June Update

It's been a busy month around here, hence the reduced frequency of blogging. However, it'll mean there'll be lots of cool things to share with you in the coming months so stay tuned!

Last week I was on set shooting behind-the-scenes pictures and video for my friends over at Qube Film who produced my music video "Tonight" a couple years back. They're currently producing "Skye and Chang", a new action-drama TV pilot for APTN which will air in the Fall.

Closer to that time I'll be able to share lots more but until then, here's a sneak peek at what the set looked like late on Saturday night...

The show is the brainchild of Loretta Sarah Todd and stars Sera-Lys McArthur and my good friend Olivia Cheng who I worked with last year on the webseries "Libelle" that I directed.

"Libelle" was one of 6 webseries recently selected by the Banff World Media Festival to pitch before a panel of judges and an audience as part of the 2012 Banff Digital Launchpad. The series also has an Indiegogo campaign on the go-go which you can contribute to here.

Here's a clip of Olivia Cheng's grand entrance in "Libelle":

Continuing the trend of working with folks I've had fun with in the past, I'm currently in pre-production on a new comedy series with Nicholas Harrison (who also plays a villain in "Libelle") and Mike Cavers. We'll be commencing shooting on that in July. I can't wait to see how it turns out and to share our shenanigans here.

Until next time folks, thanks for visiting!

AND THE WINNER IS...!

…You guys! Yup, every single last one of you! Why? Because I’ve finally dragged myself out of hibernation to contribute to this here page once again and distract you from the dramas of your lives with my ramblings… Have you got nothing better to do? Well, I’ll keep posting as long as you keep coming.

First of all, apologies. Despite my best efforts, and I really did try to post regularly- no really! My October workload not to mention deadlines, seriously got the better of me. Something had to go and sadly it was my time writing here.

On a positive note, I’ve been busy writing up a storm, embroiled in “The Biz” and so have a few more ideas about things to share with you lovely people. If you’re interested? In the meantime… FINALLY! – The results of my “Win A Free Story Consultation” blog from last month!

To all of you who had the courage to share your loglines, thank you so much! To be honest, I had a tough time making my decision. They were all suitably intriguing but in the end it came down to the specifics of what the original challenge was i.e. The best LOGLINE.

I have my preferences in terms of genre but I put that aside in this case and focused purely on what makes a good logline…

Loglines are a necessary evil in this business. Nobody who’s anybody will read somebody’s script, if they did, they’d be inundated with scripts from- well- EVERYBODY! To alleviate the load on their minds and the system in general we have the logline. A snappy one-line (approx) description of the screenplay in question. It’s sad but true, quite often many months of work crafting a feature screenplay comes down to your ability to sum it up in one breath. Fail at this and the big-time studio exec. or agent will pass on reading anything beyond that one line description.

In my mind there are three important elements of a logline… THE WHO, THE WHAT WHEN and THE BUT!

Kudos to you all on THE WHO – everyone gave a pretty clear sense of the subject and protagonist of their story. Without adding too much, always try to give us something extra beyond the name of your character and their age. Try to paint a visual picture. Occupations are a good way of adding a layer here as are personality details, talents and flaws such as “an Ex-Army Ranger” and “a life-long procrastinator”.

THE WHAT WHEN is essentially a hint towards the inciting event of the story… It’s that moment when Elliot finds an alien in his backyard, when Frodo and Sam agree to take the One Ring to mount Mordor or when Vickas realizes that he has been infected by alien DNA and is becoming what he most hates.

Finally, we have THE BUT to the equation. This is usually a taste of the major source of conflict in the story. It is also the area where our logline can has its biggest hook for the reader. THE WHO opens the door, THE WHAT WHEN intrigues us to step closer and THE BUT grabs us and won’t let us go. It’s this single detail that quite often provides that extra layer of marketability in a concept and that tips the scales for someone somewhere to feel more secure in investing large sums of money and time into developing the property.

Surprisingly (at least it is to me!), most loglines I’ve read in the past and, in this case, those that you lovely people were kind enough to submit for consideration, were almost all lacking that final piece of the puzzle. This makes me concerned. Either your story is flawed conceptually (in that it is lacking a source of central dramatic conflict) or you are failing to shine a light on what makes your project truly special. Film is an art form but it is also a business, and an arduous, soul-destroying and expensive one at that. It is also highly competitive… No matter how good our writing and our ideas are, we must all learn to focus them in a way that sets them standing head and shoulders above the rest of the pack.

This is why Meghan’s logline is the winner! It was a tight race but the hook of her logline was what put it over the edge. In the case of her project “THE MARKED”, there is intrigue in the concept of the protagonist “returning to a childhood home she barely remembers”. The excellent dramatic possibilities hinted at by her main character only being able to fulfill their “mystical destiny” by killing their soul mate is ripe with possibility… I can’t wait to read the screenplay!

And that's really all a good logline needs to do - create anticipation for the coming read of the full screenplay.

Thanks again to all of you who submitted.

Until next time folks.

FREE Story Consulting!

It’s that time of year again people… Summer distractions will soon be over. It’s time to dust off our umbrellas and hide our sexy, toned and tanned beach bodies beneath winter clothes (hey not all writers are pale and sloth-like!) With ¾ of the year now gone it’s also a time to begin thinking about what we have to show for 2009…

Great, another smug blog to make you feel guilty and unproductive…

Wrong!

A lot of people have extended me an olive branch of advice, encouragement and general feedback and they continue to do so. As I advance in years, experience and lessons along the winding path of life in the land of movies, I’ve tried to do the same, be it sitting on juries and panels at script workshops or doing some pro bono story consulting from time to time.

And that’s exactly what I’m offering here today as my Fall 2009 act of “giving back” and saying “thanks” to all of those amazing people who have been gracious and generous enough to help me over the years…

THE DETAILS: Paste a logline for your project (short, feature or TV series) and the best/most intriguing/most insane one wins. Simple as that.

WHAT YOU GET: Me! Well, kind of… I’m not going to come over to your house and do your laundry and I’m not willing to give you a kidney either. What I am willing to do is read your script and provide you with written coverage AND an hour or two of my time in person (if you’re in Vancouver) or on Skype (if you’re outside of Vancouver).

The only rule is that the logline be for the script you want feedback on and that the script is completed! I can’t give feedback on 5pgs of a feature that you know (when you get round to writing it) will one day be amazing.

Any genre, any subject… And feel free to post more than one if you have multiple scripts kicking around. Depending on the response, I may give feedback on the loglines themselves prior to selection – maybe we can get a fun dialogue going here.

I’ll make my final choice on October 1st, 2009

Who doesn’t love free stuff, huh? So let’s see those loglines!

Until next time folks…

Movie of the month: DISTRICT 9

Only 4 months to go until the end of the year so time is running out but, whatever plays on movie screens between now and then, District 9 is assured a high spot on my Top Ten of the year. Director, Neil Blomkamp, makes one of the most impressive feature debuts in years with this film.

Several days after seeing the film, it is still very much in my mind… So, what did I like about it?

Story: Unlike most Hollywood summer fare there’s no giant action set piece right off the top – the narrative takes its time to get going (by way of a hyper-realistic and gritty documentary style) that gives us one piece of information after another. Though we are dropped slap bang into the middle of this harsh, violent world of oppression, the basic story set-up comes gradually, ensuring that we fully buy-in to the fantasy elements of it all. When the more conventional story twists and turns unfold, they are twice as effective because they have earned getting there and we are more invested in all of the proceedings.

Character: The same is true of the film’s central protagonist… Unlike most summer fare, we are not presented with the typical heroic figure that we can immediately relate to – quite the opposite in fact! Our “hero” here, Wikus Van De Merwe (newcomer Sharlto Copley) is a weasel of a bureaucrat and an outright bigot. He describes the destruction of alien babies with glee, comparing the sound of their burning to “popcorn popping”… He is a weak man, way in over his head, and the furthest thing removed from a classic hero type.

And yet, for me at least, it is with this character that the film is a true triumph not just in this genre but in all the films I’ve seen this year. I can’t remember the last time I saw a character so despicable get put through so much, frustrate me as much or keep me on tenterhooks for such a long period of time.

Much of the gold here comes from mining the audience’s preconceived notions of storytelling… We know how to recognize a main character and we have been trained to recognize a hero – we know what to expect from them and though they may have severe flaws and unlikable characteristics, we expect them to learn from their errors and set things right.

District 9 is one helluva harrowing journey… There is a point in the film where I was sure Wikus was well on his way to being the classic hero and then- he makes a dumb, selfish, frustrating choice that left me terrified and completely at a loss. I had the rug pulled out from under me and found myself not knowing where things would go next. I had that awful feeling that our hero would never be a hero. I found myself subconsciously hoping that the filmmakers wouldn’t go to that dark place of hopelessness and force me to hate them for it. It’s a scary place to be as an audience member. A place as alien to me as the unfortunate “prawns” imprisoned in District 9.

And you know what? …I frickin’ loved it! I’m not going to ruin it for you by revealing whether Wikus ever becomes the hero we desperately want and need him to be but boy, what a journey it took me on and what an emotional release!

Everything else: District 9 has as much action in it as any other summer movie this year and there are some real doosies pounding the eyeballs. Neil Blomkamp has long been known for his cinema vertite visual style but, surprisingly, I never found myself feeling nauseated by the camera movement. He knows when to settle things down with a well-placed static shot, or sweeping wide shot. He also knows how to capture the chaos of a gun battle while always ensuring we know who is where within the action so the stakes always remain high.

The FX work throughout is as good as anything we’ve seen before, if not better. There is a staggering attention to detail and many nice touches that add to the experience. I particularly liked the way each of the aliens was given a unique characteristic (my personal favourite was an alien seen early on wearing a pink bra!).

District 9 will not be everyone’s cup of tea. The level of suffering the aliens and the lead character endure can be tough to watch and the film pulls no punches in its violence and gore. But if you can stomach this, and you want to see a summer movie that is as thought-provoking as it is enthralling, then do yourself a favour and get yourself to a movie theater ASAP!

Until next time folks...

Running From The Dreaded Bubble…

I’m back! Is there anyone still listening? Was anyone here listening to begin with? Hard to tell given how reticent you all are in commenting… And yet, thanks to my StatCounter I know you’re out there! So for now at least I’ll keep writing and pretending that any of this has a point…

Writing can be a solitary existence at times. Especially if, like me, you are one of those writers who works best when distraction is eliminated. Maybe I’m just stubborn (or too old?!) to adapt to writing on a park bench or in a busy coffee shop or maybe I’m just too damn lazy – let’s face it, going out means taking a shower, dressing in socially acceptable attire and being forced to deal with people that appear busier, have more structured lives and make a more predictable income than I do. Are they happier because of this? The grass if always greener, you know, over there where the “happy” people are playing.

When I actually do find the courage to venture into the world and when I have one of those rare days when I feel I can hold my head high and proclaim, “I write for a living!” I often meet people who look at me with that certain look in their eyes… There’s that glazing over, that sad smile that says “Wow, your life must be so interesting…” There’s that subtle sigh that comes with it that says, “I wish I was able to ignore every bit of common sense my parents and society ever grilled into me about making sure I abandoned my dreams in favor of being a responsible adult…” Ah yes, the grass is always greener where the “happy” kids play.

I say, (usually quietly) “Um… I wrote an Uwe Boll movie…” then I look over my shoulder to make sure my secret is still safe. And it IS still safe! Because nobody is listening and that includes the person standing in front of me with the glazed expression and the sad smile. They’re too busy playing in that imaginary green land of possibility and dreams pursued, not abandoned, to pay any attention to my contribution to the sewers of the cinematic kind.

So it’s usually with a sense of relief that I return home, back to “the real world” of writing in my solitary bubble… I like my office at home. I like my tattered leather chair that I picked up in a garage sale for $10. I like the 18” Robocop figure looming over me from the shelf above - the thin layer of dust on him gives me comfort that little in this bubble-world has changed in awhile. Most of all, I like the peace of mind I get from knowing my bathroom is just a few short steps away, that it does not require a key on a giant stick and that, when nature calls, I can be assured a clean, comfortable and safe cathartic experience.

Safe + Quiet + Routine = Creativity!

Normally I cherish those words. They are what I need to do what I do. At least that’s what I’ve convinced myself they mean. Unpredictability? “Begone!” Noise and distraction? “I banish thee!”

But who the hell am I kidding?

This existence, though conducive to the actual writing process I am accustomed to now, does not alone bring about creativity. Well- it does… But it’s a kind of creativity that is mired in safeness and routine. It becomes boring. Anyone can bang words down onto a page in some kind of order (one only has to read this blog to know that!) but for it to be about something, for the words to connect in that special way that invokes an emotional reaction other than a yawn??? That takes a perspective. A perspective that comes from emotional experience and the unfettered desire and desperate need to delve deeper into that emotional experience and transform it into something else! And that kind of experience cannot be got living inside a bubble.

So today I am thankful for my recent time away from my tattered leather chair and 24/7 clean, comfortable and safe bathroom access… I’m grateful for the amazing places I got to visit between here and Edmonton in the last 10 days. I’m grateful for the super genuine and fascinating people along the way that I got to cross paths with. I’m especially grateful to my girlfriend for dragging me kicking and screaming into my first camping experience (Shock! Horror! I have to pee in those bushes? With no light? With mosquitoes, bears and god knows what else lurking around every corner?!). Among many things I discovered: That I have a massive allergic reaction to bug bites; that there are miraculous places in the world where you can swim right above a giant waterfall and NOT plunge to your death; that despite my hatred of the Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton, and the people who live there, really are quite pleasant; that A & W makes a damn tasty breakfast when you’re hungover and that you can never ever have too much ice for your cooler…!

Now that I am back in my homely little writing bubble, sitting in my tattered leather chair, my back is aching… I’m kind of sad to be here because the grass really IS greener and besides, this chair sucks! Robocop and his layer of dust gives me no comfort at all and I’m noticing for the first time ever that he’s holding a gun to my head…! (“Your move creep!”) And yeah, my bathroom is close by. And yeah it’s clean. But now that I think about it, I’ve seen some pretty hilarious bathroom wall graffiti over the years! (“Jesus lives!” then, scrawled beneath, “What about my Easter vacation?! Screw you Jesus you self-resurrecting sonofabitch!”).

To hell with safe! Bring on unpredictability! Am I scared? Terrified. But you know what? For awhile at least, I’m okay with that.

Until next time folks… Keep running from that bubble!