Argh! What a soul crushingly defeating week this was!
Well, might as well start where it all began, this past Tuesday.
Well, I suppose it really began even before that, going back to this past Sunday. I had promised I would release a new Ninja Steve. I had the script written and the dialog recorded. All I had to do was put together the animation on GoAnimate, a process that usually only takes a day or so depending on how long and complex I decide to make the episode.
But in the back of my mind, there was a nagging concern that I simply could not ignore. The waiting period to find out whether a certain company would pick up my other big project was a constant thought on my mind. So it eventually ebbed away at my desire to finish the next Ninja Steve. I simply wanted to anxiously wait and see how things would turn out with my other project. You all know what it is by now.
I'll use a description of The Liger that I used at another website I frequent:
"Without spoiling the plot, the main catalyst of the story is this devastating meteor shower that pretty much destroys the whole world. It leaves a few animals alive, namely my main characters, a family of Hyenas. They discover a young orphaned Liger cub (no, he didn't come down in the meteors) and adopt him as one of their own while they try to find a new place to live. Meanwhile the Hyena family has to face new dangers, mainly from some of the other animals who have been mutated as a result of the meteors. Animals that were once prey have now become predators, and the animals who were the predators now find that they only eat plants to survive. So the entire animal kingdom as we know it has been turned upside down.
And that's just the first episode."
The one difference between The Liger and the other projects you've seen me post on BitLanders, is that I've worked on this idea on and off for the better part of 10 years. I wrote the first draft of the screenplay as an animated movie, tried and failed to get that produce, then quietly mulled over how to alter the story from 2005 to 2015 when I finally presented it again as you see it now. It also now exists as a story to be told through television episodes rather than a feature length film.
And so with that said, I presented The Liger to Amazon Studios, which currently has an open door policy on developing new and original ideas.
http://studios.amazon.com/users/5879
But I guess my idea wasn't what they were looking for. So after waiting patiently from the end of February until last Tuesday the 7th, I was politely given the not so good news. Amazon Studios would not be producing The Liger and I was back at Square 1 yet again in my not so illustrious career.
There's a reason why I call myself the Super Starving Writer:
So this left me feeling a bit dejected and with no wind in my proverbial sails. I tried tweeting and sharing the same link to The Liger that I just posted here, but of course that lead to nothing.
And then a thought occurred to me about a day later. I was joined up on another social media website for creative individuals called Stage 32. And there would hopefully be some opportunities for me there to talk about The Liger or present it before some people who were connected to the world of Animation in Hollywood.
The search was not a long one. I found through Stage 32's Happy Writers service a scheduled date and time to pitch, or present, my story to two very intriguing companies.
Disney and DreamWorks!
www.stage32.com/happy-writers/pitch-sessions/Pitch-Disney-Thursday-April-16th-2015
www.stage32.com/happy-writers/pitch-sessions/Pitch-DreamWorks-Saturday-April-25th-2015
I know I don't have to explain to you guys what Disney has done over the years, but perhaps you might not know about DreamWorks right off the bat. DreamWorks was responsible for notable films like How To Train Your Dragon 1 and 2, the Shrek movie series, Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar, and more. If anyone would be interested in a concept about talking animals in an unusual situation, it would be those companies.
There was just one issue left. To get the opportunity to present my story to either Disney or DreamWorks, I'd have to pay a fee of $45 up front. Even with the Payments I've received here at BitLanders, all of which has come and gone to be used for the cost of day to day living, I wouldn't have enough funds to pay for a pitching session for both Disney and DreamWorks. So I had to make a choice.
Just briefly going over both companies' catalog of films over the years, as well as the style of their stories, I decided to go with DreamWorks. Their films tend to be a bit edgier than Disney's and my Liger story doesn't exactly fit the bright and upbeat nature of the Disney universe.
My decision also has to do with the fact that during this pitch session, I'll actually get to talk to someone via webcam over Skype. With Disney, there is no option like that. All I'd be able to do is send in a written pitch. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather talk to someone and at least have the dignity of a verbal communication rather than just sending an e-mail and hoping for the best possible solution.
Make no mistake though, if I do somehow get the opportunity to pitch a story to Disney, I will take that opportunity and run with it. Though, at this point, I don't think I'd pitch The Liger to them. I think I'd go with something else I've worked on. Perhaps something like...
Could you guys imagine Ninja Steve being apart of Disney? That would be quite something!
So with the prospects of getting another chance to take my story of The Liger elsewhere, I was able to cheer up slightly and get back to work on my animated projects, including Ninja Steve. That's when I decided to quickly make this little picture in GoAnimate to show you guys I wasn't just being a lazy bum.
So that's pretty much it for now. Maybe I can actually go ahead this week and get that Ninja Steve episode out that I owe you guys! All the while still toiling away with my other projects, Emina and Space Opera.
Thanks again for sticking with me. We'll see what happens this upcoming week! Until then, take care!
