The Keene Act and You (circa 1977)

An exceptional way to "inform" viewers of the world in which they are about to explore in the world of WATCHMEN. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons crafted a dense book about superheroes and the real-world implications of people walking around dispensing justice while wearing their pajamas...

But how do you communicate all that within the 100+ minute timeframe of a motion picture? Answer: you don't.

You walk hand-in-hand with your marketing dept. and create material for the DVD that you can release prior to the movie. You craft an entirely separate revenue stream by taking a portion of the book and producing an animated story from it.

The folks at Warners didn't just look at the movie and say, "How do we sell this MOVIE?" They looked at every part of the buffalo that is the Watchmen PROPERTY and said, "How do we pull people into this WORLD, and make sure that fans will be satisfied and people will be able to further explore the implications of this STORY?"

I always said that I didn't think you would ever be able to film WATCHMEN as a movie. I always saw it as a mini-series for HBO...

But I was thinking linearly. I wasn't embracing the internet (Al Gore hadn't invented it yet) and its myriad, non-linear ways of telling story. The folks at WB have crafted a multi-course meal of story here. You can opt out of the main course (the movie) and still receive satisfying chunks of content.

Bravo.

Gran Torino: The Trailer

We will discuss this movie and its marketing at a later date, but just in case anyone's curious, there are a lot of techniques (symbolism, irony) used in this story (as seen only from the trailer) that you can use in your pulp storytelling. Gran Torino starts with a simple premise and peels down the onion of the story and its characters to show you how much care and attention went into creating that simplicity.

Let me rephrase that: On the surface, Gran Torino appears to be a simple premise. However when you begin to peel away the layers of story and character throughout, you begin to understand that this is a story of carefully crafted, exacting simplicity (to borrow from Alex Toth). For example, in the poster you DON'T see the Chinese kids who are a major component of the trailer. Why? They take away from the focus of the movie.

I need more coffee.

Fringe(d)

Saw FRINGE last night. The "underground vibrating suppository" episode.

Saw something that totally drew me out of the story 20 minutes in. One of those moments that had me frothing at the mouth and yelling at my cathode ray tube:

"What the fuck! Don't you assholes get paid enough to do the fuckin' research?!!!"

More later after I re-watch the episode today after the meds do their nasty work.

Okay I'm Back: 10:58 am

In last night's episode we have a scene where Broyles tells Olivia that Colonel Jacobsen is expecting her visit. Cut to: Olivia is at Jacobsen's house (after we see a 2nd unit shot of the exterior of the Colonel''s house to establish location) having tea and she is reminiscing with him. Then she gets to the narrative regarding the "vibrating suppository" that Jacobsen saw back in the 1980's...

And then he tells Olivia that she can look at his files on the mysterious object. He will turn them over to her.

Oh shit.
(and I'm not talking that little speck of birdie doo-doo on the sidewalk. I'm talking massive herd of Bull Elephant herd shit being dumped all over the story)

I don't care who the hell you are in the military or any other branch of the government:

YOU. DON'T. GET. TO. KEEP. CLASSIFIED. FILES. FOR. PERSONAL. USE. EVAR.

You don't get to take your work home. It stays at work. It doesn't get transmitted over the internet. It doesn't make it's way into your home safe. Even the President, when he goes to Camp David, has a staff that maintains the files that are in transit. His subordinates have to sign out the files and are responsible for their return.

Pulled me right out of the story because you can easily call "bullshit!"
Let's call that STRIKE ONE.

Another thing that really screwed with the story was the fact that Jacobsen - a man Olivia hadn't seen in years - commented on the secret relationship she had with Agent Scott. The relationship that only a few within her immediate department knew about, but didn't comment on - even to Olivia. STRIKE TWO.

Are we to believe that Walter could have escaped from the basement lab; driven away to the country to his wife's grave site; buried the cylinder then gone for a root beer float in the space of a couple of hours? Hmmmm....

Then, we see Olivia use the CCTV camera to spot the bad guy grabbing Peter, but didn't use the same tech to see Walter coming out of the lab with a "giant vibrating suppository? "

STRIKE THREE - YOU. ARE. OUT.

***Addendum***

If this were a pulp movie, we would never have been at Jacobsen's home. He would have been taken to an interrogation area (either in the Headquarters or in the warehouse where we first see the suppository - probably the latter) and he would have been interrogated by Olivia - his friend who is put in the position of needing to get info from Jacobsen after seeing a majorly redacted file of his from back in the 80's. More tension. Fewer locations. (Story told, money saved).

Seriously - they could produce this show with more tension on less money. They way they have written it - it's an expensive show, that - IMO - doesn't deliver the goods.

***Further***

It was nice to see Michael Kelly as the bad guy in this episode. He's an old friend from SC who was one of the "stars" in the aborted version of HEAD CHEERLEADER DEAD CHEERLEADER. He has since been featured in THE SHIELD as a rapist/ serial killer who tries to outwit Dutch and in UNBREAKABLE as a doctor who is amazed Bruce Willis isn't oatmeal after the train crash.

The Better Idea...

I HATE the "Better Idea."

The Better Idea makes me stop in the near final moments of my Buster Bullet story, and know that I am going to have to throw out 2/3rds of my story and start over.

The Better Idea makes me work...harder.

Damn her*...why am I so in love with the Better Idea?!!!

I tell ya. When I get home she better be naked...

*Yes, the Better Idea is female - get over it. Guys always want to please their gals.

Storytelling Tips We Can All Learn From Metallica

I am still tired from last night's show because it was chock full of the awesome. My ears are still ringing, and the mad pulp bastard is acting like the old, slow bastard.

Such is the price we pay for rock n' roll.

Last night as we rocked out, it occurred to me (because this is how my brain works) that the best rock n' roll songs are stories, and the best concerts are novels with each song being a chapter. With that nugget of insight, the following are my further observations on "story" by way of Ulrich, Hettrick, et al...

1. COME IN SWINGING:

The guys started the show with a rapid-fire head-banging tune that got the audience quickly off their feet and into the experience. They also came in late, which built the expectations up in the audience to a fever pitch.

2. CONCENTRATE ON THE ESSENTIALS:

This was a stripped down show. Three guitars, a drum set and amplifiers on a sparse black curtained stage. The amplifiers were set up so that the readout panels with their glowing diodes and LCD's providing a line across the back of the stage and defined the space.

And truly that's all that was required. The rest was audience and creators...

3. CONNECT WITH THE AUDIENCE:

Even though the band was separate from the audience they consistently asked questions, got feedback, threw stuff into the crowd and roused everyone to cheer and rage. They always made sure to go back and reconnect somehow with every new song.

4. STORYTELLING IS A COMMUNAL EXPERIENCE:

Stories are meant to be shared and spread. People texted with their phones. My date Twittered the whole thing.

And of course, there's the YouTube:

5. GIVE THEM WHAT THEY EXPECT:

Lots of classics thrown in there - Enter, Sandman - One - Sad But True...

6. BUT NOT EXACTLY HOW THEY EXPECT:

As you can see they flipped up a classic song by adding Flea to their mix (which was a good fit). They worked new songs into their playlist, changed guitars up, changed the arrangements. They played on everyone's expectations and brought something new to the table.

Storytelling is a lot like Rock n' roll. The good stories are memorable and leave your ears ringing the next day. The great ones inspire you, and make you question how they were constructed.

Or is this all that gin talking?

And Here's the Pitch!

Everyone has a story - their story - that makes them unique amidst their peers. When you hear them tell their story you become involved and caring and understanding - it affects how you feel about that person...or even that company...or that product.

Two very smart screenwriters, Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman figured out that everyone has a unique story to tell and if everyone "discovered their story," and learned to tell it effectively, then it would affect how people perceived them. In other words:

Maxwell and Dickman brought the art of the pitch to the boardroom and to business.

The two have written down their experiences and analyses of pitching in an amazing book called THE ELEMENTS OF PERSUASION (Harper Collins publishers) . It is a book I recommend not only to writers, but to career-minded people of all sorts. Inside are real world examples and concepts of how story affected someone's business in both a positive and negative manner. You'll learn how a story is constructed, and take a simpler look at the must-have elements of any good story.

By using the exercises in this book you'll learn your unique story and how to pitch it to everyone you meet. You'll be able to brand yourself in their minds and be that memorable guy who really held everyone's interest instead of that great writer who was kind of shy and sad.

Buy it.
Read it.
Use it.
End of story.