Progress Report #5
Whew! I have just completed the second draft of Tidal. I still see some room for improvements, however, and I’m guessing it’ll take two more drafts for the screenplay to be exactly the way I want it to be. Major changes between the first draft and the second is that the violence has been toned down and the second draft is longer, clocking in at 94 pages, 14 pages more than the first draft (that translates to roughly an hour and 34 minutes of film time). I’ll be dishing this draft out to friends to see what they think and won’t start the third draft until I have received input from several people.
Since I’m done with the second draft and positive this is where I want the story to go, I’ll now be working on the novelization of the screenplay. This must be my fourth or fifth attempt at writing this novel. If it doesn’t work out, I’m going to just say fuck it and stick with the script, but if it does, I expect to be finished by the end of the summer.
As I’m working on Tidal I’m going to be outlining Twilight Sleep. I’m not entirely sure how to go about this. I’ll keep everyone informed. I’m also not sure if I want Tidal, Twilight Sleep, and 258 to be a trilogy or stand alones. All three stories would work out either way. We’ll see. I’ll decide for sure as I’m outlining Twilight Sleep.
That’s pretty much it. I’m starting to get pretty excited where all this is going and I’m really eager to start working on Twilight Sleep, since it’s the conclusion of the trilogy. If you’re wondering why I’m jumping from 1 to 3 it’s because 258 is stuck in development hell.
Adios
Beast Size - Dirty Ghosts
Almost forgot how awesome Grace Randolph is. Here she shares her thoughts on whitewashing in Hollywood.
Movie Review: Transfer
The idea fueling Transfer sounds immediately intriguing: an old couple on the verge of dying deciding to transfer their memories to younger bodies. The premise works and although it’s an indie German movie, much of Transfer is handled like a blockbuster from Hollywood.
The entire cast offers a superb performance, kudos especially going to Regine Nehy (Serah), who shows enormous amount of promise. Hans-Michael Rehberg’s (Hermann) performance is strong, but doesn’t quite feel fleshed out. At first he decides one thing, only to decide another, and throughout the movie his motivations are never entirely clear. As for the ending, it’s satisfying, but flawed. The fate of several characters is not clear and takes away from the story.
Nonetheless, this is a movie to watch. I truly hope Transfer makes its way to the States for it should be seen by everyone, especially those who are fond of the science-fiction genre. Transfer bravely tackles issues of race, poverty, the ethics behind science and human experimentation, as well as love and death. The story is excellent (despite the flaw I pointed out) and rather than trying to surprise the viewer at every turn, it instead focuses on revealing itself well, emphasizing characterization and relationships.
I would give Transfer a numerical grade of 4.5 out of 5 and a letter grade of A-
Regine Nehy. Never ceases to amaze me how good looking some people are O_O
Scourge of internet comments sections and savior of countless rainy days, the humble animated GIF file turns 25 this year, Compuserve having first introduced the file format back in 1987. To celebrate, here’s a ton of the things compiled in a mildly nauseating video.
Greg Rucka has rocked the worlds of comics and novels for years, including memorable Batman writing, plus the Queen and Country series and the Atticus Kodiak books. But he might be best known for being a man who writes a lot of “strong female characters.”
7. Harley Quinn
Just like her sweetie Mr. J (see below), Harley Quinn was sort of a throwaway character originally. In her first appearance on Batman: The Animated Series, Harley is just a minor hench-person, who’s supposed to appear briefly and then be gone forever. But the fans loved her so much that she was upgraded to a regular in the cartoon. As her popularity grew, Harley made her way into the comic book universe and became a full-fledged villain, eventually getting a backstory and her own henchmen. Here’s one writer’s timeline of Harley Quinn’s history.
