Leaving LA

My time here is coming to an end, we're flying home on Tuesday. I'm really going to miss it out here. You can't tire of the weather, nor all of the wonderful places to visit. And there is just something dramatic about seeing beautiful mountains and the ocean everyday.

In terms of the school itself, it was completely worth it, perhaps even bordering on a smashing success.

My TA said that by far my script was the best in the class, very smart and compelling and imaginative. He encouraged me to hurry up and finish it because he would help me refine it, then pass it onto Professor Walter and his manager. Of course, both of these prospects are incredible. Professor Walter gets paid tens of thousands of dollars to read scripts and punch them up for the studios – he does not read his students scripts, only the 1 or 2 that are the best in the class – and finding an agent or manager is the first step towards having a legitimate Hollywood career.

So now I'm killing myself to finish this thing. I've done 55 pages, and I'm pretty excited about where it is now. When I'm cruising, I write maybe a page an hour. And I already know where the story is going. It's more like sculpting that writing sometimes. Putting words on paper, deleting them, reforming them, testing them and discarding them or keeping them. Reading through what you did the day before and running them through the filter again. And then making sure that the world you're creating sticks together. Are the characters actions consistent, are there logical gaps in the story, are there holes in the plot? Then you find a place where the answer is no and have to work to fix that up.

Realistically though, even if it's awesome (and I do think it's getting there), it probably won't get made. That's just the probabilities. Most screenplays written never get sold. Most that are sold are never greenlit. Most greenlit are never filmed. Many that are filmed are not completed. And many that are completed never get released, or receive no marketing or promotional push when they do.

But at the same time, I can dream. And so far things do seem to falling into place. At the very least, I'm inspired to write.

In my experimental film class, the instructor requested that I give her a copy of my final film, because she thought it was "incredible what I accomplished in just 6 weeks," and that my film was so "ambitious in its subject matter, worked on so many levels, and elicited such an emotional response" that she wanted to show it as inspiration to future classes. So yeah, I left her a copy. And of course I appreciate her comments as well.

And finally, the cinematography class was incredibly well taught. If anyone ever has the chance to take Bill McDonald's class 150 at UCLA, do it. I'm still amazed at the breadth of subjects he taught in 6 weeks. With the knowledge I have, I'm now completely confident to go home, rent film gear and shot a picture!

I miss all the folks at home, and having a proper home too. Our garbage chute is clogged right now, so now 3 stories of garbage are piled up and no one can get rid of any garbage anymore. 515 Kelton Towers, I will not miss you, really.

Next time I visit, I'm living in the Palisades!