Oh, The Horror Of It All - Looking Forward to 2006...

I think that, as we head into 2006, its appropriate for us to look forward.

Sure, we'll almost certainly have rewrites on SIEGE once it moves forward and into production, but as Dave mentioned yesterday, we've pulled out a blank slate and are focusing on THE NEXT BIG THING.

And what a horror it is. I think we have an interesting concept... the kind of hook you get right away and go... "Hrmmm... could be fun." Hopefully it'll be scary, too.

The thing that's interesting, though, is that what I pitched Dave was essentially just a concept. A hook. An angle. But not really a story. So when I tossed the idea at him, he immediately fired back a ton of questions, all of which elicited basically the same response...


"Cool! So why's the killer doing all this?"

Err... dunno.

"Okay. But he's got SOME kind of motivation, right?!"

Sure... absolutely. Wonder what it is?!

"And then how does our hero get dragged into it?"

Um... dunno.

"And who's the guy with the spatula and the giant can of WD40?"

Oh... he's... er... waita second... Was that in my pitch?




Which essentially sent us into brainstorming mode. We've spent some time flushing out roughly 25% of a basic plot, and are spending the balance of the holiday individually chewing on what the glue is that binds these loose ideas together.

It should be fun to write, come the New Year, and I'm looking forward to collaborating more with Dave, and sharing more with you, our readers.

Both of you.

(Hi Mom!)

I think 2006 is going to be a great year. SIEGE will get made and hopefully even distributed. This new project will fuel the creative juices and get written. And who knows that other suprises lay in store. So with that in mind, here are my 2006 resolutions. Which will I break first!?

5. Upgrade to Final Draft 7. I'm currently using version 6.x and 7 just looks so much cooler. Maybe I'm being suckered by the FD hype, but I'm ready for an upgrade. Maybe once we get paid for SIEGE I'll drop the $80.

4. Get a new laptop. My iBook is woefully underpowered and outdated. I mean... sure... I got it from one of those "YOU JUST WON AN APPLE iBOOK" ad banners on a porn site... and its served me well... but I'd sure love to invest in a shiny new PowerBook.

3. Get coverage. Once we finish this new script, I am determined to get it read and covered. In the past Dave and I have both individually and collaboratively written stuff that never saw the light of day. I don't mean produced... I mean literally never left the house. I have a drawer full of stuff that I can't even get my wife to read. This new horror script may never end up on screen anywhere (not even Uzbekistan, like SIEGE)... but I'm determined to at least get it seen, so it has a shot.

2. Lose weight. Spending my days at work, and my nights/weekends writing SIEGE, hasn't left much room for dieting or exercise. Besides... what kind of a list of New Year's resolutions would this be without a soon-to-be-broken vow to dump a few pounds?

1. Improve my skills. Sure, this should be a goal EVERY year, but I think we're being pretty proactive about it. Dave's sent me a number of script's we're going to study together, and I've also joined the online equivalent of a writer's group, where they disect scripts, pitches, loglines, etc. I'm also trying to spend a lot more time reading the blogs and other writings of successful screenwriters. Heros are good. I hope the combined efforts make me less of a hack.

So there you have it. What resolutions have YOU made?

See ya next year!

Charlie