Well, didn't we get all excited? Well, I did, obviously.
This is the news that hit Thursday:
Yay, screamed I. Then awwwww as Chris Evans tweeted this:
(Bonus Jamie Lee Curtis content though)
So, possibly not then. I know some people think it would cheapen the beautiful ending of Endgame, but I think there are two more standalone stories to tell with Evans as Steve Rogers (with him having handed the shield onto Sam to be Captain America), neither of which impact on his hero's journey, as broken down below.
Firstly, we left Agent Carter with unfinished business, so either series 3, with Steve backing up Peggy as she solves the mystery and then goes on to found S.H.I.E.L.D. (or a feature film version). Think of all the internal conflict Steve will have, unable to change the future, unable to stop Hydra growing inside S.H.I.E.L.D. How much could he, should he, tell her? Delicious.
Secondly, a prequel (as they've done with Black Widow) on what he and Sam (and hopefully Nat – maybe a quick visit to Bucky, too?) got up to in between Civil War and Infinity War, with Steve as Nomad. Rough, dirty, long haired, bearded Cap … where was I?
Wishful thinking on my part, I suspect, until I saw this:
… and got all excited again! Keep everything crossed, I beg you.
Now, as you can see from the title of this post, this was going to be about my favourite screenwriting structure, The Hero's Journey, and how it completely fits the arc of Steve Rogers in the MCU. So that news breaking at this time seems a bit spooky, doesn't it?
I don't do graphs or charts as I was rubbish at maths and they remind me of maths. It's words all the way for me. Lists I get. And the Hero's Journey Structure is just that. (You can make it into a pretty circle if you want.)
An Ordinary World: The world is at war, and Steve wants to do his bit, alongside BFF Bucky. He shows his determination and courage.
The Call To Adventure: Steve applies to the army. A lot.
The Refusal of the Call: The army rejects him due to his obvious deficiencies (the refusal doesn't always have to be the MC refusing a quest e.g. Luke, Frodo.)
Meeting the Mentor(s): Dr. Erskine earwigs on Steve and Bucky and knows he's found his good guy. I would also include Peggy as a Mentor figure, she was so much more than a love interest, as proven with her appearances throughout the franchise in her own right.
Crossing the Threshold: Puny Steve is transformed into Captain America.
Tests, Allies and Enemies: The First Avenger; The Avengers; Winter Soldier; Age of Ultron.
Approaching the Innermost Cave: Civil War and the Sokovia Accords.
Ordeal: The fight with Tony.
Reward: Bucky is saved.
The Road Back: Infinity War brings him home to the Avengers.
Resurrection: Endgame – apart from The Avengers literally resurrecting everyone, Cap is back in the fold, and will lead the Avengers once more – until …
Return with the Elixir: Steve gets to go home. Home being Peggy; his compass points the way, and his compass is a picture of Peggy. Anyone who thinks Steve's arc should or could have been different doesn't understand story. Stucky fans will point to the "I'm with you to the end of the line" quote without understanding that Endgame was the end of the line for them. Steve saved Bucky three times, he deserved to go home.
I don't know if Marvel planned this, or whether it only came about when they knew they were introducing time travel, but since Markus and McFeely were the showrunners of Agent Carter, as well as writing all the Cap films, Infinity War and Endgame, I'd like to think they did.
You have to find a way of telling your stories that suit you, and this structure just makes sense to me. It even works with a short documentary I'm working on, an eye opener that came out of a seminar with Dr. Steve Evanson, co-creator of the BBC's Coast. Remember the snakes v iguana on Planet Earth? Yep, it's a hero's journey structure. And no, the name Steve Evanson is not lost on me *ghost emoji*
Here we are again! A year on and my portfolio is out of control. OK, it isn't, because I'm organised, it just looks that way.
You see, once I create a world and characters I love, I make them work, so they could go from a feature to sitcom, to audio drama to short sketches, depending on what opportunities arise. Hence, there are now four screenshots, compared to last year's one:
SNITCH has been rewritten and is being submitted to opportunities and competitions. It got off to a good start as semi-finalist in the London International Screenwriting Competition. I'm also adapting it into a TV series. It's also now deliberately funny, following feedback that I should embrace my comedy voice!
CROWNING DAVID was previously known as MARROWFAT 241, a sci-fi feature (still there for reference and its first 10 pages made quarter finalist in the London International Screenwriting Competition), but is now being adapted into a comedy-drama series.
AUNT COOKIE'S I'm looking to adapt as a radio comedy-drama, as well as revisit the pilot.
THE OTHER GIRL is a new sitcom.
THE DONATION was a short sketch that came out of a sitcom course and has been adapted for various opportunities.
HUB SKETCH – I run a community hub, and this plus The Donation, will form sketches for BREWING UP, a series based in the hub (I've got the keys, see, so location location location!).
MAKING A SCENE was various different scenes from some of my projects for an opportunity.
SPLIT was formerly GOODBYE GIRL.
EVOLUTION was ALIEN: EVOLUTION, now rewritten and being submitted to various opps and competitions.
UMBILICAL is my psychological thriller that has really earned its keep this year, as did …
SERENA, which was upgraded to semi-finalist in the Table Read My Screenplay Awards.
BRAVE FACE and NO EXCEPTIONS are in a holding pattern, as is ELERI EVANS, bless her, she's being ever so patient (but her time might come this year, as I need a 10 page treatment for an opportunity and I've tons of info I've gathered for her story).
MAUD is an historical drama feature or series, or possibly a radio sitcom, based on real life events. Like I say, I like to make them work for their place. It's the middle ages with lots of battles, so I'm thinking radio might be the best bet, and having seen the first episode of The Great, I might well embrace the comedy side of it (there is one, believe it or not).
DESPATCHED was my scene as part of a collaborative sitcom episode from the sitcom course and was huge fun, and challenging, as my character was on her own with just a sarcastic computer programme to talk to.
THE ANCESTOR is the supernatural horror that came out of the opportunity I blogged about before.
And finally, the LONELINESS film, is a docu-drama story about the importance of volunteering and dealing with the shit that life throws at you, featuring one of my lovely volunteers at the hub. That's just a basic outline at present, notes are elsewhere.
I hate the thought of writers block, so I find that having a few projects on the go, and shaping them for different opportunities that crop up, means that if I get stuck on one, I can switch to another. I also re-typed SNITCH completely, word for word, and it was amazing how much better it became, so that's the next task with my other complete projects.
Today will be tough for so many, since we're back in full lockdown. Stay safe, accept every offer of help – if you're in Medway, give me a shout, I can point you to various organisations – or just join me on Twitter @ScattyJan if you want to chat (and swear at the stupid z-list celebs who think they know better than doctors. Grrrrr.)
Take care, everyone xx
Additional success since my last blog post!
It's a shame the rest of 2020 has turned to shit, but there you go. This is actual footage of my hair at the moment:
Photo: Gerhard Gillinger
Following placing in the top 15 of Clive's opportunity, I made the shortlist (Top 8) for the 26th Euroscript Screen Story Competition 2020, so yay me! Happy with that for two reasons A) the obvious but b) Umbilical (then known as The Bond) was the first script I ever wrote.
It was at my first London Screenwriters' Festival (2017 – there's an online version at the moment, check it out) that I had a script surgery with Euroscript's Ian Long. He loved the logline and tagline – all I had at that moment – and so, encouraged, I went away and wrote it within one month. Rewriting followed and it's also now under consideration with three producers.
I'm still learning though – particularly thanks to seminars at the latest festival – so I'm going to rewrite again and elevate it further.
For another WIP – my comedy-thriller called 'Snitch' – I've been chosen as one of the scriptwriters to work with an NFTS script development student, as part of their coursework. It's so important to get fresh eyes on your work and this is a whole other level since it involves six months of feedback and discussion with the same person – I'm a big fan of consistency.
I've also submitted Snitch to another opportunity from the wonderful WFTV, who run writers table reads, with six writers for a six week stint (via Zoom, of course). The three writers we've read so far seem very happy, so I can't wait for my turn.
I completed the Raindance courses – with the final three sessions taking place online because of you-know-what. But the Net Community Hub, for which the courses were being undertaken in order to produce a short film, has had to close its doors for the foreseeable future. With our clientele being elderly and vulnerable, we'll be the last place to open up again 😦
Having said that, I've the time to research and write the film , plus look for funding – for the film, for the loss of income, for the match funding for next year but also – always looking on the bright side – to get a new kitchen fitted. It's something we'd never be able to do without closing for a week so that's my priority for the moment, work wise. There's a link to the hub above – if you want to donate towards our kitchen and reopening, please do and I'll love you forever 🙂
That was a lot of news in one go. I shall try to cultivate some consistency with regard to my blogging.
Stay safe and well x
Because I don't have enough to work on already!
I do love an opportunity and the generosity of screenwriter, script consultant and producer, Clive Frayne, provided just that.
Clive put out a call for his 2020 Script Development programme and I was one of over a hundred screenwriters who responded (considering what was on offer it should have been more).
Tasked with providing Clive with an idea (not a logline) I was able to use what was literally a one line scrawl in a notebook while on holiday last year, which was: 'Great location for a murder'.
That's because it would be an 'impossible' murder, as I was on a tiny ferry with three crew and twelve passengers, all strapped into their own, individual seats that no-one could have left without being seen.
This idea grew and I was delighted to make it into Clive's shortlist of 15 writers. From there, he gave us additional assignments, one of which was to make a Pinterest board with images that gave a sense of the story and characters (that's a snapshot above). And what an inspiration that turned out to be – I'm doing one for all my stories now!
I've now gone from that one line idea to an almost fully-fleshed out supernatural horror story that explores the psychological and emotional cost of family betrayal, and I'm really excited by it.
My involvement in Clive's scheme ended there, as Clive had the tough task of whittling down to just two writers. So I'm breaking my rule of buying no more how-to books to apply more of Clive's process to my scripts. You can find it here.
Yes, it's time for my annual "I'm going to start blogging again" post.
Ok, I'm probably not, because my priority is to write scripts, and by and large, throughout 2019, that's what I've been doing.
I wanted to keep myself accountable, so to that end, I took a screenshot of my projects on 5/1/19, and just remembered to do it again today to compare and check my progress.
And I'm pretty pleased with what I've done. On 5/1/19, I had six projects on the go: Eleri Evans (YA feature opening two pages – I have an outline elsewhere); Aunt Cookie's (tv pilot) The Deal (feature) The Bond (feature) Alien: Evolution (competition short) and Sally (feature).
It looks more than six due to needing excerpts for submissions, or where I was debating which way to take the script (e.g. The Deal has two different endings).
To say I'm pleased with how re-writing has gone is an understatement. This is today's screenshot.
Goodbye Girl is a short, rewritten from a script I did from my Uni of Kent Writing for Stage and Screen course.
Serena – previously Sally – is now a long short which I hope to shoot myself.
Aunt Cookie's was rewritten and has been submitted to various competitions and gigs.
Alien: Evolution is a short written for a competition, and is now being rewritten.
Snitch – previously The Deal – is now a first draft feature with a definitive ending.
Umbilical – previously The Bond – was rewritten and has been submitted to various competitions and gigs.
No Exceptions and Brave Face are shorts that came out of Talent Campus, and received Special Commendations from the Four Minute Screenplay Competition. Brave Face is another I'm hoping to shoot myself (along with Goodbye Girl).
Marrowfat 241 is a speed draft sci-fi feature adapted from a short story I wrote years ago, and is awaiting rewrites.
And Eleri Evans is still hanging in there, awaiting her turn!
It's already gearing up to be a busy opening couple of months, as I was lucky enough to be awarded a bursary from the Oppenheim-Downes Foundation, which is paying for two courses with Raindance.
Across ten weeks from the end of January to the end of March, I'll be taking a Filmmaker's Foundation Course and a Producer's Foundation Course, which I hope will equip me with the skills to make a short film for my charity, The Net Community Hub.
Our aims are to reduce social isolation and put an end to loneliness, and the short film will hopefully raise awareness of these issues, as well as publicise the good work the hub is doing, supported by its volunteering partners, Walderslade Together.
The bonus is that these will also equip me with the skills to make my own films. So I'm raising a glass to 2020 – of gin and tonic, probably (seriously, I was given sooooo much gin for Christmas) – and making this year the big one.
June 2, 2019 March 15, 2020 Leave a comment
Like most writers, I've done my fair share of courses – short and long, online and offline – to help improve my writing. I've attended events and seminars to glean nuggets of info from those who've been there and done it, and signed up to numerous writing websites' newsletters .
And now, I've finally taken myself by the scruff of the neck and gone for the Big One: Talent Campus, the London Screenwriters' Festival's rocket-fuelled 7 day, 4 week intensive workout.
I'll openly admit, I thought it was too soon for me to take full advantage of it. But then I thought, what the hell? I've either got talent or I haven't and it's probably best to find out sooner rather than later, right?
I was still unconvinced though, and my application contained 10 pages of an incomplete script which was pretty much a raw first draft, where I teed up ideas to explore further along. I figured, if they accept that, I know I'm on the right track.
So here I am. The intense activity away at Ealing Studios starts on June 26, but we're in the Pre-Ignition phase and they've already set a first homework assignment, a 2 page script for their Impact 50 project.
It's something I looked at briefly before, but couldn't come up with a good idea, mainly I think, because I was concentrating on my TV pilot for a competition. So I let it go – and then slightly panicked when the assignment came through.
Don't settle on your first idea, it said, and eventually the snippets I'd been jotting down previously formed themselves into a workable plot: An elderly lady decides to protect her canine best friend from suffering the impact.
I decided to give her a cantankerous husband to play off, then decided to give him dementia – we lost my dad to the condition, and I'm involved in the local dementia action alliance, so I'm confident including it in my stories.
But then a funny thing happened. Having only two pages to play with, I ran out of room for the dog. So the story became: A woman whose husband lives with dementia shields him from the present by recreating a date from their past. Which hadn't been in my notes at all!
As promised, a more detailed look at one element of Endgame that's got people's knickers in a twist.
Again, spoilers coming up – for Agent Carter, too – so look away now.
First of all, let's touch on the problem that the writers (Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely) and the directors (Joe and Anthony Russo) both have a different viewpoint on how the time travel in Endgame actually works, and specifically, where Steve went at the end.
I'm favouring the writers, but the previously mentioned anomalies do come into play and it seems there is a method to Marvel's madness, which I've picked up from an excellent and insightful interview with Markus & McFeely – you can see it in full here. They also drop the very exciting bombshell that they have a studio with the Russos and are working on other projects! (Not Marvel, don't start. *dreams*).
The Russo brothers have stated* that Steve went into an alternative timeline, and there is evidence of this. Specifically, the new shield. Since his original shield was destroyed in the fight with Thanos, it makes sense that it comes from another timeline. Steve tells Sam "it doesn't" (belong to anyone else), so it appears that in the other timeline, he's handed it over to Sam before. *They also stated that Loki escape with the Time stone, so y'know, they're a bit confused too.
Suffice to say, Steve creating a whole new timeline means anything goes – he could go back to before Bucky fell from the train, since his past isn't the future in that timeline. Marrying Peggy, having kids, saving Bucky and the Starks, it can all happen without him affecting the original MCU timeline.
The anomalies here are that a) he doesn't appear back through the portal, and if he was using the GPS tracker and the Pym particles then surely he would have? Unless, in the alternative timeline, Howard and/or Tony and/or Hank Pym have created another. Now, you could call that convenient – I call it exciting!
And b) the rules created for Endgame state that creating an alternate timeline can only happen if an Infinity Stone is not replaced, and since Steve replaced them all, he can't have created an alternative timeline.
The case for the original timeline:
As I said, I'm with the writers, because a) it's more romantic and b) they've written all the Captain America films, plus Avengers 3 and 4 and they created Agent Carter. Their intention was that he went back to Peggy in the original timeline, and the evidence in Winter Soldier and Endgame supports that. As they say in the video:
"Things need to add up emotionally more than they do logically …"
For clarification, M & M confirmed that two particles can exist in the same timeline (their quantum scientists told them about experiments done in the CERN Hadron Collider). Therefore, frozen Steve and future Steve co-exist and future Steve ensures their paths don't cross once his younger self is defrosted.
M & M confirm in the video that Steve returned to Peggy in 1948 – at the end of Agent Carter Series 2, so all of that happened. They reckon she had a falling out with Sousa. You can imagine the conversation:
INT. SOUSA'S OFFICE – DAY
Peggy and Daniel snog with abandon. A flash of light glints in their eyes as a god-like man appears.
Peggy!
You're late!
My ride hadn't been invented!
Er, Daniel. This is Steve.
Aw, fuck it.
You got any oranges? I really fancy an orange.
Actually, Steve, being the considerate man he is, wouldn't just turn up like that. He'd go to Howard first, someone whose shock would soon be overtaken by excitement and who could hide him effectively, then break it to Peggy gently. Or set her up for an enormous shock just for the fun of it. Either way works.
My (mundane) theory was that Steve went back in the early fifties after Peggy got a divorce. Steve, having visited Peggy from his defrosting in 2012 to her passing in 2016 would know her life story and when this happened. Therefore, having seen his photo on her desk in 1970, he had no qualms about going back to her.
M & M say Steve was always Peggy's husband and father of the children seen in the photos in Winter Soldier (no husband in them, remember?). When I first heard there might be time travel in Endgame, this is totally what I wanted it to be (probably why I'm so happy with Endgame!).
The interview Peggy gave doesn't have her mention her husband naturally ".. including the man who would eventually become my husband, as it turned out" – why not "including my husband…" if she were still married?
It's perfectly reasonable to assume that the possible husband resented even the memory of Steve and if he was a bit of a manbaby, she'd only have to say "Why can't you be more like Steve?" and boom, marriage over. Like I said, I'm a romantic.
Before you start with the whatabout Sharon? she was a great-niece by marriage, not a blood relative, and defrosted Cap saw her as the closest thing he could have to Peggy. He'd no idea then he'd be able to go back. Anyway, it was only one, not-so-passionate snog – we got over Luke and Leia, we can get over that.
So there you go, Steve is now living a quiet life with Peggy, knowing that he cannot change anything in that timeline. There's no social media and publicly, he usually wore a cowl, so it's unlikely he's ever going to get recognised in real life. How many times have you bumped into someone from the telly and not been able to place them? And there must be thousands of Steve Rogers in America – it's not like he's called Benylin Cumberband or something.
Personally, I love the idea of toddler Tony being babysat by Steve and no-one is ever going to take that away from me. This might have been exactly what they had in mind for AC S3. Disney+, come on!
When we see Old Cap, he's simply made his own way to the portal site on the right date, waited for himself to go back in time and then sat on the bench. The only anomaly for me is handing off the shield, which he didn't have – unless he stopped in Wakanda on the way back, and asked Shuri nicely to make him a new one.
*Update* Due to some snotty nosed little cretin arguing with me on Youtube (and completely undermining himself by stating that two Steves couldn't be in the same place at the same time. Did I imagine Cap V Cap #Americasass?) my mind wandered enough to find another explanation for the shield.
And I decided that Howard Stark had kept some vibranium back, and was able to make Steve a new one. The more I thought about this, the more convinced I became. Why would you use this incredible material to make just one item (and leave it under your desk)? Knowing Howard, genius inventor, it's completely in character that he'd have retained some to play with.
Steve's words to Sam, equally, could be interpreted differently: It doesn't belong to anyone else because he made the decision to pass it onto Sam. *Update* After seeing Endgame for only the fourth time, Steve tells him it's his after Sam says he'll do his best: "I know, that's why it's yours." So, no anomaly there.
Just because you didn't see it, doesn't mean it didn't happen!
In conclusion, there is evidence and anomalies that support and undermine both versions, although there is nothing the Russo's interpreted visually that isn't in line with the writers' intentions. But Markus and McFeely came up with the perfect reasoning as to why that is:
"It kind of depends on what Marvel wants to do going forward. We watched the Spiderman Far From Home trailer like everyone else and they mention branched realities and alternate multiverse … we didn't know they were going to do that. So they may have a different need (to our version) going forward."
Basically, Marvel left their options open.
And I'm left with the smuggest feeling of being on the same wavelength as the writers of five of the MCU's best films.
You know I said I'd be writing at least 3 pages a day? I actually have!
Therefore, as we near the end of January, I can look back on the month and be really proud that I've now two complete project drafts. And it's thanks in part to the excellent book (see above) by Pilar Alessandra: The Coffee Break Screenwriter.
I was stuck at a rough 12 pages for the pilot episode of my TV series, so, since it was Pilar's weekend TV writing course that set me on the journey with it last year, I revisited her book to jump start me again.
Going into the weekend last year with just the basic concept, I came away with the full template for all the elements of a mini series bible, which subsequently turned into a 5 page document that set a strong framework for me to work from.
But knowing my characters and where I want them to go turned out to be the easy bit. So using Pilar's book, I've begun to work through the 10 minute exercises and concentrate on one part of the script at a time. Before I knew it, I'd hit 45 pages. And I'm still only at the beginnings of the rewrite processes!
Having already completed the vomit draft (as I've charmingly seen it called) of my feature – Pilar refers to it as the speed draft (as in you write it quickly, not while you're high) – I've started the rewriting process on that and already it's gained another 4 pages.
It helps that I've finally made the effort to make more, dedicated, time. I'd let too many distractions keep me away from the writing but a new approach has proven worthwhile. This is essentially not writing just on the computer – printing the drafts off and going through with a red pen (like in the olden days) clearly works for me. Pen and paper, you can't beat it.
Yesterday I was at the second Rochester Write Then Socialise and basically sat quietly for 3 whole hours working through the script, with Pilar's book becoming more and more thumbed as the day wore on. The beauty of this was that once I felt a break was in order, I could reward myself by chatting to fellow writers over a coffee, the importance of which can't be underestimated.
Writing is a lonely, solitary business and it's easy to become isolated. While we were all concentrating on our own projects, the sounds of low chatter, tapping on keyboards and the scratching of pens reminded me I'm not on my own.