Narrative Disorder… in Japan!!

I was going to write a review of Sin City which is yet another totally shallow, in fact empty, group of characters a la Mr. & Mrs. Smith but my husband wrote his first and it covers everything I was going to cover (he reads every screenwriting book I bring home so it really does) and, since he is a collector of comics and a Miller fan, he can compare it to the original so I think it’s more relevant and I’m just gong to link to it here: MICHAEL’S SIN CITY REVIEW.

We are big War of the Worlds fans in our house and not just of the book - Jeff Wayne’s Rock Musical Version often blares from the speakers (nice and loud so as to cover up our voices as we sing along) so, I had thought a lot about how it would be adapted to a modern Hollywood blockbuster because it wasn’t going to be easy.

When you think Hollywood blockbuster, especially starring Tom Cruise, you think (well, okay, I think) big Hero pic - and the problem with War of the Worlds is that there is no Hero - or, rather, the Earth kinda saves itself. I had a couple of ideas - would Tom be a scientist (a popular hero in recent years)- THE scientist to discover that if everyone can just lay low, the germs will do their work? Well, no because that wouldn’t be enough to make him a hero. Perhaps he (still a scientist) could make the realization and engineer the bioweapon to spark the victory or perhaps he could be the warrior who delivered the missile (though we aren’t as enamoured of military heroes these days) Of course, the latter sorts of changes would destroy Wells’ intent but, hey Hollywood does that (and, let’s face it, if you’re updating a story - that’s exactly what a modern defence force would do, no?)

To my surprise, Speilberg stuck to Wells’ intent and left the fabulously designed aliens and the plucky Earth germs to play out their own story and we simply follow a parallel story of a father and his children coping with the situation. It’s a sweet story, Fanning and Chatwin are excellent as the siblings who trust only each other after the dissolution of their parent’s marriage and the gradual development of the relationship between Cruise and Fanning , after Chatwin’s character disappears, was, I felt believable. I think it would have strengthened the premise (which I take to be Fatherhood after divorce) for Chatwin’s character to stay with them and for Cruise’s character to have to become a champion in his eyes, too but that’s just me.
I’m still not really sure what the purpose of Tim Robbins’ character was, I know it was so that Cruise’s character could kill something but story-wise I’m still confused. Why was Cruise the only one to notice him standing out there waving his gun and why did Robbins give up trying to flag down survivors after Cruise and Fanning joined him? I won’t do more than mention the fact that Otto’s Boston street appeared to be untouched by what we had been told was World-Wide destruction - enough people have gone into that…

In the end, I felt neither cheated nor fulfilled having seen this film and based on the discussion between my three friends afterwards: “So, what did you think?” “Hmm, don’t know really.” “Yeah… It was alright.” they felt the same way. I guess, when it comes down to it, we all want to see the good guy actually defeat the bad guys - somehow.

Home and just about human again (that 15 hour haul over the pacific is INSANE) I am appreciating the simple joy of not having to get dressed and face the world just to get some breakfast, though, for that, I can heartily recommend a lovely little psuedo-french cafe called “Champagne” on Santa Monica near San Vicente. And of course I must not forget the travelling Melbourner’s traditional returning cry of “Sooo good to have decent coffee again!” Though, again, I can report that genuinely good coffee with well-frothed milk (which is as much of a problem as finding decent beans) can be found on Little Santa Monica a few doors down from Rodeo at the “Euro Cafe” (where they also have RAI on the television which added to the whole Homesickness remedy for this Melbourner who lives between Lygon Street and Sydney Road!)

The number one question I am being asked, by those I love well enough to be willing to be seen in a half-human state, is “So, was it worth it?” The answer is a resounding YES! I can understand why they are asking - I haven’t been able to return, beaming from ear to ear, and say “Pete Jackson’s directing The Shadowkeeper!” or some such cry which smacks of obvious success, and it seems some people were genuinely thinking that was possible - but, as I tried to make it clear before I left - I was not expecting that.
What I was hoping for was to achieve what is the first MAJOR hurdle for any aspiring screenwriter in Hollywood TO BE READ AT ALL. An estimate of 50-70,000 scripts are sent to Hollywood each year so everyone is looking for the slightest reason not to have to read another script so you can imagine how many good scripts will end up in slush piles. SO, that was my goal - and it was (and is being) achieved. Shadowkeeper is still being read (or waiting in the ‘recommended’ piles) at various high profile companies and I have had requests for my next scripts (both pitches I took with me hit a mark) on the strength of my writing style. Sure, this is all still on a spec basis but just having the doors open is a HUGE step of which I am very proud.

I have had some great feedback from people who read it while I was there and who had read it before I arrived (competiton judges and the like) my favourite of which was that it is reminiscent of the work of Miyazaki Hayao - at first I thought someone must have told this guy that Miyazaki was one of my heroes but he named a couple of his films (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle) in case I didn’t know who he was so I accepted the compliment and beamed from ear to ear! Unfortunately the comparison was followed by a comment that he feared that it is “over the head of we silly Americans” and that their company couldn’t produce it - I considered offering to dumb it down but wasn’t quite sure how to put that - or how I would do it - it’s just a plain ol’ quest narrative, for goodness sake LOL!

The most important thing I have returned with is a lot more confidence in my potential as a writer and my ability to handle the Hollywood ‘thang’ if that is where my stories will take me. In fact, I found LA as a city completely un-frightening and really quite friendly (except for the occasional communication problem which was, essentially, funny and the whole, uncomfortably sad servant-class thing which really wasn’t funny at all but I won’t go into that here) so, should I need to go back on overwhelmingly exciting business I will be on solid ground!

So, what’s next? Well - writing the scripts people are waiting for while I wait upon the other readings of The Shadowkeeper. I’ve also decided to really put some work into seeing if maybe there might be someone interested in producing it from here because this is where I want to be based in the long term (at the very least I don’t want to have spend any Summers in LA - too hot for too many days in a row!) I will also, at some point, write reviews of the three books I bought in LA (there were sooo many other I could have bought given unlimited funds): “Breakfast with Sharks”; “The Script is Finished, Now What Do I Do?” and; “Writing Treatments the Sell” - the latter has the distinction of being the first source I’ve found which actually outlines exactly what is expected in a Bible for a TV show . Oh, yes - and find a job, any job, because boy do I need money now!!!

I am delighted to report that this morning I received word from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that THE SHADOWKEEPER has made it through to the quarterfinal round of the Nicholl Fellowship! Click here for information on the Nicholl

Well, what a week! The Shadowkeeper was not a winner on the big night, prize-wise (small pout) but, by the end of the night, I had one definite lunch for this week, two requests for the script and tentative lunches (to be confirmed after they’d read the script) which is, after all the main point. It’s not a bad start considering that most of the industry folk dashed out the door pretty quickly this year, taking request forms to be sent to Script Pimp Friday and Monday, instead of facing the wide-eyed scribes congregating round the bar! It was a great night (though the comedy unfortunately left much to be desired) and it was so good to experience that very rare thing for writers: professional camaraderie (we are a lonely lot!) Friday and Saturday were spent interspersing sight-seeing with the hunt for printing and faxing capabilities to get release forms to the right people. We have done a few “Hollywood” things: We spent a magical, balmy night at the Hollywood Bowl picnicking as Etta James sang after which we walked halfway home and wandered down Hollywood Bvde, past the Kodak and Mann’s Theatres (I highly recommend doing this at quarter to midnight, when the crowds are gone;) and we’ve strolled Rodeo Drive, though we arrived late in the day and were distracted in an antique jewelry store in Beverley for over an hour which curtailed our time and so, unfortunately, we will have to return to walk the other side of the street. Not very Hollywood but spectacular nevertheless was the Tutankhamun exhibition. To stand in the same room with artifacts I have studied since I was a child was quite breathtaking, particularly the two Akhenaten pieces - I spent a long time with them. The main joy was that they were mounted in such a way that one could walk right around each artifact and see them from side and rear angles which are rarely presented in books. My very favourite discovery was on a statue of Tuthmose and his mother Tiaa sitting with their middle arms disappearing around each other. I had seen the front view so many times in print and, not only was it much smaller than I imagined but, when walking around it, you can see that the scupltor has carved their hands reaching round and resting on the back of the shoulder of each figure. Tuthmose’s fingers are long and strong and reach almost right round his mother’s shoulder but Tiaa’s hand is small and slim and barely reaches the back of her son’s arm. Jenny and I have explored West Hollywood, where we are based, and I’m starting to feel almost at home on Santa Monica Boulevard - especially now we are in a friend’s apartment instead of the hotel (of course that could just be the full range of communications at hand. I now have to admit that I am an accessibility addict - I hated not having the net on tap.) The architecture, of homes and buildings alike, is striking here. The sheer variety, creativity and unashamed romanticism is a contrast to Australia that I didn’t expect. No one merely copying the next door neighbours, nor fretting over an extra corner here and there because of the cost - design seems to rule here, even in the smallest, humblest of buildings. Still, that doesn’t stop me being homesick already! Most surprisingly of all, we have discovered that LA does, indeed, have a fantastic public transport system! Buses criss-crossing the city from the Hollywood Bowl to Venice Beach to Downtown to Westwood which, for $3 a day, you can jump on and off until 3a.m. though it does highlight the racial divide here, which is shockingly accute. Well that’s my ramble for today. We are starting the pavement pounding work in earnest this week, so keep your fingers crossed for us…