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2012-01-03T11:19:00.001-05:00

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2011-12-19T11:49:00.001-05:00

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Check out First Time Fest

2011-12-02T13:04:00.001-05:00

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2011-12-02T13:01:00.005-05:00

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2011-12-02T13:01:00.003-05:00

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2011-12-02T13:01:00.001-05:00

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2 1/2 months left in 2011: Status update

2011-10-27T13:28:00.004-04:00

2011 Resolutions:

5 Feature-length Scripts: 1/5 Done.

4 Short Scripts: 2/4 Done.

2 TV Pilots: .75/2 Done.

Write more consistently on my blogs.

So those were the resolutions that I decided on foolishly leaping for at the beginning of this year.

2012 Resolutions Update:
5 Feature-Length Scripts: 1/5 Done. Another in the process
4 Short Scripts: 4/4 and then some
2 TV Pilots: 0/2 Done. Long story short. I just couldn't finish the work. It wasn't in me.
Add-on: Onyx and the End of the World Graphic Novel: Beginning.

Mindset of the Moment:

"Your life mirrors your mind"

2011-10-23T14:05:00.001-04:00

2011-08-27T08:53:00.000-04:00

I'm back in the habit. more coming soon. NYC has been a trip and a learning experience.

Alpha Males in Film: Week 2 - Akira

2011-05-25T13:18:00.001-04:00

: Shotaro Kaneda

Film: Akira (1988)

Director: Katsuhiro Otomo

Lead Actor: Shotaro Kaneda (Mitsuo Iwata)

Supporting Lead: Tetsuo Shima (Nozomu Sasaki)

Key Alpha Trait: Leader of Men/Fierce Independence

Netflix DVD: Akira

One of the greatest sci-fi/cyber-punk/revolution/dystopia/anime movies of all time and one of my personal favorites. Heralded in 1988 for its cutting-edge animation, it still holds up to this day.
Summary:

Kaneda is a bike gang leader whose close friend Tetsuo gets involved in a government secret project known as Akira. On his way to save Tetsuo, Kaneda runs into a group of anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader. The confrontation sparks off Tetsuo's supernatural power leading to bloody death, a coup attempt and the final battle in Tokyo Olympiad where Akira's secrets were buried 30 years ago.

Sounds complex? What did you expect from the sci-fi/cyber-punk/etc. genre description?

Considered a masterpiece, it along with Wathchmen, V for Vendetta, Kick-Ass, The Dark Knight Returns, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Voltron are perennially on a list of products that Hollywood wants to adapt into live-action films. Unfortunately, Hollywood doesn't seem to understand that these types of properties work best in their current form and not others, or just doesn't care, and Akira is next on the list to be adapted into a live-action movie. Playing the two Japanese teenagers and friends who engage in a psychic battle for a future civil-war esque Tokyo will be two 30-something white dudes in a CGI Manhattan. I kid. You. Not.

But that is for its own post later on this month.

For know we discuss the reason why Hollywood has been trying and failing so desperately for years to make this film. And why it will be so impossible to achieve.

Akira was originally written in Manga form, like what comics are in America. Manga, like comics, run the gamut of mundane everyday life ala American Splendor to long-running epics like Crisis on Infinite Earths. Some even go on much longer than that. Published often in monthly if not weekly formats, an immense depth of background history and mythology is needed if not created on the fly to sustain the long plot and character backgrounds. Two of the most popular manga today, Bleach and Naruto, are on their 448th and 539th issuesrespectively, and STILL are not finished!

Needless to say, the battles that occur in manga can and often MUST be bat-shit insane to keep a reader focused on turning pages in a nation where fictional teenage boys fight in skyscraper mech robots on earth and in space. To the Hollywood summer blockbuster system that just screams seat filler. It has one of the greatest motorcycles to ever appear on film, that, to this day 23 years later, still has motorcycles engineers attempting a perfect recreation. Add to the deep bond of friendship and brotherhood between Kaneda and Tetsuo, and you have a mixture that any Hollywood producer believes will pour that precious young demographic into the theaters.

But even with all the special effects potential, it always begins with the story. And the story ultimately boils down to boys, power, and how we wield it.

Shotaro Kaneda is a fighter first and foremost. Leader of the Capsule motorcycle gang, he has to be strong, decisive, and unyielding in order to lead the Capsules in running their turf in Neo-Tokyo. Needless to say, our boy Kaneda is alpha all the way. And, in a divergence from Brando in Last Tango in Paris, he never loses his alpha cred. In fact, it only gains. In the beginning of the film(posted below) and by far of the best dual character introductions of its time, Kaneda is retrieved from the dive bar where he and the Capsule crew regularly hang out to step to the Clown gang who has been encroaching on their turf. As Yamagata, his second-in-command, informs him he says nothing. As the barkeep yells at the pair for always hanging out and never buying anything he says nothing and lets Yamagata speak for him. He shouldn't have to use his voice. While Tetsuo checks out Kaneda's bike, Kaneda, in his cocky voice, finally says his first words of the movie.

Kaneda: "Ha. You wanna ride it Tetsuo. It's too wild for you. You couldn't handle it"

All Tetsuo can mumble under his breath is a measly,"I could ride it". Right then and there you already see the dynamic between the pair. The blatant divisions of POWER. Kaneda's bike is a symbol and practically a character itself representing power and respect. The bike is a masterpiece of human ingenuity and uniqueness. Kaneda worked hard and was smart to steal it for himself. That bike and its rider represent a self-attained power that the Capsule crew flaunts and other motorcycle gangs aspire to but ultimately cannot attain as it is innate. If you can't tell yet by the character and his representation in a movie where the setting takes place in japan post-explosion, Kaneda and his bike are also a symbol for America. Kaneda(America) and his bike(American power) dominate over enemy gangs(Germany,Italy,Russia) and capsule crew alike(Tetsuo=Japan). Or did you not notice that Tetsuo is the beaten down under dog that we initially hope will obtain some power to equal the relationship?

: Kaneda: That's Mr. Kaneda to you, punk!

How could Tetsuo not envy Kaneda's power? His might is proven. He is well respected. And, if nothing changes it will damn sure stay that way. And we want him to have power. Sure he's a little mousey, not as good as the others, and maybe too passive. But, we see he is intelligent. And he is foolishly brave. After a fire breaks out in the tunnel chasing down the Clown gang, Tetsuo is the only Capsule who races through the automated extinguishers to take down the fleeing Clowns. And, in successfully maneuvering obstacles which would have stopped him before, he literally brings the hammer down on the final Clown gang member. We know that Kaneda and the rest of the Capsules are going to give him props for this. He did something that even Kaneda didn't do. And he did it all by himself. In this moment we feel a profound elation for him in self-actualizing his power. Had the very next moment not happen Tetsuo would have lived a confident more pleasant life. Unfortunately, that Tetsuo never comes to pass as he crashes into a Esper (child who has obtain psychic powers) on the lam. As Kaneda and the Capsules come upon their friend, they are beaten and made to watch as Tetsuo is administered drugs and taken to a military compound where the Espers originate. Here Tetsuo is given his greatest gift and his eventual downfall. He is told of the almost limitless power he has inside himself and instead of teaching him how to open it he is administered tests and supplements to "remove the caps". And, just as Kaneda told him before when he yearned for power he did not work for, he "couldn't handle it. It's too wild for him". Tetsuo begins to dominate anyone and everyone with his power. If you don't respect him for it, he will use it to kill you. The power he always wanted and now obtains is not the power that he needs. Nor is it a power that he respects. Which leads his former Capsules not to respect it either. As you'll see in the film itself, even Tetsuo must come to terms that he doesn't deserve it and cannot control it.

: Tetsuo: Heh, heh... what's happened to me? I must be dreaming. I feel like I can take out the world.

To speak about Akira and not talk about the repressed anguish that a post-atomic bomb Japan harbored is to not talk about Akira. Point blank. When someone(Kaneda/America) exudes such an immense sense of power and dominance over you it is bound to make you want to find a power to enable you to dominate them. However, attaining power without working for it makes you ego-driven, vain, selfish, and gives you a massive superiority complex. Tetsuo only truly wanted something that any man could really hope for. A team of loyal men. Self-assured power and confidence. And the belief that his status is assured as long as he works for it. Can we really blame him for that? In pure movie mechanics, Kaneda would be the protagonist of the story. He is in the majority of scenes. His journey drive the plot equal to if not more so than Tetsuo. He is the one of the pair who has a true love interest. However, it would be foolish of me not say that Tetsuo is the true hero of the story. He goes through the biggest change from beginning to end. It is through his perspective that the movie climaxes and ends. And, it is his major flaws of insecurity and selfishness that rub against opposing forces to breed the most conflict. As strong as Kaneda is in the beginning of the movie he only grows stronger by the end as he takes of Tetsuo in full-form with the abilities of what can best be described of as a god. It is in Tetsuo we see the struggle of trying to become the innate alpha that we admire. The frustration felt in his journey for respect and acceptance of his abilities. The constant conflict from differences of status when it comes to brotherhood. And in him we see that the only way to achieve our potential, is to constantly expand ourselves in every task we do. And if not, we implode into our own thoughts and fears of growth.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESkO94iUm34&w=425&h=349]
Next time on Alpha Males in Film: Die Hard

Bruce Lee Inspiration of the week

2011-05-24T13:09:00.002-04:00

“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”

A Different World

2011-05-23T09:56:00.000-04:00

I am shutting down A Different World for two reasons. One. I don't post there as often as I should. And two, I am posting those types of articles on In Mala Fide. If you want to follow me there go check it out. But be forewarned. Amidst some discussions that take place there are also trolls and haters like any internet board.

Bruce Lee Inspiration of the week.

2011-05-10T10:20:00.001-04:00

Because I have recently fallen in love with Bruce Lee's inspiration, I have decided on releasing a new qoute form him every week. This wisdom in this dude is amazing.

"It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential"

Alpha Males on Film

2011-04-23T09:52:00.002-04:00

: The alpha relationship: Caught on camera

What we got here is... failure to communicate.
Cool Hand Luke

If Bronan the Barbarian! had not filed his most recent post under the "Humor" category, I'm confident that even today all the posters who agreed and believed that he meant what he said would still not get that it was a joke. Bronan wanted to discuss a serious issue which plagues our media - beta poison. Beta poison is any TV show, song, genre, or film which espouses positive consequences to a male protagonist acting beta. How do you identify it? I'll help:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_m-BjrxmgI&fs=1&hl=en_US]

Bronan was attempting to find humor in telling us we shouldn't watch beta poison films like Superbad. Instead, we should watch films like Street Fighter, The Last Dragon, and They Live. While Bronan was trying to find the humor inrecommending such obviously bad movies, the comment section quickly divided into two camps - one which corrected the author by providing movies of true alphas, and the other who agreed with the author who, tongue firmly in cheek, tried to pass off outlandish, bloated, foolish depictions of masculinity as alpha.
This has led me to realize that so many men have grown up watching that bloated, greasy, muscled, faux masculinity, steroid porn and are equating it with their psycho sexual definition of "alpha." Therefore, I am going to engage in weekly posts on movies which depict true alphas. Each week I will watch a new movie, classic or modern, and give a brief run-down on the plot, the protagonist, how he is alpha, and what is a result of his alphaness within the film's world.
I have a brief list I have created of films I know to have depictions of true alphaness. If you would like to add more, I will gladly tack it on to my watch list. Simply leave a comment and I will add it in. However, if I see movies that are clear bastardizations of masculinity (Commando, They Live, etc.), I WON'T put it on the list.

Alphas on Film

Die Hard
There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
Dirty Harry
Death Wish
The Rules of Attraction
Lethal Weapon
Mad Max
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
The Maltese Falcon
Chinatown
Taxi Driver
Raging Bull
Scarface
The Godfather Part 1
The Godfather Part 2
Blow
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
American Psycho
Rescue Dawn
Fight Club
Ocean's Eleven
Pulp Fiction
On the Waterfront
Casino Royale
Gladiator
Master and Commander
Bronson
Malcolm X
American Gangster
3:10 to Yuma
City of God
25th Hour
American History X
Goodfellas
The Usual Suspects
Seven
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
American Beauty
The Great Escape
Magnificent Seven
Lawrence of Arabia
High Noon
Cool Hand Luke
Maltese Falcon
The Ten Commandments
Last Tango in Paris
Akira

As I go through the list, I suggest watching the movies yourself to get a full appreciation of the character and plot. I will try to leave out spoilers, but there are some plot points in certain films which are too important not to write about. You've been warned. If you go to Netflix, you can receive a free month trial. Pick your plan and follow along.

Walking your own path

2011-04-06T13:59:00.000-04:00

What irks you? So many people have so many different pet peeves, annoyances, and issues which can make them flare up or shut down.

What irks me?
Anything which keeps me from going towards my purpose. While that is what has always specifically irked me I think it applies for so many people.

Nothing is worse than the thing that stops you from what you want to get done from being done. When I want to go out and party, I hate people that are taking forever to get ready. When I want to have my convenience of driving, I hate having any car issue. Even something so small as getting gas. I hate waiting. Call me a petulant child, but I Just don't have a hate on waiting just to have a hate on waiting. It's killing my progress holmes!

So then, what is the solution to get rid of those problems. Because running from them just make them bigger in our eyes and even bigger in our minds. We must confront them. Dead on. With all the fury of a fat girl and no more snickers to eat after she is dumped by her date on prom night. Attack, attack, attack is the only true viable option. Let it be know that unless you are moving forward you are dying. Always. And forever.

The Social Network: One of my readings.

2011-02-16T13:40:00.001-05:00

Image via CrunchBase

As I was scouring entertainment blogs and sites riffing on Oscar snubs, predictions, and comparisons. I happened across this article on EW.com on how they questioned if The Social Network is this years Up In The Air? Needless to say, as a former resident of Boston in 2005 when the still titled Thefacebook.com was hitting it off nationally, I was sincerely interested in the movie before it came out, and loved the film upon viewing it. Twice. I absolutely do have qualms with the movie, yet, I agree with critics that it is by far one of the best visual representation of our, my generations, times.

So, I was a little miffed at how so many people were saying it was over-rated, over-hyped, boring, and my favorite, stupid movie about Facebook. Because not a single person truly described why they thought the movie was bad. They merely stated what outside forces influenced them to believe the movie was bad.

So I waited to read until I saw someone who truly wanted to discuss issues in the movie, or someone else who had something substantive to say about the movie. I'll yield the floor to Buttercup.

buttercup

Thu 02/03/11 6:53 PM
This drives me crazy, the notion that somehow because TSN is about the founding of Facebook, it’s a movie about Facebook. It’s probably my pick for best movie of the year (and note: I haven’t seen The King’s Speech yet, along with a handful of others) because it’s a sort of intense and brilliantly acted take off of Citizen Kane. There Will Be Blood did the same in 2007, only it went all the way to tragedy and blood and melodramatic excess. Fincher and Sorkin ended TSN with a wistfulness that I liked, but probably made people wonder, “what the hell was that about?”
Zuckerberg begins the movie motivated by ambition and need: the desire to be acknowledged by the elite at Harvard, success, for the pretty girl to like him back. Only he doesn’t have the necessary equipment for success: breeding, money, social graces. All he is pure ambition to succeed, his brains, and balls of steel.
Meaning he is quite willing to be entirely ruthless to get what he wants, and the movie pretty much lays it out that Facebook = the means through which he’ll gain the success and validation he needs so badly.
The movie has two beautiful ironies built into it. The first is that, Eduardo’s friendship is the real thing: a connection to a real human being who cares for him, maybe even loves him. But Mark screws him over in the end not because of animus or latent resentment, but because Eduardo really was *wrong* about the business of Facebook. He was wrong about needing to sell ads, and he was actively wrong to pull the $19k in the initial bank account. Sean Parker is a d-bag, but he’s also right. Just because you’re a nice person or a good friend doesn’t mean that you make good business decisions.
The second irony is subtly built upon, and something I mulled over. Zuckerberg is awful at reading social cues — as demonstrated in the very first scene — or interacting with people. Yet he manages to create the most successful online social network ever. As though because he’s so awful at human interaction, he somehow compensated by analyzing relationships scientifically, and managed to codify the way people interact in a way that can be laid out in software. Hence: the amazing success of Facebook, a social network founded by someone who’s practically autistic.
The ending is wistful because Zuckerberg technically has it all at the end: billions, Facebook, renown, etc. He could buy and sell the final clubs he so ached to get into at Harvard, as he said. But he’s alone at the end, even moreso than he was at the beginning. Clicking the Friend request to Erica Albright = his personal Rosebud. while the Beatles play him off. Turned out getting everything he wanted didn’t actually get him the things he needed.
It’s actually a fairly traditional story, if you think about it. Only told beautifully well, with intensity and power.

In which the author of the article, Owen Gleiberman replied:

Owen Gleiberman
Thu 02/03/11 7:27 PM
Buttercup,
That’s a BRILLIANT evocation of how the film works. Everyone on this board should read your comment…
(and, yes, it’s really me)

My reply will be posted on the website as well. But, considering I haven't posted in awhile, and wanted to drop some thoughts on TSN, I decided to give you all a taste as well.

@Buttercup @owen

And the funny thing is that's just a surface analysis of the Social Network. Another aspect I loved about the movie was the subtle discussion of class and relationships. Did you notice that the characters from money where left with nothing at the end by the characters not from money?(Excluding the money they actually received in RL). There is an underlying discussion of class and success that leaves its stench in almost every scene of the movie that most people don't get a whiff of until the movie is over. First let's look at Eduardo and Mark. Mark states that Eduardo had made $400,000 last summer by investing. What college aged kid do you know that has even the start-up money to invest in one summer and make $400,000? Let alone have his father fork over money to start a business with no consequence? A rich one maybe? Yet, look at mark. From the outer boroughs of New York, blessed with a brilliant mind, and permanently dressed in "a hoodie and fuck you slippers". Is this our image of young wealth? Heck no.

The other players in the movie? The Winklevoss twins. Born of a rich and connected father. Raised in stiff upper crust parties, family events, and soon to be rowers in the Olympics. These guy are the highest class of class. Divya's family is not spoke of at all, yet by the fact alone that he hangs out with the "Winklevi" and hobnobs just as easily at the Regatta lets you know that he is clearly from money as well. How about Sean Parker? A Northeastern University student (Go Huskies!) who creates Napster, some say stole (odd he and Zuck got along?, and becomes seemingly rich overnight based of his own brains and ideas. Granted his lawsuits crippled him while Mark brushed it off like dirt, the comparisons between the two must be obvious to those who know the history.

Mark and Sean are two young, middle-class, creative, businessmen who built themselves up on their own money and ambition. The Winklevoss twins, Divya, and Eduardo are children of the Elite. Born and raised into a world where everything is almost handed to them. In any other movie, and especially in our economic times, these would be the characters to despise. Yet, they are the most compassionate, human, law and order abiding characters in the entire film. Eduardo is the heart and soul of the movie. Eduardo is also, along with the Winklevoss twins and Divya, a representation of the old way, or the textbook way, of doing business. They go about doing business the way books and the images we present to the world go about business. They take people on good faith and will later build up contracts. Eduardo gives his good friend money to start up a business that he believes he is an equal partner in. All four characters trust people on their word. And all four characters get screwed. The classiest of the high class in now in the position to be screwed. Bound by the laws that govern their elite society, they even wait on bringing litigation against mark as they, "are gentleman of Harvard" and their image does now allow them to do that kind of thing without repercussions. It's an odd contrast to the fact that Zuckerberg creates a site where he is able to put out whatever image he feels like.

But Mark and Sean go about business their own way. As children from a lower class, the rules they need to abide to in order to maintain their image is much less than the Winklevoss twins and Divya. While Mark is looked at with a side-eye for potentially stealing their idea, imagine the scandal that would result from the Winklevoss's social circle if that were to happen. Doubt it? These guys were worried about their image for suing a kid who truthfully wronged them. Yet, for all there moral inconsistencies, Sean and Mark succeed off of ambition, ingenuity, and lack of sincere emotion.

Did you not notice that? Sean, and Mark especially, show no emotion. Sean is manipulative, feigns empathy, is completely unsympathetic, and hides his motives the entire movie. A perfect trickster character. Sean will never tell you how he really feels. You will never know his true motivation. It is impossible to tell if even puts value in the interaction you are having with him. And for Mark? He almost doesn't emote period. Only when the situation is so dire to have to warrant a response does he react to anything. Examples are all over the movie. Erica in the opening scene. When Eduardo sees the cease and desist letter. When Eduardo find out his percentage in the company. He is only able to react to other people. He gives nothing of himself emotionally. And when compared to everyone else around him, he is always more muted emotionally. Jesus, Mark barely even talks to people, doesn't respond to what they say, doesn't even look them in the eye.

Contrast that with Eduardo. At first learning Mark is dumped he is compassionate. When he notices Mark is jealous that Eduardo received a letter he is empathetic. When Mark then disses him for it, he is considerate of Mark emotional state and lets it go. Eduardo treats Mark as a person and definitely a person he cares about. The Winklevoss twins approach Mark on equal terms. Apologize for not being able to bring him into the club house further due to "rules"(there they are again). Show anger at being betrayed because they clearly admired and trusted him. The same goes for Divya as well. You can clearly tell he is angry when he grabs his girlfriends computer as he realized their idea was stolen. The Elite class emote all over this movie from beginning to end. They are compassionate, passionate, forthright, honest, and the absolute losers of the film. They are played, manipulated, beaten, and put into the position of whiners attempting to "stand on ....shoulders and call themselves tall".

And this is my final culmination that I gleamed from the issue of class and relationships from this movie. All the images of the forthright American that we espouse in books, media, community and familial culture, will always and easily be trampled on the roadside by the ingenuous American without scruples. Whether it always has been or not is not the case, nor the idea that the movie was trying to bring into the open. What the movie does say, is that we can now obtain this success with a inhuman efficiency if we want to. But we must also be inhuman to achieve that success. The frame rules of image that we govern ourselves by to build up an maintain our war of life can also become a prison which inhibits our ability to move from that life. And anyone who does not inhabit that culture and its required credentials can use those rules against you. You don't have to be principled to be successful in America, just be successful.

Hell Grace: After-report

2011-01-21T16:53:00.001-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

As you may know, this past weekend I had the great opportunity to be the Line Producer, Assistant Director, and Script Supervisor for Hell Grace, a script originally written by Van Nguyen, with some input by me. I love how I say opportunity as if it was a try-out or something. Which in fact, it kind of ended up being. Following Hell Grace, Van and the other members of Cut Rush Productions would like to keep me on as Assistant Director. Needless to say I said yes.

Next Steps

Van, and the Cut Rush crew are looking to shoot their next short as soon as the beginning of March. As I am now Assistant Director for this, I will be again, working my ass off to make this production go as seemingly easy as possible. I'm going to have to call my friends in Boston I was going to visit this week and hope they understand that I have to have two short scripts done by Sunday so I can show something for myself. This is going to take a bite into my Capoeira classes, if I let it. Now comes the season of a hard ass working Phil. The questions are now racking up, and by the beginning of March I damn sure better have answers. As follows:

Can I successfully fit Capoiera into my schedule as it stands?
Can I pound out two "good" short scripts before Sunday that can be done for 1K?
Can I acquire a production job in NYC to make this whole endevor that much easier?
Can I move to NYC by the summer like I planned?
Can I ever finish" Post-Natal Woahs!"?
Can I maintain my sanity in my current positivity sucking negativity breeding atmosphere?

Only time, hard-work, and persistence, can answer those questions.

Who wants to wait and see?

100th Post - And what an update.

2011-01-14T15:38:00.000-05:00

This is my 100th POST!!!

YAY!!!

I've never understood while people cared so much about that. But, meh. I'll jump on the bandwagon today cause it's MY DAY!!!

GTA IV FTW!

On to other news. This is by far the sickest feature-length movie I've ever seen made from a video-game. It's called "The Trashmaster". The used Niko Bellic to create a characters who works as a garbage man during the day and a vigilante at night. Very, Scorcese inspired but amazing beautiful. I shudder to think about how many hours it took them to capture the actions the way they wanted it.

The trashmaster (nouvelle version nouvelle voix-off !)
Uploaded by murakawa. - Discover more gaming videos.

Hell Grace

For those that follow me, I became involved with the owner of a small independent production company called Cut Rush Productions a while back. Knowing that I am a screenwriter, he and I went back and forth over several ideas for a short film to shoot and get into festivals. Eventually, we ended up with the idea for a son struggling to escape his personal hell which is controlled by his lovingly psychotic mother. Emo indie stuff clearly. Today I am proud to announce that I will be traveling to Kutztown, PA along with the rest of the cast and crew for the 4-day shoot of this project. I am super excited as this is my first budgeted production. I am also super excited because the last two months have had me running around making sure every thing has been set and ready par my position as Line Producer. Also, during the shoot I will take on the additional roles of Script Supervisor, and Assistant Director. Time to get some imdb.com credit!

Needless to say, this is a big step for me into the industry. I will make this work as productive and satisfying as possible for all involved. And, I will learn boatloads of experience and hopefully give me the know-how to direct my own first feature later this year.

New Year - Resolutions and Resolve

2011-01-03T14:41:00.000-05:00

For those that sell success and happiness, you can always filter the charlatans by their propaganda that no resolve is needed.

Get rich quick. Slim down easier. Make $1500/day from your house. You know exactly what I am talking about. No one, and it's absolutely true of NO ONE, is ever rich overnight. There's a great commercial which has been playing over the holiday season that I have fallen in love with.

It shows tarps being dropped down in various global cities about interesting not well-known information. My favorite being " 67% of billionaires are self-made".

This time last January, I had acquired all the books, blogs, paths, and gumption I needed to start on my journey into the movie industry. The only thing I didn't have was support. In truth, my friends from Boston definetely supported me and wanted to see me succeed. But, as I am now in Belmar and not Boston, I can wrap myself in digital encouragement all I want, it's not a warm recognition. My immediate family also had very little to no support for my wishes as well. And, in fact, discouraged me from persuing my endevaour. As Will Smith states in "The Pursuit of Happyness", "People tell you you can't do something, because they can't do something";"Never let anyone tell you you can't".

So I've been pushing alone making sure I get my writing done, and when I don't when I can get it done. Making sure I apply myself to different competitions, different types of movies, different genres to write, learning more about the craft, learning more about the industry players, trying to speak with and talk to current industry people, and basically just trying to scratch into any and every little opportunity I can as a literal "nobody" in the industry.

So where has that gotten me?

2010 Resolutions:*

3 Feature-length Scripts: 1/3 Done.

2 Short Scripts: Accomplished.

1 TV Pilots: 75% Completed.

*Side Note: I originally had no plans to gain access to people in the industry. However, purely through frequenting screen writing blogs and sites, I have managed to make several great connections with people in the industry. This has been an immense benefit, and has helped me learn more about the industry and what it requires from me for my success.

For this year, I have learned that it is best to write as a full focused process. Meaning that I focus on one project at a time until it is completed. The reason I have both short scripts done but don't have the TV pilot or the other two feature lengths done is for that very reason. Often I would be jumping around projects putting pages into one or the other without sitting down and fully fleshing out the project at hand. As a result, I have several stories which are stuck in the dreaded Act 2 break, where I realize that I haven't done enough prep-work to nail the direction of my story. That will not be an issue this year. This year I may write down other ideas which come into my head. But, this year I will not split up my focus and dedication on many different ideas at a time. I owe it to them to work on them properly.

And with that in mind here are my 2011 New Years Resolutions.

2011 Resolutions:

5 Feature-length Scripts: 1/5 Done.

4 Short Scripts: 2/4 Done.

2 TV Pilots: .75/2 Done

Write more consistently on my blogs.

Project Chyna Update

2010-11-02T16:24:00.003-04:00

Project Chyna is done!

A three-group project to see how the beginning 10 pages of a script can transform into a myriad of different ways. From the first 10 pages written by The Bitter Script Reader, every week a new writer would add his own 10 pages to the script. With 10 people per group and 3 groups, every single story is guaranteed to be completely different from the other and without a doubt different from anyway any one writer would go about it. In short, there are now 3 10-headed chimera screenplays, and I had the privilege to be one of the 10. I was the final 10 pages of Project Chyna, and here is how I went about my writing process.

Philip Prince AKA Escarondito:

My Approach to Project Chyna

Being as I was the last 10 pages of the screenplay, one of my key issues to combat would be somehow putting my personal twist in, how others had done it before me. And believe me, I tried. I wrote the way I wanted the story to go, while still taking into account a beat sheet mentality.

Basically speaking, I had to wrap the story up, and couldn't go wasting pages forever. Unfortunately, while I did successfully add in the kind of story I wanted to tell, I actually did a disservice to the work that was done before me. It wasn't that I refuted the plot points that were brought up before me. But in some cases I out and out ignored them to do the ending I wanted to do. And not only was that a disservice to the writers, but it was a disservice to the characters. They had been grown into three dimensional people over the course of 87 pages, who was I to make decisions for them because I had wanted them to be somewhat different than what others interpreted them as. So, I went back to page 1. Not page 1 of my part but page 1 of the entire script. I sat with a pad in hand and marked every character tick I saw in each character to reveal more about their inner thoughts, actions, desires and emotions. I also had to look for themes that resonate with every character and what happened to them over the course of the story. Whether it was from their action, their inaction, or the actions of other, and what did that mean when it came to the theme for the story. The last thing that I wanted to make sure to include, as I believe it is in all proper endings, were callbacks. One of my favorite screenplays ever written is "Back to the Future". It is a callback bible for how to include them in your screenplay. It also also makes the movie more watchable as you notice the tiny things about the plot that later come back in funny or dramatic ways(see: Twin Pines Mall changed to One Pine Mall). So I sat back, read, and found what callbacks I could use to wrap up the story in a neat bow. Or as neat a bow as I could wrap it. With all that together, I wrote down a scene-by-scene breakdown of where the groups are when I received my portion, who was with each group of characters, why where they there, and what were they ultimately hoping to accomplish in terms of plot and inner resolution. And what you will read is the culmination of that. There are some things that I might have missed to hit on, and some of you may not like the theme I ended the story on. But these are the things that stuck with me as the essence of the characters and story every subsequent read I had, and I did read over it alot. So enjoy, and I think this was a great experiment and hopefully can get annually done. Although, next time someone else can deal with the stress of not making a sucky ending with such great writing before you. LOL. Enjoy!

You can now download all 3 variants of Project Wilson Phillips:
Explanation of the Original 10 pages
Team Carnie
Team Chynna
Team Wendy

Women in Film: Part 1 - Characters

2010-10-25T11:44:00.003-04:00

I have been following the blog of a great writer/director in Hollywood who goes by the digital nomenclature of "Kid in the front row".

On a recent search through his articles I happened upon a great several posts about women in the industry,("Missing voices of women in film" "Women in the industry" "Men only") the lack thereof, and the lack of positive women's roles. He responded to my comment on my post ""The plight of the Buppie Male". I had a great super long response that was unfortunately eaten by the monster known as the interwebs, so I am putting this response on my blog as well as Kid's. Hopefully some women writers, actresses, or plain move lovers can weigh in as well.

Conflict

It is the one thing, absolutely vital component, that makes the greatest of films. Don't believe me? Look at some of the crappy spec scripts that sell and you'll notice one key factor. They all have a super conflicted high concept that even with bad characters and hackneyed execution, will sell because someone saw that a re-write can set this thing straight and mine the conflict for 2 hours. Screen writing teachers always teach students to place more conflict in their characters. Why? To make them more interesting. Characters that have to overcome external issues while confronting internal issues become amazing characters that live on in viewers minds, far after they have left the cinema.

Enough of my diatribe. Stop, you say. OK. I will. Here is the point.

The average white female in America has no perceived conflict.

Not saying that they do not have actual conflict in their life, but what we first imagine as an image must match up to our perceptions. It matters in even more places than just film as well. For example, I wish I could find the article or the video I watched when a comedian stated, "For anyone to be funny they must have societal pressure. Pretty women are not funny. The funniest women comedians are lesbians, ugly, or minorities". And you know what? That person is right.

Pretty, straight, white women have no societal pressure on them. Even with the new doors opened up for women to jump into careers and strive against the old boys club, there is no real pressure on them. Because what matters are the stakes.

Stakes

See, along with conflict, stakes are the other thing that makes film interesting. To quote from the great Brando himself, "I spent my whole life trying not to be careless. Women and children can be careless. But not men." The key point? Someone will always care for a women. Whether it be her parents, her father, her significant other, the man she just met, or the ever plentiful white knight, there is always someone who would care for a woman. Men. Don't. Have that. Watch movies headed by women, and honestly think, "Is there a chance that no one, absolutely no one, wouldn't jump in the way and take care of this situation for her?". When you make a movie about women, you have to take away the people that would be able to care for her, or make it a situation that absolutely no one else can feasibly take care of. For example, "Juno", no one can handle the issue of her pregnancy because it is absolutely her issue as it is her body. In "Precious", we must know that her home life is in shambles. Her father is a rapist and cause of her problems, and her mother is the antagonist of the story. My idea is not sexist either. In all conspiracy thrillers and "Man vs. Man" movies, the question of ,"Why can't he go to the police?", must always be tackled. Usually by saying the antagonist has the police in his pocket. Once that is taken care of, there is very little people who have the capability to help him.

With women characters you have to work so much more to remove helpers. I'd be willing to do that work, but the side effect is that it limits the types of first ten pages you can do. Thus, it limits the story somewhat. We would look at our man character as weak if he used others to tackle his problem. With women....

Societal Pressure

Societal pressure is another big thing which elevates Men characters as more interesting than Women characters. Men have a constant societal pressure to overcome obstacles. Always. A man's worth is seen mostly by his ability to overcome big and small obstacles. Hence, whenever a man encounters an obstacle he can traverse but is afraid to, he is told to, "Man up". You're taking heat from your boss because of some mistakes? Man up. You tried to get that cute girl across the bar and failed? Man up. Someone didn't re-fill the toilet paper and you have to duck walk across the bathroom? Man up. And what does "Man up" mean? Deal with it. A middle class, white woman, from Greenwich, CT, who just graduated from NYU, and is trying to make it in the mean streets of NY? Man up? Not really. Cause if she fails, she can still hook up with that banker she met-cute in Act 2 and have the hope of marriage. The man can't make it in the mean streets of NY? He better hit the homeless shelter or pull a Jerry Maguire "Who's coming with me?". Because to come home a failure will get him the ire of his father and the pity of his mother. Neither of which makes us like him as a character. But that's a whole different genre of movies. Save that for indie town.

If a women is gay, ugly, or a minority, she has the best tools to combat the idea that women have a "Fall back" team. Because it substitutes that issue with adding more conflict.

To see why "Precious" is such an interesting character, let's break down her situation. She has no strong family ties(Fall back team. None), She is fat, ugly, and black(Triple societal pressure). Do we want to see her win? Hell yeah.

Now for Juno. Her issue is her upcoming pregnancy(Due to it being an absolutely singular issue. Fall back team. None). She is sexually unattractive to most males at her school(Besides that jock played by Degrassi boy and Bleeker), and is a pregnant teenager(Double societal pressure). Do we want to see her win? Yeah.

One of my favorites, The Bride, from "Kill Bill". She is ugly(Let's be honest), has no family(Fall back. None), and was a sexually abused comatose cripple. Do we want to see her win? Fuck Yeah (Had to add the fuck for Tarantino).

So when making a female characters, try to make sure her family is in no way capable, willing, or alive to help her with her issue. And, if you can't do that, make her an underdog to societal scorn.

Check the case with "Tomb Raider". Lara Croft is the last of her family(Fall back. None), pretty, straight, white woman, can do everything herself. Do we want to see her win? Do we really care? She wins in everything she does from the first reel to the last.

But wait Escarondito. How is that anyway different from Jason Bourne?

Because unlike Jason, she doesn't really have to. She's pretty, straight, and white? Does the world really have it in for her?

Latest Initiatives

2010-10-13T13:33:00.000-04:00

So, have recently gotten back from my birthday celebration in chicago for the big 23! Through drunk nights, day time walks, and some solo contemplation, I have hit on several things I want to do this year and in the next 7 in terms of my life.

So, what does this mean?

Well, several things.

1) I realize that I now have 7 years exactly to complete my goal of wanting to be driven by the age of 30.

2) I need to officially and completely cut off watching TV.

2a) That does not mean I will never watch TV. But, it is because watching TV normally induces a state of slack jawed thinking, which is to say no thinking. Commercials lull you to continue sitting in that chair with loud bangs, whirs, whistles, noises, colors, and commentary (you think it was coincidence the TV gets louder during commercials?)

3) I need to stop focusing on women for the moment.

3a) Again, not completely. But, I spend far too much time out at bars and clubs looking for new girls when I should be working. Plain and simple.

4) There are now only 4 things I should be doing in my life.
a. Saving
b. Writing
c. Working Out
d. Looking for Entertainment Jobs ie. Directing, Production, anything

Dennis Quad said it best, "Even if all I did was throw out trash, I knew it had to be movie trash".

In my current job I want to just kill myself. Metaphorically speaking, but to be honest, if I did, I doubt my co-workers would make a fuss. And not because they hate me, but because of their polite indifference (See: A Different World).

Every single day just has to be me pushing myself somewhat harder. Little by little. Beause another thing I learned about myself, is that I am most happy after I've done hard work. After a workout I feel joyous. When I finished Pleasure Lane, I was so excited. God even planning to work is fun.

I just hate working.

So the new focus is on re-working my mind to not find work as a chore, but as it's own achievement and the daily golas after effect as the reward. Damn!

What's a kid grown into the world of a consumer, give-it-to-me-now, the pleasure is all mine, to do?

Reflections - Empire State of Mind

2010-10-05T13:47:00.000-04:00

La Marche

2010-09-10T15:05:00.000-04:00

La Marche from Simon Rouby on Vimeo.

I've been thinking for awhile that I want to direct a short film this year. Not sure if it would be animated, live-action, a hybrid, what have you but definetely a short atleast. I'm really going through my head and already written ideas to find what I am die-hard enough about to do. But until then, this short film inspires me to approach the project with through provoking ideas and all my heart.

I'm Going In!

2010-08-27T14:49:00.000-04:00

I'm working super hard amid Capoeira practices to finish "PNW!" and get the frist draft done. Then comes finishing "Dasloga Exhaust", and then we move onto "Certified Redeemer" or "Veracruz is Dying". I LOVE the name for "Veracruz is Dying", but because I have much more experience with Certified Redeemer that will probably end up being done first. Plus I love gangster movies, and undercover movies. And come on now, a criminal justice student becoming a hitman for the mob so he can pay off student loans? It's a gangster idea about an undercover gangster.

Esca Productions

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2 1/2 months left in 2011: Status update

Alpha Males in Film: Week 2 - Akira

Bruce Lee Inspiration of the week

A Different World

Bruce Lee Inspiration of the week.

Alpha Males on Film

Walking your own path

The Social Network: One of my readings.

Hell Grace: After-report

Related articles

100th Post - And what an update.

New Year - Resolutions and Resolve

Project Chyna Update

Women in Film: Part 1 - Characters

Latest Initiatives

Reflections - Empire State of Mind

La Marche

I'm Going In!