Kirk vs Picard – Part 4

Finally, the thrilling conclusion to the Kirk vs Picard script, Part 4: “A Good Day to Die,” is up HERE. Enjoy.

Kirk vs Picard – Part 2

Kirk vs Picard Part 2 by Eugene Ramos is now up HERE.

Kirk vs Picard – Part 1

Thanks to Part 2 writer and grand prize winner Eugene Ramos, I now have all four parts of the Star Trek: Kirk vs Picard script from Fanlib.com, and will be posting them as I have the time. Part 1 is up now!

Star Trek: Kirk vs. Picard – Part 3

I realized that, now that Fanlib.com is gone for good, the Kirk v. Picard script no longer exists anywhere. So I created a page with my winning entry (Part 3), and hopefully someone else will do the same with the other parts.

Oops! I did it again…

Apparently I have a knack for continuing other people’s stories in contests. To go along with my Fanlib.com Kirk v. Picard and my L.A. Times “Birds of Paradise” wins, I’m now the winner of Part 9 of the Cowrite Script screenwriting contest. This is the best prize (although the macbook was nice for KvP): $2000 cash and another $1000 in prizes. And to think I almost didn’t enter this round, and ended up getting in just nine minutes before the extended deadline…

Always remember: You can’t win if you don’t play!

Moviebytes.com announcement

STAR TREK Review [some minor spoilers]

     There has always been a major problem with anyone trying to make a Star Trek film: How do you please the fans and still make the movie accessible to a general audience? They’ve tried to do one or the other over the years, with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (TWOK to those in the know) generally coming out at the top of the list for fans, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home almost always the fave of non-Trekkies/Trekkers. But even The Voyage Home required some knowledge of Trek in order to be fully enjoyed.

     With the new Star Trek, J.J. Abrams and company have achieved what many have thought impossible: Made a movie that anyone could go see and enjoy as an action-packed summer popcorn flick, and at the same time service even die-hard fans. While most fans (including me) have some qualms about certain aspects of the film, the reviews are overwhelmingly positive everywhere, from mainstream newspapers and fan sites alike.

     How did they achieve this? They went back and told the “origin” story of the Enterprise crew, but not exactly the way it happened before the Original Series–thanks to an alternate reality plotline that changes history via a time travelling Romulan (Nero) from the post-Next Generation future. “Prime” Spock (the one we know and love) comes back as well and attempts to do what he can to repair the timeline, and the result is that the seven members of the bridge crew are all together for this adventure.

     Writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman figured out how to preserve all of the events of the Trek TV series and films, and yet still provide a way to tell stories of the original crew without us ever losing a true sense of suspense or danger armed with the knowledge that they all have the futures we’ve already seen for them.

     I’ve been a fan of Star Trek from the first grade, when I used to rush home to watch the original series in syndication. I’ve also been a fan of J.J. Abrams since I came upon the fantastic series Alias, and my new favorite show Lost has cemented my admiration for his work. Combining two of your favorite things doesn’t always mean the combination is going to work (I tend to cite beer and Dr. Pepper as an example), but in this case it works, and works well.

     Bottom line: this movie gets an A.

Cowrite Screenplay Contest

There’s another screenplay round-robin type of contest going on that I just found out about the week before last called Cowrite Script. You have to write ten to fifteen pages and continue the ongoing script, and the deadline is less than a week after the previous winner is posted, but you win $2,000 if you win. I was a finalist last week (the first time I entered). Finalists get to have a full screenplay of their own read by the Cowrite people, who in turn give it to Benderspink (the co-sponsors) if they like it.

Top Five Cliches in X-Men Origins: Wolverine

 

 

 

 

1. The Post-Tragedy Pull-Away Primal Scream

  2. The Montage

  3. Second Post-Tragedy Pull-Away Primal Scream

  4. Matrix-Style Slo-Mo Fighting

 5. The Non-Chalant Slo-Mo Walk-Away Explosion

“Newton’s Cradle” Script

Just finished reading a script called Newton’s Cradle, written by Bryan Tranel (story by Bryan Tranel, Steve Barr, and Marshall McAuley). It’s in pre-production right now, and I can’t wait for it to be made into a film, because it’s going to kick some serious ass.

Curbing My Enthusiasm

Larry David

For me, one of the coolest things about living in L.A. is seeing the occasional celebrity. I’ve been a pop culture addict my entire life, so even a fleeting glimpse of someone “famous” tends to get me excited. Now that I live about twenty miles out, it rarely happens, but when I used to actually live in Los Angeles, it was quite frequent, and I ran into people such as Peter Boyle crossing the street in front of my car, Maya Angelou sitting at the next table at Cheesecake Factory, and Randy Jackson (the American Idol one, not the Jackson Five one) at the dry cleaners.  

But my first real experience (as an adult anyway) being in close proximity to a celebrity was during a trip to California ten years ago. I was staying at a hotel in Santa Monica for a screenwriting conference, waiting in line to use the ATM in the lobby, and the next thing I knew, Larry David was right behind me, having a conversation with a couple of others. I was a huge fan of Seinfeld  from the beginning (unlike all those late-comers out there), and knew early on that George was based on Jerry’s real-life comedian friend who co-created, produced, and wrote for the show, so it was a big thrill for me. I wanted to say something, but his conversation with the other people was obviously going to take a while and I didn’t want to look like an idiot, so I walked away. Flash forward about four years: I’m living in West L.A. and going to get my haircut at my usual place in Santa Monica (where my wife had known the hair stylist for years), and suddenly I see Larry David coming straight toward me on the sidewalk. By this time, Curb Your Enthusiasm is out and another one of my favorite shows, so I’m about to tell him, “Hi, Mr. David, I’m a big fan,” when a young woman (probably his assistant) ran up to him and told him something important and he turned around and went back into the building he had just walked out of. I thought, “Well, that’s probably the last chance I’ll ever have to talk to him. What are the chances I’d run into him by chance more than twice?” What did I know?

So I’m leaving my gastro-endo-whatever (stomach) doctor’s office this morning, and I get to the elevators, and who’s standing there, but Larry David. If you read my earlier blog entry about PETER David, you know I like to give celebrities their space, but I’m thinking: “Okay, it must be fate for me to talk to him. This time, I’ve gotta say something…” But he’s on the phone, telling them he’s going to be there in six or seven minutes, so I know he’s in a hurry (I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose, I swear, I just happened to hear him).  A few more people walk up, the elevator arrives, and we’re riding down. He’s standing at the front with his face to the door and his head down, so I decide maybe he wants to be left alone. Then someone gets off at the lobby and he moves out of the way for them, and as he turns, he looks directly at me. I smile and nod and start to open my mouth, and instead of a smile or nod back, I get an “Uh oh, here it comes…” look from him and he immediately turns around. “Okay, so maybe it’s not fate,” I think. We get off the elevator at the parking garage and turn in opposite directions, and there goes my chance. Again.