Just a quick update here before I get back to work.

Had a great July 4. The wife and I hadn’t celebrated in maybe 20 years. Boy, did I forget how much I enjoy lighting off roman candles. And firecrackers. And fountains.

Fun was had by all, and we survived with all our fingers and toes intact. I have no idea what I’m gonna do with the hundreds of leftover firecrackers but I’m sure I’ll think of something.

In other news …

I was recently hired to write a super-duper top secret political thriller for an established indie prodco with some impressive reach and a producer who’s worked on all sorts of cool projects.

A little over a week into that script and really loving the change of pace from horror … and the opportunity to stretch my screenwriting skillset.

Speaking of horror …

Producer Tony Oliver of A Twister Productions is currently casting for Psycho Therapy, my first horror feature. Psycho Therapy is a contained ghost story best described as Identity meets The Haunting, with elements of Get Out and Gothika.

Congratulations to Don Holley, my mentor in all things Holl(e)ywood, as he embarks on a new artistic path. Don has teamed up with musician Kevin A. Kent to write songs. They have a bunch of tunes in a variety of genres. Here’s one of their country numbers: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HsGA8J2Nt6E&list=LM

To quote Country Bob’s wife in The Blues Brothers movie:

“Oh, we got both kinds—we got country and western.”

Oh, and I can’t forget my screenplay End-Stop, a film adaptation of my eponymous stage play, will be featured in the coming weeks by the hilarious dudes over at Unscripted Scripts podcast.

End-Stop is a dark dramedy in the tradition of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Just imagine if Don Rickles was a poet … and meaner.

Be sure to check out their other episodes available here:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5v3HexaMQt5Xr3KzLnJQcV?si=1a866fb3917a40e5

About Unscripted Scripts—from their Spotify: Join hosts Lawrence, John, and Jeff as they read, perform, and critique unproduced screenplays all while having a good time and doing funny voices. If you have an unproduced screenplay you’d like to hear us perform and critique, be sure to send it to unscriptedscriptshow@gmail.com and if you like our content, you can support us at www.patreon.com/unscriptedscripts

The Truffaut Affair continues its editing journey in post-production.Sounds like they’re going to be doing some reshoots at some point—which we knew going in.
Otherwise, slow and steady wins the race.

Before I get back to it, here are some of the best TV shows and films I’ve seen lately:

• Marseille on Netflix – bummer there’s only two seasons
• Monolith (2022) – well-done contained horror mystery
• True Detective Season 1 – re-watching for a 3rd time. Masterpiece!
• In A Violent Nature – Loved so much about this. Not so scary but still fun; had a couple great suspense scenes, too
• Hitman on Netflix – cool new twist on a worn out genre
• Ripley on Netflix – Loved the move. Assumed I was gonna hate the series but now watching for 2nd time—worth seeing if only for the cinematography but the acting and story are great, too
• Sing Street – reminiscent of feelgood coming-of-age flicks I grew up with in the ‘80s