Dogfork

Just a quick update since it’s been awhile since I have checked in.

Writing

I’ve been fast at it, reading anything I can get my hands on in regards to screenwriting and storycraft.  It’s been an enlightening month.   Two books came highly recommended; Save the Cat by Blake Snyder and The Hollywood Standard – Thanks Izzi!  I’ve picked them up.

I’ve also started a new screenplay, while Wendigo percolates for a season, and I am having a blast working on it.  Basically, it’s an idea spawned by my kids and their antics when we take our nightly walks around the neighborhood.

A little setup.  We’ve recently moved into a new house.  This new house is part of a new neighborhood, built into a stretch of undeveloped woodland save some winding 3-wheeler trails.

Some evenings, depending on what route we take, our walks take us past a darkened stretch of wood.  The road is rougher here and several streets terminate along the path, unfinished and crumbling, consumed by the forest’s dense understory.  Anyway, every time we pass through this gauntlet of spooky darkness threatened by the gnarled tangles of old trees and brush that seem to press in toward the newly laid road, my daughter (8) and son (4) start getting worked up.  They imagine all manner of creatures lurking just out of sight, waiting to snatch them up and carry them away.  Their little hands grip mine just a bit tighter, sometimes  they just cling to my clothes and I pull them along.

So one night, while we’re walking, I begin to think… What if my kids are right?

Thus, the idea behind Dogfork was born.  Dogfork being a fictional naming of the town where the story takes place.

I’ve sketched out a beat sheet of 15 major sequences and written up a 5 page treatment so far.  I hope to start the script this weekend.

Reading

I’m currently reading Terror by Dan Simmons – a historical horror story about an expedition to Antarctica gone wrong; and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – a somewhat morbid, but enjoyable, childrens’ adventure tale.

Watching

Watched several movies over the past few weeks…

• The Uninvited (2009) – Much better on the second viewing.
• Teeth – Kind of a sad, darkly humorous horror story.  A slow starter, but it’s quite a ride.  Made me cringe several times.
• The Damned Thing (Masters of Horror) – Curious concept that later lost me.
• Splinter – Although critiqued harshly for it cinematography, I really enjoyed this simple horror story.  Very interesting.
• The Last Winter – A retelling of Blackwood’s Wendigo, it was worth a watch.  Ron Perlman makes just about any movie.
• American Zombie – I really enjoyed this mockumentary on zombie culture.  A fresh look at an overdone genre.
• Neil Gaiman’s Short Film About John Bolton – Slow to get going but fun.  Very similar to Lovecraft’s The Pickman’s Model.
• Chalk – Really funny mockumentary about teaching high school.  Well acted and true to life.  I’m a teacher.  I can relate.
• The Neverending Story – A  childrens’ classic.  Had to share it with my little ones.
• Star Trek (2009) – For me, a fail.  For others, a wild success.  I guess I’m more of a Trekkie than I thought.  Butchered the characters in my opinion.

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