Since I was in high school, I had always wanted to write a movie about high school. Not necessarily about my experiences, but influenced by theme. When you consider that I began high school in 1987, I was definitely influenced by the high school comedies of the time. The major difference was that I wanted to focus on the relationships of a group of friend. None of them are facing existential dread or fighting some creatures from the upside down. Just the basic themes and challenges high school kids dealt with during the most trying times of our life.
One of the roadblocks of the time was there was no major challenge. No running clock. No outrageous sex or gross out antics. By the time I got out of high school in 1991, many of the comedies like The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High were not being made anymore. In fact, for the next 6 years, you never saw a typical high school comedy.
By the late nineties and early aughts, seventies and early eighties high school sex comedies were back. Movies like American Pie, Euro Trip, or She’s All That were dominating cineplexes. Not to dunk on those films, what I wanted to make didn’t seem to jive. Didn’t have an easy marketing plan. Again, there was no “plot device”. Nor did I want to tame it down so much to become a Disney or Nickelodeon movie.
I wanted to make a slice of life film. A film that just exists. Gives a piece of life for people that either have or have not experienced it.
Not saying my experience was something special.
It was simply saying that I wasn’t alone.
Summer of 90 is a long time coming
Summer of 90 is a concept that will be an attempt at a novelization of my script. And beyond. Go into the larger world building and delve into friendships. As I stared at the old versions of the script, the thought of a novel might work. Especially in the market of YA content, but I was definitely not chasing the market.
I saw it as more of a market that I could fit in.
The concept will fall into seasons with a given year. What the characters are experiencing and the drama of young adult life. Looking at it from different perspectives of the characters. The first section (or book) will come from the male lead’s point of view. The second section (or book) will shift to the female lead’s perspective. And so on.
I don’t know how often I’ll release new stories. Meaning, I am not sure if I will release it twice a week or once a week. I am writing in advance to built up a queue. I think I will aim for once a week. However, if I choose to release more, I will.
Why link it to The Lazy Geeks?
How long will this be linked to The Lazy Geeks? That depends. The biggest indication would be how much traffic is going strictly toward that content versus the rest. I definitely want The Lazy Geeks to be its own thing. If this drives people to see what else I create, I am down for it. The site could be a collection of all my content in one place but doesn’t have the tacky author name domain.
Summer of 90 will focus on the summer months of 1990. School is letting out for the summer and things are changing. Another year is coming but that will be the final one. After that is college or the real world. The last real three months of freedom.
Someone told me that I should make a podcast/audiobook version about it. Make it a weekly expansion of the blog. Maybe add more to it that I couldn’t add to the blog. That has been a cool concept. Maybe someone will enjoy it by reading it and would like to listen to it. Whether it be on the way to work, during work, or just relaxing on the couch.
That is something to consider. But I think I will need to focus on one goal post at a time. Start will the writing and work the rest out as it goes.