The Frenzy '09 Support Thread
 

Hi, all.

I'm coming out of the closet. The Script Frenzy closet. I'm a 2009 participant.

Initially, my plan was to write, and not to talk about it. Action, not words. And that worked for awhile. But now that I've gotten a big chunk of words down, I kind of feel like I'm in a bit of a vacuum. So I've decided to talk about it here, and I could really use your support.

This year's goal, for me, was not actually to finish 100 pages, but to finish four short film screenplays. So far, I've finished one and I'm making progress on a second. Since this is the most I've written in... well, it's been awhile... I'm proud but apprehensive.

I have an evil creativity censor in my mind - to use annoying verbology from our love-hated self-help creativity guru - that steps in to belittle whatever I'm doing whenever I'm making progress, but I've basically been able to shut her up enough to get through this.

Anyway. I'm not ready to share any of the actual writing yet, but I'm going to share a quick logline of the four pieces I'm working on this month. At the end of the month, the goal is to have a trove of stuff for me to actually film.

Short Film #1 - Cupcake noir, "Bringer of War."
I'm pretty sure I talked about my concept for this film with some of you, perhaps as long ago as 2007. I'd been stewing on it all along, and finally made some breakthroughs, and finished it up last week. Basically, two roommates discuss dessert, and in an elaborate noir-style fantasy sequence set to Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War," one of them imagines a demonic cupcake has developed an evil plot to wage war.

Short Film #2 - a musical with a twist, "Away From Me."
This one is underway right now, inspired by a new interpretation of a lyric from Gershwin's "They Can't Take That Away From Me." A woman remembers an ill-fated affair through song.

Short Film #3 - coming-of-age documentary-style comedy, "My Bellagio."
A teenage girl dreams of being able to choreograph a dancing fountain. Determined to fight the limitations of her empty pockets, she ropes her fledgling documentarian best friend and their quirky social circle into helping her achieve her goal whichever way they can - be it by spitting streams of water, an epic coke/mentos experiment, or something a little bigger (and less sticky.)

Short Film #4 - short story adaptation, "The Littlest Hitler."
I wanted to try my hand at adaptation, so I've selected a favorite modern short story by Ryan Boudinot, about a little boy seeking the scariest Halloween costume of all time, and his run-in with a girl dressed as Anne Frank.

So, that's my April. It's busy, it's a little scary, but it's progress.

Those sound amazing! I want to read them all right now. Are they done yet?

They really do sound fantastic. You've got a gifted imagination and mad linguistic skillz.

OMG, We can enter The Littlest Hitler in the Oscar Short Films Category and WIN!




And I don't know why, but I really like the pitches on Nos. 3 and 4, the ones you haven't started yet.


SO GET GOING!! WRITE WRITE WRITE is RIGHT!

Finish all four and Ill send you a cookie!

Just don't forget all of us little people when you become rich and famous!

You are SO talented! :D

*nods head with vigor*
Truth.

Sounds cool. Good luck with it.

Pedant/wet blanket alert: do you have the author's permission to adapt his story?

As for me, I'm in the process of adapting some of my filmable trove into novels for artistic reasons. Those being that I have a friend who's become a literary agent.

Not yet! Not all of them, anyway. I'm a-workin', I'm a-workin'!

I think the first two are more visual (and I'm kind of keeping quiet about the second one because I don't want to spoil the ending.) But the last two are meatier, indeed. I really have liked working on the shorts, because I can finish one and move on to the next before excitement dies down. The long-term projects are great but they require marathon-like discipline and I'd just like to get the momentum up.

Can you send me an Obama keychain with an amazing typo in it, instead? Oh, wait. You've already done that! Well, I'll finish all four in return.

Come, now, you'll have your own red carpet, you know it!

Aw, hopeful truth. But thank you guys so much for your support. It really means a lot.

Oh my gosh, I had just planned to walk ignorantly into the good night without any thought of legal at all!

Seriously, though, the general process for untested writers, as I understand it, is to adapt the work, or at least part of it, as a spec script before rights are requested - so that the author can consider the spec script before granting anything. And that's what I'm doing now.

Oh do tell, what was the typo?

Teh Obama Family.