Homeless In Hong Kong!! Book to Movie or TV??

I'll post a little update regarding whats going on with my book.

I haven't done anything with my book in months, sorry to say.  I have 17 notebooks fully of chapters hand written sitting around.  I reached the point where I just don't know where to end the story.  I had it all planned out where I would kind of follow to the end point, but last week while working on Nightmare, I got a really great idea for another book so......   I have had my first look agreement with a publisher expire last year so I am a free agent again.  Now to just transfer it from notebooks to computer and EDIT EDIT EDIT.

The one thing that has always been a constant from the moment I thought about putting what happened to me in HK to print was a possible film adaption.  My literary agent I was dealing with brought it up too.  My involvement was up to me.  I could just be a guy on the sidelines or I could be a part of the total creative process.  After my initial involvement in movies and TV, I began to think differently.  It will be a part of my life being adapted, I do want to steer it from beginning to end.  I was always wondering if I would like being involved in a movie project, but now I have the answer.  I can do this!

While writing in one of my notebooks on the sets of CSI:NY and Leverage, I had lunch with a few of the writiers.  They felt my story had a great deal of film potential.  Around the time this was going on Prusuit of Happyness was coming to the theaters and the story of the homeless model in NY were coming about.  I thought America was pretty sick for wanting to read about anothers pain let alone make money off of it.  "You could make so much money selling this story to Hollywood"  "Your book could make you a million dollars", is some of the things that were said to me.

I thought about it and while yes the money does seem appealing, and it would help me get back to the way life was for me before.  But moreso it's not about the money.  I hope to inspire people with my story.  Its about not giving up. 

I was at a point where my life was pretty much ruined.  My best friend turned on me and stabbed me in the back.  He stole all the money I had line up for an investment and threw me out in the street like I was a piece of rubbish.  The women I loved and I thought loved me, turned her back on me easily and over somethings as trivial as money.  So now I was 2 for 2.  My best friend hates me and the girl I wanted to marry  left me for a rich businessman.  Its so unbelievebly devastating to have the person who helped you through one of the worst points in your life turn on you suddenly.  She even contributed to having 3 people come and beat me with pipes outside of where  I was staying at.  I had loved my life that I started in HK.  Now most of it ws gone and I was given 3 weeks by the HK government to get out of the country.  I thought about suicide many times but for some odd reason.  I didn't give up.  I kept going on.

Don't give up is the message I hope to instill with my story.  I ran across my people in HK and Japan who wanted to end their life over something stupid like a break up or a bad test score.  WIth the way the economy is today too, people are losing their jobs, homes, and way of life.  I hope to inspire people not to give up.

Now to the whole point of my blog.  I have been using my time working on all these Hollywood gigs aside from a career to gain experience in movies.  Also a side effect has been making some great contacts while I was it.  Do I adapt Homeless in HK into a movie of a tv series? 

I am choosing to make Homelss in Hong Kong into a tv series!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I looked at trying to format some of my chapters into scripts, it would be a huge challenge trying to chronicle one year in a life into a 2 hour block.  I'd have to cut out some much things and details I want to cover.  Keep in mind, the chapter about my very first night in HK is 44 pages long!  A tv format would work better.  I am targeting 12-13 episodes which I think would cover it properly.  Also I would havbe to shoot most of it in HK which would give me a chance to be out there again and show the world the wonders of HK.  When I sat around with the production crew on Dark Knight, they mentioned showing off how cool HK is on film.  Well if you saw the movie, it was a few minutes of the skyline of Central.  But I want so show off all of it from food to transportation choices to culture to landmarks.  People who have read parts of my book said I showcased a sense of discovery about a land very foreign to me. I want to convey that to a visual medium.

I have a few people who said they would be on board and help in anyway possible.  I also have a few people in mind whom I want to work with on it.  Its just a matter of putting it together.  How cool would it be to film  scenes where the set is the weekend crowd of LKF?  How cool would it be to film scenes in some famous eateries like Jumbo where you have to take a boat across to it or The Sweet Dynasty in TST.  How cool would it be to film scenes on Lantau Island showing off the history there? Or scenes showing off new years at the CWB Flower Market?  Or a scene showing off the Avenue of Stars in TST?  Those are just some of the things I want to show off.  I'd definately try to film this thing like an Asian drama show and then I would have to come back to the US for some of it too.

Now it is a way off yet, I want the book to come first.  When I do get it underway, I will be sure to give AnD many exclusive scoops and set visits while it is under production.  But this is my line of thinking for one of my future projects.  I just wanted to drop an update because that is one of the things I get the most messages about.