Effect of the Coronavirus

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

    Originally posted by Done Deal Pro View Post
    I normally go about three to four times a week. Just depends. I shop a little on the lighter side if I can. Getting out is or was nice, so I didn't mind under normal circumstances. Now just about everything gives me a moment of pause. As so many others are surely doing out there, I'm simply trying to get through it all as calmly, rationally and safely as possible, of course. And I a no doctor, but I'm pretty sure 27 feet is not necessary. I try hard just to be respectful of personal space and keep it light with folks. "Hey, coming through. Sorry." Not making fun of the situation or concern, but again trying to do what I can not to go nuts or fuel anyone's paranoia -- and keep it a little upbeat for a moment of levity at least.



    Not that is doesn't make sense or isn't shocking at the end of the day, but when you really think about the domino effect of it all, it's truly amazing. No one is benefiting from this, that I can think of. A few lowlifes are trying to take advantage of it all, but hopefully karma or better yet the authorities will get them in the end. And a few entities, let's call them, will screw employees over or try to use this pandemic as an excuse to do some crappy.

    I don't know to be honest. I don't think anyone can truly answer that question right now. As others have wisely noted, if you are writer, then write. Get all the writing you can done while you are home, if possible. In terms of work, when things crank back up, I'm sure there will be shifts on who is available, or who wants to continue with something or not. Most likely, the vast majority of writers will pick back up where they left off; though surely there will be some canned projects too. Features cancelled or "forgotten." TV shows not brought back. One has to think the climate will change to some degree or another. But for example, I have read about showrunners prepping for next season using Zoom as their writers room to discuss scripts and stories.

    And yes, it's a shame for contest winners or people accepted into fellowship programs at the moment. Not that that is the most important thing in life, of course. Safety and health outweigh all. But there will possibly be some folks missed, who might have gotten recognized otherwise. That said, people are hopping all over Zoom, FaceTime, etc. to keep the ball rolling. Phone calls as always. Just in-person meetings and the "water bottle tours" won't take place as normal for some time; but I'm sure reps & producers will still reach out if they like someone's writing or they (the writer) are recognized by a contest. And of course, we all have e-mail. I've been e-mailing with writers as I always do. Online festivals are adjusting and trying to go online during this time, which is great to see for filmmakers.

    As for a shift, there's already been on from film to TV. Years ago, we used to list twice as many film deals each month relative to TV deals. Of late though, it's basically flip flopped.

    I hope for the best for all as soon as possible. Clearly it is very bad out there for many. Maybe a few other folks can chime in with some different perspectives.

    I enjoyed reading your response, Will. A lot of good stuff there. Very well thought out. This pandemic is probably already having deleterious effects on how people interact with each other. Even when it calms down, people will probably be less warm and open to each other. The entertainment industry is so social. I just wonder how this will change things. It occurred to me that Jeff Bezos is making even more money now because people are basically just ordering everything online now.

    I get so jealous when I hear stories about how the writing scene was in the 90s. Some guy getting 4 million for a pitch on napkin. Newbie writers being able to break in a script with an original idea. The current scene was already hard, now, you add the pandemic on top of it. I wonder how contests will handle trying to get the word out on their finalists and winners. How managers will try to get people's attention on their new writers. I think the established writers at the top will be just fine. It's all the other little people that will face a greater unknown.

    On a side note, I had all these favorite restaurants and desert places that I really loved. I hope they are still around when this thing calms down.

    Comment


    • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

      Originally posted by TigerFang View Post
      For one, I'd like to see Saturday Night Live...
      During the lead up to the first Gulf War, when otherwise we all had metal in our mouths thinking we were on the way to an apocalypse, I remember SNL made us all laugh with its irreverence on the topic. (Oddly, I've barely watched it since the 90s)

      I think the first pandemic-related movies that come out will be comedies; it's the way we get through and get over things. We can often laugh at stuff that, secretly, we never would associate with or that we even disagree with.

      Last night, for a break, I watched "Bad Grandpa". Horrible. But hysterical, too. Never want to watch it again, but sometimes it is joyous to see people do and say things that I/we'd never consider ourselves.

      Anyway, since I'm recommending films of that type, I'd consider Bad Santa or Bad Words to anyone here.

      Comment


      • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

        Good choices, catcon. The wife and I watched Naked Gun last night. I probably saw that over 10 times when I was a kid and it's still funny as hell.

        Anyway, as far as writing goes I've accepted that I'm not getting in anytime soon. For all I know I was years off anyway but I feel like this situation guarantees it. I think it's a good time to just write, as others have said.

        Comment


        • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

          You know a stupid comedy that I was surprised I laughed at was that John Cena fireman comedy with the kids. My favorite this year so far is still JoJo Rabbit. Sitting home all day watching TV and eating can't be good.

          With the current situation, I wonder how interested producers and execs are willing to read scripts from newer writers.

          Comment


          • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

            Originally posted by Friday View Post
            You know a stupid comedy that I was surprised I laughed at was that John Cena fireman comedy with the kids. My favorite this year so far is still JoJo Rabbit. Sitting home all day watching TV and eating can't be good.

            With the current situation, I wonder how interested producers and execs are willing to read scripts from newer writers.

            My prediction is that when this thing is over we are going to see less of the dark/dystopian social satires and a move back to silly comedies. People need to laugh and there is going to be a real re-evaluation of everyone's priorities in life.

            That said, I would absolutely not query anyone in the business until June at the earliest. God forbid someone they care about is sick, and you never know what people are dealing with in their personal lives. Though if you are waiting for a reply to a previous submission, there is a good chance a lot of people are reading them right now.

            The producer of the John Cena movie you mentioned (Sean Robins) is open to submissions from unrepped / new writers. I reached him through VPF, but you can try your luck with a query (again, not now). He is a voracious reader, a quick replier, and and all around nice guy.

            Comment


            • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

              Originally posted by kintnerboy View Post
              My prediction is that when this thing is over we are going to see less of the dark/dystopian social satires and a move back to silly comedies. People need to laugh and there is going to be a real re-evaluation of everyone's priorities in life.

              That said, I would absolutely not query anyone in the business until June at the earliest. God forbid someone they care about is sick, and you never know what people are dealing with in their personal lives. Though if you are waiting for a reply to a previous submission, there is a good chance a lot of people are reading them right now.

              The producer of the John Cena movie you mentioned (Sean Robins) is open to submissions from unrepped / new writers. I reached him through VPF, but you can try your luck with a query (again, not now). He is a voracious reader, a quick replier, and and all around nice guy.

              Cool. Thanks. I am not trying to query or even submit right now. That fireman comedy was surprisingly very entertaining...even cute. I also enjoyed Last Christmas, but I tend to like Christmas movies.

              If the theaters reopen, I'd probably tend to pick more escapist movies similar to Titanic, Star Wars, Scarface, a Jim Carey farce, Pretty Woman. I don't think I would be in the mood for Contagion. Though, I would be interested in a real life documentary about the race for the cure.

              I just saw on GMA, Dr. Glanville says that he has a treatment that's ready to go now, but needs to be verified by the military. Something to do with plasma of recovered Covid patients. Says that he's hoping it could be ready to go by September. I am hoping one of these scientists, who are racing against the clock to find a cure, figures it out soon. If anyone is read up on this and wants to tell us what's going on, please share. This just can't go on for 18 months. It's literally destroying lives. Blowing up people's businesses and livelihoods. We only have so many of our prime years...can't waste it sitting at home watching TV.

              Comment


              • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

                This is a question for Will. Why does my default settings have 2 spaces between paragraphs. I always have to go back edit it to get it to the normal spacing.

                Comment


                • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

                  Originally posted by Friday View Post
                  This is a question for Will. Why does my default settings have 2 spaces between paragraphs. I always have to go back edit it to get it to the normal spacing.
                  I am not aware of any default setting or even any setting for spacing when posting. It could *possibly* be browser issue, though not positive. If you are writing posts up in Word first, for example, the pasting that might be affecting it.

                  Mainly though, I will note this for a few folks just in case... if you are not already be sure to use the PREVIEW POST button to check before ever posting. I pretty much always do. It let's me checking formatting, grammar, spelling, etc. (Though I still screw up the latter two.) I always feel it's a great way too to see how your post looks and reads before it ever goes live. Much easier to read than in this "text box" we all type into at first.

                  But again, I've never been aware of any settings with vBulletin software that "adds" or doesn't add extra space between paragraphs.

                  Let me know if the PREVIEW button helps at all to at least spot the spacing issue or if it only shows up after you click the SUBMIT REPLY button. At least with the former you could correct before it goes "live." I'll have to investigate the rest as best I can, though I did just find a post that notes that Firefox seems to do this due to a bug. If you haven't updated to the latest version of FF, maybe try that too, if you use that browser. Or even Chrome or whatever you might use.

                  And one other quick thought, though I'm not sure if this makes any difference, IF you are using the QUICK REPLY feature, try not using that but rather the POST REPLY button in the bottom left corner of a thread or the QUOTE button as need be. Not sure what that might affect or not, especially with more up-to-date browsers. This is older forum software.
                  Last edited by Done Deal Pro; 04-03-2020, 08:59 AM.
                  Will
                  Done Deal Pro
                  www.donedealpro.com

                  Comment


                  • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

                    Originally posted by Friday View Post
                    It's actually a lot harder to do work at home. Somehow it's less efficient. A million distractions.
                    Glad I saw this Friday -- was wondering if it was just me with this difficulty.

                    Also, re: shopping, Lysol disinfectant has been out-of-stock since day one of this problem here... more so than TP or towels. FYI - Lysol is one of the government approved cleaners for coronavirus. You're welcome.

                    Catcon -- hope you have better success with Inktip than I did. Maybe it's better now???

                    Friday, re: Christmas movies. Since they shut down all those prodcos that make many of the Christmas movies up in Catcon country, there probably won't be too many new ones shown this Christmas. Maybe, if things improve, they'll make up for it by having a Christmas in July (2021) deluge.

                    Comment


                    • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

                      Originally posted by Done Deal Pro View Post
                      I am not aware of any default setting or even any setting for spacing when posting. It could be a possible browser issue, though not likely. If you are writing posts up in Word first, for example, the pasting that might be affecting it.

                      Mainly though, I will note this for a few folks just in case... if you are not already be sure to use the PREVIEW POST button to check before ever posting. I pretty much always do. It let's me checking formatting, grammar, spelling, etc. (Though I still screw up the latter two.) I always feel it's a great way too to see how your post looks and reads before it ever goes live. Much easier to read than in this "text box" we all type into at first.

                      But again, I've never been aware of any settings with vBulletin software or any that "adds" extra space between paragraphs.

                      Let me know if the PREVIEW button helps at all to at least spot the spacing issue or if it only shows up after you click the SUBMIT REPLY. At least with the former you could correct before it goes "live." I'll have to investigate the rest as best I can, though I did just find a post that notes that Firefox seems to do this due to a bug. If you haven't updated to the latest version of FF, maybe try that too.

                      And one other quick thought, though I'm not sure if this makes any difference, IF you are using the QUICK REPLY feature, try not using that but rather the POST REPLY button in the bottom left corner of the thread or the QUOTE button as need be. Not sure what that might affect or not, especially with more up-to-date browsers. This is older forum software.

                      No worries. Don't spend any time on it. I had just noticed that. I usually just use the quote button. This only started happening recently. It was normal before. It might just be a compatibility thing as you said with Firefox.

                      Comment


                      • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

                        Originally posted by socalwriter1 View Post
                        Glad I saw this Friday -- was wondering if it was just me with this difficulty.

                        Also, re: shopping, Lysol disinfectant has been out-of-stock since day one of this problem here... more so than TP or towels. FYI - Lysol is one of the government approved cleaners for coronavirus. You're welcome.

                        Catcon -- hope you have better success with Inktip than I did. Maybe it's better now???

                        Friday, re: Christmas movies. Since they shut down all those prodcos that make many of the Christmas movies up in Catcon country, there probably won't be too many new ones shown this Christmas. Maybe, if things improve, they'll make up for it by having a Christmas in July (2021) deluge.

                        Totally. It's a nightmare working at home. You're stuck in your home with those distractions and it's hard to wall yourself off. To be frank, I got 10 times more done when I was at a coffee shop. You're focused and forced to write. At home, you get interrupted and it just messes with your flow. We've all seen the youtube videos of various family members interrupting reporters trying to work at home. My favorite was the one with the 3 year old then a little baby in a stroller.

                        I like anything set during Christmas, except slasher movies. What are your favorite Christmas movies?

                        Comment


                        • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

                          I hear from many of the boomer generation that young people (including up into their thirties) won't work. Once hired they prefer to spend all day on their phones and ignore their duties. The coronavirus will not change that. A large part of the younger generation appears to believe they are entitled to constantly be amused. Whoever can capture that interest, even on a small scale, may be on their way to rule the entertainment world, as the big screen continues to wane. But there is something else.

                          Yesterday I spoke with a younger person who was landscaping in our subdivision. He works hard and seems level-headed. He told me that he and his friends were worried by the virus, as they feared outbreaks of crime. He spoke of being unable to locate ammunition to defend himself, and compared the current situation to past virus outbreaks that now appeared unremarkable. I was surprised that he was worried.

                          To finally get to the point, there are no college administrators that can protect young people from this fear in the way they have shielded the innocent from micro-aggressions and hurtful opinions. Reality can be a cruel instructor.

                          I believe many of our younger people are going to grow up quickly during this crisis. Perhaps some will more appreciate their parents and become more involved with family time and its slower-paced entertainment .
                          Last edited by Done Deal Pro; 04-03-2020, 02:15 PM. Reason: Added paragraph breaks for readability.

                          Comment


                          • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

                            ^I don't disagree with any of your points. On average most of that is probably true.

                            That said, I'm a millennial in my 20's and I've probably beat myself up for money more than most, including boomers. I've worked on a pecan farm for a couple of years, a rig drilling for oil in Texas for three years, a shipyard for three years, and now aviation. I don't pretend my experiences are as difficult as those who've seen combat or came from a horrific environment, but I've nearly been killed or seriously maimed on the job more than once and had recurring nightmares as a result. I've also been promoted and seen nice raises in all of these jobs.

                            I won't paint all boomers as the same, but that generation is probably one of the most privileged and lucky (at least in the US) in the history of our species and it took ONE generation for them to **** it up for their children. I appreciate the advancements in technology and the sciences (I'm just old enough to have had to use a road map) but overall the standard of living has probably declined for us compared to boomers. You get screwed financially from every possible angle now. Everything is way more crowded. Importing millions of third worlders over the decades while simultaneously outsourcing jobs benefits some (landowners, businesses who want to suppress wages and skirt regulations) but it doesn't benefit the average citizen. I sincerely don't blame some young people for saying **** it and checking out. I wouldn't do that myself but I see where they're coming from. Perhaps their hyper-individualist parents share some of the blame.

                            And I'm way ahead of you on the crime prep. Go back through the thread if you'd like. I'm grateful that I have a good dad.

                            Edit: I was a bit hammered when I wrote this so my bad if it came across as crude. Also off topic I guess. I won't take back anything or delete it though cause then I'll look like a chicken ****. If anyone wants to talk in pms or something though I'm game.
                            Last edited by DDoc; 04-04-2020, 02:47 PM.

                            Comment


                            • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

                              Well said, DDoc.

                              Comment


                              • Re: Effect of the Coronavirus

                                Originally posted by kintnerboy View Post
                                My prediction is that when this thing is over we are going to see less of the dark/dystopian social satires and a move back to silly comedies. People need to laugh and there is going to be a real re-evaluation of everyone's priorities in life.

                                That said, I would absolutely not query anyone in the business until June at the earliest. God forbid someone they care about is sick, and you never know what people are dealing with in their personal lives. Though if you are waiting for a reply to a previous submission, there is a good chance a lot of people are reading them right now.

                                The producer of the John Cena movie you mentioned (Sean Robins) is open to submissions from unrepped / new writers. I reached him through VPF, but you can try your luck with a query (again, not now). He is a voracious reader, a quick replier, and and all around nice guy.
                                I don't know if I agree with waiting until June. People are still doing business now pitching projects. It's not a dead-stop.

                                I don't know that the LA area feels the same level and pressure we feel here in the New York metro area, because LAs numbers aren't as huge as what's happening in NYC. We have a lot of people who commute to NYC every week.

                                It's a mix of being terrified because it's so close and yet still our numbers are lower. We have three nursing homes with confirmed infections. In our household we are able to still work. I'm not exposed to the general public, just our few employees who don't have to interact with people.

                                But one of us is in the health industry and comes home every night and rushes to the shower before she speaks to any of us. She's exposed to the people in the nursing homes, so she's worried about herself and coming home and possibly exposing us all.

                                I watch Governor Cuomo's update every morning. I can't even image how any of the New York shows will even be able to restart by June-July-- it seems impossible, there's so many people getting sick.

                                Also, when they say "mild" symptoms, I'm pretty sure from Chris Cuomo's experience, "mild" is a euphemism for, you feel like you "might die."

                                Stay safe, everyone, I'm thinking about you all. And don't stop dreaming and working hard for that dream.
                                "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X