I've been writing for the screen since 1999. I moved from Seattle to Hollywood in November of 2004. Three of my five screenplays are making the rounds.
My latest comedy, FALSE SECURITY, took 2nd place in the WriteSafe.com contest for the third quarter of 2005.
I wrote, produced, and directed a short film titled, Memoir.
I gained representation as a screenwriter in 2006.

davidcdanielATgmail.coµ

People have been asking me if I've heard from the producer I wrote about in my last article. Yes, I have.

The upshot: SCRATCH is a pass but I have an open invite to pitch anew.

Here's a bit of what she had to say:

First, I think you are a very talented young writer, which is why it's no surprise that you have a manager and/or additional representation. Your presentation is professional and accomplished, both personally and on the page.

I was surprised at the caliber of writing in your screenplay in a good way. In certain ways, you're better than the story you ended up telling (if that doesn't sound too moronic.) You set up your premise well, the pacing and tone were consistent, the characters felt more than one-note, your humor and language were edgy and rang true to the ear, and concept-wise, you did have fun with it.

But this piece, to my mind, is a 'close but no cigar'...

Don't worry, I assured her she's not old enough to be my mom. I also assured her she didn't sound like a moron (to me anyway). I think she picked up on my struggle to fit the original story idea into a space a bit smaller and tighter than the screenwriting process would otherwise require--if that doesn't sound too moronic.

I am NOT saying that Blake Snyder's beat sheet killed my cats. I wrote the screenplay by myself from my own idea. I am the sole author and I bear sole responsibility for the outcome. Period. Besides, I think the beating is responsible for the following sentence: "You set up your premise well, the pacing and tone were consistent, the characters felt more than one-note, your humor and language were edgy and rang true to the ear..."

I re-read SCRATCH after digesting the rest of her notes. I still like the premise and script. What I'm not sure of now is whether I'll submit it anywhere else. I haven't had a chance yet to talk to M about the notes--she's been super busy lately. But I'm not in a hurry. Hey, it's summertime...

The inevitable outcome is I return to the trees as a spec monkey. That in itself isn't so bad, but I'll have to eat my own words, to wit: I won't write another spec until I sell one.

See what happens when you shoot your mouth off? Consider yourselves warned.

Summertime also means reading-time and with all the hubbub lately I've not had a chance to mention my current summer read: Writing Drama by Yves Lavandier.

Mr. Lavandier's publisher sent me a review copy recently and I've been wearing the tip off my highlighter. Here's a line I marked: "...drama is an art and will never be an exact science, and because the rules are rich and complex, these cannot be simply reduced to a series of formulae."

He's also put his efforts where his words are. He wrote and directed a feature in 2001 titled, Oui, mais... (Yes, but...) that earned a few awards. The publisher told me a DVD will be available from Amazon on July 17.

So, between writing and reading I'm gonna be one busy little spec monkey.

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