My right brain isn't writing anything creative. My left-brain isn't pitching my script to anybody. Let's go back to the days when I was 15 yrs old. I was very into creative writing. I couldn't really pitch much to TV companies because I was so young. It was putting the cart way before the horse if I didn't even graduate out of high school yet.
In 2008, in my last semester before I graduated out of college, then I was pitching my The Fighter script. I have finally gotten to the point where I can pitch my script because I finished my education. I was constantly pitching for 2 yrs 2008-2010.
Then I got laid off from the Soup place and I had to slow down pitching significantly.
Now I will go back to my teenage self when I was so excited about getting my script produced.
Mentors: I have cut out and kept this Edmonton Journal article from Aug. 18, 2001. It's "X-Files' puffer probes paranormal high school to launch new Mentors" by Liane Faulder. It talked about William B. Davis as Sherlock Holmes in the show. Davis used to be Cigarette Smoking Man (CSM) on The X-Files.
Josh Miller (Mentors creator): "We don't write the scripts with any particular casting in mind because you don't know who is going to be available. But as it turned out, we did an X-Files homage and were able to get a character who had risen to fame and prominence in that show. In the end, it sometimes all comes together."
The show won Gemini's and is seen in 74 countries. What I didn't know is: "early financing problems meant it took several summers of shooting for producers at Mind's Eye Pictures and Anaid Productions to create enough episodes for two entire seasons."
The star Chad Krowchuk kept getting older and growing, so he can't play that kid role anymore. They replaced him and the actress Sarah Lind, with Krowchuk's character's cousins.
Krowchuk (on working with other actors who guest- star on the show): "I analyze them. I sit and watch and that's what I did with William Davis. His subtlety, the way he played Sherlock Holmes as a light, kind character."
"I guess somewhere out there are people who are jerks to work with, but I've never worked with them. People in the makeup trailer say things like 'he's a sweet guy' when they talk about Elliot (Gould) or Tom (Cavanagh) and that's what I want to be like if I ever get famous."
"I just feel the work (acting) is iffy and you need something serious to fall back on. That's why I've got to go back to school."
He went to Grant MacEwan and then I checked him out on imdb.com. I have seen him on episodes of The Black Sash and Tru Calling. He does a lot of work, but it's not really big.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0472377/
Crazy 8s: I also kept and clipped out a National Post article way back in 2002. "Making a movie on $800 is crazy- and that's the point" by Ian Bailey. The title caught my interest, but I had to read it when it was talking about my favorite Edmonton actor Eric Johnson who's competing in it.
It is a film competition sponsored by Director's Guild of Canada to give novice directors a chance to make a film with $800. There are 8 days to film and 800 feet of film to make their project.
Andrew Williamson (exec producer of the project): "We ask everyone to play within the game. It's not a competition. It's an opportunity. Everyone keeps to the spirit of the game."
"It challenges these people to be quick and focus on telling the story."
It started in Vancouver in 1999 and the films have been shown in 50 film festivals around the world.
http://www.crazy8s.cc/
Eric Johnson: Eric Johnson will be directing a 12 min. drama Candy from Strangers which is based on the script by his girlfriend Adria Budd. (They're now married). It's about "a waitress's encounter with a tycoon." EJ got volunteers to be his crew and work on set. He says: "Everyone know what they're doing, except me."
He's 22 yrs old back then: "I didn't think I would be into (directing) until my 30s, but this has given me a kick-start in that direction."
(About directing a Smallville ep, the show that he's on at that time): "I would not press them to do that. I want what's great for the show. Right now, it would be above me."
Writing this then reminded me that I cut out another article in the Edmonton Journal back in 2002. Todd Babiak wrote "The Return of the Werewolf" about filming Ginger Snaps 2 in Cooking Lake, East of Edmonton, and then Ginger Snaps Back (the prequel) in Fort Edmonton Park. It has pics of Eric Johnson.
It talked to the director Brett Sullivan who has been working as an editor for 15 yrs in Toronto. He is now in charge of this film. "The producers had faith in me. They liked my story sensibility and they liked my taste. I've been blessed that I've been able to jump a few levels."
Apr. 10 The Griff: Here is the Grant MacEwan newspaper where you can read school news, movie reviews, opinions, and comics. I never wrote an article for them though I read some of it here and there. I didn't write for them in college because I was busy with writing for my classes.
After I graduated, I still didn't write them because I wasn't really into journalism. I was working at a restaurant, looking for an office job, and pitching my script. The script was the most important writing, second was the blog.
http://thegriff.ca/
Ernest Hemingway:
Endings: I cut out this article "Hemingway classic reprinted-with all 39 endings" by Julie Bosman by Jul.8, 2012. It's about the book A Farewell to Arms published in 1929.
Sean Hemingway (Ernest's grandson): "I think people who are interested in writing and trying to write themselves will find it interesting to look at a great work and have some insight to how it was done."
"But he is a writer who has captured the imagination of the American public, and these editions are interesting because they really focus on his work. Ultimately that's his lasting contribution."
Flash fiction: On Dec. 7, 2012, Mark Braude wrote about Ernest Hemingway in the Globe and Mail.
"Though he never published it, Ernest Hemingway reportedly came up with the world's shortest story: 'For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.' Six words touching on death, heartbreak and the marketplace. Alan Moore, playing on Hemingway's six word formula, offered: 'machine. Unexpectedly, I'd invented a time.'
Any plot driven piece of writing of extreme brevity can qualify as flash fiction. The goal is to distill action, character and conflict into the purest language possible. Yasunari Kawabata's lovely 'palm- of- the- hand stories' are among the finest examples of the form. Flash fiction issues a challenge to writers, those fierce competitors: How sharp can you make it?"
Apr. 11 University of Alberta Press: I found this Legacy magazine in my room. It's an Alberta magazine I got back in 2007 when I was in college. I got it for free when I was at this AB magazine presentation. Now I'm reading it and I found this ad for the University of Alberta Press.
It turns out they produce non-fiction, textbooks, fiction, and poetry. They're going into digital books. I like the website. It looks really good.
http://www.uap.ualberta.ca/
