Inside the Brain of E.C. Henry

Oscar Dreams?

 
What's your Oscar dream, dude or dudette?

Hey buddy, really what do you want stensiled on YOUR OSCAR trophy?  What did you win it for again...?  Being VAIN!!! 

That was a ha-ha moment people.  I was just kidding around.  Hard to take a guy who dresses up like this...

... too serious, right?  Did I mention at one point in my life I paraded arround downtown Los Angeles in this regalia at night too!  (True story did it durring the Screenwriter's Expo) 

I know now you're thinking E.C. Henry is a little crazy.  But that poses yet another question; what took you so long to come to that conclusion?  More joking arround with my following.  What I have a following after two posts?  Why not.  I LIKE to think of myself as a leader of sort.  Leader of what?  I'll let you be the decider of that.      

Ahem.  Back to the Oscars.  

Well-p, it's Oscar night, and I'm wondering how many of you out there are buzzed about watching the Oscars?  Does watching the Oscars get you to FEEL anything? 

For me Oscar's night is all about the players.  It's about honoring those who are doing well in varrious phases of the movie making process.  It's a night of dreams -- for me.  As a pre-pro writer who dreams about getting my hard work up on the silver screen someday, Oscar night is a night to dream about what it would be like to work with so-and-so.  What would it be like IF I could get the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, to take on a couple of my scripts?  YES, E.C. Henry has more that just one script he would like the Coen brothers to take on.

Nearly everyone who parades out on the Oscar carpet is hero of mine of sorts.  Someone I harbor dreams of working with someday.  Do you share the same inner, buring fire?  Hmmm....

Any movies that you watched in 2010 get you jazzed at all?   Any person you're pulling for to win this year? 

Personally, I'm kinda hoping this is Natalie Porman's year.  I did see Black Swan and that's probably the ONLY movie in 2010 that I thought was worthy of being nominated in the Best Picture of 2010 field.  

Christopher Nolan's Inception, deserves a little pub.  Mabye for some kind of technical achievement.  LOVED the first 2/3 of Inception.  BUT I thought the movie really lost its mojo in its third act.  Just sayin'.

Back to Natalie Portman.  I thought she was forever doomed to be remembered as Padme/Queen Amidala from the Star Wars collection.  But in Black Swan I saw something great about Natalie Portman. Namely, Natalie Portman is totally capable of carrying a moive, and getting an audience to be completely mesperized by her performance.  Black Swan rises or fall, I believe, soley on Natalie Portman's portrial of Nina Sayers.  Dig a little deeper and I think you'll find a very well crafted drama, which builds beautifully to a melancholy climax.  But it's really Natalie's show.  Maybe they should rename "Black Swan", "The Natalie Portman Attempts to Prove to the World That She Can Play Someone Other than Princess Amidala."  Pretty catchy tittle, huh?  Did I mention to you that I'm an ascribing screenwriter?  How serious about this pursuit?  See picture above. 

I also saw "True Grit."  And though I'm a HUGE Coen brother's fan.  For my money, "True Grit" is undeserving of billing as a "top movie".  I think the Coen brothers are riding their past sucesses: "No Country For Old Men" (which I LOVED) and "A Serious Man."  What another shoot 'em up pic from the guys who gave us "No Country for Old Men"?  Yeah, that's worthy of Oscar buzz no matter what.  Thinking cap on dudes.   Watch the movie for what it is.  "True Grit" 2010 is no classic.  Not worthy of being up there as a top pic for 2010.  But then again, outside of "Black Swan" what movie does deserve to be up there?  Not many -- if any.  This was a down year for artistic/good movies.    

All-in-all I think it's a very down year for Hollywood released movies.  Hollywood needs to grow a pair and start making movies that get people to think again.  I believe the tallent's out there, but the decision makers are pulling the trigger on bonafide turds.  They need to stop doing that!!!

Okay, enough railing about the piss-poor state of Hollywood movie making today.  And back the kruk of this post which is: Oscar Dreams... 

Do I, E.C. Henry, have Oscar dreams? 

Well, sort of.  But my dream isn't really just accepting an Oscar statuette,giving a speach, and having the camera on me and all that crap.  Oscar Night in the Kodac Theatre isn't the apex of the journey.  Sure that would be nice, as would winning a Nicholl's Fellowship in Screenwrting but that's not my end-all, reaching to top of Mt. Everest, ulitmate screenwriting/movie-making goal.  Never was.  Never will be.  You see, E.C. Henry is an artist.  No, really he is.  What he wants to do is  entertain millions.  Accolades and $$ are merley window dressing.

THAT said, E.C. Henry did endulge in a little mental fantasy of what my Oscar award winning speach might be if -- if I ever got one -- while driving down the road in Bonney Lake today.  How's this for a punchline at the end of E.C. Henry's Oscar-award-winning speech.  "... And I'd like to thank the Accaemy.  They can all go home and rest safe and assured tonight..."  E.C. holds the golden statuette up for the camera to see.  "... They got it right this time."  E.C. then adds a winks and leaves the podium with a sheepish smile.

     

 

 

 

 

 

Valentine's Day, and E.C.'s Take on "Romance"

 
Valentine's Day.  Like It?  Or Hate It?

Now we COULD get into the subject of just what Valentine's Day is.  Snore...  But (I think) Your answer to the forementioned question depends on how squeamish the subject of romace makes you.  Does the idea of getting romantic with a member of the opposite sex make you squeamish?  Or in other words -- are you a cold fish?!   

That was a joke.  Well, kinda.

 

Today at work (yes, I had to work this Sunday yuck :P ) I posed the question of whether or not they liked Valentine's Day.  Most people were suprisingly ho-hum about it.  Perhaps best summarized by a man saying:

If I forget, I'll hear about it.

Now, I'm not expert at being romantic but I do know a guy who quote, unquote lives the romantic comedy.  As for me, personally, I LOVE Valentine's Day.  The idea of people showing love and affection to the love interest in their life is VERY APPEALING to me on an intellectual level.  BUT on a practacle level -- getting romantic scares the shit of me!    

Now why, preytell, should "getting romantic" scare anyone?  Well-p.  Just because YOU feel something for someone else, doesn't mean they feel the same way about you.  Also, IF you lay yourself out to someone, they then have cannon fodder to come back and remind you about.  This applies to the person you're interested in, their friends, and other watchers of your foray into romance. 

The crazy part of this whole "romance" thing, is that I THINK ABOUT being romantic all the time.   BUT in all actuallity I never do it, for fear of everything listed in the previous paragraph. 

 

Don't believe me that I think about romance.  Okay, budy-boy.  Check this out.  To date I've written three pure romantic comdies:

"Cupid's Helpers" 

"An American Princess"

"Cupid Got Stupid"

And a couple other scripts with major romantic developements... 

 

 

When I think of "romance" my mind goes back to God.  Can romance and God possibly be linked?  Yep they can.  As I believe God is the one who instituted romance in the first place.  Consider the story of Adam and Eve:

 

BEFORE Adam met Eve, God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him."  Genesis 2:18 God knows man needs someone.  Though woman derives her name from the fact God formed Eve from one of Adam's ribs, I think God also may have also intended that Adam needed to "woo" his new woman for her to bond to him emotionally.  Also from all the pictures I've ever seen of Adam and Eve, Eve's alway been pretty hot. 

Hey!  God don't make junk!  ;)

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my latest post.  My GOAL is to post at least two times a week, with a big post on either Saturday or Sunday.  Right now I'm working lots of hours at my job, 12+ at least 5 days a week, most weeks 6 or 7 days of mongo hours.  Yes, it's helping me build up a little nest egg, but all those hours are a killer on a pre-pro screenwriter's ambition of creating new stories and networking. 

 

 

 

 

 

Who Am I -- And What Am I Doing Here?

Hello blogosphere!  You have a new address, and typepad has a new patron, me; E.C. Henry!

So what am I doing here?  Well-p, I've had it on my heart for the last couple of weeks to start a blog.  There are several reasons I'm taking the plunge:

1. I would like to meet and talk to other people who have interests like me -- when I'm the one dictating the basis of coversation on subject matters I'm interested in.
2. I would like to provide a forum for people in the industry (producers, directors, studio executives, movie stars, talent agents) to get to know me, and generate intest in the feature film scripts I've written that I would like to sell.
3. I'm an artist,
   and I think this will be a great challenge.

 

As previously mentioned, I am an aspiring, pre-pro screenwriter.  To date I've written 14 feature length scripts.  All of which are copywrited, and registered with the WGA West.  I'm  the sole author of every one of 'em too.  And they're ready to sell.  So in places in this blogs future I'm going to do posts on those scripts.  I'm already planning on some sort of side-bar that interested parties can go to, to check out my stuff...  More later.

Topics I'm interested in varry: screenwring form, movies, the bible, what it means to have a  personal relationship with Jesus in this 21st centry world, ancient history, and much more...   Definately lots of "deep end of the pond" kind of stuff.    

 

Here's a list of blog posts I'm thinking of  doing in the days and weeks to come:

1. "What Role Does God Play in the Creative Process?"
2. "Valentines Day: Hate it, or Love It?" * This one got posted 2-13-2011 *
3. "Why do I even Bother Screenwriting?"
4. "Can Godliness and a Endevor to Break Into Hollywood Co-exist?"
5. "My Favorite Genre to Write in is ____ "
6. "What's Wrong with the Pre-pro Screenwriters of Today?"
7. "What Brings You the Most Happiness in Life?"
8. "Top 10 Reasons I Love God"
9. "Living in La-la land -- Yet Still grounded here on Earth"
10. "Are Men Really Just a Bunch of Pigs?"
11. "How Do You Ballance Work Life vs. Writting Life?"
12. "Write Only What You Know -- What a Crock of Shit!"
13. "What Are Your Thoughts About God?"
14. "America -- are we still a Christian Nation or What?!?"
15. "Give It Up for Chimpy: My 1st Script"
16. "Creative Writing: How Many Licences Should You Be Taking?"
17. "Am I An Asshole?  The Sure-fire, Can't miss, Definative Test"
18. "The Hidden History of God -- Some Things Purposely Ommited in the Book of Genesis"
19. "Do you Have a Problem with Authority?"
20. "Modern Music -- Why has Everything Gone to Shit!?"

It's getting late now, and I have to go to work tomorrow, so I'll close this inaugurial post with a couple pictures you might enjoy.  One is proff positive of where I live.  The other is from the "Control Board" that oversees my writing -- and the content of this blog. 

Talk to you again soon.  Will be updating and re-facing this blog in the days and weeks ahead.  Look forward to making new friends, and creating something artful.   

- E.C. Henry