Jim Idema, Writer

"Respect for the Dead" is on its way!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:46:00 -0500

Remember back when I said I was considering the possibility of producing "Respect for the Dead" myself? Well, I've taken the plunge and formed a production company to do just that. The company is called Brandella Films LLC and since my last post here, we've gathered a crew, secured locations, started work on set construction, auditioned talent and even started rehearsals. We've scheduled our first day of shooting (though not the rest yet) and I think it's going to be a great film!

Fall and Rise of a Project

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 20:33:04 -0500

Well, for all three of you who read this blog, I have both good news and bad news to share. The bad news first: The project I spoke of earlier about Custer and Sitting Bull, called, "Shame and Glory: A Tale of Two American Heroes," is officially dead. After chatting with several people involved it was determined that given the amount of work that has been done on these guys, it would be very difficult to find a unique angle. I'm disappointed since I had thirty pages of the script already written, but unfortunately that project is to go by the wayside.

The good news is that I've been speaking with a few people in hopes of producing my short, "Respect for the Dead." No production company is interested so I'm thinking of doing it myself. A few techies (like camera folks, sound folks, etc) have expressed interest, so at the moment I'm trying to draw everyone together in hopes of forming a production company and producing this baby. I also have some connections to talent, though whether I'll be able to get them (or the crew) for free still remains to be seen. Of course I'm still in need of funding, but I don't think it will cost much to produce so if you would like to get in on the ground floor of a blossoming filmmaker's success, feel free to post it here.

In the meantime, I'll keep you posted on the progress...

New Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:26:05 -0600

I recently watched a History Channel program about a story that played a pivotal part of American history -- the Battle of Little Big Horn. I was enthralled by the story and decided that maybe a screenplay on the parallel lives of Custer and Sitting Bull might be interesting. I've put together a treatment/outline of the story, tentatively called, "Shame and Glory -- A Tale of Two American Heroes," and with any luck, should be able to start on the actual script over the holiday break.

There's no guarantee that this seemingly high-concept script will see the light of day, what with the WGA strike and all. But I'm hoping that by the time I finish it things will be back to normal (with normal being my ability to submit to signatory companies. I can send to non-sigs now but because this is high-concept, they may not be able to find the budget for it.)

For anyone in a position to give this story the attention it deserves, please let me know.

Thanks!

The Passing of a Hero

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:01:46 -0600

Evel Knievel was my hero. As someone now in his forties who barely remembers what he had for dinner yesterday, I still remember my tween years and how they were influenced by the man I so hoped to emulate someday.

I watched in awe as he jumped his Harley over all those busses, the Stars and Stripes on his jumpsuit standing out like a lighthouse over heavy seas. I watched in horror as he cleared the fountains of Caesar’s Palace, only to bounce from his landing ramp like one of Jepetto’s marionettes gone terribly wrong. And my heart sunk to its deepest depths when Knievel’s parachute ejected prematurely during his Snake River jump, making the man I admired above all others a veritable laughing stock with my friends. I didn’t care. I was going to be like him.

My dad used to have one of those small, flip-over portable grills that cooked many a family barbeque over the years, but in time, I used it as a platform from which to mount my own ramp in hopes that my bicycle would fly through the air as gracefully as Knievel did on his motorcycle. I even fashioned my own little outfit, complete with the Harley Davidson number one on the front, and jumped my red Schwinn – over the ramp supported by this grill – over tin cans, a squirmy dog and even a small creek that ran near our house, most with the same disastrous results my hero encountered. I never broke a bone, of course, but it sure felt like it when I landed hard, and I could empathize with the pain he went through to entertain his audiences.

To me, a hero endures a lot get his message across. These days, the only message being projected by our so-called heroes is that it’s OK to be greedy or that drugs will most certainly bring you fame and fortune. For me, that’s not what a hero is about and it’s certainly not what Evel Knievel was about. Sure his pitfalls were well documented, but show me an authentic, I mean authentic hero without a flaw and I’ll show you the way to the Fountain of Youth.

The point is that I learned how to be a better man because of Evel Knievel. I learned that a true American hero is someone who doesn’t let adversity get the better of him and that ambition is the American Way. I learned that while records may fall, the person behind the effort should make an honest effort to be true to his fans, true to his country and true to himself. To me, Evel Knievel was all that and more.

I don’t lay plywood on rusted grills anymore, and my trusty Schwinn has long since been dismantled, but the memory of my hero Evel Knievel will still remain with me. No, he never saved the world from radical terrorists, invented the light bulb or hit more home runs than anyone else, but he gave me hope which, in my humble opinion, is exactly what a hero is supposed to do.

The End of an Era

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:49:30 -0500

For those of you who pay attention to this blog (both of you), you probably noticed that I've made a fairly big deal about my online publication Hot Psychology Magazine. Well, after nearly three years of futility, I've decided to close the book on it, the last issue being September of 2007. It's a heartbreaking decision but one that had to be made. Like any business, if you aren't adding to the bottom line you aren't successfully nurturing your business. Hot Psychology Magazine wasn't making any money. We had to cancel the conference back in July due to lack of interest which contributed to the demise of the magazine but it certainly wasn't the only reason. The biggest reason is that nothing was coming in and if anything is the kiss of death for a business, that is.

Therefore, for those of you who were fans of the publication, I'm sorry. For those who didn't know about it (which is 99.99999% of the world), you missed a great thing.

Help solve the case of Diana Harris

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 23:24:06 -0500

For those of you who harbor a sense of adventure and who would like to help out a very dear friend, please visit Christine at http://justicefor2missing.blogspot.com/. Her mom disappeared from the Florida Keys in 1981 (which was the basis for "A Daughter's Hope") and now she has this blog set up for anyone willing to help.

Please visit her today!

Hot Psychology Magazine Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:16:44 -0500

For all of you looking for something cool to do this September, Hot Psychology Magazine (www.hot-psychology.com) is hosting their first ever conference in Chicago. They have some awesome speakers lined up as well as some great prizes and even a reception!! Here's the link to the conference page:

http://www.hot-psychology.com/conference.html

Word on the street is that seats are filling fast so now is the time to register.

MySpace Page

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 00:20:47 -0500

I wasn't sure I really wanted to do it, but I finally broke down and started a MySpace page for my writing. If you are interested, the link is www.myspace.com/jimidema.

I don't know how much sense it makes but feel free to take a peek anyway.

Bad News

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 15:57:08 -0500

Well, it looks like our production company, CDI, decided to back out on us. They cite time constraints as the reason why, but since no one reads this blog, I can safely say that they likely weren't all that interested in the first place. So we're back to the drawing board. If anyone knows of a production company who might be interested - particularly since our rewrite is now done - please post it here.

A Daughter's Hope Finds a Producer!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 23:12:50 -0600

Yes, you read it right! My screenplay "A Daughter's Hope" has finally joined forces with a reputable production company!

The company, Collective Development Inc., is a company responsible for at least fifteen films including, "Ghost Town," "Wild Michigan," "An Ordinary Killer" and many more (here's their listing on IMDB" http://imdb.com/company/co0010240/)

CDI has the connections that give it, and us, the ability to take the film all the way through distribution and I'm very excited about it.

Of course now we need funding and I've agreed to help find funding to make the film. Therefore, if there are any private investors or philanthropists out there interested in getting in on a fantastic film made by a great production company, please let me know. The sooner we find funding the sooner we can get this thing off the ground! If you need incentives to invest, I've got them, so drop me a line and we'll chat.

A Daughter's Hope rewrite

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 12:17:52 -0600

Well, so far, everyone who has seen our script is passing on it, including the one production company we had so hoped would take it on. We're disappointed, but both the production company and a couple of agents have given some pointers on how we can improve the script so we are rewriting it to incorporate those suggestions. Though I also spent a lot of time with the other two scripts I wrote, this one is a very special story that I think really deserves to be told. That's why we're taking the extra time to refine it.

We're also considering the possibility of developing it and shooting it ourselves rather than have a production company do it. Yes, it would be a lot of work, and yes, we need to find a way to get significant funding, but despite our lack of experience, we, again, feel this is a story that deserves to be told, and if we have to be the people to do it, so be it.

If ANYONE knows where we can find funding, please post it here.

A Daughter's Hope is finally completed!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:06:22 -0600

My most recent screenplay, "A Daughter's Hope," is finally finished! This one was a lot of work but I think it will be worth it.

Now if we can only get through to those pesky Hollywood agents....

A Daughter's Hope status

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:42:54 -0600

For those of you keeping score at home, my screenplay, "A Daughter's Hope" has officially hit the halfway point. My co-writer, Christine Hill, has been invaluable and I look forward to her input to complete the second half.

"A Daughter's Hope" status

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 13:18:52 -0600

We've just cleared page thirty in the script, putting us at 25% complete. Of course there is still a long way to go, but I think it's coming along quite nicely. Keep watching for more updates!

New screenplay

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Idema) — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 00:53:10 -0600

I've started work on my third screenplay. This one, entitled, "A Daughter's Hope," is the true story of Diana Lynn Harris who disappeared from the Florida Keys in 1981 and whose case has yet to be solved. I'm working with Ms. Harris' daughter Christine on the story, and because of Christine's input, she is going to be listed as co-writer. I think this is going to be a great screenplay!

As for the others, I've sent queries out to 224 agents for "A Conventional Life" and while about eight have outright said no, the rest aren't even bothering to answer. Kinda rude, don't you think? If they don't want to see it, the least they could do is say so.

I've also sent it out to about fifteen production companies. Again, these people aren't taking the time to answer my query, but maybe, just maybe, it will plant the idea to contact me in the future.

As for other contacts, well, I've posted "A Conventional Life" on a few script sites and like "I Wish," I've registered it with WGA (Writer's Guild of America). That way no one can rip off the ideas.

In the meantime, if ANYONE knows ANYONE who would be interested in reading ANY of these screenplays, please post it here.

Screenplay #2 is now complete!