January 5, 2014: On tap for January!

Spending quality time with the dogs = check!

Okay, following twelve glorious days of unbridled eating and a weekend of football-watching, it’s time to buckle down and get back to work.  I’ve got a big January ahead of me…

1. We’ve been told that a decision will be made by early February on a project Paul and I currently have in development.  So, this week, we need to address some notes on the first draft script, make sure it’s a tight and compelling read – y’know, the kind that makes you want to green light it to series – and then deliver it…and hope for the best.

2. I’ve been spinning my wheels on the last few scenes of the southern gothic pilot I’m co-writing with my talented friend, Tara Yelland with the help of my research assistant (and Georgia native), Jeffrey Wilson.  I just have to push through and get it done, hopefully by tomorrow, then send it Tara’s way so that we can both give it a re-read and decide on next steps for the rewrite.  At a whopping 65 pages, it needs some significant tightening-up in addition to a (southern) dialogue polish.  If my 2013 luck carries over into 2014, the reaction to this script will no doubt be: “We love it!  But can we set it in Chicago instead?”

3. Back in October, Paul and I were hired to develop a series pitch for a science fiction novel written by “the dean of science fiction writers”.  We traveled to Toronto in November to pitch it to broadcasters there and, in the third week of January, we’ll be going to L.A. to pitch it there.

4. While in L.A., we’ll be meeting with the team behind a terrific, big-budget period series that needs a show runner, someone to write the pilot, and is looking to shoot in – of all places! – Vancouver.

5. Also, while in L.A., we’ll be starting the meet-and-greets, laying the groundwork for a possible return trip in April-May with an eye to staffing season.

6. I’m about 17 pages into the horror feature I’m co-writing with .  It’s a solid start – creepy, weird, and mysterious.  Ideally, I’d love to hit the 30 page mark before handing it off to Alex who presently has his hands full working on Orphan Black.

7. Stargate Special Features Producer (and runner-up in our Stargate Fantasy Football League this year) Ivon Bartok and I have been talking about co-scripting something for a while but could never quite agree on the right project.  I wanted to write a musical while he had his heart set on a martial arts extravaganza.  Eventually, his people got together with my people (we basically exchanged texts) and decided on a comedy.  So far, it’s only a kernel of an idea – but a pretty damn funny kernel!

8. And, last but not least, visit my doctor to find out why my heart has seemingly migrated to the right side of my chest.