And She Turned Around And Took Me By The Hand, And Said I've Lost Control Again, And How I'll Never Know Just Why Or Understand
--"She's Lost Control" (cover), 10,000 Maniacs
Having completed my first project, I was discussing with Carly tonight some possible names I've been mulling over for my new screenplay. I don't know if the names will work out (she might be right in stating that Matryoshka is not a name that simply rolls off the tongue), but I'm fairly excited about the basic plot points of the story. Like most of my efforts in fiction, it involves an individual who is not exactly honest and the trouble it leads him into. Except in this instance, I planned him to be a kind of loner who survives by conning people out of their money and persuading his friends into providing him the rest. Then one night, fresh from convincing some yuppies to "invest" in his promising new business, he walks out into a pair of teenagers being attacked by a group of men. So far, it seems like a straight-up "wrong place at the wrong time" story. Nothing too out of the ordinary, right? At first, he attempts to do what most of us would do in this situation. He tries to walk away and pretend he doesn't see anything. That's when the twist kicks in.
The two men shapeshift into werewolves.
This, more surprisingly, prompts our guy to follow suit and change into one himself.
And then the story talks off from there. The way I have it plotted now, it'll have the requisite hard-boiled edge, plenty of plot twists, and what I think is an interesting take on the whole werewolf theme. So far, I think I've got an original story that doesn't follow any of the tired supernatural conventions. It's not going to be a rehash of Underworld, An American Werewolf in London, or any of the other conventions you see in every movie of the genre. I've got a specific take on the beasts and I think it would work well with a thriller rather than a horror film. The main point I'm trying to go for is that he's a con artist who just happens to be a werewolf.
In that vein, I'm setting myself up with some very specific ground rules:
1. NO FUCKING VAMPIRES! I cannot stress this enough. Just because you want to include one supernatural creature does not mean you should leave the door open for all the mystical menagerie to come intruding in. In fact, I'm setting my foot down on it being mystical or magical. There will be no rituals or ancient writing involved. They won't call everything by their latin translation. And I'm getting pretty close to doing away with anything that could be construed as mystical and magical like full moons or silver bullets. I'll probably end up keeping the last two items, if only because I do away with those it may actually be slipping out of the genre, but I'm going to make it quite clear from the onset this isn't your daddy's werewolf film. Truthfully, I'm considering just naming the characters something mundane and far from tough-sounding. For instance, instead of naming the so-called bad guy in the screenplay something menacing like Spike or Thrasher, he's going to be called "Phil". I don't know--there's something ironic (and, yes, comical) of having this eight-foot tall mass of muscle, teeth, and claws be called Phil by his friends and enemies alike.
But, yes, I am shutting the door on ever including vampires into anything I write. As Breanne would say, Vampires can kiss my lily-white ass.
2. There's not going to be this menacing fifty or hundred strong pack roaming the city. At most, I'm setting a cap at two dozen in big cities and them being almost unheard of in rural areas. In my story, you'll probably be able to count the number of werewolves you see on one hand. I don't want it to be about how many I can get on-screen at one time. I want every character to have a name, a story, and the audience to be personally invested in what happens to them, be they wolfen or not. I want it to be like the old Aces Wild novels, where if you get bit by a werewolf you die. I don't want a situation where new ones are made left and right. I want it to be something wholly unexpected. 95% is the percentage I'm shooting for. 95% of the people who get attacked and bit die. 3% live but are never able to handle the change and are lost in the wilderness forever. It's only the remaining 2% who are able to control it and still live among city-dwellers. This is a very important detail for me because I want it to be a case where the beasts are less a society unto themselves, but more or less are a loosely connected collection of outsiders.
3. I don't want the experience of being a werewolf being akin to a disease or hard addiction. I don't want it to be this excruciating experience that ravishes a man's sanity or free will. I want to paint it as a picture of being an acceptable addiction, like drinking or smoking. It isn't so much they lack all control over themselves when they're changed; it's just that power and the thrill are so enticing. Again, this refers back to rule #1. I don't want their struggles to be about some "other" beast taking control over their body. I want it to be a more spiritual and psychological battle for control. The idea should be that every one of them should know the consequences for changing and the damage they're capable of, and still having full control to undergo the transformation at will when it suits them. That's probably why I want to take out all references to the full moon or silver being able to harm them because it reeks of cheese to me.
4. I don't want there to be some governing body over the werewolves. There's not going to be a great congress with delegates from every part of the country. No ruling organization oversees or keeps in check every pocket of werewolves. Everyone pretty much makes up the rules as they go along, which is how it should be. One thing I hate to see in a movie about anything supernatural is the idea of politicking being integral to their survival. If I was a werewolf, the last thing on my mind would be taking orders from anybody or having to adhere to any rules whatsoever.
when the change is gone, when the urge is gone,
to lose control, when here we come
It's this last part that's always drawn me to wolves and werewolves. I like this notion that epitomize of the wildness and savaqery that lay in everyone. In each of us lays an inner beast that does not rely on intelligence or rationality to make decisions. There's a part of us that is guided by instinct and raw emotion. I've always preached doing what makes one happiest, damn the consequences, and a wolf speaks to me of that kind of mission statement.
Everyone is fascinated by some kind of unexplainable creature because they see themselves in it. It's why Brandy always goes on and on about having a personal fairy that helps her out because she's always had this desire to help people out herself. It's why Breanne is always researching and telling ghost stories because she identifies with the idea of being present somewhere and yet disregarded at the same time. It's been a nagging hang-up for her for as long as I've known her. It's why there have always been supernatural tales from the time language was invented, because people have a need to invest personality quirks, traits, and desires into something bigger than themselves to make sense of it all.
It's why I live werewolves so much because I guess I have a need to express all these moments of rage, anger, and destructiveness that I keep bottled up sometimes. There's been plenty of times when different people have seen it come out. I'm not exactly known for keeping my frustration in check a lot of the time, but something tells me there's a lot more darker thoughts and actions that I keep in check. If a werewolf is not the perfect metaphor for allowing those inner demons to surface then I don't know what is.
That's why I think this story is important to me because, in a sense, it's just another means to getting to the bottom of what makes me tick.
Also, I really hate vampires and think there are way too many crappy vampire movies already out there.
It's time somebody--namely, me--makes a crappy werewolf movie.
Yours Swimmingly,
mojo shivers
Having completed my first project, I was discussing with Carly tonight some possible names I've been mulling over for my new screenplay. I don't know if the names will work out (she might be right in stating that Matryoshka is not a name that simply rolls off the tongue), but I'm fairly excited about the basic plot points of the story. Like most of my efforts in fiction, it involves an individual who is not exactly honest and the trouble it leads him into. Except in this instance, I planned him to be a kind of loner who survives by conning people out of their money and persuading his friends into providing him the rest. Then one night, fresh from convincing some yuppies to "invest" in his promising new business, he walks out into a pair of teenagers being attacked by a group of men. So far, it seems like a straight-up "wrong place at the wrong time" story. Nothing too out of the ordinary, right? At first, he attempts to do what most of us would do in this situation. He tries to walk away and pretend he doesn't see anything. That's when the twist kicks in.The two men shapeshift into werewolves.
This, more surprisingly, prompts our guy to follow suit and change into one himself.
And then the story talks off from there. The way I have it plotted now, it'll have the requisite hard-boiled edge, plenty of plot twists, and what I think is an interesting take on the whole werewolf theme. So far, I think I've got an original story that doesn't follow any of the tired supernatural conventions. It's not going to be a rehash of Underworld, An American Werewolf in London, or any of the other conventions you see in every movie of the genre. I've got a specific take on the beasts and I think it would work well with a thriller rather than a horror film. The main point I'm trying to go for is that he's a con artist who just happens to be a werewolf.
In that vein, I'm setting myself up with some very specific ground rules:
1. NO FUCKING VAMPIRES! I cannot stress this enough. Just because you want to include one supernatural creature does not mean you should leave the door open for all the mystical menagerie to come intruding in. In fact, I'm setting my foot down on it being mystical or magical. There will be no rituals or ancient writing involved. They won't call everything by their latin translation. And I'm getting pretty close to doing away with anything that could be construed as mystical and magical like full moons or silver bullets. I'll probably end up keeping the last two items, if only because I do away with those it may actually be slipping out of the genre, but I'm going to make it quite clear from the onset this isn't your daddy's werewolf film. Truthfully, I'm considering just naming the characters something mundane and far from tough-sounding. For instance, instead of naming the so-called bad guy in the screenplay something menacing like Spike or Thrasher, he's going to be called "Phil". I don't know--there's something ironic (and, yes, comical) of having this eight-foot tall mass of muscle, teeth, and claws be called Phil by his friends and enemies alike.
But, yes, I am shutting the door on ever including vampires into anything I write. As Breanne would say, Vampires can kiss my lily-white ass.
2. There's not going to be this menacing fifty or hundred strong pack roaming the city. At most, I'm setting a cap at two dozen in big cities and them being almost unheard of in rural areas. In my story, you'll probably be able to count the number of werewolves you see on one hand. I don't want it to be about how many I can get on-screen at one time. I want every character to have a name, a story, and the audience to be personally invested in what happens to them, be they wolfen or not. I want it to be like the old Aces Wild novels, where if you get bit by a werewolf you die. I don't want a situation where new ones are made left and right. I want it to be something wholly unexpected. 95% is the percentage I'm shooting for. 95% of the people who get attacked and bit die. 3% live but are never able to handle the change and are lost in the wilderness forever. It's only the remaining 2% who are able to control it and still live among city-dwellers. This is a very important detail for me because I want it to be a case where the beasts are less a society unto themselves, but more or less are a loosely connected collection of outsiders.
3. I don't want the experience of being a werewolf being akin to a disease or hard addiction. I don't want it to be this excruciating experience that ravishes a man's sanity or free will. I want to paint it as a picture of being an acceptable addiction, like drinking or smoking. It isn't so much they lack all control over themselves when they're changed; it's just that power and the thrill are so enticing. Again, this refers back to rule #1. I don't want their struggles to be about some "other" beast taking control over their body. I want it to be a more spiritual and psychological battle for control. The idea should be that every one of them should know the consequences for changing and the damage they're capable of, and still having full control to undergo the transformation at will when it suits them. That's probably why I want to take out all references to the full moon or silver being able to harm them because it reeks of cheese to me.
4. I don't want there to be some governing body over the werewolves. There's not going to be a great congress with delegates from every part of the country. No ruling organization oversees or keeps in check every pocket of werewolves. Everyone pretty much makes up the rules as they go along, which is how it should be. One thing I hate to see in a movie about anything supernatural is the idea of politicking being integral to their survival. If I was a werewolf, the last thing on my mind would be taking orders from anybody or having to adhere to any rules whatsoever.
when the change is gone, when the urge is gone,
to lose control, when here we come
It's this last part that's always drawn me to wolves and werewolves. I like this notion that epitomize of the wildness and savaqery that lay in everyone. In each of us lays an inner beast that does not rely on intelligence or rationality to make decisions. There's a part of us that is guided by instinct and raw emotion. I've always preached doing what makes one happiest, damn the consequences, and a wolf speaks to me of that kind of mission statement.
Everyone is fascinated by some kind of unexplainable creature because they see themselves in it. It's why Brandy always goes on and on about having a personal fairy that helps her out because she's always had this desire to help people out herself. It's why Breanne is always researching and telling ghost stories because she identifies with the idea of being present somewhere and yet disregarded at the same time. It's been a nagging hang-up for her for as long as I've known her. It's why there have always been supernatural tales from the time language was invented, because people have a need to invest personality quirks, traits, and desires into something bigger than themselves to make sense of it all.
It's why I live werewolves so much because I guess I have a need to express all these moments of rage, anger, and destructiveness that I keep bottled up sometimes. There's been plenty of times when different people have seen it come out. I'm not exactly known for keeping my frustration in check a lot of the time, but something tells me there's a lot more darker thoughts and actions that I keep in check. If a werewolf is not the perfect metaphor for allowing those inner demons to surface then I don't know what is.
That's why I think this story is important to me because, in a sense, it's just another means to getting to the bottom of what makes me tick.
Also, I really hate vampires and think there are way too many crappy vampire movies already out there.
It's time somebody--namely, me--makes a crappy werewolf movie.
Yours Swimmingly,
mojo shivers
posted by mojo shivers @ 1:16 AM
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