Fjord Moose: A THREAD FOR WRITERS, POETS, POET LAUREATS, ARTISTS, ETC...

Well, since my stories started out purely as a fan fiction, personal projects, I didn't know how silly it was of me to even try to do such things!

But as I got into them, I figured they were cool stories and that others might be interested. So in a naive notion that I could easily market them, I went on-line and learned all I could about screenplays and the business itself. Of course, as I got into it, I realized I had a really difficult road ahead of me, especially since my scripts were "derivative" (based on someone else's work).

But, hey, it was just fan fiction. Why not finish them and see what the guys thought?

When your material is "derivative", as mine was, the best fate I think you can expect is for it to be good "training material" for future writing work.

That's how it was for me.

In a way, I might never have written anything else had I just waited and waited for word on these projects, only to have gotten the bad news, as I did last month. The frustration might have sent me into a dark mood that I would never have broken out of, and never written another word!

In fact, it was a fluke that even got me writing my own material. What happened to me was, somebody took the materials for a read (a buddy of Terry Gilliam, who said he could "get them to him"). This was last Spring. Since I figured I was never going to be in a better position, while I waited to hear what he thought of the scripts I used the opportunity to start punching out my own material -- and I've never looked back.

As it turned out, Gilliam's friend must not have liked the scripts, or realized the underlying rights part, and I never heard back from him either. But at least, almost accidentally, I got into writing my own material while I waited, and I've never looked back nor enjoyed life more!

Just wrapping up my 13th screenplay -- or, 10th, if we exclude the 3 fan fiction projects.

I wish you all the same luck, but with less frustration. I'd keep the derivative work on the side and start your own, original material. Then, when you've sold a few and are famous, maybe the other guys will be happy to look at your old stuff!

Incidentally, I've never "sent them my material" blindly, to anybody. You send them a request to send them the material. Never send an actual script or story "unsolicited". Even if it's original work, not derivative, you risk losing your work to theft -- especially if you haven't copyrighted it or registered it with some writer's guild somewhere.

So, I caught that video recently posted on the forum in which John said he had to earn $1M before he even makes any food money. So, he's looking for work?!

I had a brainstorm recently (don't have many of those) and realize I've written a part in my 5th script (of 13) that would be good for him, and he doesn't even have to travel to Antarctica to do the screen test!

In "New Cross", my WWII drama-romance-comedy about London's Home Front, he could be William Proctor, the cantankerous neighbour of the main characters. At the end, though, he's revealed as an Air Raid Warden who is helpful and heroic in seeing the family through a disaster. I'd even thought that in the sequel, if it were to happen, he and the gregarious widow Elsa would gravitate together. This would invite several comical situations.

It's my fictional treatment of a tragic historical event: The devastation by a V2 rocket of a department store in WWII Britain in 1944:
Link to Disaster at New Cross Woolworths

Logline: "As the elation in the aftermath of D-Day yields to the reality of further war and deprivation, members of a desperately poor family in London's home front struggle to maintain their spirit amidst a barrage of indiscriminate space-age weapons unleashed by the Nazis."

I don't know how he can be notified of this "opportunity", but it would be great to get him as an "attachment" to help sell the script. Just this week the synopsis was requested by Bedlam Productions, one of the companies behind "The King's Speech"!

Can we start a petition?!

Huntley and Palmer's biscuits, $1.99 per box!

Just an update to my Bedlam Productions ("King's Speech") request for my synopsis to "New Cross", which I thought could have a great role for JC.

Turns out they're tired of "period pieces", as "New Cross" was set in 1944.

HOWEVER, they did request my satire on the War on Terror! Said they'd get back to me within a month.

Hmm. Near the end of that story, there's a funny scene of a visiting 5-Star Australian Field Marshal giving a speech at a CIA briefing. I write that he looks "just like Crocodile Dundee" (in a push to get them to cast Paul Hogan), but I suppose JC could do it! Can John "Aussify" his fine British accent a bit to sound more Australian? hee hee

IT WORKED! IT WORKED! MUST HAVE BEEN ALL THOSE BRUCES GETTING TOGETHER. MY UTUBE WORKED. HOORAY!

I'm a bit tired tonight, and may be missing something.

Cass--have you really never seen the Bruces sketch? From which followed the Bruces' Philosophers Drinking Song?

Philosopher's Drinking Song

I love when Michael throws the beers into the audience. And Eric is at his absolute HOTTEST!

"The Hollywood Bowel!" No, I hadn't seen it! haa haa. And "F'ing close to water" took several seconds to sink in (we were talking about the beer, after all). hee hee

Oh cass, you have to get the Hollywood Bowl show on DVD. The video is a bit fuzzy, but the show is wonderful and worth the price.

I love John in drag as the albatross saleslady: "It's a bloody sea bird, innit? It's bloody sea bird bleedin' flavor!" "Of course you don't get fucking wafers with it, you cunt!"

And the Michelangelo sketch with Eric as M and John as the Pope.

And Terry's wig flying off in the penultimate sketch.

And Neil Innis' "How Sweet to be an Idiot".

And the travel agent sketch, where Carol delivers the line they *really* wanted: "Have you come to arrange a holiday, or do you want a blow job?"

And Eric ranting and ranting, and John in his white coat coming to take Eric away, and the two of them running through the audience while Eric never stops talking.

Oh, it's a wonderful show! Comes coupled with the Aspen reunion show from 1999, hosted by Robert Klein, and featuring John having a tantrum, Eric's Dachau story, and Terry Gilliam kicking over an urn containing Graham's ashes.

Bleeding petition can be used for fire starter.

I thought that was what he wanted.

Go to bed, Mok. You are confusing everyone!

Good luck, Cass.

Zelda, the only petition I remember was Spiny's, and I no longer remember what it was for, but it was in another thread.

Hollywood Bowl, ZELDA ! *jeez*

It was the "Woolworth" Petition regardig Cass's story about the post WW11 family with JC as the neighbor.
This string.

This game is for someone else. It was just an offer on Jan 21 from Zelda and Foote when you requested a petition in previous post.. Nothing but goodwill meant. I am clueless as to the publishing business. Sorry.

Mooooooooooooooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkk!!! How are you? Welcome back!!!

I've seen it , Mok. Hysterical. Please do not intrude on my tantrum. It is very tiresome when I have to do things on my own, so, please be a Prince and support my tantrum.

BTW,Nic, your poetry is amazing. I understand where you are in those periods of your life.

"Pisces" is scary.

*Pushes Mok into the Hollywood Bowl. Clunk*

My latest, currently a 30+ page outline being broken out into script:

Title: The Rewilders

Genre: Comedy (Fantasy-Satire)

Similar Films: Brazil

Logline: After they died out, we should have left them that way.

Tagline: Everything goes magnificently awry as a team of bumbling government ecologists execute a vast program to re-introduce near-extinct species back into the wild.

Comments: With conservation laws that shut down machines at the most inconvenient of times, an anti-rewilding terrorist running amuck, and a Great Beaver War foreshadowing an animal apocalypse, this story makes us look a bit differently at our pets, barnyard animals and zoo creatures, and has enough fantastical Monty Python-esque goofiness to attract a director such as Terry Gilliam or Tim Burton.

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I post it as something amusing for ye' all. It would be great if we could secure these posts from prying eyes, including from Google Bots, but I'm not very concerned about theft. Anyway, I'll be finished it (a week from now) before anybody can plagiarize it!

Lulu sounds interesting, but we're talking "film screenplays" here, not novels, etc. I'll let one of Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros, et al "publish" it, though!

Quite riotous... a "pretend Monday morning pitch meeting at Jerry Bruckheimer's studio"

eg. "Holy Grail" meets "Life of Brian"

First of all, feel free to clutter up the new forum. You have the moderator's permission.

Secondly, please repost this post on the new forum, so everyone can see it. Nobody comes to this forum anymore. I only check in about once a month.

He did, Chris. I believe you commented on it there, too.

You're right, Chris. Cassbt, get your bt over to the new forum. Nobody ever comes here anymore, and won't see your website.