Well, as I was saying before the holidays interrupted us, I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood...
Things were quiet during September. Except for one big milestone. Paperwork arrived from the Writers Guild of America. Based on the information that Warners had submitted, the guild sent me the application to join. Finally, I’d be a card-carrying member of the Writers Guild. Talk about validation! Except...
Things were quiet during September. Except for one big milestone. Paperwork arrived from the Writers Guild of America. Based on the information that Warners had submitted, the guild sent me the application to join. Finally, I’d be a card-carrying member of the Writers Guild. Talk about validation! Except...
…I had gotten a note from John Robbins of the Literary Association Agency. This guy was an agent, to whom I had sent things to over the years. Never took me on for as a client and always signed his notes “Keep Writing!” (still does. I get a Christmas card from him). A while earlier, he was involved with some sort of educational thing and had optioned a script of mine, “GhostWriter,” to use and make with an intern crew. No money involved, ‘natch. I had updated him about my doings, Pee-Wee-wise, so now, as all this is going on, he sends me a letter that the project is still alive (who knew?) but they may have to get another writer to work on it once I’m in the guild, as this is a non-union shoot.
Now the guild tells me I have 30 days to return the application. I tell Robbins I have 30 days before I’m a union guy. So…I'll do another pass on “GhostWriter.” Based on his input. For free. I’m starting to understand the need for unions.
Now the guild tells me I have 30 days to return the application. I tell Robbins I have 30 days before I’m a union guy. So…I'll do another pass on “GhostWriter.” Based on his input. For free. I’m starting to understand the need for unions.
Additionally, with no news coming in, I start noodling around on that magic idea for Kevin. He sees it as my next spec. As I put it then “I happen to like the idea now. I shall make it my own.”
Biggest news I got was that Staten Island Cable told me my cable-produced show would be on the first week of October.
A few days later I get a call. Joel the producer called Kimberly the executive to express his annoyance over the fact Kimberly hadn’t read the script yet (“she was rushing us for the script, and now she sits on it for 3 weeks?”). A meeting is set for the following week. After that, I figure, I’ll have to rewrite it again. “Whoopee.”
Biggest news I got was that Staten Island Cable told me my cable-produced show would be on the first week of October.
A few days later I get a call. Joel the producer called Kimberly the executive to express his annoyance over the fact Kimberly hadn’t read the script yet (“she was rushing us for the script, and now she sits on it for 3 weeks?”). A meeting is set for the following week. After that, I figure, I’ll have to rewrite it again. “Whoopee.”
Kevin happens to bring up the magic script. The title, I’ve decided, will be “Like Magic.” I had started working on it. This is where my journal starts to veer off the original intent. I had started the journal to track the process on “Lost Claus.” Now my scope was opening up to writing in general. My entry here gets into a real critique of my opening pages, annexing my two goofy guys into a new plot, pulling away from my habit of turning each of their scenes into a vaudeville-style set piece. I was aware of the characters interacting with the rest of the plot and other characters. I was deciding on how to introduce exposition and plot. I was utilizing a montage to introduce my guys in lieu of usual sketch-type scene. This is very different from my previous lack of insight. I noted: “I wonder if this is one of those artistic spurts I’ve read about?” Maybe this was being glib, but my brain did start to think more cinematic terms about my scripts than I had in the past.
But, we had to remember, the Pee-Wee script was our first priority. And the meeting was going to shake some things loose…
But, we had to remember, the Pee-Wee script was our first priority. And the meeting was going to shake some things loose…
