Just read on the BBC that Life on Mars will end after series two.
I'm not very shocked as it became clear to me half way through series one that although it was a great concept, it would probably have worked better as a mini series. I do hope they find new life in it for series two and prove me wrong rather than offer a whole series of nostalgic moments.
I was going to call this post "And Cancel Christmas!" as Alan Rickman stole the show with his acting in the film version, but this is the small screen and nobody stole any show. Anyway .....
I watched the start of the new Robin Hood series last night.
I thought the writing was a bit weak at the very start, but that sorted itself out a little and the same could be said of the directing: What on earth was going on when they were showing off twirling swords around? They missed the mark with that sequence.
There was just enough (and only just) in the 45 minutes to make me want to watch the next episode, so the jury is still out. HOWEVER I may stop watching if they don't get rid of that whizzing arrow sound when they show the title of a location on the screen. After the third time I wanted to punch the TV.
I did think the actors outperformed the writing, apart from Marion who I thought was weak (although that could be down the her limited screen time).
I think I'll give it two more episodes to grab my interest. My last point is that they should have made it an hour long as I think 45 minutes may make episodes look rushed.
Can someone please slow life down, or at least put a few extra days in the week?
The free script notes service is on hold for the moment. The baby is due in 2 weeks and I have 2 scripts to review. I think it is safer to leave it at that until we are settled with the new baby before I accept any more submissions. You can picture it as I get home from work.
ME: Honey, I'm home!
My Better Half (MBH): Oh, thank God! They baby has been crying all day and I haven't been able to get a thing done.
ME: Are you okay?
MBH: Yeah, I'm fine, but could you look after the baby for a while or do the house work?
ME: Sorry, I can't. I'm off upstairs to read this script. And I'll be writing the review tomorrow after work.
MBH: ..........
Well I'm sure you know what MBH would say next, so I won't accept any more submissions for a while as I've grown quite accustomed to my man bits over the years.
On top of all that the DIY is taking ages. I'm on the home straight but no one told me the home straight is 3 miles long. Do you have any idea how long it takes to sand a banister down? I didn't but I do now. More sanding tonight.
Ooooo Look! On the right. Yes, there over on the right. Actual movement on the writing front. And it's a new screenplay!
I started thinking about the superhero genre a month or so ago for a post when I was going to comment about superhero movies always being based on comics. Then I thought of The Incredibles, My Super Ex Girlfriend, and I think two others but they have slipped my mind. Can anyone add more?
Then I thought "Can I write something to add to that list?"
I lost interest in that as a bad idea pretty quickly, but then thought "Well how about a twist on the superhero genre". My Super Ex Girlfriend was a sort of twist, but I wanted more and I think I've hit it! I can't imagine that this concept is brand spanking, right out of the box new, but it hasn't made it to the screen yet (I'm pretty sure it hasn't). I know I'm not giving anything away here but I'm excited about this idea and I'm in paranoid screenwriter mode.
Compared to the other ideas I have mulled over/attempted, I'm treating this one as a bit of a laugh (but I remain serious about writing). I suppose this is good as it's supposed to be at least slightly funny. I've approached every other idea as seriously as possible, so it will be interesting to see how this one turns out.
Time will tell :)
What a hectic two weeks!
Oh, I should mention this now: This post has nothing to do with screenwriting.
Bought a new carpet and they said it would take them 3 to 4 weeks to get it from the manufacturer. “Great” I said, “that will give me plenty of time to get the decorating done”. Then it turns up after a week. They will keep it for another week before they have to install it, but curse their efficiency! Now I have to take more time off to get finished before the fitters turn up.
In other news, I was in hospital on Thursday stuck in an MRI machine (and unable to decorate). My God that was a boring, mind numbingly dull experience. Stuck inside a narrow tube for 65 minutes, lying as still as possible. What made it worse was half way through the nurse came in and said the following:
“Now, I would like you to try and not swallow for about six or seven minutes. Okay!”
Now, I’m not sure what she was trying to achieve saying that (well, she was probably trying to have me lay there for six or seven minutes without swallowing), but if I ever had a chance of pulling that task off, my chances reduced to about zero with me stuck in a metal tube having nothing else but that on my mind. Anyway, my MRI results and a number of other test results will be the subject of a meeting in about a month and then I will get the results in layman’s terms (don’t worry, I still plan to live to a ripe old age).
Then to top it all, I was Ikea’d on Sunday! Roughly 3.5 hours after going in, £210 down and with only half of what they said was in stock on my trolley (the other half wasn’t in stock, even though they said it was), I stumbled out of there. Now I have to go back tomorrow morning and fight my way back out with the rest. Actually, I think I’ll ring first and hope they have learned how to read their stock computer.
Oh yeah, and not to forget the baby is due in three weeks!
Did any of that make any sense at all to you? Actually I don’t care as it’s off my chest :)
Ahhhhhhhhhhh, that’s better.
I was just reading Optimistic Reader's blog and 4 words slapped me in the face:
Fear of the rewrite.
The 3rd draft of Good Guys is a big rewrite. The problem is the progress bar over there on the right has been sitting at 25% for about three weeks now. Act one was taken to with a chain saw and I've got that finished, but act two is going to be brand new. I won't be taking much at all from what exists apart from perhaps one scene and maybe 2 funny situations. Apart from that act two will be rewritten from scratch.
Half of me doesn't want to do this. I already have a complete script from start to finish. Starting this draft means that is no longer true. This half of me wants to undo all the changes and sit there hugging draft number two.
The other half of me is a realist. This half knows it isn't good enough and if I really want any hope of writing for a living, I have to be able to do harsh things like throw 3/4 of a completed script away.
I have to overcome the fear of the rewrite.
The Sc-Fi horror outline seems to have hit the buffers at 60% complete :(
I've got the story with a beginning, middle and end, but I can't seem to give the characters anything. However I think of it panning out they just seem to be there to be part of the action. I can't find any depth to them. Perhaps it is time to put this one down and give it some time at the bottom of the pile. I may be able to fix it when I come back to it.
The good news is my other horror idea has gained some good depth. I've had this one in my head for about 8 or 9 months (I think, I'll have to check back in the blog archives to be sure), but couldn't find a way for the one survivor to defeat the evil nasty. Now I have and in the process it has allowed me to add some "shit that was close!" scary moments. Can't wait to write FADE IN: on this one, but I'm determined to get the next draft of Good Guys finished first. I've just got to find the time, which links nicely onto my next point:
Just when I thought I had a break coming in my reading calendar, more scripts land in my inbox. Oh well, I'm not complaining as it is all about educating myself in the art that is writing script notes.
What a week.
I've been off work for the last week doing a bit of Don't Involve Yourself. The living room is now decorated (after pulling the fireplace down 2 months ago) and the dining room isn't far behind. That leaves the hallway, stairs and landing to do before the new carpets arrive. Yes, new carpets. We went out "just to look" at carpets and within 20 minutes had spent £900!
Oh well, it happens. An alarm must sound each time we have money in our savings account that causes shops selling things we need to have a big sale. As a result our logic says we had better buy this while we can afford it and the savings account is emptied.
Bang goes that new shiny MacBook I wanted ;(
I’m a bit behind on cinema time lately so the following post is probably old news to most.
Over the last two weeks I have seen 4 movies: 2 B movies and 2 (so called) blockbusters. I have to say that the B movies won any sort of contest easily.
Blockbuster number one: Superman Returns was weak and had such a big plot hole in it that you had to look up, down and side to side to actually see the film.
Blockbuster number two: Pirates 2. The only reason that film didn’t have any plot holes in it was the fact that it didn’t have a plot for any holes to exist. I know it’s a two part film, but there should be some sort of story contained within part one. I won’t dig into their failings because this post would never end (go on, someone tempt me!).
The B movies were Snakes on a Plane and Severance. I went in with an open mind and thought they were fantastic. I wonder how many of those films could be made for the combined budget of Superman and Pirates?
I recall when Judge Dredd came out and there was this interview with Sly saying it was a fantastic film. Fast forward five or six years and another interviewer (can’t remember who) asked Sly about Judge Dredd and he just shook his head and looked at the floor (I know a Judge Dread fan may stop by here, so no offence, I’m just telling it like I saw it).
Anyway, I wonder if the cast of Pirates or Superman will do anything similar when asked about those films in five or six years?
How many act ones do you have?
Well I have a ton of them. Some written and some in my head.
I've just created another during what I call "An act one moment". One of those moments when you get a moment of clarity and in a flash an entire act one pops into your head. For me different things can cause this; a thought, a news article, something someone says to me in passing, a dream or a joke. If it is something factual like a news article the act one doesn't usually turn out to be about what was reported, but something was within it to act as a trigger.
The problem is that flashes of inspiration like this rarely constitute a full three acts, but with luck it will have something that (with work) can make it to a full screenplay. My current "act one moment" has produced an act one that deals with love, death, the afterlife and a personal quest. Normally that would be enough for an entire screenplay, but here is is all contained in act one. That may make it too busy, but I have an ending, or at least an idea for one that my main character has to get to, but the middle is a bit fuzzy. "Isn't that always the case?" I hear you ask. Well you are probably correct, but I'll see what I can do with it.
The problem is that this means I've got too many ideas on the go. I have the third draft of Good Guys, the outline for the Roman time travel thing (that's not as daft as it sounds), the outline for the Sci-Fi horror, and now this. I've also got another horror idea that I've been carefully growing inside my head for the past six months. Usually I find it is the ones that have been in your head for ages that turn out best.
Anyway, I'd better crack on with some script notes I have to write (Lucy, you should get them soon).
Cheers
C
It's been a while since my last post so I thought I'd better make an effort.
I've actually had quite a good week screenwriting/reading wise. I've had a steady flow of scripts to review through my free script notes offer, but the really good news is that I managed to get hold of a copy of Movie Magic Screenwriter. I bought it off EBay for the grand total of £36.01 including postage!
I am shocked the guy let it go so cheap, but I'm glad he did. I suppose an auction is an auction.
I know you can use Microsoft Word or Notepad to write scripts, but this software makes writing much easier. After I let my original copy of the software go I switched to CeltX (www.celtx.com) for a while. CeltX It is very good (and free!), but MMS still has an edge on it.
More updates on some actual writing soon :)
The script reading seems to be taking up a lot of my free time and as a result I'm spending less on my writing (a bad thing).
However, what it is doing is making me practice what I preach and as a result my writing should be of a higher quality (a good thing).
We all know the mechanics of a good script and how they should be presented, but when you are slogging through the process, churning out page after page, it is easy to loose sight of quality (or at least it is easy for me). When reading another person's script, I can pick out what it is doing wrong and what it isn’t doing that it should, but picking those issues with my own work seems to be harder.
While reading and making a note or two about the script, I've found myself thinking about my own work and making notes left, right and centre. So in short, I've got even less time to write, but what I do produce should produce a much tighter and marketable script.
Ok, so I've read a few scripts through my new service (see link on the right), and the last one gave me one of those "I wish I'd thought of that" moments as it had something unique in it. I won't name the writer as I don't want to embarrass, but he (or she) has a blog in my blogroll.
Everything has been done before, be it horror, action (on land, in the air, on the water, under the water), romance, the romcom, mobster, western, the buddy movie (this list went on but I shortened it). It has all been done before.
You can mix them up to an extent (Shaun of the Dead - comedy/horror), but what we have to do as writers is pick one of those and make it unique. Horror seems to be the thing to write at the moment in this country. As a result, if you write bog standard horror and submit it you can probably guarantee that yours will sit in a pile of others that are exactly the same. You have to pull it up out of the pile. Imagine a movie exec dangling a uniqueness magnet over a pile of scripts. Will yours be the one that is fished out?
How do you make it unique? Well I can't do it for you (unless you give me a credit), but just take a look at the 'standard' features of your chosen genre. In horror I guess there are standard (or perhaps famous) situations. The shower scene where you can see through the shower curtain and a shadow is approaching. Take that and give the audience something unexpected with it (I've got a twist on that but I'm not sharing it :p ).
Read your last script and pick out the main points. Have you given the reader something never seen before? Give it some thought and see what you come up with.
We all know Snakes on a Plane is coming out soon, and we are all kicking ourselves for not coming up with an idea as simple as that. It says action, death, adventure, and suspense. It presents an opportunity for someone to face up to death, fear and destruction, rise above it all and save the day, all within the interior of an aeroplane. It is a pitch, a logline, and a tagline all wrapped up in four words. Will it live up to all the hype? Time will tell.
So I have to ask the question:
If it turns out to be a success, how many “deadly things in a confined space” movies will we see over the next three or four years?
Movies seem to come in genre/concept packs sent out by the studios to capitalise on what is seen as safe money. The cinema goers like that, so they will like our version. I remember as a kid there were disaster movies (The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure and Earthquake). In recent years we have had a flood of romcoms and teen movies (some good, some bad, and some that look like a bulldog chewing a wasp). Currently we have horror and comic based stuff.
Will Snakes on a Plane become leader of a pack? Well I have copyright on Tarantulas in a Submarine, so there! :)
Later
C
Well my free script notes offer has gotten off to a good start. So far three people have mailed in their script, so I have some reading ahead of me.
I don’t do this often, but this month I have to recommend Empire Magazine. They have a great article on Snakes on a Plane, a B movie that was famous before filming even started. I’m proud to say I was there at the start when the cult formed after Josh Friedman wrote this post (he’s back online BTW). They also have a mega review of about every film to hit the UK cinemas over the next year.
Also another screenplay has developed into existence inside my head. It is my second horror idea which is strange because I don’t really like horror (I’m sure I’ve said it before).
Anyway, I’ve got some reading to do.
Later
C
