Redress – This Rewrite is Done!

Whew.  I literally finished this rewrite of Redress a few minutes ago, but I am so stoked about it, I had to keep writing…which brings me to this.

As of this moment, the script is at 134 pages; the single largest screenplay I have ever completed.  I know there are some “pros” out there that can scoff at that, but Fuck You.  This is my story to tell, my damn near two years of development and my celebration to enjoy – and you know you were once there in your humble careers as well. For some of you out there, I know you are still wishing you could get to this point. Trust me, I know the struggle, and if you keep pressing forward it will happen for you.

While I am at a very celebratory point with the script,  I can’t take all of the credit however. My friend Kreg contributed a number of twists and turns to this grand story arc and I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t shared his ideas for the script with me. As I have been rewriting, I think I have only further worked those ideas into the story and reinforced them with other bits. While I may have changes the order of things, I feel I served my characters with just cause and realistic situations.

My writing style, as I have learned, is very “organic” in nature. Some writers outline every detail and they are crippled without it. I just start coming up with ideas. Some of them I write down. Others I let swirl around in my head for a while and eventually they find their way out. That is the way it was with this rewrite. I basically skimmed over my notes on the last draft and then I sat down and started writing.  I knew the story already in my head and where I wanted to go with it, so I just wrote. Occasionally I looked at the old draft, but I hardly ever copied anything directly from it.  While the new story may read like some of the original script, there was no copy and pasting.

As I started getting into more heated scenes I found myself having to go back and insert small details into the story. I mainly did this because I’m one of those people that watches a movie and says “How the hell did that happen?” or “Why did that idiot just go into that dark alley?” I feel fairly confident that the story is resolved, the characters are resolved and while I don’t leave anything open for a dreaded sequel, I think the story ends in a way that viewers will be able to carry the story forward in their own minds and be happy with however they see it ending.

There were even a couple of times when I was writing this version when I had to just trust my characters.  We got into a tug of war here and there, and any writer know what I mean. I wanted to push the story in one direction, but my characters would never do some of the things I wanted, so I had to trust them.  I’m glad I did because in the end they surprised me.  The main villain became more sick and twisted that I could have ever imagined, the rogue cop began taking matters into this own hands and blatantly stretching the law to get his man, and the hero, if he is a flawed hero, well, he went off the deep end, but in the end he swam back to the shore to live another day.

So, what’s next for this story? Unfortunately I have one more rewrite left, really just to hammer out some structure issues I brushed off and make sure the continuity flows. I want to pass it around to a few people for a read and then maybe let a script doctor give it a read. There is a Screenwriter’s Conference in October up in Los Angeles. It is my goal to have the script polished and ready for a pitchfest they are having.

In my heart I know this is a good story. It is an original story. And if I have it my way, it’s going to make a damn good movie one day.