The Edwards Boys Conquered the 2010 FRENZY!!!

It was a bitch this year, but WE DID IT!!!

Valuable lessons were learned...

First off, I thought going in that the script we completed would represent a Rough Draft of a script we would later rewrite and sell.

That's not quite how it happened.

What this script -- the one with which we won the Frenzy -- represents is actually a road we don't want to go down with this concept.

WHICH IS VALUABLE INFORMATION!

Indeed, the reason Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio (of Pirate of the Caribbean fame) got out of the Writing-For-Animation game (they wrote Disney's Aladdin, The Road to El Dorado and, of course, Dreamworks' Shrek) is because of this sort of thing...

They reported that writing for an animated feature was about exploring every road possible before settling down on the road actually taken by the animators.

Apparently, live-action filmmakers aren't quite this comprehensive when they ask for rewrites on a script.

Stephen King, in On Writing talks about "writing in cold blood" and how hard it can be. (Ironically, he's talking about how he prefers to write without an outline, because he prefers to discover each scene as it unfolds in his imagination. I am talking about writing a story that I already know is uninteresting to read because I am, myself, bored to tears with it.) This was excruciating because halfway through it I knew that this version of the story wasn't the best one.

But that's not what this blog entry is about.

WE FRIGGIN' DID IT!!! :D

My li'l bro and I took a story from concept to (a sort of) completion in 30 days!!! :D

I had my Frenzy beard goin', too. I shaved it off an hour ago, without taking the Before & After pictures, but I figure you aren't really interested in seeing me all scraggly and then clean-shaven, lol. ;P I think I did the Frenzy-Beard-Progression blog a couple of years ago.

This happened late Saturday/early Sunday morning, but I'm only blogging about it now because right after I had our pages validated, I told Brian, then disappeared into the rest of Chuck: Season 2, then slipped right into Medium: Season 5. I let someone entertain me for the last 31 hours or so, lol.

I should be asleep -- so I can get to work on time tonight -- but I'm still sort of in Celebration mode, lol.

I look forward to a week with minimal obligations. I hope yours is SMOOTH and RELAXING, too!!!

:D

Rick Castle is Ferris Bueller!

I just came to this realization.

I just bought the DVD for Ferris Bueller's Day Off (one of my all-time favorite movies, ever, but one I bought on VHS and saw multiple times in the theaters when it first came out) and one of the Bonus feature featuretts was about the character. They were describing this amazingly charming character who seems to be wish-fulfillment for the audience, while at the same time being portrayed by an actor who, somehow, seemed to be as beloved as the character.

And I thought of Castle/Fillion!

The character of Rick Castle simply has too much going for him: He's handsome, has an adorable family, is ridiculously successful in his career and, because of his career, can fulfill every whimsy he might invent. But he's played by an actor who, one could argue, is just as over-privileged: Nathan Fillion is handsome, funny, fun, smart, is one of Whedon's go-to stars (a fact that, in and of itself, should make all of us fan-boys hate his guts in envy) and seems to be having a genuinely good time being Nathan Fillion.

But it's impossible to dislike the guy. And thus, when we watch Castle, it is equally impossible to hate Castle.

Okay, sure, he has his pick of the hottest women on the planet, including the indescribably tasty Det. Kate Beckett played by the indescribably tasty (and talented) Stana Katic. And, sure, he has more money than God and can get away with anything anywhere with anyone.

But, somehow, we sense that he deserves what he gets. Why? I really don't know. Maybe it's because he appreciates these breaks the way we would like to appreciate them if we had the chance. Maybe it's because we would really like to believe that -- deep down -- we are Castle -- smart, attractive, fun, and talented.

But part of it must surely believe that we just plain LIKE the guy who is playing the role, and we can't begrudge him an ounce of his success, even if we wanted to.

I have never met or interacted with Nathan Fillion, but I came close once...

In 2005, I flew to L.A. to attend the Creative Screenwriting Magazine Expo, where Joss Whedon was a featured guest and Nathan Fillion presented Whedon with an award as a Sci-Fi writer. (This was just after Serenity had been released in theaters.)

I had gone there, mainly, to see The Master talk about his craft. But I had fallen in love with Fillion from his performance on Buffy as a REALLY evil guy, and then (via DVD) his performance as Capt. Mal.

It is, in retrospect, noteworthy to comment on hos Fillion graciously introduced and honored the amazing Whedon -- feeding into all our fan-boy worship of Whedon and not taking an ounce away from it -- and then disappeared into the background as soon as it was Joss's time to take the stage. Then, after the talk, when everyone was standing in line to get Joss's autograph and ask him the questions we couldn't think of during his lecture, Fillion was nowhere to be found.

But then...

...and this was a world-changer for me...

...during the break between lectures, some buddies and I were out in front of the building, taking a smoke break before Robert McKee, or whomever we were going to listen to next, we see Whedon, Fillion and their handler (a little hotty I had never seen before or since) exiting the building.

RIGHT NEAR WHERE WE WERE STANDING!

It was SO COOL! We were about to be mere feet away from Captain Malcom Reynolds and the man who brought him -- and Buffy and Angel and Willow and all those amazing characters -- to life!!!

As they passed, they trio didn't slow for autographs or to make acquaintances or anything. Which was only to be expected. (If they had, they would NEVER have made whatever appointment waited for them next.)

I was an extra for 4 days on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I played one of the hundreds of Vulcans you see in the out-of-focus background at the Khitomer Conference at the climax of the movie.

One day, I'm walking onto the set after lunch, and just as I'm about to cross the threshold from off-set to on-set I can't see the red light -- the device used to let everyone know if a scene is being shot -- so I stop abruptly to get a better look.

I feel someone bump into me from behind.

I turn around, and there is Captain James Tiberius Kirk, in full costume and makeup!!! William Shatner has bumped into me because I stopped shot before entering the stage!!! reflexively (being a Texas, born and raised) I say "Sorry." But Mr. Shatner doesn't acknowledge the apology, or even make eye contact.

But I'm not disappointed by this. See, I have been a film flunky for a large part of my life, even in 1990. I TOTALLY get Mr. Shanter's position: He is an actor doing a job, and he needs to focus on that job entirely. He's on a set with, literally, hundreds of extras, some of whom are pros and many of whom are newbies. If he stops and connects with any one of them (us), he could be sidetracked for hours!

William Shatner isn't just a movie star, he's a living legend! He has spent DECADES of his life being recognized (probably in the most inopportune moments any of us can imagine) and having to figure out what to do in those situations.

So I'm guessing that he has probably been forced to develop some sort of "no eye contact, no acknowledgment" policy JUST TO MOVE AROUND IN THE WORLD. I can walk down the street and smile at everyone I see, because I am (as far as they know, anyway) nobody. But when William Shatner makes eye contact with a stranger, they may try to talk him up for half an hour!

So I didn't feel the least bit slighted or anything when I cause Mr. Shatner to bump into me, and he didn't acknowledge my apology. (We were, after all, there to do a job, right?) I still adore and respect and hero-worship this amazing artist!
BUT...

I tell that story as a preface to why Nathan Fillion is so amazing!

So it's 2005 again, and I'm polluting the air with some of my closest friends outside the Creative Screenwriting Magazine Exposition, and Nathan Fillion, Joss Whedon, and an unknown hotty (presumably a handler for Mrs. Whedon and Mr. Fillion) are exiting the building...

Joss and the hotty exit the front doors in the expected fashion: heads down, eyes averted. (Mind you, even at this point -- well after Buffy, Angel and Firefly, Joss Whedon is a living icon.) But Mr. Fillion...

This may sound homo-erotic, but it felt more spiritual at the time...

I swear to God that Nathan Fillion locked eyes on each of us as he exited the door! But more than that, I could swear that he was trying to communicate telepathically to us! The expression in his eyes seemed to say "I SO appreciate your support of Firefly and Serenity and you guys are SO important to me!"

Now, granted, this memory is 5 years old, and is thereby could is probably distorted by the sand of time. I mean, there is no way he could have known that we are die-hard fans of the work he was a part of, much less his work, specifically.

But allow me to point out that I've been telling this story since that very day. Even if it has grown in its significance to me, it's based on an actual event, which is the eye contact that Nathan Fillion made with us -- a group of wannabe screenwriters -- and the odd, seemingly grateful expression in his eyes as he (and Joss and the hotty) walked past us that day.

How could you NOT want the best for that guy?!!

And to back up my claim, listen to any interview with him! Watch him in the bonus material on the Buffy, Firelfy, Serenity or Doctor Horrible DVDs! He has yet to appear in public in any way that contradicts what I thought I saw in his eyes in that brief 2005 encounter.

So Rick Castle gets to sleep with swimsuit models, makes millions as a Mystery novelist, is best buds with the mayor of New York City and will (eventually) get to see Detective Beckett naked. He also plays with RC helicopters and plays paintball with his daughter and gets distracted when pretty girls appear near him. HE'S US! He's a Fantasy-Fulfillment character!

And the fact that he seems to be played by an actor who ACTUALLY IS US (just, you know, maybe better looking and supremely talented as an actor) just makes it all so much more fun living in his shoes for an hour each week!

To Nathan Fillion, the Ferris Beuller of our day: YOU RULE, SIR!!! THANK YOU!!! :D

Script Frenzy: Day 15

Okay, so Script Frenzy is halfway finished, I'm 20 pages behind-schedule, I have a lull in my work shift...

And I'm blogging.

I've hit a bit of a brick wall. Brian & I never finished outlining the script, and I figured I would be able to sort of outline as I go, but at the moment that's not how it's working out. :( I wrote the pages for what we outlined, and now I'm stuck with that age-old writer's question: "What happens next?!" I've got maybe 2 hours that I can write before my shift gets busy again, but I don't know what to write!

I mean, as a Buddhist I feel like I should simply take this as it comes, that what will happen will happen, and when it's supposed to happen. I should simply enjoy the free time and maybe listen to some more Insomnia and just take it easy.

But my writer's guilt keep screaming at me that I'm 20 pages behind schedule, I have 40 pages I need to write before next week (60 pages, total, due by this coming Monday), and I have time to write available to me that's going to waste!

It's hard to be serene and simply follow the flow of the Tao with that writer guy making so much racket in my head.

There's a small (very small) part of me that's thinking "Just write; don't worry about if it's crap; the goal of Script Frenzy is to write 100 pages."

And I guess I could do that.

But there's this perfectionist part of me that can't stomach the idea of writing crap. (Actually, depending on which philosophy of writing you take, this perfectionist bloke could be my biggest problem as a writer.)

...

My buddy Pete just gave me a fortune cookie. I kid you not: My fortune is as follows:

"The greatest danger could be your stupidity."

I would assume this was a prank, except for the fact that Pete read his fortune and it sounded perfectly normal.

Prank fortune cookies could be a cool idea. I'm sure they exist, but I wonder how funny the fortunes are.

Okay, so it seems like the best choice I have for the moment -- with 20 pages to complete before tomorrow, then 10 pages a day to complete over the next 4 days -- is probably to just start writing, good, bad or ugly. (I predict very, very ugly.)

Thanks for the chat.

:)

SCRIPT FRENZY: Day 1

April 1st, the first day of Script Frenzy!!! :D

I'm stoked!

Brian & I have a loose schedule, and we're going to start in earnest tomorrow, Friday.

I've done a bit of work tonight (at work), and I hope to do a bit more before my shift is over. I want to bring some stuff to the table when Brian & I get started. (I know that he has been filling pages of one of his notebooks with notes about this.)

If all goes well, Saturday or Sunday we'll have what I call a Combat Outline with every scene in its place, and next weekend I'll write the first 40 pages.

Although...

It looks like TSPI may have a new case. So I may spend next Saturday investigating. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

But for the time being, I'll assume nothing and move forward with the Frenzy as planned.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

Know how I spent the hours leading up to April 1st? Watching The Phantom of the Opera!!! My friend Nicole got us THE MOST AMAZING SEATS!!! We were SO CLOSED!!! It was AWESOME!!!

AND... It was the best production I have seen! I've seen the show at least 3 times now (I think I've seen it 4, but I can only definitively remember 3) and last night was clearly the best performance! VERY cool!!! :D

Oh... :(

Our Internet isn't working at home. :( For the foreseeable future (which, hopefully, will only be another week or two) I will only have Net access at work.

That may put a kink in our Script Frenzy experience... You update your progress by uploading the pages you've written to the Script Frenzy site. But if we can keep our schedule, we should be finished with the script on Sunday, April 25th. So I'll be able to upload the final pages from work on Monday, April 26th.

If, however, we fall behind with our pages, things could get complicated -- assuming we don't have Net access at home by the end of the month. The last day of the frenzy is Friday, April 30th. If I don't finish the pages until then, I'll need to find access to the Net before midnight.

Still... The schedule has what My Genius Friend Dave calls "slop time", meaning that I designed it with the assumption that some days I'll fall behind schedule and some days I'll get ahead. So, hopefully, we'll finish up days before the competition is over.

We'll see. :)

Okay, I should probably do some work, then see if maybe inspiration shows up allows me to get a bit more outlining done tonight.

Hope you have an EXCELLENT week!!! :D