Getting into the Movies
If you are reading this because you think I am about to provide a path to turning your masterpiece into a blockbuster, I am sorry, because I hope this is my journey and I do not know how it will turn out.
If you have a contact in the film world, I suggest you connect with that person and hope they can be of assistance. In my case, I know a filmmaker whose work I admire I and I have asked her for advice. This is my first attempt in providing her with what she suggested.
She recommended the book "Save the Cat", which I will pick up when I get my next check. She also wants a brief description of the books and their genre plus "Movie like references". That is what this blog entry will be all about. So sit back and read, there is more to come as I continue writing my third novel and work towards seeing my novels "At the Movies".
The "Genre" could be categorized as light Film Noir. I write somewhere between Dashiell Hammett and Dick Francis. The Novel series I am currently working on is called "Jonas Watcher". It is a detective adventure series with some elements of mystery and humor. The stories are currently taking place in the 1930's in San Francisco, New Orleans, St Louis, and Chicago with mentions of Boston and New York.
Jonas Watcher starts out as a derelict suffering from a really bad case of the DT's The Case of the Running Bag" which starts him on the road to recovery, and, of course, finding out who tried to kill him.
on a floating pier in the San Francisco Bay. He is a "Great War" veteran who was in the military police. He is clearly damaged from the war. He is almost murdered in the first book, "
In the second book, "The Case of the Bourbon Street Hustler" Jonas goes to New Orleans, for a client who wants to know if his son was killed there. Jonas explores the French Quarter, and the Bayou surrounding New Orleans. He soon discovers that not only is he a hunter, but he is also being hunted. In the Bayou, the most deadly creature walks on two legs and doesn't have scales.
ook, "
The third book is a work in progress and is called "The Case of the Jade Dragon". Jonas is returning home from New Orleans and takes on the role of good samaritan, rescuing an elder Chinese man and his daughter. The act gets Jonas mixed up in an ancient Chinese feud, star-crossed lovers, and a task in which it doesn't matter whether he succeeds of fails, someone is going to kill him.
There are the brief descriptions of the first three books. The next three books are; "The Case of the Looking Glass Mirror", "The Case of the Laveau Curse", and "Where Evil Lurks".
As for recent film references that might pertain to my novels I have been somewhat at a loss because no one is currently feature films circa 1930. Ther are a number of TV series that fit in that genre, so here they are.
From BBC, there is Hercule Poirot, not as much adventure and not really "light Film Noir" but the right period, wrong country.
From Australia, Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries. A little more adventure, a little earlier time period, but very much in the style I'm looking for. She is a female detective in Australia and a bit of a fish out of water but very self-reliant.
From Canada, Murdoch Mysteries. These are before "The Great War" but close in style, not quite enough adventure. Murdoch is a policeman/detective who is a Catholic in a Protestant city at the turn of the century. The focus is primarily mystery oriented with the touch of science of the time and a little bit of what if.
If you look at "The Big Sleep", The Thin Man" series with William Powel and Myrna Loy, "The Maltese Falcon" you have a better feel for the type of book and film I am looking at. Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, and Earl Stanley Gardner had a big effect on my writing and story telling. I am more about adventure story and character development and less about the "Mystery".
"The Sting" with Paul Newman and Robert Redford also captures the look of my novels from a design view. The story is from the same period and the style is close to what I am looking for. While I am planning to write the treatments for the books, I am looking for advice and help in doing so.
I am sure I have missed the boat with this blog, but this is my first pass at providing the requested information as I understand it. I am open to criticism because I want to get on the next step.
So "Save the Cat" here I come. It is time to read.
If you have a contact in the film world, I suggest you connect with that person and hope they can be of assistance. In my case, I know a filmmaker whose work I admire I and I have asked her for advice. This is my first attempt in providing her with what she suggested.
She recommended the book "Save the Cat", which I will pick up when I get my next check. She also wants a brief description of the books and their genre plus "Movie like references". That is what this blog entry will be all about. So sit back and read, there is more to come as I continue writing my third novel and work towards seeing my novels "At the Movies".
The "Genre" could be categorized as light Film Noir. I write somewhere between Dashiell Hammett and Dick Francis. The Novel series I am currently working on is called "Jonas Watcher". It is a detective adventure series with some elements of mystery and humor. The stories are currently taking place in the 1930's in San Francisco, New Orleans, St Louis, and Chicago with mentions of Boston and New York.
Jonas Watcher starts out as a derelict suffering from a really bad case of the DT's The Case of the Running Bag" which starts him on the road to recovery, and, of course, finding out who tried to kill him.on a floating pier in the San Francisco Bay. He is a "Great War" veteran who was in the military police. He is clearly damaged from the war. He is almost murdered in the first book, "
In the second book, "The Case of the Bourbon Street Hustler" Jonas goes to New Orleans, for a client who wants to know if his son was killed there. Jonas explores the French Quarter, and the Bayou surrounding New Orleans. He soon discovers that not only is he a hunter, but he is also being hunted. In the Bayou, the most deadly creature walks on two legs and doesn't have scales.
ook, "
The third book is a work in progress and is called "The Case of the Jade Dragon". Jonas is returning home from New Orleans and takes on the role of good samaritan, rescuing an elder Chinese man and his daughter. The act gets Jonas mixed up in an ancient Chinese feud, star-crossed lovers, and a task in which it doesn't matter whether he succeeds of fails, someone is going to kill him.There are the brief descriptions of the first three books. The next three books are; "The Case of the Looking Glass Mirror", "The Case of the Laveau Curse", and "Where Evil Lurks".
As for recent film references that might pertain to my novels I have been somewhat at a loss because no one is currently feature films circa 1930. Ther are a number of TV series that fit in that genre, so here they are.
From BBC, there is Hercule Poirot, not as much adventure and not really "light Film Noir" but the right period, wrong country.
From Australia, Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries. A little more adventure, a little earlier time period, but very much in the style I'm looking for. She is a female detective in Australia and a bit of a fish out of water but very self-reliant.
From Canada, Murdoch Mysteries. These are before "The Great War" but close in style, not quite enough adventure. Murdoch is a policeman/detective who is a Catholic in a Protestant city at the turn of the century. The focus is primarily mystery oriented with the touch of science of the time and a little bit of what if.
If you look at "The Big Sleep", The Thin Man" series with William Powel and Myrna Loy, "The Maltese Falcon" you have a better feel for the type of book and film I am looking at. Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, and Earl Stanley Gardner had a big effect on my writing and story telling. I am more about adventure story and character development and less about the "Mystery".
"The Sting" with Paul Newman and Robert Redford also captures the look of my novels from a design view. The story is from the same period and the style is close to what I am looking for. While I am planning to write the treatments for the books, I am looking for advice and help in doing so.I am sure I have missed the boat with this blog, but this is my first pass at providing the requested information as I understand it. I am open to criticism because I want to get on the next step.
So "Save the Cat" here I come. It is time to read.
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