting to take a look at what I’ve written so far.  Nothing like fresh eyes on your old work!

-I can also start running again. Next race is in 6 weeks, and I really want to be ready for it.

-Movie of the Moment – SKYFALL (2012) Took me three separate viewing sessions, but I finally made it through.  I enjoyed it.

Easy to see why this was so popular. It was a well-written combination of old-style Bond movies with 21st-century themes, thankfully without dipping too much into cheesy joke territory.

Odds, ends & everything in-between

Maximum Z adventure, antagonist, Bruce Campbell, contest, conventions, Disney, Movie of the Moment, Sam Raimi, screenwriting, script, Tracking Board, Wondercon, writer's block, writing
A little of everything for all tastes
A little of everything for all tastes

It’s spring break this week, so script progress has been somewhat limited, but at least it’s still happening.  In the meantime…

-Had an unusual case of writer’s block yesterday. Scene notes in the outline had the main character asking something completely out of the blue, and I didn’t want that. Just couldn’t fix it, so rather than sit and stew in frustration, I stepped away. Potential solutions have been brewing ever since.

-Been reading some great material from assorted gurus – check out recent scribblings from Lee Jessup, Erik Bork and Michele Wallerstein. Each has some info and comments worth hearing.

-For all my fellow Passover celebrants, do NOT be misled by the way Manischewitz portrays its products on the packaging. Just about every one of their items tastes the same, no matter what it looks like. Trust me on this one.

-Seriously considering entering DREAMSHIP in the Tracking Board’s Launchpad contest. deadline is Sunday night. Details here.

-2nd year in a row of not being able to attend Wondercon this weekend in Anaheim. It’s usually here, but the idiots who run the venue can’t get their act together so it’s down in SoCal again. Hope fading it’ll return for 2014.

-Movie of the Moment:  Since it’s spring break, V and I had a double feature yesterday.  First up was OZ THE GREAT & POWERFUL (2013). Liked it, but didn’t love it. Thought it felt kind of sluggish in parts.

And you know how an antagonist’s goal is supposed to be contrary to that of the protagonist?  Didn’t really get that here. If they really wanted to stop Oz, wouldn’t they have been more active, rather than just sitting around?

Still, nice to see Sam Raimi include Bruce Campbell’s obligatory cameo, and I think I figured out where the 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 made its appearance (courtesy of a teaser from Campbell himself at a personal appearance a few weeks ago).

-Second movie was JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (2012)  Never saw the first film – JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, but this looked like something V would like, and she did. Family-friendly Disney-esque adventure with some honest laughs (courtesy of Dwayne Johnson and Luis Guzman). Not a bad choice for family movie night.

-As always, what are you working on this weekend?