It's true that writing is rewriting. That is to say, you can tinker with a script forever and never be completely comfortable that you've really nailed what you wanted to say. But today is the day I'm locking the screenplay after I make some adjustments that were inspired by excellent notes from our DP and co-producers. Little things really, but they'll make such a big difference in the final product. And even though I know we may opt to add/subtract while we're shooting on the set, today just seems like the day I need to polish Beautiful Noise off with one final pass and then offer it up to the masses. All the signs are there for me. It's a rare overcast, rainy day in Sarasota; the wife was called into work; the kids and grand kids are busy doing their post-holiday weekend stuff; the dog is asleep on the couch and the laptop sits alone on the table...beckoning. So there's really nothing left for me to do except take the screenplay out for one last spin around the block. Tomorrow it will be time to organize and coordinate the final preproduction and actor rehearsal details required just prior to principal photography. So, the Writer's cap comes off today and the Producer's hat will be set firmly in place...all leading up to the time I get to wear my Director's baseball cap non-stop for the upcoming 19-day shoot.
It's a sad farewell as I've loved every moment of writing (and rewriting) this Story. It's like sending your kid off to college or giving your daughter away at her wedding - hoping and praying that you've done all you possibly could to prepare them for what's to come. But hey, it's gotta be done. The caravan moves on. And yet, thankfully, just at the most excruciatingly painful moment when I feel the deepest pangs and anxiety of this departure, the Writing gods lift my spirits by reminding me that three other heartfelt Scripts of mine are patiently waiting for my current obsession with this Musical-Drama to ease just enough to allow my focus to drift, if only for a minute or two, to the wonderful work ahead on the new Stories I will turn to next.
I know that a good movie must first have just the right combination and variety of Words and Action expressed on the pages of a script before it has a chance to break through and become the kind of film worth an audience's time and money - so I hope that the screenplay titled Beautiful Noise inspires and enables our Cast & Crew to create something both entertaining and memorable. It was Mine alone, once. Now it's Ours - and if our Production Team works hard in the coming weeks and is very lucky, our movie just might find a new home with You and Yours someday.
Steve
