A cartoonist--found one!

My cat Chonie--or would be if she danced. Yes, she is
named underpants--long story.

After a couple of false starts--see below--I am working in tandem with Dennis McCabe--a very talented artist from Ohio who has done storyboards before.

His depictions of THE BEE-TWEENZZ--25 and 849 in Sgt Buzzy's brood--are fantastic.

To see more of his work, go to: http://dpatrickmccabe.wix.com/dmccabesketchart

We are planning to pitch the cartoon company in a few days.

I am even learning to Skype!

What fun. Fun actually was my original intention with all this--and it's fun again.

I am also signing up with a new thing called Edgee.com -- supposedly blog & Twitter combined. I don't tweet--so this will be an adventure.

Another one of those.

I figured since William Morris Endeavor said my scripts might be too edgy for the animation space--that Edgee was a sign.

I am big on signs.

My fun little detour

OK--I have written the two feature-length animated scripts. I have product. I also had an option offer--but for various reasons, declined it. Months have passed.

The monster agency William Morris Endeavor did talk to me--and then would not talk to me. They said my story was "too edgy for the animation space." Hmpf.

So then I started with the Hollywood Screenwriting Directory, which lists production companies and whether they will entertain email inquiries--most are snippy like WME. Fear of lawsuits, don'tcha know.

I started in the A's--there are 5,000 companies. If they took emails, I checked them on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB). If they had made a movie in 2015 and their fare seemed at least somewhat character and comedy oriented, I emailed or wrote a snail letter.

I got a few replies--one request for the scripts. Have not heard back.

But I also got a request from a BIG cartoon company to submit a storyboard for a 4-5 min cartoon.

I took two of the bee children of my bee detective, Sgt Buzzy--numbered 25 and 849--to be the stars of the little cartoon. I wrote a script. then, while I was at it, I outlined more than 30 other plots for 25 and 849. Planning for success!

A friend's son said he had done animation and would throw together the storyboards--numbered about 40 rough drawings (I can show examples).  He never did anything. Six weeks passed.

Then I finally found another cartoonist who claimed to have worked on the movie VEGGIE TALES and other known properties. I offered him a 50-50 split--let's see where we can get with this. He stalled from day one, he was sick, his family was sick, he had to go someplace, sorry he went back to the same place, etc. After seven weeks--and only two partially completed bees, I let him go. He lashed out--I had no talent and did not understand him. [Eyeroll]

Now, I am back on Craigs--people want in, offer test sketches, then nothing happens.

I have dated "creatives" in the day--I think it's better to date most of them than hire them.

This is making me cranky...

But I am not giving up. Thanks for listening. Cheaper than a shrink.

And--by the way--know any adventuresome cartoonists who can draw animals?

Wow--I have not posted since August, sorry

Back story--I have two scripts available, the main and the sequel. 

PAW & ORDER

In this animated comedy, the cops of Hive-O--a wolf and a honeybee--interview various animals to solve the case of a stolen TV satellite dish, which has left two human kids with no TV. At home, their wives and offspring take over with the fun, puns, and jokes. G-rated.

PAW & ORDER 2: THE THREE  LITTLE WOLVES

In the sequel, Det. Lupine's three wolf cubs rescue an uptalking pig kidnapped by Komodo Dragons and set off events ending in a raucous trial and a heartstopping car "stampede." More puns, jokes, riddles, and fun for kids and parents, too.

I am on site called Inktip.com--where producers can download your script. I also list a short logline (see above) and a much longer synopsis of each.

I have had two companies download the first, original script. One offered me a low-dollar option (see below), which I turned down. The second has not gotten in touch.

No one has downloaded the Sequel as yet.

I have sent more than 50 query emails and paper letters to production companies...Little response. So...are my descriptions boring, animation dauntingly expensive, don't know. 

The Inktip people say to keep changing the listings--I have changed the loglines, but changing the descriptions seems random. I used to have a boss who would throw a memo or paper on my desk and say, "Write something different."

That never helped me much. 

Onward, my babies!

Two scripts available now--the main one and the sequel

They look innocent, don't they?

When I dreamed up my project (literally, scroll down), it was one script--but once I got into into my characters and became friends with them, I thought what the hey--do the sequel.

The description of Paw & Order is above.

This is the Sequel:

Paw & Order 2: The Three Little Wolves

Detective Lupine's three bratty wolf cubs rescue a classmate kidnapped by komodo dragons, setting off a messy trial, complete with honey balloons, and a car "stampede" involving a wolf, bee, bull, elephant, dragon, and some ducklings.  Da dum dum.

I'm quite fond of my honey balloons, by the way--the perfect mess-maker. Sticky, throwable...ah, yes.

So if you know someone who, say, is interested in the next FROZEN, tag up with me and give these a read.

You might have a hit on your hands. But at very least, you will have honey.

Checking in--it's been a month

Not me--I would never wear sandals like that.

I am still at it--faithful followers. For some reason, there are thousands of you. Watching someone try to sell a screenplay or two (in my case) is like poking a sore tooth, I guess--you can't not.

I am to the "trial" part of the Sequel: PAW & ORDER 2: ONE PIG AND THREE LITTLE WOLVES. For more random things about that--go to http://pawandorder2.blogspot.com.

I also listened to a 3-hour phoner (free) from Hal Croasmun, head of Screenwriter U, who offers a well-regarded internet course on the subject ($1100). The phoner was on getting an agent or manager--I got a few tips. I have had two agents in the past and no managers. I think I need a manager.

I had received the go-ahead from a management company, Zero Gravity, to send the script many months ago. Right after deciding maybe to poke around managers, they responded with a pass.

So...universe...is this a hint? Talk about random! Or WAS it?

One way to get attention, Croasmun said, was to own rights to something. I have had this in the back of my mind--but I am trying to keep my ideas there because I need to focus on finishing the second script.

I signed back up with IMBDpro--a rich source of info on movers and shakers. I am still on Inktip.

But I need to apply seat to chair.

By the way--did you read that sitting will kill you?

First feeler to produce Paw & Order!

Not me--I wish

I told you I tagged up with Inktip--a writer-oriented site I knew from decades ago. You list your logline (one or two sentence script description--as in a TV Guide movie description), synopsis (longer), and offer the whole script for upload by producers.

An indie production company wrote me a very promising offer to "option" my two scripts (sequel, too, though it's not finished).

It was a dollar-option--for a buck each, the company would have 18 months to two years to raise money for the films. If both scripts were purchased, the total would have been $200K.

I know--to the outsider--this seems ridiculous--a dollar? Yet, this is done in this business. I had a no-dollar option on the CBS project, which did eventually flush. This was 25 yrs ago.

The producer, a young woman, had done quite a few movies in the $1.2 million range. This would be low for animation, according to what I know.

I agonized for several days, but decided not to tie up my projects for this long a time. I asked for $5,000 instead of one dollar. This didn't fly and they decided they were not so nuts about my script after all, saying it was not action-filled enough for really little kids.

This was an exciting and useful exercise. At least I did not cry for days and quit the business like the first time. Am I more mature? Nah. Just more determined.

Darn that real life

Real life sidetracked my fantasy life. I hate it when that happens. My ex-and daughter's father died unexpectedly and all the stowed baggage of that relationship of 30 yrs ago tumbled out.

Of course, this immediately made me physically ill.

Still, I entered the Nicholl contest with Paw & Order, as well as Scriptapalooza.

But I veered away from working on the Sequel (http://pawandorder2.blogspot.com).

Also, I went on the crazy-hard Copright Office website to register the first script and--funny story--our government does not like ampersands. I have no idea how those two tangled in the past. It would not take my Paw & Order url--and when I tried to change the title to upload it--Bill Gates in his infinite changed the script to European DOS.

Mistake?

I tried again...same.

I could not believe it...again...Then I realized I was deleting my backups and copies. I stopped myself in time. Now I SAVE AS changed name--not try to change the name.

Soooo....that was fun.

As of today, though, I am back on track, have worked on the Sequel two days in a row.

Losing momentum, though, is a scary thing.

All in all, I prefer fantasy world to whatever the rest of this is.