It's Good to be the King

Just finished the first draft of what turned out to be a complete reimagining and rewrite of POOL BOY -- I mean, UP & COMING -- that is, IT'S GOOD TO BE THE KING.

I feel great. It needs work, I know. But there are some great moments in there. Some really funny stuff. Some bits I never would've thought I could or would come up with, but there they are.

And get this: About four days ago, I was sort of stuck on page 52. And tonight, I finished at the very bottom of page 99. Seriously -- I didn't type END because it would've been the only word on page 100.

I worked my ass off this week -- Wednesday I wrote 10 pages, then 10 pages again Thursday, then only 4 last night and... 17 TODAY.

Yes, you read right. Not a typo. I wrote 17 pages today. And I'm not even fried. And they don't suck. There is a Zone and I was in it. Hope I find it again one day.

Actually, I have my husband to thank for my recent productivity -- he surprised me a week ago with a laptop as an early anniversary gift (XOXO!).

Since he gave it to me, I've only written on it and not on the PC at all. Even took it to a coffee shop today and knocked out some pages there. (Way fun to sit in a coffee shop in my little nowhere town, 3,000 miles from Hollywood, writing not a script but a movie and to get a call on my cell from my producer, a guy whose previous movies most of the people around me in the coffee shop have surely seen...)

Oh-- also, the deadline for a locked first draft has been extended from May 1st to May 7th (good thing, too). The producer just sent me notes on the first 50 pages and they're very doable. I expect to have the first 50 lock-ready in a couple days.

Also, the reason they're pushing for a locked script by a certain date is apparently the investors are planning to take it to the Cannes Festival to sell distribution. (I know -- crazy, huh? I had no idea they did that without a finished film. Note to self: learn more about the business side of the business.)

Let's see, what else...? Producer has been talking to a director he's worked with before, a guy who's great with comedy and has done a bunch of films in this genre. Hope he comes on board.

And I guess that's that, for now...

Up & Coming

(Pant! Pant!)

Quickie update:

I’ve now spent many hours on the phone with the producer who optioned POOL BOY, going over the story and how to best execute the premise. We agreed it will need a fairly extensive rewrite to make it as funny as it has the potential to be and for maximum appeal to the 18-25 male demographic (I’ve been channeling my inner Cro-Magnon teenage boy – he’s fun) and the title has been changed to UP & COMING, to better reflect the new story (if you guessed “Not Rated G,” you win the Smarty-Pants Award).

I jammed and got the new first act written last week. Everybody’s pretty happy with it, with some minor notes to be incorporated later.

Good news came over the weekend: Producer met with some investors and our budget has nearly doubled. Muy bueno since a percentage of said budget pays out to yours truly if this thing really happens.

So, now I’m jumping through my ass to get a lock-ready draft finished by May 1st. The current plan is to be in pre-production in 90 days and begin shooting in September.

(Yes, that was a fun sentence to type.)

I’m a “believe it when I see it” person, but now I’m in the unique position of being the only definite in the equation: this movie will definitely NOT happen if I don’t get this script written. It might not happen if I do, but it definitely won’t happen if I don’t.

Interesting square on the board on which to find myself...

You’re not privy to the new shit...

It's crazy, but new shit has come to light.

A few days ago -- about a week after signing with my manager -- I optioned POOL BOY to one of those producers whose movies you’ve seen more than once.

The emails, IMs and phone calls started immediately -- and frequently -- so I’m pretty used to them, already.

He says he wants to start shooting it in the fall and has already given his investors a heads-up. I wasn’t even going to mention this here, in case it all falls apart, but I told people the minute I knew I was pregnant the first time and was happy for the support when I miscarried a few weeks later… so there you go.

I’m excited about the possibility of this actually happening, but really haven’t thought about the “movie part” much – just focusing on the rewrite and squeezing all the comedic, real-life moments out of these characters that I can.

I’m also working on a treatment for an in-house project with my manager and another producer of note and don’t want to lose any momentum on that one – I’m really falling in love with the story and characters and look forward to putting them on the page.

So, I’m busy as hell juggling two projects, a part-time paralegal gig, mommying and wife-ing, but I’ve never been happier.

Thanks, everybody, for the congrats and well-wishes, like a bunch of virtual hugs. Hugs back at y’all…