Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are true architects of the imagination.  To say that they helped shape a generation does not really scratch the surface as to the sphere of their influence on culture; both ‘pop’ and otherwise.  People’s lives changed after viewing their work and it struck a chord.  These people now wanted to be a part of the magic of film, of mythmaking, of storytelling.  I was one of those people.  

But this is not about me; NO.  It’s about Mr. Frank Darabont and how his script was almost the fourth Indiana Jones movie.  Now if you are a movie-geek then you know the name.  He is the man responsible for films such as “the Shawshank Redemption”, “The Mist”, and TV shows like, “The Walking Dead”.  He is a writer, he knows what he is doing, and back when the script was being circulated it caused a lot of excitement in certain circles (geekdom).  For whatever reason in 2008, Lucas and Spielberg passed on Darabont’s script and instead went with David Koepp, who is a fine writer as well.  Now the way that Indy movies work is that George Lucas (and please stop me if I’m wrong here, Mr. Lucas) comes up with a story and then farms it out to writers to connect the dots.  It has been a brilliant strategy and has been more than a successful formula since, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in 1981.

Now a lot of people snipe at the fourth movie.  I’m not going to do that here.  I had a good time at the movies when I saw Indy 4 and, at the end of the day or when the credits roll, that’s the experience I want to have.  There will never be another “Raiders” and that’s ok.  “Raiders” is pure, transcendent magic – lightning in a bottle.  The sequels are icing on the cake and if you approach them expecting to have a good time at the movies - that is exactly what you will have. 

Well, this morning I’m horsing around on Twitter (at OMG Facts to be precise) and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a link to the Frank Darabont script!  I threw on my trusty John Williams score, sat back with a few cups of coffee and read it.  I encourage you to do the same, Gentle Reader, if you are a fan of the craft that is.  Some of it will seem familiar and some of it will not.  It is the Indiana Jones movie that didn’t happen.  Here it is in its entirety:  http://www.slideshare.net/Zeitgeist/indiana-jones-and-the-city-of-the-gods-frank-darabont-script.  It is interesting to see how Darabont approached Lucas's story verses how Koepp did.  The big plot points are there but there is no Mutt and Marion is married to some other archeologist who is not Indiana Jones.  I loved the explanation as to what happened to Willie Scott.  Read it.  It's the script that never was now available for consumption. 

THAT being said, Mr. Spielberg, Mr. Lucas, and Mr. Ford, adventure still has a name; that name is Indiana Jones and I would LOVE to see him on the big screen one more time.  From one member of the generation that you helped to shape to you three gentlemen, I’m ready for Indy 5!  I don’t think I’m alone. 

 

The Ever After Literary Review

I ran into something accidentally this morning on Twitter.  Someone that I follow, Mr. Dule Hill, retweeted a little blurb from something called the Ever After Review.  It turns out that they are a non-profit bi-monthly literary publication that is now asking for short and very short story submissions.  Here’s their site: http://www.everafterreview.com/Home_Page.php.  You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.  

As their homepage says, “Ever After Review is a literary journal that focuses on Fiction short stories and Flash Fiction. We accept stories from published and unpublished authors.”  That being said, Gentle Reader, I know for a fact that more than a few of you are Gentle Writers too.  I gently lifted the following from their About Us section; “Ever After Review is a new literary journal that focuses on works of short fiction (up to 5,000 words) and flash fiction (up to 1,000 words). Any genre will be considered for publication. We will accept published and unpublished authors, but we will NOT accept previously published works.

This is a non-profit journal that will be published bi-monthly. The first issue is set to release in January 2012. Each issue will vary in the quantity of stories.

The journal is free; therefore, we do not pay for stories. This is a chance to get your work known by many readers. Please use the submissions link to submit a story.”

The deadline for the January 2012 issue is December 31, 2011.  Now I ask you, how cool is that?  Very cool, indeed, says I

Happy Writing!

Weapon of Choice

THOR had his hammer, Mjolnir.

007 had his Walther PPK.

Indiana Jones had his bullwhip.

Bilbo Baggins had Sting.

Lorena Bobbitt had her Ginsu.

Me? I’ve got my trusty Pilot G-2 07.

“What?” you may ask.

Oh yeah, make no mistake, that pen is my weapon of choice. Other writing instruments have come and gone but it is the G-2 that keeps finding its way into my pocket. In fact, at any given time I carry at least 3 (one for each of my kids) and one on my lanyard (for those quick draw – must have a pen NOW moments).

“You’re nuts.”

Perhaps, Gentle Reader; however, I have found no other vessel (save for my trusty computer and internet connection) as a means of idea delivery that comes close to my trusty G-2. When the Evil Chicken action figure is mass-produced (check in the toy section of your favorite department store this Christmas) it/I will come packaged with a scaled down plastic 16 or 20 oz. cup of coffee, my black messenger bag (which holds notebooks, my e-reader, the latest issue of “WIRED Magazine” & possibly a laptop) and a PILOT G-2 07 PEN! Some don’t like the boldness of the ink but the simple fact is your ink should be as bold as your thoughts are. Once you accept this fact then you can never go back. I have dabbled with the .38, the 05 and even the 10 but it is the 07 that I return to again and again. It is that good. So, you see, it was with a heavy heart that I read an article written by Mr. Mark McClusky entitled, “Mightier Than the Sword: 5 Perfect Pens” in the most recent issue of WIRED where my beloved G-2 was not counted among the pantheon of “perfect” writing instruments. Don’t believe me? Check it for yourself here: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/04/pl_filter_pens/.

I can see the BIC, I can see the LAMY Safari (the gateway fountain pen) but I just can’t get my head around the Uni-ball 207. Really – the Uni-ball? Others may moan about Fisher (the Space Pen people) not getting a shout out; I’m not one of them (it’s just too kitschy). I grieve for the omission of my weapon of choice the Pilot G-2 07; especially if the Uni-ball was its replacement for the article.

Mr. McClusky, say it ain’t so.

Well, at least you now know where I stand on the issue. Now if you will excuse me I am going to console myself by doodling with the finest writing instrument known to man, the Pilot G-2 07.

Until next time, keep on writing!

Time is the Fire

So Evil Chicken – whatever happened to that Bradbury Challenge of yours – you remember that don’t you? You were going to write 52 short stories in a year. What’s the deal?

Now there’s an interesting question. It has been said that “time is the fire in which we burn”. Brother, ain’t it the truth. There never is enough time. I’ve got 99 projects in my mind at any given moment – maybe that’s an exaggeration; 92 is more like it. I’m always moving from one thing to the next, rapid succession – you set ‘em up and I’ll knock ‘em down. I’ve got ideas but I’ve also got ADD and am prone to be captivated by bright and shinny objects.

The simple truth is that The Bradbury Challenge is not finished. I continue to love writing short stories but my first compilation is not done yet.

I’ll let you know when it is.

Most recently my time has been devoted to another project that I really can’t go into too much detail in right now. But that too has succumbed to the ravages of time. Gentle reader, I’ll fill you in when the time is right and now ain’t that time.

So… what’s next?

Good question Gentle Reader. I do believe that you’ll be seeing me a great deal more than you have grown accustom to. Also I have unfinished business to attend to. The Bradbury Challenge awaits (as well as a novel and the unnamed project).

What can I say – I’m a hack. But I’m a hack with a good memory. It’s put up or shut up time for ole’ Evil Chicken. I’ve got the ideas but I need to work on my follow through. It’s time to dance.

That being said I’m adapting one of my short stories “No Returns” into a screenplay. I think it would make a good short film. Once that’s done I’ll start peddling it.

Hey, no problem – it’s just another idea…

And Now… Haiku

There’s a Haiku game going on over at the boards of Script Frenzy. What’s Script Frenzy? Well here’s their website… www.scriptfrenzy.org. I mentioned it before on Chicken Scratch (check out the 4/14/07, blog entry).

Why Haiku? Hey – why not?

Twenty Thousand Words
There are Thirty Days in June
Time to Start Typing

That’s Quite a Deadline
I Know It Can Be Done
Coffee is Our Friend

Format? Worry Not
Not as Daunting as it Sounds
You’ll Write a Screenplay!

The Month is Looming
You May Not Have Done So Yet
But You Can Do It

So there you have it; encouragement in Haiku. Gentle reader, what do you say? Are you in or are you out? It’s a great concept and how many people do you know who write screenplays or plays in a month’s time? If you enjoy writing and having fun assembling plot lines and dialogue, then this is for you.

Yours truly, Evil Chicken, highly recommends it. Step out of your comfort zone, do some gymnastics with your word processor and become a screenwriter! You may walk out of the month of June a playwright and just how cool is that?

Very cool, gentle reader; very cool indeed.

Script Frenzy

New from the creators of NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/), National Novel Writing Month comes a new creative challenge SCRIPT FRENZY (http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/). What’s the challenge? Good question, Gentle Reader. Here are the…

5 BASIC RULES OF SCRIPT FRENZY

1. To be crowned an official Script Frenzy winner, you must write a script of at least 20,000 words and verify this word count on ScriptFrenzy.org.

2. You may write individually or in teams of two. Writer teams will have a 20,000 total word goal for their single co-written script.

3. Script writing may begin no earlier than 12:01 AM on June 1 and must cease no later than 11:59 PM on June 30, local time.

4. You may write either a screenplay or a stage play.

5. You must, at some point, have ridiculous amounts of fun.

And there you have it. Check out their teaser site for the FAQ.

So Gentle Reader who wants to write a Script or a Play? I know for a fact that there are some amazingly creative types who are reading this right now. You can do it. I kid you not. There is a pretty interesting group of writers out there too, believe it or not, right here in South Jersey. Who knows – we just may meet up one day at a Boarders, Barnes & Noble or coffee shop to discuss our progress on our latest projects. Stay tuned. I haven’t fully committed to this yet but I have signed up for updates. One way or another I guarantee it will be a boatload of fun.