Cobra Kai Season 3 Premiere on January 1, 2021

Netflix's Cobra Kai Season 3 premiered on January 1, 2021. Episode 1 revisited Season 2, Episode 10: The school fight that rocked the Valley. Miguel Diaz still remains in a coma after Robby Keene kicked him off the second floor, causing Cobra Kai's star pupil to sustain a terrible neck injury accompanied with paralysis. Robby is on the run following his direct role in causing Miguel's tragic injury. With their differences and past grudges still intact, Daniel and Johnny go on a mission to locate the troubled teenager on the run before the police find him first. 

Samantha now struggles with PTSD after the controversial school fight that rocked the Valley. Flashbacks of John Kreese's Vietnam tour clearly convey his motivation to start Cobra Kai. John's desire to punish his enemies through showing no mercy is explained in its entirety. Daniel returns back to Tomi Village in Okinawa, the site of The Karate Kid II, to reclaim his lost focus and rekindle past relationships. Season 3 features many unique surprises, further delving into the mysteries pitting the past up against the present.   

Cobra Kai is an extremely well written series that instantly grabbed my attention upon my first initial viewing: I binge-watched Season 1 and Season 2 on Netflix. This former YouTube series has done a great job integrating "The Karate Kid" films into its storyline. There are many personal growth teachings that teach us to evolve, such as the wisdom Miyagi ingrained into Daniel's mind, body and soul. 

There is newfound empathy to understand Johnny Lawrence's character; we see his broken childhood and how karate gave him guidance. The fallout of losing the All-Valley Karate tournament kept Johnny living in the past. His inability to come to terms with the 80's restricts his character arc. Despite protecting his tough guy image, letting his defense down actually helps him become a humble character with moral values.  

Daniel adopted identical character traits that made Johnny unlikeable in The Karate Kid. Clashing with Johnny created conflict in his posh life. His wife reminded him to return back to the man she first met.  For the most part, Daniel's love for karate reconnected him with valuable life lessons. He self-reflects on Mr. Miyagi's teachings, focusing on karate as defense and focus. Concentrating on Miyagi's passion-first advice is what keeps Daniel living a rich life full of blessings. Nevertheless, karate represents Daniel's true calling to make a difference in his community. Perhaps karate is the main reason Daniel is who he is today; it serves as the foundation to his personal, family and business life. 

Binge watching Cobra Kai Season 3 gave me a nostalgic experience: These empowering episodes reconnected me with my childhood. My brothers and I would do karate after watching The Karate Kid movies! Whenever I feel disappointed, I remember the carefree times where I lived in the moment. Living in the moment keeps me in the present, reminding me to not take life so seriously. Life is too short to waste time on regrets, resentments, grudges and failures. We must learn to appreciate who we are, the life we lived and what we can become with hard work, effort and passion. If you want your dream, you are all the support you need. 

Until Cobra Kai Season 4 arrives, stay safe and healthy. Most importantly, keep writing the stories you want to see at the movies. Do it for yourself, not for attention, money and popularity. 

Happy Screenwriting! 

  

Do The Work And Stop Listening to Others

Successful screenwriters write daily, read scripts and watch movies. There is always room to learn something new. Most of the time we don't know the entire story ahead of new script projects. Therefore, we must perform research to fill in the pieces that turn our story into a completed puzzle.

Embrace the screenwriting process. Be proud that you are a storyteller. It is a gift to make worlds come to life with words. Imagining your creative ideas going from script to screen is an amazing dream.

Never complain about living a dream. Writing movies is a gift we should celebrate daily. Do the work: Don't allow others to discourage you from living your dream.

Happy Screenwriting!

Write What You Already Know

It is no secret that writing about what you know will increase your excitement to create. Many people assume they have a story to tell, so they try to become that person who will convince writers their lives can make a fortune. When writers ask them to help with the writing process, they say they don't have time. What these people really want is to ride the wave of success without doing any work. Write what you know, not what others want you to do.

We don't have any time to waste. 

Reflect back to all the moments you could have completed screenplays. I'm sure there are many lost opportunities. The past is a common psychological tool that prevents us from living life with peace and happiness. Talking about screenwriting as if we are already working writers in Hollywood will make us appear as faking it until we make it. Don't be one of these people in real life. Writing about someone who is fake in public to protect their true identity in their private life is a good story. Sharing your personal experiences with these fake people, which I have had many in my past, will bring life to your screenwriting to create a compelling screenplay.

Just imagine every situation your dream has created in your life.

Write about the life you lived over the dream you want. Without your dream, you would be living a different life. Maybe this normal life will give you a less stressful lifestyle. However, you would never know what it's like to accomplish a dream. The trap of viewing success as easy instead of understanding the hardship it takes is something to consider in your future scripts.

What events happened along the way? Did you laugh? Get sad? Get angry? Did you lose love? There are so many events in your life that can make good storytelling. We don't have to write these events as is. We all know that true life stories are modified for creative impact.

Get creative with your life stories.

We don't have to write our screenplays as real life experiences. We should use our life as inspiration to create fictional character who maneuver through our life. Teach people important lessons that you learned about your life.

Instead of looking at negative outcomes, focus on what you learned to grow into a better human being.

Tell people about your life. What are you about? Who are you as a screenwriter? What type of stories do you like to tell? What is your message to the world? Write these stories. Share your creative energy. If you learn something new about yourself after writing a script, you did your job perfectly right. Make screenwriting a transformation process. Writing what you already know will light a flame that can help your creativity burn brighter.

Please share your screenwriting experiences in the comment section below. 

Happy screenwriting!

Producer Gavin Polone writer's quote

Producer Gavin Polone has done it all in Hollywood. He is also different from most Hollywood bigwigs; he is the Hollywood worker's choice - the freethinker who is not afraid to speak his mind.

Gavin shared one quote in a tell-all interview about his reasoning and thought-process in the movie world. In this interview on Creative Screenwriting, Gavin doesn't hold back. He suggests that Hollywood needs more originality and that Marvel is leading most current movies (lets say revenue is the driving force).

As a screenwriting now ready to return back to the dream road, I took Gavin's quote about screenwriters to heart and this statement makes many screenwriters out there smile.

Gavin Polone quote: "You have to start with the script, so the writer is inherently the most important person in the process" (CreativeScreenwriting). Read this short, but great article covering Hollywood producer Gavin Polone.

There's actually a voice out there that cares about screenwriters and their uber creations. 5 stars Gavin Polone for representing screenwriters and television writers. You're right, writers convey the essence of movies.

Source: Creative Screenwriting