TERMINATOR SALVATION results

Last month, I asked people if they would go and see TERMINATOR SALVATION, despite the fact that there is no Arnold Schwarzenegger. At the beginning of the poll, I got a little worried, with everyone saying they wouldn't see it. But soon film lovers overtook Arnie lovers (I admit I am both).

64% of people said they would go and see SALVATION and 36% said they wouldn't. I understand the love of Arnie in a TERMINATOR movie and initially I was dead set against the idea. But then I thought about how different this movie could be - it's set in the future. So the battles, the tone, the flow of the movie will be different. That's why it has the potential to work without Arnie. I say potential...

That's because I recently came across an article all about why TERMINATOR SALVATION is a crap movie. Most people probably know that the original script was centered around Marcus Wright, who - looking at the trailers - appear to be an Infiltrator of sorts. He seems to think he is human when in actual fact, he's a machine. In this original version of the film, John Connor took a back seat and only had a few minutes' screen time.

Then director McG approached Christian Bale, who had his heart set on the role of Connor. And from that moment, the film was changed. Connor was drastically thrown into the movie with no real consequence and Sam Worthington took up the role of Marcus. Here's a segment from the article in question, entitled "What went wrong with Terminator Salvation?" Obviously, there are major spoilers:

Bale's desire to star as John Connor was probably the most fatal blow to the film; it completely distorted the shape of the story as it existed. But the other fatal blow came from the internet. When the original ending of the script leaked [...] people went crazy. On the surface it seemed like a major slap in the face of the franchise, and doubly so on paper.

Read in full

So if you add this to the general poor reception of the film, it looks like it's going to be a complete flop. Hope that hasn't deterred anyone from spending obscene amounts of money on tickets, popcorn and coke. I'm still going to go for one reason - I love THE TERMINATOR and always will. While RISE OF THE MACHINES was an embarrassing mess, JUDGEMENT DAY is one of the best action films ever made.

TERMINATOR SALVATION comes out on 3rd June over here. Until then, take a look at the extended trailer:

Character Intros

One of the most important parts of a film is the introduction of your main character(s). These are the people we'll be following throughout the entire movie so it's important that they make a good impression. Actually, not always a good one, but an impression nevertheless. I thought I'd take a look at what I consider to be good introductions to characters.

Character intros should do two things:

1. Show something about your character
2. Show where they fit in the world (or where they don't fit.)
   

I'll start with BLADE. The intro to our third favourite vampire slayer (after Buffy and Faith!) ticks both of the above 'requirements'. See for yourself:



We learn a lot about Blade from this segment. We learn that he's a vampire hunter and that he fights like a machine - he's a hero. At the same time, we learn where he fits in the world - the vampires hate him! Clearly, they're vampires and he's a vampire hunter. But do we learn exactly what Blade is? Do we know at this point that he is in fact a dhampir (half vamp, half human)? The vamps refer to him as "Daywalker" which is one hint, but is there anything else? Clearly he's strong but it's possible he's still human.

That's the key - we learn something about our lead character but not everything. Obviously, if we did, there would be no point in the rest of the movie.

X-MEN holds another good example of a character intro. I can't find a clip but we meet Wolverine in a cage fight. One guy is dragged out, beaten and possibly dead. The announcer talks about the sheer wonder that is this unknown fighter. Then someone stands up to face him. After taking a few hits, Logan has had enough. He smashes fists with the other fighter, breaking the guy's hand. This shows something about our character - who he is - he's not quite right.

Wolverine then promptly KOs the guy with a tiny headbutt. Again, we learn something - Logan's skeleton is something we haven't seen before. Then the announcer reveals who this guy is - Wolverine. Next, we cut to Logan at the bar. After hearing a news report on mutants, we have a strong suspicion that he's one himself. Now we're learning where he fits in the world - he's a mutant and therefore hated. He doesn't belong. To drive this message home, the humiliated fighter from earlier picks another fight, whispering the worlds "I know what you are."

In a flash of action, Wolverine's claws appear and he nearly kills the guy. Again, more info about the character. We now know - he's a mutant, he's strong, he doesn't die easily and he has a short temper. Not bad for an intro.

The intro to DONNIE DARKO is also interesting. We join our lead character asleep in the middle of the road as the sun comes up. This both says something about the character (he sleepwalks) and shows where he fits - he's literally an outcast - he is on the outskirts of town, asleep to the world. It also shows a clever bit of foreshadowing for later on in the movie. The film is a textbook on foreshadowing as it is.

A few others I could mention - PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, END OF DAYS, INDIANA JONES, A BEAUTIFUL MIND, FIGHT CLUB. If you can think of any other great character intros, let me know.

Happy writing.

Update - MR, music, action directing

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know it's odd for me to leave it this long between posts. The plan was to post part 2 of my planning of SURVIVAL film idea. But I haven't got any further with it since the last blog. It's on the to-do list.

I've been spending most of my time watching every action scene I can get my hands on to see how they're shot. This should help me next month when I assist Kris McManus in directing the MR massacre scenes. I came across some very well directed work and also some that was horrible.

In one fan film (that will remain nameless), there was a rather good piece of action. The choreography, acting, stunts and tension were all great. But the direction was horrible. In the space of 5 seconds, there were 8 cuts (I'm not exaggerating). This seemed like an attempt to show the chaos of the action but it didn't work. Instead, it threw me completely. I couldn't grasp what was going on and instantly detached me from the action. I became very aware that this wasn't real.

The best way to learn this sort of thing is to watch and do. So on the MR set, I'll be watching Kris like a hawk, learning everything I can. Kris has done action before so he knows what he's doing. A year ago I wasn't interested in directing at all but now I really want to. I know my limits - I know I'm nowhere near ready to direct a feature film. But hopefully MR will give me some experience. And hopefully I'll have a more solid directing role in the later films.

I've said time and time again that AIDAN'S DARKEST SERMON is my favourite of the Multivalence projects - the story is incredibly powerful and I just connected. I found it incredibly easy to write the scenes I wrote. I would love to direct that film, even though it would probably give me nightmares!

I sent out a message to the fan group this week detailing the future projects we have planned. Here are the details:

SALVATION FOR APRIL
The second film in the Multivalence series, this tells the story of a self-obsessed fashionista who finally loses the styling boutique she has been using to fund her lavish lifestyle. In desperation, she tries to kill herself but is unexpectedly rescued by the tramp she abuses every day. After waking up in hospital and learning he is gravely ill, she embarks on a desperate race across London to find him and save his life in return, and in doing so, sets off a chain reaction of events that forever changes the lives of everyone around her.

AIDAN'S DARKEST SERMON
A self-righteous judgemental middle class pastor loses control after being told his church-owned home is to be sold. Falling off the wagon, he drunkenly rapes a local prostitute whom he despises in a fit of rage. After she tries to blackmail him, his true murderous nature emerges as he finds a new chaotic way to preach his beliefs. A deadly game of cat and mouse begins as he tries to cover his tracks before the most consequential Sunday sermon of his life.

FORSAKING GRACE
The fourth film in the series tells the story of a forensic biologist whose department is likely to be closed down. She is forced to confront her past when the love of her love who abandoned her turns up out of the blue on her doorstep the very same day as her boyfriend proposes to her, forcing her to re-think everything she knows as her ordered life is turned upside down.

EMPIRE OF ASH
Distraught with grief and desperate for vengeance, the workaholic owner of a chain of debt collection agencies (booming from the surge in repayment problems due to the credit crunch) orchestrates a mass execution of a local gang after his grandmother is killed As he struggles to control the uncontrollable ripple effects of his campaign of violence, he is unwittingly thrust into a dark and twisted game of human chess played by wealthy evil men.

Films 6 and 7 are yet to be confirmed and all of the above is subject to change.

I've also been checking out some of the music we have in store for MR. Chris Gorman is an unsigned master of music. You can listen to some of his material on Myspace and I strongly suggest you do - the vocals, lyrics and instrumentals are all mind blowing. The track we're planning on using for MR is "Snow". You can listen to 9 of his tracks here. They're a perfect blend of acoustic, piano and rock. My personal favourites are "Snow" and "Battlefield". Let me know what you think.

SURVIVAL - Part One

Taking a leaf out of James Henry's blog, I've decided to blog about one of my ideas. Unlike James, I haven't had anything come close to selling yet, so I can't take the posts that far. But what I am going to do is talk about how this idea goes - from inspiration, through conception, premise, treatment, scene breakdown and script drafts. And from there I'll try and sell the bugger.

I suppose the first post about this idea is here. The working title is SURVIVAL. It's an action film about a special agent who seeks revenge on those who killed his partners. But mixed in with the simple revenge story is the theme of survival.

As of yesterday morning, I knew the sort of film I wanted to write and the degree of action. As I blogged before, I had to justify that action. You can read all about that here.

So I suppose the inspiration part of my idea is PUNISHER: WAR ZONE. I watched the film and wanted to write a similar action film. I spent a few days throwing ideas around in my head and yesterday I got to work.

I created my characters and gave a name to my protagonist - Kyle Grant. I then went to work with the research aspect which took the best part of the morning. Then I attempted a very basic treatment. As things stand, it reads at merely two pages. There are no details of the action and such. Clearly every aspect needs expanding - that will come in the scene breakdown.

I also have one section that is not written. In fact, on the page it reads:

"More investigation"

At this point in the story, Grant knows who he's after and knows that he's in the UK. What he doesn't know is where exactly he is. So far, he's travelled to a drug dealer to find information. But that's it. What will probably happen is that he'll find some more leads at the drug dealer and follow them to another lead and so on. That's the part of writing I'm not best at - what is essentially crime writing - giving clues, following leads etc.

So the next stage is to work out how he finds out where the killer is. I'll probably do that as I write the scene breakdown. In that, I'll detail action (but not completely) and character development and insert specific extracts of dialogue if I think of them.

Standby for SURVIVAL- Part Two.

Writing Samples

A few weeks ago, I launched my website. After spending a bit of time working out how to host files on it, I decided to put up some examples of my work for the world to see. It's all well and good saying you can write, but if there's nothing to see - no proof - then it means nothing. There are several samples up at the moment.

One extract from MICHAEL'S RESIGANTION (the ending, so don't read unless you want it spoiling) - to be filmed next month. Two other brutal sections from AIDAN'S DARKEST SERMON - the third film in the 'Multivalence' series. These extracts are very graphic and contain strong language (you've been warned).

The final sample is from a pilot TV show that I never finished - I had hopes for the show but it's not working at all. Maybe I'll use aspects of it for future work.

You can read the writing here.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

Violent Justification

After watching PUNISHER: WAR ZONE I've been thinking about the action in it. There's no arguing that it's brutal as hell, deserving of its 18 certificate. Action is the one thing I know I'm good at and I love writing it. What I'd really like to do, is produce something as violent as WAR ZONE:



Note the insane brutality of it all - the chair through the eye, knife through throat, fist through face. A lot of people will cringe at this sort of thing but there are plenty of us who love it (and spend hours explaining why that doesn't mean we'll go out and kill everyone).

The problem with this sort of action is that it needs to be justified. WAR ZONE borders on it - the story isn't exactly involving, but they get away with it because of who it's about. The film really gets into the heart of the Punisher - he's a brutal, no-mercy vigilante and that's what this film shows. So, on deciding that I wanted to produce that level of action, I was faced with the story.

You can't just have endless amounts of action without any story whatsoever. I mean you can (just look at the MORTAL KOMBAT films) but you shouldn't!

Ultimately, I'd love to write a Punisher movie. But that's never going to happen. By the time I'm successful enough to even be considered, the Punisher film saga will be long gone. So I'll just have to write my own version.

Essentially, it's all about character (as with anything). WAR ZONE features a character who has been driven to this level of brutality by revenge and justice. What I want to do with my 'hero' is give him the same justification.

There seems to be one main motivation for dealing out that level of brutality - revenge. And WAR ZONE has that covered. But that got me thinking about alternative motivations. The strongest instinct to any human is self-preservation. The things we'll do to survive are almost limitless. But how do you get someone to deal out the hurt just to survive?

The solution to a survival threat is often to run and take down anyone who comes at you. But really, the most logical step is to eliminate those who pose a threat. So if I have some rather dangerous characters wanting to kill my 'hero' (who happens to be a Special Forces officer), I can justify his journey. But how do I justify the brutality he shows in his mission? Revenge. It's as simple as that - there is no other way to reason that sort of action without the motive of revenge.

It's still pretty cliched yes?

To get round that, I've decided to blur the lines. My character's primary mission will be to kill the bad guys before they can kill him. But these are also the same guys who killed his team - his partners - his friends.

So during his survival mission, revenge will creep in and control his hand. Lines will be crossed. And the bad guys will only know one thing - they chose the wrong guy to fuck with!

My top TV shows

I thought I do a rundown of my top TV shows. They're in no particular order but just some of the shows I really like - a lot have great writing tips too.

WARNING: SERIOUS SPOILERS FOR ALL SHOWS.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
This is really the first 'adult' TV show I watched. I heard it was about vampires and decided to tune in. I was hooked, but mainly because of the beautiful blond girl who went around slaying vampires and hung out with people who were not cooler than me! The show developed from episodic fun to thought-provoking drama, touching on horror, comedy, tragedy and action along the way. Season 6's theme was very powerful. Here we see Willow become addicted to magic. This is a clearly a metaphor for drug abuse and really has a huge impact as the season develops. Season 7 featured some of the best ever writing and acting from the crew, especially as we learned that Spike had earned his soul. I fell in love with Buffy (the girl and the show). It was my first TV love and retains a special place in my heart.

ANGEL
When I heard that vampire Angel was getting his own show, I was thrilled. I always thought his character was one that could be developed more. Actually, no I didn't because I was like 14 or something. But I thought he was cool as hell! ANGEL went to places that BUFFY couldn't. Here we had this dark, brooding vampire who was fighting for redemption. The show was as dark as the character and was definitely for a more adult audience than its slaying counterpart. That being said, there were numerous hilarious moments along the way, such as everyone losing their memories and Angel being turned into a puppet.

The thing about ANGEL is that it always justified its decisions. Along the way, Angel locked a bunch of humans in a room with his sworn enemy, thus allowing them to be brutally murdered. He even had his soul removed, resulting in death after death and some sick, twisted dialogue. ANGEL never faulted and despite being cut short by the demons at Fox, it couldn't have ended better. After Wesley's heart-destroying death scene, we end with Angel, Spike, Illyria and Gunn (who had been stabbed through the stomach) facing their toughest ever challenge - an army of demons, orcs, giants and dragons. There's no way they can win the fight but the message is - they go out fighting. ANGEL goes out on a battle cry with the powerful words "Let's go to work"

When I get thinking about ANGEL, I don't stop (as you can probably tell). Does that mean it's my favourite TV show? Maybe.

FIREFLY
Joss Whedon's short-lived masterpiece. It was axed after just 14 episodes but what 14 episodes they were! FIREFLY is essentially about family. We meet an eclectic group of characters that we come to love dearly. They're just a bunch of folk out on the edge, looking for jobs where they find them. But the show is so much more than that. Everyone who I've known who's seen it has loved it. Fox axed it but the fan base was so strong that Universal Pictures came to the rescue and let Joss make a movie - SERENITY. FIREFLY will always be one of my favourite shows with some of the best situations and dialogue ever on TV. As the Browncoats say - can't stop the signal!

DOLLHOUSE
This is Joss Whedon's current TV project (and I'm guessing the last). I was very worried about the first five episodes because while they were of good TV standard, they were not as good as something I was expecting from the creator of BUFFY, ANGEL and FIREFLY. Then came episode 6 and all hell broke loose. Episode 6 (written by Joss himself) was easily as brilliant as any BUFFY ep. And from then, the show has been top-notch. Great characterisation and stories with some ambiguously dark undertones.

CASTLE
I watched CASTLE for one reason only - Nathan Fillion, who played Mal in FIREFLY. I was worried it would be a boring cop show - nothing special. But I was pleasantly surprised. Fillion plays Rick Castle, a novelist who works with a detective for inspiration for his next crime novel. Simple enough idea, but it's the characterisation that makes it great. It's hard to explain, but Castle's strong, witty, comedic character works so well in such a basic template that you have to keep on watching. It often seems to me what CSI would be like if the characters had more than one dimension.

SUPERNATURAL
ITV advertised this all wrong - they targeted middle-aged women. The show is probably one of the best around today and keeps getting better. As Sam and Dean work their way across the country saving innocents and banishing demons, their story develops tenfold. Season 1 saw a cliffhanger ending as the boys were reunited with their father. Season 2 saw the gates of hell ripped open and one of the boys die. Season 3 followed Dean as he came to terms with the fact that he had one year to live then he was going to hell. The best thing - viewers and characters thought long and hard about how Dean would escape death. The twist being - he didn't. Season 3 ended with Dean being ripped apart and dragged into hell. His voice echoed over the closing credits - "Help me!" Season 4 (currently airing) shows Dean saved from hell and the boys teaming up with Angels as Sam's demonic powers grow. Will the boys save the day and stop Lucifer rising up? Should they...?

DARK ANGEL
James Cameron's TV attempt should be a work of pure genius. It's not. It is however, pretty damn good. As with any good TV show, it's character that drives the story but the premise itself it quite good. Jessica Alba does a great job as Max, a genetically enhanced soldier on the run from the organisation that made her - Manticore. The ongoing relationship with Logan was always great - they never really got together, despite the season 1 finale showing a happily ever after ending. We were then shot back through time to realise that things didn't go as we thought - Max was shot and died. After being brought back, season 2 showed Max escaping from Manticore and continuing her search for other soldiers.

As season 2 came to a close, some great action showed more and more specialist soldiers in the futuristic world. The show was axed but the ending was good - a sense of hope spread through the characters as they faced probably genocide. A show I always stayed up to watch, DARK ANGEL is definitely worth looking at even if not a DVD buy.

TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES
Season 1 of this show was great. The terminator of the week structure worked well but they experimented as they went deeper. They did it well. The season ended with Cameron being blown up in a car. Being a terminator, she was ok but was in pretty bad shape. Season 2's opening showed Cameron all messed up, so much so that her default program kicked in - terminate John Connor. The season continued as we saw John Connor's transition from T2 to war hero. There were a few episodes in the middle that were terribly boring but the finale of season 2 has opened so many doors that I can't wait for season 3. However, that may never be. At the time of writing this, they are undecided as to whether it will be axed......

DEXTER
I watched the first episode of this and thought it was a poor version of the Punisher story. I then learnt there was much much more. Dexter is a blood splatter analyst who moonlights as a murderer. But he only kills bad people. Those who he sees slip through the net at work are quickly served justice in the form of being strapped to a table and gutted.

The finale of season 1 was incredible but season 2 was even better as Dexter's dangerous habits were almost revealed. Season 3 is set to air in the UK this week and from what I've seen, things are getting stronger and stronger. It's a dark show with serious issues and black comedy. Definitely one of the cleverest shows created.

TRUE BLOOD
I didn't really know what to make of TRUE BLOOD when I first saw it. It's definitely not a show for the kids, simply due to the nudity and language. We follow a young waitress as she encounters a mysterious sexy vampire - Bill. As she is swallowed into Bill's dangerous world, things get more and more tense. With a variety of interesting characters and some pretty good violence, TRUE BLOOD is a great watch, but it's not for everyone. Season 1 is set to air on C4 soon.

BAND OF BROTHERS
Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks did an amazing job in creating this TV mini-series. It tells the story of Easy Company in WWII. From their training in England, through D-Day and to the end of the war, this is a brutally realistic story of war. Best appreciated with gaps, BAND OF BROTHERS will show you harrowing images of warfare, death and concentration camps. It's a must-see for anyone, not just fans of war movies.

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN
I was eager to see the latest animation from Marvel but wasn't expecting it to be as good as this. After a slow first few eps, WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN really kicked off with hardcore storylines, saying that it's essentially a kids' show. The best moments for me were when we saw Charles Xavier talking to the X-Men from the future, trying to correct the damage done. Showing what the world could become created great tension as the X-Men battled to save tomorrow. It's been greenlighted for a second season and the first should be out on DVD soon.