Progress squared

Maximum Z comic books, outlines, parenting, rewrite, screenwriting, writing gigs
Figuring out a story can sometimes feel like this

It took a while, but I was finally able to sit down and work on both LUCY and DREAMSHIP, and I like how both are coming along.

With LUCY, I’d been stuck trying to figure out how to get to the page 75 twist, and after several attempts, I finally made it.  I’m not entirely sure if the sequence leading up to it is the absolute best way to approach it, but I’ll keep it for now.

Now the fun really begins, with the drive to get to the end of Act Two. I haven’t looked at what I came up with for Act Three, but if I can work it out, there may not be a need for many changes.

As for DREAMSHIP, I got through a good sequence and am nearing the page 45 twist.  Lucky for me, the next few scenes are drawing from what I had in a previous draft, so there won’t be much call for change with that either.

I also realized there’s a super-important plot point I’ve yet to introduce or else the ticking-clock aspect is completely shot. But fate and the writing gods have smiled on me, or at least I hope they will, because there’s a scene in Act One that would be a perfect place to put it in.  Time to break out the pen and paper again.

-Materials for my next short project arrived, but I haven’t looked at them yet.  That’ll be part of the weekend stuff.

-V turned 9 over the weekend. K asked me if I thought she’d be able to handle MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL. I didn’t think so. K’s argument that she (K) would have enjoyed it when she was 9. But K was a very logical child, whereas V, as much as I love her, isn’t. My argument was that after watching WILLY WONKA, V asked if Oompa-Loompas were real.  I rest my case.

And by fortunate happenstance, JURASSIC PARK was on AMC last night. Again. I casually mentioned to K that I wish V could handle watching it. Then the T-Rex scene came on. Without saying a word, we both knew that wouldn’t happen for quite some time either.

-Movie of the Moment: X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011). I loved it.  More proof that a smart comic book movie is possible.  Why oh why didn’t the writers of GREEN LANTERN have the same sensibilities?  But I digress.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Charles and Erik, and the gradual drifting apart of two friends.  Kevin Bacon made for a great villain, but I thought January Jones’ Emma Frost would have had a larger role.  Beast has always been one of my favorite characters, and it was pretty clever how they worked in his change to blue and furry.

I liked how they worked in a lot of stuff from the comics, as well as maintained continuity with the Singer films. (Face it. X3 sucked.)  Just a lot of fun to watch. Very curious if the inevitable sequel will take place in the 70s, which would be the smart way to go.

Voice from the past

Maximum Z outlines, rewrite, screenwriting, writing gigs
early model not-so-mobile phone

Completely unexpectedly, the director I co-write the short with last year rang me up. After much delay, he’s finished all the post-production work and is making copies of the end product.  I should have my own copy within a month or so.  I’ll update the link in the portfolio section once I get it.

He moved to LA about a year ago, and is currently working on directing trailers.  As he succinctly put it, I now know somebody working in the industry.  Always a good connection to have.  Gotta start somewhere.

But he was also calling because he wants me to help write his next project: a 30-minute short he hopes to eventually submit to the student Oscars. I’ll have more details in a few days, but it’ll be some kind of crime thriller.  Yeah, I can write that.

While I was originally hoping to have the DREAMSHIP draft done by the end of the year, this may slow that down a little, but working on that, the short and the LUCY outline is a good challenge.

They say you should write every day, which I try to do. Some days are really productive, some not at all. But the effort is always there.  Sometimes it’s how much drive you feel inside.  I can’t explain why, but that feeling’s been stronger for me the past few days.  I think I’m feeling more confident in the strength of my stories and how things are developing overall, which always yields better results.

Suffice to say, I’m expecting great things from myself between now and the end of the year, and am fairly confident I can pull it off.

More days like this, please

Maximum Z comedy, found footage, Movie of the Moment, outlines, screenwriting, story, Willy Wonka
We all deserve one

In terms of writing, Monday was fantastic.  I got to the midpoint of my revamped LUCY outline, and I really like how things are developing.  It has a genuine pulp-y feel, which is kind of what I was going for.

The rest of Act Two still looms, so how that works out is still being developed.  The previous draft has a lot of stuff I can’t use anymore, so getting through it will be a bit of a slog.

Didn’t get to work on DREAMSHIP pages, but the editing of the first act continues. Hoping to get back into that sometime next week.  Over the weekend I realized it’s been about a year since I got my Script Quack notes. That really was the kick in the pants I needed to get started on this rewrite.  Definitely worth it.  Click on their link over there on the right to check ’em out.

-You’ve probably noticed the growing trend of the ‘found footage’ genre.  THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, CLOVERFIELD, and the forthcoming CHRONICLE.  And the spec market seems to be growing with more and more unique takes on it.

I think I’ve stumbled onto a potentially great idea for one.  And even better, it fits perfectly with a story idea I came up with years ago.  I don’t want to divulge any details just yet, but I’ve got the logline down on a long-standing list of story ideas, with the intent of coming back to it later.  What’s nice is that I can keep track of the market and see how any new scripts compare with mine.  Knowing me, I probably won’t get to this until sometime next year, but it’s definitely an idea worth holding on to.

-Movie of the Moment: BRIDESMAIDS (2011). It must be me.  I didn’t think this was the comedic work of genius I was led to believe it was.  There were some funny moments in the second half, but overall I wasn’t impressed.  Some of my co-workers thought it was hilarious, so maybe I would have enjoyed it more in the theatre, rather than at home.  But this isn’t something I would have paid to see.

I bet as soon as this was a hit, they announced plans for a sequel.  No doubt this time it’s Annie who’s getting married.  Such originality!  Puh-leeze. Spare me.

-On a more positive note, we watched WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (1971) because V had caught the second half on TV and wanted to see it from the beginning.  She loved it.  One of those films that holds up after numerous viewings.  We’ll probably see the Tim Burton version this weekend.  While Gene Wilder definitely makes for a more interesting Wonka, I like the Danny Elfman songs in the Burton version a little more.

If we’re really lucky, we may even very slyly ‘convince’ V to read the original book for school.  That would be quite a coup for us.  And even better, she’d probably like it.

I needed that

Maximum Z editing, inspiration, Movie of the Moment, outlines, screenwriting

(One of my absolute favorite clips ever. Impossible to not enjoy.)

For the first time in what feels like weeks, I actually got to do some writer stuff!

A very nice meet-up with the sole remaining member of my old writing group. She liked the first act of DREAMSHIP, then we discussed a stage production she’s working on. Bonus – it involves time travel!  Also got her thinking about how to expand the number of characters and how each could play a role in the overall plot.  I think I like editing and consulting on other people’s stuff almost as much as writing my own.

Then it was typing up what I have so far for the first half of the LUCY outline. I’m still stuck in the latter half of the second act, but figured this was a good way to clear my head and possibly stumble onto a solution.

(I really should have been working on DREAMSHIP pages, but a friend made a great suggestion that I’d like to work in, so I need to make that fix before picking up where I left off.) 

It’s hard to describe, but writing out each scene, expanding it a little, putting in some detail that links it to something that comes later, was incredibly satisfying. Honestly, I got chills putting it on the page. And I’m only up to around page 12.

Part of the thrill comes from the editing.  Scenes I felt were vital turned out to not be, so out they went. Streamlining your story is a wonderful thing.

If I can find about an hour to 90 minutes a day to just focus on writing, I will be such a nicer person to be around.  And that’s really saying something.

-And now, the long-awaited return of Movie of the Moment!  This time – TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON (2011). Still incredibly cheesy, but worlds better than #2.  I’d heard the last hour was pretty good, and I’d agree, but maybe a few too many Amazing Escapes for me.

Nothing unexpected throughout, but the John Malkovich subplot took a weird turn, then completely disappeared about halfway through.

Ear candy

Maximum Z cycling, Filmsack.com, music, Nerdist, NPR, old time radio, podcasts, script doctor eric, The Bugle
From our mouths to your ears

If it’s not raining, I ride my bike to work.  Since it could still be considered the middle of the night when I do (4AM), it’s pretty quiet.  My iPod helps make the ride a little more tolerable.

Probably unlike a lot of people, I don’t do a lot of music. At first it was old radio shows, which I still enjoy, but some of them are starting to lose their luster and I’m slowly adding more podcasts into the mix.

The appeal of the radio shows comes from the quality of the writing, which could be extremely good.  They didn’t call it ‘theatre of the mind’ for nothing.  Even decades later, a lot of the material still works.  You can’t go wrong with a solid episode of Jack Benny or The Shadow.  It’s also fascinating how a show serves as a time capsule, preserving a moment 60 or 70 years in the past.

A few years ago, I attended a panel discussion about old time radio. I must have been the only person there under 55.  The guest of honor was an actor who had been on The Lone Ranger for a few years; his name currently escapes me.  They recreated parts of well-known shows, commercials and jingles and an episode of The Lone Ranger, complete with sound effects.  Probably not the same as watching it back in the day, but still fun.

While there’s no direct modern equivalent, podcasts come pretty close. There are shows covering just about every subject you could think of.  In my case, most of them deal with film (Filmsack), writing (Scriptcast) or a slightly different take on current events (The Bugle and Wait, Wait, Don’t  Tell Me!).  And for overall entertainment value, you can’t go wrong with The Dinner Party or The Nerdist.

The only downside to all this great material is that I can’t listen to it when I want to write. It’s great for bike rides, runs or working in the kitchen, but for work on the outline or pages, that’s when the music kicks in and I thank my lucky stars for the wonderful gloriousness that is Pandora.

What are you listening to these days?