MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2009
rut/ movie/ "Cracked Actor" short story
Apr. 25 Rut: Yesterday I was watching the series finale to The OC. The characters Seth and Summer were in a rut. That is the perfect way to describe my life. They were watching Briefcase or No Briefcase and The Valley which is a parody of Deal or No Deal and The OC. My life revolves around TV. It was like that when I was in school. After I do my homework or I schedule my breaks around TV.
It's been nearly a year since I graduated from college. My solution is to try something new, and do something exciting. Last month I finished my script. That was exciting. This month I auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
Fighting: I was on imdb.com and reading people's comments on this movie. It got 6/10 out of 403 votes which is pretty good. The comments taught me on how to improve my own script. I laughed at this one comment:
"When Shawn is most in need of money, he still insists upon his code of honor and refuses to throw a match. This is utterly ridiculous considering his reason for fighting and the fact that the fights themselves are "anything goes." Where's the honor in that? Apparently the trophy for integrity outweighs the desire for food and shelter, especially for someone content with living like a derelict." lol. I did read a review that he does get more money if he throws the match. In my script, no one ever throws matches.
And here's another one:
"The movie doesn't exactly bridge between events either. When Shawn wins his first fight against the white dude that he knocks out with the water fountain, he is supposed to win $5000...but you never see him get it. The time you find out is when he is paying for Zulay's cab fare. They do this in another sense when they jump into the $100,000 Mercedes and are 'going somewhere'. The movie then jumps to Shawn in his bed and his phone vibrating from a text."
I also learned that Shawn's enemy is an old rival of his, and he has to fight him in the last fight scene. The same goes for Never Back Down. In my movie, the main bad guy isn't a fighter. Look, I'm going to admit it. Right now I'm stalling from writing any more things into my script. I'm waiting for a production company to get back to me on it. If they say yes, they will produce it, then I won't have to do anything to the script. Well the same goes for they say yes, but I will have to do some things to the script. For now I will wait.
I did write some additional scenes, but I didn't type it up yet. Typing it onto the disk is this next level of commitment to it.
Apr. 26 Writing: I had to work on Sunday and as usual it's boring so I got to write. Afterwards, I went home and actually typed up and edited some works on another script.
Movie: Last night I saw the movie The Devil's Advocate starring Keanu Reeves as a defense lawyer, and Charlize Theron as his wife. KR defends an obvious child molester. KR is then recruited to work at a law firm, that turns out to be owned by the devil played by Al Pacino. My co-worker Christine told me it was scary, and it was.
It kind of reminded me of the movie Next. If you want to avoid spoilers, skip this paragraph. In both movies, the majority of it was like a dream/ premonition. Then the lead character comes to, and prevents the bad thing from happening.
I did learn something today. There was a scene where KR ends up quitting the case in the middle of the trial. They said he might end up being disbarred. I asked my sister about it.
Me: Can you quit in the middle of the trial?
S: You can quit, but you will be disciplined. Well you can't get disbarred, but you could be suspended. You need to give notice before quitting.
Cracked Actor: Here is a short story I wrote when I was 16 back in 2001. I submitted it to www.ecrush.com under the section "Horror Date" where people tells stories about bad dates. I wrote a fictional story, and passed it off as true for the website. I submitted it and it got published a week later. Ecrush gave the title "Cracked Actor." It's been 8 years, but I still remember how it goes. Here it is:
So I met this guy named Jesse at the mall. He picked a cd I liked and we both started talking about. Then he asked me out. He goes to this performing arts high school which is in the innercity. Not a lot of people have good backgrounds there, but I didn't care. He went there so he could become an actor.
I went out with his friends to the movies. After the movie, his friend Sydney said there was a party going on. We went there. The house was rundown, and the walls had their paints peeling off. Two friends left and came back stoned. I stuck close by to Jesse.
It turns out it was a drug house, and it was like that all the time. The police came, and we all went to the police station. On the way there, I learned that Jesse had a police record. He was caught selling drugs, and he went to a juvenile detention centre. I was there for about 45 minutes. We did a drug test. Some of us who weren't high or drunk were driven home, which was very few of us.
The police dropped me off at my house, and my mom saw me through the window. I told her that one of my friend's dad is a cop, and he dropped me off after his shift. I then get an email from Jesse that his parents grounded him, and he may go to military school.
Later he went to Vancouver to start his acting career. He moved there so he would get away from his friends. We went out one more time before he left. I think a cop was staring at us. He emailed me telling me he got a part in a indie film. A few weeks later I was at the mall. Hey, isn't that one of his friends getting into a police car?
Ecrush: "It's great that this guy wants to get away from all the drugs and alcohol, but if he wants to get away from all that, then why is he going into....showbiz?"
lol. It's good that it got published. Also good that Ecrush pointed out how there was major flaw with the character Jesse. Maybe I should have written that he was into computers or something.
Anyway, looking back on it, there was a flaw with the police dropping off my character at her house, without talking to the parents. In real life, I'm sure the police would drop the kid off, talk to the parents and say that: "Your kid was at a drug house today. She may not have drank or did drugs, but she could be going to do it, but we busted the party, before she did. You should talk to your kid about drugs and alcohol."
Apr. 27: On the weekend, I emailed this production company to see if they finished reading my script yet. It has been a few weeks. They replied yesterday:
"Hello, Tracy...
We took a look at your script and first let me say that it is always an accomplishment to complete a feature-length screenplay. Many people start, but never finish.
Having said that, we think it is early work. In other words, the script needs more revision to get closer to being considered for production. If you are considering working in this field, it might be beneficial to take some courses/workshops and read several books on the craft of screenwriting, as well.
Thanks for sharing your work with us. We are returning it by mail."
I emailed them back asking after I revised and edited it, can I mail it again? And ask on how to improve it.
Onto lighter news, an old friend from jr. high has confirmed as a friend of Facebook. Mary Ann Maxwell. I went to her Halloween party in 1999, her bday parties in 2000, and 2001. Then after 2001, I didn't hear from her. Then in 2003, I bumped into her at Centre High and we chatted for a bit.
It's been nearly a year since I graduated from college. My solution is to try something new, and do something exciting. Last month I finished my script. That was exciting. This month I auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
Fighting: I was on imdb.com and reading people's comments on this movie. It got 6/10 out of 403 votes which is pretty good. The comments taught me on how to improve my own script. I laughed at this one comment:
"When Shawn is most in need of money, he still insists upon his code of honor and refuses to throw a match. This is utterly ridiculous considering his reason for fighting and the fact that the fights themselves are "anything goes." Where's the honor in that? Apparently the trophy for integrity outweighs the desire for food and shelter, especially for someone content with living like a derelict." lol. I did read a review that he does get more money if he throws the match. In my script, no one ever throws matches.
And here's another one:
"The movie doesn't exactly bridge between events either. When Shawn wins his first fight against the white dude that he knocks out with the water fountain, he is supposed to win $5000...but you never see him get it. The time you find out is when he is paying for Zulay's cab fare. They do this in another sense when they jump into the $100,000 Mercedes and are 'going somewhere'. The movie then jumps to Shawn in his bed and his phone vibrating from a text."
I also learned that Shawn's enemy is an old rival of his, and he has to fight him in the last fight scene. The same goes for Never Back Down. In my movie, the main bad guy isn't a fighter. Look, I'm going to admit it. Right now I'm stalling from writing any more things into my script. I'm waiting for a production company to get back to me on it. If they say yes, they will produce it, then I won't have to do anything to the script. Well the same goes for they say yes, but I will have to do some things to the script. For now I will wait.
I did write some additional scenes, but I didn't type it up yet. Typing it onto the disk is this next level of commitment to it.
Apr. 26 Writing: I had to work on Sunday and as usual it's boring so I got to write. Afterwards, I went home and actually typed up and edited some works on another script.
Movie: Last night I saw the movie The Devil's Advocate starring Keanu Reeves as a defense lawyer, and Charlize Theron as his wife. KR defends an obvious child molester. KR is then recruited to work at a law firm, that turns out to be owned by the devil played by Al Pacino. My co-worker Christine told me it was scary, and it was.
It kind of reminded me of the movie Next. If you want to avoid spoilers, skip this paragraph. In both movies, the majority of it was like a dream/ premonition. Then the lead character comes to, and prevents the bad thing from happening.
I did learn something today. There was a scene where KR ends up quitting the case in the middle of the trial. They said he might end up being disbarred. I asked my sister about it.
Me: Can you quit in the middle of the trial?
S: You can quit, but you will be disciplined. Well you can't get disbarred, but you could be suspended. You need to give notice before quitting.
Cracked Actor: Here is a short story I wrote when I was 16 back in 2001. I submitted it to www.ecrush.com under the section "Horror Date" where people tells stories about bad dates. I wrote a fictional story, and passed it off as true for the website. I submitted it and it got published a week later. Ecrush gave the title "Cracked Actor." It's been 8 years, but I still remember how it goes. Here it is:
So I met this guy named Jesse at the mall. He picked a cd I liked and we both started talking about. Then he asked me out. He goes to this performing arts high school which is in the innercity. Not a lot of people have good backgrounds there, but I didn't care. He went there so he could become an actor.
I went out with his friends to the movies. After the movie, his friend Sydney said there was a party going on. We went there. The house was rundown, and the walls had their paints peeling off. Two friends left and came back stoned. I stuck close by to Jesse.
It turns out it was a drug house, and it was like that all the time. The police came, and we all went to the police station. On the way there, I learned that Jesse had a police record. He was caught selling drugs, and he went to a juvenile detention centre. I was there for about 45 minutes. We did a drug test. Some of us who weren't high or drunk were driven home, which was very few of us.
The police dropped me off at my house, and my mom saw me through the window. I told her that one of my friend's dad is a cop, and he dropped me off after his shift. I then get an email from Jesse that his parents grounded him, and he may go to military school.
Later he went to Vancouver to start his acting career. He moved there so he would get away from his friends. We went out one more time before he left. I think a cop was staring at us. He emailed me telling me he got a part in a indie film. A few weeks later I was at the mall. Hey, isn't that one of his friends getting into a police car?
Ecrush: "It's great that this guy wants to get away from all the drugs and alcohol, but if he wants to get away from all that, then why is he going into....showbiz?"
lol. It's good that it got published. Also good that Ecrush pointed out how there was major flaw with the character Jesse. Maybe I should have written that he was into computers or something.
Anyway, looking back on it, there was a flaw with the police dropping off my character at her house, without talking to the parents. In real life, I'm sure the police would drop the kid off, talk to the parents and say that: "Your kid was at a drug house today. She may not have drank or did drugs, but she could be going to do it, but we busted the party, before she did. You should talk to your kid about drugs and alcohol."
Apr. 27: On the weekend, I emailed this production company to see if they finished reading my script yet. It has been a few weeks. They replied yesterday:
"Hello, Tracy...
We took a look at your script and first let me say that it is always an accomplishment to complete a feature-length screenplay. Many people start, but never finish.
Having said that, we think it is early work. In other words, the script needs more revision to get closer to being considered for production. If you are considering working in this field, it might be beneficial to take some courses/workshops and read several books on the craft of screenwriting, as well.
Thanks for sharing your work with us. We are returning it by mail."
I emailed them back asking after I revised and edited it, can I mail it again? And ask on how to improve it.
Onto lighter news, an old friend from jr. high has confirmed as a friend of Facebook. Mary Ann Maxwell. I went to her Halloween party in 1999, her bday parties in 2000, and 2001. Then after 2001, I didn't hear from her. Then in 2003, I bumped into her at Centre High and we chatted for a bit.
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