MLK Day

I'm reluctant to get into my thoughts about MLK today, mostly because so many other people have said what I feel so much more eloquently than me.

Suffice to say, I am in awe of the man and his legacy. I am also aware that he was a human being, flawed and sometimes ruled by his emotions. This does not sully his legacy with me.

RIP, Dr. King, and may your dream finally, truly be realized. The sooner the better.

I've been mired in depression and despair over the past several days, for reasons I won't go into here. So, I did what I usually do when I get into that state--I started writing.

I've been unable to get Gorgon to come together so it's back on the back burner. I had two projects I had been thinking about working on for a while now, though neither of them were developed much beyond the initial idea stage. I couldn't decide which one I wanted to dive into, so I started a first draft of both of them.

This is without creating an outline or a treatment, by the way. This is the way I used to do it.

Both projects were inspired by dreams I had years ago.

One was a ridiculous dream that was so freaking silly I couldn't forget it, with a 'cowboys-in-space' kind of theme. I'm calling that one, "Showdown at Nebula 7" for now--I may change the title. It's going to be a short, though it keeps getting longer as I work on it. Some serious cutting will be in order, methinks. I'm pretty much sticking with how the dream went, for the most part. Hey, it works! Seems to work, I mean. Unfortunately, the dream was so damned silly I woke myself up laughing at it, so I don't know how it ends.

The other was a nightmare about monsters emerging from underground to wipe out humanity. I'm calling that one Face the Day, and it will be a feature-length horror film. This one will be significantly different from the dream I had, because the dream itself would not work as a movie. As I was working on it I figured out it could serve as kind of a sequel to Walks Like a Man, which is cool with me. It'll stand alone from that project.

And yes, I'm aware of the Angel City song "Face the Day." That's what inspired the title. If this thing gets shot I'd love for the score to be various bands covering that song in various genres--just that one song, over and over again, in a metal version, a country version, a big band version, a blues version, a rap version . . . you get the idea. Though without Great White's hair metal cover, which I thought was soulless and uninteresting.

I'm really happy with the ideas for both projects, and, as I've been working, I think "Showdown . . ." is calling to me a bit more strongly. I've reread what I have so far and it's coming along exactly like I wanted it to, so far. So, I'll probably concentrate on that one for the time being, jumping back to Face the Day when I get stuck on it just for a distraction.

I think I'll slip away to see a movie in a bit. I want to see Spielberg's The Post, though, holy bathroom breaks! It's two and a half hours long! I think it'll be worth it, though.

If I do see the movie I'll post a little review here.

First post of 2018

I guess I need to say something, since it's been 2018 for almost a week now.

I've just been working on rewriting some scripts and developing a package I can send to anyone who wants it for each of them. This will consist of:

• a query letter
• a synopsis
• a treatment
• the script

I'm writing a generic query letter for each project that I can tailor to a particular producer/agent/whoever just so I can get it to anyone who wants to see it quickly.

The synopsis is a very short--around 500 words or so--description of the project. Give the story in broad strokes, and don't forget to include the resolution of the issue the project is about.

A treatment is a bit more detailed synopsis--no more than five pages--where you give the major story beats and a bit more about the characters and more detail about the plot. Sort of medium-strokes at this point. But keep it short!

I should also mention that neither the synopsis, the treatment, nor the script should have any paragraphs that are longer than five lines or so. I know, people think that's ridiculous, but trust me--people who read scripts are busy. If they open your treatment or synopsis or query letter or whatever and see this huge block of text, they're going to stop reading. Break it up into chunks. It makes it much easier for them to read it, and, more importantly, makes it more likely that they'll read it.

You also need to come up with a log-line, a two-sentence description of the project. I've discovered that it is most helpful to come up with the log-line first, before you even start developing the project, so you can keep the scope and theme in mind as you work. It'll prevent you from wandering down blind alleys and areas that might be scenic but are totally irrelevant. You'll want to use the log-line in your query letter, and your treatment. Maybe write it out and post it somewhere you can see it while you work just in case you need a reminder.

On my hard-drive I created a folder specifically for scripts I'm ready to start showing around, with a subfolder for each project. In that subfolder is the script, along with the other items above. If I send a query letter to somebody I'll save a pdf of that letter in that subfolder so I'll have it, along with a time and date stamp.

Plus, I'm still developing my space-based horror movie, Gorgon.

So, I'm keeping myself busy, until the NFL playoffs get started, anyway.

How is your 2018 going so far?

A little something directors do . . .

If you're one of the imaginary people out there who follows this blog, you know I've said many times that film is one of the most powerful mediums in existence.

To help me prove my point, let's play a little game. Take a look at this still photo from the movie Alien: Covenant. And, if you're horror-movie phobic, don't worry--it's just a pic of two people sitting at a table talking. The scene is set on the starship Covenant.

While looking at it, ask yourself four questions.

1. Who is the protagonist?
2. Who is the antagonist?
3. What kind of relationship do these two people have?
4. What are their relationships with the rest of the crew?


After looking it over, I'm guessing you decided that the person on the left is the protagonist, with the person on the right being the antagonist, right? And you probably guessed that they aren't getting along very well, and the person on the left probably has a better relationship with the rest of the crew.

How the hell do you know that, though, just from a still photo?

Because the way Ridley Scott staged the scene tells you everything.

Here's the context of the scene:

Daniels (Katherine Waterston, left) is the first officer of the starship Covenant. Oram (Billy Crudup) is the Captain of the Covenant, and he's come to Daniels to explain his reasoning behind an order he's given that she wants to go on record as opposing.

Sure, Oram is the captain, and Daniels is his first officer, so why does it look like Daniels is the Captain?

For one thing, she's on the left, which is the side the strongest characters almost always appear on. Think of every Western you've ever seen--the hero first appears on the left side, bad guy on the right. Every time. It's something filmmakers figured out early, and have used ever since.

For another, Daniels is seated in a chair, Oram is sitting on a stool. It looks like Orem is visiting Daniels in her office, and normally the Captain doesn't go to someone he outranks--they usually come to him. Yet, here's Orem, sitting on a stool, head slightly bowed, as he approaches his first officer to try to change her mind.

You can tell from Oram's posture that he's the inferior in this scene, even though technically he outranks Daniels. This gives you an idea where they both fit in the context of the entire crew--Oram is shaky, not all that confident, while Daniels is comfortable and self-assured. You would accurately assume that Daniels has the confidence of the crew, while they don't quite trust Oram or think he knows what he's doing.

You got all this from a simple still photograph.

That's what I'm talking about when I refer to the power of film. Here this is just being used to tell a story. Imagine if a skilled filmmaker wanted to make a movie that would influence popular opinion, in the guise of making a simple entertainment.

It's kind of scary, actually. Fortunately, like every other trick, once you realize what the filmmaker is doing it loses its effectiveness.

It's still fascinating to watch, though, especially when it's a film by a visionary director like Ridley Scott.

Digging out, and working away

We've had a few inches of snow in my neck of the woods.

To many of you that seems barely newsworthy, but I live in an area where it doesn't snow much. So, more than a trace tends to shut the whole area down, and it looks like we've gotten a helluva lot more than a trace.

It's over now, though, and things maybe will start to return to normal now. I hope. I'm not a fan of snow, though it did give me an extra day off from work. No way am I going to try to drive on the roads around here when they're icy and slick and also full of other drivers who have no idea how to drive on icy, slick roads.

No thanks. I'll call in and stay home.

My script for the pilot for The Prince didn't make it to the finals in the Final Draft Big Break screenwriting competition. Still, a semifinal finish is nothing to sneeze at. I've rewritten the script and sent it out to a couple of agents to see if I can get some sort of official representation. Fingers crossed somebody likes it. Since it made it past two rounds of judging in a big time screenwriting competition I have to think that it does have something going for it. At the very least maybe I'll get asked for more examples of my work.

And congratulations to those who made it to the next round. Yes, I'm jealous.

I also splurged and paid a reading service to look over my horror screenplay. The feedback I got was honest if a bit blunt. It needs work. I didn't find any notes that I disagreed with, either, and the feedback was helpful. Honesty is what I paid these people for, and I've been rewriting it with their notes in mind. It's quite a bit better, too, now. As is my ego, once it got over the bruising. I guess I was expecting to get "It's perfect! Don't change anything!" back from these people. Not bloody likely.

And I've been revisiting Too Many Tonys, doing a rewrite on it with an eye towards sending it around, too. There were some problems with the story that I couldn't figure out how to fix until recently--putting it aside and then revisiting it later seems to have done the trick, as I figured out how to address the critical issues I had with it. I'm thinking it's nearly ready--I just need to read it over a couple more times, to be sure that I didn't throw the story structure out of whack when I made my changes. And to be sure that the new stuff blends in with the old stuff so it makes one, coherent story.

So, that's what I'm up to right now.

The Question, and semi-big news

First, my semi-big news: my one-hour pilot screenplay, The Prince: Cassus Belli, has made it to the semifinal round of the 2017 Final Draft Big Break competition.  I'm tremendously excited about this. If it makes it to the quarterfinals I may just die. But my corpse will have a big smile on its face.

The thought of maybe winning this thing, or at least being able to put "semifinalist in the 2017 Big Break competition" on any cover letter I send to someone with the script, has me thinking about something every screenwriter needs to think about: The Question.

What is The Question?

Imagine this: you're in a meeting with a producer. Someone big time who can get your movie made. She's impressed with your script but this is at a really early stage, and there are an awful lot of hoops left to jump through. The meeting's almost over when she asks:

"So, what else you got?"

At this point you need to have as many completed scripts in your pocket as possible. And have treatments handy for any that you haven't completed yet. And be ready to talk about them. Let this producer know that you are a serious writer. Not somebody who got lucky and came up with an interesting script once. She wants to know if you can do it over and over again.

That's somebody she'd want to do business with.

So, I've done a pretty significant rewrite of The Prince script, and I'm banging away on another pilot script right now. I've got a script for a horror feature that I thought turned out pretty well, and a treatment for a mystery that I'm pretty happy with, too. I'm going to be writing some more treatments over the next few weeks, too, just to have them handy.

I've also had an idea for a short film that's been driving me crazy--looks like I'll have to write that one just to get it out of my system. It should be interesting, though, and might actually be something I can get made.

So, when I get The Question, I should be able to give the person who asked it a full menu of choices. You want horror? Science fiction? A whodunit? Drama? Even comedy, if that's what you're looking for--I'm about to be in a position to write one I've been mulling over for years, looks like.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, that I make it to the next round. And always be ready with an answer to The Question. You never know . . .

What I've been up to, staycation edition . . .

I took this week off because it just so happened a lot of personal crap came up that I had to deal with, all at the same time. I decided it would behoove me to take an entire week off.

One of my goals for this week (other than getting to the stuff I need to get to and doing what I need to do) is to apply for a writer's development program at a major movie studio.

As part of the applications process, they wanted a film treatment. If you're one of the imaginary people who actually reads this blog you've seen me talk about treatments before, and how I struggle with them.

Well, I really wanted to apply for this thing. Which means, I really needed to write this treatment.

Over the past month or so I've been hammering away on it without any luck. I finally Googled it, to see how other writers have handled it. I came across Kevin Williamson's treatment for Halloween: H2O. If you're curious about what a treatment is and how to do it, I suggest you take a look at it yourself. I found this inspiring and educational.

Before, when I tried a treatment, I sort of condensed every element of the story down to its bare essentials. Which is not really necessary, and is actually quite tedious and hard to read. All you need to spell out are the important beats in the story.

It's important that whoever reads the thing knows how you plan to set up the story, so you need to go into detail about the first act. The reader needs to know how you intend to resolve it, too, so you need to go into detail about the third act. The reader doesn't need to know all of the details about the second act. Detail the Big Picture stuff, like the major setback that almost always has to happen at the halfway point, or any other major plot points. You're writing a mystery and your protagonist eliminated several suspects? No real need to detail how those suspects were eliminated, if they were red herrings.

But the reader has to know how you intend to handle the big reveal at the end--how the hero figures out who the murderer is, for example. You also need to give an idea how you're going to wrap things up. The button at the end, before the credits roll, which is usually where your protagonist comes to a decision or realization about something important only to him or her that may only be peripheral to the main plot. So, you'll need to mention any subplots along the way that you'll be dealing with there, but don't go overboard about it.

This was a slow, laborious process for me, but in the end I think it was worth it. I chose to write the treatment about a project where I'd actually already attempted a script, and I just couldn't get it to work. The main problem I had was the ending, which felt contrived and forced. I just didn't have a way for things to click for my hero, for him to figure out who the killer is in a way that made sense.

Writing that treatment, though, sort of forced me to see it in a different way, and a solution that was there in front of me the whole time sort of trotted out in front and waved at me and finally got my attention.

Will I be selected to participate in this program I was applying for? I doubt it. They probably have thousands of applicants and I don't really think I'm what they're looking for anyway. So, even though I sat down and applied the other day and uploaded everything they were looking for, I doubt I'll ever hear anything from them.

But writing that treatment was all the payoff I needed, actually. It'll never be easy to do one, but now that I have a better idea as to what writing one entails I won't dread it quite as much. And I'll be writing more of them, now, because I now see how they can be so bloody useful.

OK, Atlanta Falcons, here's the deal . . .

I've followed the Falcons since there's been an Atlanta Falcons.  Yes, for most of those years the team was godawful. That's why this is so frustrating now.

This is a team loaded with talent, on both sides of the ball. They should be great. But they suck.

And it's the same thing we saw in the Super Bowl last year. They play great in the first half. They stink in the second half.

This is nothing new. Remember a couple of years ago, a game they played in London against Detroit? The score at halftime was 17-0, Falcons. Score at the end? 17-18, Detroit. Falcons did not even manage a field goal in the second half. This, in a nutshell, is the problem.

Guys, it's called a half for a reason. There are two of them. Two halves = a whole game. Get it? If not, just remember this--when you got into the locker room at halftime, the game is not over yet. You got another half to go.

Anyway, I think I have about had it with this crap from you guys, especially since it always seems to be the same thing, week after week, and nothing is done to address it. It's like nobody except me even realizes it. Do what every other freaking team in the NFL does: make adjustments at halftime. Make adjustments at halftime. Make. Adjustments. At. Halftime. Make! Adjustments! At! Halftime!

So, here's the deal. You go to the Super Bowl this year. And you freaking win it  this time. I'll still be on board. No Super Bowl win and it's over between us.

It's for your own good.