When Hollywood Calls The House On The Hill

If you’ve followed this blog long enough, Modern Philosophers, you’ve read my comment about how screenwriting is like forgetting that you bought a lottery ticket.

One day, you get a call out of the blue and someone tells you that ticket you bought awhile back is suddenly worth a fortune.

I was in a bad mood when I left work.  I stopped at the grocery store on the way home since I didn’t feel like shopping tomorrow night as another blizzard is supposed to be pounding Maine.  When I got to The House on the Hill, I had to shovel again since the sidewalk plow guy had knocked a ton of snow into the end of the driveway.

Hollywood was the furthest thing from my mind, and I was not forming Deep Thoughts on my future as a Screenwriter.

Then, it all just happened at once.

In a matter of moments, the writing of tonight’s blog post was interrupted because I was messaging the previous director attached to .33 Reverse Gunther, texting the previous producer to option that script, and then on the phone with Matthias, the producer who is working on getting Gunther made right now.

For those of you new to the blog, .33 Reverse Gunther is my personal favorite of all the screenplays I’ve written.  It’s a black comedy about a bank teller, about to lose his house to the very bank for which he works, who hires a crew of homicidal thugs to rob the bank.

I had reached out to the previous director and producer because Matthias needed control of the project’s IMDB and Facebook pages to post updates.

Clearly, something was up if Matthias wanted to take over those pages, but I knew enough not to ask.

One thing I’ve learned from the Screenwriting business is that if I keep my expectations low, it doesn’t hurt as much when the bubble bursts.

Matthias’ call came while I was in the middle of tonight’s blog post, so that should explain why the article about Governor Lepage’s veto is somewhat disjointed, lost steam, and came to an abrupt end.  I couldn’t focus after the sudden flood of Gunther information overwhelmed my Deep Thoughts.

Of course, Matthias swore me to secrecy, but his update excited me to a point that I was pacing the main floor of The House on the Hill repeatedly as I listened to what he had to say.  Let’s just say that things are moving forward in a way that will probably make me lose sleep tonight, Modern Philosophers.

Again, Matthias stressed the importance of this blog and its 11,000+ followers to the success of the project.  We should have some VERY interesting information to post on here in about a month, so I hope you look forward to that.

We talked about a scene in the script that he wanted me to rewrite.  Even though I haven’t actually read Gunther in months, I immediately slipped into screenwriter mode, pictured the scene in my head, and discussed it in detail.

I made sure that any rewriting of .33 Reverse Gunther was going to be done only by me.  Matthias didn’t even hesitate when he assured me that would be the case.

I told him that he needed to get me some original Gunther images for the blog, and he  promised that he already has an artist working on it.

Needless to say, my crappy mood, the threat of snow, my sore back, and my frustration with my job are the furthest thing from my mind tonight.

All I can think about is my lottery ticket, that one I bought so long ago and tucked away in a drawer for safe keeping.

I cannot wait to share the news with you, and use the blog as a production diary so that you feel you are a part of what is happening, too.

Hollywood called The House on the Hill tonight, Modern Philosophers, and the Screenwriter in me awakened!

To be continued…