The Look Machine is a rock band from the Philly area that draws on everything from acoustic finger-style to melodic rock to create their own original sound.

July 23, 2008

The Black Death Revisited

I spent most of today reading through and doing a light re-write on the second screenplay I ever wrote, "The Black Death." I re-arranged some scenes, made some action sequences clearer and more exciting, cleaned up some dialogue, deleted a lot of unneeded dialogue.

I haven't read it in some time, and I was happy to see that there is still much to like here. But what was actually quite surprising to me was how much of it was similar in conflict and setup to the latest screenplay I completed, "The Kingdom of Tovenray." I've heard it said that every writer has a story they are always trying to tell. One of my mentors at UCLA always has children caught in messed up, dangerous situations, for instance. If you had asked me yesterday if The Black Death and Tovenray had anything in common, I would have honestly told you no, not much, because I was completely oblivious to how similar things were. So I must be trying to get something out of me here.

Both stories have a reluctant hero who doesn't want to take up their grand destiny (in fact, the opening of both stories finds the heroes actively denying who they're meant to be) but is forced into the quest to save a loved one.

Both stories have a young boy who is captured by the evil villain and pressured into becoming that evil villain's son.

Both stories have a part where the hero is being trained by a mentor character and thinks he (and she) is ready and don't need any more of this training.

Both stories have a moment where the heroes refusal to take up his (and her) destiny results in a tragedy.

In both stories, the evil Villain has a daughter who actually is good hearted and ends up helping the good guys.

Of course there are tons of things which are very different, (and in fact I could probably think of many other stories that have these same basic elements in them, ones that aren't written by me at all) but still I was pretty stunned to see how many similarities there were... I guess there's a lot to analyze about my psyche there!

I'm happy to report that I'm now MORE charged up about adapting this story into a graphic novel. It was only my second script and I've learned so much since about writing and what you should be doing with a screenplay, but I must say that it's a very visual story with a ton of cool moments to see on the screen, yet there's a lot of heart in the story too. So all together, not bad. And actually, pretty good.

Posted by jason at 01:23 AM | Comments (7)

July 20, 2008

The Bifurcated Life

As I've been home and seeing more people that I love and are familiar, and hanging out in places that are the same, I've realized just how split my life has become. I haven't figured out whether it's good or bad that I love people and places and things that are thousands of miles away from each other, and will probably, from now until the end of my life, both thoroughly enjoy where I am and really really miss where I'm not, but I can tell you that it's very strange, and unsettling.

Part of me thinks it is very good. I have a ton of new friends and experiences and loves because of our move to California, things I wouldn't want to miss at all. Of course that is great! But while I'm there, I'm missing the trip to Fair Hill where you can spend the afternoon swimming in the creek and chasing down frogs, and the quiet easy get togethers with family and friends.

But then when I'm on the east coast, I really do miss the intoxicating goldrush that is California, where anything seems possible, where almost anything is possible.... where the weather is so perfect that you rarely even think about it. Where every day you meet someone who could get you on to the next level of your career. Where the idea of accomplishing your dreams are no longer faraway mirages but tangible and happening for people all around you. Where you drive with the ocean on one side of you and mountains rising up on the other. Where there are a ton of people all chasing the same dream, and you bond together with them in that pursuit. Where people spend a ton of the time outside, being healthy and active.

So here I am, split. It's just so weird, mostly because it's so different than most people's lives that I see around me. I'm still adjusting to it, but I think on the whole I do like it. It's exciting, and certainly not hum-drum.

Random Updates:

* My kids are going to a drama camp starting tomorrow and they'll be putting on a play that I wrote a while ago. I just re-wrote it a tiny bit and it's really quite funny. It's always nice partially forgetting something you've written because you get to be surprised by some jokes in it all over again like someone else wrote it.

* Related to that, I was re-reading my Black Family script on the flight from LA and I was laughing out loud at some of the jokes that I had completely forgotten. The lady sitting next to me, who I had already told that I was a writer, asks, "That script must be really funny. Whose is it...?" I have to, somewhat embarrassingly admit. "It's mine." She observes. "Wow, you must really think you're funny."

* The short film shoot is coming together and looking like August 12-14th. I think we'll have a Red One Camera (look them up, they're a big deal) and it'll be a blast.

* I'm getting together with the very talented Brett Weber to discuss collaborating on a graphic novel. I bought 5 different graphic novels this week and looking over them I'm really excited about the possibilities of what we can do. I have some contacts so I think I can get it published, too... I'll be doing this for one of my already written scripts that I think won't be made as just a spec script but would definitely be purchased as a graphic novel (to make into a movie.) Isn't Hollywood weird?

Posted by jason at 10:46 PM | Comments (9)

July 18, 2008

Summer Camp

This last week has almost felt more like summer camp, with swimming lessons everyday, then swimming in the pool, and then swimming in the creek at Fair Hill. It's been really fun spending so much time with family and the kids, but at the same time... the writing suffers. I'm itching to write some more, and have to carve out some time and find a routine in a life that doesn't have a place for it right now.

The Dark Knight was really excellent. It's a very smart action film that grapples with huge themes, ones much larger than your normal summer blockbuster fare. And let me tell you (and this is no surprise, I know) Heath Ledger is just magnetic and brilliant and a complete genius in this film. I need to see it again, I can't quite figure out if I liked it better than Batman Begins, which I just adored. This was certainly a more complex film (which doesn't have to be a bad thing) which didn't have a clear Main Character (which again, doesn't have to be a bad thing) and so Batman Begins was easier to engage with on a first viewing. Batman Begins was much more of a classic hero's journey story, while Dark Knight deals largely in shades of grey and the moral ambiguity of trying to survive in a chaotic world.

Posted by jason at 11:34 PM | Comments (1)

July 16, 2008

Passing on the Indiana Jones Legacy

I'm proud to say that I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark with Lyric and Ollie today and they both loved it. (Of course I covered their eyes for the scary parts, what kind of parent do you take me for!?) And watching this movie again only made me more disappointed with the new one. But let us not talk of such things, let's focus on the magic that is this film.

It's simple, it's engaging, it's got a huge number of incredible sequences (opening in south america with the collapsing temple, the closing stone door, the big stone; the Well of Soulds with the snakes and the fire and the discovery of the ark; the amazing car chase and fight and stunts with Indy going under the car and back around; and of course the final judgement where the Nazis got their just desserts). After seeing Lawrence of Arabia, I realized anew how much of the film was a tribute to that great movie. (Seriously, watch them back to back, Spielberg was just having a great time with it.)

Question: Does Harrison Ford have the greatest slate of films of any actor? Think about it: Star Wars trilogy, Indy movies, Blade Runner... Who's better? Brando? Tom Hanks? Give me some names here, people.

Posted by jason at 02:42 AM | Comments (3)

July 15, 2008

What a soccer game

Collin, Shane, and I are playing on the Elany Arts 1 outdoor soccer team (yes, there are 2 Elany Arts teams.) Today we played a very good team comprised of YMCA employees. They had skills. So much so that they jumped ahead to a very quick 3-0 lead which honestly could have been 5-0 because they hit the top post twice.

In a outdoor soccer game, that's basically the end of the game. No one comes back from 3-0, at least that I've ever seen.

Continue reading "What a soccer game"

Posted by jason at 12:28 AM | Comments (5)