COMM Post--I Thought Yesterday Was Going To Be A Rest Day

I arrived home tired from driving 225 miles to and from Monterey. My Blackberry vibrated and I casually checked who emailed me. It was an email from Allen Amundsen, a professor from HSU, with some high quality and thought provoking ideas about a screenplay version of Cancer On My Mind:

The underlying theme of the book will be the same for the screenplay: a man who finds the strength to stare down the biggest conflict in his life--his own brain. A triumph over tragedy story--finding the hope and strength within in order to battle the cancerous tumor that also lives within.

I'm thinking about personifying the cancer as an imaginary person whom only the protagonist (Walter, of course, lol) can see and hear. Mr. Cancer (I think I will merely refer to him as The Stranger in the script) appears often to taunt him. This will open up many opportunities for riveting dialogue between protagonist and antagonist throughout the script. I think the imaginary Cancer Man will end up being a love/hate character for the audience--he is the paragon of evil and the bringer of death, but also witty and charming (sort of like a demon/devil type of character--after all, its always the villains who get all of the glory: think Hannibal Lecter or the Joker.)

Also, in terms of dramatizing the real-life story points, I'd like to weave in some flashbacks of the Father and the Brother. The key supporting characters will be the Mother and Friends.

In particular, it might be wise to create some composite characters for the Friends--I think Friend A (perhaps "Jeff") will be supportive throughout, and Friend B (perhaps "Michael") ultimately chooses to sever the friendship because he can't deal with the protagonist's struggle/possible death. So this will create another layer of conflict and tension (as well as another layer of hope for the protagonist.)

The Surgeon will also be a major character, becoming a friend and ally of the protagonist.

I see the screenplay as 60% serious drama, and 40% humor--which is a balance that always makes for a rich movie-going experience.

I will have specific pages for you very soon. Let me know what you think of the ideas!

Allen Amundsen has taught me a lot about being a creator and or writer, "Just do what makes you feel good, enjoy it, and don't take things too seriously."

Allen has breathed new life into my book, by thinking about how it could be displayed it a more layered, interactive, drama/comedy/audience interactive perspective. The appearances of "The Stranger" are stylish and smart, and don't give away too much from the beginning.

Man, I am happy to have someone with the passion to de-construct and then re-construct the dark subject matter in my book into a living and breathing screenplay. He has the passion, creative outlook, and energy to really make something real, even more real.

I spent sometime trying on a new pair of shoes for work and will wear them around the house before I test them out at the S. F. International Airport at IT-G. They feel pretty good up to this point, but let's not get too cocky. Let the feet be the judge and butt out.

I spent a few hours on the Internet tonight searching for publishers I will submit my query letter or book proposal to in the next few months.

I am still anticipating at least a few more positive reviews of my book from the 12 emails i sent out to UCLA, Duke, Sloan-Kettering, Harvard, and UCSF.

I finished the query letter, but am still waiting to hear from Mary Ellen, a marketing expert in Albequerque, NW, to give me a few pointers.