Shout outs and Gratuitous Plugs, Part 3 - The Two of Us

Some time ago now I participated in the Professional Partnership Program with the Filmbites Youth Film School. My involvement was in developing what turned out to be two short film scripts based on the improvisations of the school's advanced acting students.

When the first of those scripts was being shot I visited the location one Sunday. As usual, a writer on a film set is a challenge at the best of times. However, there was a young actress there who was playing a background extra. Two things I remember from that day - she would read a book in a quiet corner when not called upon for scenes; and most respectfully asked if she could send me something to read after declaring that she liked my script.

That actress is Shannon Berry and what she sent me was a short story called The Two of Us. What struck me is what a wonderful piece of writing this was from, I think at that stage, a 13 year old. Mature and imaginative it was about a young boy and his shadow and how the two of them deal with the unexpected death of the young boy's father. Told from the shadow's point of view!

Shannon went on to adapt her own short story into a short film script that was subsequently shot for Junior Tropfest for which it was shortlisted.

That film is now up for an audience choice award as part of the ATOM Awards.

Unfortunately, the privacy settings won't let me embed the film but you can view it on Vimeo HERE.

To vote for The Two of Us it is in the "Best Middle School (7–10) Film Production" category on the Atom Awards website HERE.

I have subsequently read more of Shannon's work and she is a talented writer and passionate young actress. So if you like the film PLEASE VOTE!

A Little Re-Branding

Ah, branding. Seems to be the buzz word these days.

Given the amount of theatre reviews I've been writing this year, it appears commentary on my screenwriting exploits has been choked to death like the victim of a gloved serial killer.

So I've created a separate blog for my reviews:

PERTH THEATRE REVIEWS

This blog will therefore revert to being:

Screenwriting 101 or Misadventures in WA Film.

No more theatre.

Ever.

Except if I update the wrong blog.

Which is probably highly likely.

Um.

Okay. I'm going to work on my screenplay now...

But, didn’t you use to be a screenwriter?

I know what you’re thinking – “Richard, what’s with all the theatre reviews on your blog lately… didn’t you use to be a screenwriter?”

Richard enters stage left and peers out at the audience. Adopts an aggressive stance.

Richard: That’s absurd; of course I’m still a screenwriter.

Audience member: Prove it then!

Richard squints into the lights trying to identify the wag.

Richard: Reveal yourself, Sir/Madam/[insert correct gender salutation for a small child or possibly a verbose animal of some description].

The challenge is met with a slow handclap. Only a few people at first… then dozens of hands in unison. The sound builds in intensity until Richard is brought to his knees, hands clasped to his ears.

Richard: Alright, alright. I confess. I have been tempted by the sins of theatrical endeavour; swayed by the spontaneity of live performance; awed by the camaraderie and passion found in every independent troupe of players. Dazzled by –

Audience: Get off!

Richard is pelted with rotten fruit, robust vegetables, and random pieces of furniture. He beats a hasty retreat to –

FADE IN:

INT. CAFÉ – NIGHT

Richard sits in his favourite writing haunt and laments the fact that the inability to format blogger correctly for the difference between stage and screen directions dilutes the visual effect intended for this convoluted introduction… 

Yes! I AM still writing!!! Spasmodically. Imprecisely. Incrementally.

The fifth draft of Turbulence was delivered to the director a little while ago and I have read his summary of what needs to be addressed in the next draft. I should, at this very moment, be reading his detailed notes embedded in the pdf version of the script but, of course, I forgot to bring the flash drive with me (Richard pelts himself with rotten fruit). In short, the next pass will be a character one. Progress has indeed been made - the comments count has gone from 83 to 43… or maybe I just fixed all the typos. Anyone who was at the PAC Script Lab reading a year ago would certainly recognise the story but there have been a lot of changes, especially in the second half of the script. Now we dig further and keep evolving and improving our characters.

I also finished the fourth episode of Boondock Alley, the web series set in a doctors’ surgery for the Undead. It was the hardest episode to write to date… and the darkest but the actors have responded with unanimous praise. This is flattering but also makes me a little nervous as I know it requires work. I suspect I need a critical eye to push me like Tim (director) does with Turbulence. However, it looks like we’re positioning for a tilt at ScreenWest’s newly announced Elevate funding scheme. So there will be a renewed focus on all the elements though I’m more than happy with progress to date. Ah yes, the joys of funding applications - writer’s notes!

Working fulltime has largely cut me off from the creative zeitgeist as I no longer have time to laze about on weekdays talking scripts, films and the like. It was a great pleasure then to go to the premiere of SeventhContinent Productions’ short film Rat Tale last week. Not only was it a terrific film but I caught up with many filmmaking colleagues I had not seen in a long time.

Yes, I am going to a fair amount of theatre and have even become a Friend of the Academy (WAAPA). Sometimes this is for sheer stress relief as my corporate job has burst into glorious chaos the last month. But mostly it is to experience the wonderful talent we have in Perth. I enjoy writing reviews and I figure that’s no big ask given the quality of shows I regularly encounter at a usually inexpensive cost. This year I’ve set myself to write something about every production I attend. In the past I tended to only write reviews for the shows I enjoyed. It’s time to man up and cast a critical yet constructive (hopefully) eye over every production.

But rest assured I’m still tapping away at the keyboard working on my own creative endeavours!

The stage curtains open. Richard bows deeply to rapturous applause… spots a half-eaten apple near the footlights, mid bow. Reaches for it… begins to topple… the crowd laugh. The curtains close. Thud. 

Hanging Out With Actors, Part 2 - Boondock Alley

Leon's first read of the Pilot.

At the end of August I wrote about the start of a new project where three actors had commissioned me to create a web series. At that stage I only had a vague idea what I was going to write about and had committed to creating a series Bible to explore this further.

I don't know if that's usually done for a web series but it certainly is a staple in television. The Bible, in effect, is a road map for the entire show. In its current state for what is now known as Boondock Alley it is 13 pages long and about 5100 words. To give you an idea of what it contains, the headings are:

Premise
The World
Character Breakdowns
Themes
Series Rules
Series One Dramatic Arc
Episode Guides

I had said to the actors that if they wanted to do this properly they had to realise that developing scripts would take time. First step was fleshing out the premise and deciding exactly what this was. I knew the basics: the tagline quickly became Boondock Alley - A doctor's surgery for the Undead. But I had no idea what the series would be about and it was important for me to find the dramatic arc so I could structure it properly. I knew I wanted to satirise both the healthcare system and the prevalence of such creatures as vampires, zombies and werewolves in modern culture. But it was important to me to do this in a coherent storyline with interesting human characters as well as the more exotic ones.

The request was for 10 x 5-7 minute episodes. The actors gave me a minor scare when they toyed with the idea of cutting it to 6 episodes after I had plotted it out. Yes, this could have been done but it would have meant some serious truncating of both story and character arcs.

Let's back up a bit. The three actors in question are Leon Grey, Anita Barnes and Catriona Coe. They have been involved at all stages in story discussions and giving input on their characters as I began to put this together. Indeed it was Leon who came up with the title after it was initially called Dead Serious.

Given the premise it was important for me to give context to the world and the two teasers here and here are more or less direct lifts from The Bible.

Once I determined the dramatic arc (discovered whilst absently listening to a rendition of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven before a play reading in Fremantle) I began to plot the episodes. Given it was an order of 10 I used the Game of Thrones model of plotting towards a climactic ninth episode with the tenth being the ramifications of that event and setting up a possible second series (hell, if I'm going to do it might as well accept it is an ongoing universe). In loose terms then, the episodes are:

The Pilot: where the premise is established and the characters introduced.
Episode 2: a satire of the medical procedural show, notably House.
Episodes 3-5: a point of view episode for each of the three leads.
Episodes 6-8: the dramatic arc kicks into gear properly (set ups earlier)
Episode 9: Hell fire and fury reign down on our heroes (or some such thing)
Episode 10: Consequences and cliffhanger for Season 2

IF I had to shorten it to 6, episodes 3-5 would go and I would have truncated 6-8.

Now, all this was done BEFORE a single word of script was written. The Bible had one revision after feedback from the actors then came time to write the Pilot. I had the opening scene in my head and quickly captured that. When I sat down to finish the pilot it was done in one sitting and "came out" quite easily. The second episode was trickier because I had to start introducing a little more exposition into how the world of the series works but poking fun at House was fun. The third episode was harder but again was done in one sitting. At present they're all decent first drafts and the feedback has been excellent from the actors but I know I'll have to rework them.

I'll stop writing episodes now because a) it's time to see how doable this is in terms of production; b) I know that I can write episodes easily enough because the "hard work" was done putting the Bible together; and c) given the detail in the Bible the actors, who are also de facto producers, can use other writers if they wish. Though I'd certainly want to write episodes 9 & 10.

Thankfully the actors have been smart enough to acknowledge it takes time to produce quality material. I appreciate their patience and enthusiasm equally. The current scripts will need rewrites as the director gets involved and production decisions are made but I'm certainly happy with where this currently sits from a writing perspective.

The next step is turning words into moving images and I look forward to seeing what 2014 will bring in that regard!

Over to you Leon, Neets and Cat! :-)

Web Series, Teaser #2

The Undead have always existed but now they’re out in the open… and have national health care.

Within this maelstrom of distorted reality and heightened bureaucratic insanity let’s throw in three human characters through whose eyes we’ll experience the chaos and wonder of this odd little surgery with its more than odd little patients.

Each will have their own secret reason for working there. This isn’t the most glamorous of gigs - the Undead present a physical threat as well as moral and ethical dilemmas despite their legal status. What sort of person would want to spend the majority of their day amongst those who are no longer human if indeed they ever were? 

Perhaps the humans are as damaged as their patients, maybe even more so...

Boondock Alley

A doctor’s surgery for the Undead.

Coming soon in... 

...well, it's always difficult to tell with these things. I mean, the pilot is written and the next two episodes. The three leads are cast as the actors basically commissioned me to write the thing. A director is attached. There's a title and possibly a catchy jingle and theme music. For all I know there's even a POSTER! Okay, maybe a little early for the poster but things are getting serious! Now for key crew and Heads of Department and catering and extras and auditions and, did I mention, catering? But it's all looking good so far. No, really it is! So I can definitely say with much confidence, coming soon! In the future... ish. In 2014!!! Keep an eye out. The Undead are EVERYWHERE!!! 

Oh, and Merry Christmas! Remember, Vampires, Werewolves and Zombies et al are people too. Or used to be. So you should get them something. Nothing flash or fancy. Just a small gift. It would be nice. It's Christmas. 

Web Series, Teaser #1

Imagine a world where the myths were all true – the fairy tales, the legends, the whispered tales handed down from generation to generation, all of it. That creatures of the night, both foul and misunderstood, have always walked, crawled, flown, and stalked amongst us, and always will.

Then imagine that these creatures were, over time, integrated into society, and begrudgingly accepted if not embraced; that they had rights under the law. Outsiders to be sure; distinctive, vibrant, different… and still dangerous.

Boondock Alley

A doctor’s surgery for the Undead.

Let’s Write A Screenplay, Part 1 – The Idea

Apologies, Alas Smith & Jones

Greg: Mate, you see that flick on the weekend?

Tony: Which one?

Greg: The one I told you about.

Tony: The searing warts and all examination of the human condition?

Greg: No, the one with the sharks coming out of the tornado.

Tony: Yeah, that one.

Greg: Well?

Tony: I thought the cinematography was pretty good.

Greg: You didn’t see it, did you?

Tony: I have, in fact, not seen it.

Greg: We could do something like that.

Tony: Do we even have tornadoes in Australia?

Greg: I meant… you know what I mean.

Tony: Hardly ever.

Greg: We could write something along the same lines!

Tony: A film script?

Greg: Sure, how hard can it be?

Tony: You spelt your name wrong on your final year English exam.

Greg: It was the original European spelling.

Tony: I don’t even know what that means.

Greg: Fine. I’ll be the ideas man, you can write it down.

Tony: And this big idea would be?

Greg: Divanami!

Tony: Excuse me?

Greg: Get this, a thousand washed up actresses wash up in New York and start terrorising the locals by aggressively auditioning for Broadway roles that don’t exist.

Tony: I’m still on, “excuse me?”

Greg: It’ll be huge!

Tony: Well, sure, what with a thousand actresses and all.

Greg: Washed up actresses. Think Lindsay Lohan, think Tara Reid --

Tony: Who?

Greg: Exactly!

Tony: It doesn’t sound very Australian.

Greg: We can throw in a few Home and Away stars.

Tony: Last time I checked New York isn’t an outer suburb of Sydney.

Greg: The home of Broadway, my friend. Remember that girl from school?

Tony: The one who took out a restraining order on you?

Greg: No, the other one.

Tony: I think she ended up taking out one too.

Greg: No, the one who wanted to be a big star, singing and dancing on Broadway.

Tony: Did she ever move to New York?

Greg: No, she couldn’t sing or dance to save herself but that doesn’t matter.

Tony: Probably matters to the people who put on shows in New York.

Greg: The point is that was her dream, to be on stage in the Big Apple.

Tony: Okay.

Greg: Think how many other aspiring actresses have exactly the same fantasy?

Tony: I thought they were washed up?

Greg: You know what I… look, what do they call it when you play around with words?

Tony: Wordplay?

Greg: That’s it. Divanami, actresses, tsunami, washed up, get it?

Tony: Don’t you think that might be a little insensitive in light of recent events?

Greg: The Miley Cyrus thing?

Tony: I was thinking more the people drowning thing.

Greg: No, they’re all dumped in New York alive by some big wave.

Tony: Seems a little implausible, don’t you think?

Greg: They made a movie about sharks in a tornado. 

Tony: Point taken.

Greg: So what do you think?

Tony: Well, what’s the story?

Greg: What do you mean?

Tony: What happens next?

Greg: They start auditioning on the streets of New York.

Tony: Not really the same as sharks on the loose though, is it?

Greg: Have you ever been the victim of a really bad audition?

Tony: I’ve heard stories.

Greg: Terrifying.

Tony: Do you know anything about writing a screenplay?

Greg: Adaptation is one of my favourite movies.

Tony: We’re all set then.

Greg: What do you say?

Tony: New York here we come?

To be continued...