I slipped over to HorrorHound in Indianapolis, as part of my plan to hit
the convention circuit again, and found it to be a good show where I
was able to connect up with a number of independent filmmakers. They
had a great independent filmmaker's panel and I ended up buying THE
BLACK ROOM from Rolfe Kanefsky, a director a met some years ago who has
done a lot of good work over the years. I was also pleasantly surprised
to meet b-movie king Dave Sterling, who I have worked with peripherally
over the years trying to get various projects off the ground. He
palmed me a secret 16 GB USB drive which I was happy to find was chock
full of his movies when I got home and plugged it in.
It's been good to get back out there a bit again, even though people really don't think it's as cool to talk to a screenwriter as, say, a director, or somebody who was in a FRIDAY THE 13TH movie.
Since I had to develop a rigorous schedule to complete three screenplays in six weeks for director Mark Polonia's three-picture deal, I decided I would just keep knuckling down and do something I very rarely get a chance to do--which is write something for myself.
I think a lot of people don't realize that a lot of b-movies already come with a title and maybe even a poster and sometimes even a plot, so as it happens I have never sold anything I wrote on my own, nor do I usually have time to write on spec even if I wanted to with a fairly steady workload.
But I've been holding onto an idea for a while, and while I'm percolating along on a strict schedule thought it might be the right time to work on it. Since I'm writing it for myself I don't have to give it a non-disclosure name and thus will tell you loyal readers it's called THE GIRL WITH THE GRINDHOUSE HEART. It's slow-burn psychological horror full of all the stuff I'm interested in, which is the best way to write if you are writing for yourself, I always think. I'm about two-thirds done on a first draft. Soon, I'm hoping to tell you a lot more about this screenplay.
Although my reading has slowed down a lot since I've done so much writing, I have been buoyed along by reading SHOCK VALUE by Jason Zinoman, which is all about how 70s horror filmmakers are awesome, which I agree with, and even more so about how DARK STAR and Dan O'Bannon are underrated, which I agree with even more. That it is giving GRINDHOUSE HEART a 70s vibe is probably no coincidence.
Also binge-watched TOP OF THE LAKE, which isn't exactly a palette cleanser after THE HANDMAID'S TALE but does have Elisabeth Moss slaying it again and is worth watching.
Catch up with you soon.
It's been good to get back out there a bit again, even though people really don't think it's as cool to talk to a screenwriter as, say, a director, or somebody who was in a FRIDAY THE 13TH movie.
Since I had to develop a rigorous schedule to complete three screenplays in six weeks for director Mark Polonia's three-picture deal, I decided I would just keep knuckling down and do something I very rarely get a chance to do--which is write something for myself.
I think a lot of people don't realize that a lot of b-movies already come with a title and maybe even a poster and sometimes even a plot, so as it happens I have never sold anything I wrote on my own, nor do I usually have time to write on spec even if I wanted to with a fairly steady workload.
But I've been holding onto an idea for a while, and while I'm percolating along on a strict schedule thought it might be the right time to work on it. Since I'm writing it for myself I don't have to give it a non-disclosure name and thus will tell you loyal readers it's called THE GIRL WITH THE GRINDHOUSE HEART. It's slow-burn psychological horror full of all the stuff I'm interested in, which is the best way to write if you are writing for yourself, I always think. I'm about two-thirds done on a first draft. Soon, I'm hoping to tell you a lot more about this screenplay.
Although my reading has slowed down a lot since I've done so much writing, I have been buoyed along by reading SHOCK VALUE by Jason Zinoman, which is all about how 70s horror filmmakers are awesome, which I agree with, and even more so about how DARK STAR and Dan O'Bannon are underrated, which I agree with even more. That it is giving GRINDHOUSE HEART a 70s vibe is probably no coincidence.
Also binge-watched TOP OF THE LAKE, which isn't exactly a palette cleanser after THE HANDMAID'S TALE but does have Elisabeth Moss slaying it again and is worth watching.
Catch up with you soon.
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