Phew, another draft done.

Another draft and a loss of hair.
This has been by far the most stressful/ complicated script I've ever written. Much like the press release I wrote at Shorts International, I'm realizing more and more how to make every word count. Also how to say what I'm thinking visually. There's a whole new mindset from how I usually work when writing and I think that's why I had a mini aneurism. I feel like I've learned a lot already though. I had to re-watch films that were like my film and the two I chose both helped in different ways.

Watching Kickass was useful, because when I dove into the context, it was very similar to my script. Kickass is mostly about a boy who's passionate about being a superhero and how he reacts when it turns out superheroes are real. Then from there it's a breakdown of his character. It's very inspiring in the way I think, "Gee, I wish I made that film."

The second film was Drop Dead Fred. I don't really like this movie. I think it's all too over the top and then I realized that everything I didn't want my film to be compared to was this film. I want to show the difference of the worry dolls to imaginary friends. I don't want the worry dolls to be magical when they come in the world, it's an adjustment for them as well as Will. Also the humor is too over the top and so is Rik Mayall. I want the worry dolls to be quite human, they are almost a magical hired help. There should also be a slight ambiguity to whether people can see the worry dolls and how human are they. Drop Dead Fred makes it very clear what he is.

So the mixture of those two films with a WHOLE new way of thinking made this script easier, and I'm sure I can be more useful with a feature script if I keep thinking like this. It makes the characters more intriguing and you can see what they would do if they were real. This is unlike a lot of other stuff I've written where the characters aren't developed enough to make strong decisions.