Did we just have a holiday? What I had was two weeks of near all-nighters broken up by two days in bed with the stomach flu. Nice.
WRITING ASSIGNMENT:
As a recap - I've been working on the outline (treatment) for 13 months. From pitch, to short audition treatment, to finally getting the outline in shape to turn into a screenplay this process has taken 13 months. It has included a week long research trip with my producer and executive producers, probably 130 hours worth of deep script discussions, mainly taking place in the wee hours of the night because B.H.P. was on the other side of the globe shooting a Big Hollywood Movie. We probably burned through three trees of notes. At last count I wrote 45 plus drafts (I lost count). Which I was happy to do because each step made it better. Each version we got closer and I wanted to get closer. And finally, we got there...
Today, I am starting to write the first draft.
The good news is that I am so happy with the work, I am in fact purely happy. Somebody once said (it might have been Dorothy Parker, but I'm not sure), "I don't enjoy writing, I enjoy having written."
Well, YES.
The outline turned out to be a very detailed, single-spaced 37 pages. So my first step is to put in the slug lines where they need to go, keeping the description as to what is happening in the scene underneath. Then I will start at the top and crawl into each and every scene and breathe life.
Crawling in and breathing life. That's my job.
DIRECTING PROJECT:
The writers have finished draft one and we gave it out to get notes over the holiday. We will collect feedback at the top of the month. I'm also contacting the film commission where we want to shoot to see about getting help with a budget, locations and breakdowns.
OTHER WRITING BITS:
I have been noodling a new spec. (I have insomnia... you can get a lot done while everyone else you know is asleep)
I've also been contacted about a couple other writing assignments and possible sales of some of my old specs (which I've had long enough to be in the in flavor of the moment again.)
That's the update. Soon I hope to move this blog to my official website - but priorities, priorities...
Until further notice... I'm writing!
Hello hello! Long time. How'd your trip to Germany go? A years worth of 45 treatment drafts turned into a 37 page outline. Holy shit. That makes me feel better about not opening Final Draft for a long time and just working on my outline.
ReplyDeleteI've never had the luxury of working on something for so long before - but the producer is a genius, tough, very tough, but a genius. On the other side of it - he expects me to turn it into a screenplay in a matter of days. But it has been an amazing process so far. Once the movie is in the can (later this year) I'll write in more detail about it.
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