Big news! Crowning Jules, my original, live-action, TV movie screenplay has been optioned by a Canadian production company. 

Fingers crossed that it will be coming to a TV near you soon!

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been writing The Nutcracker Sweet, a new animated version of the classic Nutcracker tale. The movie is being produced by Televix and Aronnax Animation Studios and is set for DVD release this winter. With super-sized adventure, a little mystery, and a dash of sweetness, the script is a new twist to Alexander Dumas’ traditional story. Putting my spin on a known narrative has been tremendous fun and the supportive team at Televix and Arronax has made this a delightful writing experience.  

If thousands of years from now, archaeologists discovered all my writing journals and yellow legal pads, they’d probably think I was really obsessed with pie.

I have been reading the Song of Ice and Fire series (aka GAME OF THRONES). I’m on book two, A Clash of Kings. From a writing perspective, it BLOWS MY MIND. How does a writer keep track of all these characters, locations, plots, etc.? Really, if you’ve heard how George R.R. Martin does it, I’d love to know. Spreadsheets? Maps? Maniacal Carrie from Homeland style corkboards? And all those characters! It’s got to be in the hundreds (maybe thousands throughout all the books) of named characters. And it’s all working for me. Such craft! Such smarts! Such vocabulary!

I’m smitten.

I recently saw a writing tip that suggested screenwriters come up with a list of their top ten favorite movies for reference whenever they get stuck. These are not necessarily the best scripts or movies, just the ones that personally make me happy. So, here are my top ten favorite movies (subject to change):

-The Princess Bride
-Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory
-My Neighbor Totoro
-Mean Girls
-Lady & The Tramp
-Zoolander 
-The Muppet Christmas Carol
-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
-Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
-Amelie

Honorable mentions for always making me laugh and filling me with general delight: Old School, The Big Lebowski, Mrs. Doubtfire

…is Silver Linings Playbook. There are a lot of things from a Screenwriting 101 perspective that would count against this script. It’s 152 pages long. There are big chunks of dialogue and very little action. There’s some inconsistency in the formatting. In essence, there are a lot of things that David O. Russell can get away with because he’s also directing. But in the end, it works. The dialogue is so sharp and character-based that the script doesn’t need to be built up with so much action. It’s the rare case of the subtext of the dialogue being strong enough that words speak louder than action. It’s a beautiful, sentimental, character drama done from an interesting, personal perspective.

TIFFANY: What? You’re not gonna read that shit on my time. I can tell you all about the “Lord of the Flies.” It’s a bunch of boys on an island and they have a conch — they have a shell — and whoever has the conch has the power and they can talk. And if you don’t have the conch, then you don’t have the power. And then there’s a little chubby boy, and they call him Piggy and they’re really mean, and then there’s a murder. I mean, humanity is just nasty and there’s no silver lining.

PAT: Wow. That was a great synopsis. I still need to read it, though.