I finally got back on a roll, doing the rewrite of The Sorcerer's Daughter.
I was stuck at a difficult place--I wasn't happy with the way I resolved the conflict in my initial draft and I still don't know how I'm going to do it this time, either, but I'm much happier with the lead-up to it now. That gives me a bit more confidence when I get to the point where the conflict needs to be resolved. Finally. Whew!
I actually started scratching out the lyrics to a song today, too. They sucked--I'm going to toss them--but still, I made the attempt, after a dry spell that lasted over a year. Maybe I'll be back to making music sometime soon, too. Who knows? Ideas have been coming to me again.
I'm not sure what happened to sort of turn off the music making part of my brain, but I'm glad it's waking up. Maybe shortly I'll be picking up my guitars again.
I've also got ideas for a couple projects that I need to plot out. I don't know yet if they'll be film projects or prose. I'm discovering I enjoy writing screenplays better than prose for some reason, and while I'm rewriting a project--actually a sequel to a project--I'm almost done with that. I think I want another cinematic project on my plate for when this one is over with.
In fact, I think I've just now decided what it'll be--a film project that 'll be more in the scifi/horror genre. It's a project that I tried before and was never entirely happy with. Now that I have some distance from it I think it's a good time to start over. I love the initial idea. It was my execution of it that didn't work.
That was something like my second screenplay ever. I have--I think--a better idea what I'm doing now. I guess we'll find out. I'll write a treatment for it first, this time, to help me rethink the whole thing.
Sorry. Just thinking out loud here.
It's going to be stormy here in the next day or so, which will be perfect weather for something like this. I may as well take advantage of it!
Yes, the world is definitely ready for another scifi/horror movie. Stay tuned!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Here's what I like
Since I've started writing screenplays I've given some thought to what I look for in a film. What sort of ropes me in and keeps me interested enough to sit and watch the whole thing. I do have a pretty good idea. Rather than explaining it, I thought I'd use an illustrative example, involving what is (in my opinion) the greatest film in cinematic history--Alien. If you haven't seen it you may not understand this, so I advise you to watch it right now and come back when the closing credits have finished rolling. I won't be going anywhere.
It opens like a pretty standard scifi flick, a spaceship, the Nostromo, in space, and we are told it's towing a refinery on its way back to earth. Sort of interesting but we'd seen that before--just enough visual stuff going on to keep me interested a little longer.
Cut to the inside of the ship. Something's going on--we don't see any people anywhere and the on-board computer comes to life, like it's receiving some sort of command or something, and we move around in the corridors to the chamber where the crew is being thawed out from their sleep. We learn something from this little foray through the corridors--this place is a dump. It's not the clean, shiny Universe of Star Wars. It's a lived-in place, old, with repairs probably being put off as long as possible for budgetary reasons. This is very interesting, to me--this looks like a real ship, now. Deep down inside, the part of me that watches movies has forgotten that this is a series of sets--it has become an actual ship, due to a detail like that.
Once the crew awakens we get to know them, too, and many of them are quite likeable, if a bit rough around the edges. So, I'm now invested in this thing, at least for now. I find the setting intriguing. I like the characters. I want to see what's going to happen next.
Not much actually happens for most of the first act of this movie, but you don't even notice that because the world of the film is so interesting. Every scene, every line, reveals a little more.
Then, they land on LV426 to investigate a signal from an alien beacon, and all hell breaks loose.
A lot of information is front-loaded in this film, things you need to know in order to appreciate the plot--the company that owns the Nostromo is treated with suspicion by the crew, and one gets the impression that their employer doesn't worry too much about breaking eggs when making omelets. It turns out, actually, that the company had a pretty good idea what was waiting for them on LV426 and deliberately sent them there so they could obtain a specimen of an alien life form for study. The crew was expendable, and believe me, most of them were expended.
Anyways, by the time things actually start happening we're primed and ready for the ride that is the last couple of acts.
It's the pacing of this thing that is so remarkable, that is so dead solid perfect. It starts out slow but it doesn't bore--the interest moves from the setting and the characters to the alien creature that is grabbing them one-by-one and carrying them off to do who-knows-what to them (and for more info on that score, check out the director's cut, which has a famous scene in it that was cut from the cinematic release that shows exactly what happened to Dallas and Brett). So, we have interesting characters, in an interesting setting, and now we've introduced an extremely hostile antagonist to chase them around. You get roped in, almost before realizing it, and you're in for the ride. Yes, it's basically a haunted house story, but with a twist--the kids won't leave the house because they can't.
Contrast this with the traditional cold opening of a James Bond movie, which I've never been able to get into--a car chase that seems to go on for hours. I find something like that overwhelming and usually lose interest pretty quickly and tune it out. Too much, too soon. Though I've tried quite a few times I've never been able to watch a Bond flick all the way through.
I hope all this makes sense. It's one of those things I find hard to explain, but it's a pretty simple concept. Watch Alien with this in mind. See the director's cut. Even if you emerge at the end still wondering what the hell I'm talking about, you will have at least seen a damned good film.
Sleep well.
It opens like a pretty standard scifi flick, a spaceship, the Nostromo, in space, and we are told it's towing a refinery on its way back to earth. Sort of interesting but we'd seen that before--just enough visual stuff going on to keep me interested a little longer.
Cut to the inside of the ship. Something's going on--we don't see any people anywhere and the on-board computer comes to life, like it's receiving some sort of command or something, and we move around in the corridors to the chamber where the crew is being thawed out from their sleep. We learn something from this little foray through the corridors--this place is a dump. It's not the clean, shiny Universe of Star Wars. It's a lived-in place, old, with repairs probably being put off as long as possible for budgetary reasons. This is very interesting, to me--this looks like a real ship, now. Deep down inside, the part of me that watches movies has forgotten that this is a series of sets--it has become an actual ship, due to a detail like that.
Once the crew awakens we get to know them, too, and many of them are quite likeable, if a bit rough around the edges. So, I'm now invested in this thing, at least for now. I find the setting intriguing. I like the characters. I want to see what's going to happen next.
Not much actually happens for most of the first act of this movie, but you don't even notice that because the world of the film is so interesting. Every scene, every line, reveals a little more.
Then, they land on LV426 to investigate a signal from an alien beacon, and all hell breaks loose.
A lot of information is front-loaded in this film, things you need to know in order to appreciate the plot--the company that owns the Nostromo is treated with suspicion by the crew, and one gets the impression that their employer doesn't worry too much about breaking eggs when making omelets. It turns out, actually, that the company had a pretty good idea what was waiting for them on LV426 and deliberately sent them there so they could obtain a specimen of an alien life form for study. The crew was expendable, and believe me, most of them were expended.
Anyways, by the time things actually start happening we're primed and ready for the ride that is the last couple of acts.
It's the pacing of this thing that is so remarkable, that is so dead solid perfect. It starts out slow but it doesn't bore--the interest moves from the setting and the characters to the alien creature that is grabbing them one-by-one and carrying them off to do who-knows-what to them (and for more info on that score, check out the director's cut, which has a famous scene in it that was cut from the cinematic release that shows exactly what happened to Dallas and Brett). So, we have interesting characters, in an interesting setting, and now we've introduced an extremely hostile antagonist to chase them around. You get roped in, almost before realizing it, and you're in for the ride. Yes, it's basically a haunted house story, but with a twist--the kids won't leave the house because they can't.
Contrast this with the traditional cold opening of a James Bond movie, which I've never been able to get into--a car chase that seems to go on for hours. I find something like that overwhelming and usually lose interest pretty quickly and tune it out. Too much, too soon. Though I've tried quite a few times I've never been able to watch a Bond flick all the way through.
I hope all this makes sense. It's one of those things I find hard to explain, but it's a pretty simple concept. Watch Alien with this in mind. See the director's cut. Even if you emerge at the end still wondering what the hell I'm talking about, you will have at least seen a damned good film.
Sleep well.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Why I'm a nightmare to watch a movie with, and randomocity
I've been a writer all of my life.
I've always analyzed stories, movies, and TV shows, and I know most of the tricks writers use to tell stories and otherwise manipulate their audiences. So, I find a lot of movies sort of tedious--watching a horror movie I usually amuse myself by watching the opening credits and predicting which actors' characters will die, and in what order. Every now and then I'm wrong, but even then it isn't by much--I may expect a particular character to be the third victim and he or she turns out to be the fourth.
I'm also pretty good, when watching a mystery, at figuring out who the killer is. Not by following the clues but looking at which actor is playing which role. I was watching a thriller with a friend a few years ago, and the first time the killer--whose identity was supposed to be a secret until near the end---appeared on-screen we looked at each other and said, "That's the guy."
How did she and I both figure it out? Because it appeared to be a tiny little role being played by an actor we both recognized. Had nothing to do with the plot, or anything--if he wasn't the killer then anybody could have played that role. But the director wanted somebody he knew was experienced and could handle it, which meant he had to go with a known actor. Which lead to us figuring it out an hour and a half before we were supposed to.
I focus too much, I think, on the story during a movie, and for many movies this is a mistake. Other people watch the cinematography, the choices the director makes as to shots, that sort of thing, and if that's your thing, I'm fine with it. As a writer, however, I have no choice but to focus on the story being told, and if I don't find it compelling, I don't care about the rest of it. I simply have no choice. If I find the story compelling I'll probably find the movie as a whole compelling, as I'll forgive a lot of sins in that case.
But how to make a story compelling? The best way is to have interesting and relatable characters. Watch Rob Zombie's remakes of Halloween and Halloween II. Zombie has watched more horror movies than I ever hope to, and he understands what makes them work. Both of those films are populated with interesting characters, many of whom I would hang around with in real life. I don't want anything bad to happen to them. Needless to say, something bad happens to most of them, and it's even scarier and more horrific because they are people I like. I recommend both of those movies highly.
I bought a new PC this week--I'm using it right now, actually--to replace my dying desktop PC. This one has Windows 8 on it. I'm still figuring it out, but so far, so good. It definitely took some getting used to, and I'm still figuring out all the navigation, but I think I like it so far.
I just did another pass through another old project I'm rewriting--one more and I think I'll be done with it. Then, back to The Sorcerer's Daughter.
Oh, and to make this completely boring, I'm doing laundry today, too.
I've always analyzed stories, movies, and TV shows, and I know most of the tricks writers use to tell stories and otherwise manipulate their audiences. So, I find a lot of movies sort of tedious--watching a horror movie I usually amuse myself by watching the opening credits and predicting which actors' characters will die, and in what order. Every now and then I'm wrong, but even then it isn't by much--I may expect a particular character to be the third victim and he or she turns out to be the fourth.
I'm also pretty good, when watching a mystery, at figuring out who the killer is. Not by following the clues but looking at which actor is playing which role. I was watching a thriller with a friend a few years ago, and the first time the killer--whose identity was supposed to be a secret until near the end---appeared on-screen we looked at each other and said, "That's the guy."
How did she and I both figure it out? Because it appeared to be a tiny little role being played by an actor we both recognized. Had nothing to do with the plot, or anything--if he wasn't the killer then anybody could have played that role. But the director wanted somebody he knew was experienced and could handle it, which meant he had to go with a known actor. Which lead to us figuring it out an hour and a half before we were supposed to.
I focus too much, I think, on the story during a movie, and for many movies this is a mistake. Other people watch the cinematography, the choices the director makes as to shots, that sort of thing, and if that's your thing, I'm fine with it. As a writer, however, I have no choice but to focus on the story being told, and if I don't find it compelling, I don't care about the rest of it. I simply have no choice. If I find the story compelling I'll probably find the movie as a whole compelling, as I'll forgive a lot of sins in that case.
But how to make a story compelling? The best way is to have interesting and relatable characters. Watch Rob Zombie's remakes of Halloween and Halloween II. Zombie has watched more horror movies than I ever hope to, and he understands what makes them work. Both of those films are populated with interesting characters, many of whom I would hang around with in real life. I don't want anything bad to happen to them. Needless to say, something bad happens to most of them, and it's even scarier and more horrific because they are people I like. I recommend both of those movies highly.
I bought a new PC this week--I'm using it right now, actually--to replace my dying desktop PC. This one has Windows 8 on it. I'm still figuring it out, but so far, so good. It definitely took some getting used to, and I'm still figuring out all the navigation, but I think I like it so far.
I just did another pass through another old project I'm rewriting--one more and I think I'll be done with it. Then, back to The Sorcerer's Daughter.
Oh, and to make this completely boring, I'm doing laundry today, too.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
A maybe rainy Tuesday morning randomocity
So, this is the second and last day of my mini-vacation. As the title suggests, it's probably going to be stormy, though not as bad as it was last week. Hopefully.
I bought a new desktop PC yesterday, complete with Windows 8. I'm still on the fence about the new version of Windows, but the fact that I don't hate it yet is probably a good sign. It definitely takes some getting used to. My computer has a touch screen, too, and I dig that, integrating that with a keyboard and mouse--if you try that yourself you'll see what I mean. Sometimes it's easier just to touch the screen and drag stuff around than it is to roll a mouse to an icon, or use the keyboard. And vice versa.
Plus, it's an all-in-one. Since I don't have that tower I've got a bit more room, so I went with a bigger screen. I mean, this thing is huge, compared with the tiny one my old system had. Opening a screenplay or a Word document on it is a bit intimidating--my words are enormous! I don't know why that sort of scares me, since, even though they are bigger, nobody is seeing them but me for now.
I'm going to work some more on The Sorcerer's Daughter, and on rewriting a script that I think is nearly finished. And I'm going to watch The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Les Miserables on BluRay, too--missed both of those in the theater.
All-in-all, not a bad way to spend a day, I think.
I bought a new desktop PC yesterday, complete with Windows 8. I'm still on the fence about the new version of Windows, but the fact that I don't hate it yet is probably a good sign. It definitely takes some getting used to. My computer has a touch screen, too, and I dig that, integrating that with a keyboard and mouse--if you try that yourself you'll see what I mean. Sometimes it's easier just to touch the screen and drag stuff around than it is to roll a mouse to an icon, or use the keyboard. And vice versa.
Plus, it's an all-in-one. Since I don't have that tower I've got a bit more room, so I went with a bigger screen. I mean, this thing is huge, compared with the tiny one my old system had. Opening a screenplay or a Word document on it is a bit intimidating--my words are enormous! I don't know why that sort of scares me, since, even though they are bigger, nobody is seeing them but me for now.
I'm going to work some more on The Sorcerer's Daughter, and on rewriting a script that I think is nearly finished. And I'm going to watch The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Les Miserables on BluRay, too--missed both of those in the theater.
All-in-all, not a bad way to spend a day, I think.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Rewriting randomocity
I hate to say I haven't done any work at all on The Sorcerer's Daughter in about a week.
That's because I've been rewriting another project for someone who has an interest in it--I can't go into it right now, but hopefully it'll lead to something. Since that project is heating up, it's the one that gets all the attention.
I really don't want to go into details about this right now--as soon as I can I'll spill it here. Just keep your fingers crossed for me that this turns into something. Of course, if it turns out to be a bust just forget I said anything.
So, I'm letting Drew (the titular Sorcerer's daughter) sort of languish while I revisit a world I created for a different project. It's an interesting world, though, peopled with characters that I like a lot.
It's been a busy week for me, beyond the rewriting. The company I work for hosted an event and I had to be there. I didn't have to give a presentation but I needed to be on-hand to help answer questions and otherwise smooze with the attendees--we had around 300 show up. It went pretty well, about as well as you could expect something like that to go. We may be doing more of those in the near future. Unfortunately, I decided to hitch a ride with my boss to get to the venue and since it was his event he needed to be there really early. Which meant I also had to be there really early. And stay until the bitter end. It made for a very long day.
Plus, some other stuff that went on at the office made this a very trying week for me. Not necessarily a bad week, just a hectic and stressful one.
So, I'm taking a couple of days off. The plan for those days is:
Damn. I'm still worn out. Maybe I'm incoherent now. It's hard for me to tell at this point--I've been concentrating as hard as I have in a long time for an extended period of time with all this stuff, and it's taken a lot out of me.
Anyways, I hope all that makes sense.
That's because I've been rewriting another project for someone who has an interest in it--I can't go into it right now, but hopefully it'll lead to something. Since that project is heating up, it's the one that gets all the attention.
I really don't want to go into details about this right now--as soon as I can I'll spill it here. Just keep your fingers crossed for me that this turns into something. Of course, if it turns out to be a bust just forget I said anything.
So, I'm letting Drew (the titular Sorcerer's daughter) sort of languish while I revisit a world I created for a different project. It's an interesting world, though, peopled with characters that I like a lot.
It's been a busy week for me, beyond the rewriting. The company I work for hosted an event and I had to be there. I didn't have to give a presentation but I needed to be on-hand to help answer questions and otherwise smooze with the attendees--we had around 300 show up. It went pretty well, about as well as you could expect something like that to go. We may be doing more of those in the near future. Unfortunately, I decided to hitch a ride with my boss to get to the venue and since it was his event he needed to be there really early. Which meant I also had to be there really early. And stay until the bitter end. It made for a very long day.
Plus, some other stuff that went on at the office made this a very trying week for me. Not necessarily a bad week, just a hectic and stressful one.
So, I'm taking a couple of days off. The plan for those days is:
- Get a new desktop PC. My current one is on its last legs and keeps crashing.
- Resume working on The Sorcerer's Daughter
Damn. I'm still worn out. Maybe I'm incoherent now. It's hard for me to tell at this point--I've been concentrating as hard as I have in a long time for an extended period of time with all this stuff, and it's taken a lot out of me.
Anyways, I hope all that makes sense.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Saturday morning doing laundry randomocity
The plan for the weekend:
I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for flowers and blossoms and all that. There's a magnolia tree right behind my apartment--as soon as it blooms I'm gonna sneak out there and snip off a couple of limbs to photograph and paint. If I get motivated enough I'll do the same thing to some dogwoods if I can find any close by and convenient.
Or I may just do something abstract with paint. I have an idea for something that's more of an exercise but may produce an interesting painting when it's done. I really enjoy the process of painting, so I'm sure I'll find something to put down on that canvas board I've got primed and ready.
I watched the pilot episode of "Hannibal" on NBC, finally, and thought I'd share my thoughts on it. Please bear in mind when you read the below that I've read and love the books by Thomas Harris, and enjoyed the movies, too--which would be Manhunter, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon, and Hannibal Rising. So, I'm familiar with the characters, both in their cinematic and their literary contexts.
Though this was good enough to keep me watching, at least for a few more episodes. Probably even more.
Did you watch Hannibal? What did you think?
- Laundry (in progress)
- rewrite The Sorcerer's Daughter (pending)
- write The Sorcerer's Daughter (pending)
- reread a screenplay I wrote a while back in preparation for notes for a rewrite
I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for flowers and blossoms and all that. There's a magnolia tree right behind my apartment--as soon as it blooms I'm gonna sneak out there and snip off a couple of limbs to photograph and paint. If I get motivated enough I'll do the same thing to some dogwoods if I can find any close by and convenient.
Or I may just do something abstract with paint. I have an idea for something that's more of an exercise but may produce an interesting painting when it's done. I really enjoy the process of painting, so I'm sure I'll find something to put down on that canvas board I've got primed and ready.
I watched the pilot episode of "Hannibal" on NBC, finally, and thought I'd share my thoughts on it. Please bear in mind when you read the below that I've read and love the books by Thomas Harris, and enjoyed the movies, too--which would be Manhunter, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon, and Hannibal Rising. So, I'm familiar with the characters, both in their cinematic and their literary contexts.
- I'm sort of iffy of their interpretation of the Will Graham character. I'm sure it's because I really liked Will Peterson's interpretation of the same character in the film Manhunter--I always thought he nailed it--but still, it was kind of interesting. I'm willing to go along with it, at least for now.
- I love Anthony Hopkins's performance as Lecter in the movies but the accent always bothered me. Lecter was Lithuanian, not British, and they didn't forget that in the TV show for once.
- A serious effort was made to get the technical dialog correct, and that goes a very long way with me. It looks like the writers still don't have a clear understanding as to how a serial killer's mind works, but they appear to be trying. That also goes a very long way with me.
- The writing was very good--there was humor, some of it very dark, but none of the wink, wink, nudge, nudge kind that makes me crazy. They took the material very seriously, instead of treating it as exploitation.
- The production--lighting, editing, etc.--was first rate. It's very easy to watch, visually, and flows naturally. It's easy to get drawn into the world in the show.
Though this was good enough to keep me watching, at least for a few more episodes. Probably even more.
Did you watch Hannibal? What did you think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
