Apologies

I suppose my promised “daily updates” should be rephrased as a monthly update. In my defense, however, I haven’t had much time to post because I’ve been so busy writing.

I’ve been rewriting my romantic comedy to spruce it up for a producer friend that’s interested in it. He could probably find the funding for an indy feature, so let’s hope he likes what I’ve got.

Well, I’m right at the midway turning point for that script, which is right around 45-50 pages. I haven’t worked much this week because of my class and the fact that a hoodlum at the high school I work at slashed the tires on my bicycle.

Day 4

Didn’t get much writing done today. Life intervened. My roommate went to the emergency room with a dislocated soldier. Thankfully he’s doing better now!

Script Frenzy Day 3 – Moving slowly

My two concepts are way too vague and amorphous right now. I got three pages of revisions done on the old script, which is good. But I don’t feel good enough about them to know if I really want to keep them or not, which is bad.

I also found a bunch of the Coen Brother scripts online. I love how they use language and tiny details to really set the scene. They’re always mentioning specifics, even gong as far as telling us what is in the sacks that the bums are lounging against in “O Brother.” I have two stories, one set in the modern day south and the other set in 6th century Gaul. I’ve done a lot of research, but I still need to stretch for that level of detail.

So far:

Reviseed: 3 pages

Written: 0 pages

Script Frenzy – Day Two

In commemoration of the annual Script Frenzy of April (screenwriters attempt at 100 pages in thirty days), I’ve decided to devote a bit of my blog to the event. I do write often, but lately I’ve been slacking off a little, mostly do to some crazy extenuating circumstances like loosing a car. So I’ve decided that each day I will post up a little blurb on my progress. I just thought of it today, on the second, so there won’t be a “day one.” Instead, I’ll just include it in my description of “day two.” Well, here goes:

So far in two days, I haven’t written any solid pages. I’ve done a little revising, a little bit of plotting out my beat sheets, but no writing. But I feel okay about it because my foremost priority is to finish my creature script, which I  am already about 12 pages into.

However, I’ve got a script hedging in on that one’s priority level. A project I’ve been working on for the last two years has gained a little interest from a producer friend I met at church. So I am naturally feeling a little insecure about the state that draft is in. My tendency is always to do fairly drastic changes in the rewriting process, usually more so than is recommended to me. What I really need is to just stick to the notes I’ve been given, finding the smallest changes necessary to meet those notes.

Any other frenzy’ers out there? Feel free to drop me a line. I’ve got quite a bit of writing experience under my belt, including this webseries, and I would love to give some encouragement/advice.

Script Frenzy is Almost Here

Kings – a new show with Biblical Inspiration

Kings is a new pilot from NBC which draws heavily from the biblical book of Kings for it’s setup. The show is set in a sort of alternate America but uses mostly biblical place names, such as Siloh and Gath. It’s getting mostly favorable reviews after the pilot, and I’ve copied one below. You can check out Kings right now at www.hulu.com

“The first three episodes, including a two-hour pilot, offer a ton to chew over, and viewers with the patience and the stamina to get through the ponderous pilot will be rewarded by this dense and intelligent show. Filmed in New York City but set in the fictional city of Shlioh, country of Gilboa, Kings is a sweeping saga centered around King Silas (Ian McShane), who built the country from ruins during a war with neighboring Gath, and has become a beloved ruler thanks to a flair for theatricality and a ruthless control over both his subordinates and his own family. Queen Rose (Susanna Thompson) is equally fearless, though unaware of Silas’s secret life. Prince Jack (Sebastian Stan) has secrets of his own, namely his homosexuality, while Princess Michelle (Alison Miller) is a high-minded health care crusader.

The show is based on the Biblical story of David, so obviously the kingdom is shook up when a young soldier named David Shepherd (Christopher Egan) rescues Jack from behind enemy lines, and is photographed standing up against a tank in the process. The tank is called Goliath, in case you’re still behind on the reference. The striking image ends the ongoing war with Gath immediately, and farm boy David is whisked away to a series of parties and press conferences in Shiloh. By the end of the pilot he has been commissioned as the military’s official spokesperson, despite Silas’s suspicions that David is a potential usurper of the throne. If you’ve read the Bible, you know Silas will probably be proven right.

Despite a lot of scenes set in a big royal conference room, and the threat from the Queen’s brother and the country’s biggest businessman (Dylan Baker) to keep the war going indefinitely, most of the drama on Kings is of the interpersonal kind. David has eyes for Michelle, Jack is jealous of David’s popularity, Silas is constantly tormented by the responsibilities of his power, and on slow-burn is a growing rivalry between Silas and David that neither is capable of recognizing outright.

The religious aspects of the show will probably be the most difficult for audiences to follow, given how unfamiliar we Americans are with the notion of a monarchy rules by a king who speaks directly to God. Eamonn Walker represents the church as Reverend Samuels, and despite his constant assertions of what God is or is not thinking, it’s really unclear in the first three episodes just what these people believe God is capable of. In fact, a lot of the details are fuzzy, and I found myself wishing that the first three episodes focused less on David and Michelle’s flirting and more on the nuts and bolts of how this strange city actually came to exist.

But then again, there was nearly an entire season of Lost before we got into the nitty-gritty, and Kings has provided us with fascinating characters to follow as we’re drawn deeper into their world. I don’t think you can read the Bible chapters to find out what happens next, since creator Michael Green seems to be using the book of Kings for inspiration rather than adaptation. But I’m looking forward to what the series does next, to see how it balances its religious mysticism and hard-nosed political drama, and if it can convince audiences that a heady dive into this complex world is worth their time on a Sunday night. There’s still a few things Kings seems to be lacking, but for the most part, I’m sold. “cinemablend.com

New Clue Movie

“Universal Pictures has attached Gore Verbinski to direct and produce “Clue,” a live-action murder mystery based on the Hasbro board game.

Verbinski will produce through his U-based Blind Wink banner, along with Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir, who also have an overall deal at the studio.”variety.com

Hollywood Assistant

This video describes the life of a hollywood assistant better in three minutes then just about anything else I’ve ever read, watched, or heard. Quite literally, it’s funny because it’s true.

Hollywood ASST from Back of the Class on Vimeo.

Stein’s Intelligence Not Allowed

Burlington Free Press reports:

The choice of media personality Ben Stein as commencement speaker at the University of Vermont generated such a furor that Stein backed out, UVM President Dan Fogel confirmed Monday.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue, one has to admit the irony in the situation. These types of situations are exactly what his documentary, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, was addressing. It’s rather a credit to Stein’s graciousness in this debate that he chose to back out quietly, rather then pointing fingers in angry indignation.

[The University President] stressed that the issue is not one of academic freedom, or of Stein’s right to offer his controversial opinions on campus, but rather whether someone who holds views antithetical to scientific inquiry should be honored as commencement speaker.

As gracious an attempted explanation as this might be, one should note that it is a blatant misrepresentation of Stien’s views in the documentary. He makes it abundantly clear that his primary objective is to promote free scientific inquiry, even if it means including controversial ideas.

I suppose one’s response may be that the claims of ID are beyond controversial and are simply ludicrous. Well, any claim should be judged first on it’s theses and then on its proofs. The thesis of ID is essentially that there is a gap in our understanding of the natural world which is BEST explained by an intelligent creator. Notice that acclaimed evolutionary scientists, such as Dawkins,  maintain that extra-terrestrials are at least a more plausible candidate for being responsible for origins than God is (he expounds on this in “The God Delusion).

But WHY is one  thesis more plausible then the other? Or rather, why is one more ludicrous then the other?

Anyone? Anyone?

The Black Dawn is Now Online

I co-wrote a webseries  called “The Black Dawn” and the first episode has premiered this weekend! It’s a post-apocalyptic story that follows 13 college students that survived a plague as they struggle to live together and unravel the mystery of their survival. The series is unique in that, in addition to the 24 episodes which will be released weekly over the next six months, there will also be several other ways to experience the story. Check out the press release below:

Over the next six months, WebSerials.com will release the series in 24 weekly installments. Alongside each week’s new episode, viewers are able to dig deeper by exploring surrounding video blogs, short films, and online comics that delve into different parts of the mystery. In all, “The Black Dawn” will consist of over 100 distinct components that all weave together to tell the epic story of these thirteen survivors.

“With all of this supplemental content, we’re ultimately creating an online world for audiences to explore,” explains executive producer Joshua Sikora, “We wanted to combine the interactivity of the web with the dramatic power of film—not in a gimmicky way, but in way that truly gives the audience the power to engage the story in their own way, at their own pace.”

All of the supporting content is self-contained, so audiences don’t need to have seen any of the show to jump into this expanded world. While it’s all integrated into the central storyline, the supplemental content offers different kinds of stories and a different tone from the main web series. For instance, “The Adam & Ben Show” is a lighter series that explores the backstories of the main characters in the guise of a college video blog show. The online comic will expand the scope of the story, by exploring the Black Dawn from a whole new perspective.

In addition to being able to watch the weekly episodes for free, we are also offering you the chance to purchase chapters in advance. Each chapter contains four episodes and can be downloaded in beautiful HD format, for only $1.49, or you can purcahse all the chapters in advance for $7.49.

Why should you purchase them when you can watch them for free? Well, here’s 3 reasons why.

1. We’re appealing to the vice of impatience, to be honest. By purchasing a chapter as soon as it is posted, you get four episodes at once, rather than having to wait a month to see all four posted weekly.
2. You can download them in beautiful HD, and see all four episodes edited seemlessly together, giving you something that feels closer to a meaty half hour of television, as opposed to a 5 minute bite-sized episode that ends as soon as the fun is getting started.
3. Let’s be honest. Nobody, and I mean nobody — not even establishe directors like Joss Whedon (Serenity) and Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow) are making substantial money with their respective web series ventures. No one in webserials is currently getting paid and all of the production money comes out of our own pockets, so by purchasing episodes from us you can help ensure that we are able to continue creating these shows and offering them to you for free.

Personally, I’m very excited about the show and am quite proud of my involvement in it. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to drop me a line letting me know what you think! Enjoy “The Black Dawn”!