July 26th, 2020
This was crazy fun to discover tonight; it’s definitely a highlight of my summer.
Like so many before me, I feel like I artistically wasted my twenties (despite releasing three albums [with accompanying music videos], playing countless shows, putting out a web series, publishing three novellas, blah blah blah).
Then you find a treasure trove like this and you remember things a little differently.
This dusty box I found while organizing my junk was filled with scripts that I had written throughout the decade. And since some of you have known me for a while, I thought I’d give you an update on the projects.
JARGON
WHAT IT IS: A four-episode web series that tried to find a balance between The X-Files and Adult Swim. Taking place in my hometown of Faribault, Jasper Line’s girlfriend is apparently murdered, turned into a tiny ball of metal, and suddenly a mysterious organization called the H.I.G. is after him and his friends.
STATUS: Completed. All four episodes of the first season were released on my YouTube channel ten years ago this summer.
THE GREEN HOUSE
WHAT IT IS: I wrote two half-hour long episodes of this comedy; a couple of bachelors accidently adopt a child and decide to keep it. Hilarity ensued.
STATUS: We actually filmed about 50% of this, but not enough to put together an episode. Usually when this happened, it was hard to get everyone back together to complete the work.
THE PROGRAM
WHAT IT IS: This was the first time I legitimately created A SHOW; I wrote seven half-hour long scripts to make up the first season. This was about a couple of friends who decide to start their own news show; they team up with the local public access television station, who desperately needs new content dedicated to their town.
STATUS: This is actually one I would love to revisit. We did a half-assed read-through, but nothing was ever actually filmed. There is a lot to explore with this concept and these characters; it very much has a It’s Always Sunny… vibe.
THE VISITOR!
WHAT IT IS: A feature film musical about an alien and the dude who finds him. I wanted to reimagine E.T. with music and a Judd Apatow sensibility, and I wrote a movie about friendship, loneliness and fear.
STATUS: This is absolutely “the one that got away,” and the one I would do in a heartbeat if it was possible. We probably filmed about 25% of it, but much of it is unusable due to my inexperience and time constraints. On my YouTube channel, we even got so far as to release a teaser trailer and a video blog, where I demonstrated a song from the film called “Not That Easy.”
Honestly, even though they all got to various stages of development, just the fact that I completed so many stories gives me a sense of accomplishment. Every project taught me things and strengthened me as a writer, as do my blogs and other social musings. These stories could even still have different lives in different formats, but they exist all the same.
I post this to hopefully remind you of all you’ve accomplished; the things you don’t necessarily think about, but you definitely did.
And maybe that’s enough to make you want to start what’s next. Or — maybe that’s just enough.
The Den 