So, I'm writing a screenplay

Before we get into it, I’d love to recommend a song to all of you that is completely independent of what this post is about. The name is Coming Home – Interlude by Kali Uchis. ENJOY!!

Okay, to the topic of this post!

Writing is at the core of every experience I have, every tear I have shed, every moment of joy, every love I have experienced. The past few weeks have been tumultuous, and regaining myself proved difficult, but the passage of time offers healing, as Beyonce reaffirmed in the song JUST FOR FUN off her latest masterpiece, COWBOY CARTER. The passage of time and a lot of other intentional things like allowing your thoughts to manifest and letting them breathe, talking to people, walking without music, and, in my case, writing – about different things in many various forms (I hate to say it, but journalling is great guys). However, I won’t deny the reoccurrence of a poignant theme, which I will address in an essay I’m working on separately. That theme has morphed into a project that was supposed to be a love letter and, in many ways, still is, that I had previously begun working on. As with many things in life, though, change is inevitable. So, this project has taken up a different form, and a new meaning has been breathed into it.

The working title is “All The Things That Seemed Right,” and I can’t really say what it’s about. There’s no logline or synopsis except that it was supposed to be a love letter and is now an exploration of different things about my life. Writing a screenplay about a life that has barely been lived seems so self-important, but I wouldn’t call this a project I’d produce anytime soon. Actually, in the Tolu Canon (please don’t stop reading), this project would come to life much, much later. I think it’s cool that I have started it, though, and it’s even cooler that I have some bearing on what it would look like when it is produced. Right now, all that it is is carefully selected visual images with barely any dialogue except a narrator voiceover.

There’s a man and a woman, remnants of the initial premise, and another man, James, and other imperceptible beings roaming around within the world I have started creating - that world is what I believe should be, my mind, but it might not be. I would love to retain elements of the initial premise, as the person I started writing it for still holds a large degree of fondness for me and is, to a large extent, very much alive within the project. However, there’s room for so much more to be done with it, and I will take advantage of that room.

The plan is for it to be a feature runtime, a documentary narrative of different people, things, beings, animals, and plants within the film’s idiosyncratic world. I think the most important thing I’d like to achieve with this film idea is giving sentience to every character, making each character, each presence occupying space, alive and conscious. I currently do not have the writing capacity to execute this, but there’s nothing better than an idea that forces you to evolve and get to the version of you that you know exists sometime in the future. A version of you that you have the responsibility to bring to life. I think the working title is okay, but it remains a working one because it could become entirely different in 10, 15, or 20 years. Despite the uncertainty around what the film is, I have a fairly clear idea of what I want the film to say, but I also think it’s important not to create a box for a project that is just starting out.

For my inspirations, well, my life obviously, the love and heartbreak I’ve experienced throughout my life, the friendships and connections I’ve built, the not-so-good stuff that has happened, and outside film influences like David Lynch (I feel like I talk about him so much, but Mulholland drive is just as good as it gets really), Akira Kurosawa, and the Coen Brothers. I hope this gets made, but I’m most excited to see what the project eventually becomes.

I think that’s all I have to say for the time being about it. I thought it would be nice to let my subscribers know I am alive (hehe) and writing! It feels so great to be back writing! I hope everyone is alright. I love you all.