Comments on Another's Rundown

Over at Script Shadow we have this week's Weekly Rundown. These are the bits that caught my attention, and a few brief thoughts on them.

First, a King Arthur movie to be helmed by Guy Ritchie is in the works. It'll be written by John Hodge (Trainspotting). Variety Article.

The first thing I thought was "weren't there a couple big budget King Arthur movies like, 5 years ago?"

FRENZY!!!! (or RomComs: A Discussion)

No, the frenzy isn't in reference to a zombie horde feasting on the masses. It's... 

 

I know I've posted about NaNoWriMo in the past, but truth be told that never works out because novel writing doesn't really seem to be my thing. However! Script Frenzy is this April and I will be writing my first feature length screenplay! (Yay!) Also, very surprising to me, I will be writing a RomCom. I've never really had intentions of writing one in the past but this story really seems the best choice for me for my first feature.

I've started plotting it out, and currently my plan is to have the story nicely set out in index cards before April. In addition to plotting, I think I need to examine a couple of the better romcoms to set me on the right foot, through both reading and watching. Hopefully, in the end I'd be able to produce a kind of stereotypically audience gender neutral one, like 40 Year Old Virgin or Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It seems like the key to that is to have a solid bro contingent with a healthy dose of sex and sex jokes. I wasn't really planning on adding a whole lot of sex to mine, but I won't be surprised if I make that decision further down the road, during rewrites. There's certainly room for it, character and story-wise. I do, however, have a good, humorfull, broscape that is central to the story.

Shake It Up, Bisques!

Here's the thing. I'm pretty certain knowing y'alls some o' that Shakey - that ol' Bard of Straford on Avon - will always serve you in some way, particularly in the entertainment industry. In screenwriting, it can bring you round to that oh, so coveted "same but different" screenplay, it is rife with characters and situations you can steal borrow, and isn't it just good to know where shit came from? Plus, most of the country isn't up on it's Troilus and Cressida, so as long as you aren't writing another Romeo and Juliet you're probably fine. No, strike that, there's a new Romeo and Juliet spin constantly. Besides, his stuff is just an awfully good place for reminders of basic story plots. Like the Star Crossed Lovers™ .

2010 Oscars - Animated Short

Hey readers. Last night was the Oscars (o' course). My discovery: I saw an embarassingly low number of any of the nominated films, any category. However, most years I see zero of the shorts, which, you know, zero is less than few or ambiguous "low number" (I saw more Tony nominees this year I think, than Oscar nominees, which is a first).

So, submitted for the approval of the midnight society, I call this blogpost...

Don't you miss Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Ahhhhh Sh*t

I absolutely love this work of James Jean's.

...and that is exactly how things go with me. Somehow, I can't just grab shit and run forward like it always seems my peers can do, I have to make things complicated for myself. So out of that one can (maybe) ascertain my sudden drop of updates. Or not. I've excuses like a kidnapper has candy but neither are good for anybody, are they? Not me and the kidnapper (though the kidnapper, no not good) but I'm referring to the candy and excuses. Well, candy from kidnappers, candy is good on it's own. In moderation, you know, yadda.

SO!

Step Outlines For the Win!

Totally purloined the image off some poor website in google images. Thanks ::checks link:: GlobalNerdy.com It's cute though, and I wanted it.

So, Step Outlines.

As I found in the last short screenplay I wrote, they can be a very helpful little monster, these outlines, and not just for screenplays. If you know what they are and haven't been using them, give them a whirl and see how it influences your work. I'm one to skive off of a lot of prep work, and generally think I don't need it, but boy howdy step outlines helped my mediocre "writing it because I need something to turn in" short.

If you do know and do use, well, I dunno, it's up to you whether or not you want to read this post (versus the rest of you who are supernaturally compelled, apparently, because only those who presently use step outlines are given the choice). However, before you click away from my page, I don't know how you do step outlines, but in the brief internet search I did, people's how to's (I don't think the apostrophe in the "to" of "how to" is appropriate, but it's easier to read) were different than the method I use, so you may want to stick around regardless. For those who do not know what a step outline is or how it might help you...

This is how they work:

Screenplay pReview: Source Code

I don't want to say director Duncan Jones looks like Peter Pettigrew in this picture but... well, he looks kind of like Peter Pettigrew in this picture.

Anyway, Source Code, the screenplay that's been kicking since 2007 that everyone and their momma loves and will likely finally be in production early next year (Jake Gyllenhaal in negotiations to star).

I thought it was good. *shrug*

It's billed as a sci-fi/thriller and yeah, it's a good script. A really good script. I wasn't bored once and that, in my novice screenplay-reading experience, means something. Whether it's because I'm new to the screenplay format and it takes a little extra work to fully immerse myself in, or whether I've just been reading crappier screenplays, I start getting antsy and distracted half way through them. This one I didn't.

The problem is, to me, it read like it would play out like any other blockbuster action/suspense movie of the modern age and since I came into it expecting sci fi... well, I was disappointed.