The Final Third
Last week I started on the final third in the novelization of SOS United States. At this point, I don’t see anything getting in the way of my goal to complete a draft by the end of March.
I will say turning a screenplay into a novel, isn’t as easy as it sounds. In a screenplay the entire process is visual. Of course, there are numerous methods in cinema to ascertain what a character is thinking. But in a novel, it can be described in detail along with their surroundings. When I immerse myself in these fictional worlds, I want the audience to experience what I’m thinking. Case in point, the bunker the President and Prime Minister find themselves in. Both the screenplay and novel were inspired by this real-world property in the Adirondacks.
Writing this novel has been a wonderful exercise to really understand the story, the characters and the world they live in. While I still believe the screenplay holds its own, the novelization of the story has grown both in character development and world building. Had the screenplay not done well in the festival circuit, I would probably be revisiting it a bit. But as it did win a variety of awards, I don’t want to tinker with it beyond contemporary updates to technology, etc. There is such a thing in this creative writing process as over analysis and self-doubt. It’s taken some time to learn as a writer, but at some point, you just need to literally put the idea to bed as a completed screenplay or book.
I wrote the screenplay for SOS United States nearly a decade ago. Unlike the screenplays and films in the First World Universe or Justice Is Mind and the sequel In Mind We Trust, SOS United States was a standalone. I’m not exactly sure where the original idea came from, but it does combine my interest in espionage, spies and intrigue in governments and multi-national corporations. I look forward to the day when the book and movie are released to the world.
Speaking of the First World Universe, I’m delighted to report that First Signal has garnered over 1.3 million views on YouTube! The film continues to spark all kinds of conversations on the VOD platforms and social media channels. While the range of interest (or non-interest) is all over the place, the bottom line is that nearly two years after its release, First Signal is still being talked about. Whether viewers love it, hate it or fall somewhere in between, all a filmmaker (or author) can hope for, is that the work is talked about.
I believe part of the driving force behind First Signal is the continuous reporting on UFOs, UAPs, mystery balloons and other atmospheric and aerospace anomalies, that are crossing every news service and social media platform. It also doesn’t hurt that the U.S. Department of Defense is publicly involved in the identification of this ‘phenomena’ and have set up an internal office to address it. Who knows, maybe elements of First Signal are true!
In closing, I took some time this week to revisit my first feature film Justice Is Mind. I was preparing some writing samples for a presentation and came across a variety of things linked with this project. When I found the filmmaking seminar presentation I did on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth in 2014, it brought a smile to my face. I was reminded about the challenges I had to get Justice Is Mind off the ground and then realized that if you work hard enough, stay focused and stay determined anything is possible.
“The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer.” – George Santayana
North by Northwest
While the title of this post isn’t about one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films, it is about a location that famed film featured – Rapid City, South Dakota. In the late 1970s my family traveled by motorhome across the county. After stopping in Minnesota to visit some family, the next stop before we travelled to Yellowstone National Park was Rapid City, and more specifically, Badlands National Park.
Some forty plus years later in the summer of 2020, my mother and I were looking for some places to holiday that were still open. Places that were wide open in space, but with plenty of “touristy” things to do. We then remembered the trip we took to South Dakota all those years ago. A quick call to the state’s travel bureau and we received a wonderful catalog that outlined countless things to do, particularly in the Black Hills region. From the welcoming hospitality of South Dakotans to the numerous sites to visit, our nearly two-week holiday was one of the best.
A few weeks ago a business opportunity presented itself in the state capital of Pierre. It didn’t take long for me to make travel arrangements back to the “Mount Rushmore State.” There is something quite spectacular about traveling in the off season. When I arrived on Thursday, I first found myself at Mount Rushmore. With probably no more than twenty people at the memorial, it was a unique experience as there were no crowds to “rush” the moment. The history of how Mount Rushmore came into existence (and almost didn’t) is a fascinating one. I highly recommend the book Mount Rushmore by Gilbert C. Fite to learn more.
The next day took me to my meeting in Pierre. Being from the east coast one hears about a 2.5-hour drive and we cringe because of traffic and congestion associated with this part of the country. But in South Dakota the drive from Rapid City to the state capital was uniquely pleasant through sheer natural beauty, fields and wildlife. There were a few moments when I stopped for “Bambi” and family.
Saturday was my day of touring. I made arrangements to visit a store that my mother and I discovered in 2020 – House of Scandinavia. Being Scandinavian (Swedish), the store was a must visit and didn’t disappoint. My next stop was something I wanted to visit in 2020, but didn’t have time – the Minuteman Missile Historic Site.
With three sites along Route 90, the tour started with the visitor center which offered a museum and insightful 30-minute movie on the history of the Cold War, the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile system and the reasons behind their development. The second stop (Delta-01) featured a tour of a launch control facility. It was in these underground bunkers where two Air Force officers were ready to launch nuclear missiles. The third stop (Delta-09) was a view of an actual missile silo with decommissioned Minuteman missile. You can imagine the tour provided some ideas for SOS United States! If you want to learn more about this important time during the Cold War that prevented World War III, this is one attraction I highly recommend.
After my third stop on the Minuteman tour, the Pinnacles entrance station to the Badlands was literally just down the street. There is nothing in this world quite like the Badlands. In fact, it looks and feels like you are on another planet. I think what struck me the most during my visit this year versus 2020, was the void of tourists and how remarkably quite it was. Peaceful and tranquil are just two of the many words that come to mind.
The Ashton Times 