I promised you info about our upcoming Script Project wrap party, and after a couple of weeks of conceptualizing, location scouting, guest list building and sponsorship wrangling, I’m finally ready to announce details.
And I’ll do that in a second, but first I want to tell you about an interesting development with the script at the heart of all this, “Right of Way.”
As you probably know by now, my 19 Internet collaborators and I finished our draft of the screenplay earlier this month when I wrote a climactic confrontation and its aftermath set on Mt. Lee, up by the Hollywood sign. This is a great, iconic locale for a screenplay steeped in L.A. lore, and as far as I’m aware (somebody correct me if I’m wrong), no feature has ever had a major sequence shot there.
I was planning at that point to put the script aside for a little while and move on to other things, but I got an email that might change all that. The note was from Diane Wright, a story consultant who runs a website called The Story Spot.
Her site targets not only writers, she says, but “all those who work with stories as story editors, analysts and consultants of all types.”
“I'd be happy to offer you a set of notes of your choice from my services menu... in exchange for being a part of this nutty experiment,” she wrote. “I'm all about stories being created and shared in new ways, so it's thrilling to see it in action.”
We traded a few more emails, and I learned Diane lives in Santa Monica and has been in film production for more than 10 years -- first on crew, then in development, now with Milk Boss, her company with her husband, filmmaker Jeff Renfroe.
She’s worked with DreamWorks and Lifetime Television among other companies, and has helped create and develop a bunch of different properties, including Disney’s GO.com and Fox’s “American Idol” online.
“Right of Way” could certainly use some story help. We did our best to keep it on track and largely succeeded, as evidenced by the number of readers who’ve followed our project. (That group, by the way, includes an Oscar-nominated producer, who emailed me last week expressing interest.)
Still, at times it reads like it was written by 20 strangers working without an outline over the Internet. Which, in fact, it was.
I’ve thought about rewriting the script myself, but I would prefer, in the spirit of the project, to continue it as a web-based collaboration. So I’ve accepted Diane’s offer of help, and I’m also soliciting reader input.
I’ll be writing here about her notes, and yours, and updating you all on our progress going forward.
Now, about that party: I’ve reserved the rooftop deck at Hollywood’s legendary Formosa Café from 6-9 this Thursday evening, Sept. 25, for writers and friends of our project to get together, share some appetizers, drink from the no-host bar and swap a few stories. Kevin from LA Observed thought it would also be a good time to celebrate his site’s broad success, so he’s invited friends and supporters too. The official invitation is here:
If you’ve followed our script’s progress and would like to hang with the writers, most of whom will be there, feel free to rsvp and come on out! It should be a fun night.
