I just noticed "5 Dates" is also a finalist for "Suzanne's Prize" for best love story at Screenwriting Expo. I'm 1 of 16, much better odds than 1 of 114. I honestly want to win this one, not for the money or prizes but because the story deserves it. My lead characters -- Mitch and Charl -- deserve it. I feel very warm about this story; it came to me while working in Detroit, last January.
I was packing up a HUGE collection of books to ship to Bloomsbury Auctions in London and New York -- over 300 boxes, took two solid weeks -- and the very pleasant elderly couple who'd owned those books had been together for nearly 50 years and still were in love. I chatted a lot with them as I worked and the long days passed quickly. Didn't hurt that Detroit was having one of their serious snowstorms, one that just kept drifting snow and drifting snow till it was nearly 4 feet deep and totally fun to drive in -- not. And yet...it was. I've lived in Grand Forks, ND, where it can snow like madness (the opening of "Fargo" brought back such memories) but I'd never been through such a beautiful, magical experience before. I so enjoyed it, when I finally had a down day, I drove down to Ann Arbor to give myself an excuse to look around the countryside...and I saw the University Hospital and the University of Michigan and the old Queen Anne style homes and then happened upon a little pavilion on a tiny island in the middle of a frozen river...and "5 Dates" formed in the space of an afternoon.
To keep the thoughts going, I drove back through Detroit and up to Port Huron then across to Sarnia, on the Canadian side, and walked in a park overlooking the lake. After 12 straight days of packing books and shifting boxes and preparing artwork for transport, I didn't feel tired or weary or anything negative; it was like the world was born anew. And I associate that with this script.
I want it to win because it's like my child...and what parent doesn't want his child to do well?
Friday, October 9, 2009
Rain!
Man, it poured for over an hour, this morning. Had to drive my mom to get some blood-work done, in it...and just loved it. I prefer the rain and cool to heat and humidity. It's supposed to rain more, tomorrow, as I'm heading out but be sunny in Seattle. Don't care. Just wanna go.
Signed the official contract for "Bobby Carapisi" today. This marks a shift in direction for me because "Bobby..." doesn't really fall into the category of erotica. I have one more very gritty erotic book to write...and the last volume of "Bobby..." will be pretty harsh, considering who's telling this part of it...but the rest of the stories I have lined up are more romantic and fun while still making my radical left-wing "homosexual agenda" political points. Hmph, I LOVE putting it that way, though I'm probably exaggerating the intensity of my actual feelings. Anyway, I'm still in control enough of it to where I'll be putting entertainment and fun at the fore and the lecturing done under my breath. Marx, I am not. Nor Lenin. And I SURE as hell don't want to wind up like Theodore Dreiser or Russell Banks; their writing is damn near unreadable.
Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, today, and I'm of two minds about it. I don't really think he deserves it, yet...but I can see the points people are making about how he's so radically changed people's views about America (after those catastrophic Bush years), I guess I don't mind. I do think Bono would have been a better choice, though not Clinton, as some people have posited. Still...it'll be hard to take the Nobels seriously after this. They've helped make the case that they're more of a political choice than a serious one, even if that's not really the case.
What's funny is, it reminds me of how I dreamed of getting a Pulitzer for "Bobby Carapisi" because I wound up doing such a brilliant job of telling a story that no one wants told, and did it through three completely different voices. Never say I can't be grandiose.
Signed the official contract for "Bobby Carapisi" today. This marks a shift in direction for me because "Bobby..." doesn't really fall into the category of erotica. I have one more very gritty erotic book to write...and the last volume of "Bobby..." will be pretty harsh, considering who's telling this part of it...but the rest of the stories I have lined up are more romantic and fun while still making my radical left-wing "homosexual agenda" political points. Hmph, I LOVE putting it that way, though I'm probably exaggerating the intensity of my actual feelings. Anyway, I'm still in control enough of it to where I'll be putting entertainment and fun at the fore and the lecturing done under my breath. Marx, I am not. Nor Lenin. And I SURE as hell don't want to wind up like Theodore Dreiser or Russell Banks; their writing is damn near unreadable.
Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, today, and I'm of two minds about it. I don't really think he deserves it, yet...but I can see the points people are making about how he's so radically changed people's views about America (after those catastrophic Bush years), I guess I don't mind. I do think Bono would have been a better choice, though not Clinton, as some people have posited. Still...it'll be hard to take the Nobels seriously after this. They've helped make the case that they're more of a political choice than a serious one, even if that's not really the case.
What's funny is, it reminds me of how I dreamed of getting a Pulitzer for "Bobby Carapisi" because I wound up doing such a brilliant job of telling a story that no one wants told, and did it through three completely different voices. Never say I can't be grandiose.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
I finished proofing "Bobby Carapisi-1" and sent my corrections off to the publisher. I'm still waiting to see what their artwork will be for the cover...and if I have to be an obnoxious jerk about it. I sent then a mock-up of what I wanted -- very low-key in comparison to their other titles -- and told them up front I wanted the cover to look as much like what I'd done as possible. We'll see how it goes.
Right now I'm prepping for a trip to Seattle. I'm helping load out the Seattle Book Fair this weekend, which means a paid jaunt to one of my favorite cities. If I could get a job there, I'd move in an instant. I may still try, once my sister's able to take over handling our mother...which will be in January.
More good news on the competition front came in yesterday -- my gentle updating of "Beauty and the Beast" into a teen romance is a Quarter-finalist in this year's Screenwriting Expo in LA. I've gotten as far as Semi-finalist with them but no further, so I'm not expecting this year to be different. My work doesn't conform to the Syd Field school as much as they like, and my characters tend to be too deep and real -- and it's not me saying this. I was told this by several actors who've read my screenplays. They like that I give them plenty to work with.
Hmm...perhaps I should also note this was from when I was part of The Playwright's Kitchen Ensemble at the Coronet Theatre in LA. It was a wonderfully beneficial set-up for writers, where you bring in 25-30 pages of a script or play and actors who are members of the group do cold readings. You get to hear your words interpreted and spoken by fresh voices (instead of just the ones in your head) and get feedback on how the work comes across by the other writers in the group. My writing improved exponentially while a part of this.
I think my favorite moment in the whole time I was there was when I was having the third part of "Find Ray Tarkovsky" read. A young actor named Paul, whose last name I wish I could remember, was playing Damon (the lead), and he came out with a reading of a line that totally upended the story. It's when Damon's explaining to Tara, his ex-wife, why he was desperate to make sure their son was all right, and he finally convinces her he's being forced to help the Russian mob find a snitch hiding in the witness protection program. She explodes with, "You got our SON involved in this?!" to which Damon responds, "Oh, they threatened you, too." To me, the line was like a warning. But Paul read it as if Damon was just reassuring Tara she hadn't been left out of the danger, that she got a death threat, too, so nothing to worry about. Got a HUGE laugh -- and I actually shifted the line a bit to indicate that's how it should be read...then went through the whole script and flipped as many other lines as I could to be read in an off-beat manner. Made the script a LOT funnier and WAY more fun.
God, I miss that.
Right now I'm prepping for a trip to Seattle. I'm helping load out the Seattle Book Fair this weekend, which means a paid jaunt to one of my favorite cities. If I could get a job there, I'd move in an instant. I may still try, once my sister's able to take over handling our mother...which will be in January.
More good news on the competition front came in yesterday -- my gentle updating of "Beauty and the Beast" into a teen romance is a Quarter-finalist in this year's Screenwriting Expo in LA. I've gotten as far as Semi-finalist with them but no further, so I'm not expecting this year to be different. My work doesn't conform to the Syd Field school as much as they like, and my characters tend to be too deep and real -- and it's not me saying this. I was told this by several actors who've read my screenplays. They like that I give them plenty to work with.
Hmm...perhaps I should also note this was from when I was part of The Playwright's Kitchen Ensemble at the Coronet Theatre in LA. It was a wonderfully beneficial set-up for writers, where you bring in 25-30 pages of a script or play and actors who are members of the group do cold readings. You get to hear your words interpreted and spoken by fresh voices (instead of just the ones in your head) and get feedback on how the work comes across by the other writers in the group. My writing improved exponentially while a part of this.
I think my favorite moment in the whole time I was there was when I was having the third part of "Find Ray Tarkovsky" read. A young actor named Paul, whose last name I wish I could remember, was playing Damon (the lead), and he came out with a reading of a line that totally upended the story. It's when Damon's explaining to Tara, his ex-wife, why he was desperate to make sure their son was all right, and he finally convinces her he's being forced to help the Russian mob find a snitch hiding in the witness protection program. She explodes with, "You got our SON involved in this?!" to which Damon responds, "Oh, they threatened you, too." To me, the line was like a warning. But Paul read it as if Damon was just reassuring Tara she hadn't been left out of the danger, that she got a death threat, too, so nothing to worry about. Got a HUGE laugh -- and I actually shifted the line a bit to indicate that's how it should be read...then went through the whole script and flipped as many other lines as I could to be read in an off-beat manner. Made the script a LOT funnier and WAY more fun.
God, I miss that.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
I must be blind
After half a dozen passes through "Bobby Caparisi" for typos and corrections, I've found 3 more in the first hundred pages. This is driving me crazy...or maybe I already am.
Back to it. I'm working the Seattle Book Fair this weekend so want it done before I fly out. I'll get back to "Mine To Kill" during my down time.
Back to it. I'm working the Seattle Book Fair this weekend so want it done before I fly out. I'll get back to "Mine To Kill" during my down time.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Waylaid
I'm a bit sidetracked. I was sent the proof for "Bobby Carapisi - Book One" and I'm going through it to make sure as many typos are corrected as possible. This will be my fourth published book...but it's the first one coming out that I'm being really anal about to the point of obsession...and it's driving the publisher crazy. Because this one is more than mere erotica -- no, that's not the right way to put this. My books were never "mere erotica" because each one has a message and meaning in its story beyond the gay sex aspects.
You see, my first book -- "How To Rape A Straight Guy" -- is a very in your face kind of story about revenge, where an ex-con thinks he has control of his life and finds he hasn't any, but not before he destroys the lives of a number of people.
My second book -- "Porno Manifesto" -- is also about revenge, but in this one it shows how vengeance cannot be controlled and innocent people often get hurt.
Through both of them ran a theme of the casual corruption and hypocrisy of our so-called system of justice in America -- a system that is too easily manipulated by the wealthy and is very much stacked against those who cannot fight back. So I made that the whole basis of my third book -- "Rape In Holding Cell 6 - volume 1" -- where a gay man is falsely accused of raping a child, winds up beaten to death in that holding cell while awaiting arraignment, and no one is willing to do anything about it beyond put the men who committed the murder into prison for a few years. His lover discovers it's happened to others and begins tracking down a corrupt triad of public officials who seem to be deliberately targeting gay men for punishment...and sets out to wreak his own vengeance against them. Volume 2 will be about how it finally plays out...once I write it.
The thing is, with all of these books, I put in some very graphic sexual encounters (both gay and straight). Nothing much more than what you'd find in a Judith Krantz or Jackie Collins novel, but they're still seen as just erotica in most people's eyes...including mine, to my embarrassment. Deep inside me is something that basically says these books are not as of high a value as my other writing...and that's a failing on my part. NONE of my work should ever be seen as less than worthy in my own eyes, so I feel I'm letting my stories down by having that idea stuck in my brain.
That said, "Bobby Carapisi" is about the human toll of sexual assault. Two men are raped -- one gay and unknown, one straight and a budding celebrity -- and books 1&2 follow the destructive effect it has on them and how the world perceives them. (Book 3 is still coming together in my mind so I won't talk about it, yet.) But this book has always been more important to me, held more meaning for me, so while I was willing to kick back and just give suggestions to the art department for cover art and basically skim over the proof to make sure it's correct enough on the first three, on this one I know EXACTLY what I want all three covers to look like and won't accept anything less. And I'm obsessing through the proof for the umpteenth time to find any and all typos and irregularities I can.
Sometimes I spook myself. This is one. And I don't care. So be prepared. Book 2's proof should be coming my way soon, and I'll be even nastier about that one.
You see, my first book -- "How To Rape A Straight Guy" -- is a very in your face kind of story about revenge, where an ex-con thinks he has control of his life and finds he hasn't any, but not before he destroys the lives of a number of people.
My second book -- "Porno Manifesto" -- is also about revenge, but in this one it shows how vengeance cannot be controlled and innocent people often get hurt.
Through both of them ran a theme of the casual corruption and hypocrisy of our so-called system of justice in America -- a system that is too easily manipulated by the wealthy and is very much stacked against those who cannot fight back. So I made that the whole basis of my third book -- "Rape In Holding Cell 6 - volume 1" -- where a gay man is falsely accused of raping a child, winds up beaten to death in that holding cell while awaiting arraignment, and no one is willing to do anything about it beyond put the men who committed the murder into prison for a few years. His lover discovers it's happened to others and begins tracking down a corrupt triad of public officials who seem to be deliberately targeting gay men for punishment...and sets out to wreak his own vengeance against them. Volume 2 will be about how it finally plays out...once I write it.
The thing is, with all of these books, I put in some very graphic sexual encounters (both gay and straight). Nothing much more than what you'd find in a Judith Krantz or Jackie Collins novel, but they're still seen as just erotica in most people's eyes...including mine, to my embarrassment. Deep inside me is something that basically says these books are not as of high a value as my other writing...and that's a failing on my part. NONE of my work should ever be seen as less than worthy in my own eyes, so I feel I'm letting my stories down by having that idea stuck in my brain.
That said, "Bobby Carapisi" is about the human toll of sexual assault. Two men are raped -- one gay and unknown, one straight and a budding celebrity -- and books 1&2 follow the destructive effect it has on them and how the world perceives them. (Book 3 is still coming together in my mind so I won't talk about it, yet.) But this book has always been more important to me, held more meaning for me, so while I was willing to kick back and just give suggestions to the art department for cover art and basically skim over the proof to make sure it's correct enough on the first three, on this one I know EXACTLY what I want all three covers to look like and won't accept anything less. And I'm obsessing through the proof for the umpteenth time to find any and all typos and irregularities I can.
Sometimes I spook myself. This is one. And I don't care. So be prepared. Book 2's proof should be coming my way soon, and I'll be even nastier about that one.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
MEandering Sunday
I woke up with a headache -- tension initiated -- that's taking its time leaving me, so the writing will be minimal, today. Instead, I'm focused on working up an action and character bible for "Marked For Death." I found while writing my 2 volume (so far) book, "Bobby Carapisi," that it helped immensely in keeping track of the complex directions my writing takes me.
And there's no question my stories can get convoluted. I have one script -- "Kazn" -- that drives coverage people insane, because it tells its story in both past and present, with each informing the other, and uses visuals as much as dialog to highlight information. I was sent the coverage on it a couple of times (from people who were trying to help me "learn how to write") that showed that one had gotten half the story completely wrong in her synopsis while the other suggested I do things that were already in the script. Hysterical.
But I've seen that consistently in coverage -- that it's done poorly or ignorantly, and I'm not talking about just mine. I especially love it when the coverage person obviously has no command of English grammar and consistently confuses "your" and "you're" and "its" and "it's" and such while writing in sentences that go nowhere. Yet these are the people determining whether or not your script goes up the line to production or straight into the trash. Too bad they don't have to prove themselves competent in story analysis or even reading comprehension.
However, I think my favorite comment came from a woman who gave me feedback on a gentle teen-romance I wrote ("5 Dates") and said I really shouldn't have my lead male's mother pimping him out to the lead female so she could meet the girl's father! It was so out of left field, I actually went back to the script and reread it to see if I could figure out what the hell she was referring to -- and I'm still at a loss...though I did find a couple more typos, even after proofing the script a good four times. Dammit.
But that's me and typos -- and that is a whole 'nother story.
And there's no question my stories can get convoluted. I have one script -- "Kazn" -- that drives coverage people insane, because it tells its story in both past and present, with each informing the other, and uses visuals as much as dialog to highlight information. I was sent the coverage on it a couple of times (from people who were trying to help me "learn how to write") that showed that one had gotten half the story completely wrong in her synopsis while the other suggested I do things that were already in the script. Hysterical.
But I've seen that consistently in coverage -- that it's done poorly or ignorantly, and I'm not talking about just mine. I especially love it when the coverage person obviously has no command of English grammar and consistently confuses "your" and "you're" and "its" and "it's" and such while writing in sentences that go nowhere. Yet these are the people determining whether or not your script goes up the line to production or straight into the trash. Too bad they don't have to prove themselves competent in story analysis or even reading comprehension.
However, I think my favorite comment came from a woman who gave me feedback on a gentle teen-romance I wrote ("5 Dates") and said I really shouldn't have my lead male's mother pimping him out to the lead female so she could meet the girl's father! It was so out of left field, I actually went back to the script and reread it to see if I could figure out what the hell she was referring to -- and I'm still at a loss...though I did find a couple more typos, even after proofing the script a good four times. Dammit.
But that's me and typos -- and that is a whole 'nother story.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Updating the connections to the info I updated
I updated the excerpts of my scripts on Winning Scripts and now am linking to the correct page for people to look it over --
http://www.moviebytes.com/ws/WinningScripts.cfm?keyword=kyle+michel+sullivan&MainMenuOption=Search&Search=Search
Had to do it because I no longer have representation and had to change all the title pages of the excerpts. Little things cause so many problems that take so long to do.
After going over "Marked For Death," I find it's a solid 50 pages, so far, with a couple of other scenes written. All I need to do is figure out the last half of the script and what the big-blast-action-ending will be. I know the very final scene...it's just getting there that'll be the fun part.
Of course there are so many distractions -- mainly from my mother and brother. I'm living with them, right now -- half because they need someone to steady them and see to it they take care of themselves (my brother, Kelly, just recently got a steady job at a livable wage and is feeling a LOT better about himself, and my mother finally went through with cataract surgery and is seeing a doctor on a regular basis)...and half because it's a nice place to hide and not spend a lot of money since I'm damn near broke. I'm owed money for various jobs I've done; the trick is getting these weasels to pay me without going all the way to court.
Whimper whine blah blah.
Back to my writing. Another good thing about San Antonio is there is NOTHING to do here if you care about film or theater, unlike LA where it's an embarrassment of riches or New York City, where you'd go mad from the selection.
http://www.moviebytes.com/ws/WinningScripts.cfm?keyword=kyle+michel+sullivan&MainMenuOption=Search&Search=Search
Had to do it because I no longer have representation and had to change all the title pages of the excerpts. Little things cause so many problems that take so long to do.
After going over "Marked For Death," I find it's a solid 50 pages, so far, with a couple of other scenes written. All I need to do is figure out the last half of the script and what the big-blast-action-ending will be. I know the very final scene...it's just getting there that'll be the fun part.
Of course there are so many distractions -- mainly from my mother and brother. I'm living with them, right now -- half because they need someone to steady them and see to it they take care of themselves (my brother, Kelly, just recently got a steady job at a livable wage and is feeling a LOT better about himself, and my mother finally went through with cataract surgery and is seeing a doctor on a regular basis)...and half because it's a nice place to hide and not spend a lot of money since I'm damn near broke. I'm owed money for various jobs I've done; the trick is getting these weasels to pay me without going all the way to court.
Whimper whine blah blah.
Back to my writing. Another good thing about San Antonio is there is NOTHING to do here if you care about film or theater, unlike LA where it's an embarrassment of riches or New York City, where you'd go mad from the selection.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Memories...
While going through my notes and over a list of all the scripts I've written (27, thus far) I came across one I'd started a few years back but got waylaid from at about the halfway point -- and I've decided to finish it this month. The title: "Marked For Death". It's an action-packed thriller and has a major role for an up-and-coming male teen along the lines of Shia LeBeouf, so I figure once it's done I have a decent chance of selling it. Start on the road to building my reserves to live in Galway for 4 years.
Of course, this reminded me that I have a number of scripts I began but never finished. Some were just bad ideas, some I got confused on where they were going and had to stop and a few I just got sidetracked and never went back to them. I'm the type writer who feels an obligation to finish a story or script if it wants to be completed, and two others have made sure I know that's exactly what they want -- an existential-thriller ("Bandit Country") I was going to set in Scotland and a romance ("Butterfly Champagne") set in Berlin. Hmph -- two "BC's" and no "AD's". Wonder if that means anything more than me being silly?
Anyway, I have another script that I reworked into a book that desperately needs a polish ("The Golden Sea"), and yet another about an artist accused of being a serial killer ("The Six Days Of Jemmy T") that're just waiting for me to be ready to make them happen. So I have a lot on my plate in need of focus on top of my Irish story, "Place Of Safety." And that's with my savings about gone. Damn -- talk about your perfect timing.
If anybody knows anyone willing to back me, financially, so I can focus on nothing but my writing for the next few years...like a patron...I'll dedicate everything to you. Really, I will.
Of course, this reminded me that I have a number of scripts I began but never finished. Some were just bad ideas, some I got confused on where they were going and had to stop and a few I just got sidetracked and never went back to them. I'm the type writer who feels an obligation to finish a story or script if it wants to be completed, and two others have made sure I know that's exactly what they want -- an existential-thriller ("Bandit Country") I was going to set in Scotland and a romance ("Butterfly Champagne") set in Berlin. Hmph -- two "BC's" and no "AD's". Wonder if that means anything more than me being silly?
Anyway, I have another script that I reworked into a book that desperately needs a polish ("The Golden Sea"), and yet another about an artist accused of being a serial killer ("The Six Days Of Jemmy T") that're just waiting for me to be ready to make them happen. So I have a lot on my plate in need of focus on top of my Irish story, "Place Of Safety." And that's with my savings about gone. Damn -- talk about your perfect timing.
If anybody knows anyone willing to back me, financially, so I can focus on nothing but my writing for the next few years...like a patron...I'll dedicate everything to you. Really, I will.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
New Competition News
Something I wrote for an anthology is now part of a "make a movie" competition at BigStar TV. The deal is, anyone anywhere in the world is invited to make a short film from one of the 8 stories in the anthology. Six of the stories are already scripts, but one's a short story and mine's a one-act play. The lead characters are all the same in the stories, and the focus is the retrieval of stolen jewelry. Mine's one of the simplest to shoot -- one location (it's set in the Weisensee Jewish cemetery in what was once East Berlin), four actors and not much running around -- so I think I have a good shot at being chosen. Fingers crossed.
All I get from this is the privilege of having my story shot...but if several different people do choose it, it'll be fun to see the different takes on the characters' interactions. Maybe it'll even get mounted on a stage, at some date.
If you want to check it out, here's the direct link --
http://www.bigstar.tv/contests/regulations/contest/script-to-film
All I get from this is the privilege of having my story shot...but if several different people do choose it, it'll be fun to see the different takes on the characters' interactions. Maybe it'll even get mounted on a stage, at some date.
If you want to check it out, here's the direct link --
http://www.bigstar.tv/contests/regulations/contest/script-to-film
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