What? Where? Who? Oh I forgot....

Spent the last ten days outlining a spec sitcom script I'm considering writing with annoying results. Firstly, I have a lot of ideas for plots, character traits, dialogue and so on but the closer it comes to sitting down to actually write the script itself the less I can muster the damn energy to be bothered to actually write it. Secondly, my brain seems determined to start spit balling ideas for another project that is completely different to anything I've ever written before but at the same time interesting enough to keep my wandering attention focused on it instead of on the sitcom script. I'm starting to think I'm loosing my interest in the writing process entirely at this point as I've not really written anything I'd consider of any worth for many a month with the exception of maybe a script I co authored in January.

In other news I have had to buy myself a cane from an online store recently as I can now not move around the house without hugging the walls or gripping the furniture so leaving the house has been not possible and will remain that way till the cane is delivered by the royal mail service and we all know how reliable they are. Why buy a cane you live in the UK can't you get one on the NHS? You may be asking well as I'm tall those extending walking sticks the NHS hands out are actually to small so I would end up getting a crutch or something like that. Getting measured for a cane definitely feels about two steps away from getting measured for a coffin especially when you factor in I'm only 28 years old (29 in May) and already walking like a pensioner with a bad hip and to think people wonder why I have such a pessimistic outlook on life, I wonder why?

Movie Trailer
Here's the trailer for Paul a film that is definitely on my must watch list for 2011, I'm a big fan of both Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and going by the trailers it appears to be another hugely funny collaboration between the pair.

Thanking you

The Housebound Writer

A Writer's Point Of View

I thought it would be interesting to get different screenwriters' perspectives on the art and craft of screenwriting and when I found these clips online I thought it would be a good idea to share them here with all (few) of you. I hope you find them as enlightening as I did.

First up Christopher Vogler the author of the international best selling book The Writer's Journey.

Next is Joe Eszterhas the screenwriter of Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge and Flashdance and the author of the acclaimed book The Devil's Guide To Hollywood. He talks about his extensive research for various writing assignments.

And finally Randall Jahnson who has been writing for over 25 years in Hollywood and written screenplay drafts for The Mask Of Zorro (credited as story by)  The Doors, Gun (video game) and Sunset Strip.

Thanking you
The Housebound Writer  

New Year Same Rambling

Well a belated welcome to 2011 from me and I hope you all had a great festive season I myself just about survived it without incident  just a few days without the use of my left arm and frequent headaches that were annoyingly not caused by to much alcohol but I digress. For the last month and change I haven't really been posting as often as usual the reason being I was writing a short film script I was hoping to produce at some point this year well the you know what hit the fan when that short script ended up running at a rather lengthy 145 pages. It also flat out sucked, it's weird how in the moment when your writing something you think it's great but if you take a break from it for a couple of days you realise it just isn't at all, not even close. I think the main mistake with the script other than the length of it and it being well.... crap was that I took a strange dislike to my main character and just didn't want him to succeed or to be perfectly frank about it I didn't even want to write about him by the end of it which you'll agree isn't the best situation when writing any kind of fiction.    

So as this project finds itself being shelved or saved to my project folder for laughing at at a later date I have started outlining it's replacement along with some other projects I'm considering undertaking. I realised while writing the script that I'm still not in any position physically and probably mentally to take on a filming project as of yet so my best bet at this point is to work on something that I can sell to a production house of network here in the UK that being said with very limited credits to my (no)name this will be easier said than done but it will give me something to keep my mind occupied with for the next few months at least.

My new project is a return to a familiar and personal favourite genre for me (thriller) and a welcomed break from the 'inserting my own health issues or traits onto the characters' style I have been utilizing recently. As usual this story will be set in Scotland, Glasgow to be exact and will be a larger canvas (multiply episodes) than usual for me. I won't be thinking how will I film that or how will I afford this? I will give myself the freedom to just write and see what happens. I already have a fairly solid idea of my lead character's mindset as well as a lot of the back story and twists I want to incorporate over the first series but outside of that I will just write and see where the story takes me. Anyhoo that's enough of this ramble.

Thanking you
The Housebound Writer

Random Movie Trivia

Some random movie trivia for you.

The longest feature film ever produced was entitled 'The Cure For Insomnia' (1987) with a total running time of 85 hours (5,220 mins) It premiered in its entirety at The School Of The Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois from January 31 to February 3, 1987, in one continuous showing.

The cost of obtaining the rights to the soundtrack of Kevin Smith's Clerks (approx. US$27,000) far outweighed the entire production costs for his outstanding debut film (approx. US$26,800) -- a first in motion picture history.

Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee shared a movie fight scene albeit a rather short fight scene when Jackie Chan made a brief (uncredited) cameo appearance towards the end of Enter the Dragon in the big fight scene in the cave. Bruce Lee grabs his hair for a moment before snapping his neck. If this could have been filmed ten years later what a great fight scene it would have been between two of Hong Kong's all time cinema icons.

Harrison Ford was hired to play the principal in the Steven Spielberg classic E.T. in fact his scene was filmed but it was later cut from the finished film because Spielberg decided his presence would be too distracting. Ford's then-wife Melissa Mathison wrote the screenplay.

For the movie the Wizard of Oz (1939), Judy Garland was paid $35 a week while Terry aka Toto the dog received $125 a week!

In Carrie, the slow motion scene at the end of the movie was filmed in reverse and if you watch it closely cars can be seen hilariously driving backwards in the upper left hand corner of the screen.

TV trivia-
The Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie were named after the cop and the taxi driver from the movie "It's a Wonderful Life".

Thanking you
The Housebound Writer