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NATHAN D DAVIS
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What I’m Into – April 2016

4/30/2016

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 99% Invisible – As a proud owner of the 99% invisible Challenge Coin, I’ve been a fan and supporter of this podcast for several years. A podcast for the curious, it explores design and the stories behind how architecture, infrastructure, objects, and ideas came to be what we see today. Here is one my more favorites: http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/ten-thousand-years/
 
Hamilton – This is no secret. The musical has inundated pop culture and deservedly so. Not since RENT has a Broadway musical worked its way under my skin and occupied so much of my mind (and time). “I’m not throwing away my shot!”
 
The Power of Myth – Spending time with Joseph Campbell never disappoints. This book, based on his interviews with Bill Moyers, is thought provoking and at times surprisingly moving.
 
Ragnar Relay – For the second time, I joined my running buddies from work for the SoCal Ragnar Relay, a nearly 200-mile race that starts in Huntington Beach and finishes in San Diego. It is an exhausting yet fun experience: running in the middle of the night, sleeping in vans, feasting at local dining establishments along the route. It took us 26 hours to cover the distance of which I ran 17 miles. Overall, we placed 10 out nearly 700 teams. Not shabby for a bunch of weekend warriors.

Writing, Loathing, Thinking, Procrastinating, Rewriting…Repeat
. – I’ve been doing a lot of this while puzzling through the script I’m working on. It’s funny how some days you’ll write something and think, “Yeah. Okay. That works." Then you come back to it later and read it again and say to yourself “That’s terrible. Vomit! What was I thinking? That doesn’t work at all.” You’re about to hurl it out the window when you catch yourself, “Wait! Maybe if I change this and cut these lines…” And the next thing you know you’re back at, “Yeah. Okay. That works.” Such is (the writer's) life.
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Hidden Mickey

4/23/2016

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I was in Indonesia a few years ago with a non-profit organization that partners with churches in impoverished communities to offer supplemental education, medical care, and skills training. We were in Bali and they wanted to take us to one their centers in the rural mountains. They said that because of the remote location, the community there rarely receives visitors and it would mean a lot to them if we came. So we did. We left the tourist magnet of Denpasar on the southern end of the island and winded our way north into the rural heart of the ancient Hindu island. When we arrived, the smiling faces of children greeted us as their proud parents and teachers stood close by. It was later, when I was kicking around a soccer ball with a group of teens that I discovered the pictures painted on the wall. It was my old pal Mickey Mouse. 
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​​I love these pictures for so many reasons. I love that they are not perfect. I love that they are faded and cracked. I love that the tools of a caretaker drape the walls. But more than anything, I love the mystery of it. How in the world did Mickey Mouse get here? Who brought Mickey Mouse and his friends to this remote, resource-strapped community so  geographically and culturally removed from the western civilization that created him?
 
I would have thought it an isolated and coincidental mystery had it not happened again.
 
A few months ago I was in Kolkata, India visiting a community nestled on the Ganges River about a two-and-a-half hour drive northwest of the city. I walked into an old Anglican mission that dated back to time of British Raj. And there it he was again. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
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​​The walls of the mission were adorned with pictures, most were of Jesus, some were of Mickey Mouse... with a mustache.
 
In retrospect I wish I had grabbed the priest and asked my questions: Who painted the images? How long have they been there? Why Mickey Mouse?
 
I didn’t get an answer, but I did get a clue. Later on that same trip I met a charming and bright young Indian woman who was raised in the slums; a child of poverty, but through education, hard work, and faith she is now in college studying to be a teacher. (Her name was Cinderella, no joke.) I asked her if she knew who Mickey Mouse was. She smiled and said, “Oh, yes, I know Mickey Mouse. I watched the cartoons as a child.” Even the poorest of the poor enjoy their Saturday morning cartoons. (For the record, her favorite cartoons were Mr. Bean cartoons because they were “so funny.”)
 
Much has been written about the globalization of the Disney brand. But when the images of the brand appear in communities that hold no purchasing power, any cynicism regarding the consuming reach of western capitalism can be suspended.
 
Instead, what I see is the power of a story. The story is of a mouse and his band of loyal friends who always seem to find themselves in a whirl of trouble, but through cleverness, resilience, and sometimes a little mischief, they overcome. They always overcome. And that is the genius of Mickey Mouse. He is not just an American symbol. He is a story of the human spirit. And those kind of stories reach beyond borders and languages and customs. And sometimes, like ancient cave drawings, we paint them on walls, so we can remember. 
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On the King’s Business

4/16/2016

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I prefer to write about writing, but after spending the past week at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas for CinemaCon, I thought it time to write about my other job, my day job, my job in the King’s palace (see About Me). Besides, I had hit a wall with my script. A story problem had been nagging at me the past couple weeks, so the trip to Vegas was timely. Sometimes the best thing for my writing is not to write. While some stories are extroverts and won’t leave you alone. Other stories are introverts and need to be left alone. You have to let them come to you when they’re ready. I digress.
 
Run by the National Association of Theater Owners, CinemaCon is a convention and tradeshow dedicated to “Celebrating the Moviegoing Experience.” Since it is not consumer facing, like ComicCon, most movie-goers have never heard of the event, but it is one of the most important gatherings for the worldwide motion picture industry. The convention includes a trade show with the latest products and innovations in projection and sound, concessions, seating, ticketing, and in-theater displays. There are extravagant parties in the evenings hosted by Hollywood’s corporate players. Most consider the highlight of the four-day event to be when each of the major studios (20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Brothers) presents their slate of upcoming films. The presentations are often accompanied with a parade of movie stars and filmmakers all politely imploring, “Please put our movies in your theaters.”
 
My role at the convention was to meet and present to the marketing and sales leads from the national theater chains. We shared our studio’s priorities, celebrated the success of the past year, and gave them a sneak peek at content from our upcoming films. My job was made easy because, quite frankly, we have a lot of great movies on our slate. When I wasn’t in the suite presenting, I was dining with industry partners, debating if day-and-date movies in the home are good for the business, and explicating what the movie theater of the future should look like. And when I wasn’t doing that, I was losing my money to Caesar.
 
It was a productive and insightful week. Any job in any career can become routine. But I will admit, on more than one occasion this past week I thought myself, “I get paid to do this.” 

It was around the time the craps stick pulled my last $20 away that my introvert story reappeared. The problem had, in a flash, resolved itself. “Of course! That’s it! How did I not think of that before?” It’s funny the places you’ll be when the idea finds you. I left the convention with empty pockets and a new idea. I’d say I’m even. 

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But Lord of the Chickens Stands in the Way

4/8/2016

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In my role as Head Mentor for Young Storytellers I lead ten fifth grade students and ten adult mentors through the story writing process. We start by teaching the kids the basics of storytelling. Stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Stories occur in a certain time and place (setting). They have a protagonist (character) that wants something (goal) and the goal must not easily be achieved; there must be a struggle (conflict). Sometimes the obstacle that gets in the way of achieving the goal is another person called an antagonist. The struggle culminates in the most exciting part of the story (climax) which reveals whether or not the hero gets what he or she wants (resolution). By the end, the characters or the audience should learn something from the story (lesson). This is all Story 101, but I never get tired of teaching it.
 
One of my favorite exercises is when we have the students create loglines. A logline is a mad-lib style one-sentence summary of a story that the students use as a springboard to writing their scripts. The logline goes like this:
 
In ____­­­____________________ (setting), ____________________ (protagonist) wants ______________________ (goal), but ________________________________ (conflict) stands in their, so they ___________________________________ (resolution), having learned __________________ (lesson).
 
Here are a few of my current students’ loglines. I can’t help but smile when I read them.
 
In Pancake land, Jeff the puppy wants to be President but Sembulock stands in his way, so they talk about healthcare learning everyone needs healthcare.
 
On a planet, Spaceman Guy wants a spaceship but anti-spaceship corp. stands in his way, so he makes anti-anti-spaceship corp. learning that you should be nice.
 
In a small town called Woodlake, Zach wants to make realistic animation and a cartoon for his little brother, but his brother presses a button that brings animation icons come to life and they take Zach’s computer, so Zach calls his friend to help, learning to always lock his door.
 
On Milky Mountain, Nimuay wants to reach the Golden Goblet that’s on top of Milky Mountain but Lord of the Chickens stands in the way, so they decide not to fight but to get the golden goblet together learning that you can achieve something even when you could use a little help.
 
Brilliant, right? I think so. The students are thick in the process of turning these loglines into scripts and I cannot wait to see the end result performed on stage by professional actors in just a few weeks.
 
The logline exercise isn’t just something you can do when you’re trying to break a story. It is a helpful (and fun) exercise to do when trying to explain a complex situation. For example:
 
In Hollyland, Nathan wants to be a writer, but The Gatekeepers stand in his way, so he creates a website to share his ideas having learned that you don’t need to wait for someone to tell you “yes” to do what you love to do.
 
In the land of the free, Donald wants power, but the Electoral College stands in his way, so he travels around the land promising he’ll make everything “Great!” learning that people will vote for you if you are loud and divisive.
 
In Wrigleyville, the Cubs want to win the big game, but a curse and the lack of talent stand in their way, so they trade away their current players for the very best young talent learning that curses are meant to be broken and sometimes you have to lose before you can start to win.
 
What’s your logline?
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    A WRITER AND TRAVELER KEEPING THE FAITH IN LOS ANGELES

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