Notes on Site Content...

I am a Seattle freelance writer. The primary focus of this website is to both demonstrate my writing for business clients & the casual reader and to promote my current Seattle independent film productions which are now in development.

 

You may find the content a bit eccentric, perhaps idiosyncratic, but everything on rjwattenhofer.com is themed according to my personal and creative taste, with a heavy emphasis on the noir, thriller and horror genres.

 

LATEST ARTICLES: How to Format and Structure a Screenplay and The Three Act Structure for Screenplays.

 

I have added a new page with articles on the history of Film Noir, Camp Films and B-Movies that I encourage you to check out.

 

The Projects Page contains details on my two most current Seattle independent movie productions in development: Pink Slime Inc aka. Attack of the Killer Pink Slime! feature film and Dead By Sunday feature film.

 

The idea for the pink slime movie came to me after the recent USDA debacle headlined in the news whereas the United States Department of Agriculture quietly approved the use of meat scraps and bio-refuse as filler for hamburger beef. And the fact that the meat industry itself dubbed the disgusting mixture pink slime...well, let's just say that the screenplay practically wrote itself.

 

The movie is a very literal interpretation of this offensive situation and shows what happens when bad science goes horribly wrong. Conversely, the pink slime monster in the movie is also a physical metaphor for the self-same situation on a broader scope; that being the wide-ranging experimentation on livestock and crops around the world.

 

The script itself is written for a world slightly askew, where despicable mass-conglomerates are so far removed from the general public that they readily approve such horrid food-stuffs without blinking an eye. As far as the horror camp aspects of the production, I rush head-first into absurdist territory and take no prisoners. This is a reflection of our bizarre world in all its glory and yet, put into the context of a movie, it still comes off as surreal entertainment: Perhaps in the back of our minds we truly don't want to believe that this is real and, to cope, we laugh it off as fictional entertaiment good for an evening's fare. Perhaps I help this dillusion along a bit through the story I tell...

 

A second major aspect of this independent film and what really kickstarted the meat of the story (excuse the rancid pun) was eliciting the help of persons with disabilites to take on character roles as actors and to assist on the movie set as production assistants. My youngest sister has some disabilities and so I know first-hand how very capable and ambitious challenged persons are in both their personal and work lives.

 

My very large, very expensive and very much back-burnered movie production (until funding is cemented) is The Devil on Denny Way. This indie film is based on the true story of Seattle's very own Mahoney Trunk Murder, which occurred in the Summer of 1921. Along with a very dynamic mix of characters and a compelling storyline, one other feature of this tale was the fact that the murderer, James Mahoney, was originally from Minnesota. Burning all his bridges in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Mahoney focused his attention on finding new territory to exploit for personal gain and chose Seattle. I myself travel frequently between Minnesota and Washington State, so this story almost seemed tailor-made for me to tell.

 

The magazine featured on rjwattenhofer.com is World Adventure Source, an adventure travel magazine written with a bit of satire & tongue-in-cheek. The magazine has a Nineteenth Century Victorian Era / Early twentieth Century Progressive Era theme or vibe: Again, a bit idiosyncratic and I'm not even sure anyone except me actually gets it. That's okay, though, as I enjoy writing it for my own edification. The magazine features content about movies, travel, art and adventure from the perspective of a Nineteenth Century journalist. I also write a few articles under my alter-ego Nicholas Lafayette: Southern correspondent, die-hard Confederate and all-around narcissist.

 

World Adventure Source Volume 1 Number 1 is themed to the tune of Arctic Exploration, with the feature article chronicling the adventure travel of Ameila Hempleman-Adams, youngest woman to ever journey to the South Pole. As is the nature of World Adventure Source, I set this recent Twenty-First Century exploit in the Progressive Era, having a somewhat bittersweet Sir Ernest Shackleton "congratulating" her on a feat he himself failed miserably at on January 9th, 1909.

 

World Adventure Source Volume 1 Number 2 is my Murder, Mayhem & the Macabre Edition, with a couple feature articles hinting at a conspiratorial connection between the famous Jack the Ripper aka. Whitechapel murders and convicted Victorian Era serial killer Doctor Thomas Neil Cream. There is also a 1921 expose on Somalia (still the most dangerous location on the planet) and an extensive analysis of the infamous New Orleans Gardette-LaPrete house mass murder.

 

World Adventure Source Volume 1 Number 3 is my juicy Russian Empire & Punishment magazine issue, filled with sordid details from Russia's inglorious past. Most notably, my feature article about the Soviet Union'sTrans-Siberian Railway and the exploitation of the railway workers. I include several other related articles, one being on Russian writer Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoevsky's well-publicized mock execution.

 

World Adventure Source Volume 2 Number 1 is the Uniquely American Special Edition, which highlights hand-picked locations in the United States of America that I feel exemplify the American spirit. One of my favorite articles is about the Olympic Peninsula Rainforests, a place near-and-dear to my heart. I have traveled uite extensively and, in my opinion, there is no where on Earth quite like this beautiful western washington location. In addition, there are articles on some my other favorite travel spots: Taos, New Mexico, Santa Cruz, California and Ellis Island.

 

World Adventure Source Volume 2 Number 2 is my Evolution & Pre-Columbian magazine issue. The feature article is my satirical account of Charles Darwin's voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle. I delve deeply into the topic of Evolution, with this issue possibly exhibiting my most tongue-in-cheek satire to date.

 

World Adventure Source Volume 2 Number 3 is the most current issue, which is titled Movie Nostalgia Edition. This issue features a look back at early Twentieth Century cinema. I also wrote an article about Twentieth Anniversary of Twin Peaks, the hit TV series that takes place in Snoqualmie and North Bend, Washington. I have lived in several places in the Puget Sound area, North Bend and Snoqualmie being two of them. I have always been a huge David Lynch and Twin Peaks fan, so this story is very close to my heart. There is a sense of nostalgia mixed with the surreal when visiting these two lovely town: Images of Special Agent Dale Cooper walking these very streets fill your head as you turn and watch Kyle MacLachlan stop into Twede's Cafe for a bite of cherry pie and a cup of coffee.

 

So there you have it. There is much more content on this website to explore, so feel free to browse and take advantage of any other goodies you feel will help you in your writing success.

 

~ RJ Wattenhofer, May 19, 2012