Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Pause That Refreshes

Okay, gentle reader, I'm about to tell you the most important thing I will ever write in this blog:
I'm grateful for all interest in my writing (and co-writing as the case may be).

Have I grown to be a little frightened over the phrase "we have notes"?
Absolutely.
But what came before "we have notes" is "we have interest" and that one "interest" is more powerful than a billion requests for changes, because it means someone wants to take what was written and actually film it.

Oddly enough, when J & I first sat down with the very first Dorks producer (the Alpha producer if you will), we all shared a round of "How many ____ does it take to change a lightbulb?"
The "writer" answer -- "The lightbulb? But that's my favorite part."

That is revision.

Some people call it "killing your babies/darlings" and it's absolutely true. But good producers (and directors) force writers to kill the babies that they've entrenched around to make the movie better.

I may not always let my dim light shine, but I'm so incredibly psyched in the hopeful forward movement on Dorks and I believe that the producers would agree that J & I have turned around some quick, note-addressing drafts, re-drafts and polishes... regardless of the number of darlings killed.

Dorks will be a big step in my eventual realization of being a real, fully-fledged screenwriter. Much further down the line, I will have to take time at the podium to thank each of these producers and our director (and hopefully scads of others) for their encouragement, for their interest and for their notes.

Dorks still at 92% and holding.

New Draft Submitted...

...first (and only response) from one of the producers was that he was "92% pleased" with it.

That's an A.
If we got 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, I'd be ecstatic.
Would I like 100%? Yes, yes I would.
Does this mean there will be additional notes heading towards us...?

I'm 92% certain.