Produced and Should-Be Produced

So, quick update on the produced script, Elle. The print should be locked soon, then off to final corrections and the March release date looks solid. I still have some issues with some of the clips I've seen, only because I didn't write them, or the tone in the shot is different than what I had in mind, but what are you gonna do? I still like the film for the most part, and, more than that, I like seeing the words on film. The next project with the same company I hope will yield a little more involvement in the realization of the script.

On to the rewrite. Posted up the first act yesterday, and I've been shooting for about ten quality pages per day. Lots of the original script has now become backstory, which I dig. It gives a lot of depth to both story and character, and I've also been pleased with the dialog.

Now, enough yammering... back to work!

Back to the Grind

After the holidays, it's time to finish a rewrite. See, the agent says that one of the scripts is more commercial than the others, but that doesn't mean it's ready. So, after dozens of e-mails and a couple of conference calls, it's time to step it up a notch. Better yet, this week is day job-free, so the plan is to finish a new draft with the discussed changes.

And what are said changes? Without specifics, the whole point of this blog is to a) keep me focused and b) provide some degree of advice to other screenwriters who are starting at the bottom. Though they liked the initial script, a horror film, the problem as the agent and development lead saw it was that it was too straightforward. They wanted some twists and turns. In short, some mystery. So, having taken copious notes, spent a good deal of time at the dry erase board, and a fair amount of time jotting notes into a word doc, we have some twists. The ending is still a bit ethereal, but I know thematically where I want to go with it, so let's see how it goes.