THE KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM

It's been a long while since I've updated this blog, but I've been hard at work rewriting my book and haven't polished any of my short stories enough to post.  Fantastically, I am again a quarter-finalist in the Nicholls fellowship in screenwriting for something I wrote called..."The Mourning Star."  Hopefully it'll be a semi-finalist (or finalist...) like my script, "Heather" was three years ago.  Time will tell.

Anywho, I wanted to post the link to the trailer of the funniest script I've ever read..."The Knights of Badassdom."  The film assembled at great cast and looks pretty hilarious and I wanted to publicly support it.

LARPing may be the funniest thing that people do seriously.  And now there's a movie about it.

Natch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnQ9Vp4fV4I&feature=player_embedded

"Priest" - My Thoughts

I'm going to take a time out from posting stories for a moment (for I have none to post...) to discuss a film that comes out today, "Priest".

I haven't seen "Priest" and I don't intend to, so this should all be taken with a grain of salt, but from what I've heard the film isn't all that great.  This is of great disappointment to me for several reasons, but mostly because I read an early version of the script when they were casting the Cam Gigandet role, and I loved it.  I have nothing against the casting of Mr. Gigandet, but a client of ours (I was working for a management company at the time) was also reading for the role and frankly (I'm biased because I love this guy) he was (is) amazing, and brought a whole different level of depth as opposed to what the character seems to have become.  And that is a microcosm of what I believe happened to "Priest."  Most of the promise was ripped away in favor of the flashy, high gloss nothingness, that happens to genre films when studios are trying to appeal to a mass audience (the four quadrants, if you will).  I believe this way of thinking to be incredibly flawed.

Skyforge

I have been absent for several weeks but return to you with the force of a locomotive....(?)

"Skyforge" is the story of the Mor'Gant family of Tegen Cove, the creation of a powerful sword forged from a falling star, and how it destroyed them all...

Another tale from the Perilous Woods.

Download Link:  Skyforge

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Skyforge

In a remote corner of the vast Perilous Woods lived a blacksmith of noble birth.  Fin Mor’Gant was from one of the most renowned families in all the Kingdom.  Unfortunately, the Mor’Gants of Tegen Cove had long ago lost their wealth, their land, and their people.  Now all that remained was a broken, sordid castle threatening to destroy itself at the slightest breeze, and of course, a famous name. 

            As the years piled themselves on top of one another and ages came and went, the Perilous Woods slowly, but with monumental force, reclaimed its lost land.  By the time Fin was born in a crumbling tower on the highest level of the Mor’Gant keep, it was the only part of his home not yet taken by the forest.  In fact, you could no longer see were the woods began and ended.  It was an unending sea of green leaves and black branches broken up by the chimney smoke of small villages that dotted across the horizon.

Wolfstone

The story of how the Dire Wolf became the Grey Wolf.

Download link: Wolfstone
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Wolfstone

The rain was falling heavily in the bleak night of the new season.  Lightening struck and thunder boomed as a pack of grey wolves took shelter in their den, high up on a cliff side, overlooking the vast and a perilous woods below. 

“Gather round younglings, for it is time to tell you of our heritage.”  The Den Mother with eyes piercing blue, gemstones that caught even the slightest light, nudged the young cubs into a circle around her.  “Do any of you know the tale of Wolfstone?”

“No, Mother,” came a cub, white as snow, eyes as her mother’s.

The Den Mother smiled, it was fate, she thought, that this pup would be the one to answer.  “Then listen close, little one, for you have been marked and will one day have the honor of telling the story I am about to tell you.”  And so she began…

Some Inspiring Stuff

I thought I'd take a break from posting stories and post some links to a few videos that have recently pulled at my heartstrings.

1.  Thoughts of You:  This is probably the most amazing, emotional animated scene I've ever seen, and it's done entirely without faces.

2.  Sintel:  An amazing short film created in an open source program called Blender.  Very sad.

3.  The Little Match Girl:  Anyone who knows me knows that I love Disney (when they're at their best).  In no place will you find more efficient, emotional, engaging storytelling.  If you haven't seen "Tangled" go see it now, it's amazing, it overcomes some very major story issues by sheer emotional involvement.  It's the most beautiful animation I've ever seen on the big screen and the characters are unbelievably endearing. *cough, cough* Back to The Little Match Girl.  Little do most people realize, Disney has been making animated short films for the past fifteen years and releasing them on special edition Disney DVDs as extras.  There are a few good ones but the best is this.  It's an adaptation of a Russian fairy tale and it's heartbreaking.

(It seems there is a theme of heartbreak and sadness in all these videos which may lead you to believe I'm one of those depressive sorts.  I assure you I'm not...)

4.  Destino:  Weird and wonderful.  Way back when Walt Disney tried to make a short film with Salvador Dali, filled with his iconic imagery.  Sadly it was never finished but, sixty years later, Disney decided to take all the concept art and storyboards and finish the project.  I saw this at the LACMA a few years ago and it was wildly entertaining (odd note:  Dali loved baseball, so you'll see a lot baseball imagery is this thing).

I feel like leaving this off at four videos is a bit auspicious, three is a much better number, but I wanted throw in Destino because I saw that it was finally up on youtube.

Peace and Love

The Twilight End: Prologue

Okay.  I thought I'd post the prologue of my novel for some feedback.  I'm currently on my third polish and getting it ready to send out but I've had a few problems with the opening and would like a broader range of criticism so I can nail down the problem and fix it.  But first a quick synopsis...

The Twilight End:  1914, the world is on the brink of what will be known as “The Great War”.  But, for affable rogue, Renaissance man, and wayward soul, Richard Grant, none of that matters.  He has been called to Sarajevo at the urgent request of his childhood friend and sometime accomplice, Jonathan Edges, on the eve of Archduke Ferdinand’s planned visit.  When Jonathan turns up dead at the famous Hapsburg Hotel, Richard finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy amongst the most powerful empires in Europe, at the middle of which is a device so powerful that it threatens to unravel the very fabric of civilization.

“The Twilight End” Features a cast of eclectic characters which include a beautiful and secretive Austrian pianist, a powerful German prince, a dangerous Serbian Captain, a jovial Englishman who may be more than he lets on, and two love-struck Russian youths, each with their own motives and back stories.  Navigating the intrigue, Richard Grant must also face the hard truth about how he has chosen to live his own life and the ingrained beliefs to which he so desperately clings.   

Most of the novel is from the perspective of the main character - Richard Grant (most easily described as a mash-up of Richard Hannay (from John Buchan's 39 STEPS and various other awesome works) and Indiana Jones with a liberal dosing of existential angst.  The Prologue is from another character's perspective that we never see again but its contents deal with one of the central focuses of the novel.

Where possible I tried to keep as many historical facts, timelines, and characters as true to life as possible.  So, as you read (hopefully), you'll be presented with a fictional happening through a factual world.

Download Link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/52659103/Twilight-End-Prologue

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 Prologue:  Property of the United States Department of War

It was a cold winter’s night as George Scherff made his way through the elegant hallways of the Metropolitan Tower.  After taking the stairs to the Twentieth story (he never trusted a lift in sub-freezing temperatures), it was a welcome breeze that greeted him upon entering his friend and sometime employer’s office.  He dabbed his perspiring forehead as he locked the door behind him; best not to take the chance of Nikola laying eyes on his damp skin.  Knowing the man, he was sure to be sickened by the sight of human sweat, and that would just make the evening…more difficult.  The books had to be looked at, the numbers crunched.  Waydenclaff was hemorrhaging money, money that Nikola did not have.  Plus there was the move to consider.  The Woolsworth Building promised to be the tallest in the world upon completion, even taller than the Met, and Nikola always had to be in the biggest and the best.  The cost would be astronomical; still, if things began to turn around they might just be able to scrape by. 

The Elfin Knight

Here's another fairy tale.  This one involves the Great Stag of the Perilous Woods.

Download Link:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/52104100/The-Elfin-Knight
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The Elfin Knight

            There once was a Knight who could not remember his name.  It was not because he was forgetful or that he had received a severe blow to the head.  No, he could not remember his name because he could not die.  Or more rightly, he had lived for so long that such a thing at one point became a memory and then faded into nothingness.

            When did he forget his name? He could not tell you for it were an age ago or more.  In time he was merely known as the Elfin Knight.  Like the mythical creature of his namesake, it was said that he would live forever, and this made him very sad.

            His story begins like many have, as a knight of the realm in the nameless Kingdom.  He fought in many battles and killed many men all in the name of King, selflessly serving his land.  He married a beautiful lady, had a lovely daughter, and a strong son.  He was a pillar of his community and rose through the ranks until the King named him Captain of the Guard.  All who knew him vouched for his generosity, his kindness, and his passion, but he had one great fault, his love of battle.

Whistle Bones

UPDATE:  Here's a link where you can download the story if you so wish.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/51680927/Whistle-Bones
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Let me provide context for this next story.

Rattling around in my brain is a long fairy tale called "The King's Captain" set in a Kingdom surrounded by an endless forest.  Most of it takes place in the forest which I dubbed The Perilous Woods.

I'll back up a bit.  It has always been my desire to create a set of fairy tales with their own unique pantheonic hierarchy, set in a fantastical universe of my own making, but still grounded in the age old morality (and more interestingly, immorality) that you would find in the traditional fairy tale (therefore making it digestible and meaningful to a modern person). So, I thought The Perilous Woods and the Hermit Kingdom would be a fantastic place to create such tales.  At the top of this hierarchy stands the Lady of the Woods and the Great Stag.

"The King's Captain" deals heavily with the downfall of these two powerful beings. I've written several of these fairy tales so far and most of them involve either the Lady or the Stag.  It's a nice way to provide a depth and history to "The King's Captain" that might not otherwise be there (that is, if I ever do write the thing).

Anyway, here it is, the first of many (hopefully)...WHISTLE BONES...let me know what you think.
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There once was a Piper of ill repute who plied his trade in every backhouse and alley from here to there.  One thing that everyone could agree upon, when hearing his music, was that he had a distinct talent for making the most disgusting noises issue from his ragged oak flute.  For years he wandered from district to district, thieving, mugging, and scraping by on the refuse left for him by his fellow man.  And so it was finally that a mob of angry citizens drove him from the city and into the perilous woods beyond.

            Angry and spiteful he went, lamenting aloud to the birds and the beast at the wrongs bestowed upon him by the people, cursing their names and vowing revenge every step of the way.  He wandered so long and took such a winding course that the Piper found himself lost in the darkening forest.

My First Post...Ever...

Ahh, I'm entering the blogging domain and it feels good.  So what will this blog be about? Well, mostly it'll consist of my writings that friends and family can read, critique, and comment on, but hopefully people I don't actually know will venture upon this site and do the same.

I’ll probably post stuff that inspires me, too, art; photos; music; videos.  Maybe I’ll upload a few of my short films for general consumption, but to begin with it’s going to be a lot of writing.

Q:  Vince, what sort of stuff do you write? 

A:  Well, Vince, to answer your question, I write scripts, books, short stories, and sometimes poetry (very bad poetry). 

Q:  Yes, yes, yes, but what kind of things to do you write about?