Ahh...the mighty hand of Karl Rove...

I'm a Democrat, and boy, sometimes I think my party leadership LIKES getting their asses handed to them. I'm serious. See, I have a theory, and although it works for sports, it goes to politics too. In sports, if I'm accurately predicting the plays of a team, then the coach needs to be fired. Immediately. Same with politics. The Democratic leadership is about to fall apart before the same Karl Rove tactics. I mean, the man hasn't changed his stripes since GWB was downing Jim Beam in Midland. Okay, for those of you not following along (that means you John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and the rest of you milquetoast Dems).

1. Karl Rove goes playground on the Democrats, calling them Cut and Runners. The media, like lemmings (hey, that's you Chris Matthews and your sidekick stand in Norah "I'm just a giggly little girl" O'Donnell) repeat it ad nauseum. Do the Democrats come back with anything tough? How about Goddamn Cowards? No, that probably didn't test well in Democratic polling. The best someone could come up with? Liars and dyers. Yeps, trash talk by committee. We could have come up with something better in the fourth grade. Karl wins again.

2. Karl Rove and his Congressional lackeys, put together an Orwellian resolution whose wording reminds me of all of those failed commie states that would have "Democratic" in their official names. Do the Democrats vote against it and then flood the market with commercials ridiculing the Republicans and their shamocracy? Nope. The Dems are so frightened about being "cut and runner" (I don't want to get all Art of War on you, but never let your enemy define you. If you do, you're dead before you open your mouth) that they vote for it. Karl wins again.

3. What do the Dems do then? Well, John Kerry decides that he wants the microphone again. God no. Please. Stay away from the mike. What does he do? Well, he says the troops should pull out in December. AND THEN, he decides the next day to back away from that date, and move it to next July. What does that make him? Yep, Karl Rove wins again, and he didn't even have to say flip flopper. Kerry said it for him. Anyway, Kerry's amendment dies a quick death (again Kerry, please go away). Karl Rove wins again.

4. Now, there's today's story that Black Muslims are planning a terrorist plot, and the media orgasms in their coverage. Now, not to be cynical, but don't you find it strange that this comes out now? I mean, haven't we seen this before? Continue to ramp up the fear factor and then trot out the President so that he can say that we're fighting them over... Don't you think Rove made a call to the FBI and asked what case could be closed today? Do you think any Democrat will have the balls to question it? Not on your life. The Democrats are a thousand people on a conference call, making a ton of noise, but no sense.

Game, set and match for Rove. You see, Rove doesn't care about defining the Republicans. Why should he? Most people either like or despise them. Nope, he's going to define the Democrats. You see, this is going to be a codliver oil election. People who don't want to vote Republican will, because the Dems just can't get their act together. Ah, maybe things will change in 2008

Please Take My Survey Please...

Hey all,

I've created a survey (at the bottom of my links section). Please take about three minutes to fill it out. Thanks!

Final 434 Meeting With Dave...

Today I had my final 434 meeting with Dave. We went over the script and he made great notes. For me, as I continue to learn about writing scripts, little lights continue to come on. In the first quarter at UCLA, I simply experimented. I needed to know what worked and what didn't when it came to dialogue. Cause I didn't know. I didn't know "on the nose" from the tip of my own nose. After ten weeks, I was straight. I'd had some UGLY dialogue in getting there, but my ears were getting attuned.

Next was structure, and my 434 teacher Hal drilled structure into me. Before, I thought I knew where to put the muscle on the skeleton, but this allowed me to feel the pressure points in the script. After that, I watched every film known to man and began recognizing the points of emphasis. Remember, I'm not a film guy, so I didn't pay attention to it before. But now, I know.

So I walked into Dave's class with the notion that I can pretty much write an interesting script, with the beats set up correctly, and with dialogue that is not on the nose. Dave was cool for a couple of things. He gave us the industry prespective about writing scripts that sell versus just writing scripts for contests and the such. Second, he gave great notes. We had fun, but the notes were on point.

Today, the light that went off in my head was how to write the arcs of characters other than the protag and antag. We were talking about two characters, a UK police officer and my main character Biko's love interest, and I was realizing that I need to plot out there own script within the main story so that they're not just inserted in whenever I feel like it. I need to integrate them in. Again, maybe that's something everyone else knows, but I hadn't thought about it. Now, I feel like I can do it and make them much more three dimensional. So I'm going to do a rewrite of The Yardies, and make those adjustments.

Dave said my second rewrite will probably make the script fat, and I agree. I'll probably add too much to the script. But that's what a third rewrite is all about. I can honestly say that for the first time, I KNOW that three passes over this script, it'll be ready to be shown. I can feel it in my bones.

Change in Word Count...

Just found out that the publisher does want Money Shot to come in around 80,000 words, so it doesn't make sense to strive for 100,000 words. So I changed the progress bar. I'll write a bit tonight and get the meter up to around 3,500 words. I'm rolling along pretty good. The way it looks right now, I'll definitely be done around mid August. I can edit during September.

First Life Story...

So I know what my first 434 for the next quarter will be. I've just acquired the rights to a story that I think is inspirational. Sorry, but that's all I'll say. I'm going to start writing the story, fleshing out the characters, and then do a scene-o-gram by September. I'm really excited about this story and I can't wait to start writing it. But now, back to the book.

On a personal note, today is our 14th wedding anniversary, and we had a great meal at an Italian restaurant on the Third Street Promonade. She's still the most beautiful woman in the world and I'm still the luckiest cat in the world.

Contests...

I'm not really big on entering screenwriting contests, for the same reason I'm not interested in entering literary contests. I write scripts and books for market, not for contests. My philosophy is that the art happens when I'm writing the script or book, but as soon as I turn it in, the marketing starts, so I put on my business hat. But I have entered two different contests. One, is the Final Draft screenplay contest. I don't know why, but I just thought I'd do it. It was cheap and easy, just like me. The other is an ABC Diversity Contest, where the prize is a year at ABC and fifty thousand schmackolas. Just as I write fiction and non-fiction, I want to write for both film and television. So a paid internship at ABC is nothing to sniff at. I'm still waiting, and waiting, on who won the NBC/NAACP Fellowship, but it doesn't look like the news is going to come quickly. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

BTW: World Cup update: Loved the Ghana win. England looked a bit better, but still not great. My favorite player of the World Cup? The Brazilian player named FRED. You've just got to love a player whose one name is FRED, on a team of Ronaldiho, Ronaldos, Kakas, Cafus, etc.

Goals for the week...

This Week:

1. I meet with Dave to go The Yardies Go Boom Boom on Wednesday. We'll go over all of the issues in the script and it will give me a starting point for my rewrite. I try to get three people to read my scripts so I have three different viewpoints. I sent it to my friend Michelle who graduated from Tisch, and I think I'll shoot it to another classmate. I think I have something with script.

2. Last night, I wrote until 2:30am, but not on Money Shot. I was working on the story for my next 434 in the Fall. It's going to be a comedy, and I think it's funny.

3. This week, I'll meet with Howard Suber, who taught our film structure course. A great guy, and it'll be cool to listen to him talk about film. I may have an opportunity to TA for him next year, which would be kind of cool. I've never TA'ed for anyone, so I don't know what's involved, but I'm interested.

4. Money Shot: The goal is to get to about 7500 words by the end of the week. I think I can do that before having to do more interviews. Chapter One is flowing well, and I think it's a good start to the book. I missed going to the Lex' shoot last week, but I have plenty of shoots.

5. We're shooting Hoodietees models in my t-shirts next Saturday. We're probably about a week or so away from going live.

6. Father's Day was great. We went to the best Mexican food restaurant in LA, and I'm stuffed. But now, I'm back on the wagon. Getting to the gym as soon as I finish this post.

7. My Friends With Benefits royalty from William Morris is on its way. The amount was a nice surprise.

8. Just keep plowing along...

Ouzo and Belly Dancing!

Last night, we did the daily double. First, we attended the graduation dinner for my boy MK Asante. It was really cool to see everyone honor my boy because he's the LeBron of the academic world. We had a great time, eating rice and peas, fried fish, and plantains. After that, we hustled to Orange County to kick it with my boy Tony, who was celebrating his 40th. Our destination was a Mediterranean restaurant, complete with ouzo, olives, sausages, kebabs, the most fragrant rice you could imagine, and beautiful belly dancers! It was a great party, everyone was dancing, including me, as I tried to shake my hips the Persian way. We've gotta go back soon.

It's Father's Day right now, and I'm kicking it. I may write, or I may not. We're going to a Mexican restaurant later, and then I'm going to sleep. lol So Happy Father's Day to everyone.

BTW, we got Langston's report card: OUTSTANDING in every catagory. It's the best Father's Day gift I could receive.

Producers Showcase...

I decided to go to the Producers Showcase, and I'm glad I did. The producers basically pitched their projects in front of an audience and in front of three producing execs. One indie, one from the Weinstein Company, and another from a production company I can't recall. All were damn good, and made me proud. My boy Nick won, but I must say that they all were excellent.

It's important to go to Showcases other than your own. Not because of the schmooze factor, but because your classmates are working just as hard as you, and you should get off your self centered ass and support them. I'm kind of bummed that I missed the short films from the directors.

UCLA Film School Softball Team...

Again, with Dave Whelan and me on the team, the UCLA Film School Softball Team aka the Bad News Bruins, defeated our opponents in a rout. Of course that make Dave and I 3-0. We're basically available to play whenever someone else can't make it, but I think we're the reason we win. lol

Bout to start flowing on Money Shot, watch England play Trinnie, and then send off a bunch of contracts and faxes I've been lagging on. Tonight, I'm going to roll to the Producers Showcase and check them out. The finalists in their competition have to pitch shows before execs.

Money Shot Restart...

Okay, so I decided to start over with Money Shot. Clean the slate. Get rid of old starts and editions. Just a blank page and me. I'm meeting up with Lex on the 16th for a porn shoot, which is where I think I will start the book. He's just a real cool cat. You guys should meet him.

For the next three months, I'll be hanging with Lex about three to four days a week. I sort of hover, listening and writing. One of the things you figure out is that porn gets as mundane as any other business. They just do a lot of their stuff naked.

I cleaned up the Money Shot status bar so that it's now at zero. My actual contract says I just need to get to 80,000 words, but I don't know. I think I'm going to roll to 100,000. There's a lot of info.

The due date for the manuscript is October 15th, which is exactly 124 days away. Dividing 100,000 by 124 days means that I need to write at a clip of 800 words a day. I should be able to do that in my SLEEP. But if you see me slipping, get on my ass. I need that from time to time.

The main thing is changing my brain from writing screenplays to writing a book. Where spare was good in the screenplay, spare is not so good in a book. Folks tend to want you to paint a picture for them. So get ready for some mad description!

I still haven't heard from the NBC/NAACP Fellowship. Someone sent me info about the ABC Diversity Fellowship, and I think I'm going to apply for that one too.

MK is working on the ole t-shirt website, and it's close to being done. Time to get these t-shirts a moving. That also means that I need to send out a press release. Generally, you want to send out a press release about ten days before your go live. Give reporters a couple of editing sessions to pitch your story. I'll start working on that now.

Oh, got new business cards. I'm the LAZIEST business card person, and for years, I would do a gig and people would want a business card. I'd never have them. But I need them now because everyone pretty much demands them. Mine are pretty cool, red, black and green. Only one thing: I forgot to put my email address on them. So I need to do another order.

Good News...Bad News...

So I get to the Showcase last night and had a great time. Got a nice plaque for getting an Honorable Mention. Cool. So here's the good news: The publicist for UCLA comes up and tells me that we all got a mention in Variety. Wow. Cool. Bet. Now here's the bad news: They fucked up the title of our scripts. See below...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Showcase for UCLA scribes
'Return,' 'Flying,' 'Swamp' among winners

By LAWRENCE MARCUS

Five grad students have been selected as winners of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's annual Screenwriters Showcase.
Winners are Eyal Alony for "Return," Andrew Cypiot for "Flying Start," Phil Guidry for "Home Sweet Swamp," Brian Larsen for "Saga" and Dan Mazeau for "Sirens."

Honorable mentions went to Yule Caise for "Snake Trails," (WRONG! It's called Snail Trails) Fred Hess for "Okisumo," (WRONG! It's called Muchos Problemos) Lori Palm for "Little Green," Lawrence C. Ross Jr. for "Superstar" (WRONG! MEN OF THEIR TIMES) and David Whelan for "The Thinking Tanks." (WRONG! PRICELESS)

Screenplays will be showcased June 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Writers Guild of America West. Screenwriter Mike Werb ("Face/Off") will host.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now look, getting anything, any notice in Variety is a nice thing. Not gonna get your script bought, but hey, it's still a good thing. To get your script title fucked up like this, and to not double check, is really inexcusable. But hey, c'est la vie.

Back to the Showcase. It was a great time. We gave an award to an alumnus, Scott Kosar, (The Machinist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Amityville Horror) who was genuinely choked up at the award. The screenings sounded great and were entertaining. We had a packed house. Passed out a few cards, but in reality, just was glad the quarter was over.

What's Goin' On...

Over the weekend, I went back over my first draft of The Yardies Go Boom Boom. Cleaned it up a bit and I'm having it printed as we speak. BTW, if you want to get your scripts done fast and cheaply, there's only one place to go: Digital Express on Wilshire. There's my plug. Anyway, I've got to turn in my draft today.

Tonight, we have our Showcase, and I'm going to help haul stuff from UCLA to the WGA this morning.

Tomorrow, I will work on chapter one of Money Shot. I dreamt about the book for the first time in a while, so I think my brain has released all of the screenwriting and is getting ready to write a book.

I still need to finish that damned questionaire. They're probably pretty pissed right about now.

The US is getting Rice Czeched in the World Cup right now. Too slow, too boring, and too damn unambitious to win regularly on the international stage.

Mo' later...

Finished...

Ah, finally done. Finished. The last essay done. To celebrate, I took the fam to Harold & Belles for a fried fish, shrimp, oysters and creole potato salad feast. So much for the gym. Oh, by the way, the scale was off. Not 217, but 214lb. Still need to get my behind in the gym. But I'se done. Quarter ova. The World Cup has started and I watched Paulo Wanchope, my boy MK's cousin, score two goals. This, of course, reminds me that I need to contact MK. My brain is fried however, so I'll do it tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I'm getting up at the crack of dawn (5am) to go watch England play at the Egyptian theater. I'm kicking it with some of my best buds from the film school. They're serving breakfast and football, so add sleep deprivation (to substitute for jet lag) and you have a real UK experience. Did I mention that the quarter is over?

On Monday, we have our Screenwriters Showcase. I volunteered to haul stuff all day before the showcase, which should make me nice and thirsty for as much beer as I can drink during the evening. After Monday, I shut down UCLA and concentrate on my book. I'm actually looking forward to getting back to my old friend, the manuscript. I talked with my fiction editor, Kensington/Dafina editor Karen Thomas, and she told me that she'll get to my manuscript in late July, which works for me. Fixing any problems, correcting the copyedit, etc. will be due in mid-September. For my non-fiction manuscript, the due date is still October 15th, which should be plenty time. I'm REALLY interested in when these two books are going to be released. Normally, books take about nine months to publication, so that means they'll be released at the same time. That means I'll have double duties promoting them. That should be interesting, and it reinforces my belief that I need to do a telephone tour rather than a book tour. Still looking for a publicist, but I think I may have a lead.

Did I mention I'm done for the quarter?

Today...

1. I got on the scale this morning: 217lbs. NOT GOOD. But that's what happens when you slip for the past week and eat a few donuts, some ice cream, and other carbs. I'm on that slippery slope, and as soon as I finish writing this post, I'm off to the Wooden Center for the lifecycle.

2. Meeting with MK today. This summer, we're working on a really exciting documentary.

3. Need to finish writing a six page paper for Guber's class and then a two pager for Suber's. After that, I'll be done for the quarter.

4. Need to pick up new business cards. They're red, black and green, ya know what I mean?

5. I need to set my airline travel to NYC and the DC for this July.

6. Later tonight, I'm volunteering to mock interview eighth graders who are looking to enter some of LA's best high schools.

7. Play Call of Duty until I get to the next level.

8. Go BACK to the gym and work out another 45 minutes.

9. Contact Lex about next week. I'm going to shadow him pretty much for the rest of the summer.

10. Get ad done for my Fraternity Convention Journal.

The Washington Post State of the Black Man...

The Washington Post is embarking on a "State of the Black Man" year long series of articles and I'm not sure of what I think about them. On the one hand, there are serious issues to deal with. There's the whole pathology issue with everything from jail, drugs, alcohol, HIV, absentee fathers etc. that needs to be talked about. On the other hand, I HATE being some "species" of man that needs studying. If you talk to educated black men, you'll find that they have the same interests, same ambition, same desires as every other man in the world. But there are things in this society that can derail us from our goals, and as long as the articles balance the concept of personal responsibilty and merit (yeah, as though Paris Hilton needs that) with the systemic and institutional failure of the educational system, legal system, etc. when it comes to African American men, then I'm okay with it.

Script #2 Done...

Well, The Yardies Go Boom Boom is finally done. It came out to 113 pages and a lot of the third act is WP, which is short hand for writers problem. I gave the story a bit of a twist, a bit of mystery, and a bit of a surprise ending. But if there's one thing I've learned at UCLA is that a first draft is horrible. And this is a first draft. In reality, this the skeleton of the body. The muscle comes from many, many, many, many drafts. This draft of The Yardies stands up like a skeleton in a doctor's office. A bit limp, a bit scary looking, but the bones are in the right places. Over the next week, I'll try to clean it up before turning it in to my 434 teacher Dave.

This is the last week of the quarter, so I have a class with Peter Guber tonight. Then I have my last class with Howard Suber. Suber's class has been great. As I always talk about, I'm not a film guy. So it was a revelation.

I think I'll give myself about a week of non-writing and then get into Money Shot.

The daVinci Code...

is really just an episode of Scooby Do. I swear.

My iTunes Writing Playlist When Writing a Gangster Film...

Someone emailed me privately, asking what I listen to when I write. The answer: different music for different works. Here's my iTunes playlist that for the Yardies script. Obviously, I think the golden era of Hip Hop occurred between 1988-1995. lol

Guru Freestyle Funkmaster Flex
Work Part II Gangstarr f Big L
It's My Turn Steezo
Fat Joe feat. Grand Puba & Diamond D - Watch The Sound(1) Fat Joe
Who Got Da Props Black Moon
You Gots To Chill (Original) EPMD
Punks jump up to get beat down Brand Nubians
I Got Cha Open black moon
biz is goin' off Biz Markie
Ill Street Blues Kool G Rap & DJ Polo
Take it Easy Mad Lion
Rampage EPMD feat. LL Cool J
The Symphony Marley Marl - Feat. Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane
Best Kept Secret Diamond D
My Melody Eric B. & Rakim
Who's Gonna Take The Weight Gang Starr
So Whatcha Sayin? EPMD
Road To The Riches Kool G. Rap
My Philosophy KRS-One
How I Could Just Kill A Man? Cypress Hill
Ghetto Rock Mos Def
Straighten It Out Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
Off the Books Big Pun and the Beatnuts
Let Me Clear Me Throat DJ Kool
I Ain't No Joke Rakim
Microphone Fiend Erik B and Rakim
What's Up Doc (Can We Rock-) Fu-Schnickens with Shaquille O'Neal
Black Trump Mobb Deep
Hostile Erick Sermon
My Name is D- Nice D-Nice
Gravel Pit Wu Tang Clan
Luchini Camp Lo
Ghetto Red Hot [Hip Hot Remix] Super Cat
I Get The Job Done Big Daddy Kane
Ain't No Half Steppin' Big Daddy Kane
Soul Clap Showbiz and AG
Connected Stereo MCs
Funky 4 You Nice & Smooth
Dialated Peoples Dialated Peoples
Mr Big dick Schooly D
Mass Appeal Gangstarr
Here come the lords Lords of the underground
LL Cool J - Booming System LL Cool J
Fakin the Funk Main Source
Dolly my baby (bad boy remix) Supercat ft. puff daddy & notorious big
Bad Boy Sean Combs
Big Ol' Butt LL Cool J
Code Of The Streets Gang Starr
When The East Is In The House (Dj Premier remix) Blazay Blazay
Le Bien, Le Mal Guru and MC Solaar
Vivrant Thing Q-Tip
Take It Personal Gangstarr
The Most Beautifullest Thing in this World Keith Murray
Going Back To Cali LL Cool J
Get lifted Keith Murray
H To The Izzo Jay Z
EX Girl To Next Girl Gangstarr
Made You Look Nas
Rock The Bells Ll Cool J
Bridging The Gap (LP Version) Nas
RE: DEFinition Mos Def & Talib Kweli
Change The Game Jay Z
Umi Says Mos Def
Bring the Pain Method Man
Lookin' At The Front Door Main Source
South Bronx KRS-ONE
Wonderful Night (feat Lateef) Fatboy Slim
Funkmaster Flex How I Could Just Kill A Man Funkmaster Flex
The Big Payback EPMD
Just to get a rep Gang Starr
LL Cool J - Jack the Ripper (Kool Moe Dee Diss) LL cool j
I'm Housin' EPMD
Full Clip GangStarr
Crossover EPMD
_Chief Rocka Lords of the Underground
KRS-One Speech Funkmaster Flex
Ring The Alarm Fu-Schnickens
You're a Customer EPMD
Rockafella Skank Fatboy Slim
This or That Black Sheep
Keith Murray Freestyle... Funkmaster Flex
I Know You Got Soul Eric B. and Rakim
Funky Piano EPMD
Who Shot Ya? Biggie Smalls
Poetry B.D.P.
Funky Enough The DOC
Strictly Business EPMD
Joints and Jams Black Eyed Peas
Gimme The Loot Biggie Smalls
Cause I Can Do It Right Big Daddy Kane
buddy (w/q-tip & jungle brothe De La Soul
Warning Biggie Smalls
Never Seen Before EPMD
say no go De La Soul
Raw Big Daddy Kane
Sure Shot Beastie Boys
Ready To Die Biggie Smalls
Off the Books Big Pun and the Beatnuts
Brass Monkey Beastie Boys
Criminal Minded B.D.P.
Ghetto Story Baby Cham
Tease Me Chaka Demus & Pliers
Murder She Wrote Chaka Demus & Pliers
Funky Dividends Three Times Dope
The Greatest Man Alive Three Times Dope

Just Saw Layer Cake...

Just decided to get a six pack and spend the night working on my Yardies script to get it close to Layer Cake.

The World Cup is Coming...

And I can't wait. I don't think folks really understand how much I love football. I say football, not to be smarmy or because "soccer" sounds so ridiculous, but because I love football. College football, NFL, and yes, the original football (soccer). And with games beginning at 6am, my wife knows to not mess with me during this period. Who do I root for? I have to go in order:

1. Team: England/USA... For the twenty or so years that I've watched soccer, USA were crap. Utter crap. I could have given a better performance than some of the US players in the past. So England developed as my surrogate team. I've been a Manchester United fanatic since '92, and so it's the league I know. I can tell you about clubs in the Football Conference, as well as players in the English Premiere League. The style of play is appealing to the American sensibility of toughness, attack, attack, attack, and heart. So I will root for England too. But now, the USA has finally developed players who can compete on the international stage. Their manager, Bruce Arena, has put the US in the best position possible to win games. And even though I'm not big on the counterattack strategy, it works for the US. So I will root for the Red, White and Blue too.

2. Players: I root for all Manchester United players, no matter which country they play for. Ji-Sung Park for South Korea. Gabriel Heinze for Argentina. Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, Rio (why the hell do you get nutmegged all of the time) Ferdinand for England. Ruud Van Niesteroy (sp) for Holland. Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal. All of them, and anyone I missed. Next, I root for the playmakers, no matter their club team: Ronaldiniho, Thierry Henry (my favorite non-Red Devil player), Ronaldo (if he's not fat), Steven Gerrard (although I hate that he plays for Liverpool and he can never be bought by United).

3. The Underdog: I used to always root for Nigeria because they just didn't give a damn about defense. They'd let in 4 goals and score 5. That's my type of underdog team! This year, my underdog team are the Ivory Coast. Didier Drogba (sp) is someone I can't stand when he plays for Chelsea, but I'd like to see the Ivory Coast get some good news.

If you've always wanted to "get into" soccer, but never could, watch the World Cup. Most of the international stars will be there. Just wake up and enjoy!

Writing The Yardies...Watching The Krays...

I'm watching a 1990 movie about the notorious British gangsters The Krays. The Krays were East London (same place my characters are from) twins who pretty anti-social to say the least. They murdered, extorted, yada, yada. But that's not what interests me. I'm interested in the dynamic between the brothers. I need to strengthen the conflict between my brothers, Biko and Tambo, to ratchet up the tension. Right now, they're WAY too cool with each other.

Another T-Shirt...

Obviously, I'm not a model. But I play one on my website. lol

As for this t-shirt, let me explain: This t-shirt speaks to one of those pet peeves a lot of educated black folks have. In describing us, people will inevitably say, "He/She's articulate" as though folks are surprised that black folks can actually speak English. Whenever that word is spoken about a black person, I can mentally hear fingernails on the blackboard. I shouldn't get a special cookie for being able to put together a coherent thought. And it shouldn't be a surprise that I can speak both the Queen's English and my own special black dialect (when around other black folks).

Setting My Summer Writing Schedule...

As the quarter winds down, it's time for me to get my summer objectives down.

Books:

1. Money Shot is priority #1. From June to August, I will pretty much spend about eight hours a day with my subjects. My Thunders Mouth contract requires a minimum of 80,000 words, but I think it'll probably come out more toward 100,000. What I think I'm going to do first is write Chapter One right after the quarter ends. I have plenty of interviews and background to do it. After that, it's back to the San Fernando Valley for my information.

2. Money Shot (fiction): One, I need to come up with a new title for the novel. Two, I'm going to go back over the manuscript and make some changes. I need to know when I can expect the copyedit. If I can expect the copyedit in late summer, then I can make the changes in plenty of time. But you never know with Kensington. I like them, but I have NO clue to when I'll receive stuff.

3. I go to my Fraternity Centennial Convention (yes!) in Washington DC, and I think I'll stop in NYC before. Every so often, you need to meet and eat lunch with folks. So in one trip, I can meet with my editors at Kensington and Thunders Mouth, while also checking out my agent Manie. One thing people don't know about the book industry is how infrequent you can actually see folks that pay you. Eight years, three books at Kensington, and I've met my editor Karen Thomas around three times (maybe only twice now that I think about it. Once at Kensington, and then at BEA). I've never met my editor, Anita Diggs, at Thunders Mouth. I met my previous agent, Deidre Knight, once. And I've never met my current agent Manie Barron in person. But that's de riguour. However, I think a meet and greet is in order this summer, just to make sure we're all on the same page.

4. I have two book projects that are in various stages of completion (around 30,000 words). One is my Slaveryland project that I stopped last fall, and the other is a detective series I'd like to develop. If I have time, I'll putter around with them and try to advance them forward. I doubt that I'll be able to finish either one of them, but I'm going to get close. The goal would be to finish them by mid-fall, so when I turn in Money Shot, I have two more manuscripts in the coffer. It takes a bit for folks to decide to buy, negotiate, etc. so this will be cool to have perculating while I'm in school.

5. Find a damn good publicist. So far, everyone has told me that they've been underwhelmed by the publicists who specialize in black books, and I have to agree. My criteria is that you better not do a job that I can IMMEDIATELY tell that I could do better. That means scheduling me to some rinky dink late night radio shows in teenie tiny markets, just because you know that radio hosts. At this point in my career, I want national coverage for my books, and I want to start branding myself in the same way other national authors are branded.

Screenplays:

1. MK Asante is working on a great documentary project and he's asked if I'd like to make a contribution. At first, I was hesitant because I know how much stuff I have to do. But then I thought about it and realized that this would be an historic project, and I'd like to be a part of it. So you make time.

2. Summer is twelve weeks, and since UCLA doesn't open until late September, I figure I can write one full screenplay and part of another one. My next three scripts have to do with the black church, terrorism, and a black tradition.

3. I'm going to clean up Yardies as much as possible, but not sweat it if it's not ready to be seen. I'll work on Yardies over the long term.

4. The Showcase has been great in that I'm receiving calls and emails pretty much every day. Managers, production companies, etc. want to see my script. We'll see where that leads.

5. I want to develop a treatment I've been working on about Fraternity/Sorority life.

Lectures:

1. I tamped down the amount of lectures I did last year because of school. Not next year. I'll be lecturing at least twenty times during the year, and I'm scheduling throughout the summer. I need to know my schedule as soon as possible. I'll schedule school around the lectures.

That's pretty much it. I know that it sounds like a ton of stuff, but in reality, if you are REALLY disciplined, you can get it done. I'm a person who gets VERY nervous, and sort of paranoid, if I'm not writing. I can literally feel a weird nervousness happen in my shoulders, as though someone is going to come to the door and take all of this away if I don't get to work.

Today...

Okay, I'm on page 88, and I'm ready to get to the third act of Yardies. It should be pretty smooth sailing from here, I simply got sleepy last night and stopped writing. I even came up with a twist in the story, which made me a bit hyped.

About to head to the gym. I haven't really been on the lifecycle for a month, and after a weekend of barbeque, I'm feeling lumpy and dumpy. The belly's getting a bit swelly and I need to buckle down. Got on the scale this morning: 214lbs. I'd really been hovering around 211-212lbs, but I think I've REALLY gotten off track. So today is back to six meals a day, with my diet of clean food. 8 glasses, roasted chicken, avoid the carbs, etc. I think I'm making my Fraternity convention (July 25th) the target date to get to 200-205. That's six weeks to lose 14 pounds. Should be a snap.

Gotta watch the DaVinci code this morning and then write a report. I have three more screenwriting showcase packages to drop off. And then I need to drop off Sloan script.

1:41am...

I'm on page 83 of Yardies, dippin' in and out of the script, adding things, taken out things. I thought Biko, my main character, was taking me away from my story, but I realized that he wasn't. I was. So I went back into the script, added elements that I'd either missed or didn't see at the time, and now I feel better. I'm at the point in the script where shit is about to go horribly average for all of the Yardies.

Right now, I'm on youtube, watching old school hip hop like the GOAT duo, EPMD, the Big Daddy Kane tribute on Vh1 (BDK dancin' with Skub, classic), and Kool G. Rap and DJ Polo. Thank god for youtube. Speaking of VH1, has anyone noticed that VH1 Soul is what BET should have been? But that's a dead horse.

Oh, today I had an adventure in black businessland. God, I love my people, but they can sho' make it hard for you to spend money with them. Let me begin...

It's 11am, and something in my soul tells me that if I want to get the fam some 'cue, I better act fast. You see, black businesses have mad, wicked, crazy hours and days open. For example, my frat brother Sean lives in Oakland. Like the righteous black man he is, he tries to shop at as many black biz's as possible. He owns a house, and therefore needs, well house stuff. The only black owned hardware store in Oakland IS NOT OPEN ON THE WEEKENDS. I repeat, the hardware store is NOT OPEN ON THE WEEKENDS. Monday, they are open bright and early. But the weekends? So there's your template. (That still doesn't match my boy MK Asante saying that in Philly, he went to a black restaurant where a waitress put her hand on one side of the menu and said, "We ain't got none of that." Classic!)

So I'm hungry for some swine and beef links from Phillips Barbecue. Side order of potato salad, beans and two pieces of 7up cake. Nothing unusual about that. Ask the wife, she's down. The kid? He places an order of ribs, mixed sauce. Seven year olds are specific.

Okay, hop in the Jeep and head out. Cranking old school dancehall to 62 (that's as high as my stereo goes), set the equilizer to SUPERBASS, and I'm rolling down Wilshire to Vine to Crenshaw. Wanted to enjoy the sun. Get on Crenshaw rolling south. Now, there are two Phillips and black folks, per usual, have definite opinions about which is the "best" one. As a rule of thumb, when a black owned restaurant has more than two locations, the restaurant that has the most white customers is the one black folks avoid, not because they don't like white folks, but because they believe that the food is "toned down" for white folks palatte. We like our food highly seasoned, and the myth in the neighborhood is that white folks' tongues can't stand much more than salt and pepper. Not sayin' it's right, but ya know. So instead of going to the Roscoe Chicken and Waffles in Hollywood, most black folks will roll to the eastside and eat at the Manchester and Main Roscoes where they KNOW white folks don't frequent. Hell, black folks barely try to go out to Manchester and Main. But that's another story.

Anyway, back to Phillips. There are two. One is on Crenshaw, right off the 10 freeway. That's the one black folks think is inferior. But it's hot, and there's a line going down the block. I chose to pass it up and go to the o/g Phillips in Leimert Park. Now, here's where it gets tricky. I drive extra ten miles to that Phillips, only to be confronted with a handwritten sign that says "This location closed today, Memorial Day, Wednesday, and Thursday". My first reaction is "what the f%&%!" Does Toys R Us close on Dec. 22, 23, 24, 25? Why are you closed???? People will pay double for barbeque on Memorial Day and Phillips is laughing at our money! Why???

Regroup time. I get a bright idea. I'm going to call my order in to the inferior Phillips. I'm going to laugh at the fools who didn't have my foresight. 411. Los Angeles. Phillips. Yes, dial that for me. Recording: "We aren't taking phone orders". Brilliant!

It's back to the "black folks avoid" Phillips. The line has quadrupled. Phillips has about two and a half parking spots. Okay, maybe five? Zoning laws? Anyone? Why do I have to park catacorner at the generic gas station in order to get some 'cue?"

I get in line, and the sun has moved from Baghdad to Crenshaw. I'm sweatin' like three hoes in church. Inside, Phillips has placed a sign Stevie Wonder could read, explaining to our friends not familiar with black barbeque about how to order. Sandwiches, which of course ain't sandwiches, sauces, etc.

Two hours later, barbeque in hand, I finally make it back to the crib. My son looks at me like I've circumnavigated the globe. I know he's made a mental note that traveling to a black barbeque pit ain't worth the trouble. I think he's right.

As Made Famous By...

Yaya. If you watch America's Next Top Model, then you'll know.

Most Popular...

The HoodieTees website goes up in about ten days, but I've been wearing a couple around town and campus. This one is the most popular by far. The guy behind the counter at Phillips Barbeque wants one. The sister at UCLA wants one. And someone on the street stopped me and asked where they could get one. Brilliant! I've always liked the self-evident nature of the message. lol If you want one, let me know! I have a few in stock before I make another order. The revenue is going to help me fund a few media projects.

Goals For The Weekend...

This weekend is going to be pretty straight forward.

1. Wake up early tomorrow and kick the soccer ball around with my son.
2. Go to a Fraternity luncheon.
3. Work out on the life cycle.

Starting tonight, it's a race to the finish line for Yardies. By this Tuesday, I want to be at either 105-110 pages. That will finish it. After that, I'll spend time cleaning it up, filling in some of the plot holes, before turning it in to Dave. I'll do a rewrite later this summer.

Time to turn in the Sloan script, Men Of Their Times. I think we get some notes from the science mentors in July, rewrite, and then it's done. After that, it's a race to $10K

Still no word on the NBC Fellowship. I need to know if I got it because that will determine how many lectures I will do. Last year, I didn't lecture that often, and I took a financial hit. I don't think I'll do that next year. I'm going to go back to lecturing around twenty to thirty times during the year, including Black History Month. School will just have to fit around it.

Received my advance check for non-fiction Money Shot...thank you very much Manie Barron and Thunder's Mouth.

Which reminds me: I STILL need to finish filling out my author's questionaire. I swear,I will finish it this weekend.

One of the things I need to do is fill out my "team" on the book side. I need an expert publicist, not someone who thinks they can do it, but has no track record. I need a publicist who can get me on national television, position me as an "expert" on various topics, yada, yada, yada. I have a great accountant. I have a great attorney. I have a great agent. I need a great publicist.

Weight: 213lbs. I've slipped in terms of my daily food regimen. A bit too many In & Out 4by4s and I'm feeling a bit lumpy. So, it's back to six good meals a day, and four times a week on the lifecycle, and then to the goal weight of 205lbs. For the past couple of weeks, I've been using two 20lb dumb bells, and that's going well. The addition of racquetball on Mondays (and possibly more times during the week) will help drop my last eight pounds. Softball has been fun, but I'm not sure from week to week if I get to play. I do know that my joints are bumpin' after the games.

In a couple of weeks, my little side biz will be up and running. It's a t-shirt shop called HoodieTees, and I think it's going to be a hit. I wore one of the t-shirts on campus on Wednesday, and a sister immediately said she loved the shirt and wanted one. Brilliant! Some of the cash from HoodieTees is going to fund my first new media business. Peter Guber has really got me going with this whole new media/mobile phone content/internet thang.

You have to remember, or maybe you didn't know, that in 1995 I started the first black owned ISP on the West Coast. It was called RBG Online, and my partner and I were profiled in the LA Times and Black Enterprise. Our 28.8 modems were state of the art! We had about two hundred of them, and we watched as the black community (our customer base) pretty much yawned. We were a bit ahead of our time. At the time, the prevalent Internet model was an AOL type community. We'd come from the BBS messaging board community, and so we decided to use a buggy, yet beautifully attractive GUI system called Galacticomm as our operating system. We had to send out thousands of disks for folks to sign on. Little did we know that the BBS was rapidly becoming obsolete as soon as we opened the packages. We should have figured something was wrong when the Galaticomm owner committed suicide. C'est La Vie.

But my attitude is that failure is another term for case study. And I use RBG Online as a case study as to what not to do, and what to do. My new media businesses will use that knowledge to be more successful. I'll be a media mogul yet!

Think BIG...

Think BIG...
Think BIG...
Think BIG...
Think BIG...
Think BIG...

Goals for the week...

Page 90 by Saturday. I'll take a rest and then see about killing the rest of the script by that Monday. After that, I'll go back through it and fill in the holes. After that, it's 100% Money Shot. Okay, not really. I have two scripts I want to write over the summer, but I think 90% Money Shot is more like it.

Well...

Life is about slots and putting people into slots. We resist, but in reality, we're very comfortable in those slots. We know what we've going to get, and you actually get paid pretty well to stay in those slots. Innovation is RARE, and those who innovate tend to pay a price. When it comes to the business of writing, I've always had a yin-yang relationship with being in a slot and my desire to innovate.

For example, there are books outside of the African American genre that I'd like to write, however since my success is in the African American market, it's damn near impossible to break out. I'd have to cultivate a whole new audience, hell, before that I'd have to convince my agent that it was worthwhile to do. So I'm going to be writing books in the African American genre for my writing career. Is that bad? Not really. I LOVE writing about Black people. But it is bad in another way, since I'm basically constrained.

I mentioned that because in my 434, Dave gave us the real about how you are looked at as a Hollywood writer. If you establish yourself as a comedy writer, then voila, you write comedy and not drama. You fit into a slot. Women writers are in a slot. Black writers are in a slot. Etc. Your artistic sensibilities want to rebel against being slotted, but your bank account welcomes it. What's funny is that I like writing because I tend to hate anything that resembles a conventional occupation. But the more writing you do, you realize that writing is just as conventional as anything else. And every writer is slotted, whether they like it or not.

Going Back In Time...

Yesterday, I was asked to speak at an elementary school during their career day. So I talked about being a writer. But what I didn't know was that this school, now a charter school called KIPP, used to be called St. Anselm Catholic School, which is where I went to first through fifth grade. So I found myself standing in my old second grade classroom over thirty years after having been in there last. It was the most surreal experience ever.

The kids were PHENOMENAL. These were fifth grade kids who wanted to know about royalties, book runs, the sale projections of a new book, etc. LOL . I was impressed, and it's funny how I could pick out the future writers. These were students who talked about writing and the emotion tied to it. I wish I had enough scrilla to fund a writers workshop for them.

2:45am...

It's 2:45 am and I'm on page 60. I'm going to write ten pages tomorrow. Right now, I'm watching C-Span's coverage of Book Expo America. Now BEA has a special place in my heart. One, in 1996, I watch C-Span's coverage and decided to write my first book, The Divine Nine. And two, I signed at BEA when it was in Los Angeles a couple of years ago. It was fun and huge at the same time. Next year, when my book(s) come out.

The First Draft...

One of the toughest ideas screenwriters have to get used to is the fact that their first draft is utter crap. Seriously. I think most folks get so elated that they've finished their script that they automatically think it's ready. Not true. But I had that same idea. See, since I come from books, I tend to write my manuscript, go over it a few times, and then send it to the editor, where she'll tell me where all of the crap is located. With scripts, that's the writer's job. So you have to rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite some more. And that's why I'm not too concerned if my Yardies script isn't the greatest. As my teacher Dave says, this draft is just a blueprint. And that's what I see. In the fifty or so pages written, I have TONS of plot holes to be filled, description to be tightened, and dialogue to be revamped. But I'm going to press on without looking back. We only get ten weeks (really nine weeks) to start, write and finish a script. With that short period of time, you've got to plow through. So, it's onward tonight. I'm looking to write seven to ten pages.

Going on a Writing Binge...

I can feel it in my bones. I'm going to write tonight and see if I can get to page 70 of Yardies. I need to finish the first draft as soon as possible in order to do a bit of a rewrite. Plus, I have to look over my Sloan script. Still waiting on the word from the NBC/NAACP Fellowship folks. I hope I get it, but who knows?

I have a bit of a side business I'm about to start called hoodietees.com, and the t-shirts have come through. If Mark Burnett of Survivor fame can use t-shirts to conquer television, why the hell not me? My boy MK Asante is working on the website. He's about to graduate from UCLA TFT and I'm going to miss him at school.

My 434...

Is absolutely hilarious. I swear, I'm having more fun in this group than I think is really allowed. We really do go over our pages, but the conversation always tends to gravitate toward humor, innuendo, and funny stories. Dave, our fearless leader, is a breath of fresh air. He's a UCLA film school grad, working writer, and knows what he's talking about. But he also knows that being a writer is about stressing yourself out. So would he add to it? He give EXCELLENT notes, and keeps it light. Kudos.

Yesterday, there was an accident on my block. A woman decided to pull out of her parking space, and then make a U-turn. Bad idea. She was clipped by a car, and then the domino effect started. At the end of it, one car was totaled, a parked car was badly hit, and another parked car had its bumper damaged. That bumper belonged to my Jeep. I've got to call her insurance tomorrow.

Racquetball...

Played racquetball for the first time yesterday, and man, what a game! Who knew? Everytime I saw racquetball in the movies, it was always played by a couple of Wall Street up and comers, one intense and the other out of shape. I never thought about playing it myself. But it's a fantastic workout and does everything I need: hide the actual cardio workout with a fun activity.

Back to work...

Goals for the week...

1. Get to page 60 of Yardies.
2. Meet with Lexington for more Money Shot
3. Meet with my Sloan science professor. Prepare to turn in Men of their times for the Sloan.
4. Work out four times this week. Restart the diet. Right now, I'm at 212lbs. Feeling fat. Need to get to 205lbs, the original target.
5. Clean up an old completed script. I need to rewrite it, but before I do that, I need to clean it up. I wrote this before getting into UCLA, so I can now see a ton of issues.
6. Continue reading Alex Epstein's Crafty Screenwriting.
7. Inquire to my agent about when I should receive my Kensington contract. BEA is happening this week, so that could be the holdup. But ya never know.


I was driving the Jeep today when a strut decided to come loose. So now, I have to roll out to get a new set of struts. But regardless, mother's day was great. Took the wife to Fred 62 in Los Feliz with the little boy. Ate the Santa Fe Frittata. Saw a past UCLA film school grad while there. Wrote twelve pages today, and I'm still not sleep (it's 4am right now). Time for bed.

Second Base...

Played softball for the first time in over twenty years. UCLA film students took on USC film school students and we waxed them 21-10. I went 2-4 with a single and a double. Damn near did a face plant on the double. I woke up this morning and realized that every joint in my body aches. But it was damn fun, and I'm going to try to get out there when they play on Wednesdays.

Still writing Yardies, and I have four weeks until the end of the quarter. But I've also pulled out some scripts that I'd stopped writing, or needed to begin rewrites. I figure that when I get stuck writing Yardies, I can continue working and moving forward. It's worked for the past week.

Showcase Results...

Hey y'all, MEN OF THEIR TIMES won honorable mention in our annual UCLA Screenwriters Showcase. To recap, each year we anonymously send copies of our scripts to industry professionals around town, and they give us notes and grade them. There are five winners and five honorable mentions, and we usually submit about forty to fifty scripts. So that's pretty good for my first script at UCLA. Now I want to read the notes to see what people found strong and what they found weak. I mainly entered because I wanted those notes, but who knows? Maybe I can get a manager from this whole deal? The winning scripts are performed on stage in June, and it's a fun time to hang out and watch the work of your fellow students. Two of my boys, Dan and Phil won, so it'll be fun watching their scripts.

The Longest Year...

By all measures, it's been a long year. I look back on when we first walked into Melnitz Hall and it seems like it was eons ago. Most of the first year screenwriters are burnt, and simply want to get their 434 done. Driving up and down 101 was good for the old brain, and I was able to move the script forward. I'm going to try to bang out the second act by the end of next week, and then finish up two weeks from now. I'll use the rest of the quarter to make it better.

I'm giving more and more time to Money Shot. I finally have a handle on how I want to tell the story, and as UCLA winds down, I'll change my focus.

Lakers Lost...

Well, I'm bummed. My Lakers have gone fishin'. I've finished playing golf in Half Moon Bay, and I feel a bit refreshed. Needed to get away from writing for a while. I drive back tomorrow morning, and then I'll start writing again.

Headed to Half Moon Bay...

I'm heading out to play golf at Half Moon Bay this morning. I need a break. I'm WAY behind on my script, mainly because it's really starting to feel like a LONG year. I'm going to do a scene-o-gram to get it back kickstarted, and then try to finish the first act by this weekend. Just write it, don't rewrite it. Met with Lexington yesterday for Money Shot. A REALLY cool guy. Always considerate, and in this industry, that's not a given. Have to finish reading a script I may have to either polish or rewrite. Looking forward to the summer...

Felicia Henderson...

Felicia Henderson, exec. producer of Showtime's Soul Food, UCLA MFA screenwriting grad, and currently getting her PhD at UCLA, came to Suber's class and talked about her experiences. Right after was admitted into UCLA, I called Felicia to get the 411 on UCLA film school. So it was good to see her speak on Soul Food. She had the most successful black drama on television, but said that it is damn near impossible get a black focused drama on television. And that's a damn shame because I want to create a television drama from the AA point of view. But it was fun listening to her experience, and from a writers' standpoint, it was a clue into how hard one has to work on a show.

Men of their Times Rewrite...Sorta...

With the NBC/NAACP Fellowship, I had to unexpectedly go through Men of their Times. It took all weekend, but I finished. It wasn't really a rewrite, but I saw things I could fix immediately and did so. For some reason, Final Draft had corrupted my script, so I had to go through it line by line.

Next on the list is to read a script sent to me for a possible polish or rewrite. I'll know when I'm done reading it. I have to finish that damn author's questionaire from Thunder's Mouth ( I HATE questionaires) because I'm WAY overdue. And then I need to work on Yardies. I need to get to the end of Act One by the end of the week. Oh, and I'm doing some Money Shot work on Thursday.

It's back to the grind.

WalkAmerica...

This morning, Langston and I walked with my Fraternity at the March of Dimes WalkAmerica event. Here are a couple of photos...

Impromptu Rewrite...

I was informed that I've been nominated by the screenwriting facuty as a finalist for an NAACP/NBC Screenwriting award. I have to attach my script (Men of Their Times), but I'm glad I took a look at it. Somehow, the formatting was corrupted, and I've had to go back through it. That's created a rewrite time that has been extremely beneficial. It's the first time I've looked at the script since the end of the last quarter and I can see the errors. So I've been cleaning them up. The script and ap are due May 3rd, so I don't have time to waste.

Peter Guber's Class...

Each time I attend Peter Guber's class on new technology, I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm making Model T cars today, and next week, the media industry will be flying spaceships to Mars. Meaning, the big studio system of paying stars 20mil for a terrible movie is about to go down the drain. Yep, it's about to go down the drain. Like Communism, the movie industry is about to collapse onto itself, under the weight to chasing that elusive big hit. That mega blockbuster which pays for all of the crap they regularly produce. Tentpole's are what the industry calls them. Lords of the Rings meets The Titanic. One or two billion in sales worldwide. That lightening strike that makes stockholders happy, studio heads buy bigger breasts for their trophy wives, and a finer grade of drug for the talent.

But I think new media is about to kill all of this. Not with a knife thrust to the heart, but with tiny cuts. Small as paper cuts, but at strategic places in the business plan. Me? I'm hedging my bets both ways. I'll milk the established system and then use the cash they give me to move on into the 21st century. Cause no one ever got rich working for someone else. Unless you were the CEO of an oil company.

Getting Stuck In...

I'm a huge English football fan, having started watching Manchester United games back in 1992. One term that you'll hear on a broadcast is about how a player will "get stuck in". That is a term that means a player is fully committed to tackling, or contact, or hustling. It's to be admired. One of my fellow UCLA screenwriters gets stuck in. He just held a party for first years and we noted how he has to be the hardest working writer among us. He's already on page 85 of his script, and is probably beginning to work on the next one. I'm on page 12. He's stuck in, fully committed, and getting it done, while I'm really, well I'm bullshitting. I keep rewriting the same lines, over and over, versus getting the script done. So, look at the progress meter for the next week. I'm going to write ten pages per day over the next week. I want to write the script so that I have enough time to do a little bit of rewriting before the end of the quarter. It's time for me to get stuck in.

What I'm Listening To...

I'm a HUGE Amel Larrieux fan and now that she has a new album out, I'm in bliss. I just heard the first song on her new album, and I'm going to run out and get it tomorrow morning.

California Science Center...

We had a family day today, taking in the Superheroes show at the California Science Center (it's spring break for the kiddo, and he was getting a bit stir crazy). It was cool watching Langston get excited by all of the scientific experiments. And then, as Spiderman's biggest fan (as told by Langston), the Superheroes exhibit was cool as we could test the strength of a spider web, and about a thousand other things. Two pics as Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk, and it was off to the California Pizza Kitchen.

Weight Loss Redux...

I've plateaued a bit in the weight loss quest. I started at 226lbs, and now I'm 212lbs. Good. My goal is to get to 205lb, and toned. I haven't been to the gym for a week or so, and I feel a bit bloated. I'm not eating badly, but I'm not eating well, meaning that my meal plan is all wrong. I'm snacking WAY too much on Kashi bars and water, rather than eating full meals. So I'm going to get back working out four times a week, with about a 1000 crunches and 1000 pushups per day. I'm trying to see if I can get down to 205lbs in the next two weeks, and lose another pant size. It actually makes me a better writer for some reason.

Howard Suber is the MAN!

Okay, we have a professor at UCLA named Howard Suber, and he is a GOD. Pure and simple. G.O.D. He teaches a film structure class that breaks down, well, film. It's hard to explain why it's good, but it's like someone is explaining to you that you've been speaking English all of your life, but there's a secret language called English 2.0, and this language opens your world to a whole new meaning. That's what Suber does. I'm not a film guy. I'm a writer who is becoming a film guy. And Suber is explaining what I'm seeing beyond the flickering of the images and dialogue. As I listen to him, I'm writing notes and then making adjustments to my Yardies script. If I ran UCLA TFT (as though they'll ask me), I would make Howard MANDATORY for every entering screenwriter. The first class they take. And then, they can go about writing scripts.

Types of UCLA Film School Students...

Since I'm getting close to the end of my first year at UCLA, I can see that there are three types of UCLA film school students (at least in the screenwriting program). There are those who will go to film school, work on their scripts a bit after graduation, and then decide that writing isn't for them. There's also the type who will work exclusively on screenwriting, and will either sell scripts or get a job in the industry. And then there's the third type of which I belong. The third type want to sell scripts, yes, but they also are interested in every aspect of entertainment content. Yes, content. I know it sounds unromantic, but I think that the faster writers realize that they are in the content biz, the faster they'll be able to exploit their talents for mobile, Internet, gaming, etc. that goes way beyond the silver screen. In my producer classes, there's a small cadre of writers who are the third type. I have a feeling that we'll be doing business long after the first two types stop working in the industry.

Nickname for British Police...

Does anyone know a derogatory nickname for British Police beyond the stereotypical "Bobbies"? I know The Bill, but if anyone has other nicknames, particularly when it comes from the Black British community, I'd appreciate it. I need it for my Yardies script.

Deleted A Brother...

I started my Yardies script and realized I needed to delete a character. I had my protag, Biko, working with his brother Tambo. However, when I started writing, I soon realized that I was making Biko weaker by giving Tambo attributes Biko should have. At first, I did the split characters for the purpose of constant tension, Biko likes chocolate, Tambo vanilla, Biko goes up, Tambo down, etc. but it didn't work. There are other areas for Biko to have conflict without a cheap addition. So Tambo got wacked on Page One.

Disneyland on Easter Weekend...MADNESS

Brother in law brought fam to Disneyland. We decided to go too. Forty five million other people (estimate) decided to visit Disneyland too. My feet feel bad.

The Yardie Story...

The one flaw in our 434 advanced screenwriting system is that we don't get a bunch of time to flesh out our stories and characters. We only have ten weeks to complete our scripts, so that means you can sometimes find yourself a bit stuck if you haven't plot everything correctly. Last week, we read our stories in class, and luckily, we ran out of time before getting to mine. My Yardies story was okay, but not at all what I wanted it to be. And reading it would have exposed how incomplete it was. But during my journey from Northern Michigan, I had a lot of time to flesh out the story to my satisfaction. It now makes complete sense. I wanted a different type of gangster story and I think I've done that. Now, I'm going to start writing character sketches for the characters.

Marquette, Michigan...

I'm not saying that Marquette, Michigan is located at the end of the world, but you can sure see it from here. I took an overnight flight to Chicago, then a puddle jumper to Green Bay this morning, and then drove four hours to Marquette, Michigan, not Wisconsin. I spoke on writing and had a good time, but I have to get back in the car in only three hours from now, and drive back to Green Bay to get on a 6:40am flight to Chicago, which will go to San Fran, and then home to LA. So I'll be knocked out on the plane. Ahh, the life of an author.

My New Publisher...

My publisher for Money Shot non-fiction version, Thunder's Mouth, sent me an author's questionaire. I put it away and said I'd do it later. And then it became even more later. Now it's due tomorrow. You'd think that it would be short, but NOOOO, this questionaire is a BEAST. They're going to use this questionaire for their publicity, but they ask so many questions, I wouldn't be surprised if they asked for my first born child. So that's on the agenda to get done tonight.

I've fleshed out the first draft of my Yardie story, and I'll continue to mess with it over the next two days. I'm going to do a character sketch, detailing the physiology, psychology, and sociology of my characters. Also, I'm going to add the ethics of each character. It is assumed that gangsters are bad, but the reason we like The Godfather characters is because they have an ethos, family, loyalty, respect, etc. that keeps them "ethical" within their own point of view. So I need to know the ethics of my characters. That should make them more well rounded and less two dimensional.

Remember BlackCafeLit? I'm working with my fellow UCLA film school student MK Asante on it. We're shooting a pilot over the next few weeks, and I think we have a winner.

In the NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: About a month ago, I pitched a reality show that went really well, except it didn't sell. I read yesterday that Steven Spielberg is producing (with Mark Burnett) a reality show that is EXACTLY the show I pitched. I'm not talking kinda like it. Or sorta like it. EXACTLY like it. What does that tell me? One: That there are no original ideas, but just original ways of doing the same old thing. TWO: Ideas don't happen in a vaccum. And THREE: Whereas the name "Lawrence Ross" has no cache in this town, the name "Steven Spielberg" can sell damn near anything. I gots ta get me some name recognition.

Whose Story is this...

One of the most essential questions a screenwriter has to answer is: Whose story is this? That's not an easy thing to answer until you start writing the story. At UCLA, we normally write a two page treatment, and that helps to flesh out who is the protag and who's the antag. In my gangster tale, It's between the main gangster and the guy who's after him. I think I'm going to lean toward making the gangster the protagonist. I'm a fan of the anti-hero, and tend to hate films where we watch the trials and tribs of the police. So, this is going to be Biko's story.

Schedule Set...

I've got my schedule pretty much set, and it worked out PERFECTLY. Three of four classes are evening classes, all of them are spread out from Monday through Thursday, with nothing on Friday. BEAUTIFUL. Now I can work on Money Shot during the days. I couldn't pitch my first choice 434 Tim Albaugh because of a class conflict, BUT I got his protegee who seems mad cool. So we'll see how it goes. About to work on the two page treatment for Yardies, which I just can't wait to write. In the three pitch sessions I attended, it seemed like 90% of the pitches were comedies. Yikes. I like comedies, but damn, that's a lot. That said, I do want comedic elements in my gangster script. And I'm going to do my best to add them.

Classes...

Okay, for some reason, UCLA creates scheduling conflicts with a LOT of popular classes. I'm taking four classes this quarter (gotta get some bang for my $5000 bucks). They are great classes. Peter Guber on Monday. On Thursday, I have a class on the Art of Presentation with the former prez of William Morris. That's cool. Now's the problem. There's a legendary prof named Howard Suber who's teaching a class on Film Structure. It's pretty much a MUST class to take at UCLA. But the problem is that I have a 434 prof I wanted to pitch on Wednesday. UCLA scheduled the classes at the same time. So I had to make a decision, and decided to go with pitching two 434 profs on Tuesday. Now I'm actually happy with the 434 profs I pitched to on Tuesday, but I hate being limited. Anyway, I'm tired as hell. Tomorrow, I help get the showcase scripts sent out. After that, I'm going to sleep in.

Good News and Start of the Quarter...

Anita Diggs, my editor at Thunders Mouth, has agreed to keep my original title for my non-fiction black porn book. So it will be called MONEY SHOT. My agent is contacting Kensington so that we can change the name of the fiction version. That's good news to me because the non-fiction had always been called Money Shot in my brain, but Thunders Mouth didn't like it. But, with a change of heart, we're good to go.

The quarter begins tomorrow, and I start pitching 434s on Tuesday. I have a couple of production classes I'm going to take, including one with producer Peter Guber (never heard of him: go to IMDB or check out Sunday Morning Shootout on AMC). That's going to be a cool class because normally Guber's classes are restricted to those in the Producer's program only.

My 434 pitch for Yardies is very solid. The next thing is to actually write the complete story. I want a gangster script, but with really unpredictable twists.

Also this week, the scripts are due for the Screenwriting showcase. I'm helping to get them together and then deliver them to industry execs. Each one of the screenwriters in the program had to call folks in the industry to see if they'd judge our scripts, but my list was a stone cold dud. Not ONE of the people on my list would agree. I felt snakebit. So at least I can get these scripts together and delivered.

I have another script that I completed for the Humanitas award. We have to write a comedy pilot and the prize is an internship on a show. I wrote a pilot about funny Jesuit priests called OUR FATHERS. As a twelve year Catholic school vet, I know funny priests. Insert your own joke.

Called Lex about Money Shot. I have class three days a week, and from now on, I'm going to spend the off days working on Money Shot. With my non-fiction books, I have to feel a bit of pressure before I get interested in writing it. I have seven months before MS is due, so now I'm feeling the proper pressure.

With two books coming out around the same time, I'm thinking about how I want to promote them. I think I'm going to eshew a book tour and go with spending money on a REALLY good publicist. I find that doing a telephone tour when the book first comes out is much better than spending cash signing books. I SWEAR that book signings are overrated when it comes to promoting books, but they are a necessity.

Lastly, I have two lectures to do. I fly out to Northern Michigan University on April 12th, and then I speak at San Jose State in late April.

Lot of stuff to do...Let's rock and roll!

Ahh, to hell with it...

Changed my 434 script yet again. Free Love is something I'll have to work on this summer. It's a pretty complex story and it's a good one, but I need to hone it and I don't have enough time to do that before pitching next week. So I'm going to move on to my gangster story. That's much more developed.

A Call From Hermene...

So I get a call from Hermene Hartman, publisher of Savoy. Funny how she decided to call me all of the sudden. Out of the blue. Just out of the goodness of her heart. Long convo cut to the nitty gritty, she tells me that despite all of the evidence to the contrary, she's a responsible person, and that I would get paid...it's just that she didn't know when. Well, that took a load off! I mean, there's nothing like combining the comfort of knowing that you'll get paid, with that ambiguously vague time period of "I don't know when". Whew, that cleared everything up! Glad she called.

In the National Association of Black Journalist forum (an organization I was proudly a member of back when I was a reporter. And I think I just may pay dues again, even though I'm not a reporter now), I think I've sparked a conversation about freelance writers and contributors getting the shaft from some publications. And that is good. So what's next? If no check by Monday, I will go to phase #2 of the accountability campaign for Ms. Hartman and Savoy magazine. Maybe then, we can get a little more specific about the "when" part of when I'm getting paid.

Savoy Redux...

It's been damn near a year, and Hermene Hartman at Savoy magazine has still not paid her writers and photographers. And so where I was patient before, partly because Savoy was a black owned business, and I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, I finally decided to take further action. When I did my research on Ms. Hartman, I was astonished to find out that she was the president of ABLE, a black business organization in Chicago. ABLE has some of the most respectable black businesses in the country, and I couldn't imagine that they knew they had a president who either couldn't pay her bills, or was unwilling to pay her bills. So I emailed them and explained the situation. All sixty four of them. Along with the editors of the Chicago Sun-Times. And the Chicago Defender. And Crains Chicago business magazine. Ms. Hartman should be held accountable for not paying for work done, and we as writers should not have the burden waiting for payment.

Changing My Mind...Yet Again...

I was going to do a comedy script. There was a book that I wanted to adapt, but after doing some investigation, it appears that the book has already been optioned, so that is a no go. I had another comedy idea, but this Spring Break rest has been good for me, and I think I'm going to write another story. Back to drama.

One of the things I have to do is balance my desire for commercial success, and my need to write things that are important to me. I have something to say, and I think I'm bright enough to say it in a complex way, versus being a writer whoy pumps out some simple crap because of a check. I like checks, yes, but I also know that writers are in unique position to become immortal. The two can meet, and I have an obligation as a husband and father to make sure they meet. But I only get so many chances to write something. I better make it worth my time.

So...I will work on a piece called FREE LOVE IN UTOPIA. It's about an Iraqi war vet and his trials and tribs.

The 70s--The Best Decade for Elementary School...

Come on along and join us
Come on along
We're gonna have some fun
Come on along and join us
In a little bowl of Vegetable Soup!
*Drum Break*
It takes all kinds of vegetables,
All kinds of vegetables,
All kinds of vegetables,
To make a bowl of Vegetable Soup!

Well...

I waited to the last minute and it cost me. I tried to pick up my Jeep and then get back to campus to turn in my fellowship info (having waiting until the last minute) and couldn't make the deadline. Oh well. But back to the Jeep! Just paid $25 less on a full tank of gas. Found a parking spot easily because I didn't have a large truck bed to haul around. And it's just a plain cool Jeep. 6in lift with 33in mud tires. I was going to get rid of the mud tires, but now I'm not sure. They make a ton of noise, but I'm getting used to it. Plus, the Jeep came with a tube bass, so the music pretty much covers up the sound. They do feel like they're floating a bit though at around 60mph. I'll think about it. Still might get some all terrain tires.

Mad Hectic...

Today is going to be mad hectic. I'm supposed to pick up my Jeep today. Cool, 'cause being without your own car in LA sucks. I've been rolling the wife's Jeep Liberty, but it's all girly. Also, today is the deadline for submitting material for various fellowships and prizes for screenwriting. So of course I waited until the last minute to fill out the applications. I need to get that together and submitted by 4pm. I have to finish reading and giving notes to two classmates on their scripts. They've already given me WONDERFUL notes on mine, so I want to make sure that I read their scripts carefully. Reading scripts doesn't come naturally to me, so I have to gut it out. I'm also polishing a 30 page sitcom pilot that I'm submitting for another contest. I think I may be done there, so that's cool.

On Monday, I'm going to restart the Money Shot research. Actually, that's not true. I'm going to rethink the book proposal and replot out the chapters. The way I have it now, the book is too anthropological. I need to give it some umph. It'll come to me because I try not to force it.

On the personal front, I haven't been to the gym in a week (because of the car situation and a gang of stuff to do), but I haven't gained any weight. I'll start back this weekend. My son is really starting to get into reading, which is wonderful because that diabolically terrible school Warner Elementary tried its best to undereducate him. It's amazing what they'll try to do to little black boys. I'd always heard about bias and attitudes toward them, and of course, I was once a little black boy, so I have my own experience, but until you have a little black boy in the school system, it doesn't hit home. I'm now a paranoid when it comes to my son's education.

Changing My 434 Script...

I'm going to change the 434 script I'm going to write next quarter. I'm going to title it Project X because I like the title so much that I don't want to make it public. But this script is going to be a comedy. I'm still going to write Slaveryland, but probably during the summer. One thing I'd vowed to do was write in a different genre each quarter, so that I get the most out of my advanced screenwriting courses. Last quarter: historical drama. This quarter: comedy. Next quarter is probably going to be a gangster/thriller.

Change of Plans...

I was going to lay on my behind for two weeks, and let my brain rest, but there's been a change in plans. I'm going to do some work, and that's pretty much what I'd end up doing anyway. I'm pretty much an adult ADHD case when it comes to sitting still, so just vegging is not in my nature.

My boy MK Asante, the most together 24 year old I've EVER met, has bought a Canon HD camera, so we're about to be 'bout it bout it (by the way, why did I see Master P in Ralphs the other day? Did I mention that?). We're about to shoot a project I'd been tossing around for months called BlackCafeLit. We're going to shop it to BET (there has to be hope for that station) and see where it goes. If not BET, then we have a TON of options. So that's next week.

On the writing tip, I have a comedy pilot script that I need to write for a contest. I'm actually excited about writing this because I think I have a funny premise. But I can't really say what it is just yet.

For my 434, I'm going to write SLAVERYLAND, the project I was previously writing as a novel. It works better as a script, but I'm still trying to figure out the tone. I have two weeks to do that.

Since the contract for Money Shot (Non Fiction Version) came in, it's time to devote some time to the book. So that's another thing.

Lastly, I'm going to try to rewrite MEN OF THEIR TIMES in the next twelve weeks. I want two scripts ready to shop by June.

So that's that. But I'm still going to sleep a lot.

BTW, weight update:

I've pretty much plateaued at 211lbs, but I really expected that. I always plateau there. My diet (and I mean diet as what I eat and not a weight loss specialty) is becoming very natural. I haven't had chocolate in eons, and I'm still working out at the Wooden Center about three days a week. I'm going to add basketball games to it to get me to the 205lbs. target weight. But with a loss of 15lbs in ten weeks, the belly is no longer swelly, and the face has edges to it versus being round and fat. But I still need to kill those last six pounds. As my girl Fresh at Crunk and Disorderly likes to say (quote Diddy), at 40 years old, I need to "preserve my sexy". :-)

The Quarter finally over...

I met with Hal to get the final notes on MEN OF THEIR TIMES. He had some great ideas about how to sharpen Langston's voice, and also how to get a character that I really didn't exploit well, into the mix. He told me that I'm about 50-60% there, so I'm feeling pretty hyped. I'm going to rewrite it over the next quarter cause I want it ready to shop by the summer.

I sold my truck yesterday, and it was tough watching it go. Bought her new and she really did me well. But she also sucked at gas mileage. My Jeep will be ready next week, so for the meantime, I'll be rolling my wife's Jeep Liberty. I'll be easy to see. I'm the brotha carrying a keychain that has a rhinestone heart (can't seem to find any other key for the car other than the wifey's).

We also have a bunch of contests to enter. But for now, I'm laying on the couch.

re: The Pitch...

Hey all,

I had a great meeting today. The two development people I met at the production company were SUPER cool. Not fake, Hollywoody, but real folks that you could kick it with. Also, they remarked that my pitch was really good and they could see the show. That was another plus, because I remember pitching a show about two years ago, and we did almost everything wrong (I pitched it with a writing partner). In this pitch, I was clear and concise and to the point. And lastly, they said that the formatting of my reality show was spot on. That's important because it means the show makes logical sense.

The bad news is that they didn't buy the show. They made some great arguments about the subject matter being difficult to capture on screen, and pointed to a couple of shows like my show (never believe your idea is unique. It ain't.) which failed. BUT, I left the meeting feeling good, and also knowing that in order to make my show different than those shows that failed, I think I could make a few tweeks, and then pitch it some more. I just may pitch it to Tyra's production company, Bankable Productions. She's an Inglewood girl.

Anyway, a GREAT experience anyway. If you're going to get in this business, you need to make sure that you are a sunny optimist, even though the path to success is one with a decidely negative slope. As I've said before, I sit on the couch with a 100% "No" decision on any idea. If you don't go out there and see if it's any good, then you don't afford yourself the 2-5% chance of getting a "Yes".

Wish Me Luck...

On Thursday, I will be pitching a reality television show to a production company I really like. Not just because I like their show, but because I like the owner of the production company. He's not all Hollywoody and he has a genuine enthusiasm for his work that shows. I want to sell my show and I've deliberately not pitched it until I found the right company, but I think I may have found it. But hell, you never know until you actually take the meeting. There are a number of scenarios that could happen. 1. My pitch could suck. 2. My idea could suck. 3. My idea could have already been pitched and rejected. 4. It's not what they're looking for. 5. THEY LOVE IT!!! Let's hope for #5. I'm an eternal optimist, so honestly, the other four options don't matter to me. My outlook is that I already own "no", so let's go get that "yes".

Perfect Day...

1. A bag of polly seeds.
2. College Basketball on the tube.
3. A 1/4 Zankou Chicken (white)
4. Cal playing UCLA at 3pm.
5. Listening to Guru and MC Solaar 'Le Bien, Le Mal" from back in the day.
6. A frat event in a couple of hours
7. My script done.
8. Might even get a nice wine and chill with the wifey.

Life is good...

And then...

Fin

Wednesday...

I'm so close to being done, and I so need to be done. Right now, I'm on page 85 and by the end of the night, I want to be around page 100. Act III will end between 110-120. I still have to meet with my science mentor for some info on scenes, but for now, I just needs to get done.

Home Stretch for MEN OF THEIR TIMES...

The full script is due a week from next Monday, and I still have to:

1. Rewrite portions of Act II.
2. Meet with my science mentor for three science scenes
3. Write Act III.

I'm also on the Showcase committee, so I have some calls to make. AND, there's a comedy script comp that I'm entering too. Oh, and the two book contracts are in the mail. So I'm going to be a busy brotha.

Today...

I did absolutely NOTHING important...and LOVED it! I watched England beat Uruguay in a friendly, prepping me for my World Cup 2006 marathon. Turned in my Showcase ap. Went to Roger Dunn golf and bought my first new set of clubs since 1992. Decided to go big baller with Callaway Big Bertha Fusions with Nippon shafts and King Cobra woods. May not make me better, but damn I'll look good. Now I'm looking for a custom made golf bag with either the Alpha shield or simply A-PHI-A on it. If anyone knows where to get one, please holla! Decided that it was time to sell the Dodge Ram cause gas is kicking my behind. I'm going to stay in the Chrysler fam with a Jeep. Went to Louise's and ate a nice blackened salmon. Feelin' good at 211lb, about five pounds from the goal weight. Life is good, but tiring.

Notes from the 434...

I got two really good notes from fellow students in my advanced screenwriting class today. One of the most important thing in the 434 is to be open to suggestions, even when your mind my want to dismiss them. We put up our scene-o-grams on the overhead for the second time and classmates were able to dissect the structure of my script. One student pointed out that she thought that the end of my first act ended wrong. I wanted to avoid being episodic by throwing a curve ball to the audience. She made a great point that the audience, for good or bad, expected something different. Another student pointed out that I could still accomplish my curveball, but in the second act. And voila! My script is much better. Sure, I have to rewrite a few scenes, but they were right. Their suggestions make sense and I'm going to change my script accordingly. This is the reason I go to UCLA.

Ten More Pages...

I have CLASS today. Class?? I'm so damn tired right now, I could sleep all day. I took a Friday red eye to Washington DC (after HORRIBLE customer service from United Airlines. United, if you're reading this, fire the three LAX counter reps you employed for the United Flight 308 to BWI. They are EMBARRASSING, and the reason why you're in bankruptcy. Thank you.). We landed at 8am, which gave me no time to do anything but shower and change. I was at Howard all day, which was fun, and then back on the plane that evening to get back home. Got home around 11pm. And this is the SECOND time I had this scenario this week. I'm worn out.

So it's class, and then coming home for a bit of rest. Hopefully, I can write ten more pages to get to 80s, so I'll be at or close to the end of my Act II. After that, MEN OF THEIR TIMES will be all downhill.

Finishing Act II...

Twenty more pages by Monday...On a red-eye flight to Washington DC...and back..

What I'm Listening to as I write...

Prefab Sprout Moving The River lyrics

You surely are a truly gifted kid
But you're only good as
The last great thing you did
And where've you been since then
Did the schedule get you down
I hear you've got a new girlfriend
How's the wife taking it ?
If it's uphill all the way you should be used to it by now
You must know me, Father it's your son
And I know that you are proud of everything I've done
But it's the wonders I perform,
Pulling rabbits out of hats
When sometimes I'd prefer
Simply to wear them
If it's uphill all the way you should be used to it and say
My back is broad enough sir to take the strain and it's
Hello mother, it's your son and aren't you proud, of all I've done
But I'm turkey hungry, I'm chicken free, and I can't breakdance on your knee
But it's stay right there son, baby do, while I is itchin' for something new
So watch me hawkeye and understand the force of will, the sleight of hand
Movin' the river, I'm turkey hungry, I'm chicken free and I can't breakdance on your knee
Movin' the river, bucket by spoon, and do you think that they'll like me when they learn what I o
Movin' the river, money for jam, and it takes such an effort to stay where I am...

So Far, So Good...

So Far, So Good

Finish Act II by next Monday, which means I'm about fifteen pages short. Need to get to about pages 60-65: Done
Contact Howard University to make sure they have books for my Saturday signing: Done
Go to Fred Rubin's Comedy Class on Tuesday: Done
Go to the Showcase meeting on Tuesday: Done
Fly to Baltimore to speak at the Baltimore City Community College on Wednesday morning: Done
Fly back to LA on Wednesday evening: Done
Finish writing the showrunning analysis by Thursday's class: Done
Set up meeting with my science mentor for Men Of Their Times: Done
Set up a reading by MFA actors so that I can hear how my script is sounding.
Contact porn talent scout to set up time so that I can spend the day.
Contact Lexington Steele again to start doing more research
Set up interviews with porn actresses
Contact agent to see what's up with non-fiction Money Shot contract.: Done
Contact agent to see what's up with deadlines for fiction Money Shot manuscript.: Done
Fly to Washington DC on Friday to sign on Saturday
Go to Fred Rubin's class on Sunday

Weight Loss To Date:
Starting Weight Loss: 226lb
Week Seven Weight: 213lb 211lb
Goal Weight: 205lb

Back to Work...

This week:

Finish Act II by next Monday
Contact Howard University to make sure they have books for my Saturday signing
Go to Fred Rubin's Comedy Class on Tuesday
Go to the Showcase meeting on Tuesday
Fly to Baltimore to speak at the Baltimore City Community College on Wednesday morning
Fly back to LA on Wednesday evening
Finish writing the showrunning analysis by Thursday's class
Set up meeting with my science mentor for Men Of Their Times
Set up a reading by MFA actors so that I can hear how my script is sounding.
Contact porn talent scout to set up time so that I can spend the day.
Contact Lexington Steele again to start doing more research
Set up interviews with porn actresses
Contact agent to see what's up with non-fiction Money Shot contract.
Contact agent to see what's up with deadlines for fiction Money Shot manuscript.
Fly to Washington DC on Friday to sign on Saturday
Go to Fred Rubin's class on Sunday

Weight Loss To Date:
Starting Weight Loss: 226lb
Week Seven Weight: 213lb
Goal Weight: 205lb

After I kill the last eight pounds, then I begin weight training and "body sculpting". Time to get some definition.

What a SURPRISE!

Last night, my beautiful and wonderful wife, surprised me with a birthday party for my 40th! It literally blew me away. All of my close frat, friends, and family were there as we celebrated at Tangerine in West Hollywood. I'm still recovering from the many glasses of champagne and Makers Mark & Water, so forgive me for the brevity. Below are pictures from the party...
My wife April and I...
My frat brothers Sean Carter, Robert Lyons, Me, and Ray Dennis
My mother and I cheesin'
My oldest friend Tony Jordan
My film school compadre M.K. Asante, one of my oldest friends and best friend of April, Karen Simi, and April.
My best friend and best man in my wedding, Rob Lyons and Me.


MORE PHOTOS LATER as they get sent to me.

Back from Purdue...

I have had the pleasure of meeting some great people on this current tour. Renee Thomas, director of the Black Cultural Center at Purdue (if you're ever in the area, stop in. It will blow your mind.) was simply sweet as can be. And the BGLO members I met were eager, and looked like they want to move their organizations forward. It was a great time.

Back at home. My 40th birthday is about to come up on February 20th, and I'm feeling pretty good. The ole diet is just rolling along (thanks Zankou Chicken!) and I've just about gotten rid of my lecture tour gut.

My agent called and said that Kensington wants to buy my fiction novel called Money Shot. That's cool. So they would be publishing the fiction version, while I would be writing the non-fiction version for Thunder's Mouth. Now I have to change the non-fiction title from Money Shot to something else. I'm up for suggestions.

Oh, and I finally got in touch with the porn talent agency guy. So we're a go for interviews, and day in the life, yada, yada.

My Act II is ROLLING. It is so rich that it's sort of like eating cheesecake. You eat it in small bites, rather than large ones. That's how I'm writing. One page, then stop. Another page, then stop. Just let it flow naturally and don't try to do too much.

The annual UCLA showcase is about to happen too. Last year, after I was admitted, I went to the showcase to hear screenplays by current students. It was really cool, even though I didn't know anyone. Your script gets read by industry folks who then pick about three or four for the showcase. Then, actors read your script. Cool. I'm going to enter MEN OF THEIR TIMES.

Right now, I'm going to kick back and catch up on the last episode of 24, watch the Arsenal vs. Liverpool match I missed, and then see who Dick Cheney shot today.

ACT II: The Groove...

I'm about to start Act II of MEN OF THEIR TIMES and baby, I'm in the GROOVE. The writing groove. Ya know how Michael Jordan said that when he was in the groove, the basket became large? Well, the pages become smaller for me. I'm rolling, and it feels good (especially since I'm in West Lafayette, IN where it is 29 degrees). Act II is due on February 27, and I think I'll hit that mark with ease. So watch that progress bar. It's about to rock and roll.