Writer/Human

Unsure

2011-09-27T23:15:00.000-07:00

Just now as I sat watching a show, my consciousness was attacked with desires to write something. It took me a few minutes, but I finally sat down and opened up a document to start documenting my ideas and vision.

Unfortunately I couldn't figure out what to write. I know what I want to write, I just don't know what to write.

This isn't the first time I've ever had writer's block and it certainly won't be the last. This time I thought it would be fun to write a blog post (because I haven't blogged in a few weeks because of a new job) and use it to have a bit of fun.

Below is an image that I found on Google image search:

Now I'm going to write a scene using this image and post it below. (I'm going to try and use Scrippets so it will look official). My parameters are:

No longer than a written script page.
Image must be new to me and I can't read anything about the image.
Must be sci-fi related or have some element of sci-fi within.

Hopefully this will be a fun tool to get me inspired to write again and bring back the flow of inspiration that I once had.

[scrippet]
EXT. STREET – DAY

ANGELA picks up a steady pace as she crosses the last street.  Her breath has become erratic and her head swivels back and forth, waiting for an attack at any moment. She protects a small black backpack on her right shoulder, not letting it out of her clutches for a second.

She approaches the corner when a large black sedan SCREECHES to a halt, blocking her path.

A tall and slender MAN in a black suit swiftly exits the back of the car and puts on a large black surgical mask. Angela has no time to run, she stares the man down.

ANGELA

Move.

MAN

It would be in the best interest of the collective if you would get in the car.

ANGELA

Move now.

The man stands firm. He takes out a small cigarette-sized metallic pen. He points it at her.

ANGELA

That's not funny. Put that away.

MAN

I've tried to be reasonable with you Angela. You've left us no choice.

ANGELA

You've been given nothing but choices. You had a choice to stop the game when we arrived on this planet. You had a choice to bring the others back.

(closer to the man)

You had the choice to get me out, and you didn't.

The Man stares Angela down for an intense moment. Her icy-glare is unrelenting in its accusation.

He breaks. Takes off the mask. Puts the pen in his coat pocket.

ANGELA

Good. Now let me through.

MAN

I'm afraid that won't work Angela.

Instantly Angela lurches forward in pain. She grabs her stomach, it is beginning to bleed through her grey-hooded sweatshirt. She crumples to the floor.

ANGELA

...How could you?!...

Angela closes her eyes, for what seems like the final time.
[/scrippet]

Fall Movie Preview - September

2011-08-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

It's time for school!! Well, not for me, but I am excited about the upcoming releases this fall. Each year around this time you get a funny mix of both critically acclaimed movies (Oscar-bait movies), movies that the distributors were unsure of so they didn't release them during the higher grossing summer months, and the blockbuster Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday films.

Here are a number of my personal picks and suggestions, I'll be rolling them out each week with trailers and thoughts for each one. Starting tomorrow I'll have a fall TV preview as well. Hope you get excited to see some cool movies!

I didn't include anything that wasn't related to Sci-Fi, but I know there are a number of great films coming out this Fall. What are you excited to see?

SEPTEMBER

Apollo 18

PREMISE: The premise behind this film is that there was a final mission to the moon that was not divulged. The astronauts were to go up and discover what had happened to a fallen cosmonaut from the USSR, but what they discover is a more sinister and lethal entity.

THOUGHTS: This one looks like a fun horror film, and there might be some great mock-vintage footage, but from the trailer it does seem a bit claustrophobic. Also, I'm getting sick of the "found footage" style of horror films. Watch your back for this one on September 2nd.

Contagion

PREMISE: The synopsis for Contagion is not very clear, but what we do know is that it is about a deadly disease that breaks out and threatens to take out the entire world.

THOUGHTS: I love a good virus outbreak movie. The 1995 film Outbreak is one of my all-time favorites. This film has a lot of star power which excites me to see it. I'm just scared for the moment when one of the doctors in an HVAC suit punctures themselves with a needle - it happens in every virus movie and it freaks me out! Get infected on September 9th.

Dream House

PREMISE: Daniel Craig stars as a husband and father who moves his family into a nice big dream house only to find out that the house has a terrible history that has him strangely linked.

THOUGHTS: This one looks pretty good. It looks like a perfect psychological horror film. It is directed by one of my favorites - Jim Sheridan. The trailer might be giving away too much, and the title is very generic, but I'm sure there's so much more to it that will make it a great scare. This one comes out September 30th.

Movie Review: COWBOYS AND ALIENS (2011)

2011-08-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

COWBOYS AND ALIENS (2011)

For some reason, I had heard a lot of bad stuff about this film. A good many of the people that I follow on Twitter said they didn't love it. It didn't do as well as expected at the box office (just barely beating out The Smurfs that weekend) and it didn't do well on RottenTomatoes.com (a whopping 45%).

All the same, I found it to be quite fun and exciting. It had a few missteps and a bit of wonkyness because of the genre blending, but overall a good enough story to warrant a view.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

You know what? I really did like this movie. You know why? Because Westerns are cool.

Isn't this cool?!!

They really are. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. It's why the entire genre went crazy in the 40's and 50's. And it's why there have been countless Westerns made since the beginning of cinema. (Maybe it's our struggle to connect with our past in America?)

Anyway, the film takes the inherent coolness of the Western and adds a fantastical element - aliens. This is what was so mind-blowing from the original graphic novel, the fact that they blended the Western and Sci-Fi genre. This had been thought of, but never done in such a large scale.

Read the Prologue to the Graphic Novel of Cowboys and Aliens here.

That being said, it may have been the reason for such confusion in the audience. The goals of a Western are far different from the goals of Sci-Fi. They have the same technicality and the same story-telling techniques, but they share differing trains of thought and different perspectives. I will admit though, the reaction from the characters to the alien technology was amazing. That was what I was hoping for throughout the whole film - 19th Century rubes reacting to electricity and technology.

Now here is where the film suffered - too many characters and not enough sympathy for the characters. Every time a new character was brought in I though "Oh great, now they're going to waste time explaining this guy." Even though Daniel Craig played the mysterious man who wakes in the desert with temporary amnesia, they thought it a good idea to start focusing on people like Harrison Ford's Colonel Dolarhyde (appropriate name, no?) or his son, or the mysterious alien woman, or the barkeep and his wife, or the sheriff and his grandson, or the Native American worker, or the... you get the idea.

The problem with not generating sympathy stems from the fact that none of these characters warrant that sympathy. In most gritty Western dramas you can have a group of despicable characters that choose to do no good, and the unsympathetic becomes sympathetic because there is one guy who excels beyond it and turns over a leaf of good. We usually find out who it is right at the beginning of the film. Other Westerns have despicable characters throughout, but they are all taught a lesson (check out The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, you will be glad you did.) But in a blockbuster Sci-Fi/Western you will need to generate some heart right away or the audience is going to distrust the entire film.

Our hero Jake Lonergan (I presume he's the hero) is nothing but a dirty lowdown thief. Ya he may not remember that, and he does receive redemption in the end, but right off the bat we want to love him and we don't. He kills three men brutally right away for no reason! They didn't deserve that! Sure they had scalps on their horses and they were acting a bit rough with him, and maybe they did deserve it because of what they had done up to that point, but we don't see that in the film and we need a better reason for him to murder them and steal their clothes.

Colonel Dolarhyde isn't any better. We hate him immediately because of his son Percy (played by the amazing Paul Dano). We are supposed to hate Percy because he's a whiny piece of work, but because of the way the town fears Dolarhyde we automatically believe him to be the villain.

The Native Americans are the closest to gathering my sympathy as well as the young boy. The problem is - we don't get to know them at all. The Native Americans speak through an interpreter and act out of fear, the young boy doesn't say anything the whole movie and shows nothing but fear. We don't know them!

And of course - the aliens. They are completely out of the question. We hate them. Why? Because they came here to take over and steal our gold (Gold? Seriously? They want gold?!) They maliciously kidnapped our kin and forced weird experiments on them. Also they are ugly and slimy.

On a side note - why do all the aliens look the same nowadays? Can't we come up with any better looking or different styled alien creatures? I swear the only difference between them are where the arms and eyes are placed. Everything else is the same - a computer generated baddie with claws and weird bug eyes. Where are my giant ants?! Where are my humanoids? Where are my Predators with dreadlocks or my Aliens with crazy heads and mouths within mouths? Why are they all looking the same now?

Anyway, as much as I'm slamming the characters and other aspects of this film, I was truly engaged throughout and loved the production design and cool vibe. I hope they don't stop making original stories like this and I really hope they don't stop genre-blending because frankly, it's neat.

Did you see the movie?:
What are your thoughts? What did you think? Is there anything you hated/loved about the film?

Portal Gun

2011-08-23T17:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not really a huge video game person. I was growing up, but since graduating high school it's been hard for me to get into any new games. I love playing new stuff suggested by friends, but other than that I can't really find the time to play in-between watching movies and TV and writing movies and TV.

I am however, extremely intrigued by the game Portal, as well as it's sequel. The thing that amazes me most is the idea of having a gun that can transport someone. It's taking a great idea and making it better by adding mobility and puzzles.

An impressive short film directed by Dan Trachtenberg just surfaced on YouTube today. Something that I think you should see. This definitely opens up questions of a full feature soon. Right?

Watch the film here:

What did you think? Look good?

Here's my one concern: Why was she given access to the gun? How did she find it? Why would they let that happen?

Grammar

2011-08-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

Netflix Gems: MILLENIUM (1989)

2011-08-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

A newer feature on the blog that I will have be posting in conjunction with my Movie Review feature is the Netflix Gems. These are films that are streaming on Netflix right now (as of the date of the posting) and are fun little movies that you may not have heard of or even thought about watching.

The first film in this series is the 1989 futuristic thriller MILLENIUM:

An airline crash investigator finds a strange device in the wreckage of a double plane disaster. The device comes from the future and the discovery of it could end the world in about a thousand of years. A mysterious woman visits the investigator and attempts to get the device back before all hope is lost. Directed by Michael Anderson. Written by John Varley (based on his short story). Starring Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl Ladd.

Subgenres: Time Travel/Romance/Futuristic

This film has a lot going for it and only a few things bringing it down. What it has going for itself is an amazing plot and an intriguing idea. What brings it down is a few cheesy elements and a seriously outdated style.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

This film has an amazing opener - two airplanes colliding in midair! They do a great job of creating confusion and doom. Although it might have been shocking in 1989, this sort of plane disaster seems a bit less extreme (post 9/11), but it did have a great effect in seeing the reaction of the characters to the crash site.

The brilliance of this movie is in playing with time paradoxes. The futuristic team have come up with a great way to avoid destruction by only taking people from planes that are about to crash and replace them with dummies. Another really thrilling moment is when the futuristic devices they accidentally left behind become the very destruction of the world. Time paradox! The plot was really well thought out and made for an intriguing look at the dangers of time travel as well as the problems with overusing our Earth's natural resources.

Although they are very fun - the film is plagued with some very corny dialogue and some even cornier costumes. I'm sure in the late Eighties these wouldn't have been too cheesy, but whenever you make a futuristic film you run the risk of having the costumes and production design look very archaic to a future audience. The romance portion of the film comes off as hokey and a bit forced, making it difficult to take the characters seriously. Another issue was the way in which the captured/rescued people from the past seemed so docile about what was happening. They just filed out of the time warp with such calm demeanor and placating attitudes that it seemed a bit inauthentic that they would just be willing to cooperate. Oh ya, and the robot helper in the future is super funny but totally ridiculous-looking.

Despite the cheese, the film is a really fun and delightful gem. A high recommend for anyone looking for an intriguing futuristic/time travel thriller.

Please enjoy the trailer!:

Has anyone seen this little gem? What did you think?

BLADE RUNNER Again

2011-08-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

As one comment read on Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood news post: "And thus, the internet breaks in two." (posted by 'Mike').

It was announced today and later confirmed on Finke's blog that Alcon Entertainment has acquired the rights and Ridley Scott is attached to produce and direct a follow up of his groundbreaking sci-fi film Blade Runner.

Every movie and sci-fi geek knows that Ridley Scott directed two of the most influential sci-fi movies of all time - Alien and Blade Runner. In the last year or so, Scott has been working on a new version of Alien with a project written by Damon Lindelof (Lost) called Prometheus. From what I understand, this will not be a reboot, but more of a prequel or what-happened-up-to type film (a lot like the new The Thing).

As the commenter said above, this just may split all geeks into two factions. Those that love the new direction and enjoy the fun of a new version of their favorites, and the other group - the ones that feel the Hollywood studios are treading on sacred ground and should begin coming up with more original ideas rather than trying to reboot and change every known movie franchise out there.

Personally, I'm in the second camp. I wish they would try and make the NEXT Blade Runner -esque film rather than just rehashing the same thing over and over again. I get that there are 'only twelve stories to tell' or whatever, and I don't mind if a story is "like Blade Runner meets ..." but to make an exact copy or just updated style is a bit ridiculous. I know it's been done well in the past, and that every 30 years or so we see a lot of copies and remakes, but for crying out loud - it has gone on to epidemic proportions!

Some other funny comments on Twitter:

"Announced: August 2017 Ridley Scott to reimagine GI Jane." @wilzmak
"Announced: June 2015, Thelma and Louise Survived" @writerspry
"Announced: Aliener" @ScreenWritten

Here is the epic trailer for the epic film Blade Runner (1982):

What do you think? Are you sick of all these reboots and rehashes?

Student Film: CITY IN THE SKY

2011-08-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

Italian filmmaker and recent London Film School student Giacomo Cimini has had some early buzz for his short film City in the Sky. It premiered at the 66th Annual Venice Film Festival and is available on iTunes.

What I find interesting about this film is that it has been widely distributed by the film school which is something that is rarely, if ever done. The ability to self-publish through iTunes and other electronic mediums makes it a much easier task nowadays, but it's even harder now to find good quality. Another interesting thing is that it looks far better than most film school films usually do. It has it's problems from what I can tell in the trailer, but I think it deserves special note and it would be very interesting to see the film. What do you think? Better than most student films?

Here's the trailer:

City in the Sky Trailer from Giacomo Cimini on Vimeo.

Issues

2011-08-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

I've realized since the start of the new direction that I haven't really expressed what it is that I am going to focus on exactly. Broadly I am going to write about and report on things of Science Fiction nature, but more purposefully I will be discussing issues of writing Science Fiction.

During the course of my transformation I hope to share some interesting news in television, film and books to which I will have posted under the label "Sci-news" on the Irregular Features list to the right. Also under that list I hope to have a bunch of short stories, links to great articles and websites, and the occasional interview with an author or screenwriter about the subject. Keep your eyes peeled for such awesomeness!

I also hope to do some wicked awesome reviews of television shows, feature films, and sci-fi novels under the respective labels to the right under Regular Features. To explain to you exactly what I hope to accomplish with those reviews, I want you to firstly know that I am not a scholar and I am not a critic. Sure I've taken classes on film theory and history, and sure those classes have influenced me along with the reading I have done on the subjects, but in no way am I any good at keeping all that stuff in my head. I'm terrible at it if you must ask, so I don't think I will discuss those things to great lengths unless the right mood hits me (or if I remember something valid in a moment of brain clarity).

A few subjects that I am interested in learning about, and hope to explore in my reviews are the following:

God: The treatment of god in science fiction. The development of the idea of god and the destruction of that idea. The concern for or lack of concern for as well as the prevailing theory that god is destroyed by science (which I do not believe).
Cheesiness: We all know that most sci-fi movies and books have an element of cheesiness to them. This fascinates me and I'm intrigued to find out why that is and how to avoid it. Or if it's possible at all to avoid it.
Randomness and Irony: A lot of things going wrong, or a lot of things going right. I want to explore how these random actions or events influence the characters and plots. It might also be fun to find some outlandish examples of these things effecting the outcome of the plot.
Sexuality: This doesn't interest me as much. I get it, we're sexual beings, we have desires. I also get that nerd generally like sci-fi and nerds have a lot of pent-up sexuality. What I'm interested is in how sexuality effects the characters and plot. Also how it is misappropriated or thrown into a story for titillating purposes rather than genuine ones.
Violence: This is another topic that doesn't interest me as much, but it is fairly prevalent in sci-fi, so I think it's a valid concern. What I want to figure out is how violence can influence the characters as motivation or how violence is an instigator for change. I don't really care how it is misused or overdone, although I know it is, I just want to focus on what useful purpose it has in story (if any).
The Technical: This is something I am fascinated with because of my production background. I want to exalt those that have done a good job and discuss the effectiveness of great technical work. I also want to discuss how bad or outdated technicality can bring you out of the story and disrupt the experience. Some technical aspects to look at are - Sound, Cinematography, Directing, Music, Acting, Editing, etc. (In books, we can look at the technical aspects of writing - grammar, format, etc.)
Effects: I am also fascinated by visual effects (VFX) and special effects (SFX). There is a distinction between the two - visual effects are generally a trick of the camera or added computer effects within the frame. Special effects involve more practical use of robotics, animatronics, prosthetics, plastics, explosions or other things to create an effect. I believe science fiction has driven this industry for several years and it is a great thing to comment on and discover.
Themes & Cliches: Finally, I want to keep in mind recurring themes, cliches, plots, and characters from science fiction. We can talk and discuss about these things at great length in the comments section and hopefully we can all get really good at spotting these things throughout the litany of recurring elements in this wonderful genre.

So now that you know a little bit more about what we're going to focus on in this blog, what do are you interested in exploring? Maybe there is something I need to learn more about and add to the list. Comment below!

Top Ten Impending Apocalypse Movies

2011-08-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

Apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic are some of my favorite genres. One discusses the pathway to our impending doom, the other discusses the aftermath of such doom.

Many apocalyptic movies start out with the beginnings of the end and end with the Earth-shattering events that cause the doom. A great sub-set of these types of movies are what I like to call "Impending Apocalypse" movies. These are movies in which the cause of the world's doom is discovered and we fight back to try and save everyone and everything - and we're successful! These are usually pretty cheesy blockbuster films that give us thrills and chills until the climactic cheer-inducing finale. In this list I tried to stay away from films that were mainly on the destruction of Earth and focused more on films that were about how we fought it and won.

Below are my top ten Impending Apocalypse movies and why:

1: ARMAGEDDON (1998)
Yes, I know this one is pretty cheesy, but it came out at exactly the right time for me to really enjoy it. I was in high school and this film had all the big stars (Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler) and it had the biggest soundtrack of the day (Aerosmith, come on!) Another good reason to like it, is that one of the co-writers is none other than our lovable JJ Abrams! That man is indelible.

(This is the worst/cheesiest poster I could find of the movie)

2: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)
This is not the Keanu Reeves one, it's the better one (oh!) This film is interesting because it is first and foremost an alien invasion movie, but we then get to know about the impending apocalypse through the super creepy Klaatu. It's a great premise - if we don't knock it off and play nice, aliens are going to take the world from us and give it to the more deserving. A great call to peace and understanding.

3: DR. STRANGELOVE, OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1964)
This is an all-time classic. Not only because of the amazing director - Stanley Kubrick, and not only because of the amazing cast including the multi-talented Peter Sellers, but because of the hilarious situations and outlook on the whole Cold War era. It's a treat especially at the end when things go absolutely wrong and we are left to wonder about the outcome.

4: CHILDREN OF MEN (2006)
Alfonso Cuarón is certainly a great talent of a director. This film is super stylized and wonderfully paced. It's technically a mind-blowing viewing experience. The interesting premise of this film is that we as a people on Earth are no longer able to produce offspring. Everyone on Earth is over thirty years old or so. It presents some really great ideas about survival and what is really important in life. A beautiful and haunting film.

5: TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (1991)
I just love this idea - a post-apocalyptic future is in the balance and travelers from that time come back to our time to try and influence it. This one is cheating a bit because as we know the apocalypse is unpreventable in this world. The thing they are fighting about is the possibility of saving the human race with a resistance force in that future. I think the reason this one is so effective is not only the fast-paced action, but the whole attitude and style of the entire film. Also the new model of terminator droid is freakin' impossible to kill!

6: INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)
This is a classic. How can you not like this one? Alien invasion to the fullest extent! The great thing about this film is how Jeff Goldblum's character is able to figure out the plot of the alien invaders and through his brilliant scientific mind is able to prevent the disaster from destroying all civilization. This one is cheating a bit too because most of the world is indeed destroyed, but I feel that it has such a strong resistance and 'fight back' mentality that it deserves a mention.

7: DEEP IMPACT (1998)
This film is a more intelligent look at the same phenomenon as in Armageddon. Because it is more psychological, it is more about the drama of such an event. Also, the big difference between them is in Deep Impact there is no recovering from the disaster. The fact that it doesn't really have much action is probably why it didn't do as well as Armageddon (since they came out the same exact year - don't you love how Hollywood does that?) Either way, it is still a very fun and enjoyable movie. This is under the 'let's just hide out the apocalyptic event' style rather than fully fighting it, but it's still valid for the list.

8: KNOWING (2009)
This film could have been so much better. Well, it was pretty great I would say until the very end. Still, it's a really cool idea and the director Alex Proyas does a great job of creating a crisis mood for the characters. What if we could know the exact date of the end of the world? An interesting way of fighting the apocalypse - figuring out the date and preparing for it. Overall this movie suffers from a lot of incongruousness and unimportant elements thrown in for no reason, but it makes for fun viewing if you're interested.

9: END OF DAYS (1999)
This movie came out at the right time for apocalyptic movies - just before the Y2K disaster! This film is a lot of fun. Not particularly an intelligent film by any means, but good Arnold Schwarzenegger action madness. This is honestly Schwarzenegger's last good movie (before he became the Governator). Gabriel Byrne is totally badass and he plays a great devil. Seriously, don't go into this thinking too much or it will be ruined, but believe that it is a lot of fun.

10: MILLENNIUM (1989)
I would say that this film is more of a time travel movie than an Impending Apocalypse one, but it still has bearing because of the crisis that humans face and the way in which they deal with it. You have to love the cheesy 1980's costuming and dialogue. This one's a gem and I'll be posting a more in-depth review of it later this week. Definitely worth a few hours of your time on Netflix Streaming.

I purposefully didn't add some movies on this list because I haven't seen them yet (i.e. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, etc.), but what do you think? What did I miss? Do you have any favorite Impending Apocalypse movies?

Trouble for The Walking Dead

2011-08-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

As Slashfilm reports, an anonymous source has said that the AMC show The Walking Dead has fired (or indirectly fired) the showrunner Frank Darabont right before the second season gets in full swing.

I know that Darabont was probably not the easiest guy to get along with (what auteur-like director is?), and he probably took too long and spent way too much money, but I think AMC may be shooting themselves in the foot here. Or maybe not, maybe they're making a good move.

The question is, did they go in to this too hastily to begin with? Did they do the initial six episodes for the first season and spend way too much money thinking they would have had bigger numbers? I thought the show did pretty decently, I was definitely hooked in even though I had problems with the characters and story at times. Was it that Darabont wanted a greater hold on the show to make it more distinctly his own? I had a feeling that the first season was just a first act and that Darabont was about to kick it in gear all the way to the final shocking and amazing moments near the end of the show. (Remember The Shawshank Redemption? That movie knocks you off your feet in the final act.)

Now they've hired a man named Glen Mazzera to take over. Listen, I don't know this dude, and I can't say for certain whether he will do a good job or not, but looking at his credits I truly fear for the show. Mazzera has been the showrunner or executive producer for such procedurals as The Shield, Life, Crash, and Hawthorne. None of those shows appeal to me. None. So will he do a good job? Probably, but it may not have the same touch and style that made me tune in each week.

As for the concern that Mad Men and Breaking Bad have taken a majority of AMC's budget for original series programming: If that's true, they should have seen that coming. Seriously guys, you have two ground-breaking and hugely popular shows that cost a ton of money. Now you want to add a costly genre series to the mix? That's just too much, too fast. AMC is still a young network when it comes to original series. Granted they have knocked it out of the park, even when not quite landing a series (Rubicon, The Killing), they still have class and style that far outweighs any other television station on the planet right now (besides the BBC).

I truly hope things get resolved and that our second season far outshines the first, but in all honesty - these setbacks, delays and bad karma moments have me scared that this show is going to be done for by mid-season. Sad face.

What do you think? Did you like the show? What didn't you like and will you be watching next season?

How Sci-Fi Changed My Life

2011-08-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, now that I'm changing my direction in writing, I wanted to give you a bit of background in to how Sci-Fi has effected my life and how it has molded me into the person I am.

When I was a young lad, most of my reading experience was with scripture, or baby books, or Roald Dahl (still a big fan of his today). One day my mother wanted to encourage me to read more, so she handed me a copy of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and encouraged me to read it with her. The book was so different from anything that I had experienced before. It was so mature and it spoke to the loneliness and angst that I was feeling at the time. The visuals told within the book opened up a new world in my mind and I could feel myself right along Ender watching it all unfold. This was the first time that I could say that I envisioned the entire book.

Later on, for a friend's birthday, I went to the theater to watch the movie The Fifth Element. We had some crappy seats, and I remember being annoyed by that until the movie began. Once it got started I couldn't think, look or listen to anything else. My mind and body was glued to the screen. It was so fantastical and quick. It was funny, but action-packed. I remember thinking at that exact moment in my life "This is what I want to do with my life." From that moment on I focused my time and energy into becoming a filmmaker. I wrote stories that were in the same style (and looking back on it now, probably copied almost entirely) as the movie that had knocked me off my feet. It has been an obsession that has lasted me for a majority of my life. I even had to buy the Blu-ray when I could afford it because the DVD just wasn't cutting it.

In the last year or so, another Sci-Fi piece of literature has effected me so much so, that it has helped drive my decision to focus my life in pursuit of writing and becoming more adept at Sci-Fi. It was a script. An unproduced, but up and coming spec called I'm.Mortal by famed writer/director Andrew Niccol (who also did Gattica and S1m0ne). He has now finished production on the film and the title has changed to the generic In Time, but I warn you - do not think of this film as generic. It has impacted me in a way that few may understand and even more may find ridiculous, but to me it is significant. I eagerly anticipate the release of the film, but I know that because I love the screenplay so much I may be disappointed (it kind of happened with Source Code). Either way, I am excited by writing and talking about Sci-Fi now and I hope to be able to do as good of a job as Mr. Niccol someday.

So those are only a few examples of how it has effected and changed my life. What about you? Have you been effected by Sci-Fi (good or bad)? What experiences have you had that made you love/hate it?

A New Look. A New Direction.

2011-08-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hey Blog Friends,

It's been a good while since I have done anything on this blog. I've been very pre-occupied as of late (systematically destroying my life and ruining my career). Maybe that's a bit dramatic. Either way, I want you to know that I am now undertaking a process of transforming both my life and my goals.

The first transformation will be with this blog. I am officially changing the direction. From now on this blog will be specifically targeted to discussing and sharing things of a science-fiction nature. I'll be discussing books, movies, and television that are inherently Sci-Fi. I'll be doing reviews of these things but also talking about them from a writing perspective, hoping to both sharpen my skills and create a large network of interfriends that will help me learn and enjoy this passion along with me.

So what does this mean for my non-science-fictiony friends? Well, I would hope that you would continue to be my friend despite my focus change. If you really despise Sci-Fi and want nothing to do with it - I encourage you to friend me on Facebook where I will only discuss things of Sci-Fi periodically. Most of my space used on that and Twitter will be reserved for discussions of my life and updates on what is going on. I will warn you though, Twitter will be blasted with re-tweets of Sci-Fi news and updates of the blog. Facebook is probably your best bet... if you haven't friended me there yet, let's correct that right away.

Thanks for your patience as I learn and adapt and grow with the new direction. Hopefully in a year or so I will have all the bugs and kinks worked out and we can enjoy the blog daily. Until that time, please let me know if you have any suggestions or changes that would help in creating a more pleasant reading/viewing experience.

Bless you and all that you do for me.

Best,
Eric

Fat

2011-04-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

I need to get fit. I've gained about 20 pounds in the last few months - probably because of all the free snacking time and heightened sit-down-edness that I'm experiencing at the moment.

This week I have been working out daily and regulating what I eat by only eating two fistfulls of food every two hours. Of course I'm trying to regulate what type of food as well, I've been leaning towards the natural fruits, veggies and grains. I'm also tracking my calories on the iPhone app Lose It!

My goal is to get below 180 lbs by the end of July. This would make me very much happy.

Encouragement and good job's are well in order as I progress. Wish me luck!

FORGETTING - A Sci-Fi Novella

2011-03-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT:

I am publishing a book online. It is free to read via Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. The book will be released one chapter a week. By following/liking/RSS-ing the book in any of these formats you will be able to keep up with the story each week. It will run from the beginning of March to the end of May, with a special e-book release on June 15th (with extra goodies and a visually pleasing format). You will also be able to get the book on iBooks, Kindle, Nook and other readers June 15th.

FORGETTING written by Eric John Anderson
A Sci-Fi Novella via Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr

The first chapter will be unveiled this week over the three platforms, here are the links:
http://twitter.com/#!/ForgettingBook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Forgetting/152901354764063#!/pages/Forgetting/152901354764063http://forgettingbook.tumblr.com/

The first portion of the book is online now, get linked up right away and enjoy!

Oscarfied

2011-02-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

Last night was a Hollywood first for me. Through my wife's work, I was able to attend the 2011 Academy Awards. Actually, I didn't attend; I was in the press room. And I didn't just sit around and watch, I had to work.

Tiffany was asked to work the Oscars again this year (she's done it twice before). Basically the job is to hand out radios for the press as well as pass around microphones for a few of them to ask the winners questions.

Basically we were stuck in this ballroom adjacent to the Kodak Theater for ten hours. We had a great view of the members of the press. The winners would come in periodically during the show and we would scramble around to get the microphones to the press people that were given a chance to ask the winners a question. And yes, there were several stupid questions.

Tiffany and I against a non-copy-written image

(seriously, we couldn't take pictures in the press room)

Believe it or not, this is the first time I've ever worn a tux.

It's not all that fun.

The food - my one and only payment for working (Tiffany was paid)

It was a pretty crazy night. Nothing too amazing happened, just a lot of hurried madness.

A few really fun things did happened:

When the press were asking Melissa Leo questions I had to walk in front of her (like two feet away) and crouch down awkwardly. I didn't mind - she's still got it!
Christian Bale was openly candid with the press - much more than I had expected. The best jokes of the evening came from his self-deprecating humor.
One press woman asked Natalie Portman why she wasn't wearing Dior (apparently she's the face for that designer), then also asked about the designer that made anti-semitic remarks. The moderator avoided this by interrupting "we're going to move on to the next question."
I saw Trent Reznor. Seriously guys - Trent Reznor!!
Everyone of the winners looked exactly like they do on the screen. Some of them were smaller and shorter than I thought (except the Australian bloke who won best animated short, he is truly that short.)
The food was seriously awesome. Well worth the free labor.
Being that close to the winners made me feel extremely excited to meet and talk with them, but of course there's no chance I could do that in the venue and situation I was in. It also really made me want to try harder to make it there some day as a guest and possibly nominee. This is why I do what I do! To dress up in funny clothes and pat myself and others on the back. It's about recognition of your talents and abilities. It's about getting to know others who share your love and enthusiasm for the business of making movies. It's about partying and having a good time because you worked hard all year.

Would I do it again? Probably not unless Tiffany wanted me to. I would however take an invite to the show in a heartbeat (nudge nudge).

Dungeon Crawlers

2011-02-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

My buddy Spencer is a pretty talented cartoonist. Ever since I've known him he's been able to draw funny doodles and such. Especially during class!

His latest opus has been the Dungeon Crawlers Comic. IT IS BRILLIANT!

I advise you all to go and RSS the blog right away: http://dungeoncrawlerscomic.blogspot.com/

I'm proud that he has been able to create this comic and keep it going week to week. It's especially difficult when you're working full time and trying to do something creative. Hopefully someday he can quit and work on this sort of thing full time. Something like Joel Watson and his HijiNKS ENSUE webcomic. (Seriously, check out his cool explanation of "The Experiment" on his website. It's very inspiring.)

Mostly I'm just excited for Spencer to get some recognition for his work. That's what it's all about. That's why we create (it's why I write). We want others to share in the joy, humor, excitement of what is on the page.

Best of luck to you Spencer and all that you do with this blog. I am a fan.

Writer Levels

2011-01-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking lately about where I stand in my writing. Then I realized I shouldn't compare.
But I did think of something that may be of use to you writers out there. It's a basic Writer Level comparison chart. Well it's not really a chart, but it's a list of levels that could easily be made in to a chart. But I don't have the time. Either way, the information is there.

The basic levels for writers that we use in Television are:

Baby
Staff Writer
Story Editor
Executive Story Editor
Co-Producer
Producer
Co-Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Showrunner

Consulting Producers are thrown in there sometimes as well. The consultants are usually higher level than producer, but they don't want to give away profits on the show like an EP.

Features don't have a level system like this, but they do have increasing levels of pay depending on how much you made on your last writing job and how much the studio believes your work is worth.

I thought of a few levels myself, some that can help paint a better picture of how the work and dedication that goes into becoming a full-time TV or Film writer can pay off. Here they are:

Novice Writer: Anyone from those just starting out to those who have written a great deal but haven't been staffed on a show or been given a professional writing job. No this does not include Independent films unless you win awards and/or get wide distribution for the film.
Beginning Writer: You've landed a staff writer position or you've sold a spec screenplay. You have officially been put on the map as a writer worth your business. You can now continue to work your way up the ladder.
Intermediate Writer: You have been on staff for a while, maybe you're a Producer (TV only) by now. You have a few pilots or features in the works that you're trying to sell around town. You know the game and it doesn't surprise you. Writers at this level have been known to secure Blind Script Deals or feature writing assignments.
Advanced Writer: You've sold one or more pilots. You may have even had your pilot go to series. One of your features has made it all the way to the theaters and you have retained credit (believe it or not, this is a very hard thing to do). People now recognize you as a writer by trade and you might be hassled by novices after a Q&A sometime.
Expert Writer: You have been a showrunner, you have had several features made, you are an officially recognized (by IMDb and others) writer. Congratulations. Now good luck getting your next project off the ground (because your neighbors cousin just made millions selling his stupid YouTube channel to MTV).

It seems that an individual can jump from Novice to higher levels depending on success, but this is a very hard thing to do. Everything in this town is about popularity. It's just the way it is.

Maybe you can talk to your neighbor's cousin for a job on his YouTube show?

Book Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens

2011-01-21T11:43:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Synopsis:
A mean old miser with is given a second chance at overcoming a cruel afterlife. During the night of Christmas Eve, he is visited by a series of ghosts that show him how different Christmases influenced him in the past, how the present world around him is more than he knows, and how bleak the future can be if he doesn’t make a change.

Thoughts:
This tale has been hashed and rehashed on the big and little screen over and over again. To be honest, I’m not sure I will ever care to see another version for the rest of my life (especially not the new Jim Carrey version). However, reading the original tale is something completely different. It was a quick and wonderful read. It is also really scary. Surprisingly more haunting than I had thought.

A few times Dickens would go off topic with describing an event or an object in detail that has absolutely no meaning to us in our day, at those times it became difficult to focus on the reading. For the most part they were few and didn’t take away from the enjoyment for too long.

Just in case you were wondering, The Muppets did my favorite adaptation of the book. You may agree or disagree, but that film influenced me in many ways.

This tale from Dickens breathes of life and love. It gives you an overall sense of enjoyment for the Christmas season as well as the love and affection of those around you. Dickens was a master of the written word, and this short tale has had such an impact in the world that it is worthy of emulation. It was enjoyable if not only for the sake of knowing his words in a more intimate manner.

What I Learned:
Learn the power and effectiveness of words to get your point across more effectively. Describe things in the greatest of detail without boring your audience. Learn a grand vocabulary so you may use it for the benefit of your tale.

Suspense comes from within our character’s reactions. You can describe a thing in detail to the reader, but it’s in the character that we become panicked, queasy and stressed. Use their emotions and actions as a tool against the audience to make them uneasy.

Back on the Wagon

2011-01-21T11:19:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted some regular items to the blog. I've added a few things here and there for the past few weeks, but nothing of substance.

I just posted my book review of Bone, and soon I will post my review of A Christmas Carol (that's how behind I have become). I am still very much interested in completing my list of 52 books, but because of several events as of late the schedule has been thrown out the window. I was doing well for the most part, but unforeseen circumstances can be a detriment to the most avid timekeeper.

With the help of my buddy Spencer, I am working on weekly goals for writing. This includes my blog, so to answer to him I am working on being a better blog writer. This isn't an apology or a resolution, just an FYI to the two or three people that enjoy reading the nuggets of inspiration up here.

BONE by Jeff Smith

2011-01-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume by Jeff Smith

Synopsis:
Three Bone cousins are kicked out of Boneville and stumble upon a world they never knew existed. Their presence in this magical land awakens an evil that had long been forgotten and starts the course of a war that involves a royal family, dragons, and the fate of the entire world.

Thoughts:
At first glance I wasn’t quite sure what this whole thing was about. What are these weird bone creatures and what’s with this weird land? It was all strange and confusing, especially when friends tried to pitch it to me.

After the first few pages, I was absolutely hooked. It is so wonderfully written and beautifully drawn. There are elements of Disney, Bill Waterson, and The Lord of the Rings influenced throughout the work. I’m really grateful I picked up the full epic, because each book ends with a gut-wrenching mystery, compelling me to keep reading. It is definitely worth your time, and it is most definitely worth the $25 you will spend on Amazon to get a copy of the full epic. I highly recommend.

What I Learned:
Mystery is best revealed piece by piece. End each scene or act on a strong mystery and keep the audience guessing.

Also, start your story as late as possible for it to make sense. Don’t worry about the audience being able to know your characters because they will know them through their words and actions. Just get into the story as late as you can and leave as soon as it is finished.

Up next: A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens

Thought you should know...

2011-01-13T19:03:00.000-08:00

Chindo-gu is the Japanese art of inventing ingenious everyday gadgets that, on the face of it, seem like an ideal solution to a particular problem. However, chindo-gu has a distinctive feature: anyone actually attempting to use one of these inventions would find that it causes so many new problems, or such significant social embarrassment, that effectively it has no utility whatsoever.

via Wikipedia

Now go to this website and view the catalog: http://website.lineone.net/~sobriety/

Writing Goals 2011

2011-01-03T19:04:00.000-08:00

Hey folks, it's that time again. Time to discuss how you did last year and how you intend to do better now.

I myself have done fairly well this past year. My goal was simple in 2010 (as was my childish understanding of this business one year ago... oh silly, naive me). Last year I wanted to complete five (5) full-length screenplays - also accepting two complete pilots to count towards a screenplay.

Here's how I did (in sequential order):

THE GILLIAM EFFECT (co-written with Spencer)
SEVEN GLADIATORS (co-written with Spencer)
THE FRIEND ZONE
DINNER TIME (co-written with Spencer)
LOST & FOUND Pilot
BAND OF THIEVES Pilot (co-written with Spencer)
SPIRITS Pilot

And that doesn't include all the really great projects that I pitched, outlined, and threw out mid-keystroke.

For 2011 - I want to go on record with my goals so I can look back and cry about not fulfilling expectations as I did last year. Here's the lineup:

2 Features - One with my bud Jacob Parker and another with my oft-times writing partner Spencer Holt. Actually, maybe three if I decide to do Scriptapalooza this year.
3 Pilots - Two Drama (I'm already outlining one drama with an element of sci-fi). One comedy (probably with Spencer).
3 Short Stories - Two sci-fi(ish) and one dramatic. Not sure where to place them once finished though - any ideas?
Novel Outline - Only going to do the outline. I have a project that I'm excited about and I've written a great deal already, so this should be a lot of fun to get through.

So that's it!! What do you have planned? Anything I should know about?

Tried to remember this quote verbatim for my friend Tim, but couldn't.

2011-01-03T15:26:00.000-08:00

To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore, to love is to suffer; not to love is to suffer; to suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy, then, is to suffer, but suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy, one must love or love to suffer or suffer from too much happiness.

Sonja, Love & Death by Woody Allen (1975)

A Tale of Two Kitties

2010-12-29T13:18:00.000-08:00

Ya, I know, I know - lame title riff. What do you expect though? I was up late reading Dickens.

Anyway, just want to formerly announce to all that Tiffany and I adopted a pair of cute kittens - my Christmas present to Her.

Tiffany opened a bunch of presents that were cat stuff, then the last present was a stuffed kitten with the words: "Let's go get a real kitty :)" She was kind of shocked at first. She just sat there staring at me. Then I asked if she was cool with it, she asked back "Are you cool with it? I'm not sure this is what we should be doing." I assured her that I thought about it quite a bit and I felt it was time to get one. Since we moved into a new place that was large enough it's an ideal situation for a pet.

Last night we went to the Bubank Animal Shelter to check out potential adoption. They were almost closed by the time we got there (Tiffany had to work until 5pm and they close at 6pm). We went to the back (through the smelly dog corridor) to the cat paddock.

Tiffany instantly went nuts. She is a huge cat lover - she grew up with cats in her house her whole life. She went to every single kennel and peered in at the cats. She played with them through the glass. It was really fun to watch.

Eventually a caretaker came by and we asked to look at a small orange tabby kitten. The caretaker opened it up and gave the kitten to Tiffany. There happened to be another kitten in there - the orange tabby's sister. It was grey and white with splotches of orange. I automatically latched to that one. The caretaker took out the second one and Tiffany and I held and played around with both. The grey instantly started purring for us. The orange one licked my hand and played around in our arms. Since they were closing up, we put the kittens back and told them we would decide overnight. The animal control guy said we could adopt if we wanted to, but we thought it necessary to sleep on it. The minute they put them back, both kittens started cuddling with each other.

As we got in the car I turned to Tiffany and said: "I feel that we need to get both of those kittens." Tiffany was kind of shocked I said that, but she felt the same exact way. Maybe we're just compensating for lack of children in our life. But that's the way we felt (deal with it).

CUT TO: Next day. I had planned to go pick them up first thing when the shelter opened at 10am. First I had to run some errands so I made it around 10:15am. I went straight to the animal control guy from last night and said "I'm here to adopt a cat... two actually." He had me head back to the cat paddock and bring the papers to the front for processing. Here's where it gets interesting...

As I made it into the cat paddock, two women were browsing the cats. One was about forty-ish in age and the other looked to be her mother of around seventy. Both women were looking at a different kennel at some black kittens so I thought nothing of it. I walked right in, grabbed the tabby kitten's papers and walked straight out.

With papers in hand, I proceeded to go through the paperwork with the animal control guy. A group of about five people gathered in line behind me to adopt their own pets. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the woman and her mom tapped me on the shoulder. With a huff on her lips the woman grunted "are you adopting those kittens? Both of them?" I replied with a cheery "yes!" And with all the disdain in the world she asked "have you even seen them?" (note: It's law that you must hold the pet before adopting) I said "ya, we saw them last night."

At that point the mother pulled the woman along and said "let's go, come on!" And they left in a tussy.

The others around started to smirk and giggle. One woman asked me which ones I was getting, she had adopted another one of that litter. I mentioned casually to the group "I guess I just ruined their day..." They chuckled. The woman in line said to not worry and they shouldn't be such babies about it. I still felt a bit guilty, but not as much as the thought of not bringing both kittens home.

So that's it, that's the story of how I ruined those two women's day. Or the story of how we have our new pets. We don't have any names yet, any suggestions are welcomed (the geekier the name references, the bigger the kudos will be).

Stacking Sucks, or How Scott Myers Ruined My Day

2010-12-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already, I would advise you to go to Scott Myers' blog "Go Into The Story" and read the article he posted about "Stacking Projects."

The basic idea is that while you are working on writing a script, you should be outlining your next project so you can get right to work as soon as you finish a draft of the first project. Then while you are rewriting, you can be writing the next project and outlining the next, and so on.

This is so much a great idea! It kind of blew my mind (even though it is so simple). I've spent the last 24-hours thinking of what to get going in the hopper and decide what to write next. Good right?

Wrong!

Now I have too many great ideas flooding my mind with awesomeness! I turned on the flood gates and have not yet mastered how to control it. I'm a novice writer who has just found a new shiny toy and wants to play with only it forever and ever.

I've lost some sleep and I have been ignoring duties at work. This is so bad. What have I done? We need some guidelines on how to control this great and mighty force. It's Pandora's Box.

Similar to this, but not related to Scott's post - I've been having a flood of ideas come in ever since working on my current project. It's as if the devil of ideas is on my shoulder whispering amazing things to me that I feel compelled to work on. There are just too many!

In fairness, it's not Scott's fault in the slightest. I just thought that would be a more dramatic title. And many thanks and kudos to him for his website, and for that post that has awakened my senses.

How about it readers? How do I juggle all these ideas floating around? Should I concentrate on a set number of projects at a time? How many? HELP!

2010 Filmography

2010-12-14T15:00:00.000-08:00

This is just way too good not to share:

How long do you think this took to put together?!?

Full list of films and here: 2010 Filmography

Full list of Music:
1. Ratatat - Nostrand
2. Kanye West - Power
3. Rooney - Not In My House
4. Apartment - Fall Into Place
5. Civil Twilight - Letters from the Sky
6. SUNBEARS! - Little Baby Pines

THE LAST AIRBENDER

2010-12-14T11:10:00.000-08:00

THE LAST AIRBENDER

Written by M. Night Shyamalan

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Plot:
In a mythical world where humans have the ability to “bend” certain elements, the evil Firebenders are out to dominate the world and destroy the god Avatar for good. It is up to a young boy who is the last of the Airbenders to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar and stop them.

Thoughts:
Wow. Seriously? It’s come to this?
How can someone direct a child so wonderfully in a film like The Sixth Sense and then do so terribly in an epic action like Airbender?
What happened? How did it happen? Why did it happen? ANSWERS!

Learned:
You can have great production visuals or great acting, but apparently it is extremely difficult to have both. And sometimes, the acting is non-existent when there are too many visuals.

This green-screen acting thing needs to go.

See, Rent, Own, Kill:
Rent (strictly for the spectacle) and then Kill.

Celeb Sighting: Billy Gardell

2010-12-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Billy Gardell

Star of CBS hit MIKE & MOLLY.

Spotted in Studio City. He was wearing a Pulp Fiction t-shirt. He was with his family so we didn't bother him.

You are CUT from the band...

2010-12-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

I'M GOING TO HAVE TO CUT A

FEW MEMBERS OF THE BAND.

BY SEAN ADAMS

via McSweeney's

This is worth a look for the line "Dapper Lycanthropes."

via Penny Arcade

100 viral videos in 310 seconds.

via Gawker

TANGLED

2010-12-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

TANGLED

Written by Dan Fogelman

Directed by Nathan Greno & Byron Howard

Plot:
The story of Rapunzel with the long-flowing hair. When just a baby, Princess Rapunzel is kidnapped by an evil witch who has evil designs for the use of her magical hair.

Thoughts:
This film was amazingly good. Amazing because I was expecting a near straight-to-dvd quality after watching the trailers and previews, but couldn’t have been more wrong. Amazing because it was shockingly well written and directed. Amazing because it was hilarious. Amazingly good. As my buddy Scott said - if Toy Story 3 hadn't come out this year, this one would have won best animated film of the year.

Also, why change the name? I know they said they wanted to try and appeal to younger males, but "Tangled" is much lamer than "Rapunzel." Oh well, they're making money, so kudos.

Learned:
Comedy and character. These are the two things that can make or break your animated feature. It is important to have a good story and good animation, etc. But if you don’t have strong characters like Rapunzel, Flynn, Pascal, or Maximus the horse, you have nothing.

Also, someone please learn how to cut a trailer properly. It’s not that hard to make something that is amazing look amazing in the previews. Why did they have so much trouble doing that with this movie? I say a public tossing is in order.

See, Rent, Own, Die:
See in Theaters, Own on Blu-ray

Funding Your Film Through Kickstarter

2010-12-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Have y'all been checking out Kickstarter.com? If not, I request you give it a perusal. It's a non-profit site that allows people to post a potential project (can be anything - art, music, film, technology, design, anything!)

They do an "all or nothing" funding model. Which means, you either make your goal amount or bust.

Some of my friends have used it to fund projects before. I think it's a really great idea, and I would love to get something going on there (I have a really great low-budget feature that I've been trying to get produced for a while now).

That said, I think it can be very dangerous for our industry. Like funding an independant film the regular way - you should have a great story and do your research beforehand. I think having amateurs flood the markets and festivals with sub-par work that was funded through this medium can have dangerous a effect. Plus, the legal implications aren't completely solid. Who owns the film? I know they have disclaimers and levels of involvement and such, but how do you contractually work out a deal with someone who donates a large part of the funds so they don't get screwed in backend? If someone gets a "producer" credit, does that mean they get to make creative or financial decisions?

Also, how successful can these films be? My heart of hearts absolutely wants them to be successful, but when you work with such a low budget (relative to industry standards) the film will suffer. I know for a fact it will. Also, will others deem it invalid as a quality product and not purchase/view it?

Lots of stuff to think about I guess. What do you think? Worth a shot?

Twitterpated Two

2010-12-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's a bit late in the season, but I thought I would give you all a review of the shows that I've been watching (and some that I don't). True to past form, I will give you the upshot in (about) 140 characters - Twitter-style.

NEW SHOWS

Better With You: Honestly one of my favorites of the new shows. I'm reminded strongly of Friends while watching. Check it out, if only for some laughs.

Bleep My Dad Says: Some funny stuff there. I just don't think I have the patience for it that I once did. I avoid it on my DVR and only watch it when it's the only thing on.

Mike & Molly: Still funny, but not as charming as it was at the beginning. I think I wanted there to be more build-up to their relationship so it would be a better payoff when they finally went out.

No Ordinary Family: Do. Not. Want. Watched the pilot, gave up on it in first ten minutes (I watched the whole thing to be sure, I was right).

Outsourced: Liked a few of the episodes, but I haven't been keeping up with it. Heard it's gone downhill. Not sure if it was ever any good to begin with...

Raising Hope: Love it. Very funny, a little crass, and has a lot of heart. What I've seen so far has made me happy it was created.

Terriers: Liked the pilot. Didn't watch any more of it because it's not particularly my tup of cea. Too bad it was canceled though. :(

Undercovers: Oh boy did I want to like this show. Sorry J.J., it's a no-go for me. (Canceled you say? Nevermind.)

The Walking Dead: I really like this show. I know it has its problems, but you should look past that and realize how amazingly well done it is. The makeup/effects are astounding. The visuals far outweigh the drama, but there is plenty of that too.

OLD SHOWS

30 Rock: It's been on an upward swing. I absolutely loved the live episode. Good things are still happening over there and they need to keep it up.

The Amazing Race: Secretly addicted.

Big Bang Theory: I will probably never not be a fan of this show. Even when they're not on point. The episode with the girls' sleepover - classic.

Community: Hooray, hooray! They have found their place and are comfortable in what they are doing. Love it.

How I Met Your Mother: The show is hitting a really great stride. Funniest season in a long while. Hooray!

Mad Men: I know the season's already over, but damn. That's a fine show.

The Middle: I went away for a while, but now I'm glad to be back. This show has the most heart on network television. Great show.

Modern Family: Still great. Some hits, some misses. Overall a lovely show.

The Office: Frustrated, but not turned away yet. I would feel like letting down a friend if I didn't watch each week.

NOT SCREENED

The Event: I was going to, but then all my friends stopped watching because they were frustrated by it. Oh well, another Flash Forward situation I guess. #missedboat

Fringe: EVERYONE is saying I should watch this. But I want to start at the beginning.

Hawaii 5-0: Wanted to watch this, even DVR'd it. Lost interest. Oh well.

Rubicon: This show was my greatest regret this season. Just never had any time for it. Hopefully it will be on Netflix/Hulu soon.

Book Review: REJECTED: TALES OF THE FAILED, DUMPED, AND CANCELED Edited by Jon Friedman

2010-12-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

REJECTED: TALES OF THE FAILED, DUMPED, AND CANCELED Edited by Jon Friedman

Synopsis:

A collection of stories from writer’s/comedians/cartoonists, etc. that have had their material rejected in one form or another. Also includes several samples of the rejected material.

Thoughts:

The best parts of this book were the personal stories from the writers. These people have gone through hell and they are able to find a positive and humorous spin to the situation. The published rejected material was not as exciting for me. Sure there were some great pieces that were never published for one reason or another, but that wasn’t really too interesting unless to study for writing structure or principles of comedic timing (not why I read the book). Another really interesting thing was that the editor put his first draft of the introduction complete with notes from his editor (i.e. “cut this part”, “not strong enough”, etc). I thought that was hilarious.

What I Learned:

What I learned and what I thought I would learn are different. I thought I was going to hear several stories from these creative types and it would renew my sense of self worth and give me confidence to move on. What I actually learned was that being creative comes with inherent rejection. No matter what we do, a good percentage of our material will be rejected (sometimes undeservedly). I also learned that no one is impressed when we whine about our rejection. Sometimes material (even though we think it is a beautiful/brilliant piece of art that no one can understand) is just not good enough (or not good at all). We need to shrug it off, regroup, and move on.

Side Note:

This morning when I got in to work I received a rejection notice for a job that I had interviewed for. I was expecting it, but it didn’t make it less sad/annoying. I am now ready to move on to the next opportunity!

Up Next: BAND OF BROTHERS by Stephen Ambrose

Dialogue of the Day

2010-12-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

"Sometimes, I guess there are just not enough rocks." - Forest Gump

Screenplay Submissions

2010-12-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

I work at a television and film agency and we get a great deal of unsolicited script submissions. A whole lot of submissions.

First off, I'm here to set the record straight people. Unsolicited submissions don't work. At least not here at our agency and not at a majority of the places that I've heard of. We throw them away. Sorry! It kills me to do it. My co-worker mentions how he can hear the painful screams of the dying dreams. That's about how I feel when I do it too, but it's policy.

So now that we have that established, let me move on to my next point: If you're going to break my advice and send unsolicited submissions, don't be crazy. What do I mean by crazy?

- Don't send any extra "goodies" like music CD's, DVD's, trinkets, gifts, food items, coupons for food items (we seriously got one of these), artwork, toenail clippings, expensive graphics, photos, or cash (on second thought, go ahead and send cash...)
- Don't don't don't! Visit the company/agency. As a wise executive once told me: "That's like being rejected by a woman at a bar and then showing up on her front door." It's just awkward and weird and don't do it.

We've had several people come in and ask about submitting material, we politely turn them away and for the most part they've been good about it. We had one person show up the other day and after we told them we don't accept unsolicited submissions, they asked if they could see a client list. No freakin' way! That's ridiculous.

(I've been informed that said person also showed up at a management company in the same building as us and gave them material saying they were represented by us. Luckily the company is friends with ours, they called and asked what was up. We said that they were not represented by us and we have no idea what is going on. )

So, all in all, don't be crazy!

Next week: Why you should keep writing.

Netflix vs. Hulu

2010-11-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

Book review of BONE will be postponed until tomorrow for reasons of moving our entire existence of stuff into a new apartment. So for today:

FIGHT!

Netflix unveiled today that they will be offering a lower streaming-only price of $7.99. They also announced that they will be increasing the price of their DVD customers. This is great news for people who have this problem:

Happens Every Time (via Shoebox)

This comes just days after Hulu's announcement of their price drop to - you guessed it: $7.99.

Frankly, I am tempted to drop my cable and do both - that's a slick deal! I can have Netflix for all my movies and some already released seasons of TV shows, and I can have Hulu for some movies and a bunch of current TV shows. One problem - they don't have all my current shows.

How in the H-E-double hockey sticks am I supposed to watch my stories which is not on there?!

(Yes I know that is not proper grammar, but it was in the voice of the characters.)

"Don't Try."

2010-11-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

"Too many writers write for the wrong reasons. They want to get famous or they want to get rich or they want to get laid by the girls with bluebells in their hair. (Maybe that last ain't a bad idea).

When everything works best it's not because you chose writing but because writing chose you. It's when you're mad with it, it's when it's stuffed in your ears, your nostrils, under your fingernails. It's when there's no hope but that.

Once in Atlanta, starving in a tar paper shack, freezing. There were only newspapers for a floor. And I found a pencil stub and I wrote on the white margins of the edges of those newspapers with the pencil stub, knowing that nobody would ever see it. It was a cancer madness. And it was never work or planned or part of a school. It was. That's all."

- Charles Bukowski (via Letters of Note)

Book Review: THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

2010-11-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

Purchase Here

Synopsis:
When Rod Blaine is promoted to captain of the spaceship MacArthur, the last thing he expects is to be asked by central command to investigate an alien ship from deep space. Rod commands his crew with great skill in retrieving the alien vessel and makes history for the human race as the first to ever come in contact with alien life forms.

Thoughts:
To be honest, it took me a good 50-60 pages to get into the story. Mostly because I started to get lost in the technical verbage and complicated authority chains. Also, the history was a bit much to cram into one book (maybe they have more of the history in other books, I'll have to check into that.)

Once I did get into the story, I was completely hooked. One thing you'll probably figure out about me is that I loooove sci-fi, especially deep-space/alien sci-fi. So once they approached the alien ship, I began to get a lot more interested.

This book has given me the second most frightening potty break of my life. Let me set that up for you:

While reading late at night, the book went into great detail about [minor spoiler] the alien they encounter. Well, just as I was finishing the chapter, I felt the need to urinate. I got up and was in the middle of attending to my business when I started dwelling on the description of the alien. I instantly got a chill down my back. Everything was spooky. The vacuum in our living room gave me the creeps.

Anyway, I hurried to the bed and snuggled up to Tiffany and held the covers tight.

This was only the second most frightening experience because the movie Paranormal Activity gave me the uber willies for weeks, I didn't even bother going pee at night after seeing that movie.

What I Learned:
When setting up your world, you need to be quick about it. Also it's important to not get too detailed in your technicalities (although some people really like that - nerds!)

Another great thing I learned - you can build suspense by setting up something that we expect and then completely turning a different direction. The authors here do this on many occasions. You think they are going to lead the characters down a road, but then a completely surprising twist will lead them down a more interesting path. Surprise is the reward for suspense.

Up next: BONE by Jeff Smith

Errors Courtesy of My Brain

2010-11-12T12:53:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not dear readers, but I am not in fact infallible.

While creating my earlier post about the books I will be reading for a year, I used a great site called GoodReads.com for the information. I did this so I could simultaneously update my GoodReads profile with the 52 books I will be reading.

It also created a tremendous problem - GoodReads only shows the name of one author on the list page (they should probably figure out how to change that). So what resulted was I only put one author's name down on my list.

On Tuesday I received this note in my email (the one I don't check as often, that's why it's taken me until now to post about it):

Dear Eric,
My name is Paul Robert Herman. I'm the co-author of "Tales from the Script." We appreciate you posting the book on your list of good reads (#18) at this link: http://www.splanderson.com/2010/11/year-of-books-day-one.html.
Quick correction: You only have my co-author listed. It should say, "Tales from the Script by Peter Hanson and Paul Robert Herman." See here: www.TalesfromtheScript.com.
Thanks in advance for making this correction. If you have any questions, let me know.
Sincerely,
Paul Robert Herman
TalesfromtheScript.com

It's pretty gosh-darn cool that he would email me personally about it, and I really appreciate his kind way of telling me I screwed up. (Hope he doesn't mind that I reprinted the email, I should have asked permission - shoot!) Look at that folks! A real legit author emailed me!

Needless to say, the original post has been updated. My sincerest apologies to Mr. Herman (and anyone else's info I might have messed up).

I've been inspired to go back through my list and update the information. I'll also add links to the GoodReads page for each book. This might take some time, so I'll do it when I'm not so busy.

Phew, making mistakes is hard work.

Immediate Blu-ray Purchase Advisory

2010-11-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

Why have we not purchased this yet? We should all leave work/home and buy immediately.

Or if you're unable, buy online: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Book Review: THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger

2010-11-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

Synopsis:

Holden Caufield hates school. Really hates it. After getting kicked out of another boarding school – Pencey Prep, Holden decides to head back to New York for some time off without family and without “phonies.” He spends the next few days fighting off boredom, fending off an angry pimp, and trying to connect with someone to bring him happiness.

Thoughts:

Although I got frustrated with the story at times, I genuinely enjoyed this book. As I read I thought about the characters that are described and related them to people I know. I also would thought about Holden’s situation and how I’ve felt similarly at times in my life (especially about the school thing – man I was no good at school.) Mostly I loved the general sense of teenage rebellion, which is something I can identify with a great deal. I never left school and went on a three day bender, but I definitely had those types of feelings.

The structure drove me kind of nuts. But it shouldn’t have. I’m kind of a structure purist I’ve found and the way Salinger taps into that wandering mind of Holden, it frankly drove me crazy. The good thing is, despite the wandering mind, Holden’s story does have a fairly progressive structure, it just isn’t as exciting as I’m used to. But what do you expect when his main character says: “I hate the movies like poison.” I however, do not hate the movies. And in fact, they are my life. So I guess that is a significant reason why his style didn’t jive with my sensibility.

What I Learned:

I should feel free in my writing to let a character be themselves, even when it is to their own detriment. It is also important to let the characters go down roads in dialogue (or in the case of a novel, a thought process) that doesn’t necessarily lead to anything. Letting them muse and meander about a certain experience or feeling is just as telling of their nature as is their actions.

Also, Holden is ADD as hell.

(If interested, you can buy the book here: The Catcher in the Rye)

Up next: THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

Two Things To Think About

2010-11-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Number One: Check out this great advice from Jen Grisanti posted on The Hollywood Temp Diaries.

Here are some memorable quotes:

"One of the biggest mistakes young writers make is their writing portfolio doesn't support their goal."

"Once you identify some universal life moments, you add some fiction to the story while coming from a place of emotional truth. This is where the gold is."

"I think that scripted writers can learn a lot character wise. If you study the back story of some popular reality shows characters, it could give the scripted writers ideas."

Number Two: Check out this great memo from Walt Disney to Don Graham from Letters of Note.

Here is one particularly poignant point:

"Comedy, to be appreciated, must have contact with the audience. This we all know, but sometimes forget. By contact, I mean that there must be a familiar, sub-conscious association. Somewhere, or at some time, the audience has felt, or met with, or seen, or dreamt, the situation pictured. A study of the best gags and audience reaction we have had, will prove that the action or situation is something based on an imaginative experience or a direct life connection. This is what I mean by contact with the audience. When the action or the business loses its contact, it becomes silly and meaningless to the audience."

Year of Books: Day One

2010-11-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

ON YOUR MARKS!

GET SET!

Time to carefully open your books and start reading!

That's right folks, it's time to read. I have had it in my mind for the last few months to start reading more often and so to help promote that ideal, I have decided to read 52 books in the course of a year.

After a massive casting call for any and all book suggestions, I compiled a great list of over 120 books that seemed interesting and/or important enough for me to have read. After much deliberation (seriously, this took me like three weeks to decide on) I have come up with my ultimate list of books.

I start today with "The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. For some reason I never read this book in grade school, so now is my chance to finally find out what all the fuss is about (if there be any).

How it's going to work is:
I will start reading a new book each Monday. By Sunday night, if I haven't finished the book, that's okay - but I must post something about the book by Monday morning. If I choose to finish the book I can, but a new book will be started the following week. I'm not really concerned about finishing, I hope to finish each one - but I know that's not a practicality. My reviews will be short and sweet so as to not give me a stress bomb in my brain. They will consist of whatever impressions I get from the writing or maybe some thoughts on theme, character, prose or the like.

I will also be posting my thoughts on Goodreads. You are welcome to join me there to discuss it or leave comments on the blog posts.

So here's the list:

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Nivven and Jerry Pournelle
Bone by Jeff Smith
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Rejected by Jon Friedman
Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose
Fade In: From Idea to Final Draft by Michael Piller
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Tales from the Script by Peter Hanson and Paul Robert Herman
Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Night by Elie Wiesel
Coming Up for Air by George Orwell
Believing Christ by Stephen Robinson
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre
Akira: Volume One by Katsuhiro Otomo
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
If On A Winter's Night A Traveller by Italo Calvino
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Watership Down by Richard Adams
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Einstein's Dream by Alan Lightman
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
The Divine Comedy by Dante
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Watchmen by Alan Moore
The Plague by Albert Camus
The Analyst by John Katzenbach
Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Later I will post some of the other books that were suggested that I wanted to read but didn't add to my list.

To the books!

Pass

2010-10-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

The venerable Greg White posted this lovely little gem:

An explanation from the original posters Old Hollywood:

The rejection slip Essanay Film Manufacturing Company (1907-1925), a motion picture studio mostly remembered today for its series of Charlie Chaplin films, sent screenwriters whose submissions were found wanting (via Silent Movies: The Birth of Film and the Triumph of Movie Culture)

I myself would love to send these out to people that submit their screenplays to us. It's just easier then having to explain why their screenplay sucks. But then again, I would feel horrible about it, so nevermind.

My scripts struggle with numbers 10 and 17. (But not really 17)

Time Travel

2010-10-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

My buddy @StevenAaron mentions a really fun idea today on Twitter:

How much would you pay to travel to any point in your past to give yourself up to 3 sentences of advice?

How effective do you think those three sentences would be?

How willing do you think younger you would be to listen to older you?

How much you wanna bet it'll never happen cause, if it did, time continuum dictates that you would've already experienced it as younger you?

Some buddies responded:

@Spenturion: perhaps a more limiting 140 character tweet. That would be tricky.

@bacoby13: I know what I'd say: "Don't move back home. For serious. It blows." There. Three sentences. And I'd probably listen.

@chrismanning What if older me sends me a tweet within the next few days?! (It'd probably say, "Cut your hair.")

@kohlglass I'd tell myself the date I was going to die and see if I was smart enough to realize I couldn't possibly know that.

I responded to him with this:

@stevenaaron I would go back further, tell my great great grandfather about nylon, plastic, Microsoft, the internet and Taylor Swift. #rich

But when I really think about it, I think I would go back to high school and tell my past self:

"Everything you want to do right now will never amount to anything. Stop and set yourself some new goals. You will enjoy being a screenwriter than anything else you will ever do."

But I would never listen to myself because I probably wouldn't trust the info. What if a future version of you showed up and told you something really important in a matter of seconds, then disappeared? You'd probably think it was a dream/illusion/government conspiracy.

What about you? What would you say? Would it even work (would you listen to yourself)?

Minute Movie Review: THE SOCIAL NETWORK

2010-10-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Written by: Aaron Sorkin
Directed by: David Fincher

Idea: A story about the founders of the social-networking website, Facebook. (from IMDb)
Thoughts: Solid story. Brilliant Dialogue. Great acting (especially Jesse Eisenberg). This is ultimately a film about the politics of internet business and how it has been revolutionized and changed, scorned and debased. This is about a young man with no interest in money or fame, a young man who just wants to be liked. Oh, and the soundtrack is amazing.
Learned: Some of the best dramas focus on characters who are not polarized to be either "bad" or "good" (especially when based on actual people). We can have characters who may not be all that bad or who make stupid decisions without being a total villain. Most of all, the film balanced the philandering of billionaire Mark Zuckerberg so well, we actually feel bad for him.
See, Rent, Own, Die: Definitely Own

The three things I've decided to include in my reviews from now on:
Idea - or plot, or synopsis, or logline. These will be stolen from IMDb and other sources.
Thoughts - my thoughts, impressions or just basic ideas that I came away with me from the film.
Learned - a quick analysis of what we can learn from the film - in respect to writing and producing.
See, Rent, Own, Die - maybe I'll shorten this to SROD later. This will chronicle my opinion of the film in an easy snap judgement style that has been famously created by the ABC show "At The Movies" (the version with the Bens, because they were my favorite.) "See" means go see it at the theater. "Rent" means don't even bother until Redbox/Netflix (which includes waiting for it to show up on TV). "Own" means you should see it at the theater, rent it when it comes out, and buy it on Blu-ray as soon as possible. "Die" speaks for itself.

That Movie is Terrible

2010-10-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

Go In to the Story shares with us a few reasons why Hollywood sometimes makes bad movies.

Mr. Myers makes some great points as to why this happens, but I wanted to add my one little spin:

People watch bad movies and like them. This is why they are made.

How many times have I heard someone say to me "Why can't the studios make any good movies?" followed by something to the effect of "Did you see Vampires Suck? It was sooo good."

So you've done it to yourself America. If no one went to see Twilight or Step Up, they wouldn't make any more Twilight or Step Up.

All this aside, even though they may not be very good movies, I respect that people care for and desire the bad ones (when I was 12 I loved Surf Ninjas with all my heart.)

Screenwriting Blogs

2010-10-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

I think it's important for every aspiring writer to keep current on basic trends and news on the subject of writing. University of Phoenix just posted a list of top sites that are important for a screenwriter to know and regularly read.

I follow a majority of these blogs, if not for the advice and tips, for the fun and camaraderie.

Some that I personally like are:

John August - Famous screenwriter, amazing blogger

The Bitter Script Reader - Insight from someone who actually reads a lot of scripts
Amanda the Aspiring Writer - An aspiring TV writer and former agency assistant like me
Screenwriting Tips…You Hack - A tip each day to help you write better
Scriptshadow - Reads, Reviews (and sometimes posts) the latest feature specs

The Bernoulli Principle of Writing

2010-10-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was driving with the windows down one Saturday and I was using my arm as a "wing" creating lift by cupping my hand and having the air float my arm up in the air. This led me to the internets where I looked up the Bernoulli Principle. That was totally un-helpful because the internet is too smart. But what I did gather from the kids version, was that the curve of the top forces air to move faster over the wing, so that the slower moving air on the bottom side of the wing helps create the lift and eventually force the wing upwards.

Seriously, why do I suck at science?

I would like to try and apply this principle to writing if I may.

The wing (or plane) is your screenplay. The air is your writing (or physical exertion).

The pressure elevates your screenplay until you can eventually take off.

Now this is where it gets technical:

To write very fast, you glide over the screenplay so quickly that the screenplay has the freedom to lift upwards. In other words - you give the screenplay an opening to take off. Often when you get out your ideas quickly in a vomit draft (or quick draft), the writer is able to see what is working and what is not.

That's when the slow moving air comes in. You go through the draft, very carefully. Sometimes you rewrite the entire thing. This process takes a long time. Even the process of coming up with a great idea and "breaking" the story take the longest amount of time, but this is where you will be getting the greatest amount of lift. At times I've simultaneously written my first draft while crafting the story - getting out the bad ideas while forming a great plan. I think outlining can fall under this category as well, but if you never push the writing past outline you'll never get lift.

It also helps to have a better wing (solid ideas in the first place).

Spencer and I just finished the first draft of a pilot. The idea was pretty solid and we came up with the characters and plot fairly quickly. After writing the vomit draft, we rewrote.

We rewrote that darn thing four times in five days. We had some pressure to get it done quickly, but mostly we just wanted it to be really good and the existing storylines just weren't working. The faster we wrote, the better our ideas came. Slowly but surely the great ideas were clear and once they were we incorporated them. The script was able to eventually take off from the ground.

There is still a lot of lifting left to do, but I feel we've done the hard part - taking off.

Anyway, that's my take on it.

Daily Pre-Script-tion

2010-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Many of you may know, my buddy Spencer and I started a blog a few years ago called Daily Pre-Script-tion.

We attempted to write a one-page script every day for a year (schemes!). We were unsuccessful at this attempt. We were able to accomplish 100 each. That's like two feature screenplays.

The experiment was extremely fun and exciting. We based each script around a particular theme, usually a picture, video or other random craziness. We also had guest writers on Fridays. The Pen script was my favorite to write.

As you might expect, this practice became very tiresome. The experience was valuable, we learned a great deal about deadlines and coming up with material quickly, but we just couldn't keep up the momentum. We learned how tiring it can be to format and fix a blog post every single day. It was made especially difficult when traveling or not being near a computer.

Although the experience ended suddenly and the blog was all but abandoned, the overall lasting effects were tremendous. We grew as writers.

I have officially opened the blog back up. The dust has been removed and we are now going to have new content.

Check it out for more details and read the first in a long line of great scripts to come.

You are more than welcome to help us out by reading and commenting, or if you feel you have the chops - contributing your own scripts. (Just email me if you're interested).

Hearing is Better than Seeing

2010-09-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

After being indirectly reprimanded by Bitter Script Reader, I will now proceed to write my post for today. And hopefully the trend will continue throughout the rest of the week.

I have a good excuse though (writing a pilot, cleaning my apartment, reading everyone's scripts), but I won't bore you with my whining.

Instead I will just complain.

I would like to file a complaint. My current work computer has some issues. Most of which I'm totally okay with: It runs super slow, the email program quits unexpectedly when I try and write an email, and there are nine (count them - 9) color lines running down my monitor - probably from dead pixels.

I'm totally alright with all of this. But I have one very large complaint right now:

My freakin' audio won't work.

I started it up the other day and it is now broken. Of course, I know if I restart my computer it will probably be fixed, but I don't have that kind of time. It takes FOREVER to start up all my programs and especially the phone book - which is absolutely essential to my work. I'll probably do it Friday night before I leave, but until then I'm audio-less.

Which means, I can't watch any cool and fun videos. Yay for the spike in productivity!

Boo for not being able to watch this:

It also means that when my favorite website: Dump.com, who has just started sharing videos, is unplayable on my computer right now.

I watched the first minute of a video without audio and it totally sucked. Woah, is me. I DEMAND YOUR PITY!!

Anyway, I've been working on my calendar for the Book Thing. I'm getting really jazzed!
Also planning on a post a day during the week like Bitter. I can only hope to entertain and educate.

Welcome Stranger

2010-09-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

I have a pile of scripts to read on my desk, I am in the middle of finishing a new pilot and I have a few favors that I need to be doing for friends. But I can't think straight right now, so I need to just write it out and see if I feel better.

Last night was a new experience for my burgeoning career in Hollywood. I was a welcomed stranger in a strange land.

As some of you may know, a large part of my career of choice is networking. To be able to shmooz and talk and get to know other people is the main way you get jobs, sell projects and make money. (I'm totally down with this principle by the way, it is a necessary thing).

For a change of pace, I was invited to a mixer for Entertainment professionals of Asian and Pacific descent. "But" you say, "you're not Asian, Eric." Ya, I know. It's cool, I was with good people.

It was a strange experience to say the least. Not that I was shunned for being white, but because I was not shunned. Let me explain...

Shunning can be very passive-aggressive. It is very easy to ignore a person because of who they are, what they are and what they look like. To ignore a person standing in the room that you for some reason hate with all of your black heart, is a very easy thing to do.

I'm not saying this is a good thing, it's actually quite bad. But sometimes you just don't get along with someone or sometimes a person has done something offensive to you or your kin. I think we all do it subconsciously to certain types of people. I know I am guilty of doing this, and I hate to admit that I'll probably do it again. Especially if I ever get stuck in a room with someone I secretly dislike (you probably don't know who you are, but I assure you - I don't like you.)

But here's my point - while attending this wonderfully asian social soirée, I was not shunned but welcomed whole-heartedly. Almost too much in fact. I felt completely at ease while there, even though there were a few moments of pure awkwardness - mainly from having been approached by one of the other only white guys there and being asked incessant questions about reading scripts at the agency at which I work. But I brought that on myself, I should have just said I'm an aspiring writer and that I'm between jobs.

Needless to say, I shunned that guy the rest of the night.

Back to work!

Book Update

2010-09-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

Hey friends, an update on my book thing.

I've comprised a list of 72 suggested books to read. That is more than I need, but I'm still looking for more suggestions if you have them (send me an email or comment below).

I've decided to start the conquest on Monday, November 1, 2010. It seemed like a good enough date to start. Hopefully I can blog about each book and post it by Sunday night. I'm not promising deeply thought out and well versed critiques of each book, but I do promise hilarity and possible insight with each review.

I'm hoping to get the list compiled and my calendar set by the middle of October. Then you may criticize and glow about the choices I've made.

Also, I've created a Goodreads account to track some of the books I want to read. You are all invited to join my circle of friends and recommend more books: Just click here to join me.

What Should I Read?

2010-08-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

First off, let me start out by playing a little Ray LaMontagne:

Now, where were we?

Oh yes - schemes. I'm fairly prolific in schemes. Some of you may remember my sugar fast last year, and more recently my desire to run a marathon (if I can ever get my fat butt out of bed in the mornings.)

My latest desire/scheme is to read a book a week for a year. That's right folks.

One book, every week, for an entire year.

Now I need your help. I'm trying to compile a most amazingly amazing book list. I need 52 books. Any and all suggestions are welcomed. Any genre, any type, any era.

After getting the list together I will proceed to read. My goal is to also blog about my thoughts on the book and any other general inspirations that come from the literary work.

My hope is that I will become well versed in my knowledge and understanding of the printed page, more prolific in current and past literary trends, but most of all I hope to rediscover my passion and kindle a desire to continue the habit of reading throughout my life.

Also, I hope that it gives me some really sweet ideas for my own writing. Imitate the best I always say.

So what do you have for me? What's your favorite book? What have you been dying to read?

Please share in the comments section or email me personally.

I thank you in advance.

New Name, New Style

2010-08-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine sent me an IM last night: "your link to the blog is taking me somewhere funky."

During the investigation, I have come to find out that Hostmonster had deleted my hosting because my credit card expired. They had every right to do such things, but it would have been nice to get a call or an email. I would have happily updated my billing info. (Further inspection of an old email has shown evidence that they have indeed attempted to contact me and fill me in on the situation, but I had not in fact done my due diligence in checking that old email.)

Although this empty domain and hosting site distresses me, I only shed a single tear. It's time to start anew. To freshen up the old blog.

I've decided to go with a new name. The "Produce-er" title wasn't jiving anymore. That was so three years ago. Instead of being clever, I've decided to just use a trusted moniker of mine: Splanderson.

I plan to change some of the look, that will happen over time. I also hope to keep up the posting regularly. This will be a great challenge because of my work/writing schedule, but progress is only as good as the time and effort you put into it.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES

By the way -- Everyone should be listening to the new Arcade Fire album. Seriously.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Lunch

2010-07-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

I realized when I posted the short story writing contest that I forgot to put a time limit on the entries.
For the official contest (of which the prize is a picture and bio on my blog), the deadline is right now. BUT I would like to hear any more stories you can come up with - either on these posts or on Facebook.

What fun eh? It's really hard to come up with a story in just six words. Hemingway was a crazy genius, so I'm declaring his hauntingly emotional story unbeatable in our hearts.

But as for the winner of the contest: [pause for effect...]

Scott Keller!

"Alien peace talks fail. Draft initiated."

Bio in Haiku
Best friend from high school.
Brilliant computer geek smarts.
Been too long since borscht.

I picked Scott's story because I felt it had a great beginning, middle, and end - plus you get an awesome twist ending.

This sort of writing exercise makes you think about how to organize and execute longer pieces. When going about writing a feature screenplay or a novel, it's good to think about how you want to set up your audience, grip them with emotion, then shock them with the final daring end.

It's so hard to do this in just six words, but if you can't do it in six, how can you do it in a virtually limitless amount?

Honorable Mentions
Spencer Holt: "FORSALE:Typewriterwithbrokenspacebar" (I liked this a lot, but I'm pretty sure I've seen it somewhere else...)
Tiffany Anderson: "Disneyland at 25, a first childhood." (this probably would have won if I didn't think it was about me... sorry babe)
Phil Monson: "Double Rainbow, what does it mean?" (because I laughed out loud)
Josh Cobb: "Whoa! *SPLASH* "Help!" *SPLASH* "guuurrggggle" Silence." (nice sound effects!)

Extremely Short Stories

2010-07-21T18:24:00.000-07:00

I was looking into science-fiction short stories as a possible creative outlet - my friend Spencer has an idea that I think would be an amazing short story and it has a science fiction twist. I haven't told him this, and he probably doesn't know which story. Let's see if he can guess!

Anyway, I came across this article in Wired that was extremely fun.

They had taken the idea from Hemingway who said that the best thing he had ever written was a short story that was only six words long:

For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Then they had several authors come up with some of their own six-word stories. It's surprising how many of them played with time travel using a sentance structure gag. Here are my top three favorite:

3. "Computer, did we bring batteries? Computer?" - Eileen Gunn

2. Lie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses. - Richard Powers

1. TIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! ... nobody there ... -Harry Harrison

Now I want you all to come up with your own six-word short stories. The winner will be posted on my blog with a picture and a nice paragraph biography.

Here are a few of mine to get you started:

- No problems, no worries. Cryogenically frozen.

- At first the numbing feels normal.

- Check arrived finally. No authorized signature.

- Cold. Quiet. Uncomfortable. Space suits suck.

- Approaching summit, no turning back now.

Have at it! And have fun. Post as many as you can think of.

It's in the Cards

2010-06-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

This is a bit self-serving, but bear with me.

I've been told by a co-worker that my astrological sign is a Cancer (my birthday falls on July 6).

At first I was like "ho hum, what does that matter?" But after checking out a website that describes the personalities of a Cancer, I was dumbfounded at how much it describes me - not only as a person, but as a professional.

Let me explain...

Here are some traits of the Cancer people:
Emotional and loving
Intuitive and imaginative
Shrewd and cautious
Protective and sympathetic

All of that seems pretty straightforward and generalized. Sure I'm emotional (not outwardly) and loving. I really do think I'm intuitive and imaginative - two things that go well with writing. Shrewd and cautious? Maybe not so much. Protective I can be, also sympathetic.

Here are some less than admirable traits:
Changeable and moody
Overemotional and touchy
Clinging and unable to let go

Mmmm - I'm not that moody. Definitely changeable. I don't think the rest really apply to me.

So anyway, here's where it gets weird:

"Cancerians have a retentive memory, particularly for emotionally laden events which they can recall in detail for years afterwards. They are strongly governed by childhood memories and they tend to live intensely in the past in memory and in the future in imagination."

This is very interesting. So what I'm getting from this, is that I am able to recall vivid memories from my past (which is a great storytelling skill) and look forward to the future (imagination). Yay for me!

"Their abilities fit the Cancerian for a wide range of occupations. As they are interested in what people are thinking and able to judge what they can safely be told, they can be good journalists, writers or politicians, though in this last capacity they are more likely to remain in the background rather than attain prominent positions of power."

I definitely couldn't do politics - because I hate politics. Wouldn't be good for journalism either.

Writing it is!

(Oh, and also... there's a number associated with Cancers - 69. Just sayin')

Down in Fraggle Rock

2010-06-24T08:43:00.001-07:00

You know, my Birthday IS just a few weeks away...

Fraggle Rock: Complete Series Collection

on sale at Amazon for $37.49 (that's free shipping yo!)

Musings

2010-06-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

I was writing up a big ol' post on writing query letters, but couldn't get it out. So instead I decided to dump all the random stuff floating around my brain right now:

This made me laugh all morning - seriously, it broke my work abilities.

Amanda Bynes wants to retire from acting.

Please don't Amanda, SHE'S THE MAN was pretty good and you're a great person.

Firefly: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] for $27.99 - that's free shipping on Amazon yo!

If I printed 5,000 of these, I would need more by the end of the month (and only if I gave them to the jackasses that park in the "compact" spots).

New Show: CBS - Mike & Molly

2010-06-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a preview of the upcoming sitcom Mike & Molly on CBS:

This show was created by Chuck Lorre, who if you remember correctly, co-created The Big Bang Theory with Bill Prady.

Mike & Molly is about a couple who meet in a support group for their overeating. It's essentially about these two wonderful people who could stand to lose some weight (couldn't we all, amiright?).

I promised I wouldn't review shows before they are put on the air - but I will tell you which ones I would look out for if I were you. This is one of them.

If you're a fan of the Lorre shows (Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Dharma & Greg, Roseanne, etc.) then you will definitely enjoy this show. Lorre knows how to put a multicamera show our right and he does a good job with this one. After watching the pilot, my wife and I said "we want more!" and that is definitely a good sign for a new show.

Watch:
Mike & Molly
CBS
Mondays at 9:30/8:30c
Starts this Fall 2010

Police officer Mike Biggs knows his way around the streets. As a cop, Mike’s not scared of anything—except dating, so he’s joined Overeaters Anonymous® to lose those extra pounds and gain some much-needed confidence. When he meets Molly at a meeting, the attraction is immediate, and suddenly Mike is excited about the prospect of a new life. But now he must find the willpower to give up his beloved junk food for the apple of his eye.

Starring:
BILLY GARDELL | MIKE
MELISSA MCCARTHY | MOLLY
KATY MIXON | VICTORIA
RENO WILSON | CARL
NYAMBI NYAMBI | SAMUEL
SWOOSIE KURTZ | JOYCE

Toy Story 3 = Great

2010-06-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

TOY STORY 3 is absolutely amazing and incredibly well done. Lee Unkrich has well outshined the enormous expectations that were placed upon his shoulders. He did his directing duty well and because of it, we can rejoice.

I read an earlier draft of the script (actually, come to think of it - I'm not sure it was official or not. The title was just "Toy Story 3"), and the storyline seemed very contrived and unoriginal. I'm really glad that they went another way.

What makes this movie so good? Why does it grab our emotions so well?

I think a lot of it stems from how well we know the characters. We've seen them and traveled with them for so long. We've known how they reacted in the past and how they would react today. A strong character (or characters) can help direct a story and build drama/excitement/laughter/sadness.

[spoiler alert]

When the group is headed for the incinerator and they are looking to each other - giving in to their fate - we are completely 100% with them. We know that even though they are heading toward certain doom, they are doing it together and that's all that matters - that they are together. This is one of the most emotionally powerful moments of the film and I could have sworn that the tough dude sitting next to me was wiping tears from his eyes.

[end spoiler alert]

My friend is writing a pilot about a young college girl who has a pet monster. She goes out at night and rids the world of evil by having her monster eat them. During the day, she's your average "woo" girl who likes to party and have fun during her college years.

During a moment of desperation he texted me:

"Ug! Why am I writing about a crazy college cheerleader! I know nothing about party girls! Writing crisis! Agggggg"

To which I replied:

"Don't 'write' a crazy college cheerleader. Write a character that is secure in who she is. Confident in her decisions. Focused at night at her real job and relaxed and social during the day. I think if you concentrate on what she is, what she does will come naturally."

I don't know if what I said really helped him out or not. But it sure helped me out. By texting him that long text, I was able to get past a few story problems I've been having with my own spec. I was trying too hard! I wanted to fit the characters within my story mold, but what I needed was to have the characters show me where the story was supposed to go.

So what I'm getting at...

is be true to your characters and they will tell you what they want to do and say.

And Toy Story (all three of them) has accomplished this very well.

Buy the first two movies - $29.99 on Blu-ray!!
Toy Story (Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo w/ Blu-ray Packaging)

Jersey Sure

2010-06-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

All blogger friends (and everyone else too) should go to this man's Tumblr website and RSS it.

His name is Greg White and he is a writer on Comedy Central's UGLY AMERICANS.

He uses Tumblr the way Tumblr should be used -- For random craziness.

June 20th: "You, madame, have a fake name."

(He was responsible for posting the weird Russian baby video first. In fact, he posts it pretty much every day.)

http://gregwhite.tumblr.com/

Time Perspective

2010-06-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

This video is about ten minutes, but is well worth the time investment.

It is the famous Philip Zambardo discussing the economics of time and the powers it has over our minds. He also goes in to how these things effect our current cultures.

Also, it is pretty amazingly animated. So check it out and we'll discuss:

Discussion as related to entertainment:

A lot of what Mr. Zambardo is saying about how this effects the attentiveness and alertness of young people's minds translate directly to how television and film is being shaped.

I was listening to the book-on-cd of STORY by Robert McKee while on my way into work and Mr. McKee was describing three types of story plots:

The Arc-Plot: where everything happens to the extreme - situations are life or death, the characters go through extreme changes and as a result the audience goes through extreme emotions (anger, elation, sadness, etc.). THE A-TEAM was a perfect example of this (very enjoyable in all those extremes).
The Mini-Plot: where the characters go through only minor changes during the course of the film, but it is more impactful and dramatic. I thought that AN EDUCATION was a really great example of this one.
The Anti-Plot: where the filmmaker is purposefully not allowing the audience the satisfaction of an overall character arc. Very subversive. Very 1960's Traffaut. I loved THE BEATLES: YELLOW SUBMARINE which very much follows this form.

I have to say, I'm a big fan of the Arc-plot. I love the Arc-plot. Most people do. It's the type of movie that I like to go see and that I will (hopefully) eventually write. In-between those great blockbuster films though, I enjoy watching the more cerebral and intelligent films every now and then. Not sure so much about the Anti-plot style, I just don't have that much time.

Quick side note: I am really in love with the show ADVENTURE TIME on Cartoon Network. I can't tell you how much I love this show (and how much my wife hates it). It is a lot like the Anti-plot, but if you dig deeper you see an inner Arc-plot.

Here's a great article that illustrates how Spielberg's JAWS changed how the movie industry began releasing films. "Hollywood had been happy to hit for average, spraying singles and doubles around the field; after Jaws it began swinging for grand slams."

In other words, they have made it bigger, faster, harder, and more intense.

Getting back into what Mr. Zambardo was discussing, this fast-paced forward thinking society of ours has turned our entertainment (and most specifically, the films that spend the most money and make the most money) into nothing more than an onslaught of explosive action, excessive comedy and jittery camera work.

Our Arc-plots have to become more intense and absurd as a result.

Thinking about recent history, a film that I thought was beautifully done and excellently paced was THE KARATE KID (the Jaden Smith one). Although it was done quite well and I felt the 140 minutes flew by, apparently it was incredibly slow for everyone else.

Around the mid-point of the film, several kids in the audience started to get very restless. One teen in the front pulled out his iPhone and was checking facebook during the majority of the film. One kid sitting next to us said, "when's it going to be over?" Even my wife got the fidgets during the movie, but we've long discussed how difficult it is for her to sit through a movie so that's okay - she at least admits it.

What is the deal people? Am I taking crazy pills? Am I the only one in this world anymore that has the patience to let a movie take its time?

Hopefully not, but still - it's good thing to keep in mind when trying to write a screenplay or pilot: Today's audience is easily bored. Keep them entertained and engaged or else they will start tweeting during your film.

(Next Time: A comparison of two dramatically different trailers, one from the 70's, one from the present - and matching them according to the same principles of attentiveness and forward time thinking.)

Wild Russian Baby

2010-06-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

This is totally weird, and cute at the same time. So many mixed emotions...

Another FANTASTIC Scott Pilgrim Trailer

2010-06-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

I can't contain the awesome!

No Seasons, Just Giving

2010-06-16T16:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I explained a few things about the TV industry. Since I work for both a Television agent AND a Feature agent, I thought I would explain a similar process that happens in film.

The benefit of being a writer of features over TV is that feature has no "seasons" really. There's no rush to get our writers onto a series. The only rush comes to try and get a feature before the job is given to someone else - and the jobs happen all-year round.

This is where OPEN WRITING ASSIGNMENTS (OWA's) come in:

OWA's are for feature scripts on their way to being produced that needs another writer attached or needs a new writer altogether. This includes projects that are sometimes shelved for years and never produced until a young exec digs it up and wants to go for it again.

The project can be an original concept that a studio or production company executive has come up with and needs a writer to make his ideas become reality (The Hangover was an original idea based on an executive's wild night in Vegas). It can also be for an existing property that is being turned into a feature (one of my favorites is Scott Pilgrim vs. The World which was based on a sweet graphic novel series. ) And of course - there's always the amazing spec script that was good enough to be bought by the studio, but not quite there yet (Book of Eli was amazing, but some things were definitely changed).

This is happening right now with the Fraggle Rock Movie. Writer/Director Cory Edwards has been working on a new take of the fantastic Jim Henson Company tale (so jealous by the way), yet he has been told by The Weinstein Company (who are producing) that they are searching for another writer.

Mr. Edwards wrote recently on his blog:

Not to be too alarmist, but I am struggling to stay in control of my own movie at this point. The Weinstein Company gives me no confidence these days. Why? For starters, they have begun the search for a new writer, presumably to rewrite my entire script from scratch. Now I’m a big boy — I can take the blow if my skills are not up to the high, high standards of the Weinstein Company (he said with too much sarcasm in his voice). But this is happening behind my back, without consulting me or even asking my opinion. I enjoy working with other writers and have no doubt that the RIGHT person could help make any script better. But to not even ask me? Adding insult to injury, the search is basically an open assignment. This means the net has been cast wide, virtually posting in the “classifieds” of the movie business. The Fraggles do not deserve such treatment.

Read more: Weinsteins Searching For New Fraggle Rock Screenwriter, Want “More Edgy” Take | /Film http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/06/15/weinsteins-searching-for-new-fraggle-rock-screenwriter-want-more-edgy-take/#ixzz0r44iNhAo

I understand his frustration. It sucks to be undermined like that. Here's the thing though: All films, even really really really wonderfully written ones, get other writers added. Sometimes more than two, sometimes close to a dozen.

You won't see these other writers on the credits at the beginning of the movie though. The ones you see on the big screen had spent a great deal of time and had a good percentage of their writing in the final shooting script (which changes each day of production). It also helps to have a really good agent who negotiated a bunch of guaranteed steps (more on that in a later post).

It is very surprising how much or how little these "extra" writers actually do. Sometimes they are brought in for a day of punch-ups where they sit and discuss dialogue that could be better or jokes that could be funnier. Sometimes they are given the task of revisions and they spend a week or so reworking the script.

Then there are the extreme cases - the kind that Mr. Edwards is describing on his blog. In those cases, the studio doesn't like the direction the writer has taken the property at all and wants a page one rewrite. This happens far more often than you would think, but it doesn't mean the previous writer did a bad job or is a terrible writer. All it means is the executives had an idea of where they wanted it to go and the writer delivered a different take than what they wanted.

Sometimes it can be nasty though: the executive hated it, the executive owes someone a favor, the writer offends the executive, the writer tells the company he's going to write one way but then changes directions. Any number of reasons why the studio or production company would

toss the writer and get a new one. I'm hoping that's not what Mr. Edwards did. From what he said on his blog, this probably wasn't the case, but he should watch out with what he says. He could easily get kicked off this project if the Weinsteins aren't happy with him.

'Memba when Megan Fox said something nasty about Transformers and Michael Bay?

Hope it was worth it!

A Season of Giving, and Not Giving

2010-06-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Last month I witnessed one of the most terrifying and harrowing spectacles ever:

STAFFING SEASON!!!

Let me explain what this means:

Staffing Season is the time of year when each Studio and Network decides what pilot scripts they want to put into production. Then after several gut-wrenching weeks of production and philandering - they decide which shows they would like to put on the air.

So here's where we come in. The agency looks over all the scripts of the upcoming shows and decides what material of our clients we would like to submit to the Studio Executives, the Network Executives and the Showrunners (basically the director of the show) for their consideration in hiring our clients to work on the show.

This means a lot of reading.

And then there's the fun part - the selling. For weeks all the agents can think about is how to sell our clients for each show. This can be a bit aggravating - especially when there is no forthcoming information from the powers that be.

What results is about a month and a half of non-stop stress and aggravation. And you know what they say - "The $#!% rolls downhill." Yup, that means us assistants.

From what I experienced, the worst part of all was the very fragile tensions that could easily be set off by a whisper. For good reason, when something was mistyped or done wrong or not followed-up on - the thunder was brought down upon me and life became a bit heavy.

That is to say though, it wasn't all that bad. For one thing, the constant keeping busy helped the day move much quicker than normal. There wasn't a moment wasted and every time I looked at the clock - it was almost time to go!

Another great thing about the whole experience was that I was able to learn the names of the big players at the studios and networks. When you have to make calls to the same person a dozen times a day - you get really familiar with who they are. I also got to read and learn about what shows were in contention for the upcoming season. It was fun to read them and say "that script simply didn't work" or "this should be picked up right away, it's amazing!" (Okay, that last one never happened).

And now, the fruit of all that stress - we have screeners!! We have DVDs of most of the new shows that are going to be on next Fall (even the ones that didn't get picked up). I considered reviewing some of the new shows, but wasn't sure if that would be cool (although, only three people read my blog and none of them would tell on me). Still, I think it best for me not to analyze these shows before they are on the air. If you are interested to know about any of the upcoming shows, let me know and I'll give you the dope. Maybe I'll review the ones that didn't get picked up and analyze why they didn't make it...

So I survived it all. And now things have settled down quite a bit. I have been there and I lived to tell the tale.

I survived at least until...

DEVELOPMENT SEASON!!!

Sighting Funny People

2010-06-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some celebs I've sighted in the last few months:

Jack Black at the Arclight Theater

Jason Segel at a GET HIM TO THE GREEK screening

Steve Carell at Ralph's Grocery Store

And also, I thought I saw Tim Robbins once, but upon further inspection - it wasn't him.

Questions and Blandswers

2010-06-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I haven't been posting much, if anything at all.

It is bothersome to me.

Sure, I have some really sweet excuses -- (Finished three feature spec screenplays and am working a totally awesome full-time job) -- yet, I think my writing would best be served by participating more regularly on this blog - the offspring of my genius and inspirado.

I have some great ideas of what to post in the next few weeks, but I was thinking of opening it up to you my readers as well - all three of you. Maybe with our collective minds we can accomplish something great.

Here is what I propose:

Suggest some things for me to blog about (see how I turned it on you?) - they can be utterly crazy or ridiculous. I will do my best to write and/or go out and participate in said crazy activities.
Ask me some questions - what are you curios about? What do you want to know about Los Angeles? The entertainment industry? Working at an agency? Writing? Producing? Life?
What videos or pictures can I take that would be interesting? What do you want to see? (no, I don't have kids - sorry pedo stalkers).
Storytime - Suggest something fantastical for me to write and share on the blog. I will write a script, short story, poem or song to entertain you. This also might help my mind flow with creative juices - of which I can soak up in the giant paper-towel of productivity.

Hopefully, with your help, I will soon have no reason to shake my fist at my own negligence.

Thank you.

Advice

2010-04-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

Oh no... I don't have any. Well maybe I'll have some later about the entertainment business. But for now I'm talking about relationship advice.

My wife Tiffany is working with some others on a relationship advice blog. For now it's called The Relationship Coach and you can submit questions to be answered by a group of people that I admire for their honest and intelligent advice. It is 100% confidential.

I've always held the belief that Tiffany has a special gift for getting to know people and helping them explore themselves. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Psychology and she has always had a natural knack for getting to know people very quickly.

She doesn't pass judgment and she is very good at helping you understand your problems more clearly. She has helped me work out a great number of my own demons and she is just great to talk to.

I would suggest that you get onto their blog and see for yourself the type of questions that have been asked and the type of advice that they are doling out.

And, if you have a pressing question about some type of relationship in your life - feel free to email them. I know I will be.

Here is the website again:
http://relationscoach.blogspot.com/

The Winners!

2010-04-27T22:34:00.001-07:00

That's right. I did.

Well... we did. Spencer and I.

We wrote our script SEVEN GLADIATORS in a matter of 27 short days. And both of us have full-time jobs. I'm sorry to gloat (especially after your post Jacob), but shoot - we're awesome.

Now understand - this is a first draft. So it pretty much is a piece of crap, but it's our crap and it smells like roses... sometimes.

Now we have the arduous task of going through it with a fine-toothed red pen and correct all the mistakes and incongruities that are inherent when writing the first "scratch" draft of a script.

Thanks to all that helped support us in our endeavors. Thanks to Tiffany and Marque who were able to bare our time monopolizing the computers to write this - what is sure to be a masterpiece of American motion picture literature.

Thank you to all you people who laughed at the pitch or some of the scenes that we described while writing. And thank you to all those that said "good job!" "nice!" and "so?" to our daily profession of page count.

And mostly, thanks to us for writing this great screenplay.

Script Frenzy!

2010-04-01T21:46:00.001-07:00

Yay! It's Script Frenzy month!

For those of you who don't know - Script Frenzy is a website contest/event thing. You are challenged to write 100 pages of screenplay in just 30 short days.

I had the honor of participating last year with my script SWORD OF DESTINY. I wasn't able to finish the entire 100 pages last time and it has been a constant disappointment to me, even thought I eventually went on to finish and rewrite it several times.

This year they added a new fun feature ~ writing teams!

Since our collaboration on the recent script - THE GILLIAM EFFECT (in emails now -- let me know if you're interested to read), Spencer and I are going to write a script together for this year's event.

I don't have any specific details on what our script is going to be about, but I'll give you all a hint:

Okay, maybe that's way too vague. I'll post more info once we get the script under way.

Anywho, I encourage each and every one of you, even if you don't write, to bust out your most insane ideas and put them to work - sign up on Script Frenzy today!

This Is Amazing

2010-03-04T14:24:00.000-08:00

This is pretty much what I've tried to explain to people about the Film Industry for years.

It is really squashed, so click on the image to make full size:

Via: Online MBA

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Part One, The Lightning Thief (or, how I learned to stop worrying and love my dad the god of the sea)

2010-02-16T16:12:00.000-08:00

This film suffers from too many flaws. Most of the problems probably lie within the original material which was a young adult fiction novel. It doesn't really matter to the intended audience in the end.

I liked the world and what could have been done, but inevitably I thought it was trying too hard to be Harry Potter.

Verdict: Rent It

Karma

2010-02-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

KARMA

A very interesting thing happened to me the other day. Very interesting indeed.

First a bit of backstory:

(In the past...)

Eric anderson

20 Years Old

Rating: Newbie

I had decided that I wanted to become a writer and producer of movies. This had been decided for quite a while, but I needed a jump start. I naively took my resume to a local production company that had made some solid films. I really wanted to talk to a certain director that I had admired.

With all the hope in the world and all my fingers crossed, I set out to get a job with this company. I met the producer, I met the writer/director, and I met a few others. I was determined to be a part of their team, even if it meant working for free.

I received no response from them but: "we really only hire students."

Later, when I was a bit older and going to school - I had the chance to meet with this particular director again. I again asked him for an opportunity to be a part of his films - I was now a student.

I again received nothing but coldness and a shirking shoulder.

FLASH FORWARD a few years.

I am now interning at a pretty prestigious independent film distribution company in LA. I am working under one of the VP's of acquisition - someone who wants their films distributed talks to this guy. One day, an invite comes in. It is an invitation for that director's newest film. He wants the VP to come see the film and hopefully be willing to distribute it.

Now I am stuck with a moral dilemma. It was my job to decide whether or not to forward along these invites (and there were a lot of them) along to my boss. Should I send it to him? Should I hold on to it? Should I throw it in the trash?

I decided NOT to forward it along. But not because I had a vendetta against this man, I still liked him. It was because I felt that his film wasn't right for this company. (Also, maybe a bit because I didn't really want to help this guy out who wasn't willing to help a naive, impressionable young filmmaker get a leg-up.)

FLASH FORWARD AGAIN

I'm working at a top Literary agency in Beverly Hills. A submission letter for this SAME director comes across our desks. He is seeking representation with our agency. I chuckle a little and then shrug it off. I'm not going to help him. I won't even tell any of my bosses about him. It's not worth it to me.

If he had been nice, if he had taken two seconds, I would have tried my best to help out in both of these situations.

It's about KARMA. It's about helping each other, no matter how insignificant or how silly it is. All that guy had to do, was give me some advice, or take a few minutes to discuss things with me. If he had I'm sure I would feel differently about him and I would have done more to help him out when the tables turned.

So that's basically it. You need to be nice and you need to do the best you can to help others out. What goes around, comes around.

If any of you feel I have treated you poorly or that I shrugged you off - I'M SORRY! Please let me know about what I said/did and I will try my best to correct it.

And no, I will not let you know who the director is.

Twitterpated <--(stolen title)

2010-02-01T12:58:00.000-08:00

Spencer did another Twitter-style review of things that have recently caught his attention, so I thought I would do the same. These reviews are less than 140 characters to make them simple and concise.

As you remember, I did a TV one last year during season kickoff. This one here has more things added - like books, comics, movies and other entertainment. Please enjoy!

Book of Eli (Feature - Theater) - Exciting and fun. Different than what I expected. Still not as good as the script (oh man, tell me that saying this is not a new thing!)

Scott Pilgrim (Comic) - Utterly fantastic! Smart, funny, exciting. It plays off the expectations and surprises on each page. Can't stop reading (I'm on vol. 4).

Modern Family (ABC Sitcom) - By far the best show on TV right now. I love Community and 30 Rock and all those others, but this one is just so amazing.

The Gamers: Dorkness Rising (Feature - Netflix Streaming) - Do not watch.

When in Rome (Feature - Theater) - Exactly what I was expecting. Bad writing and ridiculous plot. The side characters (including my friend Jon) were amazingly funny. Cute.

The Middle (ABC Sitcom) - I really didn't like this show to start out with. It's grown on me quite a bit. I especially love the crazy antics of their son Axel.

Accidentally on Purpose (CBS Sitcom) - The show has slowed down quite a bit, but at least they've strayed from the stupid formula. The stoner friend is still the best character.

The Lovely Bones (Feature - Theater) - Really liked the first and last 20 minutes of the film. Everything else in-between took way too long. Adaptation = Cutting down. Sorry Peter.

The Da Vinci Code (Novel) - Read this for the first time in December. Really enjoyed it. I love a good thriller, especially if it is written well.

Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious (Comedy Special - Netflix Streaming) - Hilarious. He's so all-over-the-place with his comedy. You never know where he will end up. A tad bit offensive if you're sensitive to that.

Step Brothers (Feature - Netflix Streaming) - Really funny, really cruel. Not sure where the story lost me, but it didn't completely work in my opinion. Loved seeing Brent in the psychologist scene!

Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Feature - Theater) - Initial reaction - what the? Second reaction - okay, I get it. Overall, Gilliam is king of distorted reality.

The IT Crowd: Season 3 (BBC - Netflix Streaming) - You have to watch this series. It is completely amazing. All-time favorite moment is when Moss shows Jen "the Internet."

Grammy Performance: Pink (Online) - This is so cool!

SNL Digital Short: The Tizzle Wizzle Show (Online) - "Knife, knife, pick out your knife. Three more seconds to pick out your knife! 3, 2, 1!"

Memory Lane

2010-01-28T15:27:00.001-08:00

STORYTIME

I asked my friend Spencer to share a story from his childhood on his blog (since he didn't have anything to write about). I promised to do the same. So here goes...

Once upon a summer...when I was a young buck. We're talking pre-teen age. I was spending the summer at my cousins Justin and James' house with my younger brother Zach.

While on this fantastical journey into imagination (stories will have to be shared at a later time), my brother and I slept on a futon mattress on the floor. Which so happened to be placed right next to my two cousins' bunk bed.

One night, in the middle of our slumber, my cousin Justin, who was sleeping on the top bunk, fell off and dropped down - his knee plummeting straight into the nads of my poor brother Zach. We're talking full on WWE knee thrust - right in the groin.

Without knowing what transpired, Justin woke up and climbed back into bed.

My brother - reeling from the pain - turned over to me (who was sound asleep) and told me that he was in severe pain. "My balls hurt!" He exclaimed, imploring me to make it better.

"Shut up, go to bed!" I grumbled back to him in my sleepy stupor.

Again he implored me - "Eric, it hurts real bad!"

"Go back to sleep!" I told him, not so kindly.

So he did just that. He went back to sleep. For the life of me I don't know how. He must have been in some terrible pain.

The next morning, when we knew better, we figured out what had happened. I tried to console my poor brother and apologize to him for treating him so negatively (I'm not that nice when I'm asleep, ask my wife).

Turns out, Justin got him good because he had a bruise on his groin and testies (his words, I didn't see 'em - cause that's gross).

Wherever you are right now Zach -- I'm sorry! I should have believed you and done something about it (an icepack?).

Working My Way to the Top

2010-01-27T09:36:00.000-08:00

WHAT I DO

For those of you who don't know, I am an Assistant at a Literary Agency in Beverly Hills. Many of you wonder what all that means and why I am doing that instead of writing/producing million dollar movies on the Warner Brothers lot.

Well, first off - it is extremely difficult to do that. Even if you have every opportunity and all the resources in the world. But I'll be there soon. Just need a little time - and to pay my dues. Gotta pay the dues.

So as of right now, I am an assistant. I am learning the ropes of the industry and becoming more and more familiar with who everyone in the industry is and what they do.

So here's what I do on a typical day.

8:45am
Arrive at the office. After a 45 min commute through the canyon. Oh the traffic...

9:00am
After staring at my computer trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes, I head to the kitchen to grab whatever snacks I can before the crazy begins. Tuesday is bagel day. It is a very fine day.

9:15am
The crazy starts. The phone begins ringing, sometimes it's my boss needing me to call someone for them and "roll" the call. Voicemails that were left last night need to be answered. Emails need to be paid attention to, mostly about meetings to set or tasks to perform.

9:30am
Bosses arrive. I have two - one in TV, one in Film. They usually have a ton of people to call when they get in. I check the phone book and "try" each one, "leaving word" with assistants or voicemails. The fun thing about calls is that I get to listen in on the conversation. A lot of the time I get to hear some sweet insider info, or just some interesting facts about the business. Many times I bust out laughing at something they say (which startles my fellow assistant co-workers).

10:30am
It gets a bit slow, I try and catch up on any unfinished business - i.e. getting emails written, submissions to network or studio executives, and any other things.

11:00am
Confirm any later meetings, confirm lunch, set lunch, call restaurant for lunch (not my lunch, my bosses lunch).

11:02am
It gets crazy again. Calls come in, I make calls.

12:35pm
Slows down a bit. I try and get stuff done for my boss before ushering them out the door for their lunch appointment.

1:00pm
If I'm lucky, I get to go to lunch. If I'm not lucky, I have to finish things I didn't get done before or roll calls with my boss.

1:00pm - 2:00pm
Talk about movies, TV, news, and everything else with the other assistants or with agents (if they didn't have a lunch meeting).
Sometimes we all go out to eat together for fun. Our favorite spot right now is either Chipotle or Vendome Liquor (they have amazing sandwiches!)

2:01pm
Things go crazy again. Rolling calls, making submissions (a letter with scripts attached), scheduling meetings and lunches, generally getting things done.

3:00pm
If we have a meeting at our office, I go up to the front to say "hi" to the person (good to get a little face time), let them know it will be a few minutes, make sure they have water/soda/whatever, then I let my boss know they are here. They have their meeting.

4:30pm
Things get slow again. Sometimes there are calls or emails, but mostly I try and read a script or two. Either something my bosses want me to read, some of our clients' material, or the hot new specs/pilots out there.

5:30pm
People must get out of meetings around this time, because it gets really crazy with the phones. I do my best to handle it.
I've never had more than three lines ringing at once, but I dread the day that 4th line lights up.
Sometimes my bosses have to take off. They have appointments or dinner meetings or whatever. If they do take off, I roll calls if any come in.
This is my preperation time. I prepare for the next day. I make sure I get any unfinished business done and also remind my bosses of any unreturned calls.
I also try and make sure I know what's going on the next day. Be prepared for any unexpected craziness.

6:55pm
If my bosses haven't left yet, they usually get ready about now. They let me know if they're available by cell.

7:00pm
Bosses leave. I talk with assistants or clean up my desk/computer.

7:10pm
Ten minutes after my last boss leaves, I "night" the phones and get the hell out of dodge.

7:50pm
On most good days, I can get home in like 35 minutes. Bad days take longer.

So that's pretty much it. That's my day. That's the type of stuff I do.

If I work hard enough and keep my ear to the ground, I can transition in a few years to a job at a production company.
From there I will try to become an executive at either a production company or at a studio.
From that, I may go into forming my own production company. But that's a long, long way off.

Or, I just might sell a spec and become fabulously rich and famous all in one fell swoop. If anyone out there wants to give me that opportunity, I'm available.

Adventure Time Theatre Season Two - For Your Convenience

2010-01-13T14:10:00.001-08:00

The entire second season in it's entirety. Enjoy:

Vampires can be burned by the sun - but not Ethan Hawke!

2010-01-11T14:53:00.001-08:00

DAYBREAKERS (2010)

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe
Written by: Michael and Peter Spierig
Directed by: Michael and Peter Spierig (also VFX done by them)
Produced by: Chris Brown, Bryan and Sean Furst

Synopsis
Ten years after the world's population has succumbed to a virus that turns humans into vampires, the human blood supply begins to dwindle.

It's up to chief hematologist Edward (Twilight?) to come up with some kind of blood substitute. When that fails, his human sympathies find him running from the law with a band of struggling humans who have found a cure for vampirism.

Thoughts
Totally campy.

It did not fulfill my expectations. They built up a wonderful world with dazzling visuals, and then didn't know what to do with it. It inevitably crumbles under it's own premise and isn't able to sustain itself or it's high energy.

Several members of the audience Laughed Out Loud to moments in the film.

From my Twitter:

"terrible storyline, laughable dialogue, unwise use of a great premise. All in all, I wanted it to be cooler than it was."
"it looked really good though! But everyone laughed at most of the gore and stupid dialogue."

Summation
Place: Arclight Sherman Oaks
Price: $13.50 - Friday night prices
Atmosphere: Everyone laughed together.
Verdict: Rent it. But only if you really like gory vampire movies.

ATT Season Two: Episode Five

2010-01-11T09:14:00.000-08:00

The almost-near conclusion of Adventure Time Theatre Season 2!

ATT Season Two: Episode Three

2010-01-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

***UPDATE: I just realized that I accidentally posted the 4th episode instead of the 3rd episode. Since I goofed, here is 3 and we'll leave 4 up as well. Yes, that means you get two episodes.***

Episode 3:

The boys shirk their film responsibilities for a bit of white winter fun.

This is probably one of my favorites ever made.

Episode 4:

"I'm like my mother, I stereotype. It's faster."

2010-01-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

UP IN THE AIR (2009)

This film is ultimately a sad tale. You can tell by the foreboding monologue shared by Clooney's character within the trailer.

That aside, it is moving, effectual and endearing. Jason Rietman is a fabulous director and he deserves his praise. I was instantly empathetic to George Clooney's character, but most importantly Anna Kendrick is absolutely amazing in this film.

It is at least worth a look, even if you don't like any of those people.

Theater or Home Video: It's a good film either way, but I loved it at the theater.

Own or Rent: Own, put it next to Juno and Thank You for Smoking.

"If I'm going to die, I want to die comfortable"

2010-01-07T17:06:00.001-08:00

THE HURT LOCKER (2009)

Even though I've already shared some of my thoughts on this film, I want you all to know more.

This is a fantastic film. And several people agree.

When I get really nervous, I sweat in my palms a ton -- this entire movie, I was wiping my hands on my jeans to keep them dry. It is so tense and so awesomely crazy, it makes me happy to just think about it.

Theater or Home Video: Theater, but you've missed it. Way to go.

Own or Rent: I would own this movie and only see it once a year. It's just too harrowing.

"Don't mattah what you look like..."

2010-01-06T17:17:00.000-08:00

The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Loads of fun for the whole family. Great music too.

Interestingly, the dark moments of the film were quite frightening. I thought it would be too much for children, but my 2-year-old niece loved it.

Theater or Home Video: Probably doesn't matter either way.

Own or Rent: Own it (on Blu-ray of course).

ATT Season Two: Episode Two

2010-01-06T14:25:00.000-08:00

Wherein the boys amend their broken feelings and brainstorm for new ideas.

Avatar

2010-01-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

Not going to do a "best movies of 2009" list. Instead, I'm going to try and catch up on my reviews of movies that have come out that I haven't mentioned here.

Later, I might do a "best of 2009" in reverse order of various things and movies will be involved.

And in the interest of time, I will be using the HabDashCine method of reviewing films. This includes: a short sentence or two about the film - and - whether or not it's worth seeing in theaters, renting and/or owning.

AVATAR (2009)

I really don't care what you think of the story (more on that later), this movie is technically one of the most amazing spectacles that I have ever seen.

It is fun and enjoyable and you should all go see it in 3-D before it's too late.

About the story - so what if it's generic, so is every other story in Hollywood. Sure Cameron could have dressed it up a bit better, but that's the way it went. You can't deny the effectiveness of the story in pulling you in. As for the political subplots - just because you noticed them and knew what they were, doesn't mean that it's bad. Just think about the many, many political and religious agendas that are in films that you don't notice.

Theater or Home Video: Definitely Theater - 3D

Own* or Rent: Own, but I am concerned that it won't look as cool at home.

*Only if you have an HDTV and Blu-ray Disc Player. There's no other way to see movies besides in the theater.

ATT Season Two!!

2010-01-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

A new season of ATT!

Synopsis:
In this crazy season, Eric and Spencer discuss creating a Christmas Episode to rule the ages!
Problem is, there is a dissenting opinion about what the special episode should be about.

Episode One:
In this episode, Eric and Spencer have a friendly chat about their plans to create a Very Special Christmas Special. Please enjoy!

Moms are Awesome

2009-12-31T13:59:00.000-08:00

First of all, did you know that Eleemosynary is a word? It means "generous in assistance to the poor." That is a very odd word. (Yes, I know I spelled "nosey" wrong. The iPhone is to blame.)

We spent Christmas with my family up in Utah. Here are some highlights:

Brown Bear Fail

My niece Skyli taking in the view at The Garden Restaurant at Temple Square

A little balancing trick, I do it every time I have a toothpick

Skyli in jammies watching Disney's Up

Spencer's mom made us some awesome, awesome, awesome t-shirts.

They are for our sketch/comedy troup Adventure Time Theatre.

(Watch the first episode of season two)

My friend Spencer has one too.

Mom's are just so awesome.

The Muppet Man

2009-12-18T18:39:00.000-08:00

The Muppet Man
by

Christopher Weekes

Synopsis
"The Life story and tragic early death of Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets."

Thoughts

Truly touching and beautifully reverent to the man behind the fuzzy creatures and wild fantastical worlds that have touched so many.

I'm probably one of the biggest Muppet fans around, so I am completely biased, but this script truly touched me and made me (almost) cry. I loved every page and was endeared to the way the story unfolds.

Script Excerpt

[scrippet]
INT. BATHROOM, HENSON OFFICE, NEW YORK, 1963 - DAY
As JIM opens the bathroom door... a booby trapped wire causes the SHOWER CURTAIN to open...

...revealing a GIANT MONSTER FACE snarling from the bathtub.

JIM just blinks. Strange things happen all the time here.

JIM
Ha. Nice touch Don.

DON (O.S)
What?

JIM
What do you reckon?

The BOYS can be heard guffawing from outside.

JERRY (O.S)
Better watch out for those toilet monsters Jim.

INT. HENSON OFFICE, NEW YORK, 1963 - DAY
DON stands very proudly with his drink, laughing at JIM with the other BOYS.

DON
I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about Jimmy. No idea.

He goes to open his DESK DRAWER when THREE SPRING LOADED WORMS shoot out...

...scaring him half to death.

DON (CONT’D)
Jesus!

He falls backwards off his chair and onto the floor.

JERRY, CAROL and FRANK roll around with laughter.

DON (CONT’D)
Nice. Very nice.

JIM’S voice echoes through the room - laughing.

JIM (O.S)
Why thank you.
[/scrippet]

Learned

It is always a good thing to keep your truly high moments closely followed by setback or dark moments. This creates a good balance and helps keep the story progressing.

Title: The Muppet Man
Writer: Christopher Weekes
Pages: 138 (undated draft)
Status: Jim Henson Company is producing, still in development
Opinion: Absolutely Amazing.

Tales From the Crypt

2009-12-17T10:22:00.001-08:00

Hi.

It's me.

I'm not dead.

Here's a few things I've been up to:

Employment: I have now become one of the many who can claim "full-time" status on their W2's. I started Monday the 9th as the assistant to two amazing agents at a top literary agency in Beverly Hills. Literary? I didn't know you've gone all novel books on us! No, that's not what literary agency means in Hollywood. Sorry to disappoint all you bookworms hoping for secrets on the next Dan Brown mystery. What a literary agency means in film business terms is an agency that specializes in Directors, Writers and Producers. It is the perfect job for a wannabe producer like me and I am learning tons.
Reading: With my job comes new responsibilities. One of these responsibilities is to read new and upcoming scripts that are in the market. As many of you already know, the 2009 Black List has come out. The Black List is a collection of the greatest scripts (according to a group of Hollywood executives) that have not been made this year. I haven't been asked directly to read these scripts yet, but I wanted to get a jump ahead and get reading them for my own edification and for my personal knowledge. So far I have read one of them, and will be posting a quick review of it on my Script Review Friday feature today.
Relaxation: With so much work, comes so much play. Tiffany and I have made the plunge - we bought season passes to Disneyland. This was brought to us, in part, by the generous donation from the people that lost their $200 at Disneyland last time we were there. We found the money, turned it in to lost and found. Then a month later we checked in to see if it was claimed and it wasn't! So Tiffany was able to claim it and we were able to buy ourselves some passes. We can go to Disneyland anytime we want to now. How about that?!? It's crazy right?
Writing: One of the toughest things I have attempted to do the last few weeks is keep up my writing. I had planned to keep the blog going strong, even with a heavy new workload, but that seemed to prove difficult during the acclimation into the new position. What I have been able to accomplish is working on a feature script with my friend and hetero life-partner Spencer. We can't divulge too many details, but know that it explores one of the most ripe fields of genre and incorporates the vast knowledge of horror, sci-fi and fantasy that my cohort and I have attained over our many years of movie-watching. Hopefully I will be able to keep up the blog as well. I have a lot of great things to share with you all!

Acme Burger (Not Mail-Order)

2009-12-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

Today we have a very special treat. My friend Spencer - Master of Eats and Chefer of Fine Food, has written us a fabulous review of a gourmet burger restaurant in Salt Lake City.

For all you Utah-ites, or even the LA people who are heading to SLC soon for the Sundance Film Festival -- be sure to stop in and give it a try. I know I want to.

Spencer's Review
Today at lunch I came to the conclusion that Acme Burger is my favorite restaurant. I even tweeted something to this effect:

"Acme Burger is my favorite restaurant ever. Great food you can't find elsewhere & great service. If you haven't been, think couture burgers"

Let's start with the service. The owner, Alan (whom I constantly want to call Alfred because of his similarity in appearance to Michael Caine) greeted us at the door and showed us to our seats. The fact that he's out there greeting people is pretty fantastic. He even recognizes us and complimented Marque on her haircut our last visit. Since they're a local business they're able to have this sort of connection. To me, an important part of food is a sense of community, and they get this right.

On to the food. Today we started with House Cut Bacon and Bleu Chips, which are just what they sound like: house cut potato chips covered in bacon and crumbled blue cheese. I'd had them before and loved them, but found the blue cheese a bit overpowering. The server suggested we have the blue cheese on the side, which we did. Instead of just bringing out a dish of blue cheese, the guys in back took the cheese, melted it down and made a sort of blue fondue type dipping sauce for us, which was way better than what I'd hoped for.

The lunch special we ordered came with soup, a burger, and a dessert. We went with the bison chili, which was fantastic as usual, and also served as a great dip for for the chips. The burger we got was their Turkey burger, which comes topped with arugala and a cranberry mustard sauce, all on a sweet potato bun. Most importantly, their meat is ground and made fresh each day in their kitchen. The turkey burger in particular has onions and cranberries ground in, which I discovered after giving them a call later. Their dedication to good, fresh ingredients really shows here. The dessert was simply labeled as a 'sweet plate,' as it rotates through different things; today was what tasted like a sort of cinnamon-y ginger-y carrot cake with vanilla ice cream. Delicious. One more note on ingredients: they change (with the menu) to suit the season. Keeps things interesting.

You can find the menu over here if you want to navigate through their flash site. Having been there, I've had the Kobe Burger, the Truffle Burger, The Veggie Burger (which is delicious with bacon), the Bison Burger, the Ostrich Burger, as well as others, and every single one is tasty in its own way. If you go, my recommendation is the Truffle Burger, which has a very rich taste to it. Make sure to order the sweet potato fries.

If you're in the downtown Salt Lake area, definitely check it out.

275 South 200 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Phone: 801.257.5700

Breakdown
Time of Day: Afternoon
Guests: Spencer and Marque
Type of Food: Burgers and such
Dish: Burger, soup, chips, and dessert
Price: $21, but with tip, $26. The place is on the pricey side for a burger, but so worth it.
Verdict: As mentioned before, this is my favorite restaurant. Go and enjoy.

"Are you cussin' at me?"

2009-11-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray
Written by: Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Produced by: Allison Abbate, Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Scott Rudin

Synopsis
After returning to his old ways of stealing chickens (and other sundry goods) from three of the meanest farmers ever, Mr. Fox gets his family and all of the woodland creatures into trouble. Only by his cunning and a little help from those who love him is he able to avoid capture and death from the three farmers and make life a little better for those in his community.

Based on the fantastic book by Roald Dahl.

Thoughts
There are very few movies that you can watch more than once and get something new out of it every time. Some of these movies are so good, that it stays with you in your mind for days and weeks on end.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is such a movie.

This has got to be one of the funniest, smartest, most delightful films I have seen all year (and I watch a lot of movies). I highly encourage anyone that has the opportunity (and the funds) to go out and watch this movie as soon as possible.

Wes Anderson is a talented and brilliant filmmaker and I have been avidly a fan of his films since Bottle Rocket and Rushmore (which - by the way - is on my top five films of all time list).

Spencer mentions some fun facts about the film on his blog.

Also check out the trailer provided below.

Summation
Place: Arclight Hollywood
Price: Free (Thanks Tim, again)
Atmosphere: Cool - lots of chill people making it pleasant, almost late though which freaked me out
Verdict: Totally amazingly amazing. Want to see again and again.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

An Adventure Time Theatre Thanksgiving...