The Flowers of War

I bought this film two nights ago after watching the trailer on IMDb again. What a amazing performance by all the actors, especially Mr. Nolan, who flexes his acting muscles much more in this film than in the Batman films. There were several scenes that almost had me crying (ALMOST) which is very rare--only Private Ryan and Wall-e have done that. Definitely a Drama, but a fair amount of action for those impatient people as well. Pacing is excellent until the very end, which I wasn't crazy about--I thought it ended rather abruptly. The directing was top notch as well, with only a couple scenes I wasn't crazy about (the CGI tank explosion) and only several very small errors I noticed on the first viewing (there will be more), an example being the stained glass of the church being broken and then appearing untouched later in the film.

Definitely suggest this for film buffs, one of the best of the year, very underrated and unnoticed, even with a star like Nolan.

Test #1

I managed to find time to try out the camera at night... definitely need to fix some settings, but still not bad. I've seen videos with much better quality though, so looking into that. Also, iMovie sucks. Downloading a professional video editor once I have some time.

The Quietside, Chapter 2

Even though my focus is on Cruise/Moonlit, I'm keeping The Quietside in my mind, which I think is necessary for a story to stay alive. Even though I'm not writing, I'm sifting through ideas, characters, places--anything that comes to mind. I'm reading a book called "The Peninsula" by Louise Dickinson Rich, which so far has some excellent descriptions of the Gouldsboro area, not too far from here.
Hopefully I'll have time to write more chapters soon--I'm gaining more and more interest in this project as the summer goes on, as if it's one of those annoying blackflies buzzing in my ear (except I like it).
Here's chapter 2. Pretty short, but necessary.

2

I got back to Autumn’s friend’s house in Ellsworth around one in the morning. We were staying there during the awkward transition phase between our old apartment in Portland and the new house. It was a nice gesture, but I was glad to know I wouldn’t be staying there much longer.

Her name was Francine but she went by Susan, which never made much sense to me. My guess was she didn’t like her name and didn’t want to disrespect her parents and go through the paperwork to change it. She was a single mom with a bratty ten-year old boy that couldn’t get it out of his mind that I was a punching bag. I don’t remember his name. I just called him Brat.

Autumn played softball with Susan at University of Presque Isle before I knew either of them. Autumn was breaking up with the asshole she followed from Portland up to school. Susan was a shoulder to cry on, which made an inseparable bond between them until I came into the picture. Susan got jealous of us when we started dating, and decided to get knocked up by some business major who ended up not being so good with money or commitment.

The house was a shitty modular that felt half-finished. I was never quite warm enough. I’d catch the shivers just after getting out of bed that would last until I had my second cup of coffee at the station. A house with a fireplace never gets like that.

It was cold when I walked in that evening, but still a paradise compared to the harsh winter night. I felt the wall for the light switch, flipped it on and headed towards what Susan called the guest bedroom but was actually a small computer room. Boxes Autumn got from the grocery store for our essentials were stacked precariously around our mattress on the floor. She was already asleep, face down in the pillow with the light still on.

I started to unbutton my uniform and walked over to the kid’s room, which was nice and quiet. They were sharing with Brat—another reason I wanted out of Susan’s. The room was a lot cleaner than Autumn and mine’s, since we left the toys back at the apartment, afraid Brat would steal or break them.

I finished undressing in the computer room and scrounged around a bathroom box for my toothbrush, making a racket. Autumn rolled onto her back and squinted at me, confused but strikingly innocent and beautiful, even with her dirty blonde hair in a mess.

“It’s already in the bathroom,” she managed, her voice already broken, as if she had been sleeping for days. I nodded and took a step towards the door as she collapsed back into bed.

I cleaned up and did an abbreviated version of my walk around the house, hoping to get to bed early to get some rest for the move. It was exciting, but in a way I felt like I was cheating myself. It felt like a handout or a pity date in high school. I didn’t feel like I earned the new house, or even the opportunity. Autumn told me I did, but her vote of confidence was only part of what I needed, and was only said to calm me down for a while. She’d turn around and question my decision the next day, saying we were putting all our eggs in one basket.

           

            Mary Ficher, Cutler’s librarian, would always tell me not to put all my eggs in one basket. It’s one of the things I still remember about her. She said it so damn much, I can still hear her say it. When I’d run up the hill from my house as soon as my old man and the armada of fishing boats were too far out in the harbor to see, I’d wait on the library steps for Mrs. Ficher to come at eight on the dot and unlock the door. It’s where I spent my days before I started school and afternoons after school was let out. We’d have the place to ourselves most of the time, so she’d read to me until her voice went hoarse or she lost her grip on the books. At the time, I thought she’d lose grip because the books were too heavy, not knowing about arthritis. So I’d only grab one book, and she’d tell me not to put all my eggs in one basket, every time.

            I knew taking Wittenburg’s opportunity was the right choice for us. A house, free of charge, and place like Cutler without the bad memories, a new chance for me to prove myself. I figured Autumn could find a job in one of the retirement homes in Bar Harbor—it’d be a twenty minute drive, but it could work. It’d be the hardest for the kids, and I knew that, but they were young enough to make new friends. It was a nice, small school that could help Tucker with what the doctors told us was ADD and let young Maya be a little more creative than the larger public schools would.

            I knew Autumn would see this was best for us eventually.

I left the kitchen light on and returned to our room. I turned the single-bulb light off and staggered to my side of the bed, lifted the covers and climbed in. Autumn rolled over, giving me the spot she had been laying, preferring the cool, crisp sheets. I inched forward, spooning against her as I did until I was almost asleep. The warmth of her soft skin made me want to wake her and make love, but I knew she would protest, even though it had been a couple days since we had been able to. She was hesitant out of respect for Susan, and it was late. She would’ve said we had a busy day ahead of us, which was true.

She was lying on her back, breathing heavy. Not quite a snore, but just enough to make me feel comfortable.

The movers were already there when we pulled in the driveway at Bass Harbor. The fog had mostly rolled away and the house looked a lot less depressing with some sun on it, turning the ugly cream to a more vibrant light yellow.

Wittenburg told me it was all right if I used the cruiser to help move things in. Autumn still had her car from college, a lazy maroon Camry that still smelled of her grandmother, who had passed the car down when she went to retirement housing just before the turn of the century. 

Jim, an unshaven guy built like a linebacker, was one of the movers. I didn’t catch the other guy’s name, but he was scrawny and seemed new. Jim already had the ramp lined up to move the little furniture we had off the six-wheel truck. As soon as I opened the door, he started moving things in, while the other guy took his time, finishing his coffee.

I made sure to put the lighter boxes in the Camry for Autumn and the kids, even though I ended up moving most of it anyways. Autumn said she was sick in the morning, nervous about the movers not showing up, and both Tucker and Maya raced to find their rooms and stayed up there while Jim moved the heavy stuff in. Tucker tried to claim the living room but Autumn showed him around and he eventually picked the east bedroom, which had a nice skylight and more shelves for his model cars.

It was a pain in the ass to get our bed frames through the door and up the stairs, but Jim new a couple tricks that made life a little easier. Autumn kept herself to small things, like making the beds and putting dishes away. I saw her try and move the giant couch, but stopped herself after a couple pushes and asked the lazy mover to do it for her, which he did without a word.

She eventually felt good enough to move a couple boxes from the Camry in, one that had some odds and ends of mine in it, mostly from Machias High, my alma mater just fifteen minutes from Cutler. I watched her take it up the stairs, making sure she wasn’t lightheaded or dizzy. It was only a minute or so after when she called me upstairs to the master bedroom, which didn’t seem much bigger than the other two.

I found her crouched over the box on the floor, studying the contents.

“You needed something?” I peeked my head in the door, wishing she would say no so I could help Jim finish so we wouldn’t feel obligated to feed them.

“Hey.” She didn’t turn to face me and sounded more interested in the box. “What’s this?”

“I think that’s my old high school stuff.” I walked in and took a look at what she was so curious about.

“You never showed me this.” She was holding a picture of my parents and me. Autumn moved it closer to me, as if I hadn’t studied it when it was on my bedroom desk back in Cutler. We had just gotten out of church, I think, because we were dressed nicely, standing in front of the garden just as the orchids my mother planted were blossoming. I was no more than three at the time. “It looks like you and your Dad. I’ve never seen your mother though.”

“Yeah, that’s Mom.” I took it from her. “It’s one of the few pictures I took when I left. One of the few Dad kept of us all.” Autumn stood up and grabbed my cheeks like distant aunts do. “Well, you were cute. I don’t know what happened.”

“Huh.” I smiled and set the picture down on the nightstand next to the bed. “If you say so.” She knew when to move on, when something was bothering me.

“I’ll let you sort though this box later. I’d like to do the bathroom now. You look like you have empty hands, go grab one of the boxes for me.” I rolled my eyes and didn’t move. “Well?” She looked at me expectantly.

I headed downstairs, past Jim and the other guy and outside to the cruiser, where the box of shampoo, soap, makeup and that sort of thing was. I had my hand on the passenger door when a truck drove by nice and slow, eyeing the house. I waved, guessing he was a local by the condition of his truck that looked like it had been patched together from a couple other models that were probably headed towards the scrapper. He looked at me, looked at the cruiser, and gave me a good, cold stare. I stared back.

We finished moving all the boxes and furniture in around supper time. Autumn took a break from organizing and made the kids and me some peanut butter sandwiches. She had some cereal, not daring to eat much after her rough morning. 

Some people say you don’t sleep well if you’re in a new place, but more was keeping me up that night. I don’t know what Wittenburg expected me to find here, but I had a good feeling I wasn’t going to like it.

Equipment

Monday my camera came, complete with the essential suction-cup mount for the car. Today I bought a tripod, 32 GB HD memory card, and a pair of aviators for Archer. Things are coming together quite nicely, except for my bank account, of course.
As far as the screenplay is concerned, I'm nearing completion of the first "Act" that will take place here in Maine. I've already decided on the locations and that sort of thing, and I hope to be ready to film by the 12th, when I'm getting done with my three jobs to relax but mainly work on this project.

GoPro on its way! And a preview of things to come

Purchased my GoPro motorsports edition tonight! It's really a shame I couldn't get it in a store, just because a friend is visiting with a motorcycle that would be fun to play around with. Oh well. On the plus side, I'm saving 50 bucks through Amazon. Now if I can just find the Final Cut Pro my parents got me with my laptop...
These guys in the video have the right idea. This is a lot like what I'm shooting for. Some shots I would like to do differently. An example is the shot from inside looking at the mirror--I don't really like that one, I would just put it outside. I really like the wheel-well shot though.
I'll be writing tonight, maybe I'll get enough done to feel like I can post something. If not, I'll post an old piece I've done since I haven't posted any writing in awhile.

A very cool blog

For anyone who's interested, I've found this blog extremely interesting. I'll send a script along, if I ever have time to finish one.
http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/

Turn your volume up.

While I'm still unsure if this will make it to Cruise/Moonlit's soundtrack, I think it would make for an excellent chase scene or even a fight scene of some type. Either way, this is pretty sick.

Delays=Progress

I was hoping to get a camera from Wal-Mart or somewhere so I could make sure I was getting the right thing, but no one had it. Looks like Amazon is the place for GoPro's, specifically the motorsports edition. Oh well. So it will probably be another week until filming for Moonlit can even start.
Even with the delay, I've decided on some things. I was thinking it'd be cool to have the opening scenes  set in the 80s, instead of right before Archer goes back to school, but that just wouldn't work--I'd either have to hire a baby or have an older actor play Archer in present day, since I can't look 30 years older or younger. And a 30+ year old guy at a college is always super sketch.
While little things like this may seem minor, they really do help keep things moving. I've also purchased a wireless keyboard that will help me write for longer stints. I love my Macbook (his name's Jackson. Yes I named a laptop) but the keys are slightly too far from the front of the laptop because of how big the trackpad is. Because of this, my wrists end up resting on the somewhat sharp edge of the laptop, which is uncomfortable. It also ends up looking like I've been cutting myself.

The (very possible) opening song in Cruise/Moonlit

This is a recent favorite of mine. A great throwback at the classic 80's synth, this will work well with the opening, specifically the shots I want happening. The 80's revival songs in Cruise/Moonlit will show the past.

Bullit

Last night I watched Bullit with Steve McQueen and took some notes on how to direct a chase. I also really enjoyed the film--at times, I thought it could have moved a little faster, but I think the intention was to be deliberate and careful about how fast things happened, so when things did happen, they appeared even powerful than they would normally.

I'm officially writing Cruise

I've started the screenplay tonight and already have what will amount to around 4 minutes of screentime. It won't be until I hit page 10 or so that I post some of the screenplay, just so I'm not over-posting. This is very exciting! In around a week, I might get the camera if I see while school shopping. I'm looking for the motor-sports version though, so I might not find it.
Just another small note on Cruise...I'm considering a new title, "Moonlit" and debating if that's cliché or not. It would really fit Archer's character.

The Hunter by Julia Leigh

This being my first review, I just want to say that I don't plan on going to in-depth unless I really really like the book. I won't spoil anything and won't spend time explaining the plot when you can just look it up and see for yourself.

I finished The Hunter just a couple days ago, which is now a film starring William Dafoe. I picked it up when I was in Hawaii for something to read on the plane rides. It has an interesting perspective--it's a very close third-person that goes into first-person stream of conscious. It takes awhile to get used to, but it works with the pacing and setting, and most importantly, what I think the theme of the novel is--being lost. Leigh explores the feeling of being lost in many ways, some more obvious than others.
My major complaint is the last 50 pages or so. They feel sudden and disconnected from the rest of the novel, almost like it was an short story beforehand. Even the writing feels a little different, which I could buy because of character development...if it was first-person and wasn't rushed. I feel like Leigh thought the pacing was too slow and sped things up to the end, but I would have been content on reading another 100 or so pages before the conclusion.
I had some other minor issues, including things not being explored enough or dropped completely and characters doing a couple things I didn't buy according to how they acted in the novel as a whole.
Overall, its definitely worth a look. Even though the POV is a little odd, it's an easy, quick read--it just won't go down as one of my favorites.

Deadmau5 will be in Cruise...a lot

In general, the soundtrack will be mostly electronic music like Deadmau5...good beats with catchy riffs, great for driving.
This song will most likely fit in nicely when Archer goes for his first drive after he returns to school. He'll be contemplating until the "drop" at 2:35, when he decides to drive again, and fast. This will also go well with slow motion, if I chose to do so.

Cruise Pitch

            The main character, Archer, is recovering from a recent single-car accident in his hometown. His girlfriend, who was his only passenger, was killed while he was left unscathed. Though no charges were filled against Archer, he knows there should have been. Ever since he was a boy he has been obsessed with speed and taking risks—he just took one too many the night of the accident. He feels guilty enough that he gives up driving as a personal punishment.

            The film begins with Archer returning to college for his final year. His social skills have been seriously affected, even around his close friends. His depression worsens, while his desire to drive increases. He goes to the local racetrack and decides to start driving again.

            After his first night drive, his friends take him to a local club, where he first sees Sadie, his future love interest, but doesn’t approach her.

            Archer goes on another drive, this one longer and more daring.

            Several students approach Archer the next day, saying he would be good for a job that’s opened up recently. They tell him to meet at the club where his friends took him. He goes that night and meets Seth, the college’s “go-to” drug dealer, who wants to expand his operation and needs a drug runner to travel to Philadelphia at night. Archer is hesitant, but Sadie enters the room and takes a seat next to Seth, who immediately treats her poorly. Archer takes the job.

            With each drug run, Archer cuts it closer and to getting caught by both the law and rival operations who have taken notice or use the same route. He starts making money, but doesn’t get flashy so people aren’t suspicious. Sadie notices him in the club. His grades are suffering.

            When he gets the chance, he asks Sadie on a drive. A relationship begins to grow. Archer starts defending Sadie when he sees Seth for payment and jobs. Seth notices this and sets Archer up, telling police and letting rival operations know he’s picking up a “large” payload on his next run. Tension builds on his way to Philadelphia as he notices extra law enforcement along his route and several suspicious cars following him. 

           

            Action/Drama/Musical. Very stylistic, especially with the night drives. Pacing can be altered with drives. Dependant on music during action sequences and drives. Limited amounts of dialogue make the action and soundtrack do more work. Camera work drastically changes from drives to normal scenes—lots of slow motion, motion shots, tracking shots with drives, while camera stays still during normal shots.

Sorry I can't let the ending be released, partially because it isn't finalized and partially because I don't want it spoiled. And remember, this is still very much in the works.

            

Music and Writing/Cruise Info

All writing comes from the author, sure, but the author has a lot of help. I'll get more into this another time, but for right now, I want to focus on one of my biggest influences: music.

I've always been involved with music, from playing, listening, and even creating some original compositions. It's another one of my favorite things besides writing. So why not combine them?

I have everything from trailer music to apocalyptic metal of my ipod that I'll listen to in order to get into the mood or deeper into the scene/chapter/stanza I'm working on. As I'm working on a piece, I think it will be cool to post what I'm listening to and explain why, along with suggesting some good writing music to anyone who's interested.

My main project right now is a short film, "Cruise," which will be filmed when I get back to school and written over the summer and even as I film. The thing you may not expect--

It's a MUSICAL.

Yep.

A MUSICAL.

Anyone who knows me will be scratching their heads right now. I'll explain it in more detail later, but I'm calling it a "new breed" of the musical form as most people know it ("Sound of Music," recently "Rock of Ages"). It's not going to include singing. Instead, the pacing will be adjusted according to what song is playing. There will be a lot of driving scenes that have no dialogue whatsoever, just music and ambient noises. It will make the action do all the work showing things and won't depend on dialogue nearly as much as most of my pieces do.

In addition to showing plot details, the pitch, and scenes straight from the script from Cruise, I'm going to include the potential soundtrack as well. It should provide for an interesting take on the film. I'll make them separate posts, though, and explain why I chose the song, when it's going to play, and to what effect.

I'm back

I realize I've left this untouched for far too long. I've been very busy with finals, a trip to Hawaii, and now 3 jobs at once, so I haven't had a lot of time to write. Well I'm making time. I'll be posting old and new material alike from now on (old meaning from the last couple semesters), hopefully at least something each day. This should also help motivate me to write once I get home from work at around 11 at night.

I'll announce a couple things:
I will be purchasing a GoPro Motorsports edition camera for my film currently called "Cruise." The script will be written over the summer and filming will start once I get back to school. More on this later...I should have a developed pitch written soon.
The second and third chapter of The Quietside are "done" (for now, at least) and will be posted soon. Unfortunately, this project might get put on the backburner for at least awhile.
Short stories will be a large focus for me for the next several months, as I will be writing several in hopes of submitting and getting published in an off-campus publication.
These short stories (possibly) include: "Fostertown", "Harvest", "The Dead, Dead West", "Prefab", and "Unjustified/Condemned." That's a lot, so only a couple will actually get written. I'll probably end up writing pitches or outlines for them though. More on those later.


I hope that these random thoughts/ideas/concepts/complaints/suggestions/epiphanies will be enough to keep people interested.