A couple months ago I drove to Portland with my girlfriend Natalie, to accept a plaque at the Hometown Video Awards. I helped my uncle edit a few of his 16mm shorts that he passed around the festival circuit, and “Hometown” was one he would be attending.

My uncle brought a star to the show when he invited his good friend William F. Nolan (Logan’s Run author) to the festival. After the ceremony we went to a café by Paul’s hotel where we talked about writing, show biz, books and other passionate subjects… Well, Bill and Paul did most of the talking and I soaked the information up like a dish sponge. Nolan spoke like he has never lost his love for writing; telling stories drives this man and he is very good at it. I think I surprised him because I had his book Logan’s Run memorized and some of his films as well.

I spent the month previous to the ceremony researching Nolan and came across his film, Burnt Offerings, on Amazon. It was a great picture! Burnt Offerings was directed by Dan Curtis, a classic director that usually did films for TV, starred Bette Davis, Karen Black, and Oliver Reed. The story was spotless. If you get the chance to watch Burnt Offerings and Trillogy of Terror, please do, they come highly recommended.

After our drinks we dropped Paul off at his motel and I drove Bill to his house in Washington. Natalie and I had a fabulous time talking with him. One of Nolan’s good friends was my favorite author Ray Bradbury? How nice it would be to become a fly on the wall during their writing sessions?

Nolan, invited us in his house, which as excited as we were, of course we obliged. His walls were filled with books, all read by or written by William F. Nolan, it was quite a monument. Numerous trophies, statuettes and figurines decorated the tops of his bookshelves. I gave Bill a copy of Emerald City, and he gave me permission to send him my scripts. I look forward to seeing him again.

Sci Fi Wire published an interesting article about the Logan’s Run Blu-Ray and the possibilities of a needed remake. I was not a fan of the Logan’s Run movie because it distorted Nolan’s original creation; a book that effects our generation today. The following is from the “Can the Logan’s Run Blu-ray explain the remake holdup?” article.

Science-fiction movies and TV shows with something to say are a dime a dozen, but ones that actually say something are infinitely rarer. The reason for this is that the ideas behind them are intriguing, but seldom are those successfully explored or executed; for every District 9, there are a dozen movies like The Box that just never manage to capture an audience’s attention, much less the essence of their core concept, in a way that resonates, much less entertains.

For my money, Logan’s Run is one of the genre’s revered “classics” that’s terminally guilty of being a great premise with some of the worst possible execution; Hollywood evidently agrees, which is why a number of filmmakers have tried in the past several years to remake or reinvent it for contemporary audiences. Now that Logan’s Run is being released on Blu-ray, we decided to revisit it to see precisely what it is that’s so potent in its mishmash of cultural commentary and futuristic fun, and consider what it is (other than obvious legal entanglements and such) that keeps a reimagining from coming to the silver screen.

The original film was adapted in 1976 by David Zelag Goodman from William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson’s novel of the same name, was directed by Michael Anderson (Around the World in 80 Days) and starred Michael York and Jenny Agutter. The story takes place in the 23rd century and follows a “sandman” named Logan (York) who becomes a fugitive, just like the people he once hunted, after he is assigned to find Sanctuary, a mythical place where people over the age of 30 survive instead of subjecting themselves to “judgment,” or termination, at a ceremony called Carousel.

Tread the rest of the article please visit Sci Fi Wire’s original post. Can the Logan’s Run Blu-ray explain the remake holdup?

Seattle’s recent claim to film fame, “World’s Greatest Dad” came out on DVD and Blu-Ray today. The film was brought to Seattle by local executive producer, Jennifer Roth (The Wrestler and Black and White) and primarily shot in the Fremont, Wallingford, Ballard area.

World’s Greatest Dad, starring Robin Williams and Daryl Sabara, is a dark comedy about a man who learns that the things you want most may not be the things that make you happy and that being lonely is not necessarily the same as being alone. The charmingly dry film was conducted by writer/director/comedian Bobcat Goldthwait.

I had the pleasure of enjoying this film at the Seattle International Film Festival and watching Jennifer Roth speak. Jennifer and the crew of World’s Greatest Dad represented the Seattle film community with pride and quality, they made a hilarious film that comes highly recommended.

You can get your copy of “World’s Greatest Dad” at Scarecrow Video or Amazon.

SaveTheCat.com is ending the year with a big meow! Anyone is invited to enter the Save the Cat!® Logline Contest of 2009. To enter, use the STC! rules of a well-written logline to rework the logline of a well-known movie and turn it into a Holiday classic.

For example, these are the five entries I have submitted so far:

Paranormal Holiday: After moving into a suburban home, a loving couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly jolly presence and it’s noisy reindeer. (Paranormal Activity)
Christmas Now: During an on-going winter, Captain Taylor is sent on a dangerous mission into the North Pole to retrieve a renegade soldier who has set himself up as Santa Claus among a local elf tribe. (Apocalypse Now)
SE7ENTH: Two obsessed detectives desperately hunt for a serial killer named “Donner” who justifies his crimes as clearance for the world’s ignorance of the seventh reindeer. (SE7EN)
Blank List: By accident, the 12-year-old Pierce is given a blank Christmas list from a runaway elf and when he fills it out, he is able to get what he asks for! (Blank Check)
Ornament: A struggling mall Santa, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes, Polaroids and nostalgic ornaments from the last Christmas he remembers to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife. (Memento)

It’s that simple!
“Keep your loglines short — try for no longer than two lines. The original movie must be universally recognized, and the rewritten movie must be clearly made for a Holiday release. Contestants may place multiple entries, but each entry must be separate. No grouped entries, please. Please include the title of your “remake.” You may alter the original title if you wish, as long as we can determine the original source. Deadline for the contest is December 19, 2009, Midnight PST. Winners will be announced on the Save the Cat! blog site December 21. So get your paws — and your brains — a flexin’, and post your entries in the comment section of their blog!!!”

A logline is one to three sentences that says everything about your story and can be used as a point of reference during the screenwriting process. Your logline should be able to break out every element in a successful screenplay. A good logline has a Protagonist, an antagonist and a an adjective for each of these characters. A lunatic Taxi-driver flows a little better than a brand-new one.

A great logline sparks curiosity with irony, add a twist at the end of the line, something the reader  or an audience member wouldn’t expect.  A good logline should have a great title attached to it, a sense of market and a solid concept. Who will watch this movie? Why will they watch it? And what’s it about?

For more information on prizes and rules visit the Save the Cat!® Logline Contest of 2009

Earlier today I stopped by Scarecrow Video for new DVD Tuesday, there I found that Seattle’s own Lynn Shelton has hit the DVD market with “Humpday” a bromantic comedy with a twist. Needless to say I picked it up.

“Director Lynn Shelton works in an improvisatory style, figuring out the dialogue with the actors and creating a loose, frowzy atmosphere within scenes. That sense of verisimilitude helps sell the whopper of a premise, but what’s even more impressive is Shelton’s laser-like sense of male insecurity and rivalry (also on view in her previous picture, My Effortless Brilliance).” – Amazon

You can get your copy of “Humpday” at Scarecrow Video or Amazon.

Crookedlp has a new roommate named Vimeo. Take some time to navigate around the site and discover our new features. New blogs have been published in the News section with a social stream at the tail end of each blog ready to share with the world. Crookedlp has also added some of our award winning videos to the video library with each video streaming in High Definition. Most importantly, don’t forget to drop us a line, leave a comment on a blog and share the site with others. It’s your feedback that helps us achieve our goal – to make your vision our priority.

The last story structure software you’ll ever need and it’s on your iPhone! Based on the screenwriting bestseller, Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder. Available for iPhone’s and iPod Touch.

Look for Blake Snyder’s new book “Save the Cat! Strikes Back” November 25th. In “Strikes Back” Blake lists and addresses many writing techniques and problems such as…

• The 7 warning signs you might have a great idea ─ or not
• The sure-fire template for can’t-miss loglines
• The difference between structure and formula
• The Transformation Machine that allows you to track your hero’s growth step-by-step
• The 5 questions to keep your story’s spine straight
• The 5-Point Finale to finish any story
• The Save the Cat!® Greenlight Checklist that gets to the heart of every development issue
• The right way to hear notes, deal with problematic producers, and dive into the rewrite with the right attitude
• Why and when an agent will appear
• How to discover the potential for greatness in any story
• How to avoid panic, doubt, and self-recrimination… and what it takes to succeed and dare to achieve your dreams

Patient: Louise Swanson
Sex: Female
Age: 28

My Name is Louise Swanson. I’m getting close to thirty. If you ask me, thirty is as old as you can get, like one of those Nolan books… Logan’s Run, wasn’t it? My “light” is flashing and my time is up. I might as well forget that masterpiece I was attempting. Don’t you think thirty’s old? Jacob doesn’t think so. He says the only time jealousy shows up in our relationship is when I get carded at bars…  Masterpiece… Who am I kidding? I haven’t been able to paint an honest emotion in ages.

I’ve lost a lot of weight lately, I haven’t been exercising or anything special like that, I just haven’t had much of an appetite. Don’t get me mistaken with those carbon-copy, enquirer lip-sinking bitches you see on the music channels. I’m not anorexic or bulimic or anything peculiar like that, I’m just not hungry. I feel like when I am most creative the rest of me kinda takes the back seat. Does that make sense?

Funny story… one time I spent two days in my studio. I was inspired by a dream I had of Icarus falling into the water. In my dream, Icarus had just achieved what no man was able to do and flew with birds. He cut through the sky on wings made from feathers and wax. In my painting, Icarus, on top of the world, intoxicated by flight has realized the only place he can go now is down and hard. You would call that a moment of clarity, I’m almost positive about that. The image of the picture hit me harder than a man from Athens breaking the ocean’s surface after being suspended in the air, dancing at the feet of gods. I saw the picture from the sun’s point of view.

Anyways I got really excited and had to paint. The idea of waiting until morning made me nauseous. I’m always worried I’ll forget my ideas. I threw on my slippers and locked myself in the studio, I wouldn’t even let Jacob in. 48 hours later I opened the door to the studio. Jacob was waiting in a lawn chair with a book on his lap and a cup of coffee in his hand. (My studio is in the backyard.) He said I looked like Doc from Back to the Future after he stepped out of the Dolorian for the first time. My hair was saturated with orange and blue acrylic. Look at my hair, it’s long and dark so you can pretty much imagine the mop I was producing after my sabbatical. Somehow my arms acquired bruises-I don’t remember how-I never do. Needless to say, my clothes looked like they were brought in from war trenches simulated by a confederate paintball league. I was never considered a clotheshorse; most of my wardrobe was owned by someone else before.

Jacob handed me the cup of coffee. I thought he was going to be furious with me, mad that I wouldn’t leave my studio. He was so calm, he said, “Good morning, I whipped up a stack of flapjacks. You’ve got to be hungry, busy-bee.”  Jacob supports my art. I remembered he asked if he could see what I had painted. He asked it in a concerned tone, I hate that tone, it sounds like expectations and doubt. I think I really hurt his feelings when I told him I destroyed the painting. I drank some coffee and left the pancakes.

(The answers from Miss Swanson’s therapy session were recorded by Dr. Calvin and edited together by Dr. Graham.)

Last week Adam Rosenberg from MTV Movies Blog asked Paranormal Activity fans to send in questions to director Oren Peli for their interview. Crooked Lake Productions sent in three technical questions and Mr. Paranormal answered them.

For those of you who have yet to experience Paranormal Activity and it’s organic creepiness, here is the rundown. After it’s festival debut and partnership with Paramount, Paranormal Activity screened midnight showings in limited theaters while initiating a genius viral marketing campaign on the inter-web with the help of twitterland, facebook and bloody-disgusting.com. The movie had sold out screenings across America’s map which created a buzz larger than the second coming. 1,000,000 fans demanded a nationwide release at paranormalmovie.com and Paramount gave it to them. The eleven thousand dollar film has now made more than $65 million dollars, it is officially the most profitable movie of all time.

I personally have seen the film three times and plan to sneak a fourth viewing in before Halloween. But first, lets see our questions answered.

“Finally, Henry from Crooked Lake Productions had a trio of technical questions:
What kind of camera did you shoot on?

Oren: Sony FX1 high definition prosumer camera.
Was Micah primarily the camera operator?
Oren: Yes. In 99% of the cases it’s either Katie or Micah operating the camera. Mostly Micah.
Who was responsible for the sound design of the film?
Oren: The original version was me, but then once Paramount got involved we went through another round of sound cleanup and sweetening. But I knew i wanted to make it sound as authentic as possible so that you can believe that everything basically came from the camera microphone, so nothing sounds manufactured. So that’s why we have no soundtrack or anything else that’s been added later on by the mixer.”
You can read the interview in it’s entirety at MTV Movies Blog.

Take a peek at the first couple pages of storyboards for our next dramatic film.
Page 1

Page2

This is a “flip” video of Royce “FooRay” Southerland and I working on the storyboards. To watch more “flip” videos check out hdillasflip.

After losing his job, Percy Shilling turns his uneventful life into a fantasy world by following the story from an abnormal audio book. As his obsession with the story grows, the lines between fiction and reality dim and he believes killing is his appropriate path. Listeners was 2nd place in the STIFF Film Challenge.

The STIFF Film Challenge is a collaborative film project where filmmaking teams compete to put together the best film over a 2 week period. The focus this year was to create several, short, distinct movies that resulted in one unified film. The goal is to promote cooperation among film makers and bring together the local film making community.

Watch Listeners©

Listeners© from Crooked Lake Productions on Vimeo.