Spec Scripts in the Time of Cholera.

A "You Kids Get Off My Lawn" Editorial

So, I just finished the first draft of another script, forever cementing my place in the Guinness Book of World Record as the screenwriter with most un-produced spec screenplays in the history of all documented time. I know, quite a record, right? You are most likely asking yourself, how do you know this to be an actual fact? Well, the Guinness fact-checkers have been to my garage in Windsor countless times, pouring over the contents of file cabinets, accordion files and Manila folders just to make sure that my record remains factual and intact. And, I am quite confident I will be seeing them again in the next few weeks as I put the finishing touches to my latest shelter in place masterpiece.
 
But the preceding paragraph begs the question, why, if you have so many unproduced masterpieces do you bother to continue? It’s not like you can make fancy macramé covers and sell them at the nearby Farmer’s Market. Well, first off you can, and just saying, it is far more lucrative than selling my novels on Amazon. Secondly, the types of stories I write tend to tell me when and where they need to be written and it turns out that I, the mere vessel of these temperamental musae, have very little choice in the matter.
 
And while I believe the venues for completed films remains in doubt, the need for original stories is only going to grow. Maybe this is just what nature intended to get away from the bloated movie making of the past and a return to more original and a lower cost of storytelling. If there is a positive spin to all of this CoVid 19 nonsense, it maybe that the movie world will become far less inclusive and welcome more talented storytelling and storytellers into its ranks. Like clearing skies and less crowded 405, lets hope we see some pandemic sized benefits.
 
With any luck, producers are using this time to reevaluate the stories they want to tell. Maybe we’ll get back to more enlightened approach to storytelling, one that is entertaining, throws in a lesson about our fickle natures along the way and does not break the bank. It’s not exactly a novel approach but would be quite welcome none the less.
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And on completely different note, so grateful to be included in The Who’s Who In New Pulp compiled by AirShip  27’s Ron Fortier and Rob Davis. The book will be available to order in the Fall and I will keep you posted.

Next week: the long awaited "There are no boobs in Columbo" a review of William Harrington's Columbo novel, "The Grassy Knoll," by Pacia Marie Linde. And while your at it, check out Pacia's  blog. 

Sylvia Plath, Shirley Jackson and Dorothy Parker walk into a bar