As another week draws to a close we inch ever closer to our first day of principal photography. We had the costume fittings on Monday and then the super-secret closed-door invitation-only cast read thru on Tuesday. Yesterday was the stage tech survey for Air #1, #2, and #3 while the production meeting for all three episodes was held today. It was followed by the Safety Meeting which, I‘m disappointed to say, fellow writer/producer did NOT attend on our behalf. Given that we is the writing department’s appointed Safety Representative (in addition to Official Synopsis Writer, Food Taster, and Chairman of our Green Initiative), he really should have been there taking assiduous notes on things like the restriction on open-toe sandals and the indiscriminate use of helium cryogenic-system cooled super magnets on set. What the hell are we supposed to do now? Use our common sense?! The all important Hair and Make-Up Tests tomorrow will be followed by a second cast read thru and, if all goes as planned, the weekend.
So, we’ve got our first three episodes on deck – Air #1, #2, and #3 – and veteran director (and cyrogenic-system cooled super magnet collector) Andy Mikita will be doing the honors. Brad is working on Fire and, from what I hear, is very happy with the way it’s coming along. It’s a great story and, as I’ve already said, right up Brad’s alley. Looking forward to reading the first draft. This episode will see a certain fan favorite retake the director’s chair. Marty G. sent in his revised version of Earth weeks ago, but we have yet to sit down and discuss. Carl, meanwhile, completed his rewrite on Water and awaits word on whether he’ll be doing another pass or handing it off. At 57 pages and given the type of episode it is, Rob feels he’s going to need to trim it down. Rob has had his hands full, dealing with prep issues, but, in the interim, has been spinning episode #7 in his head. This one promises to be a lot of WTF?! fun. Carl also submitted an outline for episode #8, received notes, and is poised to do a rewrite – just as soon as he finishes work on a certain movie script. Paul has landed the polish of episode #9 and I’m presently tinkering with the my completed first draft of episode #10. Episode #11 is still in its initial outline stage, but freelance script and episode #12 is shaping up to be a very interesting dilemma story.
Next week, we welcome another potential freelancer who will be flying in, no doubt armed with ideas and ready to spin. And – we finally start shooting!
Still on track to complete a first draft of my short story by month’s end. I woke up early to work on it this morning but only ended up spinning my wheels. I’m hoping for a late night flash of inspiration that will allow me to strike that precarious balance between subtlety and significance. One of the critiques I tend to hear a lot of with regard to my writing is that it is, at times, cryptic and purposely ambiguous. I’ll admit as much and this stems from three things: a) a desire to challenge the audience, b) my hard-to-shake confidence in the intelligence of the average viewer/reader, c) my general distaste for on-the-nose storytelling that spells out exactly what the character is feeling or thinking in no uncertain terms. And so, I end up second-guessing myself. On the one hand, am I being so understated that the narrative comes off as glib and, ultimately, insubstantial? Or, on the other hand, am I being all too direct and conveying a sense of amateur desperation? Hopefully neither and my prose will elicit a positive reaction, falling somewhere between the two ends of the shifting spectrum: utterly baffling and downright cringeworthy. Although, at the end of the day, I suppose I’d rather err on the side of subtlety and, at the very least, try and fail rather than take the easy out. That said, it does work for some people. In fact, there are a number of popular authors whose prose is so earnest that I find them completely unreadable. And yet, they have an audience.
A terrific dinner with Ivon and Lawren tonight. Will file a proper report – with pics – in the coming days.
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