Musings & Thoughts for Monday, March 15, 2021, or: And Now, a Word from Our (Associate) Producer*

• Yep, I’m a newly-minted associate producer.

Hi there, Dear Reader. It’s late afternoon here in New Hometown, Florida on Monday, March 15, 2021. It’s almost summery outside; the temperature is 84˚F (29˚C) under mostly cloudy skies. With humidity at 51% and the wind blowing from the west at 6 MPH (10 KM/H), the heat index is 85˚F (29˚C). The high earlier today was 87˚F (31˚C). Tonight, the skies will be partly cloudy, and the low will be 63˚F (17˚C).

As usually happens when we in the U.S. switch from Standard to Daylight Savings Time, I feel a bit out of synch with the Universe. My internal clock says it’s still 4 PM or close to it, while my computer’s clock says it’s 5:28 PM (as I write this, anyway). I’m not sure why, but this kind of artificial manipulation of time unsettles me, and I feel tired, headachy, and more than a tad annoyed at the whole notion that politicians and businessmen concocted the idea of “Spring Ahead, Fall Back” and saddled the rest of us with the Daylight Savings Time twaddle. (As my friend Dina says, #DaylightSavingsTimeMustDie.)

On the whole, my day has been uneventful; I read a few chapters of David Trotter’s The Screenwriter’s Bible as part of my preparation for the new film I am writing. I have written scripts before, so I’m not unfamiliar with “screenplay style,” but this is the most ambitious project that Juan, Adria, and I have tackled, and I want to write the best script that I can so we can get a few more actors to join our cast.[1]

So, yep. I have to brush up on my scriptwriting know-how, especially since I didn’t have a formal education as far as movie and television production go. (I come from the print journalism side of things, and I’ve been reviewing films and writing about entertainment since I was in high school. Screenwriting is a more recent gig; I wrote A Simple Ad  for Juan and Adria in early 2019, then wrote or co-wrote three more scripts after that, including Clown 345, Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss, and El Grande de Corona.) I’m fairly good as a script writer, but there’s always room for improvement.

Thus, the need to read The Screenwriter’s Bible. And Syd Field’s Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. Cos, of course, the more you know…..

And on that note, Dear Reader, I think I’ll wrap this post up and take my leave of you. So until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.

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[1] If you are interested in donating to our GoFundMe campaign and help us fund our film, you can do so here. As Juan and Adria write in their campaign pitch:

“Popcorn Sky has produced films for the last 20 years, such as The Cave (short), Waking Up In Astoria, Statico, A Simple Ad (short), Clown 345, Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss, and most recently a short comedy program called El Grande de Corona.  We are happy that Alex will be joining us for the first time as Associate Producer.

“We believe in this campaign.  We believe in Alex’s story because he writes with compassion, conviction, and with a wonderful sense of humor.
 
“Thank you so much for your support!  In thanks, we will make sure everyone who donated gets a copy of the final project!”