My NOT So COMEDIC Affliction: “Writer’s Block”

If you’re a writer then you know what “writer’s block” means. You’re hoping to write scene after scene, you flick your computer on, open up your writing software package and stare at the screen with your fingers hovering over the keyboard.

You may even have saved your script under a title name with the words

FADE IN:

…firmly planted in place. You know what you want to write, you may have even visualized scenes in your head… But your fingers are paralyzed, struggling to type …

INT. or EXT.

In my case, I have nearly 50 pages written. Crappy 50 pages, but 50 nevertheless. I have a fun title, a logline I like, a flaw for my character, the lesson the character learns, and a complete outline using Snyder’s Beats.

So what’s the problem? Why has it taken me 2 months to get to this point?

I think each case, each script, each moment in your life is different. It could be personal stress or issues, working double-shift etc…

I have assessed that my current situation is due to FEAR. YEP… FEAR. Now I have completed a couple of other scripts and have put down an Action-Revenge script which was moving along at a descent pace (even through graduate midterms and papers) before putting it down and starting my new baby.

So what is the basis of my FEAR?

It’s about the GENRE. It’s about stepping out of a comfort zone.

My current script is a COMEDY.

Now I’m sure there are writers out there wondering “why is this a problem?” Some writers are gifted with great comedic timing. That’s nice… **as I toss a badly rolled-up snowball at them**

Well some of you may know people like me or may even be like me – the kind of person who gravitates toward Action, Horror, Dark, Thriller, or Sc-Fi movies. Fact is if you don’t watch a lot of comedies, it’s hard to write about them. Same could be said for any genre…

If you want to be good at something, you must first become a student.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m a morose person. I’m not sitting around waiting for 2012 to come and wipe out humanity. Okay, maybe I am, but that’s another story.

For the last month, I went on a Comedy Netflix binge, learning about what makes comedy work – the quick one-liners, the gags etc… It’s been an enlightening experience and has helped me tremendously. I even managed to think of a gag which morphs into two more gags for my transition from ACT TWO to ACT THREE because of this. I’ve also read the first 10 pages of various Comedy scripts.

As a result, the majority of the 50 pages I’ve written have come during my Netflix viewing. I’ve been able to incorporate my NY sarcasm (uh… wit) for some jokes and gags for the situational problems my protagonist will find himself in and try to get out of. And mostly, I’ve grown an appreciation for Comedy writers.

Truth be told, the writing isn’t smooth. It’s like swiss cheese, with gaps of action and dialogue in many scenes. But the important thing is to write. It’s easier to edit a crappy scene, then to put fresh words on the page.

Of course it would be easier to just dump the story and stay in my comfort zone, sticking to a safer genre, but Comedy is popular. I think it’s important for me to at least attempt one, and quite frankly, I want to hurdle this beast… plus, I like my logline. HA!

And in the midst of all this, I managed to inadvertently come up with another comedy idea and a Rom-Com to boot. I never saw that coming! So after I finish, I’ll be sure to go on a Rom-Com binge. To Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan and Kate Hudson… Soon I’ll be on my way to a DVD starring you!

So there you have it. I’m pushing through my “writer’s block” by studying the cause of my problem and working through it (via Netflix and reading screenplays), as I slowing type letters on the screen even if they lack fluidity, until I type those last two words…

FADE OUT

I think it’s time for a Margarita now. Cheers!

Movie Review: Lost Highway (spoilers)

I just recently rented the "Lost Highway" directed by David Lynch. I didn’t know what to expect, and I ended up liking it. It’s not for everyone. It’s a confusing movie that makes you think, and doesn’t have a clear cut ending, or a clear cut plot leaving the audience wondering “what just happened?!”. I actually had to view it twice before sending this Netflix rental back in the mail.

So if you’re a person who likes your movies tied up in a need bow, this isn’t for you. And depending on your interpretation this movie is linear or non-linear. At the moment, I’m not sure. I tend to lean toward a linear interpretation, but I have two theories and the second is a non-linear one. In addition, there seems to be a supernatural element, possible Doppelgängers and physical transformations.

Premise as per Imdb: Fred Madison, a saxophonist, is accused under mysterious circumstances of murdering his wife Renee. On death row, he inexplicably morphs into a young man named Pete Dayton, leading a completely different life. When Pete is released, his and Fred's paths begin to cross in a surreal, suspenseful web of intrigue, orchestrated by a shady gangster boss named Dick Laurent.

This movie can be broken into two parts: before Fred goes to jail and what happens afterwards.

Spoilers ahead…

Part 1: Fred (Bill Pullman) is married to Renee (Patricia Arquette) and suspects she’s having an affair. They receive anonymous mailings of a video tape illustrating that someone is watching them. These video tapes turn scary from just a viewing of the outside of the home to watching them sleep in their bedroom. Until the final tape of Fred over Renee’s dead body. Fred is then convicted and sent to jail (death row)

This is when things get crazy. Fred goes through some physical transformation and when the guards check his cell Fred is gone replaced by Pete (Balthazar Getty).

Part 2: Pete goes home to biker parents. He seems to have no memory (which indicates a clue). He has an association with Mr Eddy (Robert Loggia) who has a girlfriend Alice (also played by Patricia Arquette). Alice is blonde where as Renee is a brunette. Pete ends up having an affair with Alice, putting him at odds with Mr. Eddy, which ends in Eddy’s death.

We learn that Mr. Eddy is also Dick Laurent, who was the man Renee was cheating on when married to Fred.

Interesting Clue: When Pete is with Alice he sees a picture with her and the brunette counterpart (Renee – Fred’s wife). Also in the picture is Mr. Eddy/Dick Laurent and another man. At this point, Pete gets emotional at seeing the brunette version as if recalling the event. Yet he never recognized the blonde counterpart on first meeting. Later the police see the same photo and the blonde is NOT in it. My conclusion is that the blonde doesn’t exist. She is really in Pete’s mind. Actually, I think Pete partially exists. It seems as though Fred can transform to Pete, but Pete is just the other half of Fred. He doesn’t seem to be a fully fleshed person. Even his parents seem odd. Do they really exist?

In the end: We see Pete… then Fred as if Pete transforms back into Fred.

Important note: Throughout this movie there is a Mystery Man who seems to be pulling the strings. Is he the devil? Is he just an evil man? Or is he all in Fred’s mind?

What leads me to believe that this film might be non-linear is the end and beginning of the movie. It opens with Fred hearing through the intercom that Laurent is dead. It ends with Fred leaving this message on his intercom. Could this just be in Fred’s head? Is Fred a Doppelgänger? There are some who feel that Alice is in fact a Doppelgänger?

All in all, it’s an interesting movie with so many possibilities. I think I need more viewings, though I suspect I’ll never really figure it out.

Score 8/10