After some (way too much) delay, I’m here writing a post. I feel I spend a lot of time apologizing for my absence every time I post because it sometimes takes me a month to say something new. This time I have a pretty good excuse: I HAVE NO COMPUTER. Sadly, I’ve managed to trash yet another laptop. The power supply on the motherboard is toast and I have no money to replace it. This leaves me with little opportunity to visit with all of you.
I’d like to start by saying thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to see your comments until now. It is true, I’m 31…and no, you’re right, I’m not going bald…
I think I’ll elaborate a bit on Isaac’s post (welcome to the world of posting on the site, Isaac). This has been quite the complex journey as of late. As was mentioned in the last post, we’ve been talking to some pretty impressive people in the industry. Responses have been very positive, but we have seen quite a bit of resistance when it comes to actually making the commitment to give us the much desired “greenlight”.
The primary concern expressed still remains the length. Our team has done numerous passes to shorten the script while still maintaining the integrity of what was originally put to paper during my nightmarish two-year writing process. We eventually reached a point of critical mass in which it became clear that to cut any more without a restructuring was going to ultimately break the script in a very big way.
This process has been profoundly difficult for me. I’ve spent a massive amount of time and energy constructing the initial draft of the script. For a while, I was more than happy to cut elements to bring it down from its insane 345 page existence. Further passes with all partners offering input helped to cut it even more. While I was resistant to lose certain things, I truly felt the script became more concise and stronger for the cuts.
Even after meeting the page-count requirement of a major producer (sort of. we were within 15 pages), we were told we needed to cut even more and bring it down to the standard 120 pages. This sent us into another frenzied attempt to cut the script further. This is where things became really painful for me. I was starting to see things dropping out that I was very proud to have written. Unfortunately, that is the nature of the game. You always hear of writers talking about having to “kill their babies”. Never have I understood this concept in a the way I do now.
I got to a point where I had to step back and take a break. I left town for a weekend and let Patrick, Jason and Yale take a stab at some proposed restructuring. In the time I was gone, they came up with what I felt were some pretty elegant solutions for shortening and restructuring the first act. The trouble is that they hit a wall once they moved into the second act of the story. It started to become clear that every scene was so dependent on the scenes before them to fully express the character development and story advancements, that cutting one thing just meant another scene making very little sense. Now, I argue that this is an example of good writing. The fact that every scene is there for a reason. My partners have expressed as much to me, too. Unfortunately, this makes the process of cutting it down almost impossible.
We made the decision to hire a script consultant to review the script and aid us in discovering ways in which we could a) shorten it while maintaining the integrity of the story and characters, and b) ensure it is as marketable as possible to the powers that be in Hollywood.
After a month of waiting, I found myself on the phone with the consultant ready to take suggestions and notes. With Patrick by my side, I listened patiently as the script was analyzed and critiqued. Some of the notes I had expected. Some were very good points that none of us had recognized before. Unfortunately, the notes became something completely unexpected and wholly painful for me as the conversation went on. The basic note was that the script needed to be entirely restructured and rewritten from page one. The analyst felt that the script would simply not be marketable in today’s climate. She felt it needed to offer a more escapist experience and needed stronger action and fantasy elements to entice both producers and audiences.
As you can imagine, this was really difficult for me to hear after two years of slaving away to write something I really believed in. My initial thought was that she had just recommended that we sell-out and make a bad action/adventure picture, a la National Treasure. There was much talk of the need for a “quest”. I could hear some really good points being made, and some legitimate concerns being raised about the structure and nature of things in the script, but I just couldn’t get on board with the notion of rewriting the entire thing from beginning to end.
After some discussion with my partners, it became clear that we really have very little choice but to offer some more “action”. I completely understand the concerns some of you hold in regard to this prospect. I personally believe in the script we all came to consensus on before we were told to cut it to 120 pages. Unfortunately, what I believe in is of little relevance when you’re looking for $100 to $150 million to finance a film. Films of this scale, of this budget, simply do not get made unless they can appeal to the largest audience possible. A complex character drama set against the backdrop of an ethereal underground society is just a bit too heady for a general audience. Those elements can be present and even prominent, but there has to be enough of the neat stuff that goes boom to satisfy an audience member that isn’t interested in character and just wants to see a cool story with interesting events. That is the nature of Hollywood. That being said, it is our responsibility to maintain the essence, intelligence and legitimacy of BoT, while still creating a film that will satisfy the marketplace sufficiently.
I, while recognizing the necessity of these changes, have felt the effects of the cuts and alterations in the depths of my soul. I’ve become very attached to the work I’ve done, and it’s been agonizing to realize that it will not be what eventually makes it to the screen. It will be an amalgamation of what I have written and the new ideas that are being hashed out by my partners as I write this.
I’ve come to realize that I have no real perspective on the script anymore. I cannot unwed myself from the work I’ve done in the way it is required for these changes to occur. I’ve found myself being defensive and difficult in the face of proposed changes. I’ve been frustrated and heartbroken. It became clear to me that it was time for me to step back. I cannot participate in the initial phases of restructuring in a way that is going to be productive and helpful. I just believe too strongly in what we had come to before our notes from the analyst and always will. I think it would have been a great film. That isn’t to say that the script can only be good in one form. I firmly believe that this amalgamation is both necessary (business wise) and holds the potential to be a great film as well. It will simply be a different film than I had always envisioned BoT being.
I am leaving it to my skilled and creative partners to break down and rebuild the script in a way that will offer it its greatest chances at being produced. I will wait patiently on the sidelines to see what they come up. I hope to rejoin the process and help to actually write the changes into the script once these story and structure meetings are complete. Hopefully, with some time away and not being privy to the discussions (which sometimes begin with absolutely ridiculous ideas before being molded into solid concepts) will help me to see this new form the script will take as something exciting and promising.
It’s hard to let go. It’s hard to not be in the room, but I firmly believe that I can be of the best help by staying out of the way right now. I have no doubt that what comes out of these meetings will prove to be both intelligent and compelling. Every person working on this project has earned their position by consistently offering solid, respectable input.
That is enough for now. I can’t promise when I’ll have the opportunity to write again. Be well, and don’t panic too much. We’re all still committed to making the best Myst film we can.
Maybe you can include the original script online after the film is released? In the DVD? Anywhere? I’m sorry. I know how attached you were to that and how much we all wanted to see it.
But I doubt that will happen.
(… or just host Mysterium at the same place!!)
