My old Army pal and best friend Jason had a fantastic idea around 2002. Why not write a script about our funny military experiences? Our funny stories were hilarious (to us at least) and would transfer well to the big screen. We even ventured to dare to compare our endeavor as a cross between MASH and SGT BILKO. Excited and with only a minimal knowledge of how to write a screenplay, we sat down and began pounding out pages upon pages of material. I left to head back east on Xmas vacation that year and when I came back, Jason had finished!
I read through it, laughed, made some minor adjustments and decided to post the script up on a peer review website. The website shall remain nameless, but needless to say Last Four was panned. The reviewers acknowledged the comedy and admitted to laughing out loud numerous times, but were overall unimpressed since there really was no central story, plot, etc... Who knew you had to have that crap in a movie??? One critique was especially harsh and it's really hard to take that kind of criticism. I don't know if Jason ever read the reviews (I think there were 4) but I decided to remove the script from the website and sulk. Our baby had been crushed under the ruthless weight of people who wanted something else that we failed to give them. Last Four was shelved as a screenplay.
Fast forward several years to now, 2007. Only with time and study does one perfect his craft. I read more books on writing screenplays, attended college courses on screenplays, and read screenplays as well as studied movies more intimately than I ever had. I took this knowledge and punched out a script, read it, and trashed it. I wrote another one and trashed that as well. Good ideas, poor execution. My real baby started with a script called "Age of the Dead". A zombie flick in the vein of Day of the Dead and 28 Days Later, I incorporated a Mad Max sort of feel and created a maddening world that hovered either on decay or the rebirth of a new civilization. Going back to the website where I had posted Last Four, I submitted "Age of the Dead". As I waited in dread for that first review, my stomach was in knots. I knew someone would destroy me much like they did Last Four. But I was pleasantly surprised. "Age of the Dead" wasn't panned at all. In fact...people actually liked it. Sure there were a few critiques here and there, but they were professional and courteous. Nothing like the salad tossing I received on Last Four a couple of years ago.
I'm involved with other projects as you know, but now with a better knowledge of story and character, Jason and I are reviving Last Four. Not in a full feature film format (shit that's a lot of Fs) but as "webisodes" or sitcoms designed to be shown on the Internet. We've been hammering out logistics which has been our biggest concern but story ideas are forming and in development. I've begun writing the first episode which has gone rather slowly. My excuse is of course that I'm still heavily involved with Abigail as well as Fratricide. Both are valid excuses. I'm thinking of actually turning what I have over to Jason and give him a chance to formulate a story and put something down on paper. What I have is okay, I just haven't had the time to pour what extra energy I have into it (YET).
Be on the lookout though. Last Four is coming and it's going to make you laugh so hard you'll poo your pants. You might want to wear some adult diapers while watching an episode. Either way, keep your eyes peeled and ear to the ground and keep checking back here for more updates.
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