Yesterday I went to watch some friends shoot a YouTube short and ended up doing a line of voice over and posing as a hot slutty lady on some dude's arm. That's always a fun way to spend a Saturday. So now for my second ever appearance on YouTube I will be exposing my cleavage. I'm afraid I've been typecast.
What was particularly fun about this shoot is that when I got there the guys had only a vague idea of a story. Beefcake and I made a Home Depot run and when we got back there was a hilarious completed script and something of a story. So in one day the short was written, lit and shot. And it's pretty damn funny.
A friend who hasn't been a part of the whole zombie script planning situation finally got around to reading my script this weekend. The general opinion was that it's well written and the characters are well developed and there are some good set pieces and some interesting moments, but it seemed like a pretty standard zombie film.
And yet, he also said he was expecting more of a twist at the end. What if the protagonists arrive at their destination to find that everyone there has gone crazy from being locked inside all the time....
Oh, wait, that's 28 Days Later.
Okay, what if they arrive at the destination and the people try to kill the protagonists and take their children.....
Oh wait, that's 28 Days Later.
Okay, what if they arrive at the destination and the people try to kill the husband and take his wife....
Oh wait, that's 28 Days Later.
I admit when I was thinking of this story I was really worried about the similarities between this story and 28 Days Later, but there are enough differences to make mine a new story. If I gave the ending a twist it would become a copycat script. There's pretty much no way around that. I like my script, but that movie has made it much more complicated to sell.
Stupid 28 Days Later.
I am hoping that when World War Z comes out it does terrific at the box office, because then studios will be all like "Who's got a big budget zombie action movie so we can take advantage of this new craze? Oh if only somebody had a zombie movie with explosions and tidal waves and setting castles on fire!" and I will pop into frame like a hero with my perfect script.
Or, I'll just use it to get a job writing something else.
well, the thing is, no artist, writer, musician, or poet today is REALLY original. Somehow, all stories (or music, books, plays, films, etc) are inspired by something in the past. does that make sense?
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure 28 Days Later was inspired by some other movies, but I can't think of any right now.
well, the thing is, no artist, writer, musician, or poet today is REALLY original. Somehow, all stories (or music, books, plays, films, etc) are inspired by something in the past. does that make sense?
ReplyDeleteI hear you. Right now, I'm reading through various plays set in hotel rooms, figuring out how I want to write one, not with two characters in a hotel room, but one, and then it turns into two at the ice machine.
Neil Simon's plays have been interesting tutorials, in that one person is in a mood that seems foreign to the other person, and then the conflict suddenly pours out. I like how he does that, especially in "The Prisoner of Second Avenue."
Chapter Two is also a great Simon play to read for that, Rory.
ReplyDeleteEmily, speaking of shorts, how goes Game Night?
Ugh. It's going. It's now been over a year since we shot, but it's still in post.
ReplyDelete