The Mysterious Secret Message

I got a text message from fuego, leaping wide oceans in a single bound. “Pirates script due Jan. 8.”

I assume he is not referring to the script we have already written, as, well, a deadline in the future would not be very noteworthy. Unless it’s a Pirates script that includes the ad-libs and other changes made during the shooting, that are not reflected in the master document. That might be it, but what would the point of such a script be?

No, I’m guessing that for some reason we need a new Pirates script, of unknown length (probably significantly longer), for an unknown audience, for an unknown purpose, and for some reason the window of opportunity closes on January 8th.

A good guess is that we need something for a feature-length movie or a television pilot. I hadn’t considered how different those two things can be until tonight as I sat down and started thinking through an outline of the plot. For a TV pilot you need to establish the style that the series will adopt, which limits you to styles that work in smaller chunks and won’t confuse first-time viewers. That means you can’t get too carried away with nonlinear structures and other devices that take time to build. Also, a pilot defines the main issues the characters will face, whereas a movie resolves them.

Getting a polished work of that size done in a month will be a big, big, challenge. We’re with Unlikely on Impossible’s front porch, and we’re ringing the doorbell.

Hopefully by the time I can get this posted I will already have the answers, but right now I’m anxious to start working. If only I knew what to work on.

Post Script: It’s all cool now. I’m a little rusty with english, apparently – I didn’t recognize “jan” as an abbreviation for “June”

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5 thoughts on “The Mysterious Secret Message

  1. P.S.as far as I know, there is no song about the 8th of June. So I’m afraid your stuck with this one. How about serendipity you say? The lyrics of this song include both pirates and squirrels.

    Coincidence?? I think not…

  2. Hooray! I’m really glad for you that you have an additional six months to wrestle with this project. Rev up your parrot and get to work!

  3. I LOVE “The Battle of New Orleans,” and have a 45 of Jimmy Driftwood (the lyricist) singing it, with “hell” and everything. Can “The 8th of January” be the official song of the yet-undeclared MOH term?

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