I cracked out the first 1,500 words of Frankenstein's Notebook yesterday.
True to my usual habit, I actually wrote a lot more, which I instantly hated and erased. Chapter one establishes the voice and tone of the whole novel. I had to hack at it for a while until I hit something I thought worked. But I could change my mind...
I had 28-pages of treatment written, and I still wasn't done with the whole story. I stopped writing. I erased about half of it. I decided to plunge into the novel with ten pages of structure. I didn't want to contrain the story. I just wanted a jumping-off point. I'm not worried about the second half going awry; after five years in this gig, I have story structure in my DNA.
I'm loosely targeting a polished 90,000-word mss by this time next year.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Indy's Back!
Or: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Held Breaths.RAIDERS is one of the best movies ever made by anybody ever. But I've made my feelings for the sequels very clear. I used to like CRUSADE, but I've seen it recently. Hoo boy, does it not hold up.
Ten or fifteen years ago, I'd be expecting this to be on par with, say... ROBOCOP 3, or CONAN THE DESTROYER.
But on the other hand, I gave up on James Bond a long time ago, and we now live in the age of CASINO ROYALE.
I'm cautiously excited. I know I'll see this opening night. I also know I'll be praying to the Hollywood Gods: "Please don't suck... please don't suck..."
Friday, September 7, 2007
The Lost Star Wars Masterpiece
I checked on Netflix.
They have Stars Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. They have The Empire Strikes Back. They have Return of the Jedi. They have the original and special edition releases of all three movies.
They have Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. They have The Clone Wars. They have Revenge of the Sith.
They have the Clone Wars series. They have Ewok Adventures. They have Star Wars Animated Adventures: Ewoks. They have Star Wars Animated Adventures: Droids.
But they do not have The Star Wars Christmas Special.
Completely out of nowhere, I have a weird, semi-desperate desire to see this. I haven't seen it since I was a kid. I remember it being odd. But Star Wars -- and the concurrent Christmas Special -- came out when I was a really little kid. When you're that young, your idea of reality hasn't quite calcified enough to accept or deny anything. Since the Muppets also had a Christmas special, the Star Wars Christmas Special seemed entirely appropriate at the time.
I'm sure this kinda thing is lying around all over the place at Gen Con. But I didn't go.
I shall find it. And I shall watch it.
They have Stars Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. They have The Empire Strikes Back. They have Return of the Jedi. They have the original and special edition releases of all three movies.
They have Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. They have The Clone Wars. They have Revenge of the Sith.
They have the Clone Wars series. They have Ewok Adventures. They have Star Wars Animated Adventures: Ewoks. They have Star Wars Animated Adventures: Droids.
But they do not have The Star Wars Christmas Special.
Completely out of nowhere, I have a weird, semi-desperate desire to see this. I haven't seen it since I was a kid. I remember it being odd. But Star Wars -- and the concurrent Christmas Special -- came out when I was a really little kid. When you're that young, your idea of reality hasn't quite calcified enough to accept or deny anything. Since the Muppets also had a Christmas special, the Star Wars Christmas Special seemed entirely appropriate at the time.
I'm sure this kinda thing is lying around all over the place at Gen Con. But I didn't go.
I shall find it. And I shall watch it.
There's Only One Thing Missing from The Bourne Ultimatum
In all three movies, there's a team of agents in a little room hunting for Jason Bourne. A leader agent barks orders like "Get a visual on Bourne!" while everyone else hunches over computer screens, watches Bourne through remote video, listens to tapped phone conversations, etc.
The last one has Bourne actually break into the building where this-movie's team is operating. He runs around. Trouble ensues.
I was really, really hoping that, after three full movies of the bad guys hunting Bourne with remote technology, he would actually crash into the room and yell: "HERE I AM! What now, motherfuckers?!"
Having spent so long thinking of Bourne as a grainy image, a voice and a name in a file, I thought their reaction to personally confronting the person they're tracking would've been pretty rich. I could imagine them completely freezing, until Bourne left the room. Then, back in their comfort zone, they could watch him through security cameras and someone could yell, "He's in the hallway! Get me a visual!"
Bonus points if Bourne punches an agent or steals someone's coffee, and everyone acts like it never happened.
Alas, as awesome as Ultimatum is, I'm denied.
The last one has Bourne actually break into the building where this-movie's team is operating. He runs around. Trouble ensues.
I was really, really hoping that, after three full movies of the bad guys hunting Bourne with remote technology, he would actually crash into the room and yell: "HERE I AM! What now, motherfuckers?!"
Having spent so long thinking of Bourne as a grainy image, a voice and a name in a file, I thought their reaction to personally confronting the person they're tracking would've been pretty rich. I could imagine them completely freezing, until Bourne left the room. Then, back in their comfort zone, they could watch him through security cameras and someone could yell, "He's in the hallway! Get me a visual!"
Bonus points if Bourne punches an agent or steals someone's coffee, and everyone acts like it never happened.
Alas, as awesome as Ultimatum is, I'm denied.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Implant
Implant. Draft four. Turned in.
I spent my entire Labor Day weekend working on it. While other people engage in ludicrous activities like frolicking on the beach, spending time with friends and family or doing things that are fun, I was busting ass to get Implant rewritten and handed in.
(I'm kidding... writing's fun for me).
Standard woodshed practice: door locked, phone off, and massive amounts of cheap booze, caffeine and sleep deprivation.
And thus, did I give birth to a bouncing baby 96-page motherfucking fireball of a techno-action/thriller.
While the peeps read and digest, I've been noodling with ideas for ISLAND RUN, fucking around with FN and rewriting THE BULLY.
This week's been extremely busy. We're gearing up to officially enter pre-production, while at the same time doing all the stuff I normally do. It's cool, just... every minute of every day is about something. I'm looking forward to getting some chill time in this weekend.
I spent my entire Labor Day weekend working on it. While other people engage in ludicrous activities like frolicking on the beach, spending time with friends and family or doing things that are fun, I was busting ass to get Implant rewritten and handed in.
(I'm kidding... writing's fun for me).
Standard woodshed practice: door locked, phone off, and massive amounts of cheap booze, caffeine and sleep deprivation.
And thus, did I give birth to a bouncing baby 96-page motherfucking fireball of a techno-action/thriller.
While the peeps read and digest, I've been noodling with ideas for ISLAND RUN, fucking around with FN and rewriting THE BULLY.
This week's been extremely busy. We're gearing up to officially enter pre-production, while at the same time doing all the stuff I normally do. It's cool, just... every minute of every day is about something. I'm looking forward to getting some chill time in this weekend.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Query of the Day
LOGLINE: When Keith, an ex-Navy Seal, decides to help his nephew and a friend to create the ultimate, low-base stereo system, he has no idea the boys will find a way to make a weapon of mass destruction work.
SYNOPSIS:
Keith, an ex-Navy Seal, once guarded two scientists developing an infrasonic bomb. At that time the scientist couldn't get the technology to work, so the speakers they developed were shelved. Twenty years later, when his nephew (Eric) and a friend (Gary) want to develop a stereo system, Keith retrieves the now declassified speakers for them. Using modern technology, the boys manage to get the speakers to work. The wave created kills practically everyone in the town of Pine Woods and still has enough intensity, by the time it reaches the town of Tascaguma, to cause psychosis in many residents.
When Eric and Gary stop dabbling, they find their families dead. Thinking it is the work of a serial killer, they rush to downtown Pine Woods for help. Meanwhile, Keith, caught at the edge of the powerful, mind-altering wave hears voices from the past. He fights crazed Tascaguma residents, appearing to him as Honduras Guerrillas to get back to Pine Woods.
The Plot thickens when Kenneth and Rose, an estranged military couple, stop for coffee and find a town full of dead bodies. After exploring the town, they become convinced this is the work of one crazed teen, who bears a striking resemblance to Gary.
The Sheriff of Tascaguma starts his day with what he thinks is a crank call but as people in the Sunnyville Trailer Park, begin killing themselves and their entire families, he decides he better find out what's going on in Pine Woods. He and deputy arrive in time to save Eric and to straighten out the situation between Kenneth and Gary; just as the military arrive to secure their functional weapon.
SYNOPSIS:
Keith, an ex-Navy Seal, once guarded two scientists developing an infrasonic bomb. At that time the scientist couldn't get the technology to work, so the speakers they developed were shelved. Twenty years later, when his nephew (Eric) and a friend (Gary) want to develop a stereo system, Keith retrieves the now declassified speakers for them. Using modern technology, the boys manage to get the speakers to work. The wave created kills practically everyone in the town of Pine Woods and still has enough intensity, by the time it reaches the town of Tascaguma, to cause psychosis in many residents.
When Eric and Gary stop dabbling, they find their families dead. Thinking it is the work of a serial killer, they rush to downtown Pine Woods for help. Meanwhile, Keith, caught at the edge of the powerful, mind-altering wave hears voices from the past. He fights crazed Tascaguma residents, appearing to him as Honduras Guerrillas to get back to Pine Woods.
The Plot thickens when Kenneth and Rose, an estranged military couple, stop for coffee and find a town full of dead bodies. After exploring the town, they become convinced this is the work of one crazed teen, who bears a striking resemblance to Gary.
The Sheriff of Tascaguma starts his day with what he thinks is a crank call but as people in the Sunnyville Trailer Park, begin killing themselves and their entire families, he decides he better find out what's going on in Pine Woods. He and deputy arrive in time to save Eric and to straighten out the situation between Kenneth and Gary; just as the military arrive to secure their functional weapon.
Bourne
A couple of weeks ago, I went to visit my parents in AZ. I watched The Bourne Supremacy with my dad. I wasn't exactly excited to watch it, because I remembered hating the swishy-swish-pan shit in the theater. But my dad hadn't seen and and he was opening wine bottles so... what the hell.
Long/short -- I loved it. I'm not sure why but, on a smaller screen, the fast-cutting and active camera didn't bother me. I liked the energy. I could track what was going on in the scene. It was a vastly entertaining movie. And we have my man Karl Urban being a badass. Good stuff.
I thought... maybe I was able to track the scenes because I'd seen the movie before. I thought, when I see Ultimatum, it'll probably bug me the first time I watch it, and then be fine on DVD.
This past weekend I was deep in the woodshed. I worked my ass off. But you can't stay in too long, or else you lose perspective. On Sunday, I crawled out of the hole, eyes blinking in the sunlight... and promptly slithered into a big, dark room -- the Arclight Dome -- to catch The Bourne Ultimatum.
The swishy-cutty stuff is still there. But it didn't bother me at all. Is it because Paul Greengrass got better, or pulled back a bit? Is it because I'd made peace with Supremacy?
It doesn't matter. This movie blew me the fuck away. LOVED IT.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I honestly think we can thank the Bourne movies for bringing back the kickass American action film. For a while, American action sucked ass. It was slow and ponderous and bloated. There are always a few brights spots in any era -- I'm thinking of Ronin -- but man, the Die-Hard-in-a-tool-shed years were bleak.
It seemed even worse when I started watching Hong Kong movies in the early '90s. I'd watch stuff like The Killer and Once Upon a Time in China, and the American stuff just seemed ridiculous by comparison.
The town looked to Hong Kong, with mixed results... it seemed like H'wood didn't quite understand what they were seeing, or why it was working. Except for a few guys like Tarantino, it was mostly a bunch of clumsy, clueless, watered-down garbage.
But these Bourne flicks, simply by being awesome, have brought up the game across the board. This is a three-disc set I shall own. They're deeply influential, and prove you don't have to turn off your brain to deliver a solid action movie.
Long/short -- I loved it. I'm not sure why but, on a smaller screen, the fast-cutting and active camera didn't bother me. I liked the energy. I could track what was going on in the scene. It was a vastly entertaining movie. And we have my man Karl Urban being a badass. Good stuff.
I thought... maybe I was able to track the scenes because I'd seen the movie before. I thought, when I see Ultimatum, it'll probably bug me the first time I watch it, and then be fine on DVD.
This past weekend I was deep in the woodshed. I worked my ass off. But you can't stay in too long, or else you lose perspective. On Sunday, I crawled out of the hole, eyes blinking in the sunlight... and promptly slithered into a big, dark room -- the Arclight Dome -- to catch The Bourne Ultimatum.
The swishy-cutty stuff is still there. But it didn't bother me at all. Is it because Paul Greengrass got better, or pulled back a bit? Is it because I'd made peace with Supremacy?
It doesn't matter. This movie blew me the fuck away. LOVED IT.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I honestly think we can thank the Bourne movies for bringing back the kickass American action film. For a while, American action sucked ass. It was slow and ponderous and bloated. There are always a few brights spots in any era -- I'm thinking of Ronin -- but man, the Die-Hard-in-a-tool-shed years were bleak.
It seemed even worse when I started watching Hong Kong movies in the early '90s. I'd watch stuff like The Killer and Once Upon a Time in China, and the American stuff just seemed ridiculous by comparison.
The town looked to Hong Kong, with mixed results... it seemed like H'wood didn't quite understand what they were seeing, or why it was working. Except for a few guys like Tarantino, it was mostly a bunch of clumsy, clueless, watered-down garbage.
But these Bourne flicks, simply by being awesome, have brought up the game across the board. This is a three-disc set I shall own. They're deeply influential, and prove you don't have to turn off your brain to deliver a solid action movie.
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