My Friend Cruise

Thought this was mildly humorous.

Dear *****,

Thank you for taking the OCA Personality Test online with us. Your test has now been processed.

I am contacting you to make an appointment so that one of our evaluators could go over the test result with you, and explain what the graph meant. It appears some aspects of your life are very unsatisfactory, and we can help you regain your focus. Please let me know which day of the week would be better for you so I could help you set up the appointment.

Please note that we are also open on the weekends as well if that makes it more convenient for you.

I look forward hearing back from you.

Best Regard,
- Paul
Scientology Testing Center
1830 E Colonial Drive
Orlando, FL. 32803

Could I be devilish enough to bring a hidden camera there for my meeting?

The Writer's Abyss

We've all been there. You just started a screenplay, or are in the planning/outlining stage. You think about the story 24 hours a day. You engage in conversation half heartedly because you're really thinking, 'How can I make the plot twist work in Act II?'. You're in a creative fog, and the real world crashes all around you. When the creative sparks are flying, it's hard to engage in intimate conversation with other people.

Especially for me right now, when the subject matter for my new creation is so dark.

I told Katie I was in the abyss tonight, and I would talk to her about it after the first draft was done. Now I think she's worried that I'm writing "50 ways to murder your girlfriend and have not one soul find out about it". She asked what the story's about , but I had only a vague answer. I said I didn't know, but it was gruesome. And now I'm in a sort of dark/depressed, but high on writing, mood. Nothing seems to be happening to me in real time. It's kind of cool to talk about it while I'm actually in it.

The weird thing is, the dialogue is just flying from my pen like I know what is supposed to be said. I have a weird feeling this will be a major stepping stone for me as a screenwriter. This is around my tenth screenplay. I've finished three. (and numerous shorts) So if everything goes according to plan, this will be my fourth, and maybe that's the magic number where we grow from our humble beginnings, to actually putting it all together. Maybe structure, story and format are perfected through actually doing it.

I wonder if anyone has had that euphoric feeling. A feeling like you know you've gained something invaluable? Or if anyone has been so immersed in a screenplay, that they lose the attention span to endure the real world. And do you get caught up in the mood of the story? If it's a comedy, do you feel happy and jovial? If it's horror, do you feel on edge, or depressed?

Dazed, and somewhat adrift, I move on.....

I'm Starting To Scare Myself

In a windstorm of activity last night, I had the uncontrollable urge(I can't say that without repeating it, Devo style) to write another Horror script within my ten day program. 7 pages went from keyboard to screen in a half hour. I felt I knew the story inside and out. And it is repugnant. Where has my mind gone? Am I becoming a horror writer? Do I in fact have this much horror inside me? The situation I was thrust into last night, writing a story about something I have never experienced, and it being so difficult to digest, I just wonder where this came from. I had nightmares about it. Yet, I am enthralled, and will finish this macabre opus in my allotted ten days, or die trying.

I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly blood lust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.

Quick hit review-'OPERA'

Opera (1987)
Directed by: Dario Argento
Genre: Horror/'Giallo'

Scares: Some 'jump out' jolts, good dark atmosphere
Gore: Above average. More than a normal horror movie, and it's well done.
Story: Above average. Good story with a somewhat convoluted ending sequence.
Music: Overall, it's good. Except for the speed metal-not good.
Direction: Great camera work, moody lighting and one of the best all time kill scenes.

Overall: 7/10
Not Argento's best, but probably his last very good movie.

I'm in dire straights..according to Scientologist's worldwide!

Yet another cult writes me off. My chart appears quite low in the majority of categories. I was to speed my way to the Scientology Church for help immediately. I couldn't copy the chart, so I took a picture with my trusty digital camcorder. People must be made aware of this religion biased test! (it's hard to read, I know.)

PLOT HOLE THIS!

Plot holes and twist endings. To me, the story does not have to show everything to the audience. The only time I think there's a plot hole in a story is if something happens for no imaginable reason, or something impossible occurs. But if I look back on the film as a whole, and can say, "Well that could have happened." That's all I need. Some people need to see it tie together, where I just need to know it's possible it could tie together like that in the end without my seeing it. I prefer to let the antagonists do what they would do in real life-hide in the shadows, pull some strings. If you show the audience everything that happens, what good is the story? Are hints necessary? Probably. But even without a hint it works for me, as long as it's plausible.

*********SPOILERS*********(THE USUAL SUSPECTS)


Take for instance, The Usual Suspects. After Keyser Soze is found out, we get a flashback to show how he made up all the stories in the police station. I like that. The viewer is never sure who Keyser really is until the very end. Yet, some say the major plot hole occurs in the last twenty minutes, when Verbal stays behind. They say it makes no sense that he walked onto the boat and ended the lives of those people because he was hiding when Dean Keaton was shot. People forget it's Keysor telling the b.s. story, which is why we see it in his vision-a lie.

Yet constantly, I hear people crying 'plot hole' simply because they want everything spoon fed.

And don't get me started on Mulholland Drive. The story makes sense if you work at it. And I, for one, enjoy that.