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This is a chapter of the documentary that I feel will be of help to not only animators but to VFX artists... the backgrounds used on Quest set the tone for much of the limited animation action. Note the staging of the background which follows the classic "foreground / midground / background" design.

From his second series of INCOGNITO...

If you've been checking into the Pulp 2.0 press Facebook page, or Bish's Beat then you know that BROTHER BLOOD is on sale at Amazon's Kindle Store here.

If you haven't checked in to either place, then you are certainly missing out because there have been a few discussions back and forth.  Pulp 2.0 superfan Bobby Craig even posted on the Out Of Print Books Reborn Facebook Group.

Since we discuss all things pulp media here at the Pulp 2.0 HQ, the topic has come up:

What difference does a digital book make anyway?

From my writer-publisher perspective it makes a great deal of difference.

-- Thanks to the opportunities afforded us from digital distribution we can get more books to you faster so you can enjoy them.

-- Thanks to digital distribution I don't have to wait for a print proof.

-- Thanks to digital distribution money gets to the author, artist and me faster and at a greater percentage than print.

-- Thanks to digital distribution books are cheaper for you the consumer. In the case of Brother Blood the $2.99 cost is for 350 pages. THAT'S LESS THAN A PENNY PER PAGE!

-- Thanks to digital distribution our print editions are now elevated to the position they have always deserved - collectible objects d' pulp.  They are book editions jam-packed with extras you won't get anywhere else: pictures, articles, notes, essays and design that takes the pulp aesthetic seriously.

-- Thanks to digital distribution I now sell worldwide.

So yes, digital does make a huge difference in our business plan. So much so that you will be seeing more of them followed by their print counterparts.  To put it in comic book terms: digital is our 'floppy' and print is our trade paperback.

Oh, and speaking of comics.... and of course, comics.

And let's not forget westerns.

Gee, it's all pulp to me!

Courtesy of Focus features and The Los Angeles Times:



Not a lobbycard, but a newspaper box insert... still very cool though. 

The plot thickens and the stakes are raised as JONNY QUEST behind-the-scenes becomes as dramatic and hurried as the action onscreen.

If you develop Social Games I want to talk to you. Im looking to invest in  games,  developers and projects

Im looking for consumer and corporate applications. I’m not looking for knockoffs of existing games/apps. I’m also looking for physical products that have integrated social gaming components . My preference for all the above is that they run on or  integrate deeply  with Facebook and/or Itunes 10/Ping and all the devices they support.

You can post them here or email me at blogmaverick@aol.com.

If I like it , I will respond. If I dont, I wont.  I wont sign and NDA.

TIA

Before you start writing any screenplay, make a playlist of music that feels like the movie. It’s a fundamental part of my process.

I’ve done this from the beginning. For Go, I had a mix tape with Christmas songs and rave beats. 1 For Big Fish, I burned a CD. In the age of iTunes, it’s vastly easier. Think of movies that resemble your movie, then click through their soundtracks, previewing tracks before adding them to a custom playlist.

Most of these songs would never be in your final movie. Rather, you are assembling music that reminds you of the feeling you’re trying to create. More crucially, you want music that reminds you why you’re writing this script.

A good playlist helps you get started. A great playlist helps you finish.

Over the life of a project, you are bound to lose enthusiasm many times. Deep into the second act, you’ll curse the decision to write it. On your third draft, you’ll wonder why the opening set piece is so much better than everything else.

That’s when you need your playlist. Listen to it and remember. Let it be your totem, your mandala, your happy place. I rarely listen to any music while I write, but during crunch times, it helps. Particularly days like today, when most of the jackhammers in Los Angeles are outside my window.

What was this movie, again?

Professional screenwriters often have to ping-pong back and forth between several projects. During one week in the early-aughts, I had to write on Big Fish, Barbarella, Jurassic Park 3, Minority Report and Scooby-Doo. That’s a lot of switching gears. Music helps.

For a more recent example, here’s a touchstone track I used for Preacher, 10th Planet by Hot Snakes.

For an unannounced thriller I’m writing, I used both Let’s Misbehave and a track from Silent Hill 2.

Right now, I’m writing Monsterpocalypse and Frankenweenie2. Danny Elfman’s fantastic and underappreciated title track for Planet of the Apes gets me in the mood for smashing buildings, while half his canon is appropriate for Frankenweenie.

Is it a luxury to pick tracks from the composer who will probably be doing the soundtrack? Yes. I won’t apologize.

It’s your choice whether to share your musical influences with your collaborators. I almost never do. For The Nines, I gave my editor the tracks, but only one (“You Keep Me Hangin’ On”) made it into the movie.

The truth is, by the time you’re actually making the movie, you’re often thoroughly sick of these tracks. They’ve served you well, but you don’t want to hear them again.

1. Mix tapes were plastic cassettes with two geared spools of magnetic film inside. Analog music was recorded onto each side of the tape, generally at 1:1 speed. Because this meant a lengthy process, the mix tape maker could spend time decorating the paper liner used to protect the tape, perhaps writing the song titles.
2. Did you know the original short film for Frankenweenie is on iTunes? And did you know Sofia Coppola is in it?

Hi gang,

Got tied up yesterday with work and didn't have time to post the Jonny Quest documentary chapter so today you get a double feature!

Enjoy.

Thank you for writing one of my favorite movies. I saw Go at the theater when it was released and it has since been one of my favorite movies. One my favorite characters in one of my favorite movies is Todd Gaines.

There is one part that has always left me wondering. Was Todd really going to kill Ronna?

On one hand, Todd simply didn’t seem like a murderer. A sleazy drug dealer? Yes. Murderer? No.

On the other, in a deleted scene, he did pull a gun on Claire and left Ronna for dead after Adam and Zach hit her with the car.

Todd also didn’t come across as stupid, reckless or naive. It seems if he wanted to kill someone, he would have chosen a better place than a very public party where he likely would have been recognized by his clientele.

This has always been a dilemma to me. I was hoping you could shed some light on it for me.

– Thomas Lehman

Todd Gaines never shot anyone, and had no intention of killing Ronna. He wanted to scare her.

Look at events from his perspective: He’d been played for a fool by a cocky teenage girl. Beyond the sting to his ego, she’d cost him money. If word got around out how she’d outsmarted him, other customers might lose their healthy fear of him. He knew where Ronna would be, so he decided to go find her.

When their conversation was interrupted by a poorly-driven Miata, Gaines bolted. I’d consider that fight-or-flight, a self-preservation instinct. When they find a girl’s body, you don’t want to be the guy with a gun.

In conversations with Tim Olyphant before we shot the movie, we discussed that Gaines probably wasn’t a full-time drug dealer. Maybe he went to art school, or worked as a club promoter. For set decoration, we gave him an art table and a bunch of illustrations.

If you met Gaines on a rainy morning — like Claire later does — you might think he’s a pretty nice guy.

WGAw members should now have received ballots for the Board election. It’s an important vote, because this Board will be setting the agenda for the next round of negotiations.

Reading through the seventeen candidate statements, I was happy to see such quality crop of candidates, including many writers I know and admire. In making my choices, I’ll be looking for a balance of TV and feature writers at various levels of experience. A showrunner has a different perspective than a spec writer. Both are important.

Craig Mazin has good suggestions, including a reminder on why you may want to vote a short list:

“Hey, we’re supposed to vote for eight.” No…you can vote for up to eight. You don’t have to vote for eight. Indeed, if you really want these five to be elected, just vote for these five.

Voting for eight makes it less likely your top choices will make the cut.

I get nervous voting for slates. With the financial and creative issues facing the Guild, I’d rather see healthy debate than easy consensus.

In the non-candidate statements at the back of the book, you’ll see I endorsed two candidates: Mark Gunn and Aaron Mendelsohn. Both are excellent. Over the past few years, I’ve come to rely on each of them for honesty and pragmatism about WGA matters. I hope to see them returning to the board for another term.

Ballots are due September 16th.

Saturday, September 25th Republic Pictures will be 75 yrs. old and the Neighborhood Council of Studio City among others is throwing a party at CBS Radford Studios (formerly Republic Studios backlot).

Details are here at the website.

Admission is free.

Continuing our screening of this fantastic look behind-the-scenes at one of my favorite television programs of all time.  In this episode we learn the foundations of the Hanna Barbera cartoon empire that paved the way for the creation of JONNY QUEST.




Stay tuned.

There are a lot of amazing things on the internet wedged between the layers of ... well, you know Sturgeon's law and all that.

I happened upon this home made documentary on the origins of one of my all-time favorite television shows  JONNY QUEST.  Made with a degree of scholarship and affection for the series, the mediamaker used readily available Mac tools and a lot of effort to create something you should see.   In fact, I'm pleased he used those simple tools because as he states in a later chapter - the restrictions often led to unique solutions.




The entire film is broken down into 27 chapters - each one a glimpse into the creative process and history of television cartoons as we know them today.  I'm going to post them a chapter at a time - one a day - for the month.  Please feel free to share these videos and come back every day around this time to get the  next chapter.

LA Times Company Town is reporting that Blockbuster is preparing for a mid-September bankruptcy. 


"Executives from Blockbuster and its senior debt holders last week held meetings with the six major movie studios to discuss their intention to enter a “pre-planned” bankruptcy in mid-September, said several people familiar with the situation who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of ongoing talks.Blockbuster is hoping to use its time in Chapter 11 to restructure a crippling debt load of nearly $1 billion and escape leases on 500 or more of it 3,425 stores in the U.S. Maintaining the support of Hollywood's film studios during the process will be critical so that Blockbuster can continue to rely upon an uninterrupted supply of new DVDs.Blockbuster has lost a total of $1.1 billion since the beginning of 2008 and has been severely hamstrung in efforts to grow its business due to interest payments on $920 million in debt. Earlier this month the company announced that most of its debt holders had agreed to a forbearance on interest payments until Sept. 30, during which time it would attempt a recapitalization."
Not exactly sure what to say about this except that it's an end to an era.

(You may prefer to watch it full-screen, or HD on Vimeo.)

I’ve been promising readers that I’d do more of these screenwriting scriptcasts. And I will. Today’s is nominally about dialogue, but I ended up switching a lot of stuff around in the scene in order to accommodate new — and reduced — dialogue.

Since this scene is much longer than most of these scriptcasts, I’m including before and after versions after the jump.

INT. WINNEBAGO – NIGHT

A young woman sits on a couch in an old, run down Winnebago. She is only 25, but she seems overly worn and agitated. She clutches her leather purse to her chest and smokes a cigarette. There is a tatoo of a rose on her ring finger.

This is MARLA.

There are a couple of space heaters humming in the corners, providing a faint electric heat.

WALTER comes in from the back bedroom of the Winnebago and sits across from Marla. He wears a black knit beanie and a New England Patriots hooded sweatshirt.

MARLA

It’s fucking freezing in here. Those heaters don’t do shit , you know.

WALTER

You’ll get used to it. I’ve got extension cords running all the way to my Mom’s house. I’ve got like 30 of them strung together. That’s like a quarter mile or something.

Walter opens a yellow lunch box and takes out a small electric scale and envelopes of tin foil.

WALTER

Did I mention today’s special? I’m giving away a free date with yours truly when you buy 2 grams.

Marla looks out the window across the frozen plain.

MARLA

In that case, I’ll just take one, then.

WALTER

Very funny. I’d act offended, but I’m a nice guy. You know that.

Walter takes a couple bags of yellow COCAINE.

WALTER

I’m giving you a couple free Oxys for the come down. I’ve been told this is an especially speedy batch.

Walter looks up at Marla who seems distracted by something.

WALTER

Come on, Marla. When are you going to let me take you dancing? We could drive down to that new club in Bangor.

MARLA

I would never be seen with you in public. It’s embarrassing enough I had to work with you.

WALTER

Well, you don’t no more. You really pissed off the other waitresses, by the way. I think Maggie wants to fight you.

MARLA

Please. Maggie is a cunt.

After a beat.

MARLA

You done over there? I can see my breath in this place.

WALTER

What? So you’re just using me then? Is that it? I thought you liked me.

Marla takes the baggies and stuffs them into her purse. She gets up and walks out the front door of the Winnebago.

Walter shakes his head, smiles and pops a cigarette into the corner of his mouth. The heaters buzz.

Here’s the revised version:

EXT. DIRT ROAD IN THE WOODS – NIGHT

A heavyset man in a New England Patriots sweatshirt works his way down a chain of extension cords, unplugging them and plugging them back in. He’s methodical and unhurried, despite the cold.

This is WALTER. He’s 40, with a Grizzly Adams beard.

The cords connect a broken-down Winnebago to a house a hundred yards away. At least, they’re supposed to.

INT. WINNEBAGO – NIGHT

With a BUZZ, an electric space heater begins to glow, its power restored. Battery lights FLICKER ON.

Seated on a worn-out couch, a young woman pulls her last cigarette from the pack. She YELLS OUT to Walter:

MARLA

That’s it.

WALTER (O.S.)

I get it?

MARLA

(annoyed)

Yes!

This is MARLA. She’s a hard-lived 25.

She tries to light her cigarette, flicking her lighter again and again. It’s dead.

The trailer rocks as Walter climbs in. Spots the cigarette.

WALTER

Wish you wouldn’t smoke.

She puts the cigarette back in the pack, not even looking at him.

WALTER

Just, I got asthma.

TIME CUT TO:

A YELLOW TACKLE BOX

Walter opens it, sorting through the contents.

WALTER

I’m giving you a couple free Oxys for the come down. I’ve been told this is an especially speedy batch.

Marla gets her money ready.

WALTER

Did I mention today’s special? Buy two, you get a free date with yours truly.

MARLA

In that case, I’ll just take one.

WALTER

Come on, Marla. When are you going to let me take you dancing? We could drive down to that new club in Bangor.

MARLA

I don’t really dance.

WALTER

Movie, then.

She doesn’t answer. Walter takes that as a no. He hands her two little baggies .

WALTER

I’m not a bad guy, Marla.

MARLA

Didn’t say you were.

She hands him the money and heads out.

INT. MARLA’S CAR / EXT. WOODS – NIGHT

Marla starts the engine. To her right, she sees WALTER’S MOM (70) watching out the kitchen window, concerned.

Marla backs down the driveway.

From the director of NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD, Mark Hartley,  comes this ode to the frenetic filmmaking in the Philippines!

Uncut.
Unleashed.
UNBELIEVABLE!

"Machete Maidens Unleashed is a profile of exploitation film set in the steamy jungles of the Philippines, where enterprising filmmakers, specializing in garbage, could go and make the most of their movie dollar in a setting where you didn’t have to deal with unions and regulations. The result was a boom of coked-out action and horror movies that tossed aside all notions of human decency and catered to low-lifes everywhere."

Here is where the NSFW trailer resides.

Enjoy (you lowlifes)

I’m going to simplify what I consider to be the best investment advice I have ever been given and share it with you.  Here you go:

1. If you have any credit card or other type of consumer debt on which you pay 5pct or more interest, pay it off.  Compound interest is your enemy.  The chances of you earning more on your money than you are paying in consumer interest rates are slim. Pay it off.

2.  Cash is King. Now that Madoff is in jail, no investment can offer returns with zero risk. If you don’t fully understand the risks of an investment you are contemplating, it’s ok to do nothing. In times of massive uncertainty like we are facing today, doing nothing is a valid and IMHO preferable investment strategy. Just put your money in the bank.

3. Cash Creates Transactional Returns.   What does this mean ? It means that you should analyze what you spend money on over the course of a year. You will get a better return on your money by being a smart shopper and taking advantage of  cash, quantity or other types of discounts than you will in the stock market.  Saving 15pct on the $1k dollars worth of items you know you will absolutely spend money on is a better return on your money than making 15pct in a year on a $1k investment  because you don’t pay taxes on it.

If you have under 100k dollars in liquid assets,  your net worth will be higher in one year if you follow this advice  than if you follow ANY other investment advice any broker or banker will give you this year.

In the last few weeks two companies have released services that enable you to take tweets and turn them into a newspaper or magazine format: Paper.li and Flipboard.

Alltop is a great source of information for both Paper.li and Flipboard newspapers. If you’d like to learn how to do this for Paper.li, click here, and for Flipboard, click here.

Tim Shrumm sent me a link from Adam Levermore on How to Design a Retro Sci Fi Poster.

This is excellent, step-by-step instruction on creating your own pulpy comic and mag covers.

Get out there and fire up your Photoshop!