From the vaults

Over the weekend, I was talking with a friend about horror movies. Specifically, bad horror movies. And that got me thinking again about a very old script that I had been working on with my writing partner Rob. We came up with a story that played with the idea of a group of ghost hunters (like the guys on the SyFy show "Ghost Hunters"), and in the course of their investigation on an haunted prison/jail/hotel, they would stir up some less-than-friendly spirits and a horror movie would break out. We had plot turns, jokes, great horror bits, and a twist to the film that is something you never saw before.

We had originally written the script a few years ago, working with a producer who had worked with Rob on a WWII documentary. She was interested in his idea for the horror film, so he and I spent a feverish ten days writing most of a screenplay so we could read it at a meeting at the producer's house. We finished most of it, outlined the rest in an exciting paragraph of action, and then pitched it. Everyone involved liked the idea, including our own twists. We talked about the next steps to take to make the film, but ultimately the project fell through. And, true to form, Rob and I never went back to work on it, since we were no longer planning to make the movie.

And, unfortunately, that has emerged as a habit for me. I dedicate a lot of energy into a project, and then when that project takes a downward turn, or when another project replaces it in the front of my mind, the older one simply falls by the wayside. As a result, I have a whole pile of never-finished scripts as opposed to a pile of finished-but-not-edited scripts. I'd like to be better about following up on these projects; you never know when an old completed script will come in handy for a new project or as a writing sample. But we worked hard for that week, and we don't have a finished screenplay to show for it. I've actually been thinking about dusting off those old notes, seeing if I can give it some shape again and try to write the ending. Just for fun.

If I do, I'll tackle it next week. This week is a busy one with RHP work and temp work, and I barely have enough time to cook, learn my lines, or have a social life. So next week... Perhaps...