Wild Things

I'm two for two in the backpats department: the rewrite teacher loved what I've been doing in my rewrite script--he said he was upset when he hit page 55 because I'd only given him 58 pages. He agreed with the problems that I had already pointed out in my note to him, and I should just keep writing.

He then proceeded to give everyone else fairly critical feedback. Yes, it makes me feel self-conscious to slide by, while everyone else hears that they have things they have to change.

The amazing thing I discovered in rewrite class was that everyone else is working with a producer, everyone has someone waiting for their next draft.

Aaron has produced a page one rewrite of his script for his producer/director, and "they're ready to start casting."

I leaned over to Carolann and said, "I don't want to hear anymore about how fast I write."

She pointed at Aaron and said, "Number one fastest." Then she pointed at me and said, "Number two."

Carolann is so meticulous is how she writes that it takes her days to produce 10 pages. If I know where I'm going, I can crank out 10 pages in a couple of hours. I said to her that I think our methods would usually lead us to finish at about the same time. I write 10 pages, decide they're not working, toss them, write another 10 pages--this may take me as long as it takes her to do her 10 pages. Or maybe not.

The key to writing, I've decided, is simply to know where you're going. If I have something planned out, I can write forever; if I haven't the slightest clue as to what happens next (or even what's supposed to happen at some point down the line), I can't produce anything. So: outline, outline, outline. You'll thank yourself for it.

Rewrite class let out at noon; the Friday speaker series wasn't until 3. There was no use going anywhere, so I settled in at the Student Center, worked on the one scene I have to work on for my thesis class, and wrote in my journal.

The guest speaker was Laura Ziskin, the head of Fox 2000. She talked about her career as a producer, her career as a studio chief, and what she went through to get As Good As It Gets made. (It was taken away from her when she left Sony to go to Fox.) She said something that resonated with me: she decided to take a studio job and give up being an on-the-set producer in order to spend more time with her daughter. One thing she decided early on in her daughter's life was that she wasn't going to be the perfect mother and she wasn't going to be the most successful producer--and she could live with both of those. Which seems like a good way of looking at it. 

When I got home, Darin, Fernando, and I headed out the door to see Wild Things. First we stopped at In N Out, and Darin complained when I munched on two of his fries. (My excuse: "They're warm." Those blasted diet shakes are so cold--I make them with ice--that I feel like I'm freezing all the time, and I'm cold all the time now anyhow because of the weight I've lost.) Darin just wants me to end this damn diet and he thinks nibbling with prolong it. He's probably right.

The movie: okay. Anything you've read about it gives away half the plot twists, and the trailer gives away another third. I meant to ask the guys how they felt about seeing buxom chicks in tight, wet clothing constantly, but for some reason the question slipped my mind. It's a silly movie in which you keep asking yourself, Who's doing what to whom now?

But at least there were plot turns, which is more than you can say for most movies these days.

I didn't wholly stick to the diet today, because of the long day at USC. I bought a Balance Bar, which is one of these meal replacement things that has 200 calories in it. I had half during the Laura Ziskin presentation (so that I didn't go into a low blood sugar feeding frenzy), and the other half about 90 minutes later when I was in the car heading home.

Then I had those 2 fries.

But I feel more confident that I can stick to it for the next 3 weeks or however long I've got.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics