Project Update 10.1.05 - so little time
I’m making a great deal of progress on my script today. I don’t know what was going on (yes, I do), but I’ve just experienced a bout—notably due to discord and depression—of writer’s block. And for most of it… I really just should have known better.
The frustrating thing is that I have so many ideas and have been lacking the discipline to get them out. I have vampire, mob, bounty hunter, hacker, southern trash, office job, bible thumping, world event, and girl power stories to tell. The mediums for them vary among graphic novels, television series, feature films, short films, sketches, straight-to-video, and music videos. And despite their vastly differing universes, eras, and ideas, I can tie all the characters together into the same world.
What I’m working on most actively are my boss’ films. Last March when I started we were in a stint of development—where we weren’t quite sure what was going to happen with what project. I wrote some treatments and researched ideas. Now we’re chugging away on a film and a TV show with a possible second show in the works. I find myself doing administrative tasks mostly, and instead of doing them well like I used to… I space out and fuck them up.
Last winter I promised myself I’d buckle down and commit to completing a film and getting it out there and screening (Jack Quack), get some drafts done on of a couple of scripts (Tuesday and Princess of New York), and get a damn job in the industry (Nanette). I don’t know how I managed all this last year, but I want to get some more stuff like that done this winter… and then some.
Let me get organized. I have the following ideas/projects that I’m actively working on:
Untitled Conspiracy Thriller – this is a short I wanna be writer/director and probably producer on. Ivone (is soooooo awesome) and a few others are into the idea and range in talents from music to graphic artists to producers. I have an idea for how I can shoot it relatively cheaply, but will try to raise a decent budget for once… It would take months of pre-production to keep it cheap though. I’ve got about 17 pages drawn out. I’m polishing the actual conspiracy up separately (then will weave it into the story) because I have specific goals for how I want people of varying political beliefs to react to it. Needless to say, it’s a tough story to craft properly and effectively, so it’s taking a bit of time.
Memphis Bound – this is a feature script I’m currently hashing out. It’s my rockabilly love story road trip indie movie idea. Is that a genre? I don’t know. Anyway, I am always debating which story I want to get behind as a director, which ones I could compromise my vision on (i.e. sell). This is one I want to direct and could definitely do in the low budget range (which is where my first feature should be) and happens to be motivated by the story, setting, and style anyway.
An unnamed music video — Man, musicians are flakes. Ha. (Okay, he has his reasons…) This video will be really crafty looking. I can’t wait to work on it. It’s so cute already!
Untitled Amber Tozer project—Amber’s a comedian and fucking HILARIOUS. We met when I worked in her office with Nanette at the Hub Studios. Somehow we connected even though I was really shy. We’ve gotten wasted together and brainstormed ideas ever since. I can’t wait to be sober enough in her presence to work something out. I’m a real bad influence on that kid. And I don’t even drink much.
2A and Fairy Tail – Two short films I have in post. Fairy Tail just needs a couple more sessions on visual fx and then scoring. 2A is far, far from being over. I think I logged the pictures and that’s it. I haven’t even dubbed the interviews to VHS. Maybe I’ll do that now that I’m thinking about it…
Tuesday – This is the start of a 4-film, er, “quadrilogy,” that was spawned from Rik saying to me, “Hey, got a shitty 82 page urban drama we can shoot?” And I was all, like, “Nah, but I’ll whip one out for shits and giggles.” It’s funny how easy it is to concoct something where it’s okay for it to suck. The idea has since become this epic tale of a super cool lounge singer who wants to go legit, but her family’s criminal past keep getting her in trouble. I’ve finished the first script and outlined the other three. I have an execution plan for producing it, but have not hefted it up to actually being executed. I don’t have the capital and I’m distracted by all this other stuff. Roy’s into it; I don’t have to direct it (though I want to help hire the director).
Untitled sketch animation – I wrote a 5 page story about these two old huntin’ buddies, on an excursion in the woods. If I tell you more, the sketch won’t have any surprises. But it’s cute, dark, and funny, and I have to learn Flash to produce it. It’s possible I could do it all in power point. But I sort of want to learn Flash too.
My REEL! – I have stuff to show people. Why isn’t it all on one DVD? Well, there’s this really big drama going on with my music video—I can’t get my hands on a high-res quick time version of it for some reason. Then I have Jack Quack and Electronic Devices. There’s even this cute little 30 second short about one of my cats called Rex: An Intimate Portrait with music by April Smith. Also included will be a montage/trailer of my work, including shots from Fairy Tail and music by the Trousers.
There are dozens of other projects always half in the mix. I have the feature scripts: Princess of New York, Buds, Mother’s Little Pill, Fibre, Bias, Southern Trash, Dream World, and untitled mob, goth bounty hunter, and Amber’s movies in their various stages of development. “The Mind Workout” and “16 Manhattan Avenue Compilation” DVDs. I can’t even think of it all here.
There’s this one character I’ve been obsessed with since 1995—no joke. I’ve had this girl, Lullaby Anne, all made up and ready to be shared. There’re insane the number of ideas coming from this one character alone. I see her in graphic novel or HBO mini-series form. A couple of films wouldn’t cover it alone, but maybe I could write those in addition to this other stuff.
A little about Anne… a vampire… She grew up on a mission with her parents and brother in South Africa at the turn of the century. She ends up alone in Johannesburg after their village gets raided and is sired by an old vampire. She gets wrapped up in a civil war between clans going on beneath the city, and Anne takes on a pivotal role in trying to make peace between them since otherwise they will self-destruct… while trying to keep her own sanity in her new soulless form.
There are dozens of spin-off story ideas for her as she lives on for another century.
Anyway, there’s an update for you. By writing this, I was procrastinating on filling in the outline for Memphis Bound (I’m trying to get to the place where I’m actually WRITING PAGES but I find the more of this outline stuff I do, the pages come out way better). Also on the agenda is making popcorn, working on the conspiracy, dubbing the 2A interviews, and maybe re-writing and compiling contacts for the letter to producers for Tuesday.
Thanks for reading. –amp