More than ever, it’s the wild west out there now. Right now, studios are less and less interested in developing new material, turning back again and again to remakes and derivatives of pre-existing properties.
As a storyteller, that scares me, not because of any artistic choice, but because once any industry stops investing in the future, they start digging their own grave.
Finishing up a project for our San Franciscan Friends this week. Recent events have inspired two posts, will be putting them up shortly.
I’ve updated the site with a couple nifty items this week:
A search bar, and I’m working on adding auto-fill later.
Updated the tag system with a more visually-interesting “cloud,” versus the text block
Added a Related Posts function: I have enough posts now to warrant cross-referencing. I’m using an auto-generator plug-in, so the results may vary a bit as I fine-tune it. Let me know if it starts referencing you to anything wonky.
Some of these new additions are supposed to be a bit of a tax on the system, so if you notice any lag or delays, let me know.
So apparently there’s a competition to get notable Tweet sayings on T-shirts.
Also apparently, @cbelier nominated a favorite Tweet of mine from July 2008.
I’m not sure what to make of this, but I’ll admit it’s kind of an ego-stroke, so I’m game to play if you are. Click the link below, and if you like what I wrote, vote on it. It’s literally one click to vote. You don’t have to register or anything.
Earlier this evening I was part of the Dead Robots’ Society roundtable discussion on adapting prose to the screen. Along with me were top-tier storytellers Matt Wallace and Patrick McLean.
Questions came both from the terrific hosts (PG Holyfield, Justin Macumber, Terry Mixon, and Ryan Stevenson) as well as the audience questions I had mentioned before.
The interview ranges from lessons learned in the world of commercials and advertising, the challenges in switching from prose to screenwriting, and what it takes to preserve a good story from the page to the screen.
You get a chance to get to know the hosts in the beginning, the actual interview begins around 15:20 in. You get to hear me at my most silly, so take it while you can get it.
Esteemed author P.G. Holyfield (Murder at Avedon Hill) will be hosting the interview, which I firmly believe will descend into “shindig” and then devolve swiftly into “mob rule.” You can’t get three guys like ourselves in the same podcast and expect anything else.
And to add to the chaos: the clever Mr. Holyfield is opening up the forum. Email him with your questions, and they might get asked during the roundtable.
Remember, you’ve got four of the powerhouse podcast storytellers in the same room, ready to pick apart story theory and practice for your edification. This is more than just submitting a question: you’re getting second, third, and fourth opinions from people with a Ph.d. in “mind-exploding.”
Just finished a great interview with JC Hutchins for his podcast Hey Everybody (great, a very in-depth piece that will be out next week), and while I was browsing around afterward, I found out JC had already been talking about Ep05: Disconnect on Geek Cred with Steve Riekeberg.
I’m posting this in my feed because I really think JC nails a lot of the challenges and the ideas we worked with on Disconnect, and if you enjoyed the episode, this little behind-the-scenes preview will be a fun snack before JC’s interview with me drops on Thursday. The whole interview is terrific, but if you want to fast-forward to the Disconnect talk, roll forward to about 29:50.
I think of Geek Cred as the NPR of geek podcasting, and host Steve Riekeberg is definitely living up to the name. If you like this episode, check out the interviews he did with Jonathan Coulton, Leo Laporte, and Wil Wheaton, among others. I think Terry Gross is the only one who has him beat for geek media guests.
Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 12:33 am. Add a comment
As Episode 05: Disconnect circulates through the Internet and we wrap up Singularity 2009 (Did I say Balticon?), I’m setting my sights on the next episode for Stranger Things.
I did an impromptu Twitterpoll and the audience voted overwhelmingly for Mur Lafferty’s time-travel/mystery/romance piece “I Look Forward to Remembering You.”
I originally heard the story on episode 61 of Escape Pod, and knew even then that it was something I wanted to do.
This week I’m going to download Escape Pod #61, reacquaint myself with Mur’s story, and begin the adaptation process.
I’ll be posting updates here and on Twitter as I work through the script. Post your thoughts about the story and what it means to you. I’ll be referring back to these comments as I construct the screenplay, and eventually, the movie.
When their prize reality star goes missing, a monolithic network enlists the aid of the entire world to find him.
Disconnect (Stranger Things episode 5) just went live on the site yesterday. Feedback is good so far. Leave your comments below or on the site itself.
Written and Directed by Earl Newton
Story by J.C. Hutchins and Earl Newton
Produced by Earl Newton and Juan A. Baez III
Starring Jonathan MacQueen, James Donadio, and Rachel White
Posted 1 year, 2 months ago at 8:07 pm. Add a comment
In what marks our third (fourth?) collaboration, Scott Sigler — excuse me, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR Scott Sigler and I team up, this time with the good folks at Mevio.com, to bring you Jigsaw’s Top 5 Cuts, a series of creepy/awesome videos promoting the upcoming Saw V DVD release on January 20.
Scott hosted the video, shot by Mevio, and post-production done by me. Special props to Kevin Capizzi for the wicked Horror House door animations, and of course, our own David W. Kanter for his excellent music supervision.
Watch the first video here. The next four will be emerging from now till Tuesday. Then go pick up a copy of Saw V, and tell ‘em Newton and Sigler sent you.
For those of you keeping score, this was identified as Secret Project #2.
