entertainment

Hey kids! Fill in the blanks!

Maximum Z creativity, genre, loglines, movies, pitching, reading, screenwriting, script, story, title, writing ,
The good news is this will not count towards your final grade
The good news is this will not be on the final, but neatness does count

Since I’m always interested in what other writers are working on, here are some questions I’d really like to see your answers to.

1. MY LATEST PROJECT IS TITLED _______________

2. IT’S A  ______________ (genre)

3. HERE’S THE LOGLINE __________________________________

4. THINK OF IT AS ___________ + __________

Here’s mine:

1. NORTH POLE’S MOST WANTED

2. mystery-comedy

3. A mild-mannered elf uncovers a sinister plot to get rid of Santa, but nobody believes him, somebody’s now trying to kill him, and Christmas is one week away.

4. LA CONFIDENTIAL + RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER

Now you.

Mountain today, speedbump tomorrow

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Yeah, it kind of felt like that
Yeah, it kind of felt like that

Well, the first round of Nicholl emails went out yesterday to inform everybody as to whether or not they were among the 372 (out of 7,251) who made it to the quarterfinals.

Regrettably, I wasn’t one of them. But there was a bit of a silver lining, too.

“A little bit of good news: your script scored well, placing among the top 15% of all entries. Possibly read three times, your script was appreciated by two readers. Its numerical placement was within script 728 to 1106 out of 7,251 entries.”

Not too shabby. Best of luck to those continuing on!

So things didn’t work out for me this time. It stings a little right now, but it ain’t the end of the world. I’m not about to stop trying and dive into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s to drown my sorrows.

There was a great tweet from 2003 finalist Ronson Page later in the day: “Hollywood has many, many, many doors. Only one has to open.”  There are other contests, next year’s Nicholl, etc.

This script got me a manager, so I’ve got nothing to complain about.

If anything, it makes me want to work harder and write even more. Finish the first draft of the western spec. Jump into the rewrite of my mystery.

We’re writers. It’s what we do.

Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to see my work advance in the Nicholl, but it’s not the only way in.

And I definitely plan on getting in.

Still undecided about the ice cream, though.

And how did YOU do with your Nicholl script(s)?

Devilishly handsome? Sure. But lovely…?

Maximum Z baking, Comedy Film Nerds, comic books, cooking, half-marathons, Julie Gray, Just Effing Entertain Me, Mark Evanier, Mark Sanderson, My Blank Page, New Jersey, running, screenwriting, Sex in a Sub, Sprinting to Fade Out, William Martell, writing ,

One Lovely Blog

You never know who’s reading your stuff.

Such is the case with this blog. All I know about my readers is how many there are and where they’re reading me, geographically speaking.

So it was a very pleasant surprise to get a message from The Novice Screenwriter: “I really enjoy your blog (and might I add your great sense of humor:) and I just wanted to let you know that I have nominated you for the One Lovely Blog award.

In the words of the Cowardly Lion, “Shucks, folks. I’m speechless.”

One of my earlier bosses in radio stressed the importance of PIE. Not the world-changing, life-affirming dessert  (which, granted, is very important), but how your performance should always be Professional, Informative and Entertaining. That’s an acronym I’ve tried to adhere to in all forms of my media output, including this blog, which is why I’m flattered to get this kind of recognition.

And apparently there are rules/guidelines for this as well:

1. Add the “One Lovely Blog” image to your post
2. Share seven things about you
3. Pass the award on to seven nominees
4. Thank the person who nominated you
5. Inform the nominees by posting on their blogs

Thanks to Aarthi at The Novice Screenwriter for the nomination. When somebody tells me they heard me doing traffic on the radio, I always say “It’s nice to know somebody’s listening.” So in this case, it’s nice to know somebody’s reading.

Seven Facts you may or may not know about me:
-I’m the youngest of 5 in a typical Jewish-American family. And by “typical”, I mean there’s a doctor, a lawyer, and the one in showbiz.

-I was born and raised in the great state of New Jersey. The southern half, where there are no accents.

-My wife and I saw HEATHERS on our first date. We’ve been together ever since.

-I really enjoy cooking and baking. One of my specialties is pecan pie from scratch – crust and everything. A friend with strong roots in Georgia was practically orgasmic over it, which must mean something.

-I like to run half-marathons, averaging about 4 a year. My pace is around 9 minutes a mile, with the goal to someday break the 1:55 time limit. The idea of doing a full marathon is intriguing, yet very intimidating.

-I collect comic books, but have never attended Comic-Con in San Diego. Someday I will. In fact, the dream is to be there while The Movie I Wrote is being promoted (with a panel in Hall H and everything!).

-I didn’t go to school for screenwriting. Everything I’ve learned comes from reading books and scripts, watching and studying movies, attending a handful of seminars, and most of all, writing and rewriting.

Here are the seven blogs I heartily recommend:
My Blank Page – good nuts and bolts advice from a working screenwriter
Just Effing Entertain Me – practical advice for writers and a high-profile script competition (hurry! final deadline is Aug 15)
Sex in a Sub – an extremely prolific writer plus fantastic analysis of Hitchcock films
Sprinting to Fade Out – great info for aspiring writers (regrettably on hold for now, but worth checking the archives)
News from ME – a wide variety of topics from a veteran writer-director who works in TV, cartoons and comics
Scott Tipton’s Comics 101 – got a question about comics? More info than you could possibly imagine, especially if you’re a fan of ROM: SPACE KNIGHT
Comedy Film Nerds – actually a podcast about movies, but extremely hilarious, entertaining, informative and very NSFW

I have no idea if there’s an actual award connected with this, but it doesn’t really matter. I’m just happy to be nominated, and will practice my “forced smile to mask my internal pain” look just in case it’s not my name if a winner is ever announced.

Getting around the mental roadblock

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Image
This might take some figuring out

Wouldn’t you know it? There I am, being all productive and cranking out pages, when I suddenly decide “There’s got to be a better/shorter way to do this sequence,” and out it goes.

All I need to do now is compress the purpose of that sequence into one, maybe two scenes, and my machine-like output can continue.

Ah, if it were only that easy.  Arm-in-arm with Elvis, my creativeness has apparently left the building.

Sucks, doesn’t it?

I don’t hate writer’s block. I loathe it. I despise it.  My dislike for it burns with the intensity of a thousand suns all on the verge going supernova. The frustration of wanting to write something, but not being able to.

If there was a valuable ceramic piece within my reach, it would definitely be flung at the opposite wall.

And to make things worse, I know how this part starts and ends; it’s all the stuff that happens in the middle that’s giving me so much trouble.

But there’s not much to be accomplished with all this bitching, moaning and overall kvetching.

This requires taking a step back, a few deep breaths, patience and clear-headedness.  I’ve worked my way through this type of situation before (sometimes even with better-than-expected results), and hopefully this time will not be an exception.

But I still don’t like when this happens.

-Movie of the Moment – ffolkes (aka NORTH SEA HIJACK) (1979). A tight, compact thriller reminiscent of DIE HARD, even though this one came almost a decade earlier, and the main character (portrayed by having-a-ball Roger Moore) is a misogynistic, sociopathic cat-loving jerk who of course is the best at what he does, which is training commandos.

I vaguely remember seeing this on TV way back when and obviously it stuck with me. When I saw that it was on Netflix streaming, I made a point of rewatching it to see if it held up.

Apart from some cheesy guitar riffs here and there, absolutely. Nothing too fancy and maybe a little predictable at times, but still smart, gripping and intense. With a running time of 1:48, this thing really moves.

A sure sign of the times – this was rated PG! I honestly thought it would have been an R (since PG-13 wasn’t around yet). A shocking revelation at first, but there’s not that much actual violence in it; it’s the subject matter that makes the difference. Can you imagine a movie about terrorists holding a multi-billion-dollar oil platform hostage being released now with a PG rating?

Exactly.

Definitely worth seeing.

Destination: uncharted territory

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And my journey continues…

First and foremost, thanks to everybody for the hearty congrats. Words of encouragement from one’s peers are always nice, doubly so when it’s from people you know are good writers.

I’ll also admit to sending updates of my recent accomplishments to my old writing group, more with the intent of “Hey kids, ain’t this swell?” rather than “Suck on it, losers!”

And a big mazel tov to the 24 other semifinalists, 10 finalists and the top 3 winners of the Tracking Board Launchpad contest. Best of luck to all of you on your future endeavors! Celebrate in your desired appropriate style. I find pie to always be a solid viable option.

Speaking of which (the writing stuff, not the pie), these are exciting times. I don’t think I’ve ever been this close to something potentially happening with one of my scripts before – he said with fingers firmly crossed.

There isn’t a writer out there, including yours truly, who doesn’t daydream about achieving some kind of success while they hammer away at their latest project.

But things are different for me now, and a new learning curve is underway.  I’m a bit nervous, but still quite psyched about it.

This is exactly what I’ve been working towards, and feel very fortunate to have even made it this far. I hope everybody can experience this kind of sensation at least once.

So all I can do now is keep writing and maintain a positive attitude while staying reasonably sane and level-headed.

I’m a huge fan of tales from the trenches, so any anecdotes of early-in-my-career experiences and such are more than welcome in the comments below.

-Movie of the Moment: MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2013). I didn’t think there was really a demand for this; the first one seemed more than enough. Despite it’s box office success, I wouldn’t call this another home run for Pixar. A triple, maybe. And kudos to them for making the college experience as G-rated/Disney-safe as possible.

V was interested in seeing it, but she didn’t laugh that much. There were chuckles from both of us, but not as many as you would expect.

Still, glad we saw it, especially in 2-D, and at one of SF’s remaining single-screen theatres. We’re always happy to send them business.

-It’s heartbreaking on several levels to read how much THE LONE RANGER is sounding more and more like a train wreck (no pun intended). Hopefully this won’t be yet another death knell for westerns in 21st century, such as the one I’m working on.  I’m discouraged, but not defeated.