Friday, October 31, 2008
the stall remains the same
Two weeks after the competition and nothing has changed. I'm still lounging around in our outdoor living area (which is quickly becoming my second office), listening to Jim Croce and shooting off queries to agents. I've sent five so far via email and contacted three by phone. Score: Agents-3, Literary Genius-0. Whether or not email queries bear fruit remains to be seen. I should be calling more, but it's lunchtime on a Friday in Los Angeles. In truth, I may send off five more queries before days end. On the other hand, I may continue to lay here and listen to the wind rustle through the trees.
mediate, appreciate, defecate...
Quick updates:
1) I didn't spontaneously defecate when I made the Slamdance Top 50 nor did I die when I made the Top 25. I guess those really are just figures of speech, huh? For the record, I have spontaneously defecated before and it was not fun. I lost a big hunk of dignity, not to mention a great pair of footless tights.
2) "Potty Mouth" made it to the semifinals of a playwriting competition in North Carolina, but didn't win. What is wrong with this play?? It is my favorite of them all, but I can't BUY a production! "Mighty Real" hits the stage next month- my convoluted, period melodrama featuring a drag queen. I didn't think MR was all that great, but I'm not looking a gift horse in his play producing mouth.
3) Kat made her roommate cry. That's what I'm talking about.
4) I'm totally stressing over this LD thing. My greatest wish? LD gets made, I get an agent, they ask what else I've got and I push out the wheelbarrow o' stuff. What I'm afraid will happen? LD will fizzle out, I get disillusioned and never win that Oscar. Well, that's my second biggest fear. My first biggest fear is that Popeyes will go out of business and I'll never get my two piece (mild) with a biscuit (2 honey packets and cajun rice- wot, wot!) again.
5) Popeyes was the reason I spontaneously defecated in the first place. Wow! How's that for circular? :-)
1) I didn't spontaneously defecate when I made the Slamdance Top 50 nor did I die when I made the Top 25. I guess those really are just figures of speech, huh? For the record, I have spontaneously defecated before and it was not fun. I lost a big hunk of dignity, not to mention a great pair of footless tights.
2) "Potty Mouth" made it to the semifinals of a playwriting competition in North Carolina, but didn't win. What is wrong with this play?? It is my favorite of them all, but I can't BUY a production! "Mighty Real" hits the stage next month- my convoluted, period melodrama featuring a drag queen. I didn't think MR was all that great, but I'm not looking a gift horse in his play producing mouth.
3) Kat made her roommate cry. That's what I'm talking about.
4) I'm totally stressing over this LD thing. My greatest wish? LD gets made, I get an agent, they ask what else I've got and I push out the wheelbarrow o' stuff. What I'm afraid will happen? LD will fizzle out, I get disillusioned and never win that Oscar. Well, that's my second biggest fear. My first biggest fear is that Popeyes will go out of business and I'll never get my two piece (mild) with a biscuit (2 honey packets and cajun rice- wot, wot!) again.
5) Popeyes was the reason I spontaneously defecated in the first place. Wow! How's that for circular? :-)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
woe is L.D.
So this afternoon, I get an email from Slamdance and attached is an email from a production company I contacted yesterday. It said that they do not accept unsolicited material. What?! I called these ass phantoms yesterday and got the go-ahead to send the script via Slamdance. The Slamdance coordinator girl was all "Don't worry about these people. There will be plenty more who want to read your script".
Or will there?
Later on, I get another email sent to me along with the rest of the Slamdancers. The gist of it was that the inquires about our scripts are slowing down and she highly recommends that we do some personal marketing of our own and try to seek representation. This makes me anxious. I've contacted almost every agent in the Hollywood Representation Directory and gotten the same response: no. I emailed CB's manager's assistant yesterday to see if she received the script and still haven't gotten an answer. Why is this happening? Is my script not good enough? Is the moon not yet full? Am I too short- what's the dealy?
Okay- I've gotta get back on the phones. I'll let you know if something wonderful happens.
Or will there?
Later on, I get another email sent to me along with the rest of the Slamdancers. The gist of it was that the inquires about our scripts are slowing down and she highly recommends that we do some personal marketing of our own and try to seek representation. This makes me anxious. I've contacted almost every agent in the Hollywood Representation Directory and gotten the same response: no. I emailed CB's manager's assistant yesterday to see if she received the script and still haven't gotten an answer. Why is this happening? Is my script not good enough? Is the moon not yet full? Am I too short- what's the dealy?
Okay- I've gotta get back on the phones. I'll let you know if something wonderful happens.
showCASE I didn't tell you
So a while back, I alluded to my husband winning a bunch of stuff on the Price is Right. That statement is a little misleading; he won the entire show! Showcase and all, ya'll. We're talking a fly-ass scooter, a car, two carat diamond ring, an HD tv, oh, and a trip to Fiji. Under normal circumstances, I would have been happy for him, but the timing couldn't have been more awful. See, while I was in Los Angeles, skipping around like a freaking wood sprite, high off Slamdance- he had already won and didn't tell me. I'm thinking I'm the shit and he's all- "Oh, yeah. I won a car". I was so angry, I burst out crying. He outdid me again! He does this all the time! Not on purpose, mind. He just has this gift for unintentionally making me feel like crap. But I am thankful that he's not a selfish loser. If he were, I wouldn't be getting a scooter for Christmas! :-)
The past two weeks have been pretty writing/ editing intensive. Since Slamdance, I've been on the phone with prodco's (production companies- forgive the lazy fingers this morning) and agents, trying desperately to drum up some heat for Lucas Donovan. Quite a few people have risen to the bait, but whether or not I can hook 'em remains to be seen.
Speaking of big fish (that's my last angling metaphor), guess who I spoke to two days ago? None other than young Mr. Corbin Bleu's manager! That's right! Your girl was perusing imdb and noticed that CB had new "people"- one of the newbies was this manager. According to imdb, he doesn't have any other clients except CB (score!). Next step- cross reference him with the Hollywood Creative Directory. He's in there and on the up and up. So, I give him a call and talk the gatekeeper. She's really sweet and I use my newfound schmooze tactics to get the manager himself on the phone. I talk up my script like it was handed down to me from the mountain top and he agrees to read it. That was two days ago. Is that awesome or what???!!! If he likes it and passes it to CB, then I will officially be verklempt. *sigh* Luck be a curly haired Disney boy today...
The past two weeks have been pretty writing/ editing intensive. Since Slamdance, I've been on the phone with prodco's (production companies- forgive the lazy fingers this morning) and agents, trying desperately to drum up some heat for Lucas Donovan. Quite a few people have risen to the bait, but whether or not I can hook 'em remains to be seen.
Speaking of big fish (that's my last angling metaphor), guess who I spoke to two days ago? None other than young Mr. Corbin Bleu's manager! That's right! Your girl was perusing imdb and noticed that CB had new "people"- one of the newbies was this manager. According to imdb, he doesn't have any other clients except CB (score!). Next step- cross reference him with the Hollywood Creative Directory. He's in there and on the up and up. So, I give him a call and talk the gatekeeper. She's really sweet and I use my newfound schmooze tactics to get the manager himself on the phone. I talk up my script like it was handed down to me from the mountain top and he agrees to read it. That was two days ago. Is that awesome or what???!!! If he likes it and passes it to CB, then I will officially be verklempt. *sigh* Luck be a curly haired Disney boy today...
Saturday, October 25, 2008
depressed
I'm watching Saving Silverman and am growing increasingly upset. This movie has the thinnest plot in the universe. It's barely entertaining and yet here I sit on my film scripts...I'm also searching for another job and it's just not working. Why doesn't anybody want to hire me? Maybe Stacie was right. Maybe my people skills do suck. But that can't be it. I freaking ROCK in interviews! I just don't understand. I'm so glad I'm not due at my crap job until Tuesday. This gives me plenty of time to mope. *sigh* I'm going to bed.
still stalling
I've summarized (or "treated") up to page 71 of this 90 page script, but it's slow going. I think this thing is supposed to be about five pages long, but I'm still on the first page! Maybe I'm missing stuff. I know I left out a lot of the subplots and all of the minor characters. How much of that crap am I supposed to leave in?
For those of you who care, a treatment isn't just a dry summary. It's supposed to be written as entertaining and intense as me sitting in front of an exec and talking about it. Still, I think I'll have to find better ways to say "grab-ass" and "slapped the shit out of".
Okay. No more games. I'm getting back to work.
For those of you who care, a treatment isn't just a dry summary. It's supposed to be written as entertaining and intense as me sitting in front of an exec and talking about it. Still, I think I'll have to find better ways to say "grab-ass" and "slapped the shit out of".
Okay. No more games. I'm getting back to work.
treatment
I told you things were gonna get better!
Post-Slamdance, the ol' adrenaline levels lowered and I danced danger close to depression territory. But all was not lost. The folks from the contest wrote me yesterday with two pieces of good news. Number one- my script has been requested by/ sent to two new production companies above and beyond the original sponsors. Number two- everyone has been requesting information on the winning scripts, so they need a treatment of our works no later than Monday. Grr! I don't have a script treatment on hand, so after I finish this blog, I have to try and make one up. I'm worried that everybody else has treatments already made up and I don't. If that's the case, then I'll be behind the power curve. But I shouldn't worry about what everybody else has, right? I just need to make sure I bring my "A" game.
I don't know how to write a treatment, so I called my mentor to get some help. True to form, he said "You're over-thinking this, kid. Just write it and read it to me over the phone".
Last night, my sister called me upset about her roommate who is an idiot from Arizona. I already don't like Arizona people because they were one of the last ones to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day. ANYway, she's having issues with this cow and it made me angry. Not because I don't think my sister can handle her business, but because I wasn't there to "fix" it. Back in the day, I wouldn't hesitate to jump in somebody's shit on her behalf (a crazy JROTC kid comes to mind) and I SO wanted to rock that little girl's world last night. But I know she put it down on that girl so advanced kudos to Kat!
Okay, I'm gonna stop stalling and get back to this treatment. Wish me luck.
Post-Slamdance, the ol' adrenaline levels lowered and I danced danger close to depression territory. But all was not lost. The folks from the contest wrote me yesterday with two pieces of good news. Number one- my script has been requested by/ sent to two new production companies above and beyond the original sponsors. Number two- everyone has been requesting information on the winning scripts, so they need a treatment of our works no later than Monday. Grr! I don't have a script treatment on hand, so after I finish this blog, I have to try and make one up. I'm worried that everybody else has treatments already made up and I don't. If that's the case, then I'll be behind the power curve. But I shouldn't worry about what everybody else has, right? I just need to make sure I bring my "A" game.
I don't know how to write a treatment, so I called my mentor to get some help. True to form, he said "You're over-thinking this, kid. Just write it and read it to me over the phone".
Last night, my sister called me upset about her roommate who is an idiot from Arizona. I already don't like Arizona people because they were one of the last ones to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day. ANYway, she's having issues with this cow and it made me angry. Not because I don't think my sister can handle her business, but because I wasn't there to "fix" it. Back in the day, I wouldn't hesitate to jump in somebody's shit on her behalf (a crazy JROTC kid comes to mind) and I SO wanted to rock that little girl's world last night. But I know she put it down on that girl so advanced kudos to Kat!
Okay, I'm gonna stop stalling and get back to this treatment. Wish me luck.
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