My Summer Movie Season Film

Summer movie season is officially here!  Well, technically it got here when “The Avengers” opened a few weeks ago.  But Memorial Day weekend has usually always been the start of summer movies.  The past ten to fifteen years the one thing that has been constant is what type of movies you’ll see.  These include movies based off comics, cartoons, and toys.  There are also those many remakes and sequels out there.  “The Avengers” kicked everything off and then we saw “Battleship”. (Or not according to the box office)  Now it is Memorial Day weekend and we have the release of “MIB 3”.  Soon we are going to see the release of “Madagascar 3”, “Ice Age 4”, a prequel called “Prometheus”, “Snow White and the Huntsman”, “Piranha 3DD”, “Amazing Spider-Man”, and of course “The Dark Knight Rises”.  I could go on, but I don’t want to bore you.

Now there is one thing all of these films have in common.  None of them are original concepts.  Sure the Snow White film is an interesting spin off, but still based off an old Grimm’s fairy tale. Now this isn’t a bad thing; if you look at the box office you know these are the films that bring in the cash.  Since this is such a popular time to go to the movies, I find myself wanting to jump on board.  Currently I’m rewriting the films I’m producing so I try to resist from starting any new project.  This is harder than it sounds so to fill that void when I come up with an idea I just grab a pen and pad and write an outline in paragraph form until I’ve exhausted my brain on the story.  Sometimes I get through an entire outline; that is the case with a recent outline based on a popular Saturday morning cartoon.   Recently my wife bought the entire series of the 80’s cartoon show “Jem”.  I never watched the show; I was eight and I considered it ‘girlie’.  My wife wanted to introduce the show to our daughters and I ended up watching it along with them.  It was very interesting.  Sure it was corny, but the messages were very 80’s, so was the music and clothes.  After watching all three seasons, I found myself grabbing a notebook and writing a live action movie based off the show.  If I ever do make “Jem: The Movie” it will be a lot of fun.  I’ll also be sure to release it as a summer blockbuster and make millions.  (It could happen!)

PROJECT UPDATE:

This was a big week for “Punished Woman’s Lake“.  We released the not only the official website, but the Facebook page.  There is also a Twitter account for the film, @PWLfilm.  Next week sees more intense work on the film “Immortal Darkness”.  We are running out of time to shoot that film.  Also, more work on “Back to One” and a website as well.

I Wanna Pilot

I’m not talking about the kind that you find at airports; this is a screenwriting blog.  This is a pilot for a TV show.  I’m reading up on formatting a 30 minute and a 60 minute television shows, so now I want one.   It is good for screenwriters to have one in their arsenal.  Back in the old days, 5 to 10 years ago, it was asked of screenwriters to write a script of an established show.  This is a good idea, because this could lead to writing in that genre and get a job on a great show.  Now what people are looking for are original ides.  This shows how you can develop characters and create situations and storyline.

 Now I’m putting together a half hour and an hour pilot.  The hour long pilot is about two Union Civil War soldiers, brothers, who are working their way back home after escaping a prison camp.  They are on the run from Confederate soldiers and not being from the area, have to put all of their trust in a guide.  Now that guide will either is a young girl, a runaway slave, or both.  I’m also working on a comedy that is what I’m calling a blend of “Entourage” and “Arrested Development”.  That one I’m most looking forward too.  I might post more of that one, as well as the Civil War pilot, here on the site. 

PROJECT UPDATE:

MAY 25TH!  That is the date for the launch of the official “Punished Woman’s Lake” website. A lot will be happening this summer with that film and the website is the first of many.  We will also be launching the official Facebook movie page on that date as well.  In other website/movie news, “Bus 1107” has a Facebook page so be sure to stop by and “LIKE ” it! 

“Wet Hot American Summer”

I never went to summer camp.  I always wished I had, but it was something my parents never did.  I did go to a few basketball, football, and cross country camps so I wasn’t denied completely.   I was a huge fan of all the “Meatball” movies; the first sequel being my favorite.  (“I beat ‘em with my brains.  I’ve got more brains in my little finger, then I do in my whole head.” –Boomer) I do have to announce though that I have a new favorite camp movie.

Last summer I caught a midnight screening of this film that I didn’t know too much about.  All I knew was that it was made ten years ago and took place twenty years before that.  It starred a lot of actors I knew like Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Bradley Cooper, Janeane Garofalo, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and many more.  They were all early in their careers so it was cool to see a very raw low budget film that helped them get their start.  Going in I was expecting a camping movie, but then I realized it is a satire of the genre.   Written by David Wain and Michael Showalter, they took everything about camping movies and put it into one movie, and then upped the ante.   The humor was top notch.  The pacing was all over the place, but with a film like this that is what you want and that is what the screenwriters wanted.  When the film was originally in theaters in 2001, no one went to see it.  Now you can catch it during special screenings, usually during the summer time, or just head over to Amazon and pick it up for $10.

I highly recommend this film, but when you watch it don’t expect to see a movie full of major plot points.  Expect to see something so crazy that you can’t help but think “What the F**K!”  So I suggest getting as many friends as you can together for a viewing of this movie. Be sure to check out the official website too.  I can’t wait to buy this on DVD and this summer I’ll be heading to my local theater to see another midnight screening.

PROJECT UPDATE:

That’ll do it!  Fundraising for “Back to One” on Indegogo.com has come to an end.  We fell short of our ultimate goal, but what we did raise will go far when production begins hopefully this fall.  Now it is time to lock down the shooting dates and locations.  We’ve held two auditions and we should hopefully be casting soon.  Also, the film “Bus 1107″ is in post production.  Hope to have it edited soon so it can be submitted to its first film festival.  If all goes well we’ll see a Fall 2013 release.  Work continues on getting a location for “Immortal Darkness”  The clock is ticking on that film.  Finally, “Punished Woman’s Lake” is going great.  We are getting our name out there which includes a website that will be launched soon.  Expect to also see a fundraising campaign on this film to launch as well. 

A Podcast?

Sometimes old urges find a way to resurface.  What keeps sitting in a compartment in my brain is getting back to my roots of being an on air personality/DJ.  I know I wouldn’t be able to walk into a radio station and get a job; I’ve been out of the business since 2002.  But in this day and age with everything online, podcasting would be the way to go.  I’ve thought about putting a team together of producers, sound mixers, and even a co-host and start streaming my own show.  No pay to start, but if you got a good marketing guy you can reach an audience and then in come the sponsors. (i.e. money)  I spent six months selling radio ads and even though I wasn’t the best at it, I know how it works.  The topic would have to be broad enough to appeal to wide audience. 

Who knows if it will ever happen, but it would be nice to get back to the days when I couldn’t wait to go to work and get paid for screwing around.  When you think the DJ’s on the radio are having fun, you are right, they are.

PROJECT UPDATE:

The “Back to One” fundraising campaign is coming to an end.  This is sad, because the funds raised were not what I was hoping for.  I did learn a lot though so the next time I use a better game plan.  On another set back, “Immortal Darkness”  was put off again due to our construction team being unavailable at the last minute.  These two short films have been a thorn for over a year, but I will not give up; you cannot tell me to give up.  I’m now hoping to push “Immortal Darkness” off to either June or July and “Back to One” to the fall.  Never say die!

The Twisted mind of a Storyteller

This is a very hard topic to discuss, but it is in the back of the mind of not just screenwriters, but directors, producers, and actors.  The majority of people in the world will not understand you and that is fine.  Once you can admit that you can move on with your life and move forward.  Some people struggle with it and end up feeling alone and they dress up in black and shoot up schools.  (A bit of a stretch, I know)  If you want to succeed, know who to surround yourself with.  Find people who are as driven as you are and things will happen.  I’ll admit this thinking has failed.  I’ve thrown my heart into projects only to find I was the only member of a team.  The worse thing you can do is get mad.  People are different. You screenwriters should embrace this.   It is your job to create characters that are different.  My only advice would be to recognize the signs and handle it the right way.  Then, of course, keep moving toward that ultimate goal.j

PROJECT UPDATE:

The past week was filled with great highs and big lows.  On an acting note, I finally booked a national commercial only to find out days before the shoot that a reworking of the schedule was done by the production company and thus eliminating my part completely.  It was very disappointing and the worse thing was I couldn’t do anything about it.  The other bad news was the film “Immortal Darkness” is again going to be delayed.  We can’t seem to get this film into production.  What got me through the bad news was we shot another short film I did (now) titled “Bus 1107″.  My goal is to get this through post production and put it out for the world to see.  Also, I spent last weekend in South Shore, South Dakota scouting for “Punished Woman’s Lake”.  This is going to be a great film and now it is time to buckle down even more to get the funds to push it into full development.