Survey Says...

So Charlie's right. The script is in his hands. He's doing this whole "buying a house and moving" thing. Producer Dude is in Latvia trying to drum up funds for Siege, the script he still hasn't read, and I'm not the easiest guy to get a hold of. Although in my defense, I'm always available, just only for a couple of minutes at a time while I Kid Wrangle. And if Charlie doesn't answer my IMs for an hour, is that my fault that I'm not there when he responds?

Meanwhile, My Manager and My Agent sent out My Script a few weeks ago to all sorts of Hollywood people.

The end result?

Nobody wanted it.

My Manager and My Agent assure me this is an expected result. Nobody in Hollywood buys a spec script from an unknown writer. So I shouldn't be discouraged. Truth is, a lot of these same people who didn't want to buy my script want to meet with me. So I'm heading to LA in a bit for a week of meetings.

That's totally cool.

It's quite possible that I'll walk away from the meetings with nothing more than a laurel and a hearty hand shake, but I'm grabbing for the ring. Working on new pitches, new ideas to pitch these Industry Folk. Always getting ready to listen to their ideas and say "Yes, that's a fantastic idea. And I'd love to write it for you!"

True-ish story (I'm slight fuzzy on some details, but it's a good story.). Before we moved here to New York, we had a neighbor in LA. This neighbor was a writer. This neighbor got involved on a story with a producer, who loved it. It was the producer's story (not personal story, but one they wanted to make) and the neighbor worked on it and wrote it for over 2 years with the producer. 2 years, writing for free. So what happened?

It got made, starred a huge star, and made a ton of money.

Because this writer was that good? Sure, but no.. It got made because the producer, who bounced around from studio to studio, like most of them do, wanted to get it made. And he kept at it for 2 years until he got it made.

True story.

What does this have to do with me? Well, I may leave my LA meetings with nothing more than a project to work on with a producer or executive in a production company. But that's often how unknown writers like myself and like Charlie get a start.

So cross your fingers, though the meetings aren't until October.

We're Not Dead!

Sorry things have been so quiet of late, loyal readers. We’re in a wee bit of a lull. Dave’s handed the script off to me, and I haven’t been able to do much with it for a week now. This time next week I’ll be closing on a new house, so we’ve been pretty slammed with moving-type stuff.

As the result, I don’t have anything script-related to convey. And since Dave’s just twiddling his thumbs, he probably doesn’t have much to say, either. Plus getting ahold of him, much less getting him to blog, is kind of like getting updates from Producer Dude.

Speaking of which… still nothing from him since our last conversation a couple of weeks ago. I have to guess he’s still charging wildly into the fray, shouting “I’LL MAKE THIS F*CKING MOVIE” at the top of his lungs. Who knows, maybe he’ll trip over a stack of money while doing so.

So we’re not dead. We’re still hard at work on the untitled Wu Xia / Western / Musical / Period piece. We’re just in a bit of a slow-down. And its all my fault.

I bet Dave would yell at me… if he ever returned my calls or emails. ;)

Charlie

The “B” Is Dead – Long Live The “B”

A couple of weeks ago we had an interesting conversation with Producer Dude.

In it, he essentially noted that he’d written off the investors that we’ve previously written about in this blog (you know… the ones where the money was supposedly here ANY DAY NOW for about 8 solid months).

We gave him a virtual pat on the back and told him it was cool that it didn’t work out. He then got virtually incensed, and virtually screamed that he’s a never-say-die kind of guy, that he doesn’t take no for an answer, and that one door shutting means 5 more open. He virtually marched off, fire in his eyes, brimstone in his nostrils, hell-bent on showing us that NOTHING’s dead.

Of course, that was the last we heard from him.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Producer Dude. I believe he’s out there trying, and that HE believes he’ll pull it off.

But me…? Nearly a year after we initially wrote SIEGE? I’m essentially resigned to the fact that the script’s dead. I’m ok with that, I suppose. Sure, I’d have like to have finally been paid, after writing what was, in many ways, a commissioned script. And sure, it would have been nice if someone, besides Dave and I, ever read the goddamn thing. But that’s how it goes sometimes.

And who knows… maybe someday we’ll post the entire script right here. At least that way you, our loyal readers (Hi Mom and Aunt Sally!), will have a chance to see what all the fuss was about.

In the meantime, we plug along on our unnamed Transgendered-road-trip/animated-nascar/Mel-Gibson-starring-vehicle script. I sent Dave some stuff that I thought was pretty good. He savaged it as he usually does, sent it back, allowed me to nurse my wounds, and then wrote his next batch.

Its interesting… I think Dave must be evolving as a writer and applying stuff he’s picking up from his Manager, Agent, Accountant, Manservant, Cappucino-Foam-Applyer and whomever else. The types of notes he’s giving me are good (not that his previous notes weren’t) – and not always the sort of stuff he previously focused on, necessarily, so something’s changed somewhere. This is all good, mind you.

I think the script itself is pretty good stuff, too. We’re up to nearly 100 pages now, and are only now inching toward act III. We’ll definitely have some substantial editing and clean-up ahead of us before its all said and done. That, or we'll have the "War & Peace" of B-Movies.

So at least on that front, Producer Dude was right. One door closes, 5 more open.

Charlie

Why I Don't Blog Enough

There are some (you know who you are) who have noticed that I do not post a "blog" on this "blog" nearly as often as I used to. Some of you (you know who you are, too) have also noticed that this lack of "blogging" corresponds with my rise in all things writing. Getting a Manager. Getting an Agent. Still others (you should have a good idea who you are) have put two and two together and decided that since I am on the cusp of greatness, I no longer feel obligated to "blog" with Charlie, my "blogging" partner.

You are wrong.

Some others (you have been duly notified who you are) know that I have recently moved from California to New York, and have deduced that here in New York, nobody actually "blogs" anymore, hence my lack of "blogging" is due to my new-found East Coast snobbishness.

You are also wrong.

A few of you (possibly clueless as to who you are) think I'm not blogging because I am dead. And Charlie is keeping up pretences for various reasons which we shan't go into here on this "blog."

You are more or less wrong.

The truth is... I have not "blogged" as much as I have in the past because... I am unemployed.

Back when I had a job. I did a lot of "blogging" at work. Don't tell anybody. Or rather, go ahead and tell, I don't work there anymore. Now that I no longer have my very own cubicle to "blog" from, I find it hard to remember to "blog" when I am at home, when there are so man"blogs."

So if you want me to "blog" more, someone give me a damn job!

It's nice being an up-and-coming writer in the Hollywood scene.. but until something actually sells, the homeless guy on the street corner makes more money than I do.

So now you know.

Oh, yeah. Charlie gave me his latest pages on the pygmy/incest/underwater/feng shui flick we're writing. I've re-written them and am now writing new pages. Continuing the journey.

And no word from Producer Dude. I think he died.

Cock On,

David