Dream, dream, dream...

I don't know when my zombie fascination started. Probably with George Romero's 1978 masterpiece, Dawn of the Dead. The nightmares didn't start until much later, though.

The first one I remember distinctly was incorporated into my screenplay Army of the Dead, though I had the dream at least 10 years before I even started writing screenplays. Of course, the screenplay I am working on now was almost entirely inspired by a zombie nightmare. 

And last night, after watching the season finale of "The Walking Dead," I had a doozy, in which Uncle P's own mother was a cheek-less zombie, though she wasn't fully aware that she was a zombie. She kept asking, "I'm supposed to eat people? No, that can't be right." The dream eventually got silly, involving a castle about to be flooded to destruction, Dear D and a Katy Perry zombie that just couldn't be put down, even after her head had been bashed to bits with a chrome tire-iron...

Of course, much of that can be directly related to "TS-19," but most of it was just completely off the wall, as most of my dreams (nightmares or not) are. Occasionally, a dream or nightmare is so vivid it ends up being a full screenplay, as with Comatose Joe and my current project, though usually only certain elements make their way into my writing, as in Chimera and The Cow Says: Moo! More often than not, my dreams are so bizarre, they defy interpretation. Case in point - I recently dreamt that I was part of a theatrical production which was reproduced by another race of beings in a dimension which vibrated on a different frequency than ours. And that's all I can tell you about it without you thinking I'm completely insane (which no doubt, many of you already think, anyway). 

I keep a dream journal on my nightstand, and write down the significant details of dreams I think my have potential commercial value, but save the weirdest ones to share with friends and family (none of whom are surprised those dreams' weirdness). I suggest that you do as well. You have no idea when your subconscious might come up with a brilliant idea or two...

Pleasant dreams...

More, anon.
Prospero

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The Gayest Things You'll See This Week

Uncle P is usually disdainful when it comes to so-called "reality TV," but my one guilty pleasure is NBC's "America's Got Talent." Anyone, of any age and with any talent can audition. Over the past 5 seasons it's been on, we've seen some pretty outrageous performances from some really outrageous performers.

Of course, none of them have been as nearly outrageous as the enormously talented Prince Poppycock (nee John Quale), who performs in over-the-top costumes and makeup. As regular readers know, Poppycock has been my favorite from his very first audition, when he performed an excerpt of "Largo al factotum" from The Barber of Seville. The openly gay performer is part opera singer, part actor and part performance artist. This week, he once again wowed the audience and the judges with his over-the-top performance:

Honestly, who else can go from Rossini to Verdi to Mercury to Cohan to Sousa, so outrageously and so entertainingly? Because I'm in rehearsal for Top Girls, I don't get to see AGT in real time and must rely on my DVR to watch it. But each time he performs, Poppycock reminds me of why I got into show business in the first place - to entertain. If he doesn't win, I'll be sorely disappointed. But I'll be glad to know that he certainly has a huge a career ahead of him. I can't wait to see the results from this week's voting - and if you already know, please don't spoil it for me. And if he does make it into the Top 4 (of which I have no doubt), take a few minutes and vote for him next week. Almost nothing would make me happier than to see him win. Seriously, wouldn't it be great to have an openly gay AGT winner?

From reality to fiction:

I recently discovered the upcoming TLA movie, Is It Just Me? A sort of gay version of Cyrano, the movie is about an average-looking guy who meets the man of his dreams online, using his hunky roommate's photo on his profile. Starring Nicholas Downs, cutie-pie David Loren and hunky Adam Huss, Is It Just Me? explores the differences between the guys who are looking to just hook up and those of us who are looking for "True Love,' whatever that means:

Maybe my idea for a gay adaptation of Aida isn't so crazy, after all. Hell, I might even convince Poppycock to play the title role...

Oh, crap! Okay, all you potential gay screenwriting rivals out there -- gay Aida was my idea first. No stealing, jerks! Love you! Mwah!

More, anon.

Prospero

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Sharktopus? Really?

The image to your right is NOT from the upcoming SyFy movie Sharktopus. It is, however, the most pertinant image I could find to represent one of the most ridiculously conceived movies of all time. Not that I'm bitter, mind you.

Well - that's not exactly true. I am just a little bit bitter. Why? Because my own screenplay, Army of the Dead was in the running for Sharktopus' spot on SyFy's schedule. If you haven't read it (and you can do so, here), my anti-war, political satire, zombie rom-com was one of three scripts pitched by Roger Corman's New Horizons Pictures for production by the basic cable network. Army... has been on Scriptbuddy's Top 5 list for more than a year and was a Top 1000 contender for Project Greenlight's final season.

Yes, I am tooting my own horn here, but I have to ask... Would you rather see an intelligent and politically relevant horror movie, or what is assuredly a ridiculous monster movie about a genetically impossible creature? The very enthusiastic rep from New Horizons assured me when he called, that AOD was "really good" and that he was going to push hardest for it in his pitch to SyFy. So what happened? I can only imagine the Suits at SyFy thought it was probably too smart and original, and went with the script that most embodied their usual crappy "Original" movies.

Have you ever seen a SyFy "Original?" They are, without exception, terrible. So maybe this is a blessing in disguise. And I don't mean to knock or demean the writer(s) of Sharktopus. I am sure he, she or they put as much work into that script as I did with mine. I just can't help but feel that Sharktopus is a sillier concept.

Call me "bitter." Call me a "sore loser." Call me a "narcissistic a-hole." Call me anything but "unoriginal. " And maybe I actually am a bad screenwriter. Maybe I think too highly of my own work. Still... of the hundreds of scripts listed on Scriptbuddy, one of mine is still rated by the site's users in the Top 5. Can the same be said of Sharktopus? I think not.

Oh, well. One company called and expressed an interest in producing it. Another one will. Things move slowly in Hollywood. My time will come.

And just so you know, here's a clip from one of SyFy's Originals:



Maybe I should be glad they didn't produce my piece, after all...


More narcissism, anon.
Prospero

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