Bryce Zabel's FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

"Chasing a Dream" on Hallmark Channel

You know hard it must be to run a four-minute mile?  Now imagine doing it when you're still in high school, nobody supports you doing it and track isn't your sport in the first place.

That's the scenario we've set up for Cam Stiles in our Hallmark Channel film, "Chasing a Dream" which airs this Saturday at 9pm (8pm in Central time).  It's about a high school senior who runs a "sub-four" when nobody thinks he can or should, but he does it anyway.  It stars Treat Williams as the reluctant father/coach and Andrew Lawrence as the obsessed athlete/son.

 

Jackie and I wrote it originally as a project I would direct as an indie film but the WGA strike intervened and we sold it instead.  So, with the caveat that we wrote it, but did not direct, cast or produce it, we still think it came out as a very decent piece of family entertainment.

Here's a great article from Runner's World, written by long-time editor (and Boston Marathon winner) Amby Burfoot.  It includes the text of an interview he conducted this month with both Jackie and me and shows incredible respect for writers.  Go, Amby!

Here's another bit of coverage from Track and Field News.  This has a good bit of background on the mile race, and the four-minute-mile record.

Here's the Hallmark URL with a newly cut trailer.

Here's a look at the promotional video from the film.

Sub-fours in high school actually happened a few times in the 60s, then not again until Alan Webb did it in 2001, and not since then.  Over many years and incarnations, "Chasing a Dream" evolved from "Sub-Four" to "Finish Line" to "Miles from Nowhere" to its final Hallmark title.  One thing that always stayed the same was that the original runner was named John Van Horn in tribute to Bryce's close high school friend who died at the age of 18 in a car crash but is still remembered and missed.

Finally, because things always change (sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse) from "the page to the stage," here's a draft of our original screenplay, when it was known by its original title, "MILES FROM NOWHERE."

Download MILES-Zabel

For fun, if any of your runners would like to vote in our Movie Smackdown! poll pitting "Prefontaine" against "Without Limits," then CLICK HERE.

DOOMSDAY: The World's Worst Day Ever

Writer/producer Bryce Zabel edits both "For What It's Worth" and "Movie Smackdown!"

Would you like a reason to wake up and smell the coffee, to stop and smell the roses and to tell the people you love that you do?  I've got one word for you:  DINOSAURS.

These poor creatures were cruising along, pretty much dominating the planet like we do today, only they were on a 162-million year streak compared to our paltry length of existence.  Then, one day, out of the blue came a killer that changed everything... forever... practically overnight.

This Thursday night(Feb 26) on Animal Planet at 9pm you can see for yourself when my two-parter on the extinction of the dinosaurs begins.  It's called "Doomsday Falling" and it's probably the hottest episode so far in the very good "Animal Armageddon" series.

Since last May, I've been working as a consulting producer and lead writer on this series about mass extinctions. It's been like going back to college and having to take all the courses I dodged the first time around, plus a few I probably couldn't even spell properly. In terms of being a mind-boggling head-trip, it's been both a treat and a brain puzzle. I don't say this about every project I work on but this one has truly changed the way I look at the world.

Although all the episodes in this eight-part miniseries are excellent if you only catch two of them, they should be the ones on February 26 ("Doomsday") and March 5 ("Panic in the Sky"). Let's just put it this way. The comet or asteroid that hit the Earth 65-million years ago was about the size of Mt. Everest. It was traveling at about five miles per second. When it hit in the waters near what's now the Yucatan, the energy it released was the equivalent of all the nuclear weapons that have ever existed, exploded at the same time, exploded in the same place (are you ready for this?) TIMES 10-thousand. Yeah, it was a big one. Part one deals with the first 24 hours or, as I called them in my script, the Worst Day on Earth Ever. Part two deals with the first year. By the end of it, the Dinosaurs were pretty much gone.

"Animal Armageddon" on Animal Planet

Have you ever actually thought about mass extinction? You know, those times when damn near everything dies and lots of species simply go away forever? It's been on my mind a lot, for almost a year now.

Since last May, I've been working as a consulting producer and lead writer on "Animal Armageddon," a series for Animal Planet about mass extinctions. It's been like going back to college and having to take all the courses I dodged the first time around, plus a few I probably couldn't even spell properly. In terms of being a mind-boggling head-trip, it's been both a treat and a brain puzzle. I don't say this about every project I work on but this one has truly changed the way I look at the world.

"Animal Armageddon" is an eight-part miniseries that begins airing this Thursday, February 12 with a show about the first mass extinction, the Ordivician ("Death Rays"). The first four episodes are scheduled to air between now and the first week of March, and the final four will air sometime this summer.

One thing I can tell you is that if you only catch two of them, they should be the ones on February 26 ("Doomsday") and March 5 ("Panic in the Sky"). That's a two-parter dealing with the death of the Dinosaurs. Let's just put it this way. The comet or asteroid that hit the Earth 65-million years ago was about the size of Mt. Everest. It was traveling at about five miles per second. When it hit in the waters near what's now the Yucatan, the energy it released was the equivalent of all the nuclear weapons that have ever existed, exploded at the same time, exploded in the same place (are you ready for this?) TIMES 10-thousand. Yeah, it was a big one. Part one deals with the first 24 hours or, as I called them in my script, the Worst Day on Earth Ever. Part two deals with the first year. By the end of it, the Dinosaurs were pretty much gone.

M.A.N.T.I.S. - TV's First African-American Superhero

 Call Me ... the MANTIS! 

I guess it's only appropriate that a week after President Obama historically took office, distributors would get around to releasing "M.A.N.T.I.S." on DVD because it, too, can claim to be an African-American first, starring actor Carl Lumbly in the title role of a scientist/superhero.  The series ran for a season back on FBC over a decade ago.  I received the WGA "Developed By" credit on the series and served as "Co-Executive Producer" and thought that now, for the record, a little trip down memory lane might be in order.

"M.A.N.T.I.S." was the first TV series where the powers-that-be gave me the keys to the car and said I was in charge of the writing staff. This was back in 1994 when I was coming off a successful first season of the "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" series. Sandy Grushow was in charge of FBC-TV back then, and he’s the first guy who said I was seasoned enough to be in charge of a budget of $1.4 million per episode and not blow it.

Anyway the deal was, "M.A.N.T.I.S" had started as a two-hour pilot, written by Sam Hamm ("Batman") and directed by Sam Raimi ("Spiderman"). The two Sams had a disagreement with Fox about how the series should go (they saw the series as an alternative world with an all-black cast and Fox wanted it to be a super-hero who was black in a regular American city), and walked away from their own project. Fox still wanted to do the series but somebody needed to make the changes and run the show. Both Hamm and Raimi were extremely gracious and understanding in the transition, nothing was made personal, and the series lived and (almost) prospered. 

The Hollywood Cookbook: The Gift That Keeps on Giving!

Looking for a modestly priced gift for a special friend?  Want it to make them think of you over and over?  Would you like it to help make the world a better place. Well, that would be The Hollywood Cookbook. Every copy of it sends $5 straight off to a group of twenty charities, hand-chosen by each of the participating celebrities. It was just written up in this week's TV Guide article "The Goods: Gifts That Give Back." They ask the question: "Doing some last-minute holiday shopping? Consider a present that will make everyone happy."

If you click on the above image, it'll take you straight to the Amazon page where you can order the "Gourmand Award" edition of The Hollywood Cookbook.

If you want to really get into it, see the celebs and the recipes, etc., click here for a great website that has all things Hollywood Cookbook.  

Getting Smacked Around Good

A good film review ought to be as entertaining as the film that inspired it. 

That's the 'high concept' behind our  Movie Smackdown! site -- a whole new format in film reviews.  While For What It's Worth takes a short Thanksgiving holiday, we want to introduce you what's going on over at www.moviesmackdown.com.

Others have tried adding a bell here and a whistle there to sizzle things up in movie criticism.  First there were stars.  You got a lot or a little.  Then there were thumbs.  They were up or down.  Old School.  One note.

We're talking film reviews that have winners and losers.

That's right.  Film review as a contact sport.

Movie Smackdown! gives readers the suspense and drama of authentic film-on-film competition.  It's based on the way people watch and talk about movies these days.

We constantly compare films we've just seen with other films, right?  We'll have passionate arguments about which was better.  Sometimes, disappointed, we'll even wonder if we should have stayed home -- saved the parking and popcorn -- and watched a new Blu-ray.

Like any blockbuster, Movie Smackdown! has a "high concept."  Ours is as clean and simple as this:

Two Films -- One Review -- No Holds Barred!

Each review is a two-fer:  usually a film that's out in the theaters goes in the ring with a competitive film that's easily seen on DVD.  They each share something, anything from a theme to a director.

Every review or "Smack" breaks down like a real fight into these sections:

• THE SMACKDOWN. This section explains why the two films are being put in competition against each other.
• THE CHALLENGER. This is our newest film, the one that has just been released in theaters or on DVD or, in the case of a classic, the most recent film.
• THE DEFENDING CHAMPION. The classic film that the first film is compared to is our champion.
• THE SCORECARD. This is the section where we compare each film's strengths and/or weaknesses.
• THE DECISION. We don't allow ties. We always declare a winner.

Times have been tough lately for the mainstream media's newspaper critics.  They've been losing jobs at the same pace as the auto industry.  The problem seems to be that people don't feel they need an established critic to tell them how to feel about a film and, if they do, they'll probably ask a trusted friend or look at a favorite blog or check out the official film site.  Like so many other things today, consumers have options.

But the disconnect between audience and reviewer must be more complicated than that.  After all, why would a piece of media content that talks about movies when people are going to movies as much as ever be unpopular? 

My opinion's that film reviews, as they're done in print and on-air, are predictable.  It's like a high school essay.  Explain what the film's about, tell why you liked it or didn't, and conclude.  My high schooler's writing one now for his film class.  Been there, done that.

So we think it goes back to format.  The ways that reviews have always worked has gotten old and stale and hasn't kept up with today's audiences. 

Our way of doing things takes into account the burgeoning home viewing market and the competitive frenzy that chasing box office has created.  Then it presents itself in a breezy and fun format (film-on-film competition) that is, in its own right, a piece of entertainment.

MOVIE SMACKDOWN! will, hopefully, become more than a blog.  It was conceived to be a versatile concept that can be expressed in a cross-platform way.  It's both written and visual, and it's something that works as a blog, a TV series, mobile content and regular entertainment column.  That's the vision for it.  The end of 2008 wraps up a planned three-year "proof-of-concept" stage where ideas and forms have been tested and developed, low-risk, on this blog.   

FROM THE EDITOR:  Bryce Zabel

MOVIE SMACKDOWN! started as a one man effort and has grown to where we now feature the work of 17 different "SmackRefs" (as we like to call them).

Our SmackRefs are a diverse group of voices, men and women, old and young, in the biz and not.  Everybody writes in the same format, but you'd be surprised how versatile it is and open to creative riffs. Besides Bryce, three other strong voices can be found regularly on this site these days:  Mark Sanchez, Sherry Coben and Beau DeMayo. 

We also hear from a dozen others: Jay Amicarella, Scott Baradell, Stephen Bell, Randal Cohen, Sarah Harding, Sloane Hayes Skala, Bob Nowotny, Joe Rassulo, Lak Rana, Lorianne Tibbets, Tyger Torrez, Jonathan Zabel and Lauren Zabel. You can read about all our SmackRefs on The Critics bio page and finds links to their specific work.

There's also a vibrant visual style, all over the site and within the reviews themselves.  Designer Nancy Tokos of Tokos Design Associates is responsible for the incredible banners we've tried on so far.  These days we're going with Nancy's take on the pop-art look. 

You'll also notice that each film we review also comes with a captioned photo.  We call these our Movie Smackdown "Comix."  Armed only with an iMac, some Comic Life Magiq software and a serious authority issue, we take common publicity stills and present them in a way that you can't get anywhere else.  Then we also collect them on a special iWeb created-site where you can download them to send them around to friends (they're protected as "fair use" because of their critical commentary) and where they're collected in "albums" that can play as a pretty cool slide-show.  You really should check this out.  Because it's graphic intensive and we offer these photos in high quality, these pages load a little more slowly than, say, the blog, but we think they're worth the few seconds wait.

We've done over 300 reviews (or "Smacks") so far.  There's a Google Search box in the right sidebar that indexes only the Movie Smackdown! site.  Type in the name of a film you're interested and you might find we've already taken a crack at it.  Please write your own comments, too.  We like the feedback and, frankly, we might be wrong in our decision(s), so fire away.

You'll also find a number of polls where you can make your own decision on a Smack, especially on some of the newer reviews.  Many of these polls have hundreds of responses already.  Some of them are more lop-sided than you'd think and a few of them are nearly dead even.

Responding to that point-of-view, in 2008, AMC even named Movie Smackdown! its "Site of the Week."  They responded to our tone that we try to shed a little light but not take things too seriously either.

Movie Smackdown also happens to be a registered service mark with the U.S. government.  Accept no substitutes!

Over on the left side-bar at the top, you'll find two ways to get MOVIE SMACKDOWN! on feeds.  Come join us!

Let the million or so other film critics out there do it the old fashioned way -- one movie at a time. We’ll do it the new way.

Two films for the price of one!

READY TO BELIEVE: Free MP3 of Obama Fight Song!

Last January, while we were still on strike as members of the Writers Guild of America, my wife Jackie and I sat down in a Los Angeles coffee shop with our good friend, musician Cherish Alexander.

Before the coffee was cold, we decided, improbably given the time frame -- as a couple of striking screenwriters and a singer-composer -- to write, produce and distribute the song you'll soon hear.  It happened over a five day period and we released it immediately before the California primary.

So far, "Ready to Believe" has cumulatively had its video versions viewed close to 100,000 times on YouTube.  Plus, it's available on iTunes.  You, however, don't have to buy it in the closing days of the 2008 campaign.  We want you to download it for free and to send it to your friends.

It was written to stand-up for Barack to the Clinton campaign's charges claiming he wasn't ready for the presidency.  We find that the need for this song is as solidly right-on today as it was last February (only Clinton is on the team now and the argument's being made by John McCain).  It needed rebuttal then, and it needs rebuttal now. 

Please give it a listen.  Click the link below to just hear it.  Otherwise,right-click to actually... we'll say it again... download "Ready to Believe" for free.  Again, you have our express permission to download it and to give it away. 

Download_Ready_to_Believe_Song.mp3

Some have asked for a PDF of the actual lyrics.  Here you are:

Download_Ready_to_Believe_Lyrics.pdf

Here's the You Tube version:

Please also visit the web-page of singer-composer Cherish Alexander (http://www.cherishalexander.com/ready_to_believe/) where all the goodies are also available.  She and fellow producer Damian Valentine did an awesome job with this project as you can hear for yourself.

We know the hour is late but if you support Barack Obama, we'd urge you to join us and expose as many people as you can to this song.  Especially Obama volunteers.  We've received a good deal of email from campaign workers who thought it was like an anthemic "fight song" for the cause.  That's certainly what we intended it to be.

Remember to vote.  Even if the polls say he's ahead, you have to vote.  Take nothing for granted. 

Still fired up and ready-to-go for Obama!

Cherish Alexander, Jackie Zabel, Bryce Zabel

Insert Caption Here: Words & Pictures with Attitude

We get mail.  And some of you seem to really like the less-than-reverent way we treat the publicity stills that the studios put out to promote their films on our Movie Smackdown! sister site.

Armed only with an iMac, some Comic Life Magiq software, and a serious authority issue, we've been giving them the treatment for a few months now.

The idea is to take these common photos and spin the hell out of them so they make their own artistic statement independent of the reviews.  We want to present them in a way that you can't get anywhere else.  And we want to make movie stars and the characters they play say what we want them to say for a change, okay?

So now we've collected our first batch all in one place where you can look at them full-screen, download them or -- and this is the hot tip -- even play them as a slide-show (the button's right underneath the banner). Click on the photo to the left or the link below and see for yourself.  The actual Comix take a few seconds to load because they're high res (like we said, it's art, baby)... but it's worth it...

http://www.moviesmackdown.tv

West Wing Redux?

For a while now, I've been thinking that the upcoming Barack Obama-John McCain smackdown looked awfully familiar. As an avid West Wing TV series fan, it sure seems like that show's Matt Santos-Arnold Vinick earlier smackdown. You remember that one: aging Republican, viewed as too liberal by his own party, goes up against minority Democrat who refuses to wait his turn and defeats the establishment candidate within his own party. Like this:

And, now, it seems I'm not the only one who saw it that way. Slate magazine laid it all out recently. Check it out:

WGA Makes Deal - Gives Awards - We're Celebrating!

Talk about everything happening at once...

On the same night that the WGA leadership presented to the membership the details of a tentative deal that looks almost certain to end the strike this week, the Guild also announced the winners of the "Writers Guild Awards '08" and PANDEMIC, a screenplay I co-wrote with my wife, Jackie, actually won the "Long Form Original" category! 

This odd merging of events happened because, pre-strike, the Writers Guild Awards were scheduled for February 9.  Once the strike was on, all attention had to go to that, so the black-tie and gown festivities were sacrificed.  A simple posting of the winners on the web-site was substituted. Then, as fate would have it, the tentative deal came together this past week, and the membership meeting got scheduled for -- you guessed it -- February 9!

Who cares?  Jackie and I are thrilled that the long nightmare of a strike is almost over and with a deal that seems to be reasonable, if not everything we'd want.

"Pandemic" was a Hallmark miniseries, four hours, that was, as the award states, "original," meaning that it was not based on any pre-existing material. It's a number of interlocking stories about an unexpected strain of Avian flu and how an outbreak in Los Angeles leads the military quarantine of the entire area. In its struture, it's a bit like "Crash" with microbes.

On a personal level, Jackie and I are so honored because this award comes from a panel of writers who actually read the scripts instead of watch the movies.  We think it's humbling to be among the honored screenwriters who demonstrate why the work of writers is valuable and worth fighting for at this critical moment in the WGA's history.  Here's to everyone going back to work in the days ahead!

WGA coverage
Daily Variety coverage
Los Angeles Times coverage

Download a PDF of the PANDEMIC screenplay - Click Here