So during my quest last night to read more about the writer's strike that's currently going on, I got distracted and ended up perusing some trailers on Apple.com. To my surprise, there's actually a number of movies that I wouldn't mind dropping a Hamilton to see in the theater; Cloverfield, the new Batman flick (Dark Knight), 10,000 B.C., to name a few.
Although, there was one trailer that irritated me and left me in a small pool of regret...yet again. It's a trailer for a movie that's coming out in March called 21. It's based on the MIT students that developed and mastered the art of counting cards and made a fortune by traveling to Vegas (amongst other places) on the weekends to beat the system under false aliases. They eventually get caught and banned from all the casinos but they become legends in that they are the reason why counting cards is illegal and, in many ways, exists.
Rewind to couple years ago, while skipping yet another one of my classes, a documentary about these students aired and I was so intrigued by their story that I wrote it down in my "film notebook" (yes, I keep a notebook filled of story ideas) and eventually came back to it and wrote an outline for a potential script. There were so many elements of this story that would make a great movie: the development of their little "club", leading double lives, not getting caught, what happens when they do get made by the pit bosses (man vs man)? What happens if they become to greedy and take bigger risks (man vs. himself)? There was a number of students involved so that would give a lot of room for character dynamics. Throw in some sort of love story with a hidden agenda which ultimately forces one of the main characters choose between love or money and hey, you got yourself a movie!
But as with many things we do in life, I kind of lost track of it, then eventually lost interest to where I just discarded it and never developed it further, convincing myself that the idea is stupid anyway. I mean, who am I to where someone would even want to look at my script, let alone a script about some kids playing poker, right?
So I'm watching this trailer and I'm kicking myself in the ass for giving up on the project. Not really kicking myself because "that could've been my movie" but moreso because it made me realize how much I sell myself short and that, "Hey, I do have some pretty good ideas from time to time and I have to put more faith in them."
Let's go back to the "yet again". Back in early 2004 I began writing a script about a college kid who was having trouble with the ladies. In his search for advice, he learns from a friend that there's this guy (also in college) who serves as a "relationship consultant"; guys know about him through word of mouth and the women aren't sure he exists. In my story, this "relationship consultant" runs things like a business, using the money to help him pay for tuition all the while helping guys overcome their awkward communication skills to find the love of their lives. He himself ends up finding a girl that makes him want to finally settle down until she finds out about his "business" and the drama ensues.
I ended up scratching the project and throwing it to the side along with my other "whatever" stories and eventually convinced myself that it's just another stupid idea, because again, who the hell am I and why would my ideas be good enough to even be considered as a movie? Then about a year later, Hitch comes out! WTF!
So now, it's official. If I have an idea for a story, I'm just going to go forward and develop it. I'm trying to get into that industry anyway so if I keep writing and start using my contacts to actually take the proceeding steps, at least one is bound to be picked up, right? And if anything, I'd at least feel better about having tried than to completely discard the idea only to see it made later on.
So, I guess you could say that this is one of my new years resolutions. This year, I'm going to be making big steps towards the goals in my life and I'm gonna have to follow through in everything no matter how far fetched it seems to accomplish them. Fortune favors the brave, right?