Yikes - I've fallen... a bit behind schedule here. I could tell you that, though I haven't posted an update in a while, I've been writing regularly. But that, my friends, would be a fabulation, and because I love you, I don't want to lose your trust, dear readers.
The truth is, I was in Iceland. Yes, the land of Vikings and Blue Lagoons and fermented rotten shark. It was beautiful, but unproductive as far as my writing is concerned. Now, lest I sound like a total shirker, my writing partner and I were awaiting notes from our producer, which were supposed to come in while I was on vacation. (We got them a few days after I got back, so no worries there.)
About a week after I touched back down at JFK, W.A. (my collaborator) and I were on the phone going over the notes, picking and choosing the ones we wanted to address. We had a great two-hour discussion in which we recrafted a lot of the weakest parts of the script. W.A.'s really excited to get it out there and see if we can sell it (I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, but after years of near-hits and aggravating misses, I have learned to temper my excitement quite a bit). The work is on me to get it to a place where we can go out by summer's end. Despite the fact that the edits are not unsubstantial, I think it's quite doable.
In the meantime, I decided to pour myself into my inaugural children's book. I attempted some free form writing, but realized that I was rambling and ambling without direction. So, I sat down for a night and outlined the book. It's short - barely two thousand words - and the story is far from the most involved that I have ever worked on. Still, there are about eight main beats to it, and I wanted to get them all down in order and fleshed out. Afterward, the writing came smoothly, and I got it done in about four sessions. I was home in Arlington, VA with my family for the weekend and gave them a preview reading. Reviews were favorable (old saying about not relying on your mom to be your critic aside). I found a few lines I need to edit, but I'm content enough with the draft to set the project aside temporarily, as far as editing goes, and to get back to the sci-fi spec for W.A.
While I work on the sci-fi collaboration, I'd like to see what if any traction I can get with the children's book. I know nothing about the children's book publishing world, but I have a few connections to people that do. I'll ask them and see what they say. More so, I think I probably need to find an illustrator before I show it to the industry. Though this will be a back-burner project for a bit, it will be fun to have something to occupy my mind in addition to the sci-fi spec. And it's a whole new type of writing project for me; that, in and of itself, has been gratifying - and a welcome return to storytelling after my month-plus hiatus.
The Emmy Nominations have been announced today. It's no surprise that some shows, like the incomparable "Breaking Bad" are on there. Nor is it startling to see so many accolades for the departing "30 Rock." Similarly expected are the praises bestowed upon mini-series American Horror Story - though this season paled compared to the first, in my opinion - or Top of the Lake. (Note that, while in its second season, AMH is dubbed a mini-series, because the character, plot, and scenarios are different each season, hence the full title: American Horror Story: Asylum. Yes, it is a lot of the same cast and crew, but technically, it has nothing to do with the first season and is a whole new set of characters and situations, so it is a mini-series. Like Band of Brothers and The Pacific.)
Check out all the nominations above, and, for our purposes, the writing ones below. What do you think - any snubs?
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
“Dead Freight” by George Mastras, Breaking Bad
“Say My Name” by Thomas Schnauz, Breaking Bad
“Episode 4″ by Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey
“The Rains of Castamere” by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Game of Thrones
“Q&A” by Henry Bromell, Homeland
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
“Episode 209″ by Jeffrey Klarik, Episodes
“Daddy’s Girlfriend (Part 1)” by Louis C.K. and Pamela Adlon, Louie
“Finale” by Greg Daniels, The Office
“Hogcock!” by Jack Burditt and Robert Carlock, 30 Rock
“Last Lunch” by Tina Fey and Tracey Wigfield, 30 Rock
Outstanding Writing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Dramatic Special
Richard LaGravenese, Behind The Candelabra
Abi Morgan, The Hour
Tom Stoppard, Parade's End
David Mamet, Phil Spector
Jane Campion and Gerard Lee, Top Of The Lake
Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Portlandia
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special
The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards
Louis C.K.: Oh My God
Night Of Too Many Stars: America Comes Together For Autism Programs
Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday (Part One)
66th Annual Tony Awards
Outstanding Writing For Nonfiction Programming
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
The Dust Bowl
Ethel
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God
The Men Who Built America • A New War Begins
As my lack of recent Writing Week updates may have indicated, I have not been doing a ton of writing recently. Actually, I've not done any at all. I began entertaining thoughts about a children's book I think I'd like to write, but beyond putting a few rhymes down in a Word document, I've hardly touched it. And I have done nothing on any of my scripts.
Part of the inertia stems from the fact that my writing partner and I are awaiting a second round of notes from our producer on the sci-fi spec we've been working on. I haven't touched it in over a month, because I was out of town. Our producer had other commitments, but she read, and we're all talking tonight. I go out of town again for two weeks this Thursday, so it's anyone's guess when I'll get back to work on it - unless, of course, she loves the new draft and has only minor suggestions that I can implement on Wednesday.
A large part of my lack of momentum, though, is just that - a lack of momentum. Theoretically, I should have treated the month since we sent the script out as a time to break my back getting new (or old) projects ready to outline and write. But I needed a break. The day job got slow for me, and while that maybe should have been a great reason to fully invest in my writing, it had the inverse effect of dulling my motivation outside the office, as well. I'm not self-flagellating here, though. I think every writer needs a break now and then. I just have to make sure that mine ends with the conclusion of my vacation.
In the meantime, the League met last week. We didn't have any scripts to read, so one of the group members suggested a different homework assignment: read a Nicholl winning script. Not just a Nicholl winner, the one we chose had actually been developed through a mentorship project with the WGA. We wanted to see how we all responded to it and, because let's be honest, how we stacked up against it.
To be honest - and hopefully neither smug nor arrogant - I felt like each member of the League could hold his or her own against the script we read. Perhaps we're not as strong in the particular genre (historical noir/thriller), but I didn't see the Nicholl winner as obviously better in any major way than any of our best projects. In fact, there were some sloppy elements throughout that made me wonder what it takes (luck?, the right reader?, the promise of greater talent yet to come?) to place in the competition. Granted, I can't truly compare, because none of us submitted a competing script that year, nor have any of us read any of the other submissions, winning or not. But my faith in us was unscathed by the read through. Was it a good script? Sure, but with work, I believe any of my writers group members could achieve a similarly strong product.
We likely won't have pages next meeting, either, so we'll probably read another winning script from that year, to further the experiment. I hope that read, too, will support my hypothesis that, after four years of training in college and six years of writing since, we're just as competitive.
IndieWire recently put out a few Best Of lists worth checking out.
First, they have a list of 19 of their favorite films from 2012 that are now streaming on Netflix. Load up your queue and wear some serious butt grooves into your couch with these suggestions.
And, for more recent (or not yet released) films, check out the Best Films of the Year (So Far). Not all of the inclusions on this list have distribution yet, but we can only hope they'll all be available in the coming months, or at least by year's end.
What have some of your favorite flicks of recent months been?
Deadline Hollywood today posted a worthwhile article on how struggling actor, Jason Hall, became an "overnight" screenwriting sensation. (Note - there are few to none actual overnight major screenwriting success stories. All writing takes time, deliberation, and, usually, defeat. Hall's story is no different.)
Give it a read, but keep in mind - no two writers break into the industry in the same fashion. My climb, which is far from over, has been a long one with many near successes, and more rejections. As you'll see from Hall's mini history, he was at it for years before he "made it."
Moral: keep at it, no matter what.
WGA writers have recently voted on the Top 101 Best Written Television Series of all time. (If the WGA site list won't load, you can check out the full list - with some write up - at Deadline Hollywood.)
What are your reactions? Any omissions? Any that shouldn't be on there?
There are thousands of brilliant filmmakers out there. Netflix, Amazon, iTunes - all these services offer us ways to view the latest (and classic) cinematic offerings. However, it can be hard, or downright impossible, to discover new talent, new voices, and new visionaries through services like the aforementioned ones. For those of us interested to see what independent filmmakers are working on - what our peers are working on - the options have been scattered and few. Until now.
IndieFlix is a new, subscription-based streaming service that focuses entirely on independent cinema. Founded by filmmakers, the site allows users to search for films to view by genre, length, country, even by what festivals they've shown in. Check out the offerings for yourself and see what catches your eye.
The site isn't solely concerned with garnering a film viewers. This is, after all, a business. To that, Indieflix has a unique Royalty payment system called RPM - Royalty Pool Minutes - to share the money made through subscriptions with the filmmakers themselves. Every minute you watch helps fund more independent films. And you can stream on platforms you're already using; IndieFlix already has apps on Roku and xBox.
As a special promotion, The Screenwriters League is giving away 10 2-month subscriptions for our readers. First come, first serve - just email info@screenwritersleague.com if you'd like to give IndieFlix a try.
So get out there and treat yourself to an immersive experience in the world of independent cinema.
