The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

I just finished reading this book by Michael Chabon, and...wow. It's pretty great. Collossal. The closest I can come to describing it is like eating a triple Whopper with three slices of cheese, bacon and the rest of the works. You take the first bite, read the first few chapters, and think, damn...this is really good. There's so much information in here, how can I possibly remember and savor it all without getting too full? I went in expecting the book to be about comic books and the history of the "funny book" business. And it is, to an extant. I knew it dealt with Jewish immigration during the years before WW2, but I was surprised to see that the book isn't really about comic books or the Jewish experience at all. Comic books and Germany-occupied Prague are one of several backdrops for larger worldly themes. Love, forgiveness, identity, the power of escapism, both metaphorically and physically - and the profound need to belong. Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay are both struggling with very different identity crises, and fitting into new worlds unknown to them is a powerful and engaging aspect of Chabon's novel. Naturally they get sucked into the comic book world, vastly populated by costumed crime-fighting superheroes and their glasses and tie-wearing alter egos. These themes and metephores are probably my favorite parts of the book. They enhance the already complex narratives of our main characters. Excellent novel!

ON A COLD NIGHT - The Shake Down

Tonight was the big evening of one-act plays in Massillon, Ohio, paying homage to Jack London. I was able to attend the show and see the interpretation of my play, ON A COLD NIGHT. It's loosely based on "To Build A Fire", "The Call of the Wild", and a few other Jack London short stories. I wrote the play in January, and it's been out of my mind since I finished it, my focus having moved on to other projects. My impression? I was very happy with the final result. The director had to orchestrate four plays, all featuring high-school drama students, in the span of just a few months - and I applaud him for all his hard work in pulling every piece of it together. The best way I can describe mine...it was like a high school play directed by Max Fischer from RUSHMORE. Four young students portraying Klondike characters twice their age (one teen a frostbitten, wiley old-timer), skinning wolves, swearing, bullet hole ridden and busting caps in the asses of claim jumpers hungry for gold. I think Max was in the very last row in the theatre with an approving smirk on his mug. Semper Fi, Soldier. Semper Fi.

WARLAND

My new script, WARLAND, probably creates a lot more problems for me than it solves. It's a childhood/coming-of-age story about the loss of innocense. It's a period film set during the decline of the small town that mixes folky midwestern values with aspects of a thriller. Sure, coming-of-age films about childhood were cool and worked in the late seventies/early eighties. But can you honestly remember the last serious American film you saw that focused solely on kids and the coming-of-age experience? Films that weren't adapted from a famous (or moderately well-known) novel? The Outsiders? S.E. Hinton. Stand By Me? Stephen King. October Sky? Homer H. Hickham, Jr. The Kite Runner (even though it's not an American film)? Khaled Hosseini.

Most industry people will tell you that they won't develop serious movies about kids, because you lose your whole target audience right off the bat. Kids don't want to go see dramas about kids their own age. They get enough of that at home when their moms slap their bare asses for spilling globs of Campbell's tomato soup on her new white carpet. Kids want to see Indiana Jones. Batman. Iron Man. Transformers. So who's left to see your potential movie? Adults? If adults ages 25-49 are your only target audience, that automatically qualifies your movie for art-house status. Your movie won't be seen by very many people, unless it's really fucking good. So knowing this, how do I get someone to buy my script?

Beats the hell out of me. I have no clue. That's the next step. My problem once I put the final polish on the project. A few months ago, an acquaintance of mine who produced some of Robert Altman's final films, asked me what I was working on. I told her: a coming-of-age drama about kids. Nobody farts. Nobody pukes after smoking for the first time or eating too much cherry pie before hopping on the ferris wheel at their favorite amusement park. No whitty punchlines or catch phrases spat from the mouths of pudgy adolescents. Her immediate response? "It's about kids?? Are you're insane?!" Maybe. I wrote it because I wanted to tell a story about childhood. A story about kids. A serious one. One where a ten year old boy wouldn't give second thought to pressing a Winchester rifle to the temple of another boy two years his junior. One that doesn't rely on dick-and-fart jokes to create a kind of false friendship. We'll see where this all goes, and how it turns out. I could submit the final script to various screenwriting competitions, film festivals and fellowships. There's one route. I could also seek independent financing. I really hope I'm not insane because this script took a long time to write, and I put a lot of myself into it. Maybe that part makes me insane. If the story clicks, and resonates with people, maybe I'll prove that it was all time worth spending. And that I'm sane.

Rewriting

When I first started writing, I HATED the rewriting processes. After you've spent close to a year on a script (that probably shouldn't have taken that long in the first place), the very first thing you're hot for is showing it to someone - get some validation on your amazing skills as a writing prestige. You send it to your trusted circle of readers, itching to hear their thoughts on your forthcoming opus. You wait days, weeks...until finally you get that coveted call: "Hey, let's meet up to talk about your script." What was once a feeling boling with anticipation, has somehow instantly turned into one of dread deep in the pit of your stomach: "Shit...maybe the script was NOT so good..."

I think it all has to do with handing over your baby...your darling...into the hands of criticism, albeit constructive criticism. You've made a choice: I want someone to read this to tell me how good it is, not to point out every little thing I did wrong. At first, I hated being held under the microscope, every last detail of my heart and soul put to scrutiny - picked apart like a day old honey baked ham. It takes awhile to get comfortable with the criticism. You begin to welcome it. And sometimes, you even start to write for other people - the very people who read your work. So-and-So will LOVE this scene. It's the best thing I've ever written. I can't wait to show it to them!

Now, I've grown to like the rewriting process. I look forward to hearing all things - good or bad - about the scripts I've written. I think it has everything to do with getting used to the critiquing. You never know how you're going to react to it. Even though I seek out the opinions of others, it still takes me a day or two to get over the intial beating, the bruising of my ego. THEY'RE wrong, I'M right. That's not the case, usually. Once the black and blue marks begin to heal, something strange happens. I start to think of every little comment or piece of advice that's been given to me. They play through my head like a great playlist of songs on repeat that I try to memorize and analyze all the lyrics to - try to find some way to incorporate them into a larger, preestablished playlist. Once the bruise heals, I start to see clearly and begin to put the feedback to use in my story. If the feedback's coming from the mouths of those I've entrusted with my baby - those people who will be honest with me know matter what - who aren't afraid of bruising my ego, telling me how it is - then I trust their words; their comments; their critiques. I'm thankful for those people - because honestly, it's hard as fuck to get anyone that's not your friend to read your work. And the people who know you best can sometimes offer the most valuable insight into your work - because they know you. You don't always have to agree with them, but damn if it's not fun to have a friendly argument with a reader and end up proving them wrong.

I'm in the evening of my latest feature-length script, WARLAND, and I've had four members of my inner circle read it - and all have offered a very distinct point of view. I've taken them all comments into consideration - and truthfully - they've all made WARLAND a better project - a better story. I'll talk more about the development of that script in future posts - I'm putting the finishing touches on it now.

So, when you hand over a script for critiquing - don't forget to let your guard down. Don't be afraid to take a punch or two. Welcome constructive criticism. After all, that's why we write. We write for an audience - no matter how small, or how big. We write for ourselves too, of course - but it's the collaborative process that takes us from interesting concept - to great script.

The Big Read: Ohio Writers Pay Tribute to Jack London!

My awesome sister hooked me up with a writing gig, fascilitated through the Massilon Museum in Ohio. There are several one-act plays that pay homage to Jack's Klondike Years spent in Alaska. If anyone in the area wants to check them out - it's free. Feast your eyes on the news release below for the deets:

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News Release: The Big Read Night of One-Acts to Star Local Thespians

On Thursday, April 24, the Massillon Museum, with the collaboration of the Massillon Public Library, Washington High School, and the Lions Lincoln Theatre, will present “An Evening with Jack London,” a program of dramas by and about Jack London. All events that are part of The Big Read are free an open to the public. No reservations are necessary.

The evening will open at the Lions Lincoln Theatre (156 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon) at 7:00 p.m. with “Lullaby” by George Gershwin, performed by the Canton Symphony String Quartet: Nathan Olson and Emily Cornelius, violins; Jonathan Kim, viola; and Gabrielle Athayde, cello. They will play throughout the evening between the one-act plays, presenting music by Antonin Dvorak, Leroy Anderson, and Scott Joplin--all selected to enhance the dramas.

John Kiste, Executive Director of the Canton/Stark County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, will take the stage first to perform his original one-act play, “Traces,” based on Jack London’s dogsled experiences in Alaska. Three additional one-acts will be presented, including “The Birth Mark” by London himself; “On a Cold Night,” by George Nicholis, a play based on London’s short story, “To Build a Fire;” and “Flora’s Fortune,” a monologue by Margy Vogt depicting the Massillon native who became the mother of adventure author Jack London. Washington High School students--Daerek Condo, Doug Remley, Joey Morales, Dan Condo, Erin Leffler, Luther Copeland and Samantha Jobe--under the direction of Eric Myers, Drama Advisor, will fill all roles in the London, Nicholis, and Vogt plays.

The Lions Lincoln Theatre concession stand will be open; proceeds will benefit Massillon’s historic theatre.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. The Massillon Museum’s project for all of Western Stark County is one of 127 communities nationwide participating in the Big Read from January through June 2008.

Local organizations and individuals collaborating with the Massillon Museum include: the Massillon Public Library; the Lions Lincoln Theatre; Mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli; John Kiste; Massillon Parks and Recreation Department; Rotary Club of Massillon; the Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce; The Independent; the Fairless, Tuslaw and Massillon school systems; State Representative Scott Oelslager; Massillon Cable TV; the Chit Chat Coffee Shoppe, Canal Fulton Public Library; the Canal Fulton Senior Center; Ashland University; George Nicholis; Eric Myers; Margy Vogt; Richard Gercken; The Canton Symphony Orchestra; The Wilderness Center; Bocca Grande Restaurant; Massillon Commission to Advance Literacy; Kozmo’s Grille; Boy Scout Troop 913; and many community volunteers.

Copies of The Call of the Wild may be checked out at the Massillon Public Library, which has bolstered its Jack London collection for The Big Read. Books may be purchased at the Massillon Museum (121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon), the Massillon Public Library (208 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon), and The Village Bookshelf (746 Amherst Road Northeast in Massillon). Free readers' guides are available at the Museum, the Library, and at offices and businesses throughout the area. Everyone who reads the book will be encouraged to sign a “dog tag” to be displayed at the Museum or the Library.

For more information about western Stark County’s Big Read project, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit http://www.massillonmuseum.org/
or http://www.neabigread.org/.

The Trenches

So here we are. This blog is bare as shit. Still trying to figure out how to mold it. My first thought...screenwriting! I'll answer any and everyone's questions on the trials and tribulations on the struggling writer, 'cause, well, hey - I'm in the trenches with you! Then I remembered...this is a big fucking trench...and I'm still trying to navigate my way through it. I'm a grunt fresh out of boot camp - I deliver steaming coffee in rusted tin cups to Second Class officers who've been here since year zero point five. If you're looking for the answer's to a screenwriter's bleeding heart, check out John August's fantastic blog (http://johnaugust.com/)

My next thought was: how about dedicating this beast to filmmaking IN GENERAL! Then I realized...shit...I haven't made a film of any sort since 2005...I'm way the hell out of practice. So...what should I do?

Here's a solution: If you're interested in what I have to say through my burgeoning journey as a screenwriter - this is the place to do it. This is my trench - my learning curve - you're welcome to witness as this grunt serves hot coffee to men in uniforms who could give a shit. Let's hope they do!