Quill Tattoo

Over the holiday break while visiting family, I decided to get my second tattoo. I had come up with concept a little over a year before (shortly after my first tattoo) and my fiancé drew the original sketch. It is a quill design that breaks apart at the tip of the feather and transitions into a raven flying away. Below the tip of the quill are two ink blots. This is obviously symbolic of my passion for classic stories, writing, storytelling, and my enthusiasm for Edgar Allan Poe. As of the date of this post, I don’t plan on getting anymore tattoos. But my friends warned me that getting tattooed can become addicting…

My amazing tattoo was done by Uruguayan tattoo artist known as Jhonny Tantan at Dharma Tattoo in Miami Springs. 

Original Sketch

Getting started after stencil.

Jhonny working his magic.

Free-handing ink blots.

Amazing completed work.

About Me (A “My Three-Act Structure Called ‘Life'” Production)

I am in pursuit of networking opportunities. So I will also use this post as a shameless self-promotion and introduction of my work and how I want it to grow along with, you know…

So for those of you who are being introduced to me for the first time because one of my dear friends on Facebook or followers on Twitter decided to share this post with you, I’d first like to say, “Howdy.” (which I never really say.)

I’m a Miami man-child and award-winning screenwriter who somehow drove (and moved) cross-country twice in the last five years. Miami will always be my home, but for now, the rent is much cheaper somewhere in North Carolina. But don’t worry, I make that 15-hour drive at least twice a year back home where I can see my parents and get my fill of tostones and croquetas de jamón.

I am optimistic someone in the Miami film scene will read this. I am recruiting a film crew; actors, producers, DP, directors, editors, sponsors, the whole Megillah in the hopes that I can increase exposure, bring another one of my screenplays to life, and submit it to as many film festivals as I can.

So if you’ve gotten this far, you might be asking yourself, “What kind of a screenwriter is he?”

I’m glad you asked. Here are two of my most noteworthy credits:

I won The Miami International Film Festival Screenwriting Contest for my romantic comedy “A Thousand Words” straight out of film school after earning my Masters in film with a screenwriting specialization. After winning, I wrote some spec scripts for “Modern Family” and “American Dad.”

Then I was a top 15% finalist in The Nicholl’s Fellowship for my historical fiction thriller “Ripper” based on an obsessed rookie cop who followed Jack the Ripper during his killing spree in 1888 London.

I have a passion and knowledge for storytelling of several genres.

And I am recruiting local Miami fellow filmmakers to produce my new script, a horror called “Lapse” beginning summer 2018.

I look forward to working together. Feel free to comment below or contact me via Facebook or Twitter where I can see your reel and learn a little more about you.

 

Robert Keats – My Mentor – Gone But Never Forgotten

On Thursday afternoon, I received an email saying that my screenwriting professor, friend, and mentor, Robert Keats was in hospice care. He had just gone through his final excruciating round of treatment for pancreatic cancer. He had very little time left. Keats (as I called him) died the next morning. The initial email – sent by his friend – stated that he was too weak to speak on the phone and even write emails or texts; that if there was anything I wanted to say to him to just type it out and they would read it to him. Time stopped and I wrote. 

My Reaction to “Ready Player One” Trailer

The wait is over. (Sort of.) Yesterday at ComicCon, a “Ready Player One” panel consisting of Ernest Cline, Zak Penn, Steven Spielberg, Tye Sheridan, and more proudly premiered the first trailer for a movie I have been waiting nearly three years to see from a book that I’ve been writing about for six.

The trailer alone was more than I could ever hope for. I haven’t been this excited from seeing a movie trailer since the first time I saw the full trailer for “The Dark Knight.” Without trying to reveal any spoilers (from the book) I saw many similarities true to the book and quite a lot of differences. But these differences certainly still feel as if it stays completely dedicated to the soul of the story. As it says in the trailer, “Ernest Cline’s Holy Grail of Pop Culture.” That is exactly what I saw and more.

I saw lots of cinematic similarities to “Minority Report.” But I also saw characters and cinematic properties Robert Zemeckis (“Back to The Future”) and Brad Bird (“The Iron Giant.”) Not to mention characters from Marvel, DC, and Freddy Krueger. Did you also hear the song “Come With Me” from “Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory?”

I’m writing in a hurry and not quite sure how to formulate thoughts in any rational way on this one. But I was prepared for this. For the first time, I filmed myself watching the trailer for the first time to truly get a sense of what I was feeling. Go on and laugh at my awkward self as I try to contain my elation.

“Ready Player One” premiers March 30, 2018.

 

“Storyteller” (Ee ya gee ggoon) A Photographic Journey

For over ten years I had wanted to get a tattoo. Or rather, for the last ten plus years I had been debating whether or not I wanted to get a tattoo. During that time I had several opportunities to get one and I would end up chickening out. I would either tell myself and my friends that I didn’t have the money for it (when I did) or that I was afraid I’d regret it or that it would cause serious health problems if not done properly. Those were the most legitimate and reasonable concerns in my eyes. Many big changes have been happening very suddenly to me in my life and immediate future. I took it as a sign that this was the right time.