And the winner is...

...not me. As avid readers will recall, Save the Cat author and screenwriting guru was holding a competition on his website to write a humorous logline based on a famous movie, by changing one letter. The winners, the runners-up and the special mentions were posted yesterday, and I dear reader was not among them. It was a shocking defeat. In case you're interested, the winner was: Dr So - Only James Bond can save a mad scientist who plans to take over the world by infecting teenagers with exasperating indifference.

Not bad I suppose...

It's been a while since my last post, and there have been some changes afoot. My ex-girlfriend decided she couldn't live without me - she probably didn't say that, but I'm a writer, so I can use artistic license. Then she gets a job in london, and we came up with a plan, a masterplan, which may or may not involve a cat. Stay tuned.

Week three of the UCLA writing course resulted in favourable comments from our great leader, Alan, when I ruminated and cogitated over the One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest script. Just for you dear reader, here is a little extract. Enjoy.

McMurphy himself is wonderful character, and I think shown perfectly in the 2nd baseball vote scene. In the first vote it had been a power struggle between Nurse Ratched and McMurphy, where Ratched’s influence over the group was total. In the second vote, McMurphy initially jubilant with a perceived winning vote is soon faced with the realization that Ratched knew the outcome and is feeling cheated. McMurphy ‘fights’ back by engaging the group in an imaginary baseball game - a turning point in the film, as the group from this point are more vocal and confident.

Another key turning point is when McMurphy discovers the voluntary status of so many in the group. Again, Ratched gains the upper hand, until Scanlon and Cheswick start acting up about the door being locked on weekends and cigarettes. Cheswick challenges Ratched, but she regains control by blaming McMurphy and his ‘gambling den.’ This constant switching of power and control between Ratched and McMurphy is key to the flow of the film. It is a constant battle of wits, though the emotional intent of Nurse Ratched is kept cleverly ambiguous.