About my scriptwriting

Thought I'd tell my film industry Tweeple about my scriptwriting background:

I've always had a day job in the computer business but after hours I write.

In the 1970s a friend and I wrote several film scripts that went nowhere at all. We did several "industrials" that were well received through. I kicked around many script ideas after that but never did anything until 2002 when I moved to L.A. for a job. I finally put down on paper a script I had been kicking around for years. I turned out the first draft in a week because all I had to do was write down what the voices in my head were saying. Of course it needed several more drafts before it was ready to show anyone and more drafts incorporating some good feedback I received. It didn't sell but I got a few assignments due to it.

I also joined The Scriptwriters Network (http://www.scriptwritersnetwork.org/swn/) and soon became the Program Director. I convinced well-known writers to come and talk to us at our monthly meetings. We also put on a series, "Story to Glory", where we invited scriptwriters to talk before and after screenings of their films. Some of the writers were: Barry Morrow, Bruce Joel Rubin, Lee and Janet Scott Batchler, and Michael Blake. I also helped out with some Sherwood Oaks Experimental College for Screenwriters programs.

I moved to the New York City area in 2003 and tried to get The Scriptwriters Network members around there interested in doing programs in NYC but no one wanted to do anything. Instead I joined a couple of Meetup.com groups. I helped out with some scripts there but nothing ever was produced. My job also was taking a lot of my time - computer jobs are rarely 8 to 5 - so I left my writing slide.

I'm now in the process of acquiring the film rights to a somewhat well-known book by an award-winning Young Adult author. (I'm keeping the details under wraps until the contract is signed.) My older granddaughter had read one of his books as a school assignment and had raved about it to me so I checked but found it had already been optioned. I kept checking periodically and in January found that IMDb no longer had a listing for it. I went through the publisher and was referred to the author's manager. He said that the book I was interested in was still under option but that most of the other books were available.  I picked a couple that seemed promising and decided upon the one I'm optioning. I hope to sell it to the indie wing of a major or a true indie along with me as a co-producer.

I've got a cabinet full of ideas and other scripts. After my current project I'm going to see about a TV series that I expect will go over well. It's based upon reality but that's enough in the public domain that I'd not have to option life rights. It most closely compares to "Medium" but is action/adventure instead of a crime show and with a different method of "seeing".

Wish me luck with optioning the book. I'll keep you posted on what happens.