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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Mar 31, 2014 15:14:28 GMT -6
Thank you guys for watching! We've been selected to move on to Round 2 of considerations (only 23/188 moved on!), which means we're this close to getting funded! One month til we know...
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Mar 4, 2014 13:01:21 GMT -6
I know you guys will love this. The trailer for my supernatural drama webseries INHUMAN CONDITION is now public! Please watch, like, comment, share and subscribe, as those numbers will be a major element of whether we get funding for a full season. And trust me, you guys want to see the full season.  We're also doing some Twitter storytelling, as two of the characters have Twitter accounts, run by myself. Follow them here: Clara the zombie and Linc the werewolf. |
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Dec 22, 2013 13:03:19 GMT -6
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Dec 20, 2013 12:11:13 GMT -6
Compass is proud to showcase an award-winning short film, Perspective Pictures' COLD, a thoughtful exploration of what it's like to live in a city of 2.5 million strangers. Also, coming up later today: the announcement of Compass' Winter '14 Screenplay Schedule, featuring 4 newly-announced screenplay pickups. So stick around and keep your eyes peeled. #TheNewYear is beginning early... |
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Dec 19, 2013 22:26:24 GMT -6
Compass is running our first-ever LOGLINE CONTEST, where five screenwriters will get a chance to have their scripts put into development at Compass! Come on, toss in an entry or three and join the fun! |
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Sept 14, 2013 17:42:30 GMT -6
We at Compass want to give our screenwriters exposure to as big an audience as possible. So, we've decided to circulate a collection of excerpts from Compass projects to give lots of unconventional readers a taste test of what they might find here. Featuring Compass films, script series, and Workshop projects, the Compass Compilation for our August 2013 launch includes work from Shannon Litt, Dex MacLeod, and myself, hopefully the launch for a successful quarterly compilation hereafter.
2. COMPASS FILMS: Gamer Girl Excerpt 3. COMPASS FILMS: Cradle Song Excerpt 4. COMPASS SCRIPT SERIES: Caydem Falls Excerpt 5. COMPASS PREVIEW: Timeless Pilot Preview 6. WORKSHOP SHOWCASE: Batgirl & Robin Excerpt 7. WORKSHOP SHOWCASE: Characters ExcerptSound off at Compass on your thoughts re: the opening letter, the excerpts, the format, and any questions/concerns/comments about the project! We'll be distributing this to potential contacts, in and outside the industry, as a sample of the work available at Compass on launch. |
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Jul 7, 2013 4:56:35 GMT -6
Definitely planning on keeping up with the show.  It's a lot of fun, and Newbie was the best of the run yet. I tend to not read as much as I'd like, so if I seem to vanish, know that it's cause I do that a lot, not that I don't like the show. |
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Jul 4, 2013 3:48:36 GMT -6
Audition 1x08: Newbie
Much better episode. This helped by giving Jordan a worthy adversary, as new kid David picks him apart pretty effortlessly. I enjoyed this one pretty much all the way through, from Paula's love of reality TV, the girly shriek, the David takedown of the assholes, the tentative friendship between he and our leads. I even liked the ambiguity of whether David's a friend or foe.
Plus, Ms. Carlyle's last line was a cherry on top. As long as the show keeps playing Jordan for comedy as the fool he really is, the character might actually not make entire scenes unreadable. It was fun to watch him be outmatched left right and centre here.
So - the best episode of the season yet, easily. Every other episode this season I've winced or forgiven something. This episode I just flat-out enjoyed all the way through. Just in time! After "Jealousy" I was a little worried.
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Jul 4, 2013 3:42:57 GMT -6
Audition 1x07: Jealousy
And Jordan and Angela are back, this time with an obnoxious agent whose dialogue is... not very good. I'm kind of hoping the next episode opens with Jordan, Angela, their agent and Alex becoming tragic victims of a serial killer, and continuing on with Paula, Alisha and Michael. Sigh.
With the amount of the Magnificent Douchefaces in this ep, I was never going to ecstatic about it. Thankfully, Paula was there to be generally weird and charming, saving an episode I wasn't really a fan of.
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Jul 4, 2013 3:36:42 GMT -6
Audition 1x06: Commercial SuccessThat one was a lot of fun! Again, taking a moment to reflect on what Alex and Alisha are trying to do helps the show, as Alex has to swallow his pride to take a commercial job despite his big dreams. I mean, I still want to set Alex on fire and dump him off a skyscraper, but it's still a good beat to explore. And Alisha, too, having to learn to stand on her own without him, a good development thread for her character. And no Angela or Jordan, which helps! Much better than the past few episodes, and hopefully a sign the show will continue to improve. Despite my rather critical reviews, I am enjoying the show.
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Jul 4, 2013 3:31:48 GMT -6
Audition 1x05: Improv
So we jump three weeks into the future with a scene that makes absolutely no sense - Paula breaking into their apartment to wake them up by banging a pan, three hours before their class. At this point I'm beginning to worry if Paula, rather than quirky and overeager, might actually have an undiagnosed mental illness...
The improv sequence is pretty winning. I wish we'd gotten the prompt for Jordan's weird theatrics, but it was amusing to see Alex and Angela do a bit of acting. Also, I really liked seeing Alisha fall apart in the improv - it brought the shyness and awkwardness that's been building since the pilot to the forefront in a really sympathetic way.
Probably the best episode since the pilot! I'm hoping as the season moves forward we keep seeing the kids working on their craft so we can get a sense of whether their journey to stardom is indeed doomed or not...
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Jul 4, 2013 3:26:04 GMT -6
Audition 1x04: The Sing Off
Ooookay, so Jordan is an abusive douchenozzle and Angela is desperate and sad. It doesn't really make either of them much more sympathetic - maybe Angela just a twitch - but hopefully it's a sign that the show's gearing up for some kind of longer story. Even if Jordan makes no sense to me so far beyond a caricature, and Angela only a shade better.
A better episode than the last couple. The show does tend to take a scene and rest on it for too long - with 1x02 being composed of the same argument three times, and then spending 3 and a half pages here on the Angela/Alisha performance when one or two would have been plenty. I do think the show could use a bit of patience and reflection on its character development, as these 9-11 page episodes could do a lot more to develop the cast and doesn't. I don't know that we've learned anything new about the cast in the past three episodes that we didn't know in the pilot.
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Jul 4, 2013 3:16:51 GMT -6
Audition 1x03: Acting 101
Wince. Angela and Jordan are two of the most unpleasant characters I've encountered, awful, cruel and utter stereotypes. If this were just the scenes at the school, this ep would be a real downer, between their odious intro and Alex's bizarre character switch to pissed off (instead of naive and overeager as of the first two eps).
However! The script also includes the delightful opening scene, where an overexcited Paula barges into their apartment to tell them about their acting class - two hours before it starts. It's becoming clear that Paula is not a good agent, and yet she tries so hard you can't help but hope she succeeds. Even Michael seems to be warming to how hard she's trying, despite Alex reacting badly to this turn of events.
So a step up and down from episode two, somehow. Still, a fun series with plenty of potential. I just can't wait to see if Alex and Alisha are any good!
(All these A names, though. I'm glad Angela didn't pop up as of the pilot or I'd get her mixed up with Alisha...)
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Jul 4, 2013 3:10:15 GMT -6
Audition 1x02: Hollywood Trouble
At this point, I gotta wonder if Paula would be a better lead than Alex and Alisha. She's the one the script's actively root for, and who seems to have the zero-to-hero story ahead of her! She continues to be fun. if a little too flaky to understand Alex's wanting to keep her. I'm intrigued as to whether the show's hinting at a backstory for Paula, as it's repeated the 'no client in a year' factoid twice now...
The rest of the cast are alright here. It feels like the script repeats itself a lot, with Michael/Alex/Alisha having the same argument three times in only 9 pages! Alex continues to be annoying, Alisha level-headed. Michael gets a bit of development here as we see he's caught between being smart and respecting Alex and Alisha's wishes with regards to their careers.
The opening scene was quite overwritten, frustratingly enough, but the rest of the episode moves at a good clip. So, I'm a little less confident coming out of this ep than I was after the pilot, but I'm still interested in seeing how this develops!
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Jul 4, 2013 3:00:48 GMT -6
Audition 1x01: We Have ArrivedNote: All I know going into this is the name, really. Let's see... That was fun! I have some issues with the writing - it's a little overwritten, the dialogue occasionally feels a bit stiff. But despite that, I really enjoyed the brief introduction here. And one particular great bit of writing: reflecting on the top agency, with its bazillions of hopeful, with Paula and Alex going on their own journey away from it. A friend of mine is an independent talent agent, much like Paula, so I think I'll definitely enjoy reading this. (Now, with a little research, I expect you could have actually named the agency. I think CAA would have fit the bill for what you've got here. But it works for what you need, as is.) CHARACTERS: Paula strikes me the most already, despite her very brief intro. She's a bit of a mess, but eager, and you can't help but root for her. Alisha seems pretty nice and level-headed, so I like her plenty. Michael seems the basic dad figure. Alex is... well, he's very eager too, but to the level of grating, and seems a bit naive to be gunning for a professional career as an actor. Hopefully that's intentional here and the show will force him to grow up a bit! Decent start! (And I'm pretty harsh.  ) I definitely think I'm gonna read more.
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Jun 2, 2013 11:19:42 GMT -6
From what I've seen lately, it is a lot of hard work to start up a site and build a membership. Even established sites like MZPtv and TEN are having trouble. Rather than opening a new site and trying to convince new members to join, when most readers seem to only want to be attached to one or two sites and read only a few shows, it might be more effective for you to take your projects to an established site like VPN (here!), TEN, or MZPtv. |
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on May 19, 2013 1:20:25 GMT -6
I just wrote a 30-page 1st draft of Easy 1x10 in four hours. Damnit but those characters are so easy to write, it just flows! Can't wait for folks to finally read my eps (1x07, 1x09, 1x10)...
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Post by RJ Alden Lackie on Feb 26, 2013 20:33:02 GMT -6
Looking forward to your thoughts, Chris. And looking forward to my VPN debut! I had the enviable pleasure of getting to write an episode of Easy this week. It was amazing how effortless it was to write - I wrote a full draft in three hours, and I think it all comes down to the show's fun, easily writeable characters. Looking forward to VPN folk getting a glance at my ep, 1x09, when it airs. Just realized this is the second 1x09 you've written for one of my shows after X-Men:Rebirth! Funny that! True! Heh, perhaps its becoming a tradition... |
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It's a lot of fun, and Newbie was the best of the run yet. I tend to not read as much as I'd like, so if I seem to vanish, know that it's cause I do that a lot, not that I don't like the show. 
) I definitely think I'm gonna read more.