Georgia's Homegrown "THE SIGNAL"

Being from Atlanta, Georgia I knew about the indie film THE SIGNAL long before it was picked up for distribution by Magnolia Films. I know many of the actors in the film and knew about it through them (at the time I was in the middle of production on my own film which has yet to find a distributer). It was great to hear that the film had been picked up for theatrical distribution by one of the major indie distributors.

The film made headlines all over the net and in magazines and newspapers and it was suppose to be one of the major indie films of the summer. Too bad the film didn’t make it into theatres. Due to some technical difficulties (of which I’ve heard a thousand rumors) the film was held for almost a year before getting a limited release with little publicity and little fanfare. By the time the film was finally released to theaters the “buzz” behind it was gone amid mixed reviews and a timid response from those reviewers that had happened to see the film at a film festival.

I ended up missing the film during its theatrical release, but this did not stop me from purchasing the film when it hit DVD. The film concerns a couple who are just trying to find each other amid an apocalyptic event that makes sane people go out and start killing people for no reason. The film is told in three segments by three different writers & directors, so, in a sense the film is trying to be a new type of anthology film that retains the same characters throughout. This is a very lamentable goal except that many audiences were turned away by the shift in tone and mood between the first and second “transmissions” (as they are called in the film).

I admire what the filmmakers tried to accomplish but the film looses something when it goes from the first transmission to the second one since the film shifts gears to focus on the villain of the film and bring in a bunch of new characters that were not in the first transmission. I actually enjoyed the comedy and dark humor of the second transmission and only wish that it had gone a step further (although upon a second viewing I’m beginning to think that it’s the score of the film that turned my off during this part of the film). The first transmission is a very good setup for the film but because the main character Mya (Anessa Ramsey) has little to nothing to do in the second and third transmissions she is sorely missed. This and the fact that the first transmission is the shortest of the three leaves me a tad disappointed since she did such a good job in the film.

The second transmission has more gore but it seems to take away from the film at times or just plain is a little too much. It feels like it’s trying to be THE EVIL DEAD which the rest of the film is not. The funny thing is that everyone in this segment does a great job but this transmission feels like a very good short film and not a piece of this feature.

The third transmission focuses on Ben (Justin Welborn) who after being captured and beat up by Mya’s husband he tries to find her amid the chaos of Terminus City while being chased by Mya’s husband.. This is more of a suspenseful chase film only less suspenseful since it’s one man chasing another man instead of a man chasing a woman. What saves this segment is Welborn’s performance as something is “lost in translation” when you have a male maniac chasing after another male character.

Overall, the film is not a bad film simply because it tries to throw away all the clichés of the genre and present something new while also providing audiences with something personal which is the journey of two people trying to find each other amid the chaos, whatever it might be.

"Inspiration Strikes Back!"

I'd like to think I'm a writer first before anything else which is why when I needed a name for this blog-site I called it "Writer's First". Now that I think back on it the site should have been called "Writer First" but what the hell...it's to late now. The point is clear and I wanted everyone who knew and knows me to know that whatever they think of me I am a Writer First above everything else.

I try to write or rewrite or read something everyday to keep my mind always flowing and always coming up with new ideas. It helps me from getting writer's block, but at this time I seem to be experiencing Writer's Overload as I have more ideas in my head then I can get down on paper.

Over the last week a friend of mine Cesar has been trying to get me in as writer on one of the projects he's working on - a television series called Atlanta Homicide: HD which has just finished production on the first season (13 episodes) and is reving up for the second season while they are trying to get the first season played in more territories. Being a huge Homicide: Life on the Streets and Law & Order fan I jumped at the opportunity to possible write for a show in that vein. although I would later learn that the show stems more towards CSI: Crime Scene Investigations (which I don't particularly care for), I was still interested in the show so I went to You Tube and watched what they had available. At first I wasn't impressed as the first couple episodes were very raw to the point of being embassing but as I watched more of the episodes the charcaters that stayed on the show (because they went to a huge casting overhaul) got more interesting and the show actually felt like a crime drama. Now I haven't seen and entire show yet, just bits and pieces of several shows, but it does show which are the stronger episodes both in terms of character and story and the show seems to now be finding its wings.

I emailed one of the producers of the show just as an introduction of myself. I didn't know that I was using an email that never went to my contact so he (the Producer) never got the email. next I called him on Friday but just as my luck would have it the show was having a Writer's Meeting that night to discuss the second season...and I wouldn't make it since It was just starting as I was calling the Producer. My luck was turning to shit.

I had a good conversation with the Producer and said I would re-send him my info (to the right email this time) and hope that I might still be able to help out on the show if I could. Even though I thought my luck had turned to shit my brain kept processing these random ideas that could make really good episodes of the show. My brain processed the ideas as senereos I might see on Homicide: Life on the Streets but with the cast of Atlanta Homicide:HD (now called Atlanta: HD since the Executive Producers seemed to hate having the word "homicide" in the title of the show).

When the possibility of me writing for the show began to dwindle my ideas begain to formulate into a controversal feature idea. Thus INSPIRATION had spoken to me. I don't know about most writer's but when inspiration hits me, I can't stop it. That night I wrote a quick breakdown of the A-Story of the script. I didn't concentrate on the B-Story as yet because that would be thematically linked to the A-Story and that had to be really strong. I went to bed with the ideas still popping in and out of my head.

I began to think that this would be my first action script since I really hadn't written an action film thus far.

TODAY - I've been working on the B-Story and giving all the characters names and working out how they all fit within the theme of the movie. I won't give any of th edetails away as yet only that it has to do with children and teens and their placement in our society of today and how they are treated by their parents and how their parents treat them. It's a very big film, bigger then any I've ever written before. The canvase is huge and this is definitely something I would not be able to make but would sale and/or use as a writing sample.

But I can't stop. I spent most of the first part of the day finishing rewrites on "The Nocturnals" script and then I have to come up with a Shooting Script for "Shiver" before finishing up a first draft of my Amy Wolkis script "The Poet." And somewhere I'll be able to fit this new script about homicide detectives and murder.

If I remember, I'll comment tomorrow on the rewrites of "The Nocturnals" script which I will be sending out to my writer peers for critique and analysis.