So the guy from the developing film project called and set up a meeting. It went good, for the most part. It's one of those things that need the proper time and energy. I doubt I'll be making a lot of money with it, but it's worth trying to build a film presence in Philadelphia. The good news is that I'm talking with the guy who seems to be the front-runner for these projects and he has everything planned out. The only sour aspect is that we're in a very small place on the map, but everybody starts from somewhere. We just need to grow... and why not have Kenny Gordon be apart of the process?

From my email:

"Ken,

- Mark"

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I certainly hope nothing---and I mean NOTHING---fucks this opportunity up. I've been wanting a foot in the door, so I hope this leads to some better times.

Cheers to seizing the opportunities.

Desperately awaiting a response from a job query. A developing production company in Philly sent out an ad for storyboard artist. I jumped at the opportunity quicker than a vampire trying to work at Red Cross. Samples were abundant in my email... I even threw in my Dark Horse samples as an extra bonus. Hope the person in charge is a Buffy The Vampire Slayer geek. In any case, I hope I don't have to wait long. It's about 2:30 AM and the excitement is keeping me up.

Wish I had beer...

So, my DVR was filled up to the brim. About 5% of space was available, so I figured it was time to trim the fat. I'm like, "Fuck you, Naruto. I can catch you anytime on the web". I press delete for Naruto and, for some sick and twisted reason, I ended up deleting my collection Of Supernatural episodes.

50+ episodes gone because I wasn't paying attention...or the controller was glitchy. It's all gone. I'm only on season 2... 

Once you get use to the idea that you control all aspects of time as a writer, page length becomes conquerable. So, what that said, I'm gutting the shit out of Act II. I'll try a non-linear approach...maybe. I pretty much had to get things in order within 60 pages and after so much editing, I'm at 56 pages. Major issue: I didn't cover enough ground. Need to reevaluate the events that take place. Need to take out the damn non-essentials, which is extremely hard to do when I think everything I wrote was gold. Hahah...

But that's the writing process... and it's even harder for film because you have little room for idleness. Everything needs to have a reason and it damn sure needs to be entertaining, or else... Not to say that novels aren't like that, but novelist have hundreds of pages to play around with.

I'm still happy with how it's turning out. In a few ways, I'm glad nobody read my first draft because, when I look at it, it kinda hurts my eyes compared to this new creature I'm writing. The only thing that's missing is a phenomenon I like to call "Midnight Mojo". When I was putting in long hours on Microsoft Word for the first draft, I think that was the closest thing to "writing groove" I experienced. It was almost like getting high. The brain starts to do some weird shit at 3AM, but the cool part was that my mind was still active. Add Red Bull and music to the mix and it becomes a party...a solitary party for one, but a party none the less. A bit unhealthy, I'll admit, but it got the job done.

I'm starting to think weather has something to do with it. The first draft had cooler air and I could stay up all night long, if I had to. This summertime heat puts me to sleep---and not in the newborn baby way. More like a dog that's on it's last leg. Tongue hangin' out and all.

Cheers

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Oh, and if you missed it, I posted an excerpt of my script titled "Patient Paranorma". Just go back to the previous entry and you'll see a link to a pdf file. Let me know your thoughts on it.

OK. I solved the PDF crisis and I guess I was lucky to have a wordpress account setup last year. The link will take you to my the 5 pages I wrote a few days ago. A little background on it is appropriate... for those of you who don't normally read this blog.

About a few years back, I illustrated a few pages for a comic called "Project Impact". It's set in a world where superpowers are out of control, primarily in the teenage population. A large majority of these kids don't go around saying, "Let's save the world and fight evil." Instead, super crime increases and America has an epidemic of sorts. Honestly, what's a bank vault when you have super strength? How will anyone identify you with that costume? Why not take what you want? With that said, Super Prisons were built to contain them, but it's like putting a band-aid on a cancer patient. It doesn't solve the problem in the long run. Enter Project Impact: a group of superheroes who create a program to train and guide these super powered delinquents as an alternative to super prisons. Fighting fire with fire, so to speak.

Things didn't go as planned for the Image Comics submission, but I decided to skip the comic route and head straight for the silver screen. A screenplay has been brewing since the Fall season of 2009. I'm still pushing for a comic, but I feel like this can be successful as a movie, too.

The link below is a flash back featuring Paranorma, a hero-in-training who is anything but ordinary.

Take a gander.

Patient Paranorma

Normally, I would be depressed after spending a few hours writing 5 pages. I mean, it's not like I'm drawing or anything. I'm putting sentences down on word doc, but I think that's the element I was missing the first time around. Mind you, I spent months coming up with that first draft, but this time around, I'm a bit more meticulous. I like meticulous. It reminds me of drawing. It's nice when creative pursuits mirror each other.

So, Five smack-a-roos... I want to post it on here as an excerpt, but I want to do it in a way that's better than a bloody copy & paste. I wish PDF documents were embeddable. Xanga probably doesn't allow files from Adobe Reader.

As always, I'll keep you posted.

Decided to work on the acts separately. Act 1 is complete, but it only reads better. The major issue is length. Hell, it's always an issue with writing. Ask me to edit and I'll add. Overcompensating for being fat (Kevin Smith is so right about that). 41 pages, which is a few pages short of the original, but I think I can shave it down to 30. Basically just break the entire script down in 30 minute increments so it can be manageable. 4 acts instead of 3.

I'm still enjoying the process. I had a nice chat with a lady friend about the story and it turned into a hour-long brainstorming session. I love bouncing ideas off of folk. There are some things that I just don't think about. Different perspectives and all... it really helps. I'm in a bubble, so to speak. Hell, compared to other people, I haven't even lived life yet, so it's good to get insight and opinions that are different from mine. More so with the female perspective, being that the main character is female.

Edit: Make that 39 pages. There was a lot of white space that upped the page number. So I gotta knock off 9 pages.

Maybe I'm updating too much?

Skimmed through the screenplay yesterday and, after all this time, I still love it. The only problem is the length and maybe a few character issues (not an easy fix). My major issue is trying to slim it down without losing the heart of it. There's interactions and events that assist in character development, which is something I know is very important when viewing a film. Sadly, after all the editing I did last night and well into the morning, I knocked my 185 pager down to 182. I guess I really have to rewrite certain areas...

Of course, the worst case scenario is rewriting the entire thing.