Friday, April 21, 2006

Monorail'd

Got back from the World Of Disney. 100% Sunshine down in Florida. Got within 100 miles of NJ - Rain, rain, rain.

Disney still brings back memories from when I was a kid. Especially the monorail. I just love that damn thing. It's so retro-future cool.

But c'mon, 80% of their rides need a real update/renovation. Like their Carousel Of "Progress." Cool idea, they love them damn puppet-bots down there, most of their attractions have them, but their "modern" version on the Carousel Of Progress ain't all that progressed. The highlight is a voice-activated oven. I'm sure Walt would like that updated. they should unthaw him and let him know things need some work.

But I still love the place. Yeah, they took me for a great deal of $$, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom lodge and basically had giraffes, zebra and such off of our balcony view, but the kiddies loved it, so can I complain about the cost? Well, they DID have more fun on the days we took them to Cocoa Beach, so maybe.

Although the "Disney" atmosphere of perfection is a bit creepy. While we were there, a trucker broke down in front of our resort, which blocked their bus traffic. I pictured the Disney brass quite livid, and I bet good money they had him killed and his truck sliced up for spare robot parts.

We also checked out the Kennedy Space Center. Cool place. Again, $$$.

Came back with a cold though, snots & sneezing, sitting through HOURS of bullshit Washington DC traffic sucked, yeah, yeah, we shoulda flew. Tell that to the wife.

Getting the Cricket Hill Pilot together. I love this idea. At first I felt odd about making my movie a TV series, but now I see the possibilities and they are really endless.

Also, as a result of this Cricket Hill deal I've gained a new management team and made a realization - Fuck the contests! Look, screenwriting contests & competitions are important in getting work out there, but these guys totally kick ass and can do for me a million times more than a contest can do. But a win or high placement in a good contest can land you decent representation, so if I hadn't just signed with these guys I'd still be mapping out my contest route for the rest of the year.

Name the quote:
"Peace! Love! Dope! Now get the hell out of here!"

7 comments:

Aaron said...

"Baseball, Ray. Baseball..."

F.o.D.

Steve Peterson said...

Congrats on the new management team! I agree that contests and specs are what you do when you don't have any other option. But, when you're starting out you don't have any other option, so there ya go.

When we drove from NJ down to Florida we also got stuck in D.C. traffic. It's like this black hole for cars and, after you suffer through it once, on every long distance trip I have to adjust my schedule to make sure that if I'm going near or around D.C. that it happens at 2 AM.

Emily Blake said...

Went down to Cocoa Beach two years ago. I can't believe how much money we dropped on lunch at Kennedy, but we had a great time at Universal Studios. I've never ridden a roller coaster drunk before. That was surreal.

Can anyone actually lay out on Cocoa Beach, though? I tried and almost got my skin whipped off by the sandy winds.

Jenna said...

I agree with the Disney perfection creepiness. I was at Disneyland last year and it's just eerie how orchestrated everything is, in the park and for ten miles in every direction. Something just doesn't feel right.

Anonymous said...

Good for you! Congratulations on having your work optioned (and for your new representation). I'm still very new to this game, and am trying my hand in three contests with my first spec, "The Cult of Tzompantli".

How did you get your script(s) out there... what did you do to win representation? Just curious. I work at a very dull 9-to-5 job, and would LOVE to jump-start a new career as a writer (if I've got what it takes).

Best Regards,
~Devin

Script Demon said...

I'm tagging (is that what a meme is?) everyone I know in the blogsphere about this WGA screenplay list I have up on my blog. Let's see where you are with it, Mr. Rodio. BTW, is that Italian?

PS: Wanna try driving to Florida from Montreal in August with two young kids, a wife that's 7 months pregnant and a car with no air conditioner? That'll make the Beltway feel like a drive in the country!

Patrick J. Rodio said...

Vince Dc - You are a brave soul.

Devin - I'll write up a post of how things came about, I still have plenty to go, am also plugging away at my 9-5 job. Well, it's more like 8-4.