Something Might Happen

(This side-loading VHS camera is similar to the one I used to shoot my 1994 teleplay. Maybe you had one like it.)

I may have a host site for The Visitor, my revived teleplay from 17 years-past. Should know by the end of the week.

I won't jinx it by naming the host just yet. Want to see if it is technically sound enough to transfer to the site. That simply means that if it goes up, great. If not, I'll think of something else eventually.

I downloaded a DVD of the original movie to my computer. Using Movie Maker, Microsoft's editing program, I was able to trim 20 unnecessary minutes out the the thing, add title and credit sequences (that were mysteriously missing from the DVD; a longer story for another day), and generally work it into something more competent.

What an improvement!

It still has many of the problems of a no-budget project, but it has a new charm that I find sort of fresh and unexpected after so many years.

The actors, friends from my old neighborhood, ran with the story and did excellent work. That is their performances seem to be standing up over time. Or perhaps I am merely sentimental.

Let's just say it has some very fine moments of lucidity and humor and some not-so-fine technical issues that grade it down.

But seriously, it pays to never give up on a seeming disaster or a project you might think is moribund.

If you're a writer, keep your work. Put it in a drawer, let it sit there. Many years later you might find something worthwhile, something you never suspected you had.

Nothing is ever as bad as it seems (that may not be true, but let us play).

With the exception of a certain group of politicians bent on destruction, everything has value. But we won't discuss that today.



TS