Latchkeepers (Act Three)

Latchkeepers (Act Two)

Here is the second part of the Latchkeepers episode. This is also the part where I get to make my big debut as an extra - I am a blurred smudge in the background of the bar scene.


You can watch previous Stranger Things episodes at http://www.strangerthings.tv

Adventure

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."
- Nehru, Jawaharlal

Latchkeepers (Act One)

Among the locksmiths of time and space, Kalypto is a third-rate immortal. He spends his eternity filing the Universe's garbage, until a psychopathic client makes him an offer he can't refuse.

Stranger Things

I worked as a pa for the sci-fi show Stranger Things a few weeks ago. Here is an update from the creator of the show, Earl Newton. The end of the video (4:15) has a preview for the episode I worked on - I had very important jobs, like holding the director's balls (as if I am the first pa to do it, come on) and moving safety cones and pushing the DP around. I was brilliant, I tell you.

Okay, seriously, it is a great show. So, check it out!

With friends like you who needs enemies
You ain't right, you ain't never gonna be
You're out of the car, I'm afraid you've been declined
You shake my hand while you're pissin' on my leg
I'm cuttin' you loose, I don't need this misery
Your soul is toxic, you ain't no friend of mine

No!

You talk real trash when I'm not around
To build yourself up, you gotta tear me down
You'll have to excuse me, I have better things to do
You smile through your teeth, you talk out your neck
Every chance you gonna get you're gonna stab my back
Your time's runnin' out, I've got nothing left for you

I'm leaving you far behind
I'm leaving you far behind
Stop wastin' all of my time
I'm leaving you far behind

Yeah!

So I'm pulling out the weeds, I'm taking stock
You can talk the talk, but can't walk the walk
Your narcissistic ways have gotten the best of you
So I'm leaving you to sink, in all your glory
For you and me it's the end of the story.
Get out of my way, I've got better things to do

I'm leaving you far behind
I'm leaving you far behind
Stop wastin' all of my time
I'm leaving you far behind

With friends like you who needs enemies
You ain't right, you ain't never gonna be
Your soul is toxic, you ain't no friend of mine

Indy 4

I saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this past Friday. I can sum it up in one word - disappointing. It was great to see Indiana Jones (and Marion) back on the big screen. But, after twenty years this was the best they could do?

Chasing Down Ideas

I don't have an outline done yet, but I have filled up a notebook with notes and ideas for the script. I haven't begun the outline, because there is still something missing - something that I can't quite put my finger on yet. It will come to me or I will go out and find it!

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
-Jack London

Small Efforts

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. -Robert Collier

Well, I am back at it. I have been brainstorming a new idea - actually, it is new ideas for an old idea. Progress is slow, but steady. I am about ready to start putting it all down in an actual outline. I am not feeling very confident - due to some recent setbacks - but I am going forward with cautious optimism.

Thanks for all of the encouragement!

I should have been writing...

Instead, I took my daughters to a Hillary Clinton rally in Wilmington. Whatever you think of her or her politics, it is a great moment in history for women. I wanted my daughters to see with their own eyes that it can be done.

A little more matriarchy is what the world needs, and I know it. Period. Paragraph. - Dorothy Thompson

Empty

The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it. - Dee Hock

I am suffering from writer's block. I have started three projects and I am stuck on every single one of them. Ugh! I hope I can work through this or that it will just magically pass.

Off With Her Head!

Monday night my sister and I ventured out to a late showing of The Other Boleyn Girl. The film was delightfully seductive and elegantly executed (ha!). The story played out to the extreme the beautifully complicated relationship of sisters. My sister and I held hands during a good part of the movie. What is it to have a sister? There are no words that can adequately describe or explain. There was a line in the film that, perhaps, came close. King Henry VIII asks Mary why he should spare the life of her sister Anne and she replies, "Because she is my sister. And therefore, one half of me."

In another life I was the publisher of a literary ezine, The Dusty Shelf. One of the highlights was being able to publish an exclusive interview with Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl. The interview was obtained and conducted by the ever-talented Lane Morris Buckman. You can read it HERE.

Weekend Update

I had to canceled my writer's group meeting Sunday. My oldest daughter and I were sick. I spent most of the day in bed. It must have been a 24 hour bug, because we were both fine on Monday. So, I have to wait another week before getting the feedback on my script. I am anxiously awaiting, because I want to jump on a rewrite before I start a new project.

A new project? I have been tossing an idea around for awhile. I am actually revisiting a story I had begun to work on a few years ago. It never really went anywhere, but I am feeling up to the challenge of exploring it more fully.

I saw Definitely, Maybe over the weekend. I have always said that I wasn't a Ryan Reynolds fan, but I might just change my mind. He was wonderfully charming. The movie was predictable in the way that all romcoms have Austenesque endings. Yet, the story was told in a somewhat unique way, which kept it interesting. And the characters were well written. I liked it. What can I say? Sometimes a girl wants to know she can count on a happily ever after.

It's That Simple

"One script. One feature. One pilot. One credit. No one in or out of this Guild is more than 120 pages away from the A-list."

I pulled that from Josh Friedman's latest blog post. It's that simple. You just need 120 brilliant, inspired, original, well-crafted pages.

Keep on striving. Keep on trying. Keep on dreaming.

Second Draft

I was having a bit of trouble getting back to my After Alice rewrite after the holidays. I work well under pressure. There is nothing to get me moving like a firm deadline. So, I told my writer's group that I would have it ready for them to review in three weeks.

That was a week ago. I have actually made decent progress. There is much left to do, but I think I can wrap it up in time for the review.

Going In Circles?

I came across this funny article at the BBC website. I had never considered how strange our picketing tactics might appear to those outside of this country. What do the British think?

Striking US screenwriters are threatening to picket the Oscars ceremony. If they do, one thing's for sure - they'll be walking in orderly circles. Why do they do that?

Read more...

"Demands of the Striking Writers"

David Letterman's Top 10 List of "Demands of the Striking Writers" read by writers on Wednesday's show.

10. "Complimentary tote bag with next insulting contract offer" - Tim Carvell from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"

9. "No rollbacks in health benefits, so I can treat the hypothermia I caught on the picket lines" - Laura Krafft from "The Colbert Report"

8. "Full salary and benefits for my imaginary writing partner, Lester" - daytime television writer Melissa Salmons

7. "Members of the AMPTP must explain what the hell AMPTP stands for" - Warren Leight from "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"

6. "No disciplinary action taken against any writer caught having inappropriate relationship with a copier" - Jay Katsir from "The Colbert Report"

5. "I'd like a date with a woman" - Steve Bodow from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"

4. "Hazard pay for breaking up fights on 'The View'" - writer and director Nora Ephron

3. "I'm no accountant, but instead of us getting 4 cents for a $20 DVD, how about we get $20 for a 4-cent DVD?" - Gina Johnfrido from "Law & Order"

2. "I don't have a joke -- I just want to remind everyone that we're on strike, so none of us are responsible for this lame list" - Chris Albers from "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"

1. "Producers must immediately remove their heads from their a----" - Thurber Award-winning author Alan Zwiebel