Whiffleball first draft

We finished the first draft of the "Whiffleball" screenplay. It clocks in at a beefy 111 pages and the first thing I need to work on is cutting it down a bit. In screenwriting, there is a vague but generally accepted rule that movies time out to one minute per screenplay page on average. So 111 would be fine for an action movie or a drama, but it's definitely a little long for a comedy. I'd like to trim at least 5-6 pages, which might be tough. Other than that, we just need to whip it into shape and get it as funny as it can be before we check in with that producer. It was really fun to write--Johnny and I had an absolute ball with it, continually e-mailing and text messaging back and forth with notes, comments and jokes. And if the angle with the producer never works it, we really could strip it down some and make it ourselves.

I'm scheduled for my last week of physical therapy this week. I'm hoping that the three sessions are all that I'll need but I should get the definitive word from the doctor on the 29th. But right now, I feel good. I can walk without the crutches and I'm sure I can bend it enough to fly, although it starts to hurt and get pretty stiff after a while. But that's nothing that will hold me back.

Other random thoughts to start off the week ( in classic, cliched writer/dot dot dot style): we've been watching season one of Alias on DVD and it's fun and entertaining. A lot of the plots are pretty goofy but you just have to have an active imagination, suspend disbelief a little, and buy into everything they are selling. From what I've heard, the storyline of the show takes lots of big, broad turns so it will be fun to be able to fly through those on DVD, as opposed to waiting all summer to see how things turn out...(*cough*..."Lost")...my favorite show on TV this summer has to be "Entourage" on HBO. I loved season one and season two is off to a great start. Jeremy Piven as Ari the agent is one of the best characters on the tube right now...conversely, the worst show I'm watching is "The Comeback" on HBO with Lisa Kudrow. I love the idea of the show a lot, and the format. But her character is just brutal to watch and it makes the entire show painful and annoying. And yet, I'm still giving it a chance...I predict that the Red Sox will be in first place before I get dealt my first hand at the WSOP...I still haven't pre-ordered the new Harry Potter book yet because I don't know if I want to go get it at midnight or just have it mailed to me. I must be getting older. That, and just being in bookstores now feels different after B&N...Robert Horry is pretty damn clutch...I think it's going to be dreadfully humid here in Arkansas this summer, and that's something I haven't had to deal with lately. Although it probably won't hit 120, either.

That's it from me for now. As usual, nothing exciting going on.