publishing/ Duets/ characters

May 23 Publishing: I was going through my personal email account and I found that I have kept 2 emails about publishing.  However, when I clicked on it, it lead me to this kind of spam search engine site. http://www.info.com/searchw?qkw=book%20own%20publish&cb=34&affid=4&cmp=4786&affiliate=260946-6630_21734_177196 May 25 Duets: So back in March, one of my favorite singers Robin Thicke guest-starred on The Voice.  He did a little coaching to one of the contestants.  He was only on for a min.  Yesterday I was checking what's on TV, and there's a new singing reality show called Duets.  Robin Thicke is one of the judges.  I was so excited.  The other judges are R&B singer John Legend, American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson, and country singer Jennifer Nettles.  The contestant who wins gets to have a record contract and record a song with one of their judges.  Now I have to watch this show.  Well I'll watch it for Robin Thicke, and then I'll be on the computer when he isn't on.  I'll have the TV in the background. Short films: I have one producer tell me she is looking for a new project.  She told me I could write a spec script that may or may not be produced about this subject matter.  I did a little research on it, but I couldn't really think of anything.  It's kind of a mystical topic. Last week I was watching 20/20 on CHCH, and then afterwards they show Cinema Clips.  It's short films.  I have written about some that I have seen from there before on this email/ blog.  The Sick Sense: I then looked up The Sick Sense on Youtube and found it.  I mentioned it before about how Patch Adams from Patch Adams and Bruce Willis's character from The Sixth Sense team up together.  It's kind of funny.  I saw this the first time way back in 2001 on Hypnotic Films.com.  I totally remember the beginning where Patch Adams says: "I see sick people." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWG_G6h11P0 May 26 Writer Apps: Maybe it's the law of attraction, but I randomly clicked on an article that was in one of my email folders that I was wanted to read.  It was an article about writing. Hazel Taylor sent this to me on my blog.  The article is "8 Apps Every Writer Should Have."  There's an app called ScriptWrite which helps format scripts.  It's kind of like the other program First Draft, but the ScriptWrite is cheaper. Story Tracker keeps track of all your submissions that you sent out.  I do that the old- fashioned way by writing it down on paper. Book review: Maybe it was also the law of attraction, but I was shuffling through my pile of newspaper articles and I found this "Huckleberry Finn as a sex offender."  It's a National Post book review by Donna Baily Nurse.  She reviewed Lost Memory of Skin by Russel Banks. An excerpt from the review.  It's about the character called the Kid who goes to meet a 14 yr old girl online in her home: "She is just 14, but he tells himself that she is probably more sexually experienced than he is.  He never finds out, of course.  He is gleefully ambushed by her father in the kitchen before a SWAT team takes him down.  It is pathetic and ludicrous scene familiar from reality TV." The review never says Dateline: To Catch a Predator, but I immediately thought that.  It's the law of attraction that I was looking up that TV show and then I find this article. May 27 Lit Fest: I found this brochure on my desk.  It's about the Lit Fest in  Alberta that seems to happen every October.  The brochure is from 2010.  I think Marty Chan gave it to me.  It was probably when I met him when he was the Writer in Residence at the Edmonton Public Library.  You can meet and see all these authors talk about writing.  However, the tickets do cost money for certain events.  There is an all-week pass.  If you want more info: www.litfestalberta.org I see that the screenwriter/ screenwriting teacher at Grant MacEwan Geo Takach is going to be there.  I spoke with him back in 2007 to get help and learn about screenwriting.  Here's some info on him: http://www.litfestalberta.org/AuthorDetails.aspx?ID=0b09a9a8-22ff-4f2a-962b-43db236b7c23 Terri Wynnyk: I found this old Job Classified article on my desk.  It's from Apr. 2007.  Terri Wynnyk is a Edmonton- based filmmaker.  Here's an interview with her talking about her film Playing it Safe.  It's about harm reduction of HIV in Edmonton. http://blog.nfb.ca/playing-it-safe/2009/09/16/qa-with-terri-wynnyk/ National Film Board: I have applied there once a few years ago.  I also sent my resume to them last month.  I was thinking about them because of the above article was on their website.  There are a lot of short films on their site, so you can check it out:  http://www.nfb.ca/ May 28 Characters: I was thinking about my Rain script and now I'm comparing it to A Walk to Remember.  I remember a long time ago (like 2001?) I saw the trashy reality show called The 5th Wheel and it said: "There's a difference between being a bad boy and being a jerk." In AWTR, the character Landon is a jerk.  In the beginning of the movie, he gets into some legal problems and then is punished.  He has to be a janitor, tutor kids in school, and be part of the school play.  Landon knows the good church girl Jamie and they don't like each other.  He then falls in love with her and changes for the better.  Jamie doesn't try to change him, he just does for her.  The Writer in Residence had read my Garret script and said: "If these two fall in love, they have to transform one another."  Landon transforms in the romantic drama AWTR. My Rain script is an action/ crime/ drama which is not romantic at all.  The character Damon is bad and is way harder and aggressive.  Rain doesn't try to change him.  He just changes.  Now I'm thinking that Damon should be the lead character and Rain is the side kick. This is what happened to The Vertex Fighter script.  The lead was supposed to be a girl, then I got writer's block so I switched it to a guy and got way more. May 30 The Listener: Tonight is The Listener season 3 premiere on CTV.  Check it out on your local listings.  The ep is called "The Bank Job."