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Musings from a published author...

Thursday, August 13, 2020

Is Hollywood Dying?

If you’ve read my last few blog posts, you may be thinking, “Just who the hell do you think you are, Wil Radcliffe?” And to be honest, I don’t blame you for thinking that (although I feel the cursing is a bit unnecessary).

After all, what does a writer in the middle of rural Indiana know about what’s going on in Hollywood? The thing is, knowing where the new trends are heading doesn’t have anything to do with where you live. It has to do with what you observe and how you interpret it. And being a lifelong nerd I have read the tea leaves currently brewing in nerd culture.

Fans are hungry… nay, starving for traditional, old-fashion storytelling. Audiences do not want to go to the movies to be lectured, scolded, and humiliated. They want to be inspired, uplifted, and entertained.

They don't want agendas. They don't want politics. They don't want a social sermon.

Recent big budget flops in late 2019 and early 2020 are strong evidence of audience rejection of Hollywood's recent deconstructionist approach to entertainment.

Subverting expectations is one thing. Shattering iconic franchises is another.

While it is true that the pandemic has continued to eat into Hollywood's profits, it is merely a sprained ankle, while poor storytelling is the gaping head wound that the industry has suffered from for many years.

When our ancient ancestors gathered around the campfire to tell stories they did so to help their brothers and sisters escape the brutal reality of everyday life. That primal urge lives in us today... the fire that never dies.

That being said, I have the solution for Hollywood’s incredible shrinking profits. It is a new property brimming with strong, vibrant characters, an engaging plot, and 1,000 years of human history to explore, exploit, and experience.

I give you… The Whisper King.


I shall do my best to tell you about this dark and twisted tale. And yet I do not have much time. The shadows are coming for me, even as they once came for young David Kinder.



Even now I can hear their hissing voices, twining through the nooks and crannies of reality, slithering along the edges of my imagination.

“Cuthach,” they say. “Cuthach turas Scáth Sliabh bheith i seirbhís ag Cogar Rí.” 

Much like David Kinder, I must make a choice. Do I surrender to the shadows, or do I find some reason to keep my humanity?

For David, it was his friendship with young Donna Elizondo that kept the evil at bay. But when Donna moved away, David had no where else to turn. And so he surrendered to the darkness and followed the whispered voices to a bleak and terrible place called the Shadow Mountains.

For 25 years David was trained to fight, to kill, and to become a true monster. He was groomed to be the most elite and vicious of the Whisper King's army.

I wrote the first Whisper King novel five years ago. It was picked up by Necro Publications, along with the two sequels.

Prior to that it had been optioned by Platinum Studios to be published as a graphic novel and adapted for film and television.



That option has expired, meaning another studio has the opportunity to bring David Kinder's story to life.

Keep in mind, the Whisper King has been luring children to his realm for over a thousand years. He has trained hundreds of thousands from every corner of the globe, every period of time. Their stories are ours to tell.

For what purpose, you may ask?

You'll have to join me around the campfire to discover that.

If the shadows don't take us first.

Email me at wil@nogglestones.com if you would like to discuss The Whisper King or one of my many other intellectual properties.

It's not too late, Hollywood. I'm here to help.

The Giant of Killarney!

Studios are bleeding a lot of money and have content they can't get out to the theaters. In some cases they are able to recoup or minimize losses through VOD or streaming. The problem is, what do they do when they run out of their backlog of content? They can't create new content due to the restrictions put in place because of the pandemic. Without new content their sources of revenue will shrivel up and die.

The good news is you're going to see A LOT of animated projects coming out soon. Animation is the work-around for the virus. It's the one way studios can keep creating content while still observing social distancing rules.

With that in mind, here's a fresh IP ripe and ready to be developed as an animated feature: The Giant of Killarney. It's a fun, exciting, family friendly property with lots of licensing potential.

Artwork by the fantastic Benjamin Glendenning!

Email me at wil@nogglestones.com for more information.

#familyfun #animation #hollywood #pitchingideas #intellectualproperty #familyfilm #familyfriendly


Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Bone Hill

 

Soon TV networks, cable channels, and streaming services will run out of their backlog of new content. With Hollywood, New York City, and other large production hubs currently hindered by COVID restrictions, the release of additional new content will be a long way off.

This is the time to invest in indie studios and productions. With non-union crews, flexibility in shooting locations, and less oversight from big studio bureaucracy, indie film producers can get content into the marketplace quickly.

I currently have several properties that could be developed into independently produced TV series or films.

Bone Hill was originally optioned in 2004 by Platinum Studios. The rights reverted to me in 2011. In 2015 I partnered with Soundstage 1 Productions and Friel Films to independently produce the film. We have a great deal of the groundwork finished, including a completed screenplay, registering with the WGA, forming an LLC, and scouting locations.

This is an exciting opportunity to get in on the ground floor of an impending indie boom. Please email me wil@nogglestones.com if you are interested in learning more about Bone Hill and my other properties.

#indiefilm #independentfilm #horrormovie #horrorfilm #indiehorror #filminvestment