Deer

One of the few good things about the snow is that it brings the deer closer. My backyard has much nicer grass than the wild countryside.

And if you throw out an apple or two?
Here come the deer. Very entertaining.

Poster

Oh yeah. Here's the poster for our first little film.

We started on a new project tonight. Shows promise. We'll see.

Premiere

Had the premiere of our “student” film last Saturday. We held it at the local, big screen IMAX. Odd to see the stuff that I shot in my own living room on that HUGE screen. You’d think that I’d be worried about the film’s content but mostly I was wishing that I had dusted in that one corner a little better.

Anyway, it came off pretty well I think. The forty or fifty attendees seemed to like it.. Rupert was there too, doing his charity deal. He certainly does work the problem. Gotta give him props for that.

Now on to the next film. Whatever that is.

Go Colts!

Lots of friends and neighbors are in sunny Miami for the game. I'm stuck here in the snow.

But still.

GO COLTS!

Camels

I think it was Humphrey Bogart who said (upon receiving exposition heavy script pages) something to the effect of “I sure hope that there’s camels screwing the background while I deliver this dialog to keep the folks entertained.”

I need to find some copulating ungulates for my script as well.

Originally, five or ten pages of World War II back story was tacked on to the front of this script explaining how a Nazi treasure ended up in a podunk town in Ohio. But I decided not to go this route for several reasons.

Expense - Now I’ve got a partial period piece on my hands. The price of movie making just went up.

Tone - All of the good guys end up dead in the first scene. Not really a good start for my comedy. Pixar managed to pull it off for UP but I’d rather not go there if I can help it.

Audience Superior - A big part of the story is the mystery about what is hidden and where is it? If the audience already knows all of the details, watching the character’s search isn’t going to be much fun.

So, I sprinkled clues all through the script but some of the clues take a little more explaining than others and sometimes you just can’t show and not tell.

Anyway, I’m making good progress. Now if I can just find a way to justify some humping humpers in the background I’m golden.

Still Hanging Out

Pop the champagne. Actually I’m drinking a concoction of Grand Marnier and Frangelico at the moment but who cares? Let the celebration begin. I typed FADE OUT at 10:14 EST, Dec. 7, 2010.

I promised myself that I’d quit screwing around and finish this damned comedy script before the end of 2009. OK, I missed it by a little but damn it, now it’s finished and I feel pretty fucking good.

I HAVE MADE SCRIPT

It’s not that I haven’t done anything else since my last post.

● Was completely over served in Vegas.

● Xmas with the family.

● Shot a short film. I ended up being DP (director of photography). I wish I had a photo of me being pushed along on a dolly in a blinding snowstorm trying to get Rupert* of Survivor fame in frame. Hilarious.

THIS ISN’T A TROPICAL ISLAND

Anyway, I’m happy to report that I’m back and now can start the long and tedious process of rewriting...

I don’t have a name for this script. It has trailer parks, Nazi treasure, ninjas, a tank, all sorts of things in it. But it still doesn’t have a name. Guess that’ll come later.

Right now, I’m going to enjoy the moment.




* Rupert is a true gentleman and a joy to work with.

The Joys of Screenwriting

Let’s face it. There’s not a lot of joy to it. Sure, when it’s all done and you’re sitting in the darkened theater, watching your name scroll up the screen while fondling that six figure check.

Yeah, that’s pretty cool.

I guess.

Like I would know.

But the rest of the time, it’s pretty much a solitary pursuit with damn little to show for it.

And if you try to share your tiny victories with the rest of the world?

Me: Hey Hon. Tonight I got through the meet cute, managed to save the cat before page ten and referenced my theme twice.

Spouse: Uhhh, that’s nice.

Crickets: Chirp... (beat) Chirp...

But there’s one thing that actually feels pretty good. Print out your script (don’t use the good paper, recycle) pick it up, heft it. Doesn’t it feel good? Flip through it. Look, it’s a real script. All of those words and ideas are yours. You’ve done this much. Ten pages or one hundred, it’s all good. That’s yours right there. Nobody else’s. Only you could have done it exactly like that. Enjoy it. Maybe it’ll be movie or maybe not. But you created it. Out of nothing. That’s not bad.