Not Fade Away...

Well it seems I'm reaching a moment in life where I must step away from the computer for awhile, as I'm rejoining those who have "real jobs" in the next week or two.

If you followed me here from Mania, then you've already seen the heads up I left over there.

After another full year of promoting (again) I seem to have ran dry of contacts. I placed the calls, I sent out the letters\emails, and even sacrificed a sheep or two to the Screenwriting Gods.

They insisted, for my next sacrifice, I give them Jessica Simpson. Frankly, I think they're toying with me.

Oh yes, I must remember to thank Hanso for pointing me in the direction of the Script Shadow contest. He may not like "Twilight," but he's still a good man. The contest ends on November 9'th.

This morning I placed the logline, etc., for "Sweet Dreams" in the running. We'll see where that goes.

In the meantime, I continue to slowly work on the novel adaptation of "The Life and Times of Igor," which everyone already has heard about for the last four years or so. The link to the Mania blog entry above contains a first draft excerpt from Chapter 4 of this version.

And if anyone new believes I ripped off the idea, well just search about on here for Igor's history, and go digging into the Mania blogs from the last year or so to see the proof positive I was promoting mine long before the CGI movie came out a while back, which just proves it isn't what you know or what you can do, it's who you know and who you're sleeping with.

Not sure how often I'll be posting in the coming days\weeks, either here or at Mania, but don't sell me short as I will return. I've got blogs here, at Mania, my old Myspace account, and lots of comments in the "Twilight" and "Igor" articles over at Mania, not to mention practically everywhere else. Explore at your own pace...

Until the sun rises again kiddies...

Starlight

Please, Mr. Postman...

Crazy, isn't it?

I'm always amazed (though I shouldn't be) at the differing means of replies between California, Canada, and New York.

To every contact in Los Angeles I could muster, I sent a letter. The same goes for New York, and Canada.

One should compare the WGA lists for America, both East and West. The number of agencies on both sides are huge.

But, when it comes to keeping in contact, New York is the clear winner. Los Angeles is, simply put, the void into which correspondences disappear. Come on, Hollywood, it's not going to kill you to write back like your New York cousins do, even if it is to say "not interested" for X reason.

Out of the pile I sent to New York, about half of them were met with replies: form letters, personalized letters, and even an email or two. They take the time because, obviously, they realize what their jobs are all about.

Out of the bigger pile I sent to California, about one tenth of those came back...at most.

So WGA agencies\signatories, are you trying to keep us from contacting you at all? Is it really your lot in life to hide from the very people you set out to find? It's like being a 911 dispatcher who won't answer a telephone.

At least have the decency to write us back. Making fifty grand (at least) per deal is enough to jade you, apparently, because some of us are damn near penniless screenwriters handing out money we don't have to pay for postage, ink, and all else that is required to have you kind people ignore us.

The Heart Of The Problem

The general definition of insanity is that a person will continue the exact same actions and expect different results from after every action.

Well...maybe on the quantum level. But neither that nor work properly in the matters of Hollywood.

You gotta love it when the Editor In Chief at a genre news website posts on his Facebook and Twitter accounts how he's laughing at how a studio's press release now openly compares the movie they're comparing to other past blockbusters.

Now this A + B = C formula plays out in, as far as I can tell, two different fashions: the first is for promotional means, but it's never before been this bad when they're flat out admitting to the population at large this new project is just two movies (or more) shoved into a blender to produce this new concoction.

Behind the scenes, this "It's This Meets That" means of pandering is the secret means of promoting a project to jaded Hollywood execs who only understand "This Is Popular, That Was Popular, Together They'll Be Three Times As Popular" reasoning.

Did I just refer to that line of thinking as "reasoning?" Hell, it's spreading faster than H1N1.

It's not reasoning, it's marketing which, of course, is the opposite of reasoning.

I once was writing a script called "Dip Your Wings," a fantasy about a guardian angel who was made half mortal...and so on. I was about 25 pages into it, and told a female friend about it.

"Oh," she said, "that sounds like 'City of Angels,' and 'What Dreams May Come.'"

The second movie I'd heard of, but the first I had not. So I wrote it down on a piece of paper, headed to Best Buy, and started searching the aisles.

I found it, picked it up, read its synopsis, and became disgusted. I sat it back down, left, and never touched that screenplay again. Saying it was "this" plus "that" killed my project, because I absolutely detest the comparisons.

This Plus That stifles creativity. It strangles originality and free thinking. Recycling of movies and storylines is not an effective means of green production (as in greenbacks.)

The other place this formula comes into play is in the audience, who is (sometimes) smarter than the studios think they are. "Twilight" debuts in theaters and the howling of emasculated fanboys cried out into the night about how it was a ripoff of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Yeah...no, not seeing it.

As a rip off of "Romeo And Juliet," well that's a more feasible argument. Shakespeare's story of star crossed lovers has been raped and left for dead as many times as "A Christmas Carol."

Everyone's got a remake of "Christmas Carol," even that god awful "Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past." Michael Douglas should know better.

If given the chance, Hollywood would continue to feed off itself until it's all homogenized and it's an equal shade of gray across the color spectrum.

Some would argue that is precisely how it looks now. The need to snap the spectrum back into differing wavelengths isn't fast approaching, it's here.

When everyone is doing exactly the same thing, and remixing the exact same shades together to get a fresh coat of gray, then someone needs to come from left field with a palette of pastels and primary colors to put the zing back into creativity.

The Moral Of The Story -- If everyone is doing (or redoing) the exact same thing, do something wildly different. Streaks of red, green, and violet will get the attention of the population who was forced into color blindness.

Reminders

Every so often I post this message because, for some, the usage and means of this blog is a bit confusing -- it is an exploration of ideas and opinions, a means for my friends receive an answer to their often stated questions of "what the hell is it you do?," and so on.

For those who represent literary agencies and said friends from Myspace, Facebook, Mania, and "real life," there are shortcut keywords in the right side of the frame. Just scroll down and pick the topic link and receive either descriptions of one project or another, some rambling thoughts on certain Hollywood trends, love (or hatred) for other instances.

As "Sweet Dreams: A Sandman's Story" is constantly being promoted on both American coasts (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco) then it's only fair to provide a shortcut link here.

This site is kept to a minimum to make it easier for all involved, especially me as I have dial- up (as some of you already know) .

It's raining today -- and has been all night. Flood watches and warnings are everywhere, but I'm in no danger. Can't speak for the River Valley, though.

Ah yes, another lazy, rainy day -- and a chance to make a little more progress on adapting "Life and Times of Igor" to novel form.

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again

If you clicked on this hoping to hear the "Angus Prune Tune," well I'm sorry but ISIRTA isn't here, although the obvious reference was made in the title.

Mania blogs are, currently, down. I assume Jarrod is doing something about this, when he's not suffering from insomnia that is.

Since the entries over at Mania are far more interesting (and currently harder to find) I thought I'd just add this link to expedite the search. There's rambling opinions (such as you'd find here) sketches that parody "Twilight," declarations of why J. J. Abrams is bad for "Star Trek," and other such madness.

In the meantime, promotions continue to go out to New York, Los Angeles, and Canada.

Also, the idea of exploring the notions of how Summit Entertainment is possibly selling out the soul of "The Twilight Saga" in exchange for "man candy" is bubbling in my brain. We'll see where that goes.

The Hollywood Gaming Association

I hate gambling.

Maybe "hate" isn't the correct word. Let's try something more along the lines of this:

"Boring."

Yeah, that's better -- it's such a standard, uninspired word to describe something that promises MONEY! SEX! BRIGHT LIGHTS! ADVENTURE! FAST TIMES! THE HIGH LIFE! and so on.

Promoting myself is a lot like gambling, it's two quasi related activities in which the gamer (or writer) hopes to advance in life, wealth, happiness, by means of making this small investment in the glowing machine with ringing bells and lights.

There are casinos all over this country, and I would go visit them, but not to play their games. I've visited one casino across the border in Oklahoma, and smaller ones in Colorado. I dropped five dollars in a machine just past the state line, pressed a button or two, and was immediately bored by the prospect of it all. I simply have no real affection for gambling.

Arguably, I saw past the neon induced haze of glamour and riches and quickly decided that the best way to get money was by having a job.

I make similar, uninteresting investments in the gaming machines of Hollywood -- a small investment comes by means of dropping money into envelopes, postage stamps, and other such means of this life I have.

I then take all that the money has bought me, place it in the machine of an Out Of Town box stationed at the edge of the local post office, and pull the lever. After ten years of playing this game, I'm bored.

To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me if those on the receiving ends of our letters are also bored, as it's arguably a two way gamble -- Hollywood is place of glamour I'm not enchanted by and I, most likely, am just another strobe light and disco ball act these harried agents are likely walking by because they are unable (or unwilling) to make possibly unwise bets on.

I can't speak for those men and women, but I can speak for myself: this game is soulless. Sure some win, more of us lose, and it really doesn't matter how you play the game. I find I have more fun writing my actual scripts than I do in placing the bets.

In other words, I'm walking through the casino, and sure the lights are fun to look at, but they're really just blurred streaks of the visible spectrum as I make my way to the word processor.

In casinos, it doesn't matter how you play the game, because you can still lose. In writing, you can win or lose, and how you play that game is a determining factor.

In the Hollywood Gaming Association, it again doesn't matter how well you play, because winning and losing comes down to just pulling the lever and seeing what happens.

It's a shame the HGA isn't more like a video game, as then it'd be more interesting. A person could make mistakes AND learn from them, then alter how they play the game, while continuing to improve their game with every press of the button.

Casino based gambling isn't anything special to me. Hollywood gambling also fails to hold my interest.

A person can learn more from the games that offer both success and failure than the ones that advertise success with the odds stacked against them. And that is what maintains a person's interest and challenges them to improve their tactics. Gambling just to get ahead is a certain way of falling further and further behind, and I've no interest in that.

But there is one thing these types of gambling can teach you, if you pay close enough attention to the lesson: "winning isn't everything, and walking away from the table doesn't mean you're a loser."

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got literary games to play. And when those games end, there's always "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess."

--Updated--

Some reading this might feel I'm just "mad at the system," or otherwise angry\jaded. Some years ago, that would've been true.

Now these thoughts laid out upon your computer screen are carefully thought out to actually examine what it is like.

The above comparisons to gambling establishments are not incorrect. But there is one matter that casinos have that Hollywood doesn't -- the notion of the smaller wins leading to what some would hope to be even larger jackpots.

Casinos are there to serve as bait for your paychecks. You can put a little in and would actually receive a small amount back. This is designed to keep you interested, to keep you from becoming bored, so they can, in fact, keep you fishing in an increasingly emptying lake devoid of fish or treasure.

Hollywood can't manage that. It is just like filling a slot machine repeatedly in hopes of the bigger jackpots, when the smaller ones aren't there to entice you further.

This is simply how it works, and how it has been for as long as I've been making the attempts. I remain uninterested in the "payoffs," yet I keep stuffing the machine. There are times when one's mood will mirror that of the Jimmy Buffett tune "Defying Gravity," as in "I never dream I will win, and if it all ends tomorrow, then that's fine too."

If it all ends tomorrow...then I will simply turn away from the machine and be free of it. It isn't an addiction or a lesson in self mutilation, it's an (arguably) necessary evil.

But, luckily for me, every so often Life likes to smile down on me and grant me relief and respite from the ongoing madness, usually in the form of some perfect night's sleep and Technicolor dream sequences involving blooming Easter flowers and incomparably beautiful sunrises that George Lucas has tried to recreate on his many computers, and still finds himself unable to do so.

Its moments like this that keep me going -- not the need for fame, money, or such. It's the promise of happiness in a life (hopefully) well lived as we chart our courses across the cosmos or across state lines.

You can keep feeding the machines if you've got Dory next to you, because though her advice is necessary (not to mention potentially annoying) , its her smile and attitude that keeps you going.

That, Technicolor dreams, and Jimmy Buffett.

It's all good.

Three Acts of Pure Magic

It's always a good thing to be looking where no one else is...no matter how many times the story has been told, it always manages to disappear, while it waits for the day when someone will take the myth and make it anew.

The big to do now is vampires, and there's a lot of ticked off fanboys yelling and screaming about "Twilight," which I defend as heartily as I would my own work. But we're not getting into that subject.

But, another entity has existed throughout the ages and has been cast in both good and malevolent fashions: the sandman.

Since I am promoting my own "Sweet Dreams: A Sandman's Story," I might as well give the past references to what this mythical person has been about. Here's the link to Wikipedia.

The idea of the sandman is constant...and right now he sleeps like those he grants nightly rest to.

But I (and a co-storyteller) resurrected this protector of the night by means of mixing various myths, namely the images from Native American mythology (dream catchers) while also going towards the old idea of demons that come to your bedside in an effort to do you harm...or worse.

Add in a new spin on the lunar cycle and how it invokes monsters, plus some New Age beliefs about the mystical power of crystals, and a healthy fondness for 50's doo wop music and a love for all things celestial, you've got a compelling dramatic fantasy about one young man who lost the one he loved, and another who is in great danger of losing the one he doesn't realize who loves him while he faces a life filled with monsters and moonlight.

There are only so many ways a man or woman can actively promote whatever it is that he or she has created. And this is possibly the most informative that I can be about the subject and the story that was completed back in 2007.

Enjoy.

Sincerely,

The Founding Member Of The Starlight Guard

-A.B.M.

PS - It should be stated that, no, I didn't use Wikipedia as my primary sources of inspiration or information. I simply supplied those links because it's far more effective than listing my books and their respective page numbers.

Maelstrom's Trek Review

We Maniacs have our views, and we're not afraid to share them.

But, lately, it seems when we express our views, they get buried under spammer bombardment which causes a technical error after mass deletion in which all recent blog entries get archived and disappear from the main list.

As of now, the great and powerful Jarrod is working on this. Hopefully Mania Tech isn't asleep at the keyboard.

Maelstrom finally witnessed what I've referred to as "Star Trek - Non Sequitur." I say that because it does not follow "Trek," reason, the mythology, sense, Roddenberry's vision, and so on.

Another name I applied to Abram's reboot nonsense was "Star Trek Serenity Wars," as it looks (and acts) too much like everything else to maintain the name "Star Trek." The lines have been blurred...and not in a good way.

But here's the link to follow. (Caution - Some Naughty Language Is In Use Here.)

They Do Have Movie Theaters In Arkansas, Don't They?

This is something I deal with constantly -- "Arkansas, really?"

It is a generic question that seems to apply for just about anything, it seems. The most the "outside world" knows of Arkansas is limited to Bill Clinton, Wal-Mart, tornado damage, and a vast stretch of land no one really cares about.

So we had some nut job a few years back who listened to some hellfire and brimstone sermon who got off her duff and demanded my former high school hide all copies of
"Harry Potter" behind the librarian's desk, as if it was offensive or pornographic.

(No, I'm not making this up.)

I think Arkansas is also known for the Arkansas Razorback's athletics department up in Fayetteville, and that's probably the last on the very short list of what people know and recognize about my state.

Oh yeah, and Billy Bob Thornton. And there the list ends.

But you know what? I'm here too. I may endure dial-up internet connections and the big business of discount prices, but I'm very glad to say I'm not one of them.

I don't have a Southern accent. My former Humanities instructor, mentor, and friend once asked me "did you learn how to speak watching the national news?"

No, I've always had this verbal style. I also have my degrees, and a healthy interest in storytelling. If you'd make a comparison to my literary style, you'd possible argue I'm comparable to those wizards out at Pixar, mixed in with the honesty and style Peter Jackson and his cohorts put forth in "Lord of the Rings."

I'm not saying I'm as good as them, but then again I'm also not trying to compete with them. Although I'd would like the chance to prove such a comparison correct.

I don't try to recreate this, emulate that, or follow X trend. In fact, I do the exact opposite. If vampires are popular, I will avoid them like the plague. (I do have a vampire movie, but I refuse to promote it now in an effort to "cash in" on said trend.)

I've cut my teeth for several years in and out of the classroom, plus I'm also the man that was called upon twice to put together short promotional films for my former college. I was also brought in once (unofficially, of course) to help shake out the structure of a scripted presentation my former mentor was giving concerning the gardens of Versailles.

If anyone doubts my abilities, please do so only after you've read one of my actual spec scripts. Just because I prefer to live here amongst the rolling hills and the vast green lands of a state the Weather Channel barely acknowledges doesn't mean that I'm not here with my own unique voice or something wonderful to contribute to the "outside world" as well.

I hope (and expect) to surprise you. After all, it's the things that come out of nowhere that literally take you by surprise. And, let's face it, there is no place that is more commonly ignored than rural Arkansas in this modern world.

PS - Yes, they do have movie theaters here. There's a state of the art cinema just fifteen miles away from where I currently sit.

Clearing Up The Confusion

I just realized that, inadvertently, I may have muddied the waters concerning "Life and Times of Igor."

In earlier blog posts, I openly state my distaste for reboots, re-envisionings, and remakes. But then I state "Igor" is a takeoff of the Frankenstein story, plus all the other classic literary figures and such.

So am I saying one thing and doing the other? No -- at least not in my opinion.

Think of it in terms of its original intention -- parody. Think "Weird Al" Yankovic parodies, not "Scary Movie, Disaster Movie, Date Movie, etc" parodies.

There IS a distinction: "Airplane," "Hot Shots," and "Naked Gun" are the golden age of these kinds of movies, then it all went to hell with "Scary Movie 2" and fell fast. Then it was absolutely casual brilliance with its own definitive stories, now it's just Take This, Add That, Mix In Some Of This, and voila: we have a piece of fluff that desperately attempts to make you laugh, but fails completely.

Yeah it's all my opinion, but someone needs to make these distinctions. There used to be real inspiration in these movies...and now its as if we're just picking apart movie trailers and piecing them together to just get a new product out there.

But "Igor" doesn't follow even the old ideals of Zucker\Abrams\Zucker. That style of humor died a long time ago, and even the Zucker's can't get it right these days, I'm sad to say.

Parody, just genuine parody. These distinctions are easily understood at Mania, but it's more of a gray area outside of the well versed mind.

I hope this cleans up those muddy waters.

Also, as I've used up every agent in California for "Sweet Dreams," I've decided to send it North as well.

Blame It On "Unskinny Bop"

Those that have followed me for any length of time via Mania, Myspace, etc., knows of the elasticity following my project "The Life and Times of Igor."

(If you haven't, just click the tab down and to the right to see past postings on the subject.)

The guys at Mania love it...they love it more than anything else I've ever come up with. They also know I'm always knocked over by some random development in Hollywood with somewhat similar projects that get pushed forward while I just shelf the project for X amount of time, yet something always stands me back up.

Well I'm looking North this time.

Besides, we're constantly being inundated with remakes, reboots, and re-envisionings which ultimately lead to our regurgitation.

The population wants something new and different, and we keep getting handed the same thing over and over again.

There are no mavericks in Hollywood. No one is capable (or willing) to rock the collective boats of Los Angeles. Even Steven Spielberg has fallen victim to the notion of remakes with "Harvey."

Plus the fact trends are more important than original thinking as well: reboots are a trend, vampires are the trend again. And then they collided with Robert Downey Jr. being thrust into the role of Lestat in yet another reboot, this time of "Interview With The Vampire."

I don't want (or intend) to cash in on trends. I give trends the finger. I also avoid following the crowd, which is why my "Igor" project has been shelved time after time, no matter how much the people have enjoyed it.

It really is annoying -- the one project everyone likes the most is the same one half a dozen agents here in America have nibbled at, yet passed over but then, a month later, someone whose "in the biz" gets his project pushed forward because he's in those "Underworld" movies.

It's never been what you know or what you can do, it's who you know.

Well I know what the agents have likely been "afraid" of: it's quirkiness; its British sense of humor mixed in with American slapstick sensibilities, and its originality.

I came THIS CLOSE to having the comic book version made...with one major flaw: I didn't have (or know) an illustrator. That was upsetting, but it was also a relief, as this is meant to be seen, not read. Igor and Frankenstein singing "Unskinny Bop" in prison is something that can't be captured with dialogue bubbles, it has to be SEEN and HEARD. Think Zaphod Beeblebrox and a hunchback pretending to be Bret Michaels and you've got a formula for inspired craziness.

And that formula fell flat on people who really didn't get it. They all wanted to read it, and once it even disappeared in the bowels of a New York agency for over a year (I had to call to get it back from them, even though I'd provided the standard SASE.)

But they didn't get it. But then Hollywood doesn't understand anything new, original, or inspired these days. It's become a machine, just wash, rinse, and repeat until the fabric has worn through.

But I still continue with promotions for "Sweet Dreams" and "Summertime Blues."

I think it's because I'm a masochist.

Warm up the accordion, Igor, I feel the need to sing.

The Sincerest Form Of Flattery (I Hope)

Imitation, it's said, is the sincerest form of flattery.

But, sometimes, it's just a copy cat that's interested in latching themselves to you (or emulating you) in some fashion.

Those aware of "Sweet Dreams: A Sandman's Story" by means of promotion or other means, would be aware of the Starlight Guard. In fact "StarlightGuard" is my handle at Mania, even though most have shortened it to just "Starlight."

I can handle that.

But now, it seems, I'm being imitated...

I'm not the first, as Hanso has had a few pick up on his persona by claiming to be the "son of hanso," and so on....

Well, now someone has turned their attention on me (again) and has formed their ID as DayLightMoon. They even have an image of the full moon lit up in their avatar.

Well, that's fine...I guess.

(This is where the fine print would be written.)

But I also just like to state that, you know, I don't know the person.

If they're copying me, or inspired by nomenclature, I've no idea.

Also, as it bears repeating, even though I am a "Twilight" fan, "Sweet Dreams" was written (and completed) in 2007, a good year before I actually knew of the novel. The fictional town "Twilight Place" is a sideways reference to the song "Twilight Time" by The Platters, as 50's doo wop and related musical styles are the prevalent themes and sources of inspiration for "Sweet Dreams."

Besides, I just like the word 'twilight' for some reason.

Also, incidentally, it's also at these particular times of day when the Sandmen (and the Starlight Guard) appear and disappear, depending on morning or evening hours.

The Movie Lord Calls It "Nerdvana"

If you're in San Diego this weekend...I ENVY YOU!

A few of the guys from Mania are at Comic Con, and have been for a few days now, and we loyal readers are hearing all the news via the 'net.

In fact they were posting pictures, and some were of the opinion I was with all the screaming girls camped out in line for "New Moon."

I wasn't.

I wish I was, though.

But, fortunately for saps like me, I can still tune in G4 today to hear whatever George Lucas is going to announce (probably an even more special Special Edition DVD of "Star Wars" which will be made obsolete by the even more special Blu-Ray release which will come six months later.)

So tune in G4 if you're capable. I may even see a few Maniacs on there.

(It's always good to see people you know, even if they're bigots as displayed in "Bruno." Oh yes, a special "hello" to Lloyd Robinson, of the Suite A Management agency: it's nice to put a face to the person who didn't return my letter.)

PS - If you're missing these witty or barely interesting topics, go visit my Mania blog instead. Maelstrom has returned, and we're now poking fun of "Twilight" in much more adult terms.

And Then There Was Silence...

Okay, so it's not actually silence that'll be appearing here in the coming days, but the comparison is fair.

I continue to promote both "Sweet Dreams: A Sandman's Story" and "Summertime Blues." (If you're new to this blog, just scroll down and click the appropriate tabs on the right hand side to learn more about those stories, etc.)

Maintaining four distinct means of communication (i.e. this blog, Myspace, Facebook, and all the rants at Mania) seems to be cutting into my creative spark. Temporarily, this well is being declared dry until the next rains come.

Hey, it happens. It's happened before, it'll happen again. Just accept the dry spells because, when they end, the mind is fresh and fertile again. "Sweet Dreams" was written after one of those dry spells.

So I'm taking it upon myself to try different things. I'm picking up the novels I swore I'd read, and finishing the ones I bought a few years back but had to put them down for one reason or another.

Thank heaven for bookmarks.

I'll continue being an active commentator at Mania, but we'll just have to see how active I am.

So here's a backlog of (hopefully) interesting rambling thoughts on movies, writing, and Hollywood in general. There's also my Mania profile and 150 or so blog entries there to be examined.

I feel I should leave you with an interesting (and a bit graphic, but necessarily so) entry a fellow commentator over at Mania posted. He's a good friend of mine, and manages to cut through to the heart of the matters with naughty language and savvy observations whereas I try to use the more diplomatic and philosophical aspects of debating (read: arguing) over the state of our entertainment options in this day and age.

Please note that, as Mania is still recovering in some fashions, embedded images and other forms of coding aren't fully functional still. Our profiles aren't back to normal, and certainly the number of our profile views are wildly inaccurate. (I was nearing 14,000, Maelstrom had crossed the 19,000 mark.)

And so on...

See you in the nearest Malco Theater, kiddies. And please, don't spill your watered down drinks in my lap again.

Hollywood 451

In the previous entry, I posed the question "has Hollywood officially lost its collective mind?"

This go around, I'm hoping I haven't gotten an answer to that question.

Frank Darabont, the man with the plan where Stephen King is concerned, is the latest in a long line of those trying to get Fahrenheit 451 made for a modern audience, and he's
facing a problem. Here's his quote as found on both Mania and Shock Til You Drop.

I actually had a studio head read that script and say: "Wow, that's the best and smartest script that I've read since running this studio but I can't possibly greenlight it." I asked why and he says "How am I going to get 13-year-olds to show up at the theater?" And I said "Well, lets make a good movie and I bet that will take care of itself." But that argument cut absolutely no ice. The movie was basically too smart for this person, too metaphorical, etc., etc. It's a bit of a battle you've got to fight.

Is this a common problem in Hollywood? I sure as hell hope not, even though I worry its more prevalent than it seems, especially when I consider all the popcorn movie fluff that really gets executives all hot and bothered.

Now I'm not stupid enough to believe that Hollywood should just drop all the fluff and focus on "art movies" or serious dramas. Hell the latest movie I bought on DVD was "Jimmy Neutron - Boy Genius." I wouldn't call that a hard hitting expose on the lives of children.

But I also don't want every executive thinking "how can I get 13 year olds in to see this movie?"

All those that are joining in the conversation at Mania, myself included, are laughing at the apparent idiocy of a guy more concerned with getting 13 year olds into a movie they'd have no appreciation of.

Is this really the golden rule of Hollywood? You can't go forward without the approval of a PG-13 MPAA rating?

Screw that.

And does every movie have to be friendly to as many people as possible to get little Johnny away from his Wii to have more CGI monsters and robots thrown at him just to get him to buy more toys?

Absolutely not.

We're heavily into the PG-13 generation: it's too naughty to be PG, it's not naughty enough to be R, and we can get as many heads to be numbed down as possible in theaters across the country.

I sure as hell can't imagine American Pie being watered down to a PG-13 rating. We're getting horror\thriller movies that have the look of R movies yet are safe enough to take little Billy too.

And the notion of it being "too smart" really pisses me off, as I've encountered quite a number of people that don't want to be talked down to, that need more of a competent story than the ones we're getting more and more of these days.

We are smarter than this. We are better than this. We're all for pure entertaining fluff, but you can only have fast food movies so often. There are feasts out there to be had as well, and we want to dine upon them just as much.

We also want to be engaged. We're not all suffering from ADD, and in fact we can fight off those symptoms quite easily when needed.

Let's face it - executives both underestimate and overestimate us at the same time. Abram's Trek reboot was highly successful while also having the shoddiest story ever to come out of a word processor. Transformers is all spectacle and is nothing more than an over priced commercial for a line of toys. Up remains the best example of storytelling I've seen this year so far.

I simply don't want to be presented with the notion of "too smart" when I make it out west. I also don't want to be defined by the limitations of not having 13 year olds in the theaters. What's the point of telling stories, any stories at all, if you can't make it as it should be and not have it defined by it's imagined limitations?

Has Hollywood (Officially) Lost Its Mind?

My friend Jarrod, the big shot news editor over at Mania, has posted an article saying a new Roy Rogers trilogy of films are in the pipeline.

And some of us are wondering why.

Hollywood is now no longer scraping the bottom of the barrel, they've broken through and started digging down into the barren earth below the barrel.

Come on guys, it's time for some fresh blood and ideas. And I don't simply mean me, I mean the whole way of going about storytelling and how you view past properties.

Wish I Could Fly...Among Other Things

I'm dealing with a somewhat dry spot in my brainstorming recently, and though I've a few ideas sketched out, I really don't know what to do next.

This past Sunday, I took myself to visit a friend, and presented three options to her as I needed to shake out the doldrums and such.

The first option was to visit Fort Smith, but we've literally been there and done that a million times. Xmart, Books A Million, Hastings, and Best Buy have revealed all their secrets. There's nothing new in that town.

The second option was to head west into Oklahoma, and visit what we refer to as "The Vortex," as it is a local supernatural hotspot that local mystics have stated will be only one of the few places that survives "when the world ends."

We visited that place once, and I must admit I was hoping to experience these things. I didn't.

The third option was one that displayed how truly bored I am: let's go to Fayetteville. And so we did. There were caves to explore, Barnes And Noble's high prices to decry, and so on.

The visit to northern towns helped...a little.

But inspiration is still a tricky thing to find.

I was cleaning yesterday, and just happened to place my favorite Roxette CD in the disc player and the song "Wish I Could Fly" begin to flow through the room, and it made me think for a moment while I was resting.

I heard the lead singer declare how she wished she could fly (and so on) and then I begin to consider the notion once stated "if man was meant to fly he'd have been born with wings."

Okay...so I considered that very notion.

A deformed child, born with wings upon his or her back. The child grows up, hiding said wings under oversized clothing on through their teenage years. Maybe he or she can fly, and maybe he or she cannot.

It's unclear right now.

But the point is, this would be taken in a dramatically different fashion than, say, the Angel character as seen in X-Men 3, which was just trash. I'm thinking more introspective, less heroics (actually no heroics at all), and so on.

There's two other stories I'm considering, which are (as usual) somewhat supernatural in nature: "Storm Front," and "Ghost Town."

So far "Storm Front" is more interesting as it deals with mysterious happenings that go on during thunderstorms as two people battle it out using the very forces of nature, yet they only appear which the skies turn active with rain, wind, and lightning.

This story was strengthened when I found a reprint of a wood carving that showed witches stirring up a cauldron to induce rain back in the 15'th or 16'th Centuries. I just have no real intention to include witches in it somehow. Think of it as a misplaced "X-File."

Maybe I should go revisit those caves, or head further north.

Or maybe I should plop myself down in some small overpriced cafe with a pen and paper to see what comes out, if anything.

Final Fantasy Advent Children

Who knew a last ditch effort to save a gaming company decades ago would bring about one of the most successful gaming franchises, plus a movie that I truly cannot seem to get enough of.

Final Fantasy really was that, the company's final effort to keep their fantasy life alive. Then FF debuted on the Nintendo, and history was made.

Today, Final Fantasy Advent Children dawns on Blu-Ray.

FF-AC is a movie people would possibly suspect I wouldn't like, but it is one I do not seem capable of growing weary of.

Some things will just never make sense, and you'll never know what it is I will or won't like. As proof of this just examine my 500+ album collection, and those are just the CDs, not the countless LP's I've accumulated.

So here's to you Cloud Strife, may you now be seen in all your 1080 beauty...and hopefully very soon here in my own home. I'm sure Maelstrom will have his own copy before the day is over.

The Two Sides Of The Coin

I've come to realize I have two main patterns in my creative aspects. The first is to just have fun. The second is to do an interesting exploration of certain topics.

"Summertime Blues," "Passion of Chris," "Life and Times of Igor," plus a few others are all in the name of fun. "Chris" does bridge the gap between both aspects, as it also serves as an exploration between Hollywood and the adult film industry.

Then there's the exploration ideas, like "Unbitten," "Interesting Times," and "Sweet Dreams: A Sandman's Story."

Now don't assume that these aren't fun, they just come from a difference place. "Sweet Dreams" is a light fantasy, "Interesting Times" is massive in itself, and "Unbitten" is a light exploration of the vampire culture, rooted in some history.

Then there's something new I came up with today completely by accident.

Since music is an important muse in my life, I often have something playing through my speakers. Today it was the old B-Side to an Elton John CD single from the early 90's entitled "Suit of Wolves."

It's a beautiful sweeping song that I have on the expanded and remastered edition of "The One."

And sometime, in the dark recesses of my mind, a legend I'm aware of and a song I'm hearing connected unconsciously and brought about a dark story I'm not certain I'd write or not.

I don't often deal with the darkness...simply because I don't like it. "Unbitten" had certain amounts of darkness in it, and this new story would have more than "Unbitten" would.

And yet I know, should I tell the guys over at Mania about it, they'd probably say WRITE IT!

I'll sketch out the basic idea for it, and see where it goes. Then I'll likely put it to the guys at Mania, because they can't seem to get enough werewolf and vampire movies, even though this isn't the standard werewolf movie project I've dreamed up, just like "Unbitten" is less about neck biting monsters and more about the tragedy within.

The Great Trek Throwdown - Aftermath

Okay so the dust needs to settle at mania.

My friend Hobbs posted a blog entry over there with spoilers of the new "Trek," and it prompted me to do a follow up.

His comes first, mine comes second.

The new and improved Star Trek??

Starlight's "Star Trek" Compromise

What do you think? I say, in "Trek's" universe, we can always undo such damage.

Abram's story has a tiny bit of wiggle room, so the next one should exploit it.

But read my "Compromise" for further details on that.

The Hunger

A week or so ago, someone at Mania (Xenomorph, specifically) sent me a private message, asking for my input in a story he wanted to write.

I prefaced it with the usual speech I give people: "ultimately, the best person to judge your story is you. You can ask input from outsiders, and in fact do so, but ultimately work on it until you can no longer find something wrong with it. Then, and only then, will be perfect shape."

I used the term "perfect" here loosely, because no one's perfect.

So after that, he sent a second message, detailing his story (which I won't reveal here for his out artistic confidentiality) and I wrote back to him what I thought not so much of the story, but the places he could look to enhance the story.

And that was it. He said it was a great help, and I hope it was.

Everything I write follows the above stated philosophy. I have a friend who has been right beside me reading everything I've come up with, good and bad, for a good decade now. We shared a few college classes together, we have similar ways of thinking, but we're also dramatically different in our styles.

I have her read anything I've come up with just to use her as a sounding board. She'll make a suggestion here, say this needs to be clarified there, and so on. For as often as I do take her advice, there'll be a lesser amount of times when I'll say "no, this is where I'm going with this."

For the most part, I cannot judge works "in progress," except my own and it's because I have a feeling for mine which states "there are no more rough spots to be smoothed out, now go work on something else, damn it, before you ruin it."

I tend to follow Sting's idea of artistic rule: it has to be a benevolent dictatorship. I wouldn't trust someone else to take over my material, but I also won't dip my toes in the world of someone else's material. I don't have the proper mindset to bring, say, "Twilight" to life on a screenplay.

And I've enjoyed the first two books in Meyer's series, as I'm crazy in love with the "Harry Potter" series, but I wouldn't make the attempt at bringing hers to life either.

The one exception to this is "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy," which was ruined in the movie adaptation in the whole second act. Frankly the filmmakers could've expanded upon the back story of Deep Thought, how it was created, the Great Day of Unveiling, and all that. I also would've loved to see the philosopher's come in and start demanding to shut down Deep Thought instead of all that mucking about on the Vogon home world.

Now new readers to my entries may feel "damn, you're an arrogant son of a bitch, aren't you."

I'd say "no I'm not. I'm passionate."

Never confuse arrogance for passion.

Passion is in the blood, arrogance is in the head.

Passion is a hunger, a desperate ravenous need for whatever its seeking. You'll find it in the heartbeat of those that need to take flight, you'll hear it in the cries of those who swim into shining, fast moving currents of life itself, you'll know it when it catches of the sails of your ship and pushes you to tropical lands as your vessel seems to lift up off the water and soars into the mysteries before it much like Captain Hook's vessel could when given a touch of pixie dust.

Passion can seem like arrogance, I grant you that. I tend to do my own thing, and to hell with everything else because if I'm lumbered to others or certain guidelines I know I'll fail because I don't need barriers to hold me in, I need them to go crashing through while spectacular showers of glass rain upon the land while refracting the lights of above into serene patterns of light onto the lands below.

I know passion. I experience it whenever I go see a movie I want to see in the theaters. I get an electric chill in my spine that radiates through my body as I arrive at the local theater AN HOUR EARLY because I love the experience so very, very much.

Especially at these new all digital theaters.

But don't mistake the setting and the technology as what causes the hum and vibration. It's not.

I was at several movies, and they all had previews to "Speed Racer." There was absolutely no electric bite upon my skin when that was previewed, but then previews for "Nim's Island," and "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" would come on and, what do you know, the passion is back.

You gotta be receptive to passion. You also have respect it in order to let it flow and grow within you and around you.

I am NOT passionate about popcorn movies in general. To be honest, most of those I've seen since the mid-90's have really been instantly forgettable. To this day I still wonder what I saw in "Independence Day," "Spiderman," and "Armageddon."

Hype, most likely. Hype is artificial. Passion is absolute.

I've also been debating (some might say "arguing") my points with the rest of Mania over J. J. Abram's bastardization of "Star Trek," something he admits to not having been a fan of.

The man has no passion for 'Trek,' yet I do.

In great abundance.

A lot of movies (but not all) of today's movies are just over formulated. They lack passion, especially when quite a few of them have three screenwriters or more. It's just a job to them, one of counting out pages and plot points.

It lacks passion.

I once tried an experiment, to see if I could "run with the crowd," as it were. My friend (the one mentioned above) and I decided to write something together, which was a novel idea.

I'd also discovered Michael Hauge's screenwriting structure, and over the course of two weeks or so we stayed at it, night after night, and the end result was....terrible.

Absolutely terrible.

We'd sent it in to a contest that was happening that year, and got our review. The story and dialogue was just average (which was fair enough, we were new at this) but the format was excellent.

I turned to my friend and said "the format was excellent? It was as exciting as a goddamned aluminum ladder with just as much personality to boot."

"Well, don't do it anymore."

I tossed Hauge's proven formula out the window and went on to create, I feel, some truly wonderful things.

Formula's be damned.

This isn't math we're taking here kids. Leave the formulas at home.

My friends who have known me for a long time no you can reason with the passions I have for music, movies, games and ultimately debate, should it become necessary.

I don't simply "want" to hear the song "Thunder Island," I NEED to hear that song. This is a current, awfully potent passion I'm dealing with right now.

Thanks to my dad, my family has (at the very least) 5,000 LP's and EP's in the vinyl format.

And that's not including the hundred's of 45's or 78's.

"Thunder Island" is from the 70's, and guess what? They had records in the 70's! So my first trip is, not to Best Buy, but to the storeroom where the records are kept safe.

I've turned two boxes of 45's inside out as of an hour ago, and still haven't found it. And I won't stop until I've searched every single box and discounted them all as not having Jay Ferguson's dedication to loving a woman out there on Thunder Island.

Then I'll go to Best Buy.

You may argue "just go buy it and get it over with," and my response would be "I'll do that anyways, but I want to hear it and I may very well have it. If I do, I can feed the hunger to tide me over until my next trip to Best Buy."

Passions must be accepted. They must be fed...for if they aren't, it leads to starvation and death.

I'm always able to feed my passions...and if I can't right at this moment, I'll fight to claim the moment in which I can feed said passion.

I've been promoting to Hollywood nearly a decade now. They haven't called back yet...but the hunger is there.

It will always be there...and my passions are always fulfilled.

Always.

I encourage passion in those who come to me for advice, I encourage it in myself.

And I get pissed off when I find a lack of passion and vibrant vitality in modern day movies. There is less passion, less vitality, and less craftsmanship.

And that's how they sustain themselves - they lack the hunger.

And those that lack the hunger are easily satisfied.

Don't be easily satisfied. And never compromise your passion in anything you write, or do.

The Great "Trek" Throwdown Continues...

In case you haven't been paying attention, there's a sort of "Star Trek" civil war going on at Mania, and I'm one of the few leading the charge in the war against J. J. Abrams.

Follow the links, judge for yourself, and take it all in.

Ten Reasons To Be Worried About "Star Trek"

"Star Trek" Mania Review

DVD Shopping Bag -- The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation

What Are You Laughing At?

The proper question should possibly read "are you even laughing at all?"

Thank you, World Health Organization, for dragging me back into a bleak, hilarity lacking world.

It only makes me want to spin comedic yarns even more, because I need to tell them just as much those around me need to hear them.

Laughter is an escape, and given current world trends, we'll desperately need something to laugh at.

But who will provide it? Comedy movies haven't been very "comedic" as of late. Sure Jim Carrey's "Yes Man" was a return to form, Kevin Smith gave us "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," and...well, that's about it.

Oh yeah, "Paul Blart - Mall Cop" is a contender, but since I was unable to get to the theater to see it, I can't judge it as being funny or not, even though I admit I'm willing to get it on DVD so you can tell I'm leaning towards the funny side.

Then there's Seth Rogen - a nice enough guy, and he is conversationally funny, but that's about it. I state "conversationally funny" because it's a different type of material, where two or three people are just hanging out, making instantly funny, yet quickly forgettable jokes.

I have my conversationally funny moments -- and they're nowhere near as funny as the sketches or scenarios I've written in the past.

We've also had a lot of the over polished, run of the mill, by the numbers teen sex comedies which really aren't that funny to begin with: "Sex Drive," and "Fired Up!" come to mind. It's like all the funny ideas are ran through a calculator, made to equal a particular number, and when the solution is made clear, the laughs are supposed to happen.

Well that's not happening.

There's no presentation in comedy anymore -- and this I know for experience.

In high school, to be taken seriously as a person (i.e. diffusing situations) I lashed out with my wicked style of humor, which finally earned me respect I didn't have with the overall population while I also managed to assert myself creatively in ways that simply weren't possible.

Nothing is rougher than high school, especially if you're just a 90 pound kid, six feet high, known for mastering video games and a peculiar love for cheese. The "white" Steve Urkel is what I was called. It's a fair cop.

But I wasn't alone, I had two others that were just as crazy as I. But I was the more flamboyant one.

When my 10 year reunion came back in '06, the old twitch (that never really went away) came to the forefront of my mind: "Weird Al" Yankovic had his hit "White and Nerdy" at that time, so I toiled with the idea of coming in, boombox in hand, blaring said song, while dressed up as the whitest gangsta rapper Arkansas had ever known.

I would then proceed to sing the entire song, while meeting and greeting everyone from days gone by.

It never happened...but I should've done it.

I also should've attended my prom (which I didn't) dressed up as "The Mask:" green face, yellow zoot suit, and all.

Two of my friends similarly had the notion to dress up like the guys in "Dumb and Dumber:" light blue and orange suits, matching walking sticks, and all.

That didn't happen either.

We were teenagers, we didn't have that kind of money...or any at all, which kept us from living out our fantasies.

Presentation is everything, you literally have to be a madman to break the monotony of life. Conversational humor won't do it, which is why Seth Rogen (and Judd Apatow's) movies cannot illicit a true lung busting laugh from yours truly.

No one is rolling on the floor laughing at anything anymore. I used to find myself, laughing so hard with tears streaming down my face, pounding my fist into the floor at the movies we used to get.

And I miss that experience. It's one I only get when I'm writing my own material (because it is a throwback to those days when comedy was actually funny) and, of course, Michael Xavier Maelstrom who is a fellow blogger at Mania.

The man is brilliant. He's also insane.

He obviously realized presentation, and the willingness to go far beyond the safety barriers, is what it takes to be genuinely funny. His blogs are the funniest I've read (no matter how serious they are in tone) and they are the only other source of material out there that can bring about the phenomenon of laughing so hard that it hurts, while tears of joy just wash down my face.

There's a potential for collaboration here, but it has to be like the experiences I had in high school: two half crazed people, looking at the world, knowing it's a screwed up place, standing up in defiance of it while declaring war on it with his "Mystery Apparatus" and the destructive "Butterscotch Catapult."

Any man that can come up with weaponry like that should be made a saint. That's all I'm saying.

I silently suspect if such a partnership arose, it would definitely burn bright and energetic, in the same style of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again," which we both love dearly, coupled with the styles of Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, and Steve Martin, with a raw naughtiness unseen since "Porky's" was last seen flickering of a movie screen back in the 80's.

There are no funny movie trailers or concepts on the horizon....except for the possibility of a "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" sequel, which I dearly loved.

There really isn't anything truly inventive on the television set anymore...except maybe "Dollhouse," which I cannot see as I do not have a Fox Affiliate I can tune in, and "Eureka" used to be brilliant, but I fear its becoming a victim of its own success.

But those shows aren't really comedies, per se.

Thankfully, we do have Lewis Black, Jeff Dunham, Kathy Griffin, and John Pinette. But they haven't actually starred in any blockbuster comedies lately.

Comedic movies, like my own "Summertime Blues," need to have a wicked attitude, a Cheshire cat grin, and the nerves to stand up and flip off the establishment and the social norms while belting out Italian Operas while also dressed up in blue Speedos, swimming fins, a snorkel, and tuxedo jacket complete with tails and top hat .

Comedies literally have to have the cajones to be brash, loud, fast, and absolutely off the wall, just like we used to see in the mid 90's. It's a proven formula, and along with a certain naughty inventiveness, some of us could truly create something the world has never seen before that won't simply be quoted, it'll be emulated.

Quoting movies is nice, but it then becomes conversational humor. Acting like a maniac while throwing yourself whole heartedly into the material is where American comedies should be going.

We need trailblazers, and I absolutely consider myself one of them in this jungle. No one else is going to do it, no one else really understands it, and you can't really describe it to others, so you might as well just show off what you can do and, like me, watch them keep coming back for more.

So what are you laughing at?

I'm laughing at my own jokes and sketches: they're ten years old, and they haven't lost their comedic sting in a decade. They are timeless, just like "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "The Mask," "Liar Liar," "Bowfinger," and "Austin Powers."

I'm laughing at Maelstrom's blogs, namely "The Chronicles of Sarah Palin" and "Tokyo Stomp" which we both devised quite by accident.

I'm still laughing at my old sketches like "The Remains of Babe Ruth" and "There's A Penguin In My Trousers!"

Hell I'm still laughing at all the crap I wrote in high school.

And I plan to keep on writing everything that delivers a right hook to current comedy standards, because they need to be knocked down. I plan on dreaming big while the world worries about all the possibilities of things that can kill us.

I'm not afraid to proclaim that there truly is no one out there as inventive as we are, Maelstrom. Not by a long shot.

Now, if you'll excuse us, the Mystery Apparatus needs to be oiled.

(It does use oil, right Maelstrom?)

PS - Come on Hollywood, not only do I need to do this as I have always done (and always will continued to do so) but the world needs something to laugh at to take its mind off all our collective troubles.

Film it, and they will come...by the millions.

Of this I'm very, very certain. And that's a statement I'll risk fifteen years of writing and performing experience, and an untold amount of friends (both real and online) upon.

The audience, (my audience) already exists. It has only grown bigger since I left high school, and it continues to grow. I'm laying my reputation on the line, and I know with absolute certainty that I will be victorious.

Staying Ahead, Yet Falling Behind In Hollywood

I'm a masochist. That must be it.

So in previous blogs I've stated what my "Life and Times of Igor" project has been about, the difficulties it's faced, and so on.

I even posted an entry with a link to the article at Mania which shot me down again.

But now I typed in "I, Frankenstein" into Google and saw my envisioned world crash down again.

The page was filled with news items on their movie, their upcoming comic book, and with absolutely no way for me to get a script in edgewise.

So the CGI animated "Igor" movie bombs, now this.

But what really stings is this quote:

"I don't know of any other projects past or present that gives you the chance, in a single movie, to re-invent the 'MOST CULT CREATURES OF ALL TIME'. All of this in a very unique, dark and stylistic world. I would never pass on such an opportunity," says Tatopoulos.

Well, I do - the very same project I've had since 2005.

Oh well.

The saying is true -- it doesn't matter what you know, it's who you know.

And there are countless people out there that know of my story (at Mania), yet the rest of the world won't.

Oh well, again.

That's life in this business.

--UPDATED!!!--

Last night I concocted an evil scheme to stay ahead, even if I can't get "Life and Times of Igor" out there.

I'm officially no longer promoting the actual project...but I have POSTED it (or what would've been the comic book script, which also would've become the first hour in the three part mini-series of the same name.

So here's it is fans and fiends:

http://thelifeandtimesofigor.blogspot.com/

Follow the labels off to the side, as they denote Parts 1 through 5.

I'll work on figuring out how to arrange them in the reverse order eventually...I hope.

The Passion of Chris

Let's discuss experiences in failure in my screenwriting quest, with a project I accidentally created in 2004.

But first let's rewind to 2004.

This was the year Janet Jackson's warm, round, Hershey Kisses shaped breast was exposed to all the world to see, which resulted in a right wing firestorm.

We'd already had two years of loyal Bushies and angry Neo-Cons mucking up the society (much the same way Fox News feels the Obama-ites are doing now), and the undercurrent of electric outrage was alive.

Frankly, I didn't see the fuss.

In fact I went out and found myself as many still images I could of the event.

But that was how the year opened, which led to all those Neo-Cons calling for harder censorship laws, people in Bush's administration trying to criminalize the adult film industry (I know the dude's name, just can't think of him right now), and it seemed the moral majority witch hunt was on.

MTV and VH1 were also suffering from these pitchfork carrying psychos, and I plainly remember a Maroon Five music video becoming censored because it was felt the lead singer and the not entirely clothed female in the video rolling around in bed wasn't pure enough.

Or something to that affect.

They probably just didn't want to risk raising the already inflated ire that burned brightly at the entertainment atmosphere.

Fast forward a few months, and this madness is really kicking in from what I remember. Then, hallelujah, a savior has been filmed and was to be projected upon big screens.

It was called "The Passion of the Christ," an arguably not too well executed movie that brought the Christians in by the pound. The MPAA gave that movie an R-Rating, but Christians kept taking their kids to see something they'd normally rail against if it was any other movie.

My considered rationalization for this was simple: "it's different! This is holy violence!"

Regular violence is evil, holy violence is great: Inquisitions, witch hunts, and nailing a guy to a piece of wood for saying "let's all get along, it'll be great."
Love those crazy Christians.

Now while this is going on, I've started an ongoing joke in my head which went something like: "The Passion of Chris! Feel His Passion!"

And I'd concocted this whole movie poster of this good looking guy tied to a bed, with a seductive smile looking out at the viewer, with a tagline that would describe this particular offering as "Witness The Final 12 Hours Of Chris' Virginity!"

So we've got a charged atmosphere, we've got censorship running crazy, there was great approval of widescreen closeups of nailing some poor dude to a plank of wood, and it all combined with one rather unlikely piece of information: a possible Writer's Guild strike.

I don't know what finally pushed me into writing the script, but one day the right neurons sparked in the perfect arrangement and a whole new story was born.

Now, during all of this, I'd stumbled upon the adult film studio Digital Playground, which had brought the adult genre into the 21'st Century. No longer would adult films be, well, terrible - badly shot, horribly lit, no story, bad acting, terrible use of video instead of film, and so on.

The production quality of one trailer I'd viewed, namely for a features called "Three Timing," said to me "The Valley has caught up with Hollywood. Everything now is possible."

It was clever, it had higher production qualities than the local CBS Affiliate channel, it was in anamorphic widescreen for Chrissakes!

Yeah, the acting was still iffy, but everything else had greatly improved!

So take all these elements, mix them up, and after a bit of research and four days of furious writing, I'd completed a first draft script that was around 100 pages long.

And the story was this: young up and coming writer\director is just about to sign on the dotted line when the WGA does go on strike, and he's out in the cold. Meanwhile, his agent finds him work to pay the bills working on an adult film called, appropriately enough, "The Passion of Chris."

He very reluctantly accepts the gig, finds a very talented actress who, he feels, is wasting her talent in this particular industry, and learns that he has achieved a dream when he originally feels like he's been kicked to the curb.

It's obvious where the jokes come from, but where the heart of the story comes from is a much different place.

In my research, I read both the horror stories and the life affirming stories of adult performers. There was an article how one female performer was asked to visit a fan of hers who was, at that time, in the hospital.

She paid him a visit, gave him an autograph I believe, and was very friendly to this guy who enjoyed her work.

There's an actress who does adult films, yet has a Bachelor's Degree in microbiology, of all things.

It was amazing - it was stunning to me, to be perfectly honest.

Another concept that inspired the ending of my script came from real life as well - a young man once dreamed of becoming a doctor. He watched medical professionals on television, he was interested in the profession, yet he became an actor.

Only later in his life did he become a doctor: Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy.

Yes, Deforest Kelly was that little boy who dreamed of becoming a doctor, and in some surprising twist of fate, he became exactly that as that's what we all remember his as: a doctor.

And that's the question posed to my fictional writer\director: can you be happy where you are, having achieved what you have even if it isn't originally what you conceived of.

The answer was, of course, yes. My fictional character had achieved his dreams, and realized he'd have much more freedom outside of Hollywood, and the adult studio was only too glad to bring him in full time.

There were jokes I didn't get to use in "Passion of Chris," but I saved them for the sequel I never got around to writing: "The Next Temptation of Chris," which was to be about censorship run amuck, and so on.

It also had the jokes of bringing in Norah Jones and Britney Spears, questioning them constantly about their lyrics in a hearing not unlike the ones during the 50's House on Un- American Activities.

The questions were to say "Don't Know Why" was actually about impotence (read the lyrics, you'll get it) and "Baby, One More Time..." was about spousal abuse.

Too bad there was no "If You Seek Amy..." back then.

I wrote "Chris" in four days, as stated above.

I promoted it vigorously.

No one would touch it.

Hell, no one would even return my letters...at all. Not even to say "not interested."

Looking back that's possibly due to the fact the WGA and AMPTP discussions were flaky at best, but even after they were resolved the same cold reception greeted "Chris" on both coasts.

So I let "The Passion of Chris" rest.

I've made no attempts to resurrect it. I will make no further attempts.

It's a funny as hell story, but it has a very serious center to it. It is my biggest failure to date, which is sad because it had so much going for it. It also had something even bigger going against it: time.

2004 and its madness won't come back again...for which I'm deeply thankful, even if I have to scrap an entire screenplay.

And no one will ever know...

And promotions continue for "Sweet Dreams: A Sandman's Story" and "Summertime Blues."

Jarrod's Revenge

Ah, the weekly box office report at Mania.

This week's version includes a gentle ribbing from good old Jarrod.

Of course it is in response to the one I sent him the previous weekend.

Follow the links Jarrod provided and enjoy my pithy comments and his sweet, sweet revenge.

Anonymous Readers (and) Too Much Connectivity?

You have to love anonymous viewers and readers.

Apparently, in the short time I've had this little blog, the profile has been viewed like 300 times. Just when you think "no one's paying attention," you click on the profile you wrote like weeks ago for the first time and see it's quite a healthy number for such a short time.

Maelstrom is used to this over at Mania. He's at...well, I think it's over 19,000 views and it took three years to reach that.

Hanso is over 14,000 I believe, and it may have taken two or three years.

And then I had like 10,000 in something like eight or nine months.

Frankly I have no idea why - I just log in, check my profile page, and was stunned at the number. I normally don't pay attention to such things, which is why I'm surprised when I do look.

Maelstrom pointed out that readers often don't like to provide their comments or views, that they're just happy to see what's going on and leave it at that. I know it bugged the hell out of NotAFan on Mania, which is why he stopped blogging.

In other Mania news, our dear news editor Jarrod seemed awfully glad I'd returned to the usual blogging style I have over there, and we're both hoping Maelstrom himself will return soon.

I also recently joined Facebook, which will also allow me to keep up with friends I haven't seen since high school, and now I even have Jarrod on there as well.

He's a nice guy, go say hi if you come across him.

Jarrod's also another lost soul on Twitter, which makes me wonder "do we have too much connectivity?" I already had three blogs to keep up with before I joined Facebook, now I have a fourth outlet, and there's always the potential to join Twitter.

I'm not really sure I want to, but if it becomes useful in my little networking scheme of global domination then I may sign up...but not now.

The promotions continue...slowly but surely.

We'll get to Hollywood eventually...but until then, Futurama's on to keep me busy.

Ten Years And Counting (and) Curing "Summertime Blues"

You know, I looked up the other day and realized ten years had gone by since the first time I uttered those immortal words: "I want to be a screenwriter."

I find the Ten Years Anniversary keeps popping up. Cosmic coincidence? Who knows.

Other ten years coming to fruition: a decade since a friend and I went to see "Phantom Menace," since I met yet another friend, a third friend is temporarily closing the book on our friendship as she needs to "get away" (which I completely understand), and it's also been a decade since I first purchased "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" and my Nintendo 64.

Oddly enough, I beat LOZ:OT this past weekend.

Now that's how you celebrate a ten year anniversary: by succeeding in something you've never really mastered in these last nine years.

(NOTE: I had to put my gaming fun aside for a few years, plus that damned Water Temple kept kicking my ass. Only last year was it when I started making progress in it again. Now I need myself a copy of "Majora's Mask," and a Wii and "Twilight Princess.")

As for "Summertime Blues," well Eddie Cochran stated you can't necessarily cure the blues themselves, but I'm making my final adjustments to the script which I started, oddly enough, nine years ago. The original draft was written in 2000 and, hopefully, it'll debut next year in order to celebrate it's tenth year anniversary.

I'm now on Facebook, yet I'm not too certain of why - I've already got too many ways of being connected as it is.

Everything You Could Ever Hope For...Again!

Mania blogs are back, baby!

They are a bit off the wagon, and they tend to stumble about in the dark, but at least they're back.

Now, I must say the archiving of the blogs from the past year are terribly out of whack, as they all state the year as 2009, but it's just another glitch to be solved so if you're new to this madness, just remember this: we're nuts, so it makes sense to us.

Here's how to find the past one hundred blogs or so from the previous year:

Step 1. Follow the link off to the right that says "Starlight's Mania Profile."

Step 2. Click the tab that reads BLOG

Step 3. Scroll down and to the right until you see a box that reads BLOG ARCHIVE. There will be a listing of months and the corresponding number of entries per that month.

Step 4. Click whatever you want and have a ball reading it.

Now I will state upfront that there are excerpts from "Summertime Blues," "Life and Times of Igor," "Interesting Times," and so on posted there. I did it to gauge a reaction from the maniacs who would sometimes post comments, but now all the comments (save for the main profile page) are gone.

Another note of caution, sometimes we could get a little blue, so if that offends you, keep in mind you've been notified beforehand.

In these blogs you'll encounter a lot of dead html image links as well, as image embeds somehow got knocked out.

Also, there'll be random assemblages of thoughts concerning the notions of rebooting Superman, Star Trek, and my own thoughts on how to make a third X-Files movie and a Legend of Zelda movie, a plea to bring back Maniac Mansion, and so on.

Plus there's the "Mania Christmas" lyric I composed, in honor of the holidays.

Is that all, Master Starlight?

No, Igor, there's more!

Igor afraid of that.

But what there is left to be discovered has yet to be remembered, but go explore at your own leisure.

Igor do that, Master Starlight.

Good...and, Igor?

Yes, Master Starlight?

Leave that Vanessa Hudgens movie here.

Fine.

Well, now that THAT is out of the way, and given the fact I can revisit all my old blogs that feature Igor, I can get back to work hammering out what should become of this new mini-series.

Igor's Proof Of Resurrection

I'd like to state that, since the news broke yesterday of another Frankenstein spoof both in comics and film, I'd better do more than just state I "did it first."

So I went looking through my files, and found a scan from 2005 which was a reply to one of my original query letters during the earliest days of promoting "The Life and Times of Igor" as a full fledged screenplay.

I will also start looking around in my email account for the very same emails I used as a back and forth between one Bernadette Baker and her Baker's Mark literary agency up in Portland, Oregon as a means of saying "see, I didn't steal it."

As usual, I can't prove if they stole mine either...but at least I have a defensive means should the topic come up.

Also another agent that read a draft of "Igor" back in the 2005/2006 era was from the Stephen Pevner agency that was also located in New York. I am at a loss as to what that individual's name was at this moment.

Yes, I also blocked out my name and address for identity theft issues. Sorry, it can't be helped, besides I'm quite certain you'll understand.

(Although if an agent that I have queried recently asks for this uncensored evidence, they can have it.)



And if the photobucket link doesn't work properly, try this link.

Igor, Here We Go Again...

God this is annoying.

I promote an "Igor" movie in 2005, then I hear they're making one.

In 2007 I promote that same story as a comic, now today I learn an unpublished version that mirrors mine to some degree has made it to Hollywood.

I must be the only person who can not only predict trends, but expand upon them to such a degree to make them bigger than they ever could be, and still not be allowed in.

I'd better check up on who this guy is represented by.

Yeah, I know, other people can have the same idea as you can, Starlight, trust me I've been down this road before. But it's becoming awfully suspicious as of late, I must admit.

Here's the article, in case you think I'm nuts.

--Updated--

Well now that the initial "ah hell" wave of madness has dissipated, I've decided that (as usual) Wiseguy is right. The maniacs were very good to offer support to my project last year while I kept putting up samples of the work.

Wiseguy's the one who was among the most vocal supporters for my "Igor," (as was NotAFan and Maelstrom), and to do battle with this new adaptation means standing up and being dramatically different...by keeping the story the same.

And mine has more characters.

Now I just have to find the appropriate place to put Richard, The Tango Dancing Squirrel which is, of course, one of Dr. Jekyll's other personalities. Him, and the vibrant, blond, and somewhat sexually dubious Simon which is a rip off of Simon Belmont and Van Helsing.

(Note to non gamers - Simon Belmont is the butch guy in skimpy armor last seen in the Castlevania series for the Nintendo and Super Nintendo.)

I've always talked about it, now I'll just flat out put it in:

SIMON
(overly emotional)
I'm a boy! I'm a boy, damn it!

IGOR
Simon say he boy, yet Simon soft like
girl. Pretty too. It confuse Igor.
(then)
Maybe Simon come back to Igor's
place? Rub Igor's hump?

SIMON
Humph!

Simon tosses his long, flowing hair in a very feminine style over his shoulder and storms out.

Let's see...the first third of the script is in pretty good shape, which is something I know for a fact. I will have to look at it again just to clean up any lingering doubts or rough spots, but I'm pretty certain there are few.

The other two thirds will need a little more work, and possibly a good stretching of a few pages here and there, but that won't be too much of a problem. The more Hollywood's antics keep putting Igor down, the more he resurrects himself.

I'll settle for a televised mini-series, just so long as we can still keep up with the manic energy of the story.

And if this incarnation doesn't make it...well, I guess I'll become a novelist.

Just like "Interesting Times," too much work has been put into this project to just let die.

A Brief Message

I just now took it upon myself to add the freelance review I offered to Bier Magazine of the Jim Carrey release "Yes Man."

You can click it now to see it.

And you're probably saying to yourself, "So, Starlight, you had a comfy gig writing movie reviews for a new national magazine. Why'd you give it up?"

The honest truth is, the magazine itself had decided they wouldn't be offering salaries to those contributors who provide material to their publication for at least six months, so I just cut my losses and went about my life.

They get a free movie review, and I get yet another chance to see my name in print.

But it's the last time I provide any amount of work free of charge.

And the promotions continue...

The Life And Times Of An Ongoing Series (Or Two)

I've discussed "Sweet Dreams: A Sandman's Story" openly here, as I'm currently promoting it.

For the better part of 2008, I discussed "The Life and Times of Igor" with several Maniacs regularly as I was, in essence, keeping them up to date with my promotions of the comic book version, finding the agent in Oregon, waiting, waiting, more waiting which saw time being filled with various excerpts posted on the now mostly dead blogs at Mania, some more waiting, and then eventually the Dear Writer letter I received.

But I'm not bitter.

Well, not anymore.

Truthfully, I wasn't bitter then -- exhausted, yes, but not bitter. I'd just squeezed another sixty pages out of a story I'd been writing, rewriting, updating, changing, and polishing since 2004.

A brief, full account of this can be read at my MySpace page, you'll find the link in the "Everything One Could Ever Hope For..." section here. (Please don't laugh at the picture, I'm not too terribly fond of cameras.)

"Life and Times of Igor," amazingly, always resurrects itself somehow, and there's always some new detail I can throw into it, and I'm always amazed how I never thought of that before.

The basic idea of the original screenplay was simple: Dr. Frankenstein gets arrested for dumping toxic waste and Igor, suddenly unemployed, needs a new job. He finds odd jobs in rural Transylvania, Utah, and encounters the Wolfman, Dracula, the Mummy, the Blob, Quasimodo, Lady Esmerelda, a bunch of angry villagers, Dr. Jekyll and, of course, Mr. Hyde.

It's not as complicated as you might think. Think "Van Helsing" only funnier.

And without Van Helsing.

I feel there's still a very good chance for my hunchback story to survive, cause we'll be getting remakes of Dr. Jekyll, Frankenstein, and a few other B - Movie monster stories in the coming years.

I still have the original 120 page screenplay, plus the sixty pages of new material for what would've been the comic book. I'm still kicking around the idea of a mini-series for this, as the material I wrote last year serves as an accidental prequel, detailing Igor's lack of interest in baseball, Victor Frankenstein's lack of interest in the Bearded Lady at the circus where he performs, and so on.

There's also references to a Temple of Scienceology and crazed cult members that Igor brain washes (using a mop and Brain-O) in the bowels of said temple.

Victor runs away from the circus to join Evil Medical School, Igor quits his brain washing gig, and they both encounter each other late one night at some weigh station of life and two destinies converge forever.

That's my Igor story.

Another increasingly growing story I've worked on has the overreaching title of "Interesting Times," and it finally grew to have six episodes, all running at two and a half hours or more.

I should probably detail the birth of "Interesting Times" now in print, as I'm afraid I'll forget it.

Fall 2000

I'd officially become interested in ghosts those autumn months. I'd picked up a book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Ghosts And Hauntings," and read through it feverishly. I'd also, interestingly enough, encountered in my French classes a young lady who actively described herself as "Wiccan," along with an interesting person who was actually a victim of poltergeist activity.

"How convenient," I thought. I soon realized there was a term for this: synchronicity. It was as if the forces of the universe itself said Now's Our Chance. Light The Passion And Hold On Tight.

In the fall of 2000, I wrote something like fifteen pages, but had to put it on hold.

Spring 2001

Spring break rolled around, and with a week of nothing to do, I sat down and wrote eighty pages worth of material in five days. I then show it to a person who is still my most trusted literary critic.

She read it, and uttered that famous last word: "sequel."

I railed against her, said she was crazy, and that there was no way in hell I could write a sequel. Doing the first one had driven me crazy as it was.

Up until that time, I basically worked on what was then known as "Once Upon A Midnight Dreary..." for a few months, off and on, while not really taking it too seriously. I'd started promoting what would eventually become "Summertime Blues," and found myself constantly reading any book that seemed legitimate dealing with the supernatural. I read Sylvia Browne, I devoured John Edward, I took comfort in James van Praagh's experiences.

I read countless other books on hauntings, haunted locations, and mysticism.

But I still had no plans for a sequel.

Spring 2002

By this time I knew a lot more about the paranormal world, and realized "Ghostbusters" had gotten it all wrong. I wanted to now make a movie that was, arguably, more realistic than the "ghost in the bedroom" movies Hollywood had been making for countless years.

I'd even found a hook for a sequel, so I started writing what was then called "Shake And Shiver," a sort of homage to Scooby Doo and that phrase which comes from the opening theme song.

I wrote that fairly quickly, and found myself rewriting "Once Upon A Midnight Dreary..." as I was going along.

Then a third one popped up, straight out of nowhere. It was, as originally conceived, to complete the sequence of events which was then thought of as a trilogy. That final episode was to be called "Stranger Things."

From June to December was spent on rewriting those three scripts, plus "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring" debuted and I was passionately in love with it. It didn't truly influence the material I was working on, but it did truly inspire me creatively.

I kept working, feverishly.

I kept reading, constantly.

Those mysterious forces behind me kept pushing me forward, and I started having the craziest dreams I'd ever had in my lifetime. Mysterious things started happening in my waking life, such as encountering the spirit world in the form of long dead felines I'd once loved.

And I pressed on, like a madman destined to discover new lands he didn't know he was looking for.

2003

Sometime in this year, a fourth movie appeared in my head straight out of the blue. It was to push "Stranger Things" back to number four while this new one was to be called "Amazing Things," and referenced a line from scripture that Jesus speaks. It also dealt with Atlantis.

So now here I was working on a whole new script that came out of nowhere, and suddenly I was working now on four episodes.

I spent that year working on what was then called "Once Upon A Midnight Dreary, "Shake And Shiver," and "Stranger Things" all at once while embracing this new third episode.

I also suffered burnout badly sometime around summer.

But I kept reading.

The rest of the year was devoted to more reading, more writing, more rewriting.

2004

By this time, I believe I'd officially changed the title of "Shake And Shiver" to "Almost Unreal." The name for "Stranger Things" had officially been dropped, and it was temporarily left nameless.

Sometime in this era, I'd also come up with yet another installment, one set in Louisiana that explored Voodoo. I flirted with this idea, then dumped it, but not totally as I would find out later in life.

So the rundown went like this, 1 - "Once Upon A Midnight Dreary," 2 - "Almost Unreal," 3 - "Amazing Things, 4 - fka "Stranger Things," and what would eventually become Part 5 was dreamed up as well, which put the plot details of "Stranger Things" back another episode and the newly vacant four would become a story about voodoo.

September came, and a friend then told me she'd read a little book she'd think I'd like, and it was called "The DaVinci Code."

I was instantly upset, because the game had been radically changed for me. It also inspired a whole new level of historical relevancy to everything I'd been writing about earlier, so delved into whole new territories of study and it lead me to one conclusion:

I needed to do, basically, a page one rewrite of a lot of the stuff that had come before. My parents also just happened to buy me a new computer in that upcoming December, so I had to transfer all my files to the new system, and a new word processor.

All the work I had done, I now felt, was average. It was okay, but it needed a hell of a lot of work to be really, really good to stand up against the now complete trilogy of "Lord of the Rings" and the works of Dan Brown.
So, I went back to the original sources of material I'd had, and flipped what was once called "Once Upon A Midnight Dreary" on its side, taking it from a different angle, and rechristened it "The Fountain of Light.

Then I started having those strange, mysterious dreams again, along with yet another newfound passion and inspiration. "Fountain" took the original story, kept it basically the same, and made it much more profound and, subsequently, changed the entire overreaching basis of the series.

2005

About one month, and 150 pages later, I and my friend who read the very first draft nearly four years earlier were stunned at what had happened. I then set about revising the other scripts.

I started watching entire new documentaries, reading whole new books on history, and Sylvia Browne herself seemed to illuminate all these things I'd conveniently ignored the first go around.

In between these incidents, I took to revising "Summertime Blues" into a more contemporary form, as I'd been working on it for a good five years at that time. And "The Life and Times of Igor" was officially becoming a major player in my life, so all of "Interesting Times" took a sudden backseat.

2006

I kept working on all the above listed projects in some form or another, tweaking here, adding there, revising this, polishing that.

Then, in February, the forgotten idea of doing a voodoo story in Louisiana came back up. It was to become Part Four, and dealt with the devil himself. That spring "What The Devil Made Me Do" became the first script to go through a first draft stage that was so very close to the finished project that I, amazingly enough, felt could've improve on it at all.

Four years later, very little has changed in Episode Four.

When I finished one of the drafts of "Devil Made Me Do" back in '06, I had to deal with "Igor" and "Summertime Blues" some more, and also kept up my research for "Interesting Times."

Now, from here on, the details get sketchy as it's all blended together too seamlessly.

Sometime, now knowing a great deal more about the paranormal, I'd realized the Part 5 script I wanted to write was going to be too big, and the decision was made to cut it into two parts, which effectively left me at a six part series.

A lot of rewriting, reading, revising, and so on has been the norm since that has happened.

And, as of now, I still have no official script for what will become the sixth and final installment of "Interesting Times." I'm polishing up about 30% of Part 1, the same goes for Part 2, and in either 2006 or 2007 I started a Page One rewrite for "Amazing Things."

I wrote sixty new pages...and somehow lost it.

Burnout hit me hard. Very hard. I couldn't make myself write it.

Part 4 is still in 95% excellent condition, and will not change so drastically.

Parts 5 and 6, though, are up in the air, but more so for Part 6 as the script for Part 5 does exist, it's just going to be retitled.

In the spring of 2007, after witnessing a wonderful documentary about vampires, I'd came up with "Unbitten," and tried to give to a friend to write. She wouldn't make the time, so I started writing it.

It was good, but it got harder and harder to write as it progressed. I finished it, and thanked God that it was over. I never touched it again, though I do like it and feel it's not yet finished.

It doesn't need a page one rewrite, but it's not finished either, and I'll worry about that later.

Late summer came about, and then I came up with the idea of "Sweet Dreams - A Sandman's Story." In about two months I'd started from scratch and came up with something truly magical that got me away from everything else I'd worked on for nearly a decade. It came in at 139 pages, and has stayed that way ever since.

That was 2007, and when 2008 rolled around I said to my friend "I've got to finish the series this year. I've just got to, or all the work will be a waste or I'll go out of my head."

I'd set out a schedule to work on it.

I flat out completely failed to do it, and somehow working on "Life and Times of Igor" again.

2009 And Beyond...

There's lots of work yet to be done. I often look at the stack of manuscripts and research materials and get cold feet, yet I'm continuing my research which, fortunately, I scaled back because it was getting too top heavy.

I still swear I'll finish the six part series.

After all, I made a promise to a few individuals it would get done and they like to remind me every so often that I'm not working on it. They didn't push me when I had serious burnout again when the latest version of Igor was returned last October or so, and I thank them for that.

The work will continue, and I will complete it.
But I've learned I can't be rushed, can't be pushed, and it has to all come naturally or else it'll all fall apart.

But I thank the sources of inspiration that leaked the secrets of the series to me over the course of four years because, if I honestly knew back then it'd evolve to such a level of complexity, I would've flat out refused to do it.

As a side note, this may be the final blog entry I make for awhile, at least. There's promotions to write up, mail off, and other things that need to be attended to.

The most recent revisions to "Summertime Blues" are very nearly complete, and then there's what to do with "Life and Times of Igor" as well, but some other things need my attention as well.

So, until next time...happy reading.