Bruce Kolinski
Grit Company Unlimited, LLC
Screenwriter and Author
Coolidge, Arizona
December 2014
1 week ago
0
About Bruce
If you stumbled across this particular bio, you'll notice my addiction to "words, words... more words" (to bum a Beavis and Butt-head phrase). Don't falter. My scripts are skinned bare, peeled to bone, and finally, scraped clean to story giving marrow.
Probably not of interest (I'm sharing here), but exciting for hard learners like me is realizing nothing's more fun than COMPELLING CONFLICT...except my gorgeous wife. That's redundant isn't it?
Historically speaking, I was once upon a time, in a far away land eulogized as North America's fruited plain, an English major - after being a Catholic alter boy (no longer mired in the confessional guilt of religiosity, which by the way won't save us... from whatever), paper boy; high school jock of sorts; long-haired hippie - yes, I inhaled; raised horses for years but never really learned to rope; farm laborer; warehouse worker (I can do wheelies on a good fork lift); philosophy/psychology/sociology major - a gray period; before being a biology/genetics/environmental chemistry major - indecisive period; before being a truck driver - evasive period; before finally graduating with a B.S. degree from U.W.-Madison, WI. in civil & environmental engineering (...that's Bachelor of Science, not BullShit and it only took 11 years and 185 credits) in 1980. Am now a retired Professional Civil Engineer, retired Project Manager, retired General Contractor, retired over-the-road truck driver (twice - told you I learn the hard way) and currently a part time geothermal energy developer for U.S. Patent 8,381,523 B2. I write a lot and dream which is how I landed here wondering what I'll be when I grow up.
Have completed three, total P.O.S. screenplays over the past two decades; none of the three fixable. They were: SOMETHING ABOUT LUNCH - a romantic comedy I collaborated on with my wife, Nan and a friend, about a codependent family (personal demon purging) where the daughter is marrying a guy Mom doesn't like. SHORT LINE - a coming of age, competitive water skiing, young person romance movie set in northern Wisconsin (less personal demon purging) where the quintessential low income, small town, unrecognized local goes up against high income, big city, judge connected competition; and VASALLIO (not much personal demon purging left in this one) - a sequel to Paramount's Cobra (1986). VASALLIO (same number of letters as COBRETTI), was my sequel title I had no rights to, so Vasallio was my non-script-reformatting name change (also a distant family name) for that day when I would get the rights, which I never did though did receive a polite rejection letter from Mr. Stallone's production company at the time, White Eagle Enterprises. These three 120 page screenplays no longer exist in any form by the way - and are too long by today's standards. I have no reverse gear - a character disorder I was born into this physical world with...or so I imagine. Working on a wam-doozle thriller now called MACHUPO and its sequel, EYES OF CAIN. Beginning a rough outline for MINISTER AND DEACON, sure to become a cult-classic loved by many; and did custom leather work as a side business, with a profitable ETSY Store for four years. Also have an alternative energy website at Z Group Energy. Story development apparently occurs naturally while carving leather and listening to tunes, a symbiotic process that caught me unaware.
Researching MACHUPO side-tracked me into what became 1,200 unpublishable pages of completed non-fiction explaining how Americans can take their country back from the thugs we mistakenly gave it to. I cut this to 398 text pages and self published it as BEYOND ALL ISMS - its 2nd edition now for sale across the planet. Immaterial, but have also researched and started three or four novels (hasn't everybody?), one called Spin Dry, involving demonology. Researched this for over a year, got about two thirds of the way through writing it - the good guys were gonna win; had crystal perfume bottles exploding in the bathroom, was attacked by flies, thousands of 'em, was seeing weird visions (imagined I was anyway) and concluded; ENOUGH ALREADY - wife and two kids - don't need this. Nothing remains of these visionary novels or screenplays. No going back.
Married to beautiful wife since 1975; one daughter, one son, four dogs and six kitties crossed over, 1 living cat and one imaginary friend, maybe two imaginary friends, but not sure if the second is friendly as she's a smart ass and carries grudges.
Hatched out and grew up in central Wisconsin (Stevens Point); lived in the Madison, WI area for nine years ; then moved to sunny Phoenix, AZ in 1985 (shorter bus-ride to L.A.). Now living near the very pleasant cotton patch in Coolidge, Arizona; still a short bus ride to L.A. Libertarian political blogger since 2009 who doesn't care much for integrity challenged political parties (all blog sites now defunct except my author site: named, you guessed it: brucekolinskidotcom. Haven't been blogging much lately - too distracting - writing screen plays and fiction instead.
I don't enjoy being an employee, prefer to live by my wits, love free market capitalism (Anarchy with rules), hate monopoly (crony) capitalism, detest Socialism/Fascism as twisted sisters synthesizing into Totalitarian Globalism and suspect government is safest when limited to the T & T variety; that is, kept in a Tiny box with a Tight lid... and yes, I fully concur that political discourse is best left for Whiskey Wednesdays - but I'm sharing here so you know these things about me and won't be caught by surprise, potentially ruining a good Bourbon or other wonderful beverage moment - a circumstance inadvertently trashing an otherwise pleasant, late night/early morning fireside chat covering centuries of esoteric nonsense - which to me is an important component of spiritual health and living.
Currently caught up in the thrall of compelling conflict and gritty archetypal characters living their mythic stories through an organic script within a 3-act structure. In other words, creative growth and imaginative flexibility, but founded on respect for what the Greeks figured out centuries ago... and yes, I still read and love Syd Field's stuff and compulsively re-read scripts by Robert Towne and William Goldman though have graduated to Blake Snyder's SAVE THE CAT and Vicki King's INNER MOVIE METHOD.
Loved and learned from Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey; Robert McKee's Story; and Joseph Campbell's, The Hero's Journey and The Hero With a Thousand Faces. One of these days I'm going to write a good story.
Unique traits: Addicted to creative freedom. Dreamer; smile a lot, especially when nervous; have to write to stay even relatively sane; non-territorial within the team, but will fight dragons defending the team; believe the best idea is best whether had by the janitor, CEO, or the crazy lady sitting in front of Circle K; huggable in a non-creepy way; can carry stuff; safe driver; love trout streams; enjoy strong, independent, heavily armed women with attitude; appreciate insane guys too, but not sure we should be allowed to play without a leash... problematic, given I don't like leashes and neither do my friends except, of course, those we help escape the gravity-prone matrix.
Certifications
Links
Loglines
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Home is Where the Jail Is Drama ⋄ Comedy Retired railroad worker, 70-year old Eric James, only eligible for Railroad Retirement (not Social Security) finds his retirement fund bankrupt. Unable to pay property tax, he sells his boat, RV, tools, furniture, and car, but too little, too late, is evicted and homeless. Jail seems a more reliable, safer option than crime ridden homeless shelters, but how can he get into jail?
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MACHUPO Thriller Shapely 30-something independent chick trucker and hunky husband innocently upset rogue CIA agendas when a lethal virus (Machupo) is released in San Francisco, pitting an expedited cross-country, anti-viral load delivery against rogue intelligence service assets ordered to executively action this load and its drivers.
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EYES OF CAIN Thriller Sequel to MACHUPO. Raw-boned truck driver, John Cain, seeking justice after his wife Rachel is gunned down by rogue CIA assets and daughter, Tess, gang raped and burned to death, covering up a San Francisco bioweapon attack. Cain steadfastly delivers loads across the U.S. - hunting down his family's qualified immunity protected killers - one by one.
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Minister and Deacon Thriller Cynical alcoholic, math-gifted gambler with a bum knee seeking attractive codependent woman is asked to marry two good friends, becomes a $20 online Minister; ordains his indica loving, younger brother as Deacon, stumbles into a spiritual awakening, and now, guiding his tiny new flock, is stuck helping a young lady in possession of information a dangerous sex trafficking kingpin prefer not be floating around.
Credits
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One day a Producer/Director will discover stuff I wrote, have it re-written and then I will have film credits as a screen writer or at least "story by" to post here.
Awards
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I'd like to win an Oscar even though I don't usually prefer Oscar nominated movies.
(2017) -
Issued U.S. Patent 8,381,523 B2 in Feb. 2013, which for me was an award.
Education
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University of Wisconsin
(1976-1980)
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