Sway



I somehow managed to overdose on B Vitamins today. One B-50 superdose and a bottle of B-Vitamin enriched "Vitamin Water" (I live in L.A., cut me some fucking slack) and I was about to pass out. Turns out I had something like 4,000% of the US RDA of B Vitamins today. Brain filled with chatter. Couldn't concentrate, could barely think at all. Never mind Frank, the creepy homeless dude I 'met' in a nicotine patch dream last night who tried to steal all my guitars and computers and hold them for ransom until I woke up.

It's now almost ten and I can finally focus enough to take a stab at getting some work done. I've abandoned the "Old spy vs. Young spy" idea that my agents and managers liked. Instead, I'm going to flesh out the female "Bourne" thing I found over the weekend and see if I can do something fresh and cool with the UFO movie -- because they are right, it does play out in a predictable "STARMAN" kind of way once you get out of the first act.

After I made this decision I spent about ten minutes yelling at my good-for-nothing-idiot manager(s). Alison called to see what I was thinking after yesterday's call. I told her the truth. I told her that I thought the whole point of running my ideas up the flagpole was to find something that had an actual chance of selling. She said that, yes, that was the idea. Then I said that if that's the case, why on earth would they want me to write a movie about some fifty year old guy with a twenty five year old daughter getting chased by Colin Farrell or someone? We would associate with the wrong character. We'd all be rooting for the bad guy -- the young, hot dude with the big gun and the fast car. No question who we'd want to win. Why would I write a movie for a demographic that goes to the movies so infrequently their numbers don't even track?

Alison told me not to write it. I said, "Don't worry. I won't. Instead, I'll come up with a couple of other things and try to find a new angle on the UFO movie. And I'll do it all quickly." She said, "Fine." Then she went into what she thought was wrong with the UFO movie and threw out the same freakin' note she and her partner Tracie have used on every single project I've ever done "It just feels like two different movies to me."

I told her that she says that about everything. She said, "Maybe it's just a problem you have." I told that I didn't think so considering that she and Tracie are the only people in my entire career who've ever said that. I said, "I don't even know what note means!"

She didn't want to argue and neither did I. I didn't bother to tell her that I'm meeting with J.C. Spink tomorrow afternoon about management at Benderspink. It's nothing personal. It's purely business. Benderspink has reach, authority, the make hit movies. I can't remember the last time I saw Alison and Tracie in the Trades associated with a deal or a sale. I think I saw J.C.'s name in Variety last Friday.

Another day has passed on "Operation Danielle Weeks". About two and a half weeks from now I will call to 'check in'.

This girl Curt's been seeing now has her own toothbrush in our bathroom. He's done for.

Posted: Tue - July 27, 2004 at 10:03 PM      


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