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
A Titanic Story
I first became interested in the RMS Titanic through my mother. In the 1970s she was a member of the Titanic Historical Society and received their magazine The Titanic Commutator. This was a wonderful black and white publication that featured interesting stories about the famed ship, interviews from survivors along with a host of other information about ocean liner travel, etc.
My interest in the Titanic continued with the history of ocean liners and then the more contemporary cruise ships. I took my first cruise in the early 1980s (If I recall it was on the MS Starward). Traveling by cruise ship is my preferred way to travel. The last cruise my mother and I took was on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth in 2014 where we had Justice Is Mind’s international premiere. Combining my love for cruise travel with filmmaking was a dream come true.
When I was visiting Battleship Cove a few weeks ago with my friend and fellow filmmaker Daniel Groom, we went to the Maritime Museum (which is part of Battleship Cove) to see the Titanic model used in the movie Titanic that starred Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. I then remembered the Titanic Historical Society and their museum. No sooner did I get home and I confirmed that the museum still existed and was located in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts. Needless to say, we made plans to visit.
For those that are interested in the history of the Titanic, the Titanic Museum is a true gem. This private museum (thus, no pictures) sits in the back of a Henry’s Jewelry store. As the website states, you step back in time to the 1950s when you enter. Founder Edward Kamuda’s sister welcomed us and was a wonderful fountain of information, history and stories I never heard before about the ship and the world around it.
There are countless interesting artifacts for visitors to experience. Two particular objects I enjoyed seeing were the display consoles that Dr. Robert Ballard donated to the museum. These were the consoles that revealed the discovery of the Titanic in 1985.
When the movie Titanic came out in 1997, I was hoping to, somehow, get some coverage into the figure skating magazine I was publishing at the time. Fortunately, I received a photo of Michelle Kwan from a taping of The Tonight Show with Kate Winslet and then the Ice Theatre of New York had a Titanic themed event. After the issue came out, through a connection I had, Kathy Bates (who played Molly Brown in Titanic) autographed the article for my mother.
The history of the White Star Line that owned the Titanic is a storied one. After Cunard and White Star merged in 1934, the White Star name all but disappeared in the following years until Cunard introduced Cunard White Star Service. To quote from Cunard’s website, “Today, Cunard White Star Service® is a lasting legacy of our historical connection to the White Star Line and honors the golden era of these elegant and luxurious vessels.”
Next sailing.
The Ashton Times 