tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post3832728188589802994..comments2024-03-29T04:56:23.027-04:00Comments on Cockeyed Caravan: Storyteller's Rulebook #179: Be Happy to Start On the Ground Floor (UPDATED)Matt Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319984238456281734noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-21628803897906348572013-05-09T08:41:19.997-04:002013-05-09T08:41:19.997-04:00Shoot, I want to read his sonnets. He's absol... Shoot, I want to read his sonnets. He's absolutely right about the ability of closed forms to force you into solutions and leaps you'd never see otherwise. Excuse me while I go herd my avant gard, experimentalist students over here...ramshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06197775203594297901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-57312998880165853012013-04-01T13:50:47.320-04:002013-04-01T13:50:47.320-04:00Hmm. I don't know. This post reminds me of a...Hmm. I don't know. This post reminds me of a false dichotomy I used to think of often which I refer to as Unicorns vs. Art. <br /><br />I used to joke in film school that I'd write any kind of film for money except "a unicorn movie." That was my limit. Perhaps I was arrogant in thinking it was beneath me. But I was also correct in understanding that the very best version of such a thing was beyond me. Because I had (and still have) absolutely nothing to say about unicorns or to the kids who care about them. Cut to a few years later when a film school acquaintance actually made his version of a unicorn movie (as an Indie film no less!). And, though I've never see it, it certainly looks as corny and obvious as his other work. Turns out neither one of us was cut out to reboot MY LITTLE PONY into FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, though his attempt made way more sense than mine ever would have.<br /><br />So if this was really a missed opportunity then where are all the other Matt Bird 'tween pilots and franchise specs? Instead, didn't you really internalize this lesson in a much subtler direction by ending up creating more commercial and less angsty versions of the dark crime/thriller stories that obsessed you then and now?j.s.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-76845905646909827782013-04-01T00:37:16.800-04:002013-04-01T00:37:16.800-04:00Well, yes, if you want to write a show well, you h...Well, yes, if you want to write a show well, you have to either like it on some level or at least find an appreciation of it (I've never see Dora, but from what I hear it's actually pretty good. My toddler-daughter already somehow has Dora shoes, so it's just matter of time until I find out.) but part of being a working screenwriter is coming to terms with working on projects that you flat-out loathe, and still somehow doing a good job. I'll have a post about that at some point... Matt Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07319984238456281734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-69763346050556188672013-03-31T22:44:10.565-04:002013-03-31T22:44:10.565-04:00This post is so helpful. It's so easy to dism...This post is so helpful. It's so easy to dismiss those simple little ideas, and try to tackle my Big Ideas. I am going to re-consinder my less brag-worthy projects. Thanks Matt.<br /><br />I do want to add, though, that even if you write a kids show like Dora, you can't totally hate what you're writing. I think that would show through. You can be mildly interested, and that's okay, since no adult it gonna love her as much as a pre-schooler. Shaun the Sheep and Animaniacs are great example of a kids shows that just as much fun for adults, since the writings so good.Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12531231992482858085noreply@blogger.com