Comic Book Kid screenplay update

[Jason]

I thought I would be like Shane (ChristChild) and keep a running update on my screenplay, Comic Book Kid. The story ... A disabled high schooler imagines he's a comic book superhero to overcome his supposed inadequacies.

Up until now, I had written 3,837 words. I hadn't written any more in a long time. But after finding out that an old high school classmate is a successful movie agent, I decided it was time to get cranking on this screenplay.

Tonight, I wrote 325 words bringing the total to 4,162 words. That may not seem like much but it was basically two full pages. A typical screenplay has 90-110 pages.

[TN3Dmom]

Good luck Jason. That would be so cool to see your work on the big screen!

[YankeeGomer]

Sounds awesome Jason, keep up the good work :)

I'm actually working on my dream of writing a book as well, so I know it's sometimes overwhelming. I'm still in the outlining phase!

[BJ]

GO JASON! Do you have super powers? And what are they? Do you have an illustrator ;) ?

[Light Hearted]

GO JASON! Do you have super powers? And what are they? Do you have an illustrator ;) ?
Sure he does! He has the ability to clear the room with a single. :eek:

Seriously though I'm anxious to read what you've written thus far J-Ace.

[ExtravagantlyLoved]

This makes me excited for you, Jason. Keep it up. :cool:

[Jason]

Good luck Jason. That would be so cool to see your work on the big screen!

Thank you and yes it would!


Sounds awesome Jason, keep up the good work :)

I'm actually working on my dream of writing a book as well, so I know it's sometimes overwhelming. I'm still in the outlining phase!

Thanks! And I wish you well on your book.


GO JASON! Do you have super powers? And what are they? Do you have an illustrator ;) ?

Thanks. Hmm, superpowers? I can delete a thread in a single stroke. ;) Nope, I don't have an illustrator yet. :) Ever tried a comic book type drawing?


Sure he does! He has the ability to clear the room with a single. :eek:

Seriously though I'm anxious to read what you've written thus far J-Ace.

Funny, Tam. :P And I'm eager to write more.


This makes me excited for you, Jason. Keep it up. :cool:

Thanks, Emily! I'll try to keep it up.

[woman4life]

I like the concept. :) Looking forward to seeing it. :)

[ChristChild]

Hey Jason,

I remember reading what you had of this story a while back. I'm glad to see you are moving forward with the screenplay. :)

I actually saw my friend today who writes screenplays, but I forgot to ask him about how many pages equals how many minutes in screen time. :( Sorry, just assume you're right for now.

I will be interested to follow your progress here. :cool:

Shane

[lilmikey]

I thought I would be like Shane (ChristChild) and keep a running update on my screenplay, Comic Book Kid. The story ... A disabled high schooler imagines he's a comic book superhero to overcome his supposed inadequacies.

Up until now, I had written 3,837 words. I hadn't written any more in a long time. But after finding out that an old high school classmate is a successful movie agent, I decided it was time to get cranking on this screenplay.

Tonight, I wrote 325 words bringing the total to 4,162 words. That may not seem like much but it was basically two full pages. A typical screenplay has 90-110 pages.

how can I read it???

[Jason]

how can I read it???

PM me your e-mail address.

[lilmikey]

PM me your e-mail address.

I just got it dude. Total awesomeness:D :D :D :D :D Quite engaging, After you are done the screenplay you should put it in novel form.

[Jason]

I just got it dude. Total awesomeness:D :D :D :D :D Quite engaging, After you are done the screenplay you should put it in novel form.

Thanks, Mike! A novel is too long-form for me though. I excel in succinct writing. What I'd love is for this to hit the big screen and then for an actual comic book to be produced from it. So instead of the current trend of movies based on comic books, it would be a comic book based on a movie.

[Jason]

I like the concept. :) Looking forward to seeing it. :)

Thanks, Melanie. Me too. ;)

Hey Jason,

I remember reading what you had of this story a while back. I'm glad to see you are moving forward with the screenplay. :)

I actually saw my friend today who writes screenplays, but I forgot to ask him about how many pages equals how many minutes in screen time. :( Sorry, just assume you're right for now.

I will be interested to follow your progress here. :cool:

Shane

Thanks, Shane. I just googled the page/minute ratio and came across the answer on John August's web site, John wrote the screenplays for Big Fish and the more recent Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Here's what he says:

Your instinct is right: the one-page-per-minute rule of thumb doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny. True, most screenplays are about 120 pages, and true, most movies are around two hours. But the conversion rate between paper and celluloid is rarely one-to-one .

That’s why when a movie is in pre-production, one of the script supervisor’s first jobs is to time the script. She or he reads through the screenplay with a stopwatch, estimating how long each scene will play, then adds up the total running time. Generally, they go through the whole script twice, averaging the times.

How accurate is the script timing? Well, that depends on how well the script supervisor has factored in the director’s style. Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain featured long, contemplative shots of the heroes herding sheep, which another director might have dropped altogether. But generally, the script timing is in the right ballpark.

Although a script supervisor has more experience, you can time a script yourself. My advice would be to read the dialogue aloud, while trying to pad for non-spoken moments. It’s easier with some scripts than others.

As far as my own films:

Go was 126 pages, but came out at 103 minutes — without any major scenes left out. It wasn’t play-like, but the pacing was quick.

Big Fish was 124 pages, and 125 minutes long. To my recollection, only one significant scene was omitted, so the page-per-minute rule came close.

Both Charlie’s Angels movies went through so many drafts during production that an accurate page-count is impossible. But the first drafts were around 120 pages. The original film was 98 minutes; the sequel was 106. The pacing was obviously quick.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: 128 pages, 115 minutes.

Corpse Bride: 73 pages, 76 minutes.

http://johnaugust.com/archives/2006/how-accurate-is-the-page-per-minute-rule

[Jason]

I wrote 554 words today, so I'm up to 4,716 words.

[ChristChild]

Jason, has this stalled?

It's sad to say, but my writing dropped off when interest dropped off. I have been reading more lately.

Shane

[Jason]

Jason, has this stalled?

It's sad to say, but my writing dropped off when interest dropped off. I have been reading more lately.

Shane

It did as I got busy, but I have the document open right now.

[Jason]

1,229 words tonight. So I'm up to 5,945 words.

[lilmikey]

1,229 words tonight. So I'm up to 5,945 words.

can you send it to me I am so waiting for the rest

[Jason]

can you send it to me I am so waiting for the rest

I just sent you the updated script.

[Jason]

A friend of mine from high school is a video and film editor in Hollywood and after our high school reunion a month ago he found out about my screenplay and said he'd love to read it. I sent him my 40 pages right away. He didn't read them until Thanksgiving night but he e-mailed me that night and said my screenplay has great potential. He also said he's in town until Saturday early afternoon and would love to chat with me about my screenplay. So, he's coming over at 10 am Arizona time.

I think my screenplay is good, but it's nice to hear it from someone actually in the business. So, hopefully, I'm one step closer to the silver screen.

[ChristChild]

I hope your friend can help you with connections, Jason. It would be nice if you could get it to whatever company produced the Left Behind movies, or the new Fireproof movie, or similar.

Shane

[Jason]

My friend Brett just left. We had a great talk. He said these were my strengths:

Dialog
Characters
Idea

He didn't really mention weaknesses, but he wants me to focus on the structure. Movies usually have three acts just like a play. He suggested I read a lot of Shakespeare because the English playwright is the master of the three act structure. My friend suggested I outline the story and then write a 3-8 page treatment. A treatment is a summary of the story including all the plot's twists and turns. This will be difficult because I don't know all the story yet. I know the first third of the plot, the end, and some points along the way. So this will force me to create the story. The good thing is that once I have the plot points then the rest is dealing in the area of my strengths.

Brett says he knows a lot of directors so once I get the treatment written and registered with the WGA (Writers Guild of America) he can start getting my screenplay into the right hands. My friend Shari, the movie agent, can also do this. So I have the connections. I just need to craft a story that is worthy of those connections.

The Left Behind, Fireproof creators are not the right people for this movie. First, my movie isn't Christian. Second, they don't have the skills or the budgets to bring my ideas to fruition. My movie is a high concept idea that is a hybrid of high school comedy/drama/romance and blockbuster superhero flick. Picture John Hughes (Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful) meets Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight).

[lilmikey]

My friend Brett just left. We had a great talk. He said these were my strengths:

Dialog
Characters
Idea

He didn't really mention weaknesses, but he wants me to focus on the structure. Movies usually have three acts just like a play. He suggested I read a lot of Shakespeare because the English playwright is the master of the three act structure. My friend suggested I outline the story and then write a 3-8 page treatment. A treatment is a summary of the story including all the plot's twists and turns. This will be difficult because I don't know all the story yet. I know the first third of the plot, the end, and some points along the way. So this will force me to create the story. The good thing is that once I have the plot points then the rest is dealing in the area of my strengths.

Brett says he knows a lot of directors so once I get the treatment written and registered with the WGA (Writers Guild of America) he can start getting my screenplay into the right hands. My friend Shari, the movie agent, can also do this. So I have the connections. I just need to craft a story that is worthy of those connections.

The Left Behind, Fireproof creators are not the right people for this movie. First, my movie isn't Christian. Second, they don't have the skills or the budgets to bring my ideas to fruition. My movie is a high concept idea that is a hybrid of high school comedy/drama/romance and blockbuster superhero flick. Picture John Hughes (Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful) meets Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight).

I am excited for you

[Jason]

I am excited for you

Thanks, Mike.

[SueQ]

I still get to go to the premier, right? Got my part finished yet?;)

[ChristChild]

Unfortunately, Jason, as an unknown, it will be almost impossible for you to come out immediately with a big budget, blockbuster type of movie. My friend is going through this right now. The head of the movie company had him write a small budget screenplay of around a 4 million dollar budget. If she can film and produce that, and it is somewhat successful, then she feels confident she can draw the 30 to 80 million she needs to do his screenplay that needs the big budget.

You will find the people in Hollywood may want you to make your movie more vulgar and racy, especially as it is not a Christian movie, as you say. My friend recently went to a class on screenwriting held by a big Hollywood producer, and he told me some of the details of their mindset--not pretty. Just a heads-up, as you get deeper into this.

You also need to copyright your screenplay, though this can be done online. I did my friend's most recent one with him not long ago. I think it was a $35.00 fee. Before anyone can buy it from you, it needs to be copyrighted.

Shane

[ChristChild]

Hey, Jason, long time no update! What's happening? :D

Shane

[Jason]

I've talked with an editor friend who really suggests I write a 3-6 page treatment now which will mean hashing out the whole story.

Next steps:
- Dig out my screenwriting books
- Learn to write good treatments
- Learn proper plot structure
- Hash out story
- Write treatment
- Copyright treatment and register it with WGA
- Show treatment to editor friend who will start shopping it if it's good enough
- All through this, I'll be finishing the actual screenplay

A friend is coming on Wednesday to dig out my screenwriting books and I just ordered a book on writing treatments.

[Light Hearted]

This is so exciting to hear. I wish you the best my friend.

[ChristChild]

Hey, Jason, where are you now with the screenplay? :)

Shane

[Pixie Wildflower]

I had missed this thread. Best of luck Jason!

[Jason]

Hey, Jason, where are you now with the screenplay? :)

Shane

I did the first thing. Dug out my screenwriting books. :)

I had missed this thread. Best of luck Jason!

Thanks.