An odd day today. Got some work done, got my writing done, had my hairs cut and did a decent amount of apartment building work. Yeah, that’s what it was; the apartment work really kind of took the wind out of my sails. And I don’t mean because it was especially difficult…no, I just mean it took enough time that it really killed the entire second half of my day. Now, mind you, this was planned. I knew it was going to take that long. Didn’t stop it from happening, though 😛
So, I was wiped after a walk with the pups. I briefly considered taking a nap, but instead, I ate dinner and vegged out on the couch. It meant I didn’t get a second “hour” of the script writing in…but I clearly needed it. I feel like I could take all day tomorrow to just be a lazy fuck…but we’ll see. I want to get work done, I think, so I might do that too. We. Shall. See.
Writing went well today, I think. I’m done with Act Four. It’s still a page over…but I think I want the Ho to read it through and suggest cuts. I want to read it through and see what can be cut. Less with the Doctor, perhaps? I’m not sure. I’ll do that after tackling Act Five, I think. I hope it’s okay that my script is divided into five acts instead of four. It just fit the narrative of the story, to be honest, and that’s why I did it that way. I know that many networks require five acts and a teaser, so it’s not like I’m just making it up…but it also might be uncommon for a spec. Whatever. It is what it is.
You guys…I’m like, a week away from doing the big sit-down with my novel and reading for rewrites. LESS than a week if I keep plugging away on the script. I’m very excited.
Tonight, briefly, in the world outside of all-Ira-all-the-time…all the talk around the “town” is how the studios are scrambling to make their own R-rated superhero movies to duplicate the success of Deadpool…and it makes me want to punch one of these execs in the face. See…the point that everyone seems to missing is plain and clear to me: Deadpool made a shitload of money BECAUSE IT WAS GOOD. It’s not because of the violence, or the R-rating, or any of that shit…people loved it because it was GOOD. It was funny, exciting, irreverent, and it offered us a fresh honest take on the superhero movie. DUPLICATING that in the sense of focusing on the rating is doomed to fail. There are so many examples of movies that focus on other selling points that are successful…it’s so, so little to do with the R-rating itself and so, so much to do with HOW you use that R-rating. Our recent history is *littered* with movies that aren’t R-rated that were hugely successful. Our recent history is littered with a fuck-pile of films that were incredibly violent, and they did shit for business. It’s not WHAT you make…it’s HOW it’s made. Or, more succinctly, it’s how it makes us FEEL.
So, studios, listen to this n0-name blogger in his own little dusty corner of the Internet: focus on making good films, stop focusing on all the other bullshit that doesn’t fucking matter. Anyone and everyone can clearly make a superhero movie…but people will only line up for the ones that are actually great stories with characters we fall in love with. Period. I know that’s hard to put into a box, and even the most talented people in the world are only going to succeed half of the time…but that’s the nature of creativity, man. The only thing the audience REALLY cares about, is “was it good?”
Deadpool was effing great. That’s why people went to go see it.