Jeff at 2009-08-26 08:26:44:

Not a remake, Rob. He borrowed the title of a schlocky Italian movie from 1981 with blaxpoitation star Fred Williamson. The similarities stop there.

Scott at 2009-08-26 08:49:23:

And even if a writer is doing a remake, sequel, or adaptation, they still have to know that story universe as well as the original source material, and beyond, given the necessities of knowing the characters in this story they're writing.

alain dominic at 2009-08-26 10:36:17:

Scott,
You must get these requests all the time, but I have a spec I'm very confident in and was hoping you'd be willing to read just the first page?

I'm interested in your initial "gut reaction", as a professional reading the work of an aspirant.

The spec is complete and polished and I think ready to show, but would love your opinion.

I'm willing to post the 1st page on your/my blog if necessary, and am certainly open to user comments as well.

Thanks either way, and thanks also for all of your consistent and thought provoking posts!

Jeff at 2009-08-26 11:17:26:

Alain,

Definitely post it! I know of your "Dangerous" blog and I'd love to read it!

In fact, shoot me the whole thing, I'd be delighted to read material from a fellow GITS reader.

My credentials are such that while you won't be getting a "pro," per se, I've had a lifetime of meager successes, dunderheaded blunders, and grotesque failures in this racket which should count for something, eh?

Beyond that, you won't have to worry about intellectual property pilferage. I've left this game behind and have been plugging away on some prose fiction projects of late (and taking care of my 5 kids as the world's most harried, frayed, yet cheerful stay-at-home dad). So no Hollywood jaunts for me anytime soon.

jmesserman@gmail.com if you're interested.

alain dominic at 2009-08-26 13:38:03:

Whoops,
Deleted my last post 'cause I thought Jeff's was Scott's response -- sorry!

But yes, I'm going to post the first page on my blog, monkeyversuskeyboard.blogspot.com,
and would love others to comment on whether they think it accomplishes what a first page should, i.e., immediately establish character, place, time and tone, tell a story in itself, make you want to turn the page, etc.

Thanks for your interest, and hopefully it won't be a waste of 2 minutes!
AD