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As of about ten minutes ago, I’ve finished putting up the notecards for my next project on the big board. I’m sure some details will change between now and when I start writing, but I’ve definitely got some semblance of a feeling of accomplishment right now.

I spent a good five to six hours this weekend trying to get things figured out and finished up this weekend. There’s been a lot of moving. A lot of taking down. And all in all, it’s been quite an interesting experience.

I’m going to write a bit more this week about the positives and negatives from using a board to plot out the big beats for your script. It’s not for everyone, but I think if you’re a visual kind of person, this might be something you should look into.

It would appear as though I’m not the only one out there who likes using boards. Hollywood Personality J.D. Ryznar also likes boards. In this video you can watch him get some doin’ done and build his own.

Until next time, keep writing!
-Steve

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Evidently, our Battleship has sunk. I’m not sure anyone is surprised. Frankly, why that movie was made to begin with is beyond me. It certainly didn’t need the name Battleship. It could have been titled ‘The Banana King’ and done pretty much the same, and likely saved Universal at lease some money by not having to pay for the Battleship license. Then again, I don’t know the ins and outs of the deal Hasbro has with Universal, so maybe it wouldn’t have saved them any money.

I just don’t understand what the game Battleship had to do with anything. I mean, this isn’t Battleship. This is “The Abyss vs. The Navy.” And not even the good Navy with jets and shit. It’s like, the JV Team Navy. You wanted Battleship, then show us two armies fighting it out at sea, or God forbid space, with some sort of futuristic control scheme that at least bears some resemblance to the game. Imagine two super genius kids controlling two opposing Navy arsenals with these mind control helmets and this awesome 3-D TRON like grid displays. Then, at least, we have the interesting conflict of a war to enjoy, some cool retro effects, and possibly Justin Bieber. Instead, we get a Michael Bay style alien ship attacking the JV Team Navy.

I feel bad for Taylor Kitsch. The guy certainly looks legit. I mean, I think he can be serious action/thriller star going forward. He has the look. He has the acting chops. But he’s also the lead in two horrible flops this year. Not just horrible flops, MASSIVE FLOPS. Not sure if that will sting his cred or not. It might be time for Taylor to do a few smaller indie flicks and surprise us with a role really gritty thriller in two years or so. But then again, what do I know, I live in Atlanta and work in IT as a project manager.

Anyway, all this bizarre and totally unneeded movie hype has inspired another young creative type to come up what it the enviable next step for Hollywood: Tetris: The Movie…

Enjoy…

Via BoingBoing.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest sci-fi fan. I think I’ve mentioned this before. When it comes to writing ideas, the sci-fi genre is typically the last thing that pops up in my head. I’m not saying I don’t like sci-fi, or have a problem with it, it’s just that so little of it seems original anymore.

I mean, when I was growing up I had stuff to watch like Aliens, Blade Runner, The Terminator and Terminator 2, E.T., the original Star Wars trilogy, RoboCop, Back to the Future, Total Recall… the list goes on. It’s just seemed that since the end of the 90s, the quality just sort of dropped off. We got the original Matrix and The 5th Element, and poof, everything else sort of disappeared.

Gems still show up from time to time. I loved Inception (despite it’s flaws). Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was really creative and unique. Children of Men was an excellent drama. And Moon was simply a fantastic character study and possibly the best hard sci-fi film of all time. But really, the choices have been rather drab for the last decade or so.

That likely played into why I’ve sort of lost interest in the genre. Sci-fi can be expensive to produce. A lot of the times the genre involves futuristic technology, and sets that you just can’t cheap out on. And while Moon, Children of Men, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind all were done with relatively modest budgets, and took advantage of the sci-fi genre instead of being beholden to it, I’d venture to guess that when most people think sci-fi, those aren’t the first movies that pop into their heads. They think space ships, robots, aliens, lasers, and technology, which usually means tent pole films. And as of late, the sci-fi tent pole films have been, shall we say, “meh.”

That is, until a little gem called Prometheus started to rear it’s ugly head. Finally, something that sci-fi fans can get excited about. What’s that? An R rating? You mean they’re not going to cheap out on the adult content (and I don’t mean ‘teh sexay time’ stuff)? Ridley Scott directing? And it takes place in the same universe as the Alien movies? Hell yeah, count me in!

So when my buddy Peter sent me an article interviewing Prometheus screenwriter Jon Spaihts, I immediately gave it a read. Jon covers a lot of ground in how to properly write sci-fi (hint: it’s not all about lasers, robots, and aliens), how central character is to any story, and how perspective and scale can really impact the message of a story. But, bottom line, it’s just really fun to read about Jon talking about movies, writing, and sci-fi in general.

It’s a really solid read for anyone who likes to write sci-fi. And hey, any time “they” want to give a serious stab at adapting the Universal Century Gundam universe into script form, please let me know. I’d be more than willing to deep dive the sci-fi genre and give that story a go.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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Looks just about right…

Via Like Cool.

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A special, early, trailer Tuesday for all the Anchorman fans out there… though, technically it’s just a teaser.

Count me in.

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If they ever do a Fallout: Los Angeles game, I suggest they take a look at this “postcard.”

Via The LAist.

Unlike the 1950′s retro vibe of the previous games, I think a Los Angeles game needs to bring in some of the 80′s glam instead.

There’s just something about the neon yellows, reds, pinks, and blues that will always strike a very specific vibe with me. I think that sort of art direction contrasted with the rest of the 1950s retro-tech the games feature, would have a very cool vibe to it.

Of course, I have no idea how any of that would fit into the Fallout universe in general, but it’s still a cool thought.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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Wow…

Via Like Cool.

I like how you can see the north pole doesn’t ever lose all it’s sunlight.

This must have been taken in summer for the northern hemisphere.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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We all live in fear that we’re going to fail at something. Well, at least most sane people do. I’m sure there’s some prick out there who doesn’t think he’ll fail at anything, ever. And that guy also probably doesn’t realize he’s an asshole. But, back to my point, we know that at some point down the line we’re going to screw up something. I’ve written about it myself.

It could be our job. It could be our grocery list. It could be painting. It could be driving. It doesn’t matter. We’re going to screw something up. Fortunately, most of the time our own personal disasters aren’t anything that can’t forgotten over a six pack and a good nap. Also, most of the time our failures aren’t this:

Michael Cimino followed up his Academy Award winning movie The Deer Hunter with Heavens Gate, that due to cost overruns forced the sale of its studio United Artists.

This guy caused a God damn studio to go under! Holy shit! And here we’re worried that our screenplays blow and we suck as writers.

Does it get worse than that? Unfortunately, yeah, it kind of does.

As he has a plethora of times before, Scott Myers posted (or reposted) a great article on The Business of Screenwriting at his fantastic site Go Into The Story. The article is titled “You Will Fuck Up,” and man does it read like a disaster list.

At the same time, it also provides some comfort. If any of us have the talent, work ethic, and luck to make it as a professional, we’re likely going to stumble at one of the things Scott mentions (though, hopefully we don’t bring down a studio).

It’s a fast read, and there’s a story at the end of the article that really puts some stuff about failure into perspective.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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This one’s for Tammy.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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Best.

Action.

Movie.

Ever.

Keep writing,
-Steve