Last night, I got home from work and edited 100-ppg of FRANK.
I was thinking about the post I put up yesterday, making excuses for not wrapping it up by 10/1. As I left work and headed home, I thought: fuck that.
I got back to the lair in a mood to wreck some shit. I threw on some old Metallica and dove straight in. At every juncture I could have kept working or stopped, I kept working. Counter to my concerns yesterday, it was good, clear work... I wasn't half-assing it just to get it done.
By the time I felt I was slowing down, I was within the last 50-ppg of the mss. Barring disaster, I'll likely edit through to the end tonight, and hand it in tomorrow.
On 10/1.
I left the ending wide open for a sequel, and my brain is already starting to go in that direction. But the peeps have been cool about me going off to bang out a novel, so I'll likely pay their patience back by writing car chase scripts for a while.
I'm a happy guy.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Saga Continues
I spent all weekend editing FRANK.
I got up to pg. 250. The page count changes as I work, of course, but it usually hovers around the 400-pg mark... sometimes it's 395, other times it's 405, etc. Sometimes I'm killing entire pages because they suck, and other times I'm writing new beats or little bits of business to fill in a logic question, bring out a character thought, whatever.
I'd hoped to get up to pg. 300. But, by mid-afternoon on Sunday, I was burnt the fuck out. I knew that, if I kept moving forward, I wouldn't be sharp, I'd start making lazy choices and the end product would suck just a little (or a lot) more. So I decided to take a break instead of killing myself and doing a half-assed job just to make a self-imposed deadline. At my current rate, I'm pretty sure I'll have an edited draft in hand by Friday, which'll give me the opportunity to hand it in to the peeps for their weekend read.
So on Sunday, I did what I do every time I feel like I need to plug my brain in the wall and recharge: I watched movies.
I watched The Foot Fist Way and Redbelt, an interesting pair-up because they're both indie movies about an owner of a small martial arts dojo dealing with an attack on the little world they've created for themselves.
Foot Fist Way was funny, but definitely the lesser of the two. I'm not sure how this happened, but somewhere along the way Indie Movie became its own genre, like horror or broad comedy. In the same way that you can expect similar characters, situations, moods, shots and scenes from, say, a J-horror flick, Foot Fist Way felt like it was 50% actual movie, and 50% of the primordial ooze that's the concentrated residue of Napoleon Dynamite, Little Miss Sunshine, Wes Anderson, Coens, etc. In some ways, movies like this are just as cliche as popcorn movies, they're just taking their cues from a different set of sources.
Redbelt blew me away. It was written and directed by David Mamet. I always like his movies, but this is the first one I've loved since The Edge. I don't know if it's a particularly better movie than Spartan or State&Main or anything else he's done. But this one personally affected me in a real way. I was riveted to the screen during its entire running time. When the credits rolled, I immediately rewatched it with the commentary track, which was just okay, it didn't really illuminate anything that I didn't think wasn't already clear on the screen.
It's an expertly crafted film. I don't know if it'd hit other people like it hit me but, not to get wiggy or anything, I can say this picture spoke to me in a lotta ways. When I finally get around to buying a Blu-Ray player, Redbelt will be a purchase.
I got up to pg. 250. The page count changes as I work, of course, but it usually hovers around the 400-pg mark... sometimes it's 395, other times it's 405, etc. Sometimes I'm killing entire pages because they suck, and other times I'm writing new beats or little bits of business to fill in a logic question, bring out a character thought, whatever.
I'd hoped to get up to pg. 300. But, by mid-afternoon on Sunday, I was burnt the fuck out. I knew that, if I kept moving forward, I wouldn't be sharp, I'd start making lazy choices and the end product would suck just a little (or a lot) more. So I decided to take a break instead of killing myself and doing a half-assed job just to make a self-imposed deadline. At my current rate, I'm pretty sure I'll have an edited draft in hand by Friday, which'll give me the opportunity to hand it in to the peeps for their weekend read.
So on Sunday, I did what I do every time I feel like I need to plug my brain in the wall and recharge: I watched movies.
I watched The Foot Fist Way and Redbelt, an interesting pair-up because they're both indie movies about an owner of a small martial arts dojo dealing with an attack on the little world they've created for themselves.
Foot Fist Way was funny, but definitely the lesser of the two. I'm not sure how this happened, but somewhere along the way Indie Movie became its own genre, like horror or broad comedy. In the same way that you can expect similar characters, situations, moods, shots and scenes from, say, a J-horror flick, Foot Fist Way felt like it was 50% actual movie, and 50% of the primordial ooze that's the concentrated residue of Napoleon Dynamite, Little Miss Sunshine, Wes Anderson, Coens, etc. In some ways, movies like this are just as cliche as popcorn movies, they're just taking their cues from a different set of sources.
Redbelt blew me away. It was written and directed by David Mamet. I always like his movies, but this is the first one I've loved since The Edge. I don't know if it's a particularly better movie than Spartan or State&Main or anything else he's done. But this one personally affected me in a real way. I was riveted to the screen during its entire running time. When the credits rolled, I immediately rewatched it with the commentary track, which was just okay, it didn't really illuminate anything that I didn't think wasn't already clear on the screen.
It's an expertly crafted film. I don't know if it'd hit other people like it hit me but, not to get wiggy or anything, I can say this picture spoke to me in a lotta ways. When I finally get around to buying a Blu-Ray player, Redbelt will be a purchase.
Friday, September 26, 2008
One Shot
According to this article in Variety, Josh Olson signed on to write the script adaptation of Lee Child's One Shot.
I'm a huge geek for Child's Reacher series. I met him at this past BEA, and got him to sign the latest, Bad Luck & Trouble. One Shot isn't my favorite -- that would be Without Fail, followed closely by Persuader -- but it's still a fucking awesome action/thriller. I can't recommend these titles enough.
Now... getting a screenwriter on a project doesn't automatically mean a movie's gonna happen, and it doesn't mean if a movie's gonna happen, it'll be anytime soon. But still, this is cool. The faster we get these books to screen, and in a kickass way, the better.
The one-line description in the article of what this book's about is so vague it's almost inaccurate. In brief: Reacher is a former MP. After spending his whole life traveling the world, when he gets out of the Army he decides to wander around America and check out the country he'd spent so many years protecting. Along the way, he runs across people who need his help, which inevitably leads to Reacher stepping in to offer a lot of strategic thinking and brutal violence.
These stories are on rails, the writing is supurb, the characters are great, the action's amazing. Even my least favorite titles in this series have more juice than 99% of the weak sauce "thrillers" on the shelves.
The climax of One Shot is pretty fuckin' killer, and I can't wait until I'm sitting in the Arclight or the Chinese watching it.
I'm a huge geek for Child's Reacher series. I met him at this past BEA, and got him to sign the latest, Bad Luck & Trouble. One Shot isn't my favorite -- that would be Without Fail, followed closely by Persuader -- but it's still a fucking awesome action/thriller. I can't recommend these titles enough.
Now... getting a screenwriter on a project doesn't automatically mean a movie's gonna happen, and it doesn't mean if a movie's gonna happen, it'll be anytime soon. But still, this is cool. The faster we get these books to screen, and in a kickass way, the better.
The one-line description in the article of what this book's about is so vague it's almost inaccurate. In brief: Reacher is a former MP. After spending his whole life traveling the world, when he gets out of the Army he decides to wander around America and check out the country he'd spent so many years protecting. Along the way, he runs across people who need his help, which inevitably leads to Reacher stepping in to offer a lot of strategic thinking and brutal violence.
These stories are on rails, the writing is supurb, the characters are great, the action's amazing. Even my least favorite titles in this series have more juice than 99% of the weak sauce "thrillers" on the shelves.
The climax of One Shot is pretty fuckin' killer, and I can't wait until I'm sitting in the Arclight or the Chinese watching it.
Query of the Day
Holy shit, two in one week!
Here goes:
"Using nanotechnologies professor William Wilson invents battery makes an electrocar more powerful, cheaper and easy to charge. Wilson feels somebody the same as Isaac Newton or Bill Gates. But he forgets about BIG GUYS who like oil... Escaping shadowing and death, releasing kidnapped family and fighting against black PR killing the public opinion...It`s not easy...even if your best friend helps you. Can two guys fight against oil world? Why not if this stupid world like oil so much...And unexpected outcome, with long track in audience."
Here goes:
"Using nanotechnologies professor William Wilson invents battery makes an electrocar more powerful, cheaper and easy to charge. Wilson feels somebody the same as Isaac Newton or Bill Gates. But he forgets about BIG GUYS who like oil... Escaping shadowing and death, releasing kidnapped family and fighting against black PR killing the public opinion...It`s not easy...even if your best friend helps you. Can two guys fight against oil world? Why not if this stupid world like oil so much...And unexpected outcome, with long track in audience."
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Alex de la Iglesia Does TV
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Alex de la Iglesia is fucking brilliant.
Here's an article in fango about... his new TV series!
He's producing it in Spain, but here's hoping a DVD eventually floats our way.
If you haven't seen this dude's work, do yourself a favor and check out PERFECT CRIME.
Here's an article in fango about... his new TV series!
He's producing it in Spain, but here's hoping a DVD eventually floats our way.
If you haven't seen this dude's work, do yourself a favor and check out PERFECT CRIME.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Query of the Day
I haven't done one of these in a while, mostly because they haven't been very interesting lately. And then I got this one:
"When Kyle 6 or 7 arrives at his Uncle Glen's home outside Duluth, nobody there welcomes him. It's a house in turmoil. Glen is an addicted gambler and unless he can come up with $300.000 to pay Hank, a loan shark, Hank will move into his home come Spring. Laura, his wife has asked for a divorce. Debbie,12, says she is tired refereeing the fights. Nobody will take care of Kyle so Glen takes him to the race track with him. Glen soon is down to his last $20. Kyle is not shy in telling everyone he talks to God - and God talks back. How about asking that God of yours to give me a winner, Glen asks in desperation. Kyle obliges and then Glen wonders if he has found his golden goose. He has a nephew who talks to God and most important, God responds.
This is an entirely original story, there is no 'I've seen it before reaction'. The script concludes with a very exciting racing scene. It is a genuinely enjoyable childen's story that stands tall in today's movie market - with a few cute asides as an aperitif. It also tells us the power of the human spirit over apparently impossible odds - wrought by a modern world engrossed in it's own affairs not always adding to its own benefit."
I love the fact that the loan shark isn't gonna break the guy's legs, he plans to move into his house. Which makes me think - what if you took a loan, and used your life as collateral?
"When Kyle 6 or 7 arrives at his Uncle Glen's home outside Duluth, nobody there welcomes him. It's a house in turmoil. Glen is an addicted gambler and unless he can come up with $300.000 to pay Hank, a loan shark, Hank will move into his home come Spring. Laura, his wife has asked for a divorce. Debbie,12, says she is tired refereeing the fights. Nobody will take care of Kyle so Glen takes him to the race track with him. Glen soon is down to his last $20. Kyle is not shy in telling everyone he talks to God - and God talks back. How about asking that God of yours to give me a winner, Glen asks in desperation. Kyle obliges and then Glen wonders if he has found his golden goose. He has a nephew who talks to God and most important, God responds.
This is an entirely original story, there is no 'I've seen it before reaction'. The script concludes with a very exciting racing scene. It is a genuinely enjoyable childen's story that stands tall in today's movie market - with a few cute asides as an aperitif. It also tells us the power of the human spirit over apparently impossible odds - wrought by a modern world engrossed in it's own affairs not always adding to its own benefit."
I love the fact that the loan shark isn't gonna break the guy's legs, he plans to move into his house. Which makes me think - what if you took a loan, and used your life as collateral?
Editing FRANK
Last night, I returned to editing FRANK and got up to page 39. The current draft of the novel is 393-ppg, which means I'm slightly less than 10% done. If I keep a consistent pace, like this process is nothing but a filling tool bar while a program loads on Windows, I'll be done in nine days, or Oct. 2.
But I know I'm going to be able to get more work done on Saturday and Sunday than on the weekday nights, which makes my goal of handing in an edited first draft on or before the first of October realistic.
Barring disaster, of course - something I unfortunately have to factor into every endeavor. Some people are born with weird toes or big noses or genetic conditions. I was born with strange luck.
Naturally, the first few chapters are a lot cleaner than the last act is gonna be, since I've read those words a billion times. (Slight exaggeration, but not by much). I also decided to rename the love interest. Her name used to be Ana, but I thought that was too close on the page to Adam, one of our protagonists. So I switched her to her middle name, Rosa. I knew I was gonna do this a while ago and didn't think much of it... all I gotta do is a quick Find/Replace, right? Not quite, 'cause Find/Replace doesn't differentiate the sequence of the letters a-n-a between stand-alone appearances (i.e. Ana) and when it's integrated within larger words. So, for example, doing a Find/Replace to change Ana into Rosa would also change the word "banana" into "banRosa." My two-second job got a lot longer.
I'm going through this doc with a fine-toothed comb, anyway, so it's not that big of a deal. But I know character name changes are exactly the kinda thing that tends to breed ghosts. It would be wise to edit the full draft, leave it alone for a couple of days, go back and just read it to read.
But I know I'm going to be able to get more work done on Saturday and Sunday than on the weekday nights, which makes my goal of handing in an edited first draft on or before the first of October realistic.
Barring disaster, of course - something I unfortunately have to factor into every endeavor. Some people are born with weird toes or big noses or genetic conditions. I was born with strange luck.
Naturally, the first few chapters are a lot cleaner than the last act is gonna be, since I've read those words a billion times. (Slight exaggeration, but not by much). I also decided to rename the love interest. Her name used to be Ana, but I thought that was too close on the page to Adam, one of our protagonists. So I switched her to her middle name, Rosa. I knew I was gonna do this a while ago and didn't think much of it... all I gotta do is a quick Find/Replace, right? Not quite, 'cause Find/Replace doesn't differentiate the sequence of the letters a-n-a between stand-alone appearances (i.e. Ana) and when it's integrated within larger words. So, for example, doing a Find/Replace to change Ana into Rosa would also change the word "banana" into "banRosa." My two-second job got a lot longer.
I'm going through this doc with a fine-toothed comb, anyway, so it's not that big of a deal. But I know character name changes are exactly the kinda thing that tends to breed ghosts. It would be wise to edit the full draft, leave it alone for a couple of days, go back and just read it to read.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sunshine
I took a break from editing FRANK last night to sit down and watch Sunshine, directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, who's Boyle's go-to writer guy.
The short version: holy fucking shit, did I love this movie.
Slightly longer version: I was kicking myself the whole time for not seeing it in the theater. I dunno why... the title didn't grab me, I didn't get a big impression off the trailers, etc. Like many people - it didn't perform very well in the domestic box office - I stayed away.
Well... I was a fucking idiot. This movie blew me away. There are visuals here that're jaw-dropping. The sound design is beyond comparison.
However, lemme state this in big, bold letters: THIS IS NOT A MOVIE FOR EVERYBODY.
In fact... I wanna say this is as close to hard sci-fi as I've seen on the screen in a long time. It's Alien meets 2001 by way Asimov. This is the kinda big-story, soul-searing sci-fi I used to read when I was a kid. There's no concession to the general audience whatsoever: no kooky guy lessening the tension with one-liners, no robots, no Hollywood bullshit. Just a crew of scientists on a mission to shoot a bomb into the sun as a last-ditch way to keep it from dying so Earth won't freeze.
It opens to tension, and get crazier by degrees from there. There isn't an ounce of fat on this story, no wasted movements or dumb subplots.
The movie also does zero lifting in terms of telling you how to feel about the characters. Cillian Murphy turns out to be our main protagonist but, beyond his star status, I wasn't sure until act three. All I knew from the trailers that someone on the mission goes insane. By the time the story starts, these people have already been on this suicide mission for seven years, and all of them have cracks. So I had no idea if it was gonna be Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Candlestick or what...
That aspect strongly reminded me of the first time I saw Alien, when I was but a wee lad. Since all of the characters are normal-type people - by that, I mean it's not like Bruce Willis is on the Nostromo - I had no idea who was good or bad, who would die or survive. At the time, I thought it would be a standard action-tough guy thing with Dallas kicking ass. Wrong. (Spoiler).
I can't say this is a movie I'm gonna watch again in the near future. This ain't a comfort food movie like Big Lebowski or RoboCop. It's fucking intense.
I should also point out that this is the second movie of Boyle's, besides 28 Days Later, where I had multiple people warning me about the third act. Once again, I loved the third act. I dunno, I don't seem to mind where Boyle takes these stories as much as some people. In fact, the last act of 28 was my favorite part -- the first two acts were fun and scary but, 'cause I like zombie movies and watch a lot of them, I felt like I'd already seen that movie elsewhere. It didn't have any surprises for me until they got to that house. Most people hated that part of the movie, I thought it truly took off for me in the last act. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.
It's strange that Danny Boyle doesn't get as much attention as some other directors out there. I think he's an amazing talent and, even if he's not shooting $100m summer popcorn movies, there'll come a day when he's "discovered" by the mainstream in a big way.
The short version: holy fucking shit, did I love this movie.
Slightly longer version: I was kicking myself the whole time for not seeing it in the theater. I dunno why... the title didn't grab me, I didn't get a big impression off the trailers, etc. Like many people - it didn't perform very well in the domestic box office - I stayed away.
Well... I was a fucking idiot. This movie blew me away. There are visuals here that're jaw-dropping. The sound design is beyond comparison.
However, lemme state this in big, bold letters: THIS IS NOT A MOVIE FOR EVERYBODY.
In fact... I wanna say this is as close to hard sci-fi as I've seen on the screen in a long time. It's Alien meets 2001 by way Asimov. This is the kinda big-story, soul-searing sci-fi I used to read when I was a kid. There's no concession to the general audience whatsoever: no kooky guy lessening the tension with one-liners, no robots, no Hollywood bullshit. Just a crew of scientists on a mission to shoot a bomb into the sun as a last-ditch way to keep it from dying so Earth won't freeze.
It opens to tension, and get crazier by degrees from there. There isn't an ounce of fat on this story, no wasted movements or dumb subplots.
The movie also does zero lifting in terms of telling you how to feel about the characters. Cillian Murphy turns out to be our main protagonist but, beyond his star status, I wasn't sure until act three. All I knew from the trailers that someone on the mission goes insane. By the time the story starts, these people have already been on this suicide mission for seven years, and all of them have cracks. So I had no idea if it was gonna be Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Candlestick or what...
That aspect strongly reminded me of the first time I saw Alien, when I was but a wee lad. Since all of the characters are normal-type people - by that, I mean it's not like Bruce Willis is on the Nostromo - I had no idea who was good or bad, who would die or survive. At the time, I thought it would be a standard action-tough guy thing with Dallas kicking ass. Wrong. (Spoiler).
I can't say this is a movie I'm gonna watch again in the near future. This ain't a comfort food movie like Big Lebowski or RoboCop. It's fucking intense.
I should also point out that this is the second movie of Boyle's, besides 28 Days Later, where I had multiple people warning me about the third act. Once again, I loved the third act. I dunno, I don't seem to mind where Boyle takes these stories as much as some people. In fact, the last act of 28 was my favorite part -- the first two acts were fun and scary but, 'cause I like zombie movies and watch a lot of them, I felt like I'd already seen that movie elsewhere. It didn't have any surprises for me until they got to that house. Most people hated that part of the movie, I thought it truly took off for me in the last act. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.
It's strange that Danny Boyle doesn't get as much attention as some other directors out there. I think he's an amazing talent and, even if he's not shooting $100m summer popcorn movies, there'll come a day when he's "discovered" by the mainstream in a big way.
The First Draft of the Novel is DONE
After ten months of work, I typed "The End" in Frankenstein's Monster last Saturday night.
Now I have to edit it, which'll take about two weeks. Then I'll hand it into the peeps, wait for their read, rewrite based on whatever notes they may have, turn that in, etc etc...
Naturally, I'd love to go to the buyers as soon as possible. But I also very much understand the need to go in with the best possible version of this story in hand. So... it would be cool to go out during the autumn season but, if it turns into a lengthy notes thing, I'm cool with early-09.
I don't wanna mitigate the first draft milestone, though, which is a big'un. At the very least, I'm sure the reps'll be pleased I'm back on screenwriting full time (when I'm not rewriting Frank, that is).
And it looks like we'll be getting a director on IMPLANT, which went out wide to the town earlier this year, came within a hair of selling and didn't, so now we're going the indie route. Fine by me -- whatever gets the picture made.
I'll talk more about the director as things firm up...
Good times.
Now I have to edit it, which'll take about two weeks. Then I'll hand it into the peeps, wait for their read, rewrite based on whatever notes they may have, turn that in, etc etc...
Naturally, I'd love to go to the buyers as soon as possible. But I also very much understand the need to go in with the best possible version of this story in hand. So... it would be cool to go out during the autumn season but, if it turns into a lengthy notes thing, I'm cool with early-09.
I don't wanna mitigate the first draft milestone, though, which is a big'un. At the very least, I'm sure the reps'll be pleased I'm back on screenwriting full time (when I'm not rewriting Frank, that is).
And it looks like we'll be getting a director on IMPLANT, which went out wide to the town earlier this year, came within a hair of selling and didn't, so now we're going the indie route. Fine by me -- whatever gets the picture made.
I'll talk more about the director as things firm up...
Good times.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Minor Threat + Ben Kingsley
Some things in this world are just peanut butter and chocolate awesome, like this video of Sir Ben Kingsley lip-synching to Minor Threat.
It's a pretty rare week that I don't spin some Minor Threat -- it's great writing music, and I never get sick of 'em.
It would be cool if this thing launched a series of videos featuring semi-incongruous actors singing/synching to old punk and metal.
My first vote: Brendan Gleeson doing "Ace of Spades."
It's a pretty rare week that I don't spin some Minor Threat -- it's great writing music, and I never get sick of 'em.
It would be cool if this thing launched a series of videos featuring semi-incongruous actors singing/synching to old punk and metal.
My first vote: Brendan Gleeson doing "Ace of Spades."
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Ratner Directing Conan?
According to this article at dreadcentral, they're hearing Brett Ratner is up to direct CONAN.
I think this remains to be seen...
I think this remains to be seen...
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Penny Arcade
I'm a big fan of Penny Arcade. I check in during lunch every couple of days.
Here's a pretty classic piece from today's:
"If you would like to know why writing in games suffers, or is bad, or is not valued, know this: it is because in order to secure writing, one must deal with writers, something no-one in their right fucking mind should ever even contemplate."
And the rest of the article/comic here.
Here's a pretty classic piece from today's:
"If you would like to know why writing in games suffers, or is bad, or is not valued, know this: it is because in order to secure writing, one must deal with writers, something no-one in their right fucking mind should ever even contemplate."
And the rest of the article/comic here.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Spider-Man 2
Well well... we were just talking about Spider-Man the other day, and here's some news about the next two movies on Nikki Finke's blog, here.
I watched Spider-Man 2 yet again last night. I'm consistently moved by this powerful story. The writing is beyond excellent. It's a movie in which the hero is continually punished for being a good person, in every situation and at every turn. Even when he acts in a heroic manner, the world doesn't let up... until the very end, when the hero gets everything he's wanted.
It's a structure that reminds me of It's a Wonderful Life -- George Bailey does the right thing, and the world punishes him for it every time. Finally he decides to give up, and comes to realize that, even if he's denied his dreams and given still more burdens to carry, his good actions have meaningful repercussions in his life that are even more valuable than money and fame.
Which makes Spider-Man 3 more interesting in retrospect, because it asks the question: what if the world did reward this heroic character in the way he thought he should, and the sudden in-pouring of fame and love turned this long-suffering guy into an asshole? It would be like if we had an It's a Wonderful Life 2, in which George Bailey gets as powerful as Mr. Potter, and gradually turns into him.
Which is exactly what happens in Johnny To's Election and Triad Election. The hero of Election is the good guy who plays by the rules. By the time we catch back up with him a couple of years later in the sequel, the criminal life style has corrupted him, and now he's just like the villain he was fighting in Election. Pretty brilliant... and I'm counting the seconds for a third movie.
So... though I think Spider-Man 3 is kinda uneven, I'm excited as hell for two more movies. My hope is they look at the missteps taken in 3, and take a good long look at Iron Man and Dark Knight, apply those lessons and give us some awesome fucking flicks.
I watched Spider-Man 2 yet again last night. I'm consistently moved by this powerful story. The writing is beyond excellent. It's a movie in which the hero is continually punished for being a good person, in every situation and at every turn. Even when he acts in a heroic manner, the world doesn't let up... until the very end, when the hero gets everything he's wanted.
It's a structure that reminds me of It's a Wonderful Life -- George Bailey does the right thing, and the world punishes him for it every time. Finally he decides to give up, and comes to realize that, even if he's denied his dreams and given still more burdens to carry, his good actions have meaningful repercussions in his life that are even more valuable than money and fame.
Which makes Spider-Man 3 more interesting in retrospect, because it asks the question: what if the world did reward this heroic character in the way he thought he should, and the sudden in-pouring of fame and love turned this long-suffering guy into an asshole? It would be like if we had an It's a Wonderful Life 2, in which George Bailey gets as powerful as Mr. Potter, and gradually turns into him.
Which is exactly what happens in Johnny To's Election and Triad Election. The hero of Election is the good guy who plays by the rules. By the time we catch back up with him a couple of years later in the sequel, the criminal life style has corrupted him, and now he's just like the villain he was fighting in Election. Pretty brilliant... and I'm counting the seconds for a third movie.
So... though I think Spider-Man 3 is kinda uneven, I'm excited as hell for two more movies. My hope is they look at the missteps taken in 3, and take a good long look at Iron Man and Dark Knight, apply those lessons and give us some awesome fucking flicks.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Rogue
Last night, I watched Rogue.
This is the second feature written and directed by Greg Mclean, who did Wolf Creek. I liked Wolf Creek without quite loving it. Rogue is a very similar movie in terms of set-up - a group of tourists wander into the Australian Outback and blunder into the territory of an aggressive alpha male; in Wolf Creek, it was a serial killer, here it's a giant crocodile. They serve the same function.
There are a lotta horror movies that follow the Alien/Aliens pattern of establishing a group of victims, each with their own little identifying characteristic or hangup. This is frequently handled in the most ham-fisted way possible, making for plenty of shitty horror movies.
Rogue follows the same pattern, and a lotta them fit standard horror stereotypes: the whiny woman, the good guy, the stand-up female protagonist, the squirrelly dude who fucks it up for everyone else, the funny guy, etc.
The difference is, Rogue does this stuff well. Thanks to a combination of good writing, acting and direction, though I could see the structure, it never felt forced or inorganic. The f/x on the croc are great. The situation is dire. Never for one second was I bored. I never rolled by eyes.
So... Rogue is a by-the-numbers creature feature siege/survival horror flick, but it's elevated by consistently great execution. I can easily say this is the best croc/gator movie I've ever seen. I'm excited to see what Greg Mclean's next project might be.
This is the second feature written and directed by Greg Mclean, who did Wolf Creek. I liked Wolf Creek without quite loving it. Rogue is a very similar movie in terms of set-up - a group of tourists wander into the Australian Outback and blunder into the territory of an aggressive alpha male; in Wolf Creek, it was a serial killer, here it's a giant crocodile. They serve the same function.
There are a lotta horror movies that follow the Alien/Aliens pattern of establishing a group of victims, each with their own little identifying characteristic or hangup. This is frequently handled in the most ham-fisted way possible, making for plenty of shitty horror movies.
Rogue follows the same pattern, and a lotta them fit standard horror stereotypes: the whiny woman, the good guy, the stand-up female protagonist, the squirrelly dude who fucks it up for everyone else, the funny guy, etc.
The difference is, Rogue does this stuff well. Thanks to a combination of good writing, acting and direction, though I could see the structure, it never felt forced or inorganic. The f/x on the croc are great. The situation is dire. Never for one second was I bored. I never rolled by eyes.
So... Rogue is a by-the-numbers creature feature siege/survival horror flick, but it's elevated by consistently great execution. I can easily say this is the best croc/gator movie I've ever seen. I'm excited to see what Greg Mclean's next project might be.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
I Always Knew This Day Would Come
According to this article, a giant robot spider is gonna attack England.
Better them than us! Eat web, limeys!
Better them than us! Eat web, limeys!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Frank 'n' Sick
When I got home Thursday night, I felt like total shit. I was at 50% kung fu and dropping. This bug was kicking my ass, getting stronger from one day to the next. I was concerned that I'd spend the long weekend suffering and not getting much writing done.
Fuck that. It was time to beat this thing down. I decided to dedicate an entire day to doing nothing but getting better.
I went to bed at nine on Thursday, and woke up at noon on Friday. Fifteen hours of sleep. I went to the store and got three cartons of oj. I brought that home, drank a ton of it and used it to wash down vitamins, Tylenol and cold medication. I slept some more. Woke up, drank more oj, ate more vitamins. Slept.
I woke up Saturday morning at 95% kung fu. Not completely better - there was a shade of lingering sickness - but nothing that would get in my way. I got a bizarre bug up my ass to clean. So off I went back to the store, got a ton of cleaning supplies, and de-mung-ified my apartment. By noon, I was feeling great and standing in a pad that gleamed white and smelled like lemons. Sometimes you just gotta.
I wrote 35 pages on Saturday, bringing my page count to 276. I had to stop because my hands were literally starting to hurt.
I celebrated with a twelve pack and In Bruges. Yeah, yeah... I know drinking right after recovering from an illness isn't the smartest thing in the universe. But, you know what? You bust your ass and write 35 pages in a day, and tell me you don't feel like throwing a few back.
In Bruges is an amazing movie. I laughed my ass off watching this thing. The writing, acting, directing and shooting all come together. It doesn't change the world or anything, it's just a very good character-driven Brit gangster movie. But, man... my fave Brit gangster movie so far has been Snatch, and In Bruges replaces it. This is a great flick, I can't recommend it more highly.
On Sunday, I wrote another ten pages. I had to come into the office, and after that I went to the Hollywood Forever cemetery screening of Don't Look Now. It's more of a well-directed movie than a well-written movie, in my own humble, but that ending... It's one of the bigger WHAT THE FUCK?! endings in the genre. Watching it again, it occurred to me that Don't Look Now is the British version of a giallo movie - it has a lot of the same characteristics: Italian setting, weird psychics, painful dialogue, yuppie hero, a killer on the loose, crazy plot points.
But most people just like it for the famous sex scene, which got a lot of applause.
Yesterday, I wrote another ten. But, in the midst of all this writing, I figured out something that cracked act two, which had been giving me some trouble. I rolled a few scenes into each other, making what was left richer, more important to the characters, more dense with story, and more immediate. My page count dropped, but not nearly as much as I'd thought. I still have to go back and comb out the knots. But I'm gonna save that for later... solving the act two problem on the page gave me a clear vision of the rest of the story, all the way to THE END.
So I'm just gonna sprint ahead and get a first draft done.
When I started this project in January, my original goal was to finish it in six months. When it wasn't even close to being done in June, I stretched my deadline to finishing it by the end of summer. Now that we're in Sept, I'm shooting for wrapping it up by year's end.
I got cocky in terms of the time frame I thought I'd need, because I was thinking in the context of my screenplay output. I've been writing scripts since '98, and I've gotten to a point that slamming out a first draft no longer takes me a very long time. (Figuring out the story does... but that's a separate thing, as I typically overlap my projects; I'm thinking of one project while writing another and re-writing the one that came before, so on and so forth).
But I'm still relatively new to the novel form. It's not the length so much as my inexperience. With a script, there's a running counter in my head of page count, plot point, structure, etc. Little alarms go off, letting me know when the next beat has to happen. With novels, it's a longer and slightly less formalistic set-up. Scripts are just shy of haiku in terms of structure, whereas in a novel you really can have a couple of pages in which the characters just kinda talk to each other. It took me a while to get used to that, to know when to move the story, and when to dial down the action a bit.
I'm back in the office, and ready to rock. This is gonna be a big week, and I'm looking forward to diving into the mosh pit.
Fuck that. It was time to beat this thing down. I decided to dedicate an entire day to doing nothing but getting better.
I went to bed at nine on Thursday, and woke up at noon on Friday. Fifteen hours of sleep. I went to the store and got three cartons of oj. I brought that home, drank a ton of it and used it to wash down vitamins, Tylenol and cold medication. I slept some more. Woke up, drank more oj, ate more vitamins. Slept.
I woke up Saturday morning at 95% kung fu. Not completely better - there was a shade of lingering sickness - but nothing that would get in my way. I got a bizarre bug up my ass to clean. So off I went back to the store, got a ton of cleaning supplies, and de-mung-ified my apartment. By noon, I was feeling great and standing in a pad that gleamed white and smelled like lemons. Sometimes you just gotta.
I wrote 35 pages on Saturday, bringing my page count to 276. I had to stop because my hands were literally starting to hurt.
I celebrated with a twelve pack and In Bruges. Yeah, yeah... I know drinking right after recovering from an illness isn't the smartest thing in the universe. But, you know what? You bust your ass and write 35 pages in a day, and tell me you don't feel like throwing a few back.
In Bruges is an amazing movie. I laughed my ass off watching this thing. The writing, acting, directing and shooting all come together. It doesn't change the world or anything, it's just a very good character-driven Brit gangster movie. But, man... my fave Brit gangster movie so far has been Snatch, and In Bruges replaces it. This is a great flick, I can't recommend it more highly.
On Sunday, I wrote another ten pages. I had to come into the office, and after that I went to the Hollywood Forever cemetery screening of Don't Look Now. It's more of a well-directed movie than a well-written movie, in my own humble, but that ending... It's one of the bigger WHAT THE FUCK?! endings in the genre. Watching it again, it occurred to me that Don't Look Now is the British version of a giallo movie - it has a lot of the same characteristics: Italian setting, weird psychics, painful dialogue, yuppie hero, a killer on the loose, crazy plot points.
But most people just like it for the famous sex scene, which got a lot of applause.
Yesterday, I wrote another ten. But, in the midst of all this writing, I figured out something that cracked act two, which had been giving me some trouble. I rolled a few scenes into each other, making what was left richer, more important to the characters, more dense with story, and more immediate. My page count dropped, but not nearly as much as I'd thought. I still have to go back and comb out the knots. But I'm gonna save that for later... solving the act two problem on the page gave me a clear vision of the rest of the story, all the way to THE END.
So I'm just gonna sprint ahead and get a first draft done.
When I started this project in January, my original goal was to finish it in six months. When it wasn't even close to being done in June, I stretched my deadline to finishing it by the end of summer. Now that we're in Sept, I'm shooting for wrapping it up by year's end.
I got cocky in terms of the time frame I thought I'd need, because I was thinking in the context of my screenplay output. I've been writing scripts since '98, and I've gotten to a point that slamming out a first draft no longer takes me a very long time. (Figuring out the story does... but that's a separate thing, as I typically overlap my projects; I'm thinking of one project while writing another and re-writing the one that came before, so on and so forth).
But I'm still relatively new to the novel form. It's not the length so much as my inexperience. With a script, there's a running counter in my head of page count, plot point, structure, etc. Little alarms go off, letting me know when the next beat has to happen. With novels, it's a longer and slightly less formalistic set-up. Scripts are just shy of haiku in terms of structure, whereas in a novel you really can have a couple of pages in which the characters just kinda talk to each other. It took me a while to get used to that, to know when to move the story, and when to dial down the action a bit.
I'm back in the office, and ready to rock. This is gonna be a big week, and I'm looking forward to diving into the mosh pit.
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