Cowboys & Aliens

So I'll admit, with as busy as I've been lately, I haven't taken the time to update this. I'll blame my cold I've had for like two weeks now, but that just comes off as lame. So let me level with you. I have been sick (and summertime sickness is the worst!) and I know, I know, still lame, but I have a better excuse. I've been working on screenwriting again! (Can I get a hell yeah?) Last weekend I used my normal blog time to knock out some much needed pages on the ol' first draft and that didn't give me any time to check in with you guys. So I do apologize for my absence and I will try my best to make up for it. That being said...

Guess what I saw last night? If you guessed Cowboys & Aliens, you guessed right! I got to see an advanced screening of the movie thanks to the wonderful people at Majestic 10, and even cooler one of the screenwriters, Hawk Ostby (half of the screenwriting team of Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, the team who brought you Children of Men & Iron Man) was there to introduce the movie. As for the film itself, I don't want to give anything away because the film is just being released but I can say Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford make a pretty awesome team. I mean, Bond and Han Solo (or Indiana Jones if you prefer) together kicking alien ass; it's a great summertime romp that left me satisfied and feeling my inner 14 year old all over again (not to be confused with an outer 14 year old which just might get you banned from Chucky Cheese or worse). After the movie finished, Majestic 10 Co-Owner Harold Blank and local celebrity Tim Kavanagh hosted a Q&A with Hawk Ostby that was just as fun as it was informative and gave me the impression that I might not be the only aspiring film scribe to live locally.

The highlight of the evening definitely was Jason Smiley, Matt Wohl and myself (three members of the Vermont Screenwriting Association) getting a picture with Mr. Ostby and then getting to chat with him one on one about the art and business of screenwriting. I left the evening feeling both recharged and excited to continue working on my craft and also pumped that I got to meet someone who not only works in the screenwriting field but also calls Vermont his home. I still have a long way to go before I'll be a professional screenwriter, but events like this make the dream seem possible. I just want to say thank you again to Harold Blank and Hawk Ostby for making the night possible and giving this small town screenwriter something to believe in.