Timing Is Everything

We live in a land of clichés. We hear things all the time that we usually dismiss. I am as guilty of this as any other person. Recently I’ve decided to take heed of a cliché and expand an idea I had several years ago. What cliché? “Timing is everything.”

It’s amazing to me what can happen while eating cheesecake. Most people get fat, but some, like me, find inspiration…while getting fat. I don’t know why it struck me at this moment, but it did and I think I need to share this with others who are aspiring writers.

A long, long time ago in a gal…um, wait, scratch that. About 15 years ago in a college apartment I spawned an idea for a comic book. I worked closely with an artist, a pair of colorists, and a publisher to see my idea to fruition. I was set. This was my moment. This was my million dollar idea.

I did manage to scrape enough cash to have my idea printed. Alas, it was not to be. My idea was solid, people liked it, but it didn’t have flair to make it to the big time. That and I had no idea the mounting business ideology I would have to tackle to get it to the next level. Money truly does talk in the comic book world.

So why am I bringing this up? Cheesecake! Yes, while downing the heaping helping of caloric bliss I was reminded of the cliché aforementioned. See, my book was about corporate greed. While this idea never really goes out of stock, it seems fitting to resurrect it giving the temperature of the nation. I explored the idea of what would happen if corporations ran an entire planet. There was no government. The people seemed to have everything. On the surface, everything was fine. Do a little digging or fight to change it and…BLAM…they would do anything to keep things the way they are in the corporate world.

Sound familiar?

The timing of this is perfect. There are those who believe the government needs to do more and there are those who call our leaders names and defend the status quo. It’s an epic struggle. It’s one that polarizes people. It’s a wonderful setting for a writer.

A big moment I had while eating this cheesecake was to redefine the telling of my story. I decided, since I am the eyes and ears of this website in the world of comic books to movies, to explore the possibility that my idea should go straight to film. It would be a conversion for me, but, since nobody really read it outside of my friends and family, it would be new to them.

I started wondering what it would take to write a film based on a comic book I know inside and out. Is this a good idea? What techniques would be involved?

First and foremost I would recommend to everybody reading this to never try writing a movie if you are not ready to learn a whole new way of thinking. It is very different. When I wrote a comic book, my ideas were fluid. It’s a very free feeling. When you write a screenplay, you have to see the world through a lens and have it make sense. You also have to pay extra attention to detail. After all, the script should guide the director, sculpt an actor’s way of thinking, and tell a good story to the audience at the same time.

My friend Travis Landry has written several screenplays. His current project is something he is adapting from a short story he wrote when he was 21. He helped me clarify the difficulty in transferring the ideas from one style of writing to another.

“When you have any idea and put it on paper you automatically set rules. If you are writing a comic book, your target audience must be considered. When you write a movie, you have to consider everybody who may see it.”

Who are these people?

“Anybody and everybody,” he laughed.

Now, keep in mind there are certain movies that will be limited in scope. Almost any comic book to film movie will likely have a limited audience. However, as Landry points out, the idea is to make it broader in scope as to appeal to the masses.

“Think about your favorite movies. Are they ones who appeal to members of society you wouldn’t sit down and have a drink with?”

He confirmed my idea as being timely and tapping into public fear and hopefulness.

“A lot of writers make the mistake of thinking their idea is original and will blow people away. The writers I know who make a living at it find a way to write about things that are timely,” said Landry. “The original ideas are rare. You can make money in this business without having one original thought in your head.”

What Landry is referring to are adaptation writers. It is their job to read something and figure out a way to make it viable for filming. I decided to look back at my comic book and others I have seen on screen and do a little studying. What did I find? It is essential to understand the piece. I have always felt the comic book movies that have failed have forgotten what made the comic fun in the first place. One perfect example is the last two Hulk movies. The first one was awful. Landry feels it was an attempt to make a movie about The Hulk instead of portray The Hulk as a character within a movie.

“There is a fine line between the two. You already have an established character. It is a good idea to spend some time explaining how this character is formed, but it shouldn’t be the entire movie,” quipped Landry.

As for the second Hulk attempt, it got mixed reviews, but everybody agrees it was much better than the first one.

“They took what almost everyone in America knows about the character and turned it into a story. They didn’t insult the audience’s intelligence.”

He also said to make anything you write about comic books fun.

“They’re comic books for crying out loud! They are supposed to be fun. I can’t believe people forget this,” said Landry.

As for me, I have decided to give my comic book idea a try as a movie. I will drop you a line in the future to let you know how it is going. And to think all this was spawned by cheesecake. Imagine the possibilities if I had eaten the chocolate cheesecake.

p.s. For those who are curious, my comic book was called “Planet 10.” Good luck finding it.