INTERMISSION #1 — Day 25

So here we are! 

It's been 25 days and 25 movie pitches and I thought this—the 1/4-way mark—would be a good time to reflect on how this crazy project is going so far, and share a little of my hairbrained process with you. If I had to describe the process so far in one word it would be: SERIOUSLYDAMNHARD.  ...And pretty rewarding too, of course!  But HARD is the first word that comes to mind. Here are some of the random things people have asked me, or that I've discovered / found interesting along the way:

How do you feel about your particular project choice?

I'm definitely proud of myself for picking something so tough. I am not a writer by trade, so even figuring out how to put antennae out in the universe to get original story ideas is totally new to me. Of course, learning HOW to find ideas has actually been one of the most fun parts! That said, if I ever do another 100-Day project..... (assuming I survive this one).... I might choose something a little more visual, and meditative / cathartic... Like drawing a meaningful object in my house. Or sculpting something in clay with my eyes closed for 5 minutes every day. The cognitive burden of having to come up with basically one original story or story-thread every day has been the hardest part.

How many pitches are you actually writing?

In terms of volume, I've found that I need to generate more than one idea per day, because inevitably, at LEAST 50% of the ideas I come up with are too cliché, dumb or uninteresting to be salvaged into even bare-bones movie pitches. So I now carry a tiny little Moleskine notebook with me everywhere I go to jot down ANY idea, thread or phrase that might spark inspiration. Which is very ironic. As a designer by trade I've spent years thinking: "Gosh, those little Moleskine notebooks are so cool. But honestly, who needs little notebooks to get through their life?" The answer is ME, now that I'm trying to write a movie pitch every day. Without my little Moleskines I would be LOST. Not even kidding. I also take long, solo walks on Saturday or Sunday AM to try to get 4 or 5 ideas in the hopper. Some of those ideas survive to become pitches and some don't, but the weekend walks really do help keep my brain focused on the task of generating at LEAST one idea a day.

Where do you start? How do you get the ideas?

This has come as a surprise to me: but most of these pitches—probably ALL of these pitches—began with a question. So, a funny title might pop into my head out of seriously NOWHERE... (No Jersey, Day 18), and I'll laugh and say to myself, "OK. What the hell is that about? What does that title even mean?" And the only way to find out is to sit down and start writing. In other cases the question is less about a phrase or a title, and more of a "what-if" scenario, such as: "What might a ZOMBIE'S experience of the Zombie Apocalypse be?" (This will be the post I write for tomorrow, Day 26, no title yet.) And then, as I sit down to write—to find what the answer might be—I will have to ask a second question:  "Wait. What Genre is this?" ...Comedy, I think. This one feels like comedy. ...And the writing and discovery will flow from there.

A precious few of the pitches have actually arrived in my head as complete films, with a clear three-act structure and subplots and all. The two that popped into my head 90% complete were Texas Hold-Up (Day 5) and The Captain (Day 13). I feel like I could write the first draft of either of those scripts in just a few short weeks because the basic story and structure of each is so clear in my mind. That's not to say that they would be GOOD first drafts. Just that those narratives somehow presented themselves to me more or less fully formed.

One of the most unique movie pitches—and the only "idea" that I happened upon this way—is We All Thought It Was A Bad Idea At The Time (Day 10). I was out on one of my Saturday morning walks, trying to force my brain to generate more than ONE damn good idea for the day, and I ducked into the Strand bookstore for a little visual inspiration / respite from mentally writing. I was standing on the mezzanine landing, looking through art books when I overheard two women talking as they walked up the stairs. One woman said to the other:  "None of us thought it was a good idea... Abstract artist becomes plastic surgeon..."  That's all I heard before they were gone. And I thought... Holy shit. ABSTRACT ARTIST BECOMES PLASTIC SURGEON!!!! What a fucking amazing movie idea!!!  Then all of my doubt set in: "Am I ALLOWED to use an idea that I stumble across like this? What if she's just quoting a cartoon in the New Yorker this week?!" Ultimately, my wife said it best: "Who CARES even if it IS a New Yorker cartoon or something? No one's written that movie script yet, so it's yours to make." My wife is WISE, and so I heeded her advice and turned it into a movie pitch. "But what should I call the movie?" I asked myself. Then I remembered the first sentence the woman in the Strand spoke. Talk about meant to be. (By the way, I still don't know where the hell the woman got the phrase from, or what she was talking about. I am still really curious—but mostly I'm just grateful!!)

Do you know how they all end?

Some, no. But I think for the most part, yes. For example I don't know what the final SCENE of Manna-1 is (Day 12). But I DO know whether it's a happy or sad ending, and more or less what the Manna-1 crew will go through and what happens to them, ultimately. Also, I know how (or I should say IF) the ladies of Texas Hold-Up (Day 5) get away with the money. Or don't.

Do you have a favorite?

Why not ask me to pick my favorite child?! ...HA. Kidding. Yes, I have some that I like more than others. The premise for We All Thought It Was A Bad Idea At The Time (Day 10) seriously cracks me up, ("Abstract Artist Becomes Plastic Surgeon.") I think I could have soooo much fun writing that one, and it's high on my list of pitches to develop into full scripts when this damn 100-day marathon is over.

Manna-1 (Day 12) surprised me because when I sat down to write that I had almost NO idea what I was writing about... just something about a Mars colony.... maybe.... But by the time I was done I could see the arc of the movie quite clearly in my mind. I think it would be a tough one to live with while writing because of how dark the story would almost certainly need to become, but it's very close to the kind of dystopian science-fiction films that I most like to watch, (Children of Men, I Am Legend, Oblivion), so I feel compelled to develop that one at some point.

Texas Hold-Up (Day 5) and The Captain (Day 13) both make me smile, and as mentioned, I think they would pour out of me rather easily, (though I'm sure that's a laughable assessment. No script "pours" out of anyone. Or at least not out of this newbie.)

The Desert Game (Day 15 ) has a spare, haunting beauty and a core message of unity that I think could be amazing as a film / script. But I'd have to do a shit-load of period research before tackling that one. It feels like it's full of opportunities to ring false, or be glib, and I have no interest in being glib about WWII, a war that my Grandfather fought in and whose long shadow still very much hangs over our world and geopolitics today.

In some ways the movie pitch I'm most proud of is the first, Jesus of Hollywood (Day 1). The idea for that (Jesus comes back—but he's stuck in the MOVIES!) has been rattling around in my brain for probably six months, and I think it shows in the depth and complexity of concept. But for the last half of a year the idea really WOULDN'T work in my head as a traditional three-part structured script, with proper plot points and act changes, etc. I figured it was probably more of an art project, either a play that Robert Wilson might develop, like Einstein on the Beach, (I worked with Robert Wilson for two years immediately after graduating from RISD).... Or it might even just be a series of panels / paintings / photos... Like the 5-part series of allegorical paintings "The Course of Empire" by Thomas Cole.

....So I was very, VERY surprised when I sat down to start writing Jesus of Hollywood and (WHOA!!!!!) it actually worked as a structured script. I still can't quite believe it. The big downer is that such a film script will be SO dead on arrival... could you imagine the legal wrangling and licensing that would be necessary for that movie to get made?? Almost certainly couldn't happen. And yet, think of how many people would pay to see that film precisely BECAUSE they already have a connection to so many of the classic movie scenes being repurposed to tell this new tale. I also like that the movie, if done right, could work for both secular audiences and devout Christians alike, (despite its tongue-in-cheek premise, the moral at the end certainly does not contradict the traditional teachings and message of Jesus Christ—take care of each other, value life more, sacrifice for each other as I have sacrificed for you.) Commercial viability be damned. I think I'm gonna have to write this sucker, just to get it out of my head.  

In closing:

....So that's it for now. I am kind of dead-exhausted, and can't believe I'm only ONE QUARTER of the way through this 100-Day project, but (so far) I am refusing to say die. I feel like I have no good ideas left in me, or hanging in the air around me, I should say. But on the other hand, I didn't feel like I had 25 ideas for movies in me 25 days ago.... So there's that. And that is very, very encouraging.

I'm planning to check back in again for Intermission #2 at the 50-day mark. Thanks for hanging in there with me. Hope you've enjoyed the trip so far, and here's to the next 25 movie pitches!!!

-Chris