Screenwriting With A View #40
Guess who back...back again.
And I’m back.
You are probably wondering, Kev, where have you been. We were cooking for months and everything slowed to a trickle. The answer is simple: all good things, and all of them demanded focus personally and professionally.
Personally:
Life flipped in the best way. We had our first child. She is 10 months old, 33.5 inches tall, about 28 pounds, and an absolute beauty. Not shocking when her dad is seven feet tall and her mom is six feet. Fatherhood has been incredible, the kind of thing you cannot fully understand until it happens to you. I used to get annoyed when parents said that. Now I get it.
We also decided to do it again. My wife is four months pregnant. They will be about fifteen months apart. Yes it is another girl. No I am not even slightly surprised.
Also, we are two and through. I’ll be 43 when this baby is born and my wife will be 40 a week before her June 1st due date. No more babies.
We have decided to lock ourselves into Las Vegas for the long term. We are in the process of buying a house and building roots here, and there is nothing that would pull us back to New Jersey unless we hit the lottery.
Professionally:
A lot moved. A lot stuck. A lot got funded.
The book adaptation I was ready to walk away from suddenly came back to life. After two to three years of stops and starts, an investor stepped in. The production company that once planned to rewrite it without me now wants to option it and pay me to do the rewrites. Nothing is guaranteed, but the meetings, momentum, and Toronto base give it a real shot.
The Rise and Fall of the Pixels secured its budget. Real money. We are eyeing mid February to early March to start shooting and 2026 will be about finishing the film properly. I have poked at that script endlessly and sometimes I need to learn to leave my projects alone, but the attention has helped.
Jane Doe secured about ten percent of its budget and stalled for a bit. We still have money in place and that likely becomes the next film after Pixels. The original plan was February 2026. Realistically we are looking at mid to late next year depending on the Pixels schedule.
Kayfabe now has an official attachment. A prolific actor, wrestling superfan, and former WCW champion with one of the most controversial non wrestler title reigns in history. If you know, you know. The back half of the film that mirrors Mexico now has a tentative home in Portugal where I lived for three years. We also have interest from a major wrestling promotion. The project is early, but it is moving faster than expected and most importantly, the money is showing up.
I will also be teaching screenwriting electives at the local college in the spring. It is not my day job, because my day job pays the bills, but it is another way to teach, mentor, and give back.
In the middle of all of this, I had a record number of writing gigs land on my desk. About a dozen, which means that many credits. It is enough to push me over the threshold for WGA qualification. I am excited for it and slightly terrified of it. I have done a large number of rewrites I cannot wait to see on screen.
I am organizing drafts, projects, and my overall approach like someone who finally understands volume. One of my favorite industry voices to follow is Tepper. I do not know her, but the way she talks about writing and industry resonates with me. If I honestly thought people cared I would definitely share how I got into the industry and some of the wackiness that got me to the point of being able to call myself a pro on camera or a podcast. Maybe one day
Next year is about getting more of my own work into the world instead of only building work for other people.
Somehow I juggled all of this with one child. Doing it with two feels outrageous, but it will work.
As we roll into January I will get back into a normal Substack rhythm. I have picked up followers despite disappearing for a few months and I appreciate every single one of you for sticking around.
More soon.