It’s full steam ahead on the project front! While A.K.A. is still in development limbo, Southern Gothic (the pilot I co-wrote with our friend Tara Yelland) has garnered some early interest. My U.S. agent will be reading it this weekend and will get back to me early this week with his take on a prospective strategy. Also in his inbox for a weekend read is that SF actioner I finished about a week and a half ago. My Canadian agent thought it “Loads of fun” and suggested we send it to The Big Boys to see if they’d be interested in wading into the t.v. waters. Meanwhile, I’m in the process of juggling three different pilots (in response to one of my agents’ request for something a little more provocative and a lot less genre). I had a terrific idea for a script and got five pages in before getting bogged down by issues related to ex-convicts and driver’s licenses. I spend an afternoon researching and finally figured out how I was going to tweak the outline – and then got distracted by the second script. I pitched Paul a sucker-punch dark tease which I went ahead and wrote, pitched him a general outline and then went ahead and completed ten pages before – getting distracted yet again, this time by an idea for a third script inspired by horrifically true events. And that’s the pilot I’ve been working on over the past few days. I just hit the 28 page mark and am hoping to push past 30 (and the cafeteria scene) tonight. In the case of all three pilots-in-progress, I know exactly where I’m going and, most importantly, where I want to end up. And, like Dark Matter, A.K.A., Southern Gothic, and the actioner, all three will end on some great Holy Sh*t! moments. Oh, and speaking of Dark Matter – things have miraculously picked up on that front. Given past experience, I’m not about to start jumping up and down, but I will note how, in this business, the fortunes of certain projects can turn on a dime.
The results of our June Book of the Month Club are in and the winner is:
Evening’s Empire by Paul McAuley
Our June BOTMC discussion will begin June 2nd.
Check this blog’s right sidebar for our upcoming Book of the Month Club discussions.
Continuing our Stargate: Atlantis re-watch with…Akemi and…The Queen
“Wraith culture shock!”said Akemi, two-thirds of the way through this twisty-turny study of wraith political ambition and military/social structure.
Without a background on the retrovirus, she found Keller’s pitch to Todd in the tease downright wild: “What the f*%k this crazy wraith plan?” But she WAS onboard.
As is customary with most wraith episodes, she had plenty to say about the bad hair. Also, with regard to Ronon: “Handsome guy need haircut.” Little did she realize he already got a haircut earlier in the season and has been wigged ever since.
A deeper, better understanding of our new coloful allies seemed to go over well: “Wraith, so friendly!” And she did enjoy the individual personalities shining through.
Much less love for Teyla’s transformation which, quite simply, she didn’t buy: “How did Teyla turn into wraith? What kind of surgery did she do? So hard to believe. It’s like turning people into pug. I don’t think it’s okay to shortcut that part. Don’t you think weird?”. But we saw the surgery scenes, didn’t we? Well, okay, not exactly…
And, of course, the usual highlights: “Pretty good makeup! I like the shooting scenes with the ships.”
All in all, pretty enjoyable although: “This episode have a lot of question marks.”
Today’s entry is dedicated to blog regular Jeff W.
I’ve always trusted that your tenacity and ability to work at the end will have their just reward. I believe in the karma thing.
But … and this is how this business is, in the end maybe they offer you something else on the grounds that they liked one of the pilots they perhaps rejected.
You do not know where is the correct key. 👿
A special kind of patience is required for this job.
I enjoy Akemi understanding our friendly wraith friends. 🙄
Todd!
That’s all I’ve got. 😉
LOL @Sparrow_hawk
I wish you all the luck in all your endeavors. 🙂
I think that’s the book that won my vote. I honestly can’t remember.
I was at the Away Mission con today and listened to Eddie McClintock and Saul Rubinek talk about their screen tests for Warehouse 13. I just have to say Eddie is absolutely hilarious. With Warehouse ending we’ll be losing another sci-fi type show.
“Handsome guy need haircut.”
Ha! I love you Akemi! You tell ’em! Ronon was a much darker character in Season 5 because of that wig. And it was always in his face covering up his beautiful features.
Good luck Joe! We will patiently wait with you.
You seem very distractible! At least most of your distractions are writing related, so in the end, at least something is getting written, even if it’s not what you intended to get done when you sat down.
Okay, time to go distract myself with Phineas & Ferb. That’s all I have the mental energy for, as I spent all of this fabulously warm, sunny day out in the back yard, trying to clean it up and make it look a bit less ghetto. I think I succeeded, but now the front yard looks much worse in comparison than it did before. The neighbours on the east side of us are Mr and Mrs Perfect Yard, with everything in bloom, no weeds, and no dead zones. With my many, many dead zones, overwhelming Douglas fir needle litter, and paltry, sparse blooms, I’d feel like a complete failure if it weren’t for our west side neighbours, who have gravel in place of a front lawn and not much else, landscaping-wise. They are what stands between me and total neighbourhood disgrace. So at least there’s that.
I’m so glad things are going well on the writing front, even if it is a little scattered. But I think you are wise to go where inspiration is taking you at the moment. Maybe it will even help you with ideas that will work with the other two.
Great news about Dark Matter! I really want to see that one come to life on the screen. And Southern Gothic, too.
@Kathode: I’m sure I could cheer you up by showing you a picture of the grass in my back yard – not sure if it is a winter’s-worth of dog pee or grubs but parts of it are dead and white. You are not alone.
Thanks for the dedication Joe! The viewing last night was tearful, with lots of hugging, stories, and remembrances…a bitter-sweet time. Today we have the memorial service and on Monday, the burial, so still a couple of busy days ahead.
For those interested:
http://www.chapmanfhofswainsboro.com/obits/obituary.php?id=464124
I think that episode could have been way more involved. I agree with Akemi. I didn’t buy Teyla’s transformation. I wish she would have been a little more badass giving the Atlantis crew real cause for concern. However, I think this could have done with being a two parter to fully get into the situation. Or, even better, and been a season long arc so you could have taken more time to integrate Teyla, give her reasonable time to lose her human feelings a bit as she understands what it means to be wraith, and then bring it full force where she has to overcome the instinct of being a wraith and remember who she truly is deep inside. I loved the concept though and I think it had great potential. Ultimately, there just wasn’t enough time to truly invest in it in my opinion. I wanted to see this change her a little in the end, but it all happened too quickly that I don’t think it really did change her. She’s always been a strong moral character, so it’d have been nice to see her face some significant (and lingering) doubts.
Go ahead, jump up and down. Sounds like fun.
Joe you are so busy, its making my head spin, Best of luck to you (and writing partners) on all the projects. Its time to hit the lottery big there!!
….I will note how, in this business, the fortunes of certain projects can turn on a dime.
you occasionally hear stories how people though stuff was going forward & then the project was dropped and vice versa, but it’s probably not the half of it.
and it can happen with with people too. if there ever was an industry where the saying “be nice to the people you meet on the way up, they’re the same ones you meet on the way down.” applies, it’s show business.
Hugs @JeffW
Hearing your description of all your projects reminds me of a sports announcer at a car racing event. One of them has to be a winner.