9TimeZones.com: Book Review by Genie Davis
9TimeZones.com - an eMail screenplay collaboration
between Hungary and L.A. (includes first draft script 'The Fall In
Budapest').
Critique by Genie Davis, screenwriter: http://www.snap.to/gd
If you've ever felt the need for some creative inspiration,
"9TimeZones.com," by Alan C. Baird with Anikó J. Bartos, can provide
an electrifying jump start.
Narrated primarily in correspondence form, this book details the
Internet writing collaboration between an American screenwriter and a
Hungarian financial manager. Their work together offers a revealing
look inside that all-too-rare moment of epiphany when intellect and
spirit connect.
Built around the e-mails of two widely-separated pen pals who have a
shared love of storytelling, with riveting true tales to tell,
"9TimeZones.com" chronicles the birth of both a screenplay and a
friendship.
Along the way, this book cogently addresses many issues connected with
the collaboration on a dramatic script, and affords a glimpse into the
dynamic nature of the creative process.
The result of this partnership, a compelling, surprisingly funny and
equally heartbreaking thriller entitled "The Fall in Budapest," is
included in its entirety at the book's end. The script is a fast, fun
read, incorporating the kind of rich subtext which attracted the
attention of several production companies and international
screenwriting competitions.
Also included are short fiction and essays written by Mr. Baird, and
discussed by both writers. This fictional material serves both as a
touching, finely-crafted stand-alone collection, and as strong
evidence of the power in finding an intellectual soul mate. As the
level of intimacy grows in this relationship, his prose blossoms.
Always linguistically lovely, the spirit of his work is clearly
heightened by Ms. Bartos' encouragement for, and appreciation of, his
writing.
Their screenwriting project began with the American's attempts to
convince his European friend to permanently record her vivid childhood
remembrances of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. His only half-serious
suggestion to include this material in a screenplay, and her eager
acceptance of his plan, naturally progressed from a teacher-student
screenwriting tutelage to a vital exchange among equals.
Self-published with the new Print On Demand technology,
"9TimeZones.com" is obviously a labor of love: the love of writing and
wordplay, enhanced by the strength of a nourishing friendship.
This book can easily serve as a primer for the pleasurable rewards
offered by a creative collaboration of any sort - in particular, a
long distance screenwriting partnership. However, the real core of
this book, prompting me to recommend it highly, is the insight into
the ferocious joy of discovering an artistic connection, and into the
nature of writing as a journey - enhanced by the development of a
friendship across nine time zones.
Taking this trip with the authors is a singularly entertaining and
delightful experience.
(Genie Davis has written eleven screenplays in just over two
years. Represented by Shapiro Lichtman Stein, she's currently writing
for the ABC Daytime Television series "Port Charles"; and has written,
produced, and directed numerous television commercials, corporate
videos, and documentaries.)
Updated: 09/28/1999
