Love I Lost, Part 1

I did my audio commentary for PETER ROTTENTAIL last night, and I think it went okay. I did not make the long BLARRRP sound that a loyal reader emailed me to say would be what it would sound like if indeed I "talked out of my ass" like I indicated yesterday.

I'm gearing up for a rewrite on a pretty interesting script which I hope to be able to talk more about in the next few days.

I got a new batch of screeners to review for www.microcinemascene.com, and over lunch today watched an eye-popping short called CARMEN'S VIRTUE with some pretty wild kung fu scenes in it. A lot of fun, and worth looking for.

Here's a bit more from RING OF THE SORCERESS:

CUT TO:
EXT. FARM FIELDS -- LATER
A pastoral scene, of a FAMILY working the land. The idyll is broken by the CLANG of heavy armor.
The MOTHER of the clan, working alongside a CHILD, looks up in fear.
Four grim, armored swordsmen, led by BORIS HALFMOON, a sharp-eyed knight with a dark demeanor, crest the hill.
MOTHER
(whispers)
Silent Guard.
She covers the child's eyes.
The foursome pulls up short. The FATHER wipes sweat from his brow and approaches hesitantly. Boris and his man-at-arms, LUTHER OSRIC, a young lantern-jawed knight, brace the proud farmer.
BORIS
Where stands Crescent Abbey?
The father points.
FATHER
Through yonder wood.
Boris nods curtly, and the other knights fall in behind him. Luther turns and flips the farmer a gold coin. The man plucks it out of the air.
The father watches them until they disappear, then drops the gold coin as if it were roasting hot, and kicks dirt over it. He turns solemnly to his wife.
FATHER (CONT'D)
Take the children to the root cellar, and lock the door behind ye.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. ABBEY -- AFTERNOON
An ancient stone keep, overgrown with vines and flowers, nestled in a pleasant wood.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. ABBEY (COURTYARD) -- CONTINUOUS
Peryl sits on a stone bench in a neatly-kept courtyard next to a pleasant pond. But her face is turned in upon itself.
DEVLIN SILVERTHORN, an older man dressed in the same severe robes as Peryl, observes her from afar. After a long moment, he approaches.
SILVERTHORN
Peryl.
Peryl comes out of her reverie.
PERYL
Master Silverthorn.
SILVERTHORN
I bring bad news from the village, I fear. Another maiden found slain.
Peryl looks ill.
PERYL
Dark days, indeed. But I hear that the Queen's own guard is involved in the search.
SILVERTHORN
Indeed...for better or ill.
(beat)
Is that all that concerns you today?
Peryl chooses her words carefully.
PERYL
I wonder about the day I came to Crescent Abbey.
SILVERTHORN
A foundling, in a basket. Many of our order have arrived in that fashion.
PERYL
There was a note, pinned to the blanket.
SILVERTHORN
It said "Peril," yes.
PERYL
I have begun to wonder if that was my name...or a warning.
SILVERTHORN
The order has been trying to help you master your powers.
Peryl absorbs this.
PERYL
But what I have yet to learn is...can my power be evil, if I try to use it for good?
Silverthorn pauses.
SILVERTHORN
Do you need to tell me about something, my child?
PERYL
No, I...I just need to take a walk and think.
SILVERTHORN
Please do not go beyond the abbey walls, while a killer stalks the wood.
PERYL
I will go where I must.
Peryl gets up and leaves abruptly, while Silverthorn looks on with concern.

Give me a yell at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.