dharma explorer
Posts: 556
(8/16/03 2:28 pm) Reply
I'm on a roll...
I sold some more words!
I sold a 12 month option and retained rights of first refusal to write the screenplay. If it ends up being produced, it will likely be a six hour TV mini-series and not a movie....it would have to be butchered too much to fit into the standard two hour movie time.
The first three hours would detail the lives of two main characters from birth to age 25. The second three hours would detail the lives of the same two people from age 50 to death. What happens to them from 25 to 50 will only be inferred.
It was a hell of a lot of fun to write, and should transfer well to video. You get to see the dreams and hopes of the young contrasted with the realities of the old.
---------- The next best thing to playing and winning....is playing and losing
What a boost that should be to know that you are not tossing the results of your hard work into an abyss with unknown results. You have proof that you can create something important. Way to go.
----- Other than THAT, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
dharma explorer
Posts: 558
(8/18/03 6:56 pm) Reply
.
Thanks, everyone.
Remember that topic over in Ex Nihilo "An Evening to Forget" where I was bitching about going to a certain event? It's ironic that it was there that I met the contact that led to this sale.
Just a little old-fashioned karma goin' 'round....
---------- The next best thing to playing and winning....is playing and losing
It was actually two years ago, not one. Time flies.....
It became a rather big hit on network TV last year...in fact, you might say it was a real "Boomtown." On that one, I sold the idea and all rights. The series was created and developed by Graham Yost.
"“Boomtown” tells the street-level story of the City of Angels with a unique twist -- as seen from the diverse perspectives of the city’s unsung and imperfect heroes. These are the cops, paramedics, beat reporters, members of the D.A.’s office and city officials whose stories overlap and intertwine, creating the experience that is “Boomtown.” In a style that can be described as “Rashomon” meets “Pulp Fiction,” the series employs a multiple perspective narrative technique, letting the story unravel as it is experienced from the individual perspectives of the characters -- each of whom have different sensibilities and agendas.
“Sometimes the best way to tell the whole story about something is not to try to tell the whole story, but to tell all the little stories and let the viewers put it together themselves,” says series creator Yost of the storytelling style of “Boomtown.” "
---------- The next best thing to playing and winning....is playing and losing
dharma explorer
Posts: 562
(8/20/03 9:25 pm) Reply
.
Not really unfair...I was well compensated, and don't have to put up with all the hype. He recognized a good idea and risked a lot of his money to produce it. He took the big risk and rightfully gets the big reward. It happens all the time in TinselTown.
---------- The next best thing to playing and winning....is playing and losing
That is just too cool, manniac. Boomtown is one of my favorite shows. Seriously, two night ago there was an ad for it on television and I started talking with Mr. Fluttersby about it - how much I liked the idea of a story being told from several different viewpoints.
I guess it shouldn't be a surprise though - I have always enjoyed your writing, so it makes sense that I'd like one of your more successful ideas.
fluttersby
"The butterfly counts not
months but moments,
And has time enough."- Rabindranath Tagore
dharma explorer
Posts: 564
(8/21/03 8:44 pm) Reply
.flutter - It really is a good show (if I do say so myself). Glad you like it. Some of the episodes in the first season disappointed me a little...they don't always fully exploit the possibilities of multiple viewpoints...but then there is the limit of about 45 minutes of story per one hour time slot.
BTW, the last I remember there was no more "Mr fluttersby"...??
DeShaz - I thought you didn't have a TV. I don't have any tapes, but first season reruns are on each Friday night, and the season premier is September 26th.
-------------------
Sometimes I think it would have been better, albeit different, using the NY butcher shop setting to tie the stories together.
---------- The next best thing to playing and winning....is playing and losing
Re: .
I have a television, I just don't have cable or anything. LOL
...where seldom is heard a discouraging word...
fluttersby Zen Butterfly
Posts: 291
(8/22/03 10:58 am) Reply
Re: .manniac - there's a new mr. fluttersby.
Well, actually, it's the same guy I've been with for almost a year now. Had some problems there for a while, but we've worked them out. I may have forgotten the update . . . we got engaged last week!
I'm a happy girl!
It will be a long engagement though - our divorces were only just final in July, but since we started living together we decided we might as well make plans. I probably won't be a missus again though for at least a year.
fluttersby
"The butterfly counts not
months but moments,
And has time enough."- Rabindranath Tagore
manniac dharma explorer
Posts: 574
(9/27/03 8:47 pm) Reply
.
I saw the season premiere last night. They sure fucked up a good idea.
They've dumbed down the whole concept this season.
manniac dharma explorer
Posts: 586
(12/13/03 9:00 pm) Reply
Updates...
A couple of updates....
1. Still bogged down in negotiations for the story mentioned in the opening post. Looks good though...the talks mainly concern waivering between a 6 hour versus an 8 hour miniseries, who to approach about the two lead roles (both young and older versions), and financing. I don't think getting advertisers will be any problem at all once it's made...but fronting the kind of money that it will take to make it takes a group of people with huge balls.
2. As you probably know Boomtown bit the dust. Mercifully, considering how it was mangled in the second season. I've had some very preliminary small talk about taking the general idea and re-developing it for HBO/Cinemax. It's way too early to guess how/if that will progress. Hope it goes well, as I really think the idea could flourish with a less restrictive venue like that.
That's about it. I haven't really written anything lately...a few ideas are bubbling, but nothing has really grabbed my attention enough to put it down on paper. So...I've been reading a lot. I admire James Michener's style and have been re-reading his novels.
Re: Updates...
Hey, it's sounding good. And must be incredibly exciting! You casting LaHibou in it somewhere?
Do you know Michner is one author I simply can't stand? He can take 100 pages to describe a rock on the road. Not saying he probably isn't brilliant - just tedious to me.
Ho Ho Ho!
dharma explorer
Posts: 588
(12/14/03 11:55 am) Reply
4 things...
1. Exciting? Waiting around for phone calls, e-mails and faxes from lawyers and self-important industry people is about as exciting as watching paint dry.
2. It will probably be filmed in Canada, so there will likely be casting calls in Toronto and/or Vancouver as well as LA and NY for all but the main characters, but that's a mighty long swim for LaHibou!
3. But by God after reading Michener's description you know what the rock looks like, its entire history, and the history of everything that ever touched it!
4. Just who are you calling a "ho"?
---------- The next best thing to playing and winning....is playing and losing
On that one, I sold the idea and all rights. The series was created and developed by Graham Yost.
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