Reagan Had To Start Campaigning Somewhere.

Well, summer silly season is finally over....Thank God! Now we get down to the nitty gritty of the good stuff. I didn't really see much over the summer. A couple of honorable mentions go to "The Bourne Ultimatum", "Superbad" and "Once". Other than that, zip. Even "Sunshine" which I was looking forward to for a long time disappointed. The first two acts were great but what happened to the third? Summer is a depressing time for movies, it seems, unless you are a teen.

"Once" was certainly an unexpected delight. I only heard about it through the "Creative Screenwriting" podcast (Thanks Jeff!!!) A fantastic film with superb acting, a great story and an awesome soundtrack. Just shows that you don't need special effects to make a successful film. Watch out for their songs come Oscar time.

"Bourne Ultimatum", like the other two, was fantastic. Need I doubt Paul Greengrass? Jaw-dropping action and unbelievable tension and suspense. The scene in the London train station is an instant classic. I certainly hope they decide to continue with the franchise.

My next must-see film is actually a vampire flick - "30 Days of Night" based on a Steve Niles graphic novel. Yes, I've read the novel and I'll be interested how it is adapted for the screen. Vampire flicks seem to be coming back which is good news for me as I'm STILL working on my future Oscar winning vampire screenplay "Sunrise".

The Minnesota Screenwriters' Workshop is going through something of a change these days. An emergency meeting ended in a new board being appointed including yours truly. I'm excited by the energy and enthusiasm that the new members seem to have. Time will tell if we are a sucess. I have a few ideas up my sleeves so watch this space. The role of President is up for grabs. I'm still contemplating whether I should go for it. Is this how Ronald Reagan caught the political bug? Afterall, Reagan had to start campaigning somewhere.

Hollywood Has To Come Up With Something Original Someday

The top ten previews on a popular movie website:

1. Pirates of the Caribbean 3
2. Transformers
3. Harry Potter 5
4. Fantastic Four 2
5. Spider-Man 3
6. Rush Hour 3
7. Shrek the Third
8. Iron Man
9. Alien vs. Predator 2
10. The Dark Knight

Anything strike you about it? As a wannabee screenwriter trying to write a spec script, it makes for depressing viewing to see eight out of the top ten preview films are a sequel of some sort. Originality has no place in Hollywood it seems. Even the Iron Man is adapted from a comic book and the Transformers from a cartoon and/or action figures. I can't quite remember. Only the Dark Knight sends chills down my body since we all know Chris Nolan is an absolute genius.

So, I guess it's down to me and my fellow writers at the workshop to shake up Hollywood and inject some much needed originality. Afterall, Hollywood Has To Come Up With Something Original Someday!

Scorsese Has To Win The Oscar Sometime

Yup, it's that time of year folks. Silly season, A.K.A. awards season. Kind of ironic I think like that given the name of my blog.

The Oscars suck! Not the achievement but the hellish TV production that they try to put on every year. The Oscars is the pinnacle of any person in the movie industry. Whether you're a writer, director, actor or make-up artist, this is the one. Why stuntmen and stuntwomen aren't recognized I have no idea. Can you imagine the movies without them? Come on Academy, WAKE UP!

The Oscars, for me, is when the industry as a whole gather to celebrate people's achievement. For some of them this is their big moment. The top of their personal career ladder. So why is it that some pipsqueak TV producer has the last say in how long that person's speech should be? This is an awards ceremony, not an entertainment magazine show. If Mr. Jones wants 10mins to thank everyone from his lawyer to his dog, then let him. He has earned the right. If the awards ceremony has to last five hours then it should last five hours.

Can you imagine any other ceremony if it had to conform to the whim of TV? How about election 2008? "I'm sorry, voting is going to close at 3pm so that all the votes can be counted by primetime"

A few years ago they even took away that celebrated walk to the podium and instead paraded the nominees on stage as they anticipated their name called out - all to cut down on the broadcast time. What a crock of shit!

So here's hoping that this year's ceremony has more dignity and that no one will have the humiliation of being cut off in mid-speech or even worse, not allowed to speak after their partner has finished thanking their contingent. And perhaps Scorsese might win at last. Would they dare cut him off?

Frank Had To Have Had A New Year's Resolution Some Time

2007 is fast approaching. Time to reflect and look forward to another new year.

In terms of my writing, 2006 sucked. Big time. I've tried to put this baby of mine to bed but he won't shut the hell up. He's always demanding attention and whatever attention I give him, it's still not enough. 2007 is the year that I promise I will finally put it to bed. If not, then I'm giving it up for adoption.

So here are my resolutions for the coming year:

1. Finish my screenplay that I'm currently working on.
2. Fully workshop it with the Minnesota Screenwriters' Workshop.
3. Get a public reading of it.
4. Send it to a couple of contests.
5. Start another screenplay.
6. Post more frequently on this blog.

I have a few ideas perculating in my head. One is "high concept". The others are more indie style. We'll wait and see what comes to the front in 2007.

As for the movies of 2007, there are a few that I know I want to see:

1. The Bourne Ultimatum
2. Sunshine

The surprises of 2006 for me were:

1. Casino Royale
2. United 93
3. Rocky Balboa

My favorite film of the year was "The Prestige". Christopher Nolan can't do anything wrong at the moment. Watch out for "The Prisoner" and "The Dark Knight" in the coming years. Sure fire winners all the way.

The biggest disappointment of the year was undoubtedly "Superman Returns" Don't get me wrong, the action sequences were amazing but the story???? What story? I won't start to talk about what I thought was wrong with it because this shortish blog will turn into a 2000 word essay.

Anyway, here's to a healthy and productive 2007. Good luck in whatever you venture into and I will try and keep my resolution. Hey, Frank had to have had a new year's resolution some time!

Slainte.

Black Had To Get Shot Down Somewhere

The verdict is in. The pages were, well...mediocre. Not the end of the world but not exactly Oscar worthy. It was a start though. After a couple of months of procrastinating it was good to actually get something down on paper.

Three people at the workshop last Saturday. Disappointing to say the least. I was hoping to get some more comments but the advantage of having only two others there was that I did get some invaluable in depth feedback. The only problem is that I need to restart the pesky screenplay from the beginning. Everytime I get about halfway through the same script, I get some great ideas and I inevitably go back to the start. Now where are those index cards. Black had to get shot down somewhere.

Mann Had To Rewrite Somewhere

Success...ish.

Finally managed to put two words down onto paper. Actually, five pages. I would give an actual word count but I couldn't find the pesky word count feature on Final Draft (My stupendous screenwriting software that does everything but, unfortunately for me, come up with the story)

The scene in question has been written before. Numerous times. It was static, boring and uncinematic. The rewritten scene is also static and uncinematic but hopefully isn't so boring. I guess the proof of the pudding will be tomorrow at the Screenwriter's workshop when it will be critiqued by a bunch of people who know so much about screenwriting that it's actually scary.

It's amazing what another set of eyes can do for a story. At times you suffer from tunnel vision so bad that you can't see the obvious. You shut yourself down to ideas. If you can keep yourself open to all possibilities and not fall in love with your pages then I reckon you've got a decent chance of creating something decent. I've been driving on this highway for 500 miles now and suddenly I've found an alternate route. A route that will take me into the unknown, the unchartered. The downright scary.

Scenes get re-written. It's a fact of life. Never say no to alternatives. Never say no to suggestions. Never be so arrogant to think that the stuff that you've written is the best that has even been produced.

A wise man at the workshop once told me this: If you're writing a courtroom scene then think of the best courtroom scene ever made (Perhaps the Nicholson v Cruise scene in "A Few Good Men"). If your scene doesn't better that then why write it? Why accept mediocrity? Each film has a duty to raise that bar ever so slightly higher. No excuses.

Writing is the easy bit. It's the rewriting that's the hard bit. Hey, Mann had to rewrite somewhere.

Nolan Had To Start Brainstorming Somewhere

Brainstorming - a treatment for writer's block some might say. For me, it's just writing useless random words in a random order trying to entice my imagination, kick start my creativity.

Since my last post at the end of July, I have written zero pages. A big fat nought. Don't get me wrong, I've been brainstorming like crazy trying to convince myself that this is all part of the writing process but at the end of the day I don't get to see any results. It seems like cheating. There doesn't seem to be any end product. Someone once said that writers are working when they are thinking or daydreaming. For me, this is true. I have an idea and I brainstorm - in my head. Lying on bed staring at the ceiling may seem like sheer laziness to you, but I assure you, a great mind is at work. Nolan had to brainstorm somewhere.