… just back from eight days and nights in lovely Austin TX. Every (good) thing you’ve ever heard about the town or about the Austin Film Festival is absolutely true. The first half of the trip was an exhausting marathon of trying to cram in every panel, roundtable, screening and party I could into every day & evening. Once the “conference” part of the festival was over (on Monday) the last four days were spent just going to screenings and taking long walks all around Austin (ok, there were a few parties to attend as well.)
The change of scenery was probably good for my head and so much of what I saw and heard during the festival was exactly what I needed to recharge my batteries and get re-inspired. I can’t wait ’til next year.
Greetings. In an effort to (for once) not bury the lead, I’ll let everyone know that the big news is this: One of my scripts has “advanced” through the competition in the Austin Film Festival’s top-notch screenwriting contest. My submission in the “Original Sitcom Pilot” category made it into the top 10% of entries (out of nearly 6000) which is, apparently, a big enough deal to land me an invitation to the festival along with some “special access.” Who can say no to special access? …so I’m now mapping out a late-October trip to Texas, my first-ever visit to the Lone Star State. And since I’m being a bit self-aggrandizing with all this, I’ll mention just one more thing: The script that did so well in this contest is a different “sitcom pilot” than the one that was a ‘finalist’ in the LA Comedy Shorts screenwriting competition last Spring… so that’s two respectable showings for two separate scripts in just a few months. Not bad, and I’ll take it… sooner or later, people are going to notice these sorts of things.
More than telling the world or blowing my own horn, the preceding paragraph was mostly written for my own benefit – I sometimes need to remind myself that I do know what I’m doing when I sit down at the keyboard. Lately I’ve been wrestling with a 3rd draft of a script that just isn’t working… and it seems that the universe itself is telling me that this particular idea/script just isn’t going to come together in a satisfactory way. These things happen of course, but they can really take the wind out of a guy’s sails… but we keep typing/rowing until the wind finally picks up again to launch us in new directions.
And finally: Check out the calendar of upcoming shows (to the right –>)
I’ve got another reading/essay show coming up on Friday 9/30 and I’m very psyched for it. Come on by if you’re in LA (but call ahead, this show sells out every time.)
Yesterday, for the first time in over three and a half years, I did not put up a new weekly post on my ASK A PUNK advice blog. I have put the blog on what I’m calling ‘active hiatus’ for a while. The reasons for this decision are fully explained in last week’s post… the final one for now. Meanwhile my Another LA Cartoon blog will continue with weekly posts every Thursday morning, and the occasional bonus post every once in a while.
In other news, a quick look at my calendar of upcoming shows (over there in the right-hand column) will tell you that I have several reading/essay shows coming up in the next few weeks. I’m always thrilled to get the chance to tell some of my stories on both new and familiar stages. The more I rework these stories, the better idea I get of how they all fit together (or don’t.) I’m starting to look at ways to put all the stories together into one long form piece, even longer than the original ‘A Punk’s Tale’ one-man show. We’ll see what I come up with. I’ll add the project to the list. ha. While it is always good to have more ideas than time to execute them, it can be frustrating too.
…and speaking of shows, I recently posted a video clip from my latest performance at “Sit n’ Spin” on the Comedy Central Stage at the Hudson (LA) on my page over at Funny or Die. If you have a few minutes click the picture below and go check it out… and vote: “Funny.” Thanks.
No point in denying it – Most of us are currently living through some tricky & difficult times. I know I have been. I have managed to keep myself plenty busy with my personal creative endeavors – sometimes probably trying to juggle too many ideas & outlets at one time – but they are the sorts of projects that give me a reason to get out of bed in the morning. While I’ve continued to hit my weekly (self-imposed) deadlines for Ask A Punk and Another LA Cartoon, I have also been hammering away on plenty of other fronts such as:
>> I’m in the middle of a 3rd draft on a spec feature screenplay.
>> I’ve continued to work on an animated cartoon idea that I’ve created from scratch – I write the scripts, voice some of the characters, create all the music & sound FX and even do all the animation myself… quite time-consuming, believe me. So far I have completed 3 episodes that have racked up a total of 90,000 views.
>> I have continued to write and perform essays all around Los Angeles, most recently at the Comedy Central Stage’s legendary “Sit n Spin” show. See it on my page at Funny or Die.
>> I have started a sporadic ‘twitter mystery’ …which, to be honest, I’m still trying to get a handle on.
>> I have continued to perform improv around town, and have been teaching it again when the opportunity presents itself.
>> I am helping my incredibly interesting friend June Shelley turn her autobiography into a one-woman show.
>> I am also trying to figure out how to make some videogames and interactive projects.
…so all that, along with helping other friends with their various creative projects, has been keeping me plenty busy, but it doesn’t exactly feed the bulldog. As I always say: Imagine how hard I would work if I was actually getting paid to do all this stuff…
I had a chance to prove that work ethic recently when I landed a “script adapting” job on a Japanese animated feature. In the past, I have had 5-7 days to complete similar gigs. In this case it was a rush job that needed to be turned around in just a weekend. Needless to say, it was a grind of a weekend, but the client liked the script and I think it turned out pretty well. They’re now in the process of recording my ‘adapted’ script with English-language actors and once they’re finished, I’m guessing it’ll be a direct-to-DVD release. The film is called: Legend of the Millennium Dragon. Look for it. It is pretty cool. Meanwhile, I’ll be (as always) hustling for the next gig.
PLANET O'CONNOR 
You must be logged in to post a comment.