In last week’s entry in PETE JONES’ “DOUBTING RILEY” DIARY, the freckle-faced filmmaker found himself with a script he felt passionate about, but no money. With determination and an empty wallet, Pete forged ahead to make his movie against the odds…
When I pitched the idea of “Doubting Riley” to my manager, it took him all of five seconds to interrupt. It was right after I said, “It’s a comedy about an Irish Catholic gay guy-” He looked at me and wondered aloud if I could just try to write a comedy about a family that doesn’t have to deal with any social issues such as racism, homophobia or anti-Semitism — you know, like “Ferris Bueller” or “Sixteen Candles.” I really wish I could, my wife more so than anyone, but I’m just not a good enough writer to create stories and characters that don’t interest me. I read once where M. Night Shyamalan said that after the box office failure of his first American film, “Wide Awake,” a script that I thought was incredible, he figured out the secret to box office success. I’m paraphrasing, but it was something like — “Write an intimate piece against a global backdrop with a universal theme, such as faith or the afterlife.” So I sat down at my computer hoping to write that blockbuster script. I think about these flawed yet heroic characters saving the world, yet by the end of the day, I’m writing a story about how my family would react if I were gay. But really gay, not sitcom gay. Where my lead character actually loves the other man physically and emotionally. I’m laughing. To myself. All alone.
Get the complete story in the next part of PETE JONES’ “DOUBTING RILEY” DIARY II >>>
