First off, I'm having a really great time, but I don't expect my weekend to necessarily be fascinating to anyone else, so please feel free to blow this entry off if it gets boring.
But it started with the successful payment of my rent Friday morning when I got off work! This is a beautiful and wonderful thing! Our management is really strict about rent, and payday fell in such a way this month that getting rent in under the deadline was a bit sticky...but we did it!!! :D So my weekend began with a resounding success!!!
When I woke up Friday night, I knew what I wanted to do: On a recent episode of Hollywood Babble-On with Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman, Kevin mentioned this low-budget Sci-Fi flick called Monsters, which he raved about. And checking with Netflix, I discovered that I can stream it! So when Brian got home Friday night, we streamed Monsters on the BluRay player, and IT WAS AWESOME!!!
This past Halloween we streamed several low-budget Horror movies, and I seem to recall that each was worse than the last. (In one film, presented as a documentary about a paranormal investigation, many scenes began with a graphic at the bottom of the screen telling us at what time the scene was starting. Coincidentally, EVERYTHING worth including in the documentary happened at the top or the bottom of the clock -- meaning that everything happened at 1:00 or 2:00 ("the top of the clock") or it happened at 1:30 or 2:30 ("the bottom of the clock"). It was uncanny! (Not to mention unrealistic and unimaginative.))
So watching Monsters was a real revelation, because it was GOOD!!! Mind you, the title not withstanding, Monsters is a Sci-Fi flick and not a Horror flick. Someone hoping to see Godzilla: All Out Monsters Attack! or even Cloverfield might be disappointed. The film is thoughtful and realistic, and very engrossing! At one point we paused it for a restroom break, and were shocked to discover that we had already watched more than an hour of the flick, and only had 20-something more minutes to go! It was that enthralling!
It was really cool to catch a movie that didn't get advertising or any media attention that was actually fulfilling to watch!
However, having just seen a wonderful movie on Netflix (and remembering our previous bad luck with low-budget, unknown flicks) we decided not to stain our experience and just switched to a few hours of conversation, then followed that up with Season 2 of The Big Bang Theory.
Have you seen this show?
It's this great Sit-com about a pair of young physicist roommates (Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons) who have this all-American hottie (Kalye Cuoco) move in to the apartment across from theirs, and -- with the help of their other scientist friends (Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar) -- wackiness ensues. But it's smart wackiness! The jokes are genuinely clever, and the science is real!!! (The show employs actual physicists as consultants.) And it's genuinely charming, too! I get a kick out of spending time with these cats and watching their antics!
So far, Brian & I have watched the first 2 seasons, and Disc 1 of the 3rd season.
I really should be working on my script right now. :( But I'm really enjoying rehashing my weekend! :)
So Saturday, I woke up needing HOT DOGS!!!
Sonic has this promotion going on, and my last day of work was plagued with adds for these 4 hot dogs their selling for $1.99 each. In particular, I was mesmerized by the concept of the New York Dog: sauerkraut, grilled onions, and spicy brown mustard!!!
Now, I'm not usually a sauerkraut fan, unless it's stuffed into pockets of bread with hamburger meat -- a dish Mom used to make for us called German Hamburgers. AWESOME!
And I'm never an onion fan, unless their sauteed into mushy submission.
But, for whatever reason, the concept of the New York Dog had taken hold of my imagination, and I simply HAD TO try one!!!
So when I woke up Saturday morning (okay, "afternoon") I ran to Sonic and grabbed myself and Brian a New York Dog and a regular Chili Cheese Coney -- the Chili Cheese Coney was for safety: If the New York Dog was a dismal culinary failure, then I KNEW I would enjoy the Chili-Cheese Dog, and the meal would ultimately be a success!
Turns out, the New York Dog ROCKED! The next time I have some money, I may treat myself to a few of those! :)
Also, for me, this was quite a novel treat, lol. We usually can't afford to eat out, so being able to wake up and just go grab some breakfast is a special experience! (I feel all shiny inside!)
As we ate, Brian had The Big Bang Theory playing, which was nice.
After breakfast I dragged my laptop into the living room and worked on names for my characters, and worked on the general plot of the story.
Oh! That's worth talking about in itself...
Okay, so I started 2011 with the dogged determination that I will finish and shop a novel and/or screenplay! Probably more than one, but I don't need to put too much pressure on myself. So I started the year working on a particular novel that simply didn't want to go anywhere, so I switched (in early January) to a story that Brian and I had been working on (on and off) since at least 2006. Stop me if this sounds familiar: A slacker-type dude meets a Gray alien and they are pursued by Men in Black and have comedic adventures.
Sound familiar?
Maybe because that's the basis for the new British Comedy Paul!
The ever-brilliant Simon Pegg and Nick Frost beat us to the punch!
I have half-written and partially-written the script for this idea based on a character Brian created a couple of times, but it was never good enough for me and I always shelved it. In January I decided that I would finally make a go of it: No shelving it this time, write it to the finish and put it out into the world, whatever happens. One of the main reasons I felt the need to go full-bore with this idea was because I know what some people joke about but few people are willing to actually admit to with a straight face: There really, truly is a Collective Unconsciousness out there, somewhere, and if you've got a really great idea, 5 other people have also stumbled onto a very similar idea, too! So if you want to make your living telling unique stories, you damn well better strike while the idea is still NEW!
We struck while the idea was still new. But then we shelved the idea, twice, until I felt like I could do the idea justice. And now the idea has been done justice...by someone else!
That's the other thing: If you're a spec writer -- meaning you're writing for no pay, in hopes that when you're finished someone will buy your work from you (on speculation -- or "spec" -- of an eventual sale), as opposed to writing an assignment (paid) -- then you're already several steps behind in the game.
In other words, if Simon Pegg and I get the exact same idea at the exact same time, and we start writing that idea at the exact same time, Simon Pegg has to write the script, rewrite the script, then show it to a producer he knows. I, however, have to write it, rewrite it, then send it to agents and producers and studios. Now, as my script is going through the spec channels, these people are holding off on reading it for as long as they can because they have a billion other scripts they have to read this weekend, and all of them will SUCK! These poor Readers will force themselves to trudge through some of the worst writing the English language has ever produced, but they will keep whittling away at that pile of spec scripts (a pile that does not get any smaller, I might add) because that's their job.
Now, my script won't suck. But they have NO way of knowing that. They don't know my name. They've never heard of me. They have absolutely NO reason to believe that my script will be ANY better than the last 25 scripts they read this weekend.
The good news is that once they do get to my script, they will enjoy the read, and they will be SO RELIEVED to have not wasted their time (this time) that they will show everyone they know! They will happily tell everyone that they DISCOVERED the next great screenwriter! (That's their secret wish, in the heart of hearts, but they dare not voice it aloud because hard experience has proven to them that most of us spec writers are unskilled wannabes who appear to enjoy wasting their time by inflicting our talent-less garbage upon the Reader's talent agency/production company/studio.)
However...
Simon Pegg actually KNOWS some producers! He can get his script directly to them -- bypassing those poor, overworked Readers altogether. And -- just as, or more, importantly -- those producers know HIM! I say "Simon Pegg", and if you know who he is you think "funny, talented, smart" or any other number of positive adjectives. You hand a producer my script and he/she hands it to one of his/her Readers; you hand her/him Simon Pegg's script and she/he takes it home and reads it that night.
And that's all as it should be. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have spent many, many years proving that they are talented and entertaining and that people want to pay to see their work.
I pay to see their work!!! (I proudly own both the British and American releases of both Spaced and Hot Fuzz!) (I only own the American release of Shaun of the Dead.) These guys are AWESOME!!!
I'm going to see Paul as soon as (1) it's released here, (2) I have the money, and (3) I have the time off!!! :)
However, this created about 9 hours of stress for me, though, because when I saw the first commercial for Paul I went into shock. I had no idea what I was going to do next.
However, when God slams a door, She always opens a window, as the saying goes...
I had been struggling with Brian's & my story because it was coming along in spurts and sputters. I would get one piece of the story, and then I would hit a brick wall. (The problem I often have when writing.) And like all problems I run into over and over again, I have to look for a common denominator...and that common denominator is usually ME.
What was I doing wrong?
My Genius Friend Dave gave me some advice Monday night which amounted to this: make it easy on yourself. Much of writing (and, generally speaking, much of CREATING -- be it drawing, acting, comedy, animation, directing, producing, just CREATING ANYTHING) is grunt work. There are parts of writing which take great skill and consideration, and parts of writing that simply require practice. Genius Dave suggested that I try to do as much of the grunt work as possible up front, and try to save the really tough stuff until as late in the process as possible. And this makes sense to me! Do the things I know I can do well right at first, get as much done as I can do, and don't burden myself with the really perplexing aspects until I absolutely have to -- which just happens to be after I have easily accomplished most of the work! (Then it's too late to back out!)
In the past, I tried to tackle the hardest parts all up front...and I usually didn't finish the project.
At my age (I've celebrated my 39th birthday twice now), I have sort of run out of time for failure. I kind of need to just get out there and do it. Now. Before I no longer have the energy required to attempt to start a new career while working a day job. (I really got to this point years ago, but I didn't understand then what I understand now.)
And, as I said, I was really only stuck for 9 hours because, thankfully, a brand new situation appeared in my head as I arrived home after work that morning, and I sensed that I could turn this situation into a feature-length screenplay!
And that's what I should be working on right now, really. But I'm going to finish this blog entry.
So, anyway...
I told Brian the idea, and he laughed (an EXCELLENT sign) and so I'm hopping over to yet a third story in 3 months. (Btw, the reason I finally dumped the first story idea was that it was largely a Horror story, and after years of trying to write Horror I wanted to hop over into Comedy territory. I much prefer laughing to being scared. And I'd rather be thought of as "that funny guy" than "that disturbing, creepy dude." I guess I'm getting old.)
So while Brian replayed a The Big Bang Theory disc Saturday, I came up with character names and worked on the plot of the screenplay for a few hours.
After Brian went to sleep, I went into SecondLife, curious to see if anyone had created any TRON places yet. And to my joyful surprise, SOMEONE HAD!!! I bought some free Tron outfits and a free Tron identity disc, test drove an old-school Light Cycle, and bought a new-school one, then drove around this Tron-scape for a while.
Here's a quick glimpse of my fun:
Someone made a cool replica of the TRON: Legacy tanks. They're a bit small (judging mainly from the game TRON: Evolution, since that's the best experience of the scale I have had so far) but it's still way-cool! :)
Then there's the old-school, Classic TRON game grid...
...complete with full-scale Recognizers! :D
But there is also a new-school Light Cycle grid!!! (Why the f@&k didn't the makers of TRON: Evolution have the sense to create an entire Light Cycle level for their game?!! (If there is one, I haven't found it. There's just this one section where you're fleeing from mass destruction, so you race through the entire Light Cycle sequence in a couple of minutes. You don't have time to just drive around and explore the world. :P )
And whoever created these TRON sims went to the trouble of recreating Flynn's in-grid place! (In the bg.) VERY COOL!!!
Just a thoroughly fun place to hang out, this!!!
I ended my Saturday with some MST3K on DVD.
And now we have reached today, Sunday...
A couple of weeks ago, I bought TOMB RAIDER ANNIVERSARY for my laptop. I have the PS2 version, but since buying the X-Box type game controller, I find I rather enjoy playing games on my laptop more. This is convenient, because not only can I play these games while I'm away from home (which I never am, unless I'm at work, but I enjoy the theoretical possibility, none the less) but if Brian is watching something in the living room, I don't have to interrupt him because I've gotta get my game on. I really enjoy starting up an audiobook and disappearing into a familiar game as I listen. (A habit I probably picked up pre-Gnomey, when I would spend hours in SL doing...well...nothing.) It's a wonderful vacation! Like sleep, a couple of hours spent in a videogame world can feel like a day...and then you still have the rest of your day left for other pursuits! Or, you can listen to the whole audiobook and spend virtual MONTHS in the game!
But I've sort of played TOMB RAIDER LEGEND to death, and TOMB RAIDER UNDERWORLD is a bit laggy on my laptop, so I bought TR ANNIVERSARY -- which I still haven't completed!
However...tragedy struck when I took my TRA out of my disc drive for some reason or another, and when I put it back in, IT NO LONGER WORKED!!! My drive couldn't read the disc!
But I've encountered this before, and I had found an easy fix: I get My Genius Friend Dave to back the disc up for me and play the backup.
Easy-peasy, right?
Not this time!
TRA seems to be rigged so that it won't play a copy. It asks you to insert the original disc into the drive, not the copy.
But what if my laptop won't read the original?!!
TRA doesn't have an answer for me, and apparently doesn't care. please insert original disc, not a copy.
F@&K YOU, TRA!!!
But that doesn't help.
But the reason I'm telling you all this is because I woke up with a hint of optimism in my heart and soul, and I stuck my original TRA disc into my DVD reader, just to see what would happen, AND IT WORKED!!! :D So I got to start off my Sunday in the Tomb of Qualopec and St. Francis' Folly!
Then I joined Brian in the living room for some more TBBT, and then we filmed a segment of "Kitchen Magic" for YouTube.
I might explain here that Brian & I shop at Magic Geek, and they're having a contest. Brian entered the contest, creating this cheesey magic-guy character who comically (but ably) performs magic in his kitchen. The clip is fun!
But, being a writer and performer, Brian envisioned this guy having a "lovely assistant" -- his bathrobe-clad roommate whom he had dragged in front of the camera to help him do some of his magic tricks.
Guess who the "lovely assistant" is. ;)
I've always enjoyed the physical juxtaposition of Brian's and my statures -- he's short and built like an 18-year-old swimmer, and I'm tall-ish and...not skinny -- and I prefer playing the straight man, so I adored this idea from the moment he proposed it!!!
Plus, doing stuff for YouTube is hassle-free: You're not going to make any money at it, so your only motivation is the fun!
So tonight we shot out first "lovely assistant" segment. It was a blast! :)
After that, we finished off the rest of Season 3, Disc 1 of TBBT (Brian had already seen most of it, but it was all new to me). And then I came in here to journal my fun little weekend.
Now I'm thinkin' I'll open up my TO DO files (instead of giving this new screenplay project a name, I've simply created a "TO DO" folder in which I will place all future writing projects, for the foreseeable future) and maybe knock out a few pages. And then I'll probably see if my DVD drive can still read TRA and play that for a few hours while listening to the rest of Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by Sir Wodehouse.
I hope your weekend was AMAZING, and I hope your week is even better!!!
:D
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