What Mitch Allen said is helpful, but Ron old buddy...
Many things come to mind on seeing your words, I hope others reading this
short response will forgive my digression.
I remember complaining to everybody who would listen back in 1993 when the
movie Jurassic Park came out, that Hollywood had spent a bundle on graphics
and then coupled it with a less remarkable plot and dialogue. When my
complaints reached the ears of my boss (a biologist by training), he
rejoined, "It's not a people movie Jack, it's a dinosaur movie!" I
realized instantly that he was right and I have remained mute in my
appraisal of it ever since.
Now back on point,
In my capacity as a Caltrans archaeologist in Los Angeles about 1991, I got
a call from a researcher at a Hollywood movie company.
She had questions about shipwrecks. She wanted to buy my lunch and pick my
brain. Armed with xeroxed articles and the phone numbers of other
shipwreck specialists as back up, I accepted her invitation and we met.
Her boss was writing a treasure-hunter movie script and gave her a list of
points on which he wanted her to obtain information. But why treasure
hunting I pleaded? A good script could also be created about
archaeologists racing treasure hunters to discover these sites, just as in
real life. I spun out a few examples.
She finally confided to me her real mission. He was writing a script
alright, but he really didn't expect it to ever be made into a movie. He
only wanted it to pass muster with his bosses, so that he could spend a
couple of months in the Mediterranean under pretenses of doing more
research on it.
There are many morals to this story. Every script probably has a story
behind it , and a few of them get made into movies. I don't think people
outside the movie industry get very far through the front door, unless
Hollywood buys their published book and makes it into a movie. I've
generally been told that unsolicited scripts get returned unopened. Too
much liability in case the recipient later makes a similar movie.
A book deal Ron. Get busy. Mitch Allen at Left Coast Press will promise
to look at it.
Ron May
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> To
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HISTORICAL cc
ARCHAEOLOGY
<[log in to unmask] Subject
> Re: Another Hollywood misstep?
08/17/2007 01:22
PM
Please respond to
HISTORICAL
ARCHAEOLOGY
<[log in to unmask]
>
You guys are confusing "fantasy" with reality. Movie people create fantasy
so ticket-buyers like me can relax from work, family crises, and paying
taxes.
If you really want to impact Hollywood, the studios are promoting Dramatica
Pro, "The Ultimate Creative Writing Partner" Version 4 for script writing.
They also produce Word Menu, Stephen Glazier's dictionary, thesaurus and
almanac
to "get all the facts correct." I think my old pal Jack Hunter ought to
purchase a copy of this software and write a script around one of his many
underwater adventures!
In the past, we have debated how much fantasy should be allowed in fiction
stories. I say fantasy is wide open, others blast movies like "National
Treasure" and the "Davinci Code" as outrageous and phoney attacks on
reality. Whose
reality, I like to counter back? Well, here you are boys and girls, an
opportunity to change the Hollywood script writing industry and become rich
and
famous yourselves!
The door is open, now someone has to pass through to the other side.
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
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