Friday You Say?! Hmmmmm.....

Content Agenda reports that many new fall pilots have been leaked online and were available online Friday via torrent sites...

Gee...I guess that's why I was able to watch SARAH CONNOR, CHUCK and BIONIC WOMAN on Wednesday.

These guys will never catch up, especially when people within their own organizations "leak" these things onto the web. I shake my head at these statements masquerading as news, because it's in their best interest to get these pilots out into the public eye as soon as possible.

But, Bill that means people will be able to see the pilots early!

Yes. This is not a bad thing.

See when people give you their informed opinion on what they like and don't - early in the process - you are able to more easily make changes (if you want). I'm not saying that you should revamp from the ground up at the drop of an opinion, what I'm saying is that gaging the interests of your audience in your characters and stories is a step ahead.

I think in the not-so-distant-future all networks are going to put their pilots up for viewer consideration. People are going to vote and networks will find out what the audience wants to see, and who those people are that are watching. Networks can then figure out how better to use marketing to reach those folks.

You'll also get a much wider sample from which to make decisions.

The most positive thing about this is that if you capture a fan early, they will be more loyal to your franchise.

So networks, shut up and realize that you're getting precious marketing info from your audience. Use it. I understand from Shawna on last night's Geekerati podcast (see player at right sidebar) that the audience wasn't too receptive to the new BIONIC WOMAN at Comic Con. I hope they take it to heart and rethink some of the story assumptions they've made.

Light Posting

I am back from San Diego and will have a full report then with pics and video.

In the meantime, tonight on the Geekerati Podcast - Christian, Shawna and I will be discussing what we did at Comic Con (at least the stuff we will admit to, and that there is no forensic evidence with which to convict us). Tune in tonight at 7pm Pacific.

I will now go back to finding both my voice and my liver, both of which were left at the Hyatt.

Slowly Starting to Feel Like Home...

There was a meme going around the scribosphere at one point of people showing where they wrote. Better late than never. Unfortunately, I don't have all the art on the walls yet. I have SCARECROW SLAYER and SEX MACHINE posters to put up as well as the art for some other projects I've written or produced.

Who Killed Bambi 2?

Slate.com has a very thoughtful and lovely article about how John Lasseter is being short-sighted in killing the Disney D2DVD sequels.

----------------------------------

And unlike the current crop of animated features, Disney's direct-to-DVD sequels tell their stories simply, without a constant barrage of slapstick and winking pop-culture references. All three films I watched were entirely free of crotch-kicking, and the only fart joke belonged, appropriately, to a skunk. Instead, the jokes tend to be quiet, the action gripping if only occasional, and the entire pace of the movie enjoyably slower than you're likely to see onscreen these days. How much slower? Lady and the Tramp II and Cinderella III even make time for character-defining songs, the way animated movies used to.

------------------------------------

I couldn't agree more with writer Dan Kois. If Lasseter's main objection is the fact that he doesn't like the Disney D2DVD sequels -- then make them better. The fact is that there are only a few places left to do quality 2-D hand drawn animation anymore - most of those places are in China or India. Hand drawn animation is a skillset that is in rapid decline and to me it would be a tragedy for that skillset to disappear from the company founded by an animator.

Filed Under: News We Already Knew

MySpace reports that it has found 29,000 registered sex offenders who have profiles on their social networking service.

Well, duh...

But, of Course!

This is exactly what you would expect to see on my desktop:

This is a really simple camera to use - both in shooting and for uploading video, which is both a good and bad thing. There aren't many options, but it's perfect for interviews, documentary work and the like. Its portability is a plus as I can stick it anywhere and get rather unique points-of-view. It doesn't have a "mount" for a tripod or anything close to that, so it's "re-invention"time. Since all of this fits in my briefcase, I'm using that as my operational parameters - I can make or buy anything as long as I can fit it all in a small shoulder bag or briefcase. Smaller if possible.

I'm going to try a few experiments with motion to see what it can do. I tried a bit this morning, but as the camera wasn't firmly mounted it all looked like a scene from EARTHQUAKE.

Ideas are forming....

Pulp Screenwriting Link Fu

It's not pretty, nor polished. It maybe isn't your cup of tea, but rather a sippin' whiskey.

But here it is by request:


Before you get started:

http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/03/lets-talk-pulp-fiction.html (pulp - what is it?)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2007/02/first-things-first.html (Number one rule)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/09/d2dvd-film-school-pt-4.html (script reading)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/08/are-we-cool.html (pulp attitude)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/06/pulp-screenwriting-philosophy.html
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/08/bullet-hits-for-manifesto.html (tool kit)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/12/have-pulpy-pulpy-christmas.html (motivation/ pulp philosophy)

Beginning:

http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/03/whats-it-called-kid.html (titles)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/03/entitled-to-write.html (titles)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/04/whats-this-contest-really-about-anyway.html (loglines)


Building the concept:

http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/11/on-sale-now.html (power of “what if” / brainstorming)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/05/marketing-from-ground-up.html (breaking story)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/08/straight-from-moguls-mouth-d2dvd-film.html (The Genius of Arkoff)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/06/bloody-fun-sunday.html (working up a concept)



Building the story itself:

http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2007/01/putting-in-bones-to-support-your-script_9748.html (pt. 1 of outlining)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2007/01/more-bones-for-your-first-draft.html (pt. 2 of outlining)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2007/01/roll-them-bones-or-what-to-do-after-you.html (pt. 3 of outlining)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/08/threes-company.html (rule of threes)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/03/make-your-d2dvd-script-movie.html (Checklist for your script)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/09/my-theory-of-more-discussion-for-d2dvd.html (How to write less making it seem to be more)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/06/billy-wilders-screenwriting-tips.html ( A master at work)


The actual writing:

http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/07/skull-page-one.html (writing technique based on one page of a script of mine)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/07/kiss-this.html (writing technique)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/05/screenwriting-that-pops-part-2068.html (writing technique)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/04/from-what-not-to-do-department.html (Don’t do this)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/10/little-lessons.html (pitching)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/02/final-treatment-then-rinse.html (treatments)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/12/budgetary-considerations.html (being creative- how)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/03/100-fat-free.html (Writing lean and mean)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/08/move-it-or-lose-it.html (story momentum)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/08/simple-yet-stylish.html (more lean and mean)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/08/these-are-kind-of-posts-i-love.html (pulp screenwriting)


After it’s written:

http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/12/rewrite-hell-o.html (you will be rewritten)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2007/04/i-like-challenge.html (the challenge of story)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2007/04/theres-only-good-news.html (getting notes)


Fun, pulpy crap:

http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/06/grain-or-two.html (Craigslist, marketing yourself
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/09/d2dvd-film-school-pt-3-is-it-worth-it.html (where money factors into the equation)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/10/can-you-deliver-d2dvd-film-school.html
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2005/12/get-job-done_02.html (????)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/02/big-if.html (Hollywood should be a business)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/05/internet-and-serials-and-writing-oh-my.html (The future of pulp screenwriting)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/07/where-are-all-heroes.html (pulp hero movies)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/09/give-it-reboot.html (conceptualizing)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/11/words-from-master-pulpster.html (Roger Corman distills it all down)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2007/02/automatons-for-people.html (A good example of pulp filmmaking)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2007/03/this-bstrds-got-to-get-paid.html (After the script is written)
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2007/04/indie-doesnt-have-to-mean-stupid.html (distribution and marketing in 4GM)

Today, I am a Studio...

It was a lazy Saturday night last night, and I was bored. The sun was just beginning to creep down into the ocean and I felt the need to get out of the house.

I say this because, quite frankly, that's how this started...I want to put the whole thing in the absurd context that it inhabits.

So I get out of the house and start walking, with no particular direction in mind except west. I'm scooting along Santa Monica Blvd, getting my exercise when I saw Target off in the distance and decided to go window shopping. Maybe I would pick up some shorts or socks if they were on sale. (Not only am I a mad pulp bastard, but in the days prior to Comic Con I am a relatively frugal bastard to boot.)

So I am wondering around Target (or as the shi-shi say, "Tar- jhay") and I wander over to the bikes, and to the exercise equipment, and the office equipment, then over to the electronics. That's when she caught my eye. She was sleek, supple and dare I say it near bare in her presentation. I heard my own sharp intake of breath as did the salesman.

Salesboy: She's somethin' isn't she?


Boy Genius: I want I want I want...


Salesboy: I haven't had the nerve myself, but the boys around her say she fits right in the palm of your hand, smooth as a ... well, smooth.

So I went and picked her up.



(Cause, damn it, I can be a smooth bastard too. I CAN! Quit laughing, you in the back. Yeah, okay. I'll see you outside Mister Smartypants!)



Anyway, there she was...

And the mind reeled and the thoughts flooded. This was what I was looking for!

Because now, with this camera, which by the way, was only $129.00...

And my laptop...

And all this free filmmaking software...

And these free resources...

I became a studio.

(I also bought a pair of shorts because, as Jim Henshaw puts it," No Studio Head is complete without a snappy pair of new shorts.")

Moving on...

Needless to say, she's moving in and we hope you all will be very happy for us. We've already gotten busy and went out on the town this morning to "test the waters" of our relationship. I am very pleased since I held her in front of me like I was looking for a number on my cellphone screen and just walked. No manipulation of any kind, just pure video. No muss, no fuss. Her manual is 4 pages long and shows me exactly what buttons to push when. I look forward to exploring our limits together.

(Okay, is this metaphor too much? Too transparent? Too sad?)

To make this relationship official, we've already announced a distribution partnership with YouTube --

(Okay, now it's too much, and way too sad)

Putting the Wheels on the Wagon and Watching it Go

Scott Kirsner of the generally excellent and oftimes brilliant blog Cinematech (see sidebar) has a post on the coming large hurdles that web content will have to run over in discovering how audiences will want to watch internet content.

You can read about it here.

He makes the analogy that the web is now in an infancy similar to what television went through when it first came to prominence in the late 40's:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

In 1948, NBC moved Milton Berle's "Texaco Star Theater" from radio to television. By 1949, Berle had become television's first big-name star, and was credited with causing the sale of television sets to double that year.

While there have been lots of original shows created for the Web, we don't yet know who the Texacos will be (the sponsors for this new kind of content) or the Uncle Milties. I don't think we've hit an inflection point yet for professional video content online.But it could be close.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, I think that Scott has very aptly answered his own question here in how many of the hurdles will be overcome in transitioning the viewing audience from television to the web.
.
What happened in 1948 was that Television took a "radio star" and made him a "television star." They didn't try to reinvent the wheel, but merely rolled that wheel over to their "wagon" so it would work for them.
.
You run into that a lot with new technology - the "newness" of it all and how you can do this or that, link to umpteen different sites and chat while watching "tv on the web." It's the geek fascination with possibility instead of the average Joe's practicality.
.
So how do you get people to transition into this web world we live in?
.
Answer: As easily as possible, by giving them the familiar with the added twist of convenience.
.

It's a pretty safe bet that people will want to watch their internet without the bother of chatting while watching (I personally HATE it when people talk during a program). It's a pretty safe bet that what works on the television screen in terms of ads - watermarks, banners, before and after program ads is going to work.

.

You don't have to reinvent the wheel.

.

Those of you out there who read my blog know of my love for comics. I have been in several discussions with webcomics folk as to what the new version of webcomics ("we can cut them down to this size, add music, flash animations, etc...) will be to attract new people to webcomics. My thought is to analyze the average comic book reader's habits now, and make a similar experience for the web, but with something extra.

.

If a reader wants to read comics on the web, why not make the pages "flippable" just like in a magazine? [ FYI - if you want to know what that looks like, subscribe to Video Business's digital edition. An electronic clone of the magazine with flip pages that really mimics the feel of reading a print edition].

.

You don't want to make people have to relearn how to connect with their entertainment. That is just a hurdle many people won't want to leap over.

.

Which is why I feel confident in saying that the next big (first big?) internet program to gain reknown will be something that was created for the web, but is based on an existing brand or franchise - just like Uncle Milty - that will capture fan interest and have them asking for more. I'm guessing that the Scifi Channel is on the right track as is TBS. Both have initiatives in place to create content based on existing franchises or brands.

.

This will bring fans to the net in droves...

.

Then we can begin the discussion of new content.

.

PS. This also bodes well for writers who can work within the restrictions of the medium and use their knowledge of story to craft something familiar yet different. The net is going to be the land of opportunity for those who want it.

The New Math

Donald Rumsfeld briefed the President this morning. He told Bush that 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed in Iraq. To everyone’s amazement, all of the color ran from Bush’s face, then he collapsed onto his desk, head in hands, visibly shaken, almost whimpering. Finally, he composed himself and asked Rumsfeld, “Just exactly how many is a brazillion?”

Good Morning! Your Friday Is Ruined...

Because of this...

I mean really, how do you go from one to the other?

Can someone really explain that to me in today's big budget, true-to-the-source-material world?

This is a leap I am NOT prepared to make. I know I am ranting over something as stupid as a radio drama character, but really...

Do these execs know how much money they could make with a serious crime movie starring the Hornet? I mean really, Christopher McQuarrie (USUAL SUSPECTS, WAY OF THE GUN) wrote a draft oh so long ago, and now we turn to Seth Rogen?

Damn...

Technology Affects Distribution Which Affects Technology

In a wonderful little 4GM twist, Content Agenda has a report that discusses how camcorder manufacturers are designing their next generation of cameras...

To make it easier to upload video to the net.

We're Number Four!

Received this tonight from Greg Conley of the Your Video Store Shelf Podcast:

Just to let you know Bill, someone found your interview by searching Google for -- video of someone using a sex machine -- Please make a movie with someone using a sex machine so this poor guy or gal can have their search fulfilled.I'm proud to state that your interview is #4 in Google for -- video of someone using a sex machine -- I'm sure that will result in many hits over the next several years.

But of course, if they had searched "Bill Cunningham Sex Machine" we would have been #1.

Will they never learn?

Just Thought I'd Share...

Sitting here in the office and feeling pretty productive today. Even though we're still operating out of some boxes, I feel like some things are coming together.

I've been reading a ton of stuff in the evening - blogs, articles, papers, reports, strategies - all with the idea that it will be of some real use in this 4GM world in which we're living. It's starting to make sense - and by that I mean it's sparking ideas on how to recombine things into new forms.

That shit is always exciting - new business, new ways to tell stories - options.

***********

I just finished some work for a client who was extremely appreciative:

Client: Boy Genius, this shit is fucking dope!
Boy Genius: Fucking? Dope? Is this still the eighties...?
Me: Thanks, man. I'll pass that along to the crew.

(Zeppelin is on the iPod so we take a moment....)

***********

Amy Winehouse makes me feel her pain...does that mean she's good? (short answer - yes)

***********

Go read Kung Fu Monkey today. Now. I'll wait...

***********

I finally found the items I was going to send to Mark Askwith for winning the Hockey Pool. I feel like crap for not getting it to him sooner, but they were buried underneath a ton of marketing crap...

I'll have to send it to him right away with my apologies.

************

Worked out with weights last night while watching ON THE LOT. I don't know which is worse - the pain I feel today or the pain I felt last night... Is OTL cancer-causing? Certainly headache inducing....

************

Okay, back to work....the future waits for no bastard.

(Oooh, but let me listen to Wolfmother first)

One Door Closes...

and a window opens up.

Industry-ites are discussing the fact that a strike by writers this fall would probably fuel the growth of more online initiatives and content.

You can read the back-and-forth here.

In the discussion, one thing that struck me was the idea that the producers were "devaluing" the content by putting it online:

Discovery Communications prexy/CEO David Zaslav noted that the bigger challenge for him was adjusting to how people consume content.
For starters, Zaslav questioned "the economics of putting content on new media platforms.
"If we get a check, it's tiny," he said. "Do we devalue the content entirely?"

Now this tells me that executives don't YET understand the nuances of the new business model the web is providing. Yes the checks are small, but:

• There's more of them...you can place media in a variety of channels
• The net's a platform for advertising, so the economic spillover to other media is calculable
• It's a lot cheaper

The web is new. It's not television. It's not movies. Different rules apply.
And the good thing is that those rules haven't been set in stone yet. There's tons of wiggle room.

Edit to Add:

And Scott Kirsner over at Cinematech (see sidebar) comes in with a one-two punch on how companies are using that "wiggle room" to include phones.

Sci Fi Channel meet D2I...

Totally cribbed this from Warren Ellis, but I don't think he will mind....

FARSCAPE is being revived as a SciFi.com D2I series of shorts.

From the press release:

...a Web-based series of short films on SCIFI.COM's SCI FI Pulse broadband network, part of a slate of new original online programming.

What is interesting (to me) is that:

A) They are reviving a popular show as a web series.
B) They hint that this is a part of a much broader internet initiative. CAPRICA anyone?

I'll try to find more details on this D2I production...

These Guys Know....

So I am trolling around the web looking for pulpy stuff to pass along, and I discovered a few very cool sites that you must check out:

Anthony Tollin's Shadow's Sanctum is a multimedia site run by the guy who has spear-headed the revival of Ying-ko in print with his double-novel reprint series. It has a great look and feel - as if you were in the Shadow's secret headquarters and pouring through his files.

The site is designed by the wonderful Robby Reed who has added his own voice to the Shadowy blogosphere with another site called...

Dial B for Burbank, which contains more multimedia goodness including a Shadow documentary which you can download in full or see in serial-like chapters.

Now if only someone would create a site dedicated to The Spider we would be set....

Oh wait, we are!

Hitting the Reflex Point

On June 6th, 1944 the Allied forces (The United States, Britain, Canada, Free French forces, etc...) hit the beaches in Normandy, and in one of the bloodiest battles over inches of sandy ground confronting high cliffs, the tide of the war turned. (Military) Historians call this a "reflex point" - a point in history, a conflict (War) or nexus of thought (The Renaissance) and action where everything turns in a new direction. D-Day was just such a day in our planet's history. Suddenly the Germans and Japanese (shocked by such a massive campaign launched by the "sleeping giant") were on the defensive. The Allies were truly taking the battle to the enemy...

And now just such a reflex point is being "hit" -- though on an entirely new battlefront.

(The Doctor gets out his little hammer, feels around and whack! "Hollywood" springs its leg out in an entirely new direction)

You can read about it here, and here.

What this means:

1. A viable business model is being put in place for Hollywood to get onto the web. More jobs. More opportunities.

2. All you Canadian creatives out there who are outraged about the CTF and the CRTC?
(see here, here and here...oh yeah and here)

Time to tell your broadcasters and your commitees and panels and investigative bodies to go to hell. YOU DON'T NEED THEM. There is an infrastructure being built that has financing, star power, capability of reaching a much wider audience, and potentially yield far greater benefits than the MBA signed by the guilds.

I am reminded of the story when William Shatner, another Canadian, who made a deal with Priceline.com for stock in exchange for his representing the company in its brilliant ad campaigns. People chastised him for lowering his fees to near nothing, but he laughed all the way to the bank. His stock went to the moon.

3. Oh, and it means that if you have the talent and the gumption you can join the battle and do-it-yourself. You don't have to be an employee - you can own the company.

4. Bear Stearns is predicting that most of the web content will be advertiser supported. There is nothing holding you back from approaching an advertiser to fund your show.

5. The Guilds and Unions have to catch up and negotiate rates for employing its members realizing: a) this is a new business model. It isn't exactly television. It isn't exactly movies. It is the web. b) momentum is going to start slow then pick up...

6. You don't have to live in Los Angeles. If you want to you can do a lot of this stuff from wherever you have a broadband connection (virtually everywhere).

7. This isn't going to be for the faint of heart.

There's going to be a few stumbling blocks - integrating all the media applications for a program, the planning, the new roles being created, redefined and yes, lost. We are all going to have to think and act differently.

"The Battle" isn't over, but damn if we haven't hit the beach and turned the tide.

Listen to the Pulp Bastard Speak!

Last night I was interviewed by Greg Conley of the Your Video Store Shelf Podcast. Greg has a great affection for Direct to Video and DVD movies, and he and I have known each other through the web for several years.

He is extremely knowledgable in this area and has gone waaay beyond the call of duty to document the history of the people who have toiled behind the scenes in the industry. I urge all of you to check out his site which will soon be back in my sidebar.

So here I am in all my...ahem...glory.

(Later, I will take questions on all the things left unsaid in our discussion)

Some Green Hornet Coolness!

(which never gets old)

Courtesy of Electric Tiki

Laws are Made To Be Broken (or at Least Bent)

Mark Cuban puts forth another post about video on the web, and how it differs from traditional broadcast models.

It has me pondering his theories based on Metcalfe's law. It means rethinking models of content and how "the medium is the message."

Edit to add:

Okay, can't leave this one alone as content is getting shorter and shorter - what I like to call "byte-size entertainment" (credit to Wired mag for that). D2DVD movies went to 90 minutes because that's what a standard DVD-5 disc could hold along with some extras... movies changed to meet that running length.

Now with broadband-width restrictions, content on the web is shorter and shorter (general rule - there are exceptions). Also, the idea of "destination-viewing" has changed so the "value" of the content model has changed. This plays into the whole "serial content" model as people will know to come back for more - thus added value overall. Those returning viewers add vale to the eventual collection of webisodes onto a DVD.

So building destination viewing and portability (range?) through a variety of web access portals is the most desired in terms of value. Add to that - merchandisability (is that a word?) and fluidity (translating the content through a variety of media - books, comics, art, music, etc...) to further add value.

Destination viewing + Portability + Merchandisability + Fluidity = Genre Entertainment?

iPhone-y

Salon.com reports today (via ContentAgenda) about the Apple iPhone and how hackers are trying to turn the "locked down" bit of technology into a useful phone.



What does this mean to us?



Well, the more useful the phone is - logging onto the net, compatible with cell services other than AT&T (the inheritor of the bastard demonic, tumor-inducing cell service that was Cingular), downloading content - the more people will want to get one. This opens up the doors to people downloading your pulpy creations.

Apple, it seems, wants to have the key to the door.

Damn if There Isn't a Story in There Somewhere....

“It is the business of the future to be dangerous.” –Alfred North Whitehead

Calling All Geeks!

Tonight on the Geekerati Podcast we will be discussing the Harry Potter books and movies and yours truly will be reviewing the new Spider book from Baen Books.

Be sure to log in at 7pm PST.

Too Legit To Quit

So we started working in the new offices today, and its been a whirlwind of dusting, moving things "just so" and making this new place "home."

It gives one a sense of legitimacy to tell someone "drop by the office," which for me used to mean the "home office." I still use the home office as do many of you, but I'm certain there's someone in the grand pulp masses out there saying, "Wow. I need to get an office."

What you're really saying is, "I need to become legit."

Legitimacy doesn't come from having an office, it comes from having work written and produced or published. It comes from your showing up to meetings on time and ready to get to work. It comes from going the extra mile to meet and greet people who are at the same level as you are and above. Especially above. It comes from reading the trades and learning how the business works and how you fit. It comes from being ready for your "big break" when it comes.

That's legitimate.

And you can do that from your kitchen table at home. Trust me. That's where SCARECROW was re-written. That's where SCARECROW: SLAYER took form, and those stories for TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN. THE SKULL. THE SOUND. P****** P***. WOLFSBANE. PATCHWORK (the first script I ever wrote, which was written during my day job at a local gym).

And dozens of other ideas, scripts, treatments, designs, drawings and numerous blog posts.

I put off trying to find office space for the longest time because it's expensive, time consuming and it can often be one more thing to worry about. I didn't want to be that guy who overextends himself into something he can't back up. You see it every day here in Los Angeles: some little production company gets office space in an expensive Beverly Hills, West Hollywood or Santa Monica address; announces a bunch of projects... and nothing happens. No deals. No scripts. Not even a piece of key art.

So if you're looking to legitimize your effort, sit your butt in the chair and write. Anywhere.
(Except at the coffee shop because damn -- sorry Bill Martell -- ain't that the cliche'?)

Your (manu)script is your business card. Your badge of legitimacy. Invest in it first. Get something produced then build on that. Be legit before it costs you a monthly rent...

Sincerely,

Your Mad Pulp Bastard

I am Drunk...

and filled to the brim with margaritas and fajitas (courtesy El Conquistador on Sunset Junction). I have spent most of the day moving with Firebrain Inc. into our new, industrial strength offices. I say that with a wink as we are now perched in an industrial, heavy-machinery neighborhood in Los Angeles. Big trucks, semi-trailers and stakebeds roll by as we moved our boxes of design genius into the new headquarters.

I have to laugh as I type this because there was also a local ice cream truck that came by the office - bell ringing and music playing. It instantly reminded me of my childhood when the local ice cream truck driver wasn't a pedophile; when you could trust your neighbors; and whenever you did something wrong and were chastised for it by a neighbor, you would definitely get it worse when you got home because there would be a phone message waiting, telling your parents what trouble you got into.

It's a good fit.

And being in a new office means I can invite various members of the industry over for coffee to chat about how things are going and how we can help one another. God - isn't that why lunch and coffee was invented?

Being in a new office also allows for renewal of some sort - whether physical, mental or spiritual. I have paperwork there - safe and sound - and not scattered around the floor of the mad pulp pad. Gawd I can breathe!

I've also decided I'm going to start biking to work. Many of you know I take public transport whenever possible - not only because I hate driving in Los Angeles (gasp!) - but because I am able to get some work done in the process: Reading, writing, emailing, etc...
Now has come a time when I have the opportunity and the gumption to bike to work and get this size 4_ waist down to its original 34. I have pants inside the closet cheering me on, shouting, "we want to hug that tight ass again, you bastard! Get in shape!"

Okay, maybe that's the margaritas talking...

A fresh start is good. Even better with margaritas afterwards.

There's a lot going on right now that I can't speak about - but this new office and resources promises more mad pulp bastardry in your future. We have already landed a new client, and I have taken steps to implement a 4GM plan for several projects I've been working on. It feels good to be progressing toward independence and opportunity.

Okay. That's it.

Pulp is...

"Any time the heroes resolve a complex situation by running down a corridor as shit explodes around them and completely over-the-top implacable enemies scream imprecations through rising flames and our guys pause just long enough to say something somehow simultaneously smart and corny and heart-achingly true, then start running again because the clock is ticking and nobody saw this twist coming and they're making it up as they go along..."

.

---- John Rogers, Kung Fu Monkey

Oh My Podcasty Goodness!

Just a reminder that every Monday night at 7pm PST is the time to tune in to The Geekerati Podcast. I and my fellow geeks (Hi Christian, Shawna, Eric!) talk about all things geek.

We will be counting down to Nerd Prom, where Christian and Shawna will be interviewing comic book, film, TV and pulp geeks of all shapes and sizes.

Tune in for the live show and call in for prizes galore, or download the podcast which features wonderful podcast "extras". You never know what you'll hear on The Geekerati Podcast.

This Changes the Landscape...

for all of us looking to ply our trade as writers and producers of entertainment.

Go here to find out.

Discuss.

Edit to add: This changes things too...