A Return to Screenwriting

      I started working on my first original screenplay in four years. I am going to try to get this ready for a Fall shoot. It is a very small movie, limited budget, modest scope but ambitious in metaphor and idea. I'm not certain why I don't enjoy screenwriting as much as I should since the process comes second nature to me, but I have never really embraced it. Oddly enough, I possess the pedigree to label myself as a professional film critic; I write poetry and movie outlines on a daily basis, but I do not consider myself a writer. I suspect film editing is my writing and this is why screenwriting has taken a backseat for so many years. Anyway, I'll update the new projects' progress here. Original work can take upwards of a year, but I don't have that kind of time - I'm looking at completing a first draft within 4 weeks. The goal is a completed third or fourth final draft by the end of July. This is a very time-sensitive and time-specific project and my window started collapsing weeks ago. Additionally, I have two films nearing the end of a lengthy, post-pro process to consider and to complicate matters, I am also involved in 9 short and feature film projects, and from my chair, it looks like all of them should be in some stage of pre, post, or principal by June. Could be a busy, busy Summer. Returning to the Director's chair this year was inevitable, but I will admit, working on a new script is a surprise.