WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW
This story started out as a barely legible note drunkenly scrawled onto a piece of paper. The note said (see pic):
"Classic Femme Fatale
via C.H.
--------------------------------
*guy-40's
not un-handsome
hangs out in regular
spot. When approached by a hot girl,
clearly younger than him
-He invites her out
to his car to smoke a bowl (weed),
She accepts.
-while she is smoking
she tells him
<a story> which
motivates him to leave
(DOWN THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PAGE, the following is found with an arrow connecting it to <a story> above:)
about some "kill bud" that
turns out to be a confrontation w/ a violent ex-boyfriend
(ON THE BACK OF THE SCRAP:)
*He tries to shake
her/get rid of her
but she presses that
they should go back
to her place
--They do & just
start to get it
on when "Johnny"
starts to get
nervous and
wants to leave
At that point, I had decided to call the story "No Place Called Home". It never really landed with me, though, and was only a working title for a few weeks, in the end. As the story unfolded in my mind, I knew what it was really ABOUT, and the title of "The END of FUN" landed without a second thought.
Notes much like those above continued for about a year, as large parts of plot and small details, including snatches of conversation, were collected as I hung out with my friends at the Carriage House in San Diego, CA. Every night that I went out, I would at least be thinking about the story, but honestly some nights turned out to be just about the singing and drinking.
That was OK, though, since it still continued to subtly provide content and inspiration to me on a regular basis.
The paper and pen were always in pocket, though, ready for an idea to strike. If and when those ideas did strike, nothing was more important (EXCEPT the rotation from our KJ, Nicole upon whom much of Kari K is based-- don't FUCK WITH THE KJ!!!), and I would begin scribbling away, usually quite tickled at what was bubbling up.
I knew almost every single element of the main plot within just a few weeks of thinking the story up, but because I was teaching at SDSU full-time and UCSD part-time, finding the time to sit down and bang out every detail and then make it a script was nearly impossible. Occasionally, I would sit down and work out long passages in detail, sometimes whole exchanges of conversation that remained intact all the way through to this first draft of the final version (does that seem weird to read? "first draft of final version...?).
In April of 2016, the most amazing thing that could happen, did happen. I was very unexpectedly laid off from my full-time teaching position. Whereas most people would freak out (and pretty much all my colleagues who were in the same position as me did freak out at least a little), I shrugged, smiled, and said to no one other than all these characters who had been chasing me around for the better part of a year: "Well, all right. Let's do this!"
Ten days later, and all the efforts and job termination bore fruit-- The story and screenplay for "The END of FUN" which clocks in, finally, at just over 21,000 words and nearly 80 pages. As I "movie-ize" the script (once as professional "screenplay" and again as "shooting script"), it will likely balloon out to closer to 90+ pages.
During that 10 days, I became a different person, and noticeably less civilized. The way that my brain is wired requires fairly constant focus and effort to project a "sociable" personality. Once I dive deep into my creative process, my desire and thus effort to maintain this facade falls to zero. I'm not mean, mind you, just kind of an absent-minded zombie who is running, tracking, and editing multiple scenarios through his mind on fast forward instead of exchanging the required greetings and small pleasantries...
Stubble spread out and turned into a beard. My phone was turned off (the phone--not just the ringer), with a vengeance. Often. Clothes became intolerable and I rarely wore them, other than to leave my room, and then more often than not, back off once secure again in the privacy of my self-isolation and creative eruption...but enough about that for now. In one of my upcoming posts, I will go into more detail about my process... You may want to skip it!
The continuing shift in momentum will be explored throughout these posts until and after the movie is shot, and even released. If you are interested in the nuts, bolts, blood, sweat, and tears of making an indie movie, you won't be disappointed.
I look forward to hearing from all of you out there, so never be afraid to get a conversation going in the comments!
See you guys soon!
--Bobby
Email me at karaokecrime@gmail.com
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