Two more weeks to go...

Yes, just two more weeks of school... two more tests, two more papers and one final. I'll be dedicating myself to writing this screenplay and TV show pitch after the semester ends. (Production Co. has asked me to write a TV show pitch as well.) TV show pitch sounds easy, but it's not... have to figure out a cast of characters, character arcs, plot line arcs, themes, style, narration/voice, etc. Trying to figure out where to begin is once again the hardest part. So here's another question for you:

Would you like to watch a show about a.) flight attendant new hires who eventually become jaded (like the interns in Grey's Anatomy) or b.) already jaded flight attendants who give the occasional new hire a hard time?

They've asked me to do a Sex and the City-type show about flight attendants. I'm a (latecomer) fan of Scrubs, so would like to add the fantasy element (like flight attendants getting revenge on obnoxious passengers) and also am considering using blog narration.

Any thoughts?

My Short-Lived Career as a Fox News Aviation Pundit

I just saw good ole Bill on The Daily Show and it reminded me of my one and only visit to the "No Spin Zone" last year :-D In case you all missed it... (BTW, I had absolutely no idea in advance what kind of questions he would ask me)


I sent Bill a copy of my book afterward inscribed "To Papa Bear from Queen of Sky". I wonder if he ever got it :'( In any case, in my movie and/or TV series I plan to answer Bill's question, which has haunted me ever since:

"Why would anyone do that kind of work for $30,000 a year?!"

"In your satin tights, fighting for your rights..."

Can you guess what TV theme song those lyrics come from?

Wonder Woman, one of my favorite shows as a kid!

I'm working on a paper right now for my Narrative Strategies class in which we have to choose a TV theme song and analyze it. Guess which one I chose?



Unfortunately, now I can't get that dang song out of my head--LOL! :-P

Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman.
All the world's waiting for you,
and the power you possess.

In your satin tights,
Fighting for your rights
And the old Red, White and Blue.

Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman.
Now the world is ready for you,
and the wonders you can do.

Make a hawk a dove,
Stop a war with love,
Make a liar tell the truth.

Wonder Woman,
Get us out from under, Wonder Woman.
All our hopes are pinned on you.
And the magic that you do.

Stop a bullet cold,
Make the Axis fall,
Change their minds, and change the world.

Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman.
You're a wonder, Wonder Woman.

P.S. If you are on Facebook, pls stand up for free speech and help get those 13 Virgin flight attendants reinstated by joining my group:

VIRGIN ATLANTIC: REINSTATE THE "FACEBOOK 13"!!!

Hope and Solidarity

Hello all... such a happy day today! Congratulations President-Elect Obama!

Anyhow, in solidarity with the "Facebook 13" (who were fired from Virgin Atlantic for referring to some of their passengers as "chavs"--the UK equivalent to white trash--on a Facebook group page), I've decided to post an excerpt from my book today (pages 35-36):

Flight Blog: Bogotá
Filed in FLIGHT BLOGS on Saturday, 02/05

On the way to Bogotá yesterday the Queen of Sky was working in the back of the 757 with a slightly bitchy Brazilian queen, whom we shall call Silvio. Silvio's motto regarding passengers is, "This is my house and you are my guests." (In other words, SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!)

After the service Silvio and I were gossiping in the back galley about other flight attendants. He told me that another Brazilian guy we both knew had had a sex change operation and was now going to fly as a woman.

He had me going for a good ten minutes.

"Just kidding!" he finally squealed, getting a big kick out of himself.

Actually, I have flown with a transsexual flight attendant before. I just thought he/she was a big girl like me. It wasn't until after the trip that I heard what his/her receding hairline and fake breasts were really all about. (He/she always wore a scarf, so his/her Adam’s apple was not visible.)

The Queen of Sky is so clueless sometimes.

Anyhow, I hate the 757. I always hit my head on the video screens, and passengers always get mad at us because the overhead bins fill up within ten minutes of boarding. Especially on Latin America flights, where passengers try to bring on everything but the kitchen sink... well, sometimes that, too.

And the Queen of Sky, not being particularly empathetic, somehow is always the one who has to rip the overstuffed bag from their trembling clutches and drag it to the front door to check it.

I'll have you know I have never won any customer service awards. In fact, I am that flight attendant that you asked for a cup of water on your flight to Europe last summer…the one you’re still waiting for.

Sorry, I have a very short memory.

There have been studies about the effects of high altitude radiation on your brain wherein they have found that flying shrinks your brain.

Plus, the Queen of Sky is so tired from commuting to work at the crack of dawn the day of her trip that she cannot be bothered with your frivolous requests.

Anyhow, back to my trip. Our hotel van in Bogotá has bulletproof windows. And when we arrived at the hotel, a dog sniffed our bags for explosives. Made me feel very secure. (Not!) Actually, I’m surprised we don’t have an armed escort there, like we do in Lima.

On the way back from Bogotá today, the Queen of Sky was sitting on the so-called Sharon Stone jumpseat in the mid-galley area. The jumpseat got is name from the fact that you are facing the first row of coach passengers, and any slight movement will give those passengers a free show if you are wearing a skirt.

And of course the Queen of Sky was wearing a skirt.

In the first row, directly in front of my jumpseat, sat a redneck wearing a trucker hat that read "Alabama."

He had raised a fuss during boarding when there was no room directly over his head for his bags. I told him there was plenty of space in the back.

"You know how it is when you're tryin’ to get off," he said.

I did not like his tone.

"Oh, well," I replied unconcerned, turning back to the boarding door.

Julie, the girl working with me, was more empathetic and put his bag in first class for him.

I was going to let the bags incident slide, but then, during the flight, I caught said redneck trying to look up my skirt. I thought it was my imagination, but Silvio and Julie said they noticed it, too. Not only that, he was constantly grabbing his "goods."

Silvio said he had copped a feel of Mr. Redneck's "goods" when he passed him in the aisle on the way to the lav. He had been checking out Mr. Redneck’s goods since the beginning of the flight. I told Silvio he could have him. The Queen of Sky does not like white trash.

I was going to say something rather politically incorrect here about the reason that gringo males travel alone to South America. (In my experience, it is usually to find hookers or pick up their mail- or internet-order brides.) But then I saw said redneck in the crew and diplomat line in US Immigration, and overheard him declare to the crewmembers in front of him, “Ah’m a dip-lo-mat.”

If that is what US diplomats look and act like, I think our country is in trouble. But then again, we already are in trouble with the world community... but I'm not going to go there. This is a strictly non-political blog.

Hasta luego...
-Queen of Sky

P.S. Thanks to each of my five commenters for all of your positive words! Glad you enjoy my blog!

My Bed Buddy

This was my bed buddy last week. She's quite a bed hog as you can see...



Anyway, my little furry friend has something to say to you all seeing as tomorrow's election day in these parts:

"Woof, woof, woof Obama!"

"OK, enough of that...it's sleepy time!"

A Facebook "Massacre"

Hello All,

Hope you had a happy Halloween and got lots of tricks and treats last night! I woke up this morning with a doggy's rump pressed against my rump (was dog-sitting this week).

Anywho, I've been quite perturbed today about this BBC online story. If it upsets you like it did me, you can join my discussion on Richard Branson's Facebook page; send him a question on Twitter; or on his blog. My question was whether he thought "sacking" 13 crewmembers because of their Facebook posts was a smart PR move in this Web 2.0 Age.
UPDATE: Use the discussion forum on the Virgin Atlantic Facebook page. It's entitled "Reaction to the crew post today."

Well, I need to get back to studying now. I'm also working on two treatments (synopses): one for a dramedy TV series about flight attendants and one for my screenplay.

Toodle-oo!

P.S. My new Twitter name is QueenofScreen.

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat!

Next Order of Business

OK, so next up I'm gonna work on a scene outline/treatment. Then I'll actually start writing the screenplay. Hoping to have most of it done by the end of the year, but it depends on my classes. I have two papers and 5 more tests to go this semester! Luckily the semester ends Dec. 5th (but I have one final exam on the 13th).

I have a conference call scheduled with my production company on Friday. We're going to discuss TV show ideas. ("Sex and the City in the sky!") My book is easily translatable into TV, since the blog entries are very episodic. I've already spoken to other TV people about this. The problem is it's REALLY hard to get a show picked up by the networks.

The Basic Structure (Spoiler Alert!)

As I described in a previous entry, the movie will start with our protagonist getting bumped off her flight home after a particularly bad 3-day trip. This causes her much frustration and incites in her the desire for change. It also leads her to start a blog. (BTW, I watched Bridget Joneses' Diary yesterday and realized that it begins very similarly to this.)

Elena (our protagonist) starts thinking about a change of path, but doesn't take action until the first turning point: Legacy Airlines announces plans to layoff several thousand flight attendants. Fearing she will be affected, Elena goes in search of another career (and ASAP!)

Act Two consists of Elena struggling to find a new career, but instead only finding dead ends and disappointments. She's relieved to find out afterward that she will, in fact, not be affected by the layoffs. In the meantime she has realized being a flight attendant isn't so bad after all. Surely all the perks are worth the occasional frustrations, right?

Also in Act Two, our heroine finds romance on a layover and starts a long distance relationship. She thinks this will work out better than dating someone back home, since she's never there anyway. I won't disclose the conclusion of this subplot.

There will be another subplot about a "Long-Suffering Frequent Flier," which will conclude here.

The second turning point will be: SURPRISE! Just when things are going smoothly, Elena is fired from her job because of her blog and decides to sue Legacy (her airline). A publicity blitz ensues (and our heroine, like Bridget Jones, is a horrendous public speaker) and then the Climax and Resolution, which I'm not gonna disclose here either.

Any thoughts?

P.S. I forgot to mention the tone of the movie will be similar to Bridget Joneses Diary (a comedy) with some Scrubs-style absurd fantasies/flashbacks.

I Voted.

Hello all,

I early voted the other day at a local library. It took 5 minutes. Guess who I voted for?

I'm glad to finally get the chance to vote for the winning presidential candidate. Yes, I think Obama is gonna win by a landslide. Why? Three reasons:

1. High(er) minority voter turn-out
2. The fact that 5,000 new voters were registered on the Univ. of Texas campus the last day of voter registration alone. So, multiply that number by all the colleges and universities around the country and you'll get an idea of the number of unaccounted for (i.e. unpolled) mostly Obama voters.
3. Barack Obama is having his highly fortuitous "Jupiter Return" in January around inauguration time. This only happens once every 12 years, folks. Of course, my astrological predictions about the last presidential election were disappointingly inaccurate. But that's because I misjudged GW's karma (it must be past-life karma, because lord knows he didn't amass it in this lifetime!) :-P

Coming up tomorrow: the basic structure of my screenplay (spoiler alert!)