Hello all,
Just thought I'd introduce myself on Introduce Yourself weekend,
I hail from Iowa and won 2022 Iowa Department of Veteran's Affairs Creative Arts Festival short script contest with "The Fair". I was also a Finalist in the WGFs Veteran Writers program and will enter again this year. If you are a veteran, make sure you enter now as it is open and is an amazing program.
Historical and science fiction with dashes of action and drama are my genres of choice. I'm currently working on a work-for-hire with another Producer-Director which is a science fiction project that will be shot this year, hopefully. I'm finishing up an action-historical fiction project that is JOHN WICK meets World War 2 which is set in Romania.
And to broaden my writer's chomps, I'm working on a high concept female driven action comedy. I hope I can pull that off. After seeing the wonderful GLASS ONION, it is clear how talented the competition is.
Themes that interest me are Power: who has it, who does not, and how it should be used.
Having met some of you, I can say that Stage 32 is a wonderful resource and community.
Respectfully and Warmly,
Tom
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Congratulations Tom! Always great to hear from another Iowan! Your current story sounds extremely interesting!
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Thank you, Mike. I m going the contest/calling card route with THE MONK WHO WOULD BE SPY. Here is some concept design for the movie poster I had created for it.
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Congratulations and greetings from Waterloo and fellow veteran.
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I have family in the Waterloo area. You MIGHT know Dave Deaver who worked in banking there. I'm his nephew.
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L. Tom Deaver Your work sounds awesome. And I LOVE it that you work with vets. I'm guessing you are one yourself and if so, THANK YOU for your service, sir! All the best to everything you put your hand to this year and beyond!
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Great stuff, L. Tom Deaver ! Look forward to reading some of your work!
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Thank you very much, Leonardo. I am an Army veteran having served with the 1st Cavalry Division, 2nd Infantry Division, and 8th Army staff working in Information Warfare and Air Defense. Yes, I hope to make some major strides with my writing career in 2023 and have hired a consultant and a story analyst to assist me.
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L. Tom Deaver So awesome. My sister served in the Army as an ATC operator. Sounds like a great plan you have with hiring a consultant. You're not alone there and you're not alone here.
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Hello Jack, do you know Joseph L. Lawson? Good man and he worked on Sharknado also.
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Thank you again, Leonardo. I'll have to catch up on your writing some time.
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L. Tom Deaver No. I was the game director for Sharknado VR: Eye of the Storm. We didn't have anything to do with the actual production crew.
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No worries. If you don't mind, I'd love to hear your advice on breaking into video game writing. What is a typical career path for writers of video games? I have a script I want to turn into a game - you can see the logline for JANISSARY in my profile if curious. It might just be a pipe dream but I am a gamer as well as a writer.
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oh and Jack, would you consider offering pitch sessions or consulting here on Stage 32? All is good but you piqued my interest as my end goal as a writer is not film but rather games.
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L. Tom Deaver Back in 1979 I started making video games on the Apple II. I was hooked because it similar to writing stories, which I did all the time, but then you could then play the stories. I also made short films on Super 8. To me there was no difference between them. There was not much writing for Sharknado VR, it is essentially a wave shooter. So I may not be a good resource for writing for games. Any of the writing I have done are for games our company is making. Since I'm the film guy and can write a little that task usually falls to me. I don't know it I am doing it right and I have never written for another company. There are probably a number of Discord servers about game writing or making that may put out feelers for writers. Barring that you could always download Unity or Unreal and just start making your own games. They are both free to use.
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Thank you, Jack. Those were good suggestions. I need to build my writing resume with more credits before I want to apply / approach for gaming writing jobs, I think. BUT I do need to listen into some of the Discord servers. Smart advice. As for creating my own games, it seems daunting. I greatly appreciate the time you took to reply. Have a terrific weekend.
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You have a good weekend too!
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"The Message" promo is gripping, L. Tom Deaver!
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Thank you very much, Maurice.
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You're welcome, L. Tom Deaver. Is "The Message" already finished?
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Nope. Due to poor health at the time, I had to shut down my production company. And COVID did not help make the investor we had lined up very giving at the time. But some day I will get "The Message" made.
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Your sci fi project sounds very interesting, especially the setting of Romania, I was born there. I hope the movie gets shot, best of luck to you
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It is some of my best writing about a true story of WW2 that has not been told in the Western world. It is the story of Miklos Horthy and his message of surrender while Hitler had his son held captive to prevent Hungary from surrendering. The story is told in such a way as to allow the audience to judge or forgive Horthy for his actions.
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Thank you, Norbert. I'm still trying to hone the script. The monk is something of THE CROW or JOHN WICK and this is his origin story during the 1930s in Romania. My ex wife was Romanian and I lived there in Romania for a time. Romania is a beautiful country full of a rich culture.
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Sorry that you had to shut down your production company, L. Tom Deaver "The Message" sounds exciting! It reminds me of "Schindler's List" but different. Hope you get your film made. I'm sure the resources on here will help.
Thanks, Maurice. Yes, it is set in Hungary like "Schindler's List" and while a different true story it is a prequel of sorts to the events in 'Schinder's List'. It is also kind of like "The King's Speech' on steroids with higher stakes. I certainly plan to use the resources here to help carry it forward. But my focus now is on THE MONK WHO WOULD BE SPY and some contest entries with it. I was watching 'Batman Begins' for some structure ideas for the story, which is shaping up nicely.