The "BOURNE" Series And May Spies

I love espionage books and films, especially set in post-Cold War Europe. The "BOURNE" movies did this so, so very well with the usage of old world locales. And three of the best action movies scores of all time by John Powell.

Last year, I had an idea for an older, retiring spy that would be found in the same basic area of the film world as Jason Bourne. Using the "BOURNE" flicks as general inspiration, I set off to write the first draft in May.

I'm behind. As you know, my writing schedule is three days a week, my days off: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and sometimes Monday. That's approximately twelve writing days a month, multiplied by eight pages a day - about a 100 page script a month. It looks like I may have to extend into June.

I had the general idea for the script - no outline to speak of, just the basic framework. As I was writing, the story took an unexpected turn for the much better, which required me to go back and completely rewrite about 20 pages. So is the peril of writing without a treatment, but I believe if you know the basic story, in some cases it's better not to outline, as you can discover the story along with the main character.

This isn't always recommended. Some genres lend themselves to planning - suspense thrillers, con game, mysteries - as the plot twists drive the story forward. Others, if you have an overview of the story and where it's going, it's much more fun to just get in there and write, and let that first draft be almost like a treatment. Sometimes you get lucky and a screenplay comes almost completely hatched, with only minor revisions to make before it's ready. Every project is different.

"24" and April Revisions

And the polishing-of-older-scripts continues...

"24" is one of my fave shows, and one of the best television series of all time. It succeeds so greatly because it takes all the B action movie standards - Heroic Good Guys, Terrorists With A Plot, Government Conspiracy - and filters them through a topical reality. (To quote Kiefer's favorite word of all time, it adds "gravitas" to them.) Also, it always has a political layer - Presidents, VP's, First Ladies and First Families that adds even more complexity to the arching storylines

I wanted to write an action script captured the spirit of the show. Not necessarily written in real time, but over the course of a single day, like John Woo's "BROKEN ARROW."

All in all, this is a very good genre action script, with a female protagonist to boot. Let's hope it gets made one day!

Late March/Early April, More Polishing...

After rewriting/polishing the sports comedy, I still had several days remaining in March to work on something. I divide projects up by months: "I'll finish this by the end of this month; start this draft the next month." Psychologically, it helps my brain to focus. Knowing I only have x-amount of days to finish a project, my creativity turns into a laser, locked in on completing it. Otherwise, I'd be scattershot - writing here and there - turning a single screenplay into a year-long endeavor. (It's amazing how creatively freeing it is when you shackle your mind with time limits.)

So, I took out a neo-noir, suspense thriller that I had in my drawer. Its muse drew from the superior John Dahl neo-noir "RED ROCK WEST." I love that flick and used that as...well, the muse. I'd completed a rough draft, polish and another draft in which I had a marked-up hard copy of revisions. Thumbing through the pages that would need to be changed in Final Draft and comparing them to how many writing days I had left in March - it was doable.

Some pages remained completely untouched. Others, the revisions on the marked-up hard copy were fine. And, others, I had to revise the hard copy revisions.

All and all, I got it done. It's also caused me to go through my files and see what other scripts need a read-over for a possible polish.

The Month Of March

The other greatest sports comedy of all time, "SLAPSHOT."

I finished another draft of the sports comedy. (Since BlogSpot won't let me do links, see September and October 2009 entries.) The first/rough draft ran 120 pages. The final count is 114. So far there hasn't been a lot of revisions. Some line deletions, additions, or alterations but no wholesale changes in scenes. No addition or subtraction of plot points, scenes, or characters. This seemed to hatched whole.

I'm moving it to the backburner for now. It seems, however, that it'll only require one more pass before being releasing into the world.

The Kidnapping Of Kristin Kreuk

Wait. Before you call the FBI:

Just as I write to music, I also write to certain actors, directors, writers, tones, atmospheres, and/or vibes that fit the mood of a particular project. Not specifics, just their gist; the feeling they evoke and inspire. At the time of the first draft of my kidnapping horror thriller, Kristin was doing her incredible, and incredibly undervalued work, on "Smallville." She quickly had become one of my favorite actresses in television or film. Here was the living and breathing embodiment of the tried-and-true trope of "The Girl Next Door" - an actress who was warm, smart, beautiful, likable, lovable and authentic all in equal measure.

She was the perfect person to get kidnapped in my screenplay.

Kristin's spirit-slash-aura became the muse of my main character, but as time went on she became more distant in my mind. Later, I saw the great Katie Stuart in "TAMARA," and thought she'd be a great fit for the lead. (That story can be found in August 2009.) The very talented and lovely Katie loved my script, but after a period of time moved on, and the script went dormant.

Until now.

After doing a page-one polish-slash-rewrite, it's my hope that this project comes full circle and Kristin ends up playing the very lead her persona inspired. As for the wonderful Katie Stuart...I've got a script just for her.

Small Town Romantic Drama Complete

It's still poignant, with universal themes of long lost love, just the right amount of humor, and a lot of heart. I'm proud of how I walked that very fine line between somber and sad, maudlin and morose, pining and whining - much like "Party Of Five" did - to create realistic characters facing emotionally realistic situations. I wrote this to New Age guitarists - mainly David Cullen, Billy McLaughlin, Alex De Grassi and Will Ackerman. (Others are scattered over the Rhapsody playlist.) Their pretty and nostalgic instrumentals set the tone perfectly. Surprisingly, these guys have never scored a film. Maybe this will be their first.

Now, it's time to fine tune the query and get this out to production companies far and wide.

Change Of Plan

I'm all about diligent writing and hard work, but I've decided to extend the polish of the small town romantic drama until the end of the month. This way I'm not killing myself to get it finished; I can take my time, to a certain extent. Writers will polish a project for years if given the opportunity. (Many do; that's why they never sell anything.) Like the Coen Brothers (I think) once said, if you're bored reading your script, and you're just replacing "and's" with comma's, it's time to let it go.

I'm on page 45; almost halfway. I'm making dialogue tighter and scene descriptions shorter. The story is fine - scenes work, the characters feel and act real. This is purely cosmetic.

February Horror And Danielle Savre

I'm winding up the polish of my small town romantic drama. It should be finished by the end of next week.

Next will be the final polish on the November/December '09 horror project. Danielle Savre was fantastic in "BOOGEYMAN 2." She would be great in this. (In the small town romantic drama, too.) A very talented actress.

2010 - The Year It Happens

2009 was a waste of time. I take that back - yes, I wrote new screenplays and polished old ones, but that was it. No e-mailing queries to production companies, or chasing down leads for my manager. Instead, I sat in the comfort of the ivory tower of my study, clacking away on my keyboard, expecting someone to kick in my door and demand I hand over the latest draft of my latest script.

It wasn't arrogance; it was just laziness.

This year, though, I'm determined to sell a screenplay. I'm not talking about just redoubling efforts or reupping my commitment. Those imply I'm just returning to a previous, status-quo level of dedication. This is raising the bar to a whole new level of commitment.

I will be tireless. I will not rest. I will track down leads and send out e-mail queries until I sell a screenplay. Nothing or no one will stop me.

My first project is a polish of a small town romantic drama that will be aimed at the indie and cable market. "Party Of Five" is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I used its reality-heavy melodrama as a model - everyday people dealing with everyday problems. I plan to finish it out next week, and then start the e-mail query.

The time is now.