END OF YEAR UPDATE...

Well, we’re closing in on the end of another year. For me, 2009 was a year filled with some ups and some downs. Thankfully, mostly ups. For inquiring minds with a need to know, here’s an update on what I’ve been up to in the last few months:

Item #1: I’ve been working on a reality show. It’s an exciting idea. An idea that’s hard-hitting, gritty, and will—hopefully—benefit many in communities all over the country. The first episode has been shot (in the process of editing), the trailer cut, and sponsors are signing on.

Item #2: Regarding my web series My Roommate Sam…I’m really stumped, folks. The fella who ran the show on this one—he was the producer and the director—has basically disappeared off the face of the map. After months of telling cast and crew, “I’ve been editing. It looks really good. It’ll definitely go up soon,” none of us have heard a word from the guy. He doesn’t return calls or e-mail. It’s a head-scratcher, it really is. We put a lot of faith in this guy and he’s let us down. Well, he put up the money for the project, so I guess he can do what he wants, but I feel bad for those of us who put so much time and talent into the project. I think our actors and crew did a really solid job and they deserve to have their work seen. Who knows, perhaps one day soon Sam will hit the web. As with everything else in this business, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Item #3: I recently met with a producer who’s hot for one of my thriller scripts. He’s confident it’s a project he can get off the ground (not that this means a whole lot, but hey, it’s a start). He knows what it is I expect as far as option money and purchase price, credit and “back end” participation (cough cough), and he feels we can definitely make a deal. When he returns from Europe in a few days, we’ll proceed forward with our negotiations.

Item #4: A rather well-known production company (one that makes smaller genre movies) loves this action-adventure piece I wrote. It’s one of nine scripts they’re considering producing for 2010. Of the nine, they’ll choose six. This means I have a 66% chance of making a sale. Certainly not the worst percentage in the word. I should know something by the end of the year.

Item# 5: I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a book. Well, technically, I’ve already written a book (Q & A: The Working Screenwriter), but that was a book consisting of interviews with 16 working screenwriters. No, now I’m thinking of something in the form of a novel. I’ve been cranking out pages in recent weeks and really enjoying the process. Not quite sure why I’ve suddenly developed a tastes for this type of writing, but I have. Odd. Anyway, I’ll have to see where it all goes.

Item #6: I’m currently in the midst of a second draft of that script I was hired to rewrite a few months ago. The producer and I have butted heads on a few key elements of the script, but I think we’ve worked things out sufficiently. (He quite often asks me to make changes that simply won’t work. It’s up to me to justify my reasons why. I’m usually successful with these justifications. Not always, but usually.) I anticipate completing this second draft around the beginning of the New Year.

And that’s about it. For now. I plan on coasting through the rest of this year and tackling 2010 with my usual—and very necessary—passion and enthusiasm. Hope you’ll do the same.

Wishing health, happiness, and great success to you all in 2010!

JV