Fun Joel's Screenwriting Blog

FFFJ: Furry Vengeance

2010-05-02T13:19:00.001+03:00

So, time once again for me to come out of my quasi retirement to "check in here at the office." Thought I'd post another FFFJ (From the Files of Fun Joel) screenplay review, since I saw this movie has just come out this weekend. Additionally, since my comments from when I read the screenplay seem to have been effectively shown to be accurate, figured it was further worthwhile.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT

So, I read this screenplay professionally back in June 2008, and ended up rating it a PASS. The writers (Michael Carnes and Josh Gilbert) got the slightly better response of WEAK CONSIDER. Here's how I summed up the plot in a logline:

"Forest animals unite to combat a development project led by a neglectful father whose son hates his lack of conservationism."

For those who don't know, PASS means the script is bad, not that it should be passed on to someone else to look at. My comments in brief were summarized as:

"A repetitive script and major similarities to other recent projects marks this as less than promising. And a decidedly mean-spirited comedic style also hurts its chances for XXXXX production."

Still, the negative comments about this script were of course more detailed than that. Here are my comments:

Furry Vengeance is a mildly entertaining script with a good (though obvious from square one) moral. At the same time, however, the film grows extremely repetitive, and thus boring. Furthermore, the comedy is extremely mean-spirited, which though it works, is still not the best tack for family programming. Ultimately, the film is good but far from great, and unlikely to be worth pursuit for XXXXX production.

Clearly, the subject of Furry Vengeance makes it a decent film for XXXXX consideration. Conceptually, this is prime family film territory. It is in execution, however, that this film loses its potential. Firstly, on its own terms, the screenplay falls short. Though the concept starts out as mildly entertaining, in short order the gags become overly repetitive. There is little difference between the animal attacks at the beginning of the film and the end. Yes, the scope increases somewhat, but overall they don’t feel different enough.

Compound this problem with the fact that it feels unoriginal in comparison to other similar films. Many of the specific gags feel as if they were pulled straight out of Evan Almighty. And then the climax and many other gags are overly reminiscent of Hoot (not the best predecessor).

Slapstick comedy by its very nature stems from people getting hurt. But in this script, the gags seem overly mean-spirited. While there have been many family films that have employed such a comedic style, it still feels as if it isn’t the most responsible material to be putting in front of kids.

In the end, this script could potentially turn a profit. Though even that is not assured, due to the aforementioned reasons. Still, since this is not the most promising script out there, and since it's not a particularly strong concept either, there seems no reason for XXXXX to pursue this property.

So, how does this match up to the final product?

Well, for starters, it is worth noting that it opened with a weak $6.5 million box office. Who knows how it will perform in the long run. As this review points out, the film has "no significant competition in the family-movie sphere."

More importantly, though, the reviewer points to some of the same pros and cons that I did, which underscores why it likely had such a poor opening.

While parents' minds wander, young kids will enjoy the slapstick, much of it involving pee and poop, in this tale of enterprising woodland creatures determined to save their home from developers....

From defecating birds to squirt-happy skunks, screenwriters Michael Carnes and Josh Gilbert substitute crude gags for humor at nearly every turn.

I always take pride in seeing my comments borne out at the box office, and I am proud that I recommended my employers not move forward with production on this low quality project.

Tags: Furry+Vengeance, screenwriting, film

Good New Research Tool

2009-10-16T09:21:00.000+02:00

If I updated my sidebar links at all (been years, I'd guess) I would definitely be included this new one in my "Research Tools" category (and/or in "Stir the Creative Pot").

There is a new (to my knowledge) search aggregator specifically designed for creative people: creativesear.ch. Brought to you by D&AD, an educational charity connected with the design and advertising communities, creativesear.ch delivers search results from Google, Google Images, YouTube, Wikipedia, Flickr, Twitter and many others. And all in a visually appealing layout/design.

While designed (I think) for visual creatives (e.g. graphic designers), I can also see this becoming a very handy tool for screenwriters (and other creative writers) while in the research phase of a project. Try it out by typing in a search term at the top of the page, and let your creative juices flow.

Tags: screenwriting, research, creativesear.ch

FFFJ: Where the Wild Things Are

2009-10-14T21:08:00.000+02:00

Let me preface this screenplay review by stating that I really hope I was wrong. It has happened with one or two scripts before, where when they came out I realized I just didn't get what the screenwriter was going for. And if that happened here, I would attribute it to the fact that Spike Jonze was both (co-)writer and director of this project, and thus may not have fully communicated his vision on paper. This often happens with writer-directors or with writers who are working closely with a director while scripting the film.

Still, I love the Wild Things book, and have been a fan of Spike Jonze's for a very long time. So I really do hope this film turns out to be a really good, fun, imaginative one. But if it does, my guess is that it will be more the result of the various changes they made to it in the time after I read this script.

For starters, I read this screenplay at the end of November 2005, and the draft was dated October 12, 2005. So there was certainly plenty of time to update this script between then and now. But to be blunt, I thought the screenplay was terrible. And yet, I recommended that the company consider the project, solely for the underlying material. Jonze and Dave Eggers' screenplay, however, was really weak, in my opinion. Here's what I wrote back then:

Where the Wild Things Are has only one thing going for it, and that is the underlying book on which it is based. The script does a poor job of adapting the material, and the writers show no evidence of understanding how a script would best communicate the core material. Still, should any attachments be amenable to the essential rewrites, the project may be worth XXXX's attention for the value of the property itself.

It is no secret that Sendak's book is one of the most beloved children's books of all time. But the difficult journey it has taken to silver screen production is equally well-documented. If this script is any indication, the film version would be an unlikely success. If, however, a stronger screenplay adaptation becomes a possibility, XXXX should certainly consider getting involved.

As with such books as Jumanji, the key difficulty here is how to expand a short children's book into a feature length film. Where Shrek was successful in this regard, and Jumanji only moderately so, this script fails. It takes way too long to get going, features a number of extraneous scenes and elements, and fails to gain any momentum. Furthermore, it is sloppily scripted, with characters popping up without introduction and others introduced multiple times. But the biggest technical weakness of Jonze and Eggers' script is the plethora of unfilmable asides that are used to deliver character, rather than actions or dialogue, as is truly necessary in film.

A further issue with the screenplay will likely be its inability to successfully reach the youth market that must be it's primary target audience. While adults will likely appreciate the story's metaphoric aspects, and kids may subconsciously absorb some of this as well, the film's story, on its face, will likely bore children. While certain scenes are certain to please and entertain, too many scenes develop too slowly, and the storyline barely moves at all. It develops slowly, Max is overly passive, and he never really finds a clearly articulated goal.

Ultimately, the only real reason to consider this screenplay is for the potential held by its supporting material. But this is certainly a strong enough reason to warrant some consideration.

Not pretty, eh? So, as I said, I hope I was wrong. But this review makes it seem that instead of fixing the problems with the story, Jonze simply tried to overcompensate with visuals. As it says:

Fleet of foot, emotionally attuned to its subject and instinctively faithful to its celebrated source, "Where the Wild Things Are" earns a lot of points for its hand-crafted look and unhomogenized, dare-one-say organic rendering of unrestrained youthful imagination. But director Spike Jonze's sharp instincts and vibrant visual style can't quite compensate for the lack of narrative eventfulness that increasingly bogs down this bright-minded picture.

I am sure that that sort of strategy will work for many audience members. And by the way, this review is not much different.

The question remains whether a large enough portion of the audience (both adult and kid alike) will find the visuals appealing enough to make them overlook the lack of a solid story. Of course, it will have a good opening just due to people's interest in the film. The question remains, however, whether this will actually be the great film that so many hope it will be.

Tags: screenwriting, Spike+Jonze, Dave+Eggers, Maurice+Sendak, Where+the+Wild+Things+Are

FFFJ: Dorian Gray

2009-09-14T23:33:00.000+03:00

The impetus for me posting to the blog today was this review I read in The Hollywood Reporter, about the new film Dorian Gray that screened at Toronto International Film Festival. I remembered that I had read the screenplay for it a little over a year ago (in June of 2008). So I thought it would be a great opportunity to post another in my continuing series FFFJ: From the Files of Fun Joel.

Many of you know the story that the film is based on, but in case you don't, here's my Logline for the screenplay:

"Young heir, turned on to hedonism, maintains his youthful appearance while a portrait ages and shows his soul's true blackness."

Ultimately, I gave this screenplay a WEAK CONSIDER and the writer a CONSIDER. My main reason for this was that the script was well-written, but the style seemed very odd for today's audiences. And I think that Brunette's review in THR picks up on similar things. He writes:

Whether or not the re-interpretation is always successful is another question entirely, but superb production values and imaginative, vigorous camerawork, music, and editing should carry the film a long way. It's not exactly clear who the audience is for this occasionally subtle literary adaptation that also aspires, almost against its will, to be a horror movie, but it deserves to find an audience somewhere.

So, on to my critique then. Here are the comments I wrote on Toby Finlay's screenplay:

Dorian Gray is a well-written gothic horror script based on the famous Oscar Wilde novel. Yet while it is as good an adaptation as could be, the fact remains that the story feels dated and may not appeal to modern audiences. Coupling this with the budget such a period film will likely require, the film becomes a much less promising commercial endeavor. Bottom line, if this type of film is on XXXX’s agenda, this could be an excellent choice for production. But on its own merits, the film would likely not be the strongest candidate for development.

While there is much to like in this story, the style remains firmly rooted in another time. Gothic horror of this nature is far removed from the style of horror that plays well today. And though the story is certainly not without its charms, it remains a dated style. Because of this, Dorian Gray may have a difficult time finding a sizable audience. Finlay, it should be noted, has done a good job of at least attempting to update the story. The addition of Emily, the excising of some of the more dated sequences (e.g. the hunting party), the extension of the book’s time span, and the greater grounding in the birth of modernism are all adjustments that help widen the film’s appeal. But it still seems unlikely to be enough, as the story’s core maintains the same feel.

At the same time, should XXXX be in the market for a film of this nature, despite its built-in problems, this script would be as good as any of its type. It is a solid effort with good pacing and excellent structure. Characters are strong, as is dialogue. And Finlay is also worthy of further consideration as well. But most probably, the film is unlikely to succeed commercially.

COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL:
With a relatively large budget and a dated feel that will alienate many audiences, this film will be fighting an uphill battle to find commercial viability.

Tags: screenwriting, Dorian+Gray

Less Than a Year

2009-09-14T23:11:00.000+03:00

So people ask me periodically if my blog is dead. I tell them it is more like "retired." Not in the sense of a sports player whose number is "retired." When that happens, no one gets to wear that number again, so it is taken out of circulation.

I mean it more in the sense of a guy who retires from his job, but might still occasionally pop back into the office to say Hi, answer some questions, and maybe even do a drop of work.

So that's my intention for now. I don't suspect I will be a "full-time" blogger again. But I don't want to shut it down entirely. I'd rather just post occasionally, whenever I feel I have something else worthwhile to say. I know that means I will probably not have a very large readership, but so be it. If anyone cares to read and/or comment, I welcome you and your loyalty. If not, I'll just write for the heck of it!

All this by way of intro to my next post, to come momentarily. :-)

Expo Reminder & Drinks Gathering Announcement

2008-11-12T22:53:00.000+02:00

So, first of all, I wanted to remind you all one last time about the two seminars I am teaching at this year's Screenwriting Expo. After being named a Star Speaker the last three years at the Expo, I've been invited back to present my most popular seminar from last year, "Effective Use of Flashbacks and Voiceovers."

Even more exciting for me is the new seminar I will be teaching this year: "Writing in a Web 2.0 World." In preparing this seminar, I've had the chance to speak to many professionals who are very involved in the world of web video, and the like, and have also read and watched a ton of material on the subject. The seminar will exploring what is unique about writing scripts for the web, as well as highlighting ways to market yourself, network, and straight out work using Web 2.0 technologies.

Furthermore, I wanted to spread the word about this year's 4th Annual post-Expo Scribosphere Drinks gathering on Sunday night. All are welcome to join, so please come if you are at the Expo, or just feel like popping over anyway. This year we'll be returning to the scene of the first year's gathering, the beautiful Moroccan-themed (and nearby) Figueroa Hotel, and we will be at the poolside bar. The Fig is at 939 S. Figueroa St., 90015 (for your GoogleMaps-ing pleasure), and is easy walking distance from the Convention Center. Figure we'll start by around 6:00 on Sunday evening, though I may arrive sooner. We'll end whenever things just wind down naturally!

Feel free to leave a note here, or email me, to let me know that you'll be joining. Also, if you'll be attending the Expo and want to meet up some other time, feel free to get in touch as well!

Hope to see many of you there!

Tags: Screenwriting+Expo, Scribosphere

New Screenwriting/Indie Production Website

2008-11-11T01:36:00.000+02:00

I recently learned about a new website that is designed to help collaborations through the entire production process. Named Five Sprockets, the site offers some free software (including yet another free screenwriting application) and free registration. The site's name is a reference to the five stages of the production process: Development, Pre-production, Production, Post-production and Distribution.

I have not tried out the screenwriting software, so to be honest I can't speak to its quality. But what attracted me most to the site is its "Community" section. In an easy-to-use format, the section offers how-to videos for use by indie filmmakers, articles aimed at guiding the developing screenwriter (a number of which seem to offer solid insights), event listings, and discussion forum. There is also a job board, though at this point listings are still extremely sparse (the site is still in beta).

There are many sites out there aimed at this niche, and I can't claim to have spent much time on all of them. But this site definitely seems like one worth keeping an eye on!

Tags: screenwriting, indie+filmmaking, Five+Sprockets

Late for Halloween

2008-11-06T01:15:00.000+02:00

I just saw this "trailer" that would most appropriately be titled Halloween at The Office. I got a kick out of it, though it is not nearly as well done or entertaining as Shining.

Interesting how horror and comedy seem to often work as two sides of the same coin. To wit, this story about a new project for Xbox Live.

Tags: horror+films, comedies

Annual Fall Script Services Sale

2008-11-05T01:58:00.000+02:00

Well, it is that time of year again, when I reduce prices on my screenplay consulting services. I am again offering a 10% discount on my main screenplay services for the next two months, through the end of 2008!

Full, in-depth Development Notes now go for just $270, reduced from the usual $300 price. Less comprehensive but always popular Studio Style Coverage is now only $135, marked down from $150. And of course, each service still comes with a free follow-up phone call after you receive your report!

I'm pleased to have kept my prices on the more affordable and lower end of prices for comparable options out there. And I'm proud of the positive responses I've gotten from my clients, including numerous repeat customers. To give you an idea, here are a few endorsements from some of my prior clients:

"Having used other screenplay services in the past, the thing I appreciate about Joel's services the most is the fact that he treats you as a fellow writer and takes the extra time to make sure you understand his comments in order to strengthen your script for sale." -- Nathan Flood

"Joel's coverage is clear, concise and tells you the issues in your script in a non-judgmental way which is invaluable for any writer struggling with an early draft. Plus he's fast and excellent value for money, always a bonus!" -- Lucy, UK, www.lucyvee.blogspot.com

"FunJoel was thorough, professional, and didn't pull any punches. In a field fraught with intense competition, Joel Haber encourages the new writer to reach for the best within them -- to produce a quality script -- and nails both strengths and weaknesses with uncanny precision." -- Robin Roderick/Critical Mass

"It's a rare thing for a reader to have both a good analytical mind and a creative sensibility. Joel has both these qualities in abundance. Plus, he's got a helluva good sense of humor." -- J. Edwards

"Finally -- a script consultant who delivers real value and real advice, without patronizing or antagonizing." -- Chase Libbey

I look forward to working with many of you this Fall! If you are interested, please email me directly (change the bracketed [AT] and [DOT] to the appropriate symbols), and we can discuss specifics. And if you are curious about what each of those types of reports entails, click on the sidebar link to the left that reads "Fun Joel's Screenplay Services," or HERE.

Thanks!

UPDATE: If you're coming here via Alex Epstein's blog, welcome! If you haven't been here before, please dig through the archives. I also look forward to hopefully working with some of you soon.

Tags: script+reading, screenplay+coverage

And Now a Word from God

2008-10-25T01:10:00.000+02:00

Just wanted to give a heads up about a new web series that just launched this week, aimed at teens of faith.

G-dcast aims to breathe new life into the old tales of the Old Testament, using fun and artful animation, hip storytelling and unique guests. Though produced from a Jewish perspective, and aimed at Jewish teens, the series should be great for any religious viewers, regardless of their specific faith, if the opening episode is any indicator:

Pronounced "Godcast," the title is written with a dash since that is how some Jews write God's name in English. I should also clarify that I don't think you have to be some kind of crazy religious fanatic to appreciate these videos. I think any spiritually-minded individual may find something of value here.

A new episode will come out each week, released on Mondays, and will feature storytellers from around the world, hip-hop artists, country western singers, and many more.

The opening episode has some nice writing with clever witticisms disguising some deep thoughts. The effect is to make them accessible to a wide audience, while entertaining viewers at the same time. Kudos to series creator and New Media maven Sarah Lefton on a clever concept, well executed!

Tags: web+video, animation, G-dcast

Get Schooled Now!

2008-10-17T11:28:00.000+02:00

Some of you may remember a few mentions I've made over the years about my friend Brooks' feature film, Schooled. Since he developed the script within the context of our writing group, I got to see its development from its early stages, all the way through to final production and release.

Well, he has recently released the DVD for sale, and as a special promotion, you can not only purchase it at a discount of 20% off list price, but he has also rounded up a free package of extra "add-ons" that are valued over $100. These are aimed at related topics or interests, and if the film interests you, the add-ons should as well.

Starring Daniel Kucan (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), the film is a dramatic look at how we educate our children. It questions the mainstream education system and explores alternative ways of fully respecting children while also educating them. It's screened all over the world and gotten rave reviews, especially from the alternative education community.

Any of my readers who have school-aged children should consider watching this film for the questions it raises and the discussions it may spark. But any of you who enjoy supporting indie film should also be interested. I'm proud of Brooks' effort, and hope you'll consider supporting him as well.

To learn more about the special offer and DVD release, click HERE.

Here are a few endorsements for Schooled from the alternative education community:

"A RARE, REFRESHING AND AUTHENTIC LOOK AT THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF EDUCATION FREED FROM THE NEED TO MANIPULATE" -- Dr. Jan Fortune-Wood, Author, Winning Parent, Winning Child

"SO REAL AND HONEST. INSPIRING. AFFIRMING." -- Isaac Graves, Conference Director, Alternative Education Resource Organization

"IF YOU DON'T SEE SCHOOLED YOU WILL FOREVER BE FOOLED BY THOSE WHO MANAGE THE FORCED SCHOOLING SCHEME" -- John Taylor Gatto & Roland Legiardi-Laura of The Odysseus Group

"CHALLENGES YOU TO CONSIDER LETTING KIDS DIRECT THEIR LIVES" -- Sara Bennett, Co-Author, The Case Against Homework

"UNLIKE MANY OF THE 'TEACHER AS HERO' FILMS (DEAD POETS) OR 'ANTI-HERO' (HALF NELSON), SCHOOLED TAKES THE AUDIENCE TO THE HEART OF A TEACHER'S BELIEFS." -- Dr. Ken Alexander, Sr. Lecturer, Edith Cowan University, Australia

-----------------------------

BUY Schooled HERE

Tags: Schooled, Brooks+Elms, independent+film, alternative+education

Safari Picture Update #8

2008-10-08T23:40:00.000+02:00

Time has come for my next Safari Picture Update. In my last official update, I caught you all up to the point where I delivered my first draft to the producers, and got their positive feedback and notes. Then in THIS POST I mentioned a bit of the work I did subsequently. Let me go into some more detail now, and also catch you up on further developments.

When I turned in my first draft, the producers were generally pleased, though they definitely felt more work was necessary. They gave me plenty of notes over the phone. After thinking those notes over, getting feedback from my writing group and reviewing the script on my own, I told the producers I would get them a revised draft in about a month and a half.

One of the major changes I was asked to make was the inclusion of three more characters. The producers all along have been pushing for as realistic a film as possible, and they felt that these were all characters who logically would be around for the events in the film. You may recall that the film was already longer than I wanted it to be. Adding in 3 more characters (and also figuring out how best to utilize them, without them simply being extraneous "dead weight") became the major story challenge for me in this revision.

The other major story challenge I encountered was that the producers were somewhat unhappy with the ending I had written (and rightly so, I think). As I mentioned previously, the primary focus of this film is on elephants. But in the climax I had in the first draft, though elephants were present and involved, the main action dealt largely with lions. This muddled the point of the film somewhat. Thus, I needed to really improve that climax.

A third challenge I faced had nothing to do with the script itself. When I first said I could finish the draft in a month and a half, I wasn't fully set on my summer plans. As it turned out, I ended up moving out of my apartment right around the same time that I was to finish the draft, putting my stuff into storage, and heading back East for the summer. This put a strain on my schedule.

The notes I got from the producers on Draft Two were somewhat mixed. They agreed that the climax was much more effective, and that I had generally addressed most of the notes they'd given me. However, they were unable to express specifically why, but they felt that much of the script (at least the first half) did not flow as well. I was confused by this note, but we each went off on our own to reread the script and see if we could better figure out the problem.

About a week later I came back to them with an analysis of the problem and a proposed solution. I felt there were a few issues that were significant here. The first was a largely mechanical problem. When I faced the addition of new characters in the second draft, I also looked at how to cut down on the length, both to get it closer to my target length, and to make room for these new characters. And despite the additions, I was still able to trim a few pages of length from the script. In doing so, however, I never gave it a good enough reread to make sure the transitions between scenes remained smooth. That was something i needed to address.

A second issue dealt with characterization. That is something that's needed work all along, and has improved bit by bit with each draft. But since invariably, most people felt the second half of the script flowed better and more quickly than the first half, I focused on how to make the first half more engaging. I suggested that a greater focus on conflicts between the characters could go a long way here.

Finally, the producers had always wanted the film's secondary purpose (in addition to the main story) to be exposing the audience to a somewhat typical safari experience. Thus, I had a number of scenes that while connected in some way to the story, remained somewhat ancillary. I suggested that trimming some of those scenes away might help the screenplay to flow better.

The producers liked these ideas, and I set off to make those changes. In the process, I also further focused on rearranging some scenes, cutting out others, and shortening still others. I took a week or two, and then sent it back to them. They were getting ready to shoot a short, however, and were very busy on that. Thus, I was going to have to wait to get their feedback.

That feedback finally came last week. They felt the flow issue was solved, and that it was in pretty good shape (though it could still use a bit of clean-up here and there). So my work for now is done. They are going to show it to some colleagues and get their feedback, and once they do, we'll move on to further revisions. Hopefully, they will soon begin looking for financing as well.

So overall, it has been a good experience. I do like the script, and hope things move forward. At the same time, it feels good to be done with it for now, so I can work on a few other things. These include a revision of one of my previous spec scripts, and an attempt to quickly develop and write another spec idea I have. It is somewhat timely (a satire dealing with the American economy), but after discussing it, I think I'd be better off taking it out as a completed script than as a spec.

I'll keep you all posted on all of these things as they develop. To my Jewish readers, Happy New Year! To everyone else, Happy Rest-of-2008!

Tags: screenwriting, safari

Will I See You at the Expo?

2008-10-03T21:36:00.000+03:00

Just wanted to let you all know that I will, once again, be teaching at this year's Screenwriting Expo. I'm happy to say that the Expo will be returning to the LA Convention Center this year, after two (somewhat disappointing) years at a couple of hotels near LAX.

I'm proud to have been invited back to present my best-attended seminar from last year, "Effective Use of Flashbacks and Voiceovers." And I am also excited to be teaching a brand new, and timely seminar entitled "Writing in a Web 2.0 World."

In the latter seminar, I will be exploring what is unique about writing scripts for the web, as well as exploring the extensive opportunities to market yourself, network, and make money presented by Web 2.0 technologies.

I do not know whether speakers will be receiving discount codes, as we did in the past, but if so, I will certainly pass it along as soon as I receive it. And although the specifics are still to be determined, I will definitely be hosting my annual post-Expo Scribosphere Drinks gathering on Sunday night. This has always been a highlight for me, and hope it is for others too. Stay tuned for more details!

I hope to see many of you at the Expo this year! Be in touch.

UPDATE: You can use the discount code HABER2008 to get 10% off your registration. Enjoy!

Tags: screenwriting, Screenwriting+Expo, Web+2.0

Very Late on The Dark Knight

2008-09-17T08:26:00.000+03:00

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I had a summer that was crazy busy. Not sure if I mentioned it then or not, but I did not see a single movie in the theaters the entire time I was back East. It simply was not possible. So I missed out on some major films that I wanted to see. So now that I'm back in town, I'm seeing movies with a vengeance. I've seen three in the last week, and I'm sure there's more to come soon!

I may discuss those others soon enough, but I've wanted to see The Dark Knight all summer, and finally got the chance to see it tonight. On IMAX, of course. Because as a friend of mine said, it is the only way to see it. Well, not so sure about that, but it was damn cool.

So anyway, I have not read any of the scuttlebutt floating about the Scribosphere or elsewhere regarding this film. So if I repeat anything that others have said, you can feel free to ignore it. But anyway, I definitely liked it a lot. Not sure whether I liked it more or less than Batman Begins. This was simultaneously more focused, and more disjointed, with a relatively singular storyline, but plenty of mindfucks along the way. And I think that is a big part of building the film around the theme (which I will get to in a minute).

It definitely seemed like a lighter (visually speaking) film, with much more taking place during the daytime, and a grounding in more familiar territory (hard to mistake the Chicago settings for anything else). And these changes, among others, are what made this a vastly distinct film than its predecessor, and yet at the same time, the characters were strong enough to ground us in the world of the previous film. For this the filmmakers are to be highly commended. Unlike many other sequels, particularly in the superhero genre, I felt as if this film moved significantly further from the first film than most, while still feeling like a part of the franchise.

To me, the big thing about this film is its exploration of theme. I saw it as making a big political statement about the war on terror. To me this was a relatively blatant point, but my friend who I saw it with (not in the film world, so not necessarily thinking about films as actively and critically as I do -- probably a good thing, by the way) said she didn't even notice any of that. Of course, once I mentioned it, she totally saw it too. But to her it wasn't as in your face.

So that being said, I'm not so sure how much I like the placement of this theme in this film. I like the Batman films for what they are -- good adventures with a major exploration of character. I'm not so sure I like it when they move from that into a critique of national politics. Just not sure I feel it is the "appropriate space" for it. I'm sure many would disagree and say that just the opposite is true -- there may be no better place. But that's just my opinion as a fan alone.

So what did y'all think? Firstly, was I alone in seeing that message in there? And secondly, did you guys mind it?

Tags: screenwriting, The+Dark+Knight, theme

Rumors of this Blog's Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

2008-09-10T01:21:00.000+03:00

Okay, so maybe not so greatly. But somewhat exaggerated. Or maybe I'm just flattering myself and most of you have barely even noticed beyond a, "huh, I wonder whatever happened to that guy." Well, whatever the case, I'm back, at least for now. And I hope to give you a bit of an update on what all I've been up to over the 2 1/2 months since I've last posted.

I went to NJ for the summer (for just over two months) to help my parents with some stuff. And then after I planned my trip, something else came up with my parents that ended up eating up significantly more of my time than I had originally planned. No need to go into details. Suffice it to say, all is great with them and nothing to worry about. But it kept me busy all summer. And while I'm very glad I was able to be there for them when they needed me, I'm also very happy to be back home in L.A. now!

Plus, there was time before and after those two months that were also eaten up, since i moved out of my apartment before I headed back East, and am in the process of moving into a new one here, now that I'm back. So while it was great being back there, it also cut into some of my free time for blogging, etc.

At the same time, I have been moving forwards quite a bit with my safari script. I will aim to do a full update on that soon, but in the meantime I'll just give you the bare bones. I believe I had already turned in my first draft on the script before I left town. Since then I did two significant revisions of it, with some substantial changes along the way. Among other things I had to work in 3 more characters at the producers' requests, and made a number of other changes. Overall, I believe the script has gotten better and better, and I'm hoping that they believe it is good enough at this point to take out and start looking for financing. (They are currently making a short film, so they haven't had the chance to read and give me feedback yet.)

So that, and continued reading work, is what has been eating up all of my time over the past few months. Now let me look ahead to the Fall.

Regarding the blog itself, I hope to get back to blogging at least somewhat more regularly. One new feature I'm hoping to add in is a series of relevant interviews. I've realized that I have a number of other writer friends, some of whom have movies coming out soon, or have made other types of progress. So I thought it would be relevant and interesting to give a forum to them, either via interviews or "guest blog posts."

I will be again teaching at the Screenwriting Expo this year, with one repeat class and one new one (they are having fewer classes overall this year, so I'm not able to do four again, like last year). In addition to continuing to work on the safari script as needed, I'm gearing up to do revisions on my D2DVD type horror script and/or Hell on Wheels. And once I've completed that I intend to start looking for representation. I'll try to keep you all as updated as possible on that as well, since I hope my experiences on that front might also be interesting and helpful.

Then, depending on how long it takes to get those done (it may be spilling over into Winter already by then), I have two ideas for my next spec script, and I'll have to choose between them. One I've been thinking about for a while, and it is a wedding-themed comedy, in the vein of My Best Friend's Wedding or Monster-in-Law. The other is a new idea that is still in the very early gestational phase of my thought process (little more than the kernel of an idea), but it is a timely and relevant satire about the American economy.

Finally, I've begun the work on my new website that will be geared towards my Screenplay Services, but will also be the home of my new, migrated and redesigned blog. I still have a ways to go, but I've started, which is more than I've done before. So now I just need to find the time to finish it up!

So, that's what's happened, and what I hope and plan will be happening! Far from dead, I hope. And please feel free to nudge me to ask things like, "Hey, how's the agent hunt coming along?" Or, "What's happening with the new website?" And for any of you who are still reading after two very long, nearly back-to-back absences, you have and deserve my thanks and respect!

Tags: screenwriting, blogging

Take a Trip to Gaytown

2008-06-23T20:33:00.000+03:00

So as a follow-up to my last post, I checked out The West Side, as Cecil suggested in the comments. Not bad, and looks good visually, with a decent overall concept. The writing is adequate, though a bit slow-paced, and the acting is sporadic. But still, it is definitely a better web series than most that I've seen out there. I just wish they could find some sponsorship so they could pump out more episodes, instead of the extremely sporadic style of the current release.

But I've continued talking to a lot of people about web series they liked. And this one came up the other day. Gaytown! It is generally quite funny, somewhat original, good writing, good comedic acting, and good production values. Here is episode one (the first season ran ten episodes, and you can watch them on you tube, or by going directly to the "network" that is airing them, Crackle.) I definitely plan to check out some of the other series on Crackle to see if they are equally good.

But looking at these two web series also made me think about the types of stuff that has gone up on the web. The West Side is essentially a single, longer story that has been split into shorter episodes, albeit with minor cliffhangers along the way. Still, it could easily have been made as a single short film. Gaytown, on the other hand, is significantly more episodic. And then you can think about a series like Ask a Ninja, which is made up of completely stand-alone episodes. Sort of like Lost vs. My Name is Earl vs. South Park.

Anyway, please keep any suggestions you have coming! And same with ARGs, if any of you have any good suggestions on that front.

Tags: screenwriting, web+series, Gaytown, The+West+Side

Digital Storytelling

2008-06-20T02:22:00.000+03:00

Still moving along with rewrites on the script, and with preparing for the move out of the apartment. So this will be a quick post.

While my main focus remains on writing for film, I have been thinking for a while about writing for online productions. It had been in the back of my mind for a while (I even have considered turning Hell on Wheels into a flash-animated web series), and thought more about it after attending this seminar. And recently I've spoken to a number of people about such things as web series and Alternate Reality Games (ARGs).

I'd be a fool if I didn't see these forms as at least part of the future of visual storytelling, and at the same time, not entirely different from what I do currently. And so I'm considering trying to do some writing in that arena as well.

So, for those of you who are already quite familiar with such things, I'd love to hear your thoughts on writing for the digital, online world. What is the same or different? And if you have any favorite web series (as opposed to a single, stand-alone viral video that you love) or ARGs, I'd love to hear about them. What's the best out there?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section, please!

Update: A few hours after I posted this, I read THIS POST on Kira's blog. Thought it tied in nicely!

Tags: writing, web+series, ARG, Alternate+Reality+Games

A Trip to the Walk-In

2008-06-15T20:01:00.000+03:00

Over the years, I've put a few posts up on here about Drive-Ins. This post is about Walk-Ins. Yes, I know that most movie theaters are walk-in theaters, but I'm talking about something specific here, so bear with me!

Let me start by giving you an update on what's going on around these parts, since it relates. I am currently in rewrites on the Safari script, with my next draft due at the end of this month. So that's been keeping me somewhat busy. But I've also had even less time because I am moving out of my apartment at the end of the month. You see, for family reasons (all good, nothing bad) I have decided to head back East for July and August, then return to LA in September. So I'm moving out at the end of this month and putting my stuff into storage, and then will move into a new apartment when I get back out West in the Fall.

I'm really looking forward to this. I'll be based in NJ at my parents' house for most of that time, but will certainly be getting into The City (NYC for those not in tune with the lingo) quite a bit. Now I love LA in the summer, and the weather in NYC during the summer can sometimes leave a little to be desired. But, there is still something special about the energy of NYC during the hot months. One of the things I miss most about NYC in the summer is outdoor movies (mostly free). Summer in New York City offers tons of free cultural events, from bands (e.g. Summerstage) to theater (e.g. Shakespeare in the Park). But I've always most loved the outdoor movie screenings, because they are NYC's version of the drive-in theater. But since no-one drives there, they're really walk-in movies!

The granddaddy of them all (at least to my knowledge) is the Bryant Park movie series. Sponsored by HBO, which has offices right across the street, this has become one of the most popular free events in New York during the summer. If I'm not mistaken, this series began in 1993, and I say that because it was my first summer after college, and I was working right down the block, at 42nd and Madison. So I seem to remember this starting out, and thinking what an awesome idea it was. To be honest, I'm not in love with this year's schedule (there are plenty of good movies on it, but not many of the fun kind of movies that people love to watch in big groups), but there are still some highlights. Here's that schedule, for Monday evenings (starts tomorrow night):

June 16 Dr. No
June 23 Bride of Frankenstein
June 30 Hud
July 7 The Man Who Came to Dinner
July 14 Fail-Safe
July 21 Arsenic and Old Lace
July 28 The Apartment
Aug 4 Lifeboat
Aug 11 The Candidate
Aug 18 Superman

One of the other good series is RiverFlicks, in Hudson River Park (Pier 54 @ 14th St). This year's Wednesday night series for adults (there is also a series of kids movies) is music themed (and you know how much I love music-themed movies):

July 9 La Bamba
July 16 Almost Famous
July 23 Purple Rain
July 30 Dream Girls
Aug 6 Saturday Night Fever
Aug 13 Rock Star
Aug 20 The Blues Brothers

Also on the river, about 3 miles uptown from there, is Summer on the Hudson, free Movies Under the Stars at Riverside Park South. Screenings will be held at Pier 1 @ 70th St. Unfortunately, this series is also on Wednesday night. This year's theme is the election year for their series:

July 9 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
July 16 Wag the Dog
July 23 Election
July 30 The Candidate (in case you can't make it Aug 11 at Bryant Park)
Aug 6 The Manchurian Candidate (of course, the original one from 1962)
Aug 13 Primary Colors
Aug 20 All the President’s Men

Finally, I have two other series that are new to me, though I'm sure they aren't that new. Both look really interesting, though. The first is Movies with a View, from the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. These Thursday screenings take place under the bridge, with the lower Manhattan skyline as a beautiful backdrop. Also launching slightly from the election concept, this series' theme is "change," interpreted in some fun ways! And it may be my favorite series of the bunch:

July 10 Stand by Me
July 17 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
July 24 Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit
July 31 Ace in the Hole
Aug 7 Pleasantville
Aug 14 Cabaret
Aug 21 Being There
Aug 28 The Shining

Lastly, for indie film fans, check out Rooftop Films, from IFC. Only a few of these are free, but the prices for the ones you must pay for are completely fair, and you'll be supporting the art you love! A very interesting and eclectic schedule at a variety of locations. So I'll just link to the schedule and let you browse. But it looks really cool, and well worth checking out. I recommend signing up for the email list so you don't have to dig through the schedule in advance.

And for my LA peeps, Don't think I'm neglecting you. I'm sure that when I return in September, they will once again be holding the Santa Monica Drive-In at the Pier (that is last year's schedule)!

Tags: outdoor+movies, New+York+City, free

For My TV-Writing Friends

2008-06-02T22:42:00.000+03:00

Just got word of this contest from a friend, and it looks like a great one, plus one that may close very quickly. So get on this ASAP!

The Fox-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest begins today, and ends on June 13th, or when they receive 1500 entries. There is no entry fee, and the winner gets $25,000 and a development deal!

Here is some relevant info direct from the site. Click through to get all other details.

The New York Television Festival and Fox Broadcasting Company have teamed up to offer aspiring TV writers the opportunity to win $25,000 and a development deal with FOX!

Enter the FOX-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest and submit your script for an original half-hour comedy series. One winner will receive a development deal with the network and a $25,000 prize! Up to 25 finalists have the opportunity to earn a first-look deal with the network. Scripts must be entered by uploading them in a PDF format on the NYTVF upload page, which can be found here beginning June 2, 2008. The submission period will open at noon Eastern on June 2, 2008 and will close at 11:59 PM Eastern on June 13, 2008. All submissions must be uploaded during this time period, without exception. The contest will stop accepting entries when this period elapses or when the Festival receives 1,500 script entries, whichever comes first.

Best of luck! I'd enter myself, if I wrote TV.

Tags: screenwriting, sitcom, contest

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-05-26T20:04:00.000+03:00

Okay, not my actual birthday. But yesterday was my third "bloggerversary!" Yep, I staked out this small, warm, welcoming piece of virtual real estate just over three years ago. It has had its ups and downs over the years, but I think this is a good point at which to look back, assess, report on things, and take stock. Think of it as a "State of the Blog Address."

First of all, I must give a huge thank you to all of you for reading. Like the proverbial tree falling in the empty forest, this blog would be a worthless exercise in vanity and futility if it weren't for all of you (yes, I realize that ended up as a somewhat ineffectual mixed metaphor -- tough). So I honestly thank you from the depths of my heart, and hope that you enjoy, learn and most of all -- return!

Let me get into some stats. In the three years since I began the blog, I have written 384 posts (this is my 385th). So I guess that averages out to approximately one every 2.85 days or so. Not too bad, considering the times when I've gone long periods without posting at all. Over that span of time, I've received somewhere above 130,000 pageloads, which is pretty cool in my book.

What kinds of posts were they? many of these numbers will be approximate, based on how you define the categories. But I've written 51 posts that were reviews of movies, DVDs, or screenplays (e.g. my FFFJ posts), including 4 quasi-reviews in which I offer my opinions on films I haven't even seen! 60 posts address the craft of screenwriting while 65 focus on the business of film and screenwriting in particular. And 48 have focused on the specifics of my screenwriting -- the safari script, Hell on Wheels, my effort at collaboration, my struggles with maintaining schedules, or my "process" in general. The other 160 posts I'd classify as miscellaneous. Writing-related memes, announcements about events of interest, links to blogs or other things around the web, 2 spoof fake news stories, etc.

And what of those gaps in posting that I mentioned? At least 11 posts included an apology for not posting in a long time! The first year, I posted very regularly, with few gaps. I also posted far more times than either the second or third year. In year one, I published 237 posts. The second year saw me take a full-time job, which greatly affected my schedule and time to post (not to mention my exposure to screenplays and the number of ideas I had for posts). Thus, over the second year, I only posted 61 times. That year also saw my first extended gap in posting, nearly a month from mid August to mid September 2006. Two more 3-week gaps followed during the winter that followed.

Year Three was better than Year Two. I posted 86 times (still not a ton), and also experienced 3 large gaps in posting. But at least two of them were what I would term more "acceptable." The first was a month long, in September/October, but that was while I was in Africa doing research for the script I was hired to write. And there was also a nearly 2 month long break that just recently ended, but that one was while I was deeply engrossed in actually writing the first draft of that script. So I consider both "excusable" and also beneficial since they gave me more knowledge about screenwriting, more experiences, and more insight -- all of which find their way into the blog itself. (The third gap of the year was about 3 weeks long in Dec/Jan. I was also traveling during that period, so it may be understandable, even if not screenwriting-related.)

Year Three also saw a big step in the evolution of this blog. When I started the blog, I wanted to help people who were earlier in their career paths than I was. I saw that I was sort of "on the cusp" of advancing my career, and though there was definitely traction before then, this past year saw the first big step forward for me since then. I got an assignment to write a screenplay for an independent production company, and officially became a professional screenwriter. That development has added a new dimension to the types of posts I've written, with greater attention paid to the business and my experiences in this first pro gig. I truly hope they've been helpful and enlightening to some of you, and/or that they will be to future readers.

I've always been proud to be one of the earlier members of the so-called Scribosphere -- the corner of the extended blogosphere to focus on screenwriting. I don't know exactly, but I'd guess I was among the first 10-20 members. Now there are well over 100, and possibly even 2-300 (or more). I've seen many wonderful blogs come, and unfortunately a few go as well (including some of those that I particularly enjoyed). I've always been honored by anyone who links to me (which is why I always thank anyone who does, as soon as I notice the link), and have felt a certain amount of responsibility as one of those early adopters. It is for that reason that I feel a certain amount of guilt whenever my posting slows. Hence the exposition above about number of posts, and periods of non-posting.

It is also the reason that I've kept my blog so focused, posting almost exclusively on screenwriting and film. I know that I might be able to get more hits if my blog had broader content. But I feel that the message would be watered down somewhat. Thus, I hope it is that focus that brings you, my core readers, back -- even after my long gaps in posting.

So in the end, thank you all for reading over all these years. I was just talking last night to a few other screenwriting bloggers and marveled about all the wonderful people I met due to this blog. People I never would have met otherwise. To me, writing is about connecting with people and communicating with them. Just as I hope to do with my screenwriting, this blog allows me to do the same. I look forward to posting more Q&A posts in the future (I have 4 or 5 waiting to be answered), and furthering that connection in the year(s) ahead!

Tags: blogging, screenwriting, script+reading, Scribosphere

A Few Things I Forgot

2008-05-21T20:20:00.000+03:00

There were a few things I wanted to include in recent posts, but forgot about when I wrote them. I'll blame it on the fact that during that two-month gap in posting, another birthday passed for me!

Anyway... Firstly, in yesterday's post about my friends' projects, there was one other that I neglected to include, but meant to. My friend Alisa Katz spent the winter in Europe, as Associate Producer on Defiance, Ed Zwick's new film. The film has not yet been released, but its trailer has, and the film looks good. It is set during the Holocaust, but the story is different from any other Holocaust film. I wanted to let you all know about it, so you could go check out the trailer!

Also, in my post in which I updated the info on the Untitled Safari Picture, I wanted to talk about research briefly. I've done a ton of research on this project, and have learned a tremendous amount about various types of big game animals, their behavioral characteristics, etc. I've read many books, numerous articles (both academic and popular), and of course observed some things on my trip. But one of the key aspects to putting some puzzle pieces together was speaking to experts in the field.

The reason I mention this here is that I wanted to underscore for some of you who have never tried it: speaking to experts is a very good source of information. Most people are willing to and happy to speak to you about their work, at least briefly. I've done it multiple times on previous projects, and have spoken to true world leaders in their fields. Sometimes, if they were found locally, it cost me coffee or sushi, but then I got to meet them in person. More frequently, however, people were happy and kind enough to just answer some questions via email.

Partially to indicate how easy and useful a research this is, partially to express my gratitude towards them, and partially to highlight (in a few cases) some worthwhile organizations, I want to list the people who helped me (to greater or lesser degree) with my research for this project. The film has ended up being largely (though not exclusively) focused on elephants, so all of these people are experts in some aspect of elephant behavior.

Dr. Bruce A. Schulte - Georgia Southern University
Dr. James Peddie, D.V.M.
Charlie Sammut - Vision Quest Ranch/EARS (Elephants of Africa Rescue Society)
Julien Marchais/Sandi Groves - Living With Elephants
Dr. Julian T. Fennessy - AfESG/IUCN (African Elephant Specialist Group/International Union for Conservation of Nature)
Dr. Loki Osborn - Elephant Pepper Development Trust
Prof. Rob Slotow - University of KwaZulu-Natal
Audrey Delsink - Makalali Private Game Reserve
Prof. Henk Bertschinger - University of Pretoria

Let me also add that I didn't contact all of these people directly. Many of them referred me to others, or even CC'd another expert in their response to me. In particular, it was quite interesting for me to watch the last three on the list, as they passed my email between them, and each commented on a different bit of the question I asked them. It was like I was sitting in a room surrounded by some experts, listening to them have a conversation.

I'll also add that there were other people I sent emails to who never responded. So be it. If that happens to you, don't be discouraged. Just find others.

Anyhow, thanks to all the experts who helped me. Your help was immense, and contributed significant background material to the development of this screenplay.

Tags: screenwriting, research, elephants, Defiance

The Miracles of Birth

2008-05-21T04:37:00.000+03:00

I am, of course, referring to the metaphorical births of various creative works. But they are miraculous births nonetheless. Thus, in this post, I'd like to highlight a few projects that have recently been released into the world by some friends of mine. I hope you'll check them out!

First off, my buddy Nick Weiss has just seen the DVD release of his directorial debut, the teen comedy Senior Skip Day. It stars a couple of actors I really like (though I won't tell you which of these they are). Still, they are: Tara Reid, Lea Thompson, Norm MacDonald, Gary Lundy, and Larry Miller.

Buy it at Amazon HERE. Add to your queue at Netflix HERE or Blockbuster Online HERE. Or just go pick it up at Best Buy!

And if you want a taste of his comedic sense, check out a short Nick directed, The Cat and the Blanket, over at Funny or Die.

Next, you're all (no doubt) familiar with the concept of the musical "mashup," yes? When someone deftly mixes and blends two songs together to make a single song that cleverly juxtaposes the originals? Well, my good friend Paul Davidson has recently started a website of video mashups -- both TV and film. Some very funny and clever little things in there. And hopefully the start of something great!

Please do check out CutUpTV.com, and forward the YouTube clips on to your friends!

Lastly, most of you readers of various blogs in the Scribosphere already know of and/or read Billy Mernit's excellent blog, Living the Romantic Comedy. But if you don't already, you might not know about his debut novel, Imagine Me and You. I have not read it yet, but it sounds entertaining, romantic, and cleverly mind-bending -- in the vein of Stranger than Fiction.

Congrats to all on their respective births. Guys, let me know if you need a babysitter, but please don't ask me to change any diapers!

Tags: Senior+Skip+Day, Nick+Weiss, CutUpTV, Paul+Davidson, Imagine+Me+and+You, Billy+Mernit

I Just Saw Iron Man...

2008-05-16T03:17:00.000+03:00

...and really enjoyed it.

That being said, I just have one question. How is it that a movie that was as formulaic -- down to every last detail and plot point -- as Iron Man was, was still such a damned enjoyable flick? Your thoughts?

Minor Spoilers (both for Iron Man and Hulk):

Okay, I guess I have a second question as well. One of the trailers before Iron Man was for the upcoming Hulk movie. Not great buzz on this movie yet. But I have to wonder if it was wise to show that trailer before this one, when the core element of the plot -- revealed in the trailer -- was virtually identical to that of Iron Man. The villain takes the technology of the hero and creates a bigger, uglier and presumably more powerful version of the hero. Iron Man vs. Obidaiah (sp?). Hulk vs. Tim Roth's monstrous persona.

Even if the rest of the film is different, is it wise to show a trailer showcasing that key plot point before a movie from the same studio that uses an almost identical plot point? Rather than building interest for this troubled picture, I think it is merely hammering in a nail. Your thoughts on this as well...

Tags: movies, movie+trailers, Iron+Man, The+Hulk

Safari Picture Update #7

2008-05-15T04:07:00.000+03:00

The time has come for my long overdue update on the Untitled Safari Picture. For starters, I have come up with a working title, as well as a few alternate titles, but since none of them really rock my world, I'm going to still refer to it herein as the Untitled Safari Picture.

So, to catch up, the last real update got us up to the point of when I had returned from my research trip in Africa. I didn't do much updating again until THIS POST, in which I discussed (albeit vaguely) some of the changes that were taking place, and how they made me somewhat nervous. Let me start by filling in some gaps, and then move up to now.

Before we went to Africa, I did a treatment of the script (actually a few drafts of the treatment), as you may recall. The original idea was that we'd go down to Africa, and there might be some minor changes, but that I'd basically start writing the script when we got back. However, once we got back, the changes that we discussed were much more fundamental, and the story was changing more significantly. Thus, I started reworking the treatment to try and get it to a point that we all liked it, before starting the actual writing.

During that process, I hit a few story roadblocks that I couldn't find ways around, which slowed me down tremendously. The producers and I finally had a long phone meeting, and thrashed some of those issues out, and I came back to them with a newly revised treatment, which I thought was very good. They did not agree, which threw a lot of stress on me. In retrospect, I believe that a big part of this may have simply been a lack of communication, with they and I speaking a slightly different language. I think that I gave them what they were looking for, but they didn't recognize it as such because it wasn't necessarily in the form that they expected or wanted.

At that point, there was a lot of frustration and stress on all of our parts. We knew we had to keep the process moving, but things weren't looking good. I was convinced that what I had given them was good, however, so we decided that instead of continually going back and forth with the treatment, I would move on and write the first draft of the script. We would then go back and forth with that instead. Simultaneously, we revised some of our deal points. That's about the time that I wrote the "trapeze" post (with apologies again to my dear friend Montana). I wasn't pleased with changing the deal points, but I also recognized that it was necessary to do so in order to keep the project moving and for me to stay involved with it. Even though I saw it as them likely getting extra work out of me for the same price, I accepted it as the best option for me overall.

[This will be a good time for a brief interlude to mention two things. Firstly, my worries about the script reading work have also proven unnecessary, as I've picked up plenty more, and even am still reading for both Walden and New Line. So things are fine on that front.

Also, since this post does bare some of the ugly speed bumps I've run across in this process, I wanted to reiterate why I'm writing this at all. As I said in my very first post, the absolute main reason I started this blog was so that my experiences might help others. I wrote:

"[I]t is my sincere hope that this blog might be enlightening to beginning or developing screenwriters. I am first now getting to the point in my career that I'm really trying to establish myself as a professional screenwriter, and I'm hoping that by blogging about the ups and downs that I experience along the way, this might serve as some kind of guide for those who follow."

While my experiences working on this picture have certainly been unique to me, I'm certain they are at least somewhat representative of what many people go through as their careers slowly develop. I hope that by writing about these experiences, others might be better equipped to handle similar situations when they come upon them.]

Anyhow, following that revised plan, I basically had about two months to deliver my first draft to the producers. (I should add that the two months was a period I gave the producers, not one they forced upon me.) Those two months got off to a slightly slower start than I would've liked, since I still had a few details to finish researching. But I did finally get moving on the writing itself. As the period wore on, I got more and more into a groove (though at many times I found myself procrastinating much more than I should have). In time, the fist draft was finally taking shape.

I had made a pretty detailed outline for myself, and was working off of that to maximize my time efficiency. And as the draft grew, I got more into the minds of my characters. I stuck very strictly to a rule that I highly recommend to anyone (especially chronic procrastinators, such as myself), which is to not do any revisions while writing. Give yourself permission to have a flawed first draft that is fully complete, knowing that you're going to be revising it. As I recently told a friend who was getting stuck on page 50-something of her script, you can never finish a script without first finishing the first draft. The flip side is that you can finish a script when you have a complete draft, even if it is weak. Writing is rewriting. So I basically forced myself to push straight through to the end, barely touching anything I had already written, and filing away all the changes I knew I'd want to make. I call this a "vomit draft," because that's what it is -- a draft that you are just spewing forth quickly. (Beautiful image, eh?)

So I was pretty much done with my vomit draft when the deadline was approaching. But I knew I wanted to clean it up and revise a bit, so that I could turn the vomit draft into a true first draft. So I sent the producers an email. I told them that I could deliver the script on deadline day, as promised, but that if they gave me just one more week it would be much better. In my mind, I much preferred to send them a cleaned up first draft, rather than a complete but very rough vomit draft. They did not seem pleased at all, but they did agree to give me the extra week. Thankfully.

So, last Thursday I finally delivered a true First Draft of the Untitled Safari Picture. It was still a bit rough around the edges (including being about 7-12 pages longer than I want the final product to be), but overall, it was a solid first effort, and much improved over the pure vomit draft. I was pleased with it, but also somewhat wary, since I had no idea whether or not the producers would like it. After that initial tension due to the lack of communication, I really just didn't know what to expect here. But, in typical Fun Joel fashion, I looked at it all with equanimity. Whatever happened, either way, would be fine with me. Obviously I wanted to continue working on the project, but if I ended up getting replaced, I'd accept that. I had had a great opportunity and learning experience, plus I got paid, and even was lucky enough to have the trip to Africa.

In the end, however, I had nothing to be worried about. That same miscommunication that made me wary, is also (I think) what made the producers tell me they were "pleasantly surprised" by the script. I told them I was glad they liked, but sorry they were surprised! In brief, we all recognized that there is still plenty of work to be done, but that this was a solid first effort, and a good start. In a phone meeting on Monday, they gave me their notes (which are generally helpful). I'm also getting some feedback from a few trusted readers, and will be doing my own review as well. I told them I wanted a short break to let it breathe, but that I want to keep this ball moving as quickly as possible. By the end of this week I'm going to get back to them to discuss a timetable for the next revision.

So, all in all, that's that and thinks are looking good for now. On to the next step, and as always I'm taking everything one step at a time.

Until next time... Have Fun!

Tags: screenwriting, safari

What's Going On

2008-05-14T01:59:00.000+03:00

Just a brief post to explain where I've been the last nearly 2 months!

In short, I was on deadline with the safari script, and writing away, not leaving me much time to do much outside of work. So I apologize for the long radio silence.

I'm now coming up for air, and trying to take care of all those things that have fallen through the cracks over the last couple of months, and of course this blog is one of them. So look for a number of posts over the near future, and then a hopeful return to a more regular blogging schedule.

First up, I'll give you the next update on the safari picture. Among other things after that, I want to spread the word about a number of projects that friends of mine are involved in. I also received some questions via email, which I intend to answer on here (and by the way, you can always feel free to send me questions as well). And I'll also likely throw up a review of Stephanie Palmer's new book, Good in a Room.

So now you know where I've been and what you can hopefully look forward to. That, my friends, is what's going on!

It's That Time of Year, Again

2008-03-18T20:18:00.000+02:00

Once again, I'll be doing the MS Walk this year, and I would love it if you would consider supporting me and this wonderful cause. Also, I've started a team this year for the first time, hoping to raise even more money through the help of others. I'd love it if you'd join me at the walk on Sunday April 6th at the Pasadena Rose Bowl!

I do the MS Walk every year because my Mom has had MS for a very long time, and I also have a number of friends who have MS and other friends whose parents have it. If I know this many people affected, you probably do too, even if you are unaware. Please help me fight this disease!

To contribute:
http://tinyurl.com/26pfdz

To Join my Team:
http://tinyurl.com/yq26pj

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

Tags: MS+Walk

And the Irving Goes to...

2008-03-14T19:14:00.000+02:00

Purim is one of my favorite holidays. Most non-Jews have never heard of it, let alone know much about it. Though fans of Christopher Guest's movies may recognize it as the subject of the film-within-a-film Home for Purim that was part of For Your Consideration.

Suffice it to say that the holiday in some ways celebrates the hidden miracles in life, rather than the overt "in your face" miracles like splitting the sea, etc. So the holiday is full of frivolity, spoof plays, drinking, masks and costumes and the like.

In light of that, I'd like to draw your attention to THIS spoof video. I thought it was funny. If Juno won the Oscar, maybe Jewno should get the Irving?

Tags: movies, satire, comedy, Juno, Purim

Back to the Drive-In

2008-03-12T21:33:00.000+02:00

Some of you long-time readers may remember this post I wrote a while back about drive-in movie theaters.

There is something special about the drive-in, and its intensely iconic Americana notes that brings up highly visceral and nostalgic memories for people. That post had a large number of comments on it, and my desire to write the post int he first place was sparked by the number of responses to a meme I started that were closely tied to drive-in movies.

And so, when I came across this recent Variety story, I decided it was worth passing along. Hopefully, it will lead to many more people heading to the drive-in, and creating more memories of their own!

Enjoy!

Tags: drive-in+movies

Celebrating Dude-a-palooza

2008-03-07T19:10:00.000+02:00

On March 6th, 1998 a beloved film was sent into the world. In the intervening years, it has grown into a phenomenon. It just shows that if you will it, Dude, it is no dream!

Last week, its creators were recognized for a more recent effort of theirs. And proud we are of them all. But truth be told, as I've already mentioned, I didn't quite understand No Country For Old Men. It seems very Un-Dude. It's aggression will not stand.

Therefore, last night I looked back, and organized a soiree, in the parlance of our times. I celebrated with a small group of friends in my private residence, man, ten years to the day after the film's release, so we weren't out of our element. There were a lot of ins and outs and what-have-yous, but I made it work nonetheless.

Themed costumes were encouraged, but all we ended up with were three Dudes (pictured above, with me in the center), and my Lebowski Fest bowling shirt passed between a couple of my special lady friends. We drank Caucasians (white Russians) and oat sodas (beers), but alas I was unable to rustle up any sasparilla for those with the whole cowboy thing going on. Yes, I failed in even that most meager task assigned to me. I was not an Achiever!

We watched the flick, and listened to some good tunes. But don't worry -- there was no f@&*ing Eagles!

I know I should have told y'all about this in advance so you could organize your own gatherings. But I'm sure that if you watched it this coming weekend, it would be about the same thing. It don't matter to Jesus, and it shoudn't matter to us either!

The Dude Abides.

Tags: Big+Lebowski, The+Dude, Dude-a-palooza

It's About Time!

2008-03-06T04:45:00.000+02:00

Some of you may remember this post in which I mentioned that we were sorely missing a golden opportunity with a Bob Marley biopic.

Well, finally it is happening (and perhaps twice)! But here's my question...

If the Scorsese version is "authorized," why would Rita be pushing a second one? Is she not the one who authorized it?

Regardless, I'd happily see both! Thank you film gods!

Tags: movies, biopics, Bob+Marley

Don't Quote Me on This...

2008-03-05T03:02:00.000+02:00

Okay, fine, I'll play...

There is a new meme going around the Scribosphere, and since I am way behind on my blog reading, I didn't even know that David tagged me for this. And who knows, maybe others did as well.

I'm not going to repeat the "instructions," since most of you have seen this already. I'll just list my 15 movie quotes in no particular order, and you all can take your guesses. Some of these are very easy and obvious, but they are among my favorite movie quotes, so I included anyway. I assume a few of them will be more difficult. I also aimed for a few different kinds of films, and different eras.

Update: I'm adding some hints for the remaining few. Some will probably "give them away," but so be it!

Guess, away!

1. ~~"And that was only one of the many occasions on which I met my death, an experience which I don't hesitate strongly to recommend."~~ -- M.J.
2. ~~"You're gonna need a bigger boat."~~ -- David A.
3. ~~"Why don't we go lay on the bed and I'll fill you in?"~~ -- Tavis
(Second quote, same flick: "Hey! It's all ball bearings nowadays. Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads. And I'm gonna need 'bout ten quarts of anti-freeze, preferably Prestone. No, no make that Quaker State.")
4. ~~"Drink up, young man. It'll make the whole seduction part less repugnant."~~ -- James
(Lead character and I share a first name.)
5. ~~"Hello...? I forgot my mantra."~~ -- David A.
6. ~~"'Course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough."~~ -- James
(One of my all time favorite movies. Film noir. LA. Followed by a horrendous sequel. The director has had some legal troubles in the States.)
7. ~~"I'm talking about the gas chamber, and you haven't even asked me what this is about. You've got a big 'Guilty' sign around your neck."~~ -- Joshua
8. ~~"It will cost you sweat and tears, and perhaps... a little blood."~~ -- Tavis
(Silent vampire flick. How many of those are there?!)
9. ~~"Did you ever hear of 'The Seattle Seven?' That was me. And six other guys."~~ -- Bill
10. ~~"Oh wait... was she a great big fat person?"~~ -- Josh
11. ~~"Doctor said I need a backiotomy!"~~ -- James
(The best weed comedy ever.)
12. ~~"Now that's a real shame when folks be throwin' away a perfectly good white boy like that."~~ -- Joshua
13. ~~"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room."~~ -- David A.
14. ~~"You either surf or you fight!"~~ -- M.J.
15. ~~"[M]y father assured him that either his signature or his brains would be on the release.... That's a true story. That's my family... that's not me."~~ -- Josh

I officially tag: YOU! (If you want to do it, and you haven't been tagged yet, and you feel the need to wait until you are tagged before you respond.)

Tags: screenwriting, Scribosphere, memes

Off the Trapeze

2008-02-29T00:24:00.000+02:00

I once heard a metaphor about life. Imagine a person swinging from one trapeze to the next. (Or if you prefer, think of it as vines in a jungle, with Tarzan swinging from one to the next.) In order to move from one to the next, the swinger has to let go of the first one, fly momentarily through the open air, until he grabs onto the next one.

Now, the idea is that the moment of greatest danger for the swinger (he could easily plummet into the abyss) is also the necessary moment in order to progress. Otherwise, he'd just stagnate in that one spot, swinging backwards and forwards incessantly. He'd seem like he was in motion, but he wouldn't actually be moving forwards at all.

Because of that, it is those moments of transition -- those moments when you are in the most danger of falling -- that life is truly being lived to the fullest. Those moments are the essence of life, and the moments when true progress is achieved.

Why do I write this now? Well, events have conspired lately so that a few different aspects of my life are simultaneously shifting, and I find myself flying over that abyss without a firm hold on either the trapeze I've left or the one I'm aiming to grab onto. What do I mean specifically?

Firstly, the two companies for whom I currently do most of my reading work are both in major flux, and my future there is uncertain. I obviously hope to continue reading for them, but who knows what will happen? That's one big portion of my career and my income which is now in question.

Secondly, the Untitled Safari Picture. I don't want to go into many details here, but I will say that certain things have changed following a discussion I had with the producers today. Essentially, we are moving on to the next step, though we haven't fully settled everything with this step. We have also slightly modified the terms of our initial agreement, in conjunction with this. Why is this like going from one trapeze to the next? Well, all along, this process has been unfamiliar territory to me. I've learned a lot in the process, and had plenty of fun as well. But I was always experiencing things for the first time, encountering new challenges, and dealing with them as they arose.

But with these current changes to our process, I find myself in even more uncharted waters. This shift may simply be the result of the different ways in which I and the producers work. Or it could be due to other issues, and due to my inexperience in dealing with such matters, I'm not aware of it. I'm obviously hopeful that the former is more the case, and that all will be wonderful once I complete the next stage of our process. But I am certainly in a place of uncertainty.

The unknown can be a stressful place, but it can also be a wonderful one. I'm a bit nervous about all of these changes in my life, but I'm also optimistic, hopeful and looking forward to the next trapeze, stretching out my arms to grab it firmly. Should you find yourselves in similar territory with anything, feel free to fall back on this metaphor as well and use it as a means of finding comfort in the unfamiliar territory! And remember another metaphor I once heard: if nothing in life ever changed, there would never be any butterflies, just caterpillars.

Tags: screenwriting, script+reading, stress, change

In which I post about Oscar, and probably sound bitter or cynical, even though I'm not

2008-02-25T19:19:00.000+02:00

A few brief notes on the Oscars last night. Not directly connected to each other, and in no particular order.

Didn't think it was a particularly good show. A few good laughs, etc. But not much. Opening monologue had some real yucks, but then there were a bunch of political jokes that had nothing at all to do with movies. I don't mind a little political humor thrown in, if it is tied to the subject of the night. But this got silly, I thought.

The truth is, I didn't think this was a very good year for movies overall. Yes, there were certainly a few excellent movies, but I don't feel that most of the winners are the types that will become classics, and will be watched over and over down the road. Plus, I feel as if the number of really great movies this year was fewer than in most "good" movie years.

I'm really happy for the brothers Coen. I am a very big fan, as you probably know. But I must be honest. I simply don't get No Country for Old Men. I know a lot of people hated the ending. That's actually not what bugged me. And I also didn't hate the film or anything. I just don't really understand it. I liked some of the stuff along the way, and was interested, generally speaking. But all in all, I just felt empty, and not particularly emotionally affected. How was I supposed to feel? What were they trying to say or accomplish? I guess vaguely that it had something to do with fate, choice and responsibility for one's actions. But more than that, I don't know. Maybe I'll have to watch it again.

Now what about Diablo's Oscar? I truly loved Juno, and I'm excited for her on her win. It is a great story anytime anyone wins an Oscar with their first film effort. And I believe I spoke about Juno before. I was extremely impressed with the script. She accomplished much in her first screenplay that I still have trouble doing, and which I see many writers still failing to accomplish even after getting a lot of scripts under their belts. At the same time, did it really deserve an Oscar? I'm not so sure. To be honest, it was the only film in that category (Original Screenplay) that I saw. So I can't compare it to the others. Maybe it was the best of those. But in truth, I think if she didn't have the colorful backstory as a PR speaking point, she might not have even come close to winning this.

That is not to say I begrudge her win at all. In fact, I love these exciting surprise underdog type stories. I've always reveled in the fact that films like Annie Hall and Silence of the Lambs won Best Picture Oscars, since they are such atypical films for that award. So this is no different in my book. And as I said, I did really love the film. (I'd also say that combining a few of my thoughts in here, an argument could certainly be made for Jason Reitman over the Coen's for Directing. He's rapidly become one of my favorite new-ish directors.) I'm just saying that her Oscar might be more the result of PR hype than actually deserving it.

And yet, I offer her my utmost congratulations, and will definitely go see her next films!

Okay, so chime in with angry comments about how stupid I am, explications of No Country, defenses of Oscar's decisions, etc. :-)

Tags: screenwriting, Oscars, 2008+Academy+Awards

Finally: Africa Pictures!

2008-02-23T00:05:00.000+02:00

I finally got back my pictures from Africa a couple of weeks ago, and have been busy, which is why I haven't posted them yet. But now I'm uploading some of the best and/or most interesting ones here. These are culled from about 500 pictures I took, and there are 2 that I didn't take (the ones with me in them). I believe you can click on them to see larger images. All rights are reserved by copyright holder for these shots, overriding the Creative Commons license below.

Some of you have asked to see them, so I figure it relates enough to my work to put them up on the blog! I hope you enjoy. (I'm not great with formatting on Blogger, so forgive me if this looks weird. And forget me trying to caption them in an easy fashion. So I'll just post them. If you're curious about any of them, just ask and try to describe which one you mean, and I'll try to respond!)

Get Into the Groove, Boy...

2008-02-02T02:31:00.000+02:00

As you know, I did a lot of traveling this past Fall. And though I felt extremely lucky to have had all those wonderful opportunities (though I love traveling, I have never done very much of it), it also wreaked quite a bit of havoc on my life. Every time I got back into town and started to catch up on stuff, I was out the door again and on my way to LAX, only to fall behind again.

So while I definitely got some good work done in January, the month was mostly dedicated to catching up and getting myself back into the groove of regular life. But now that we're already into the second month of 2008, I'm looking ahead and trying to make some serious progress on a number of things that I've started this past month.

One of those things will be more regular blogging (though I wasn't terrible about it this past month), through which you'll likely hear more about many of the other things.

I need to update you all on the Safari Picture, which has again shifted shape, but about which I'm pretty excited. I also may have some other writing and rewriting work to discuss. We shall see about that. But keep your eyes peeled.

Still, the most relevant to you all, at the moment, is that I hope to be launching a website very soon, and with that will be a redesign and upgrade of this blog. So, being the open-minded individual I am, I'd love to get your feedback and suggestions.

What are some of your favorite features of this blog, or others that you think I should try to incorporate more? What types of my posts do you like best or worst? Is there anything you think I'm missing out on overall?

I'm not looking to overhaul my content much (though if there is a type of post that many people like, I may try to do more of those). More an overhaul of design and functionality. So please do chime in, either in the comments, or via direct email to me.

Finally, I know my sidebar links are long overdue for a revisit. I plan to stick with my prior policy, which is that I try to be selective about which blogs I link to, instead of just linking to anyone who asks. This is not to be elitist or critical, but just that with the explosion of the Scribosphere, the signal-to-noise ratio has dropped significantly. So I want to keep that ratio within my links more in the opposite direction.

That being said, if you have a blog you think I should check out to consider linking to, let me know and I'll definitely take it under advisement! (And if you know I read your blog regularly, but aren't in my links yet, no need to remind me. It just means that you are one of those links I've been meaning to add for ages, but haven't gotten to yet. Sorry!)

Tags: screenwriting, work+habits, blogging, schedules

I Just Have to Say...

2008-01-24T21:29:00.000+02:00

Look at these two items.

First, the Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay:

Juno -- Diablo Cody
Lars and the Real Girl -- Nancy Oliver
Michael Clayton -- Tony Gilroy
Ratatouille -- Screenplay by Brad Bird. Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
The Savages -- Tamara Jenkins

Then look at this note from the WGA leadership, about their changes in opening informal talks with the AMPTP:

In order to make absolutely clear our commitment to bringing a speedy conclusion to negotiations, we have decided to withdraw our proposals on reality and animation.

Notice anything odd there?

Brad Bird can write a screenplay like anyone else, and be nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar like anyone else. But he won't be covered by the WGA contract like any other writer. Just because it is an animated feature. The Academy sees no difference between screenwriting for animated and non-animated movies. But somehow the AMPTP does.

A bit ironic, in my view, and very frustrating.

So, how long do you think it will be before Brad Bird stops writing brilliant animated films like The Iron Giant and instead starts writing non-animated films that aren't his forte (or presumably his greatest love and strength), just because it makes financial sense? Is there some logic here that I don't get?

And out of curiosity, does anyone know if animation directors are covered by the DGA?

Tags: screenwriting, WGA, animation, Oscars

I Have Not Seen Cloverfield

2008-01-22T22:20:00.000+02:00

...and once again, I have very little desire to. Why do I say "once again?" Because I realized I have unwittingly started a bit of a series in my posts, about movies I have not seen. There were these two, both with similar titles to this post, and the first of which I also professed no desire to see. And of course, there was also this post from last year, about another movie I didn't want to see. And in some ways, it is like the film from this post, in terms of where my reaction to this film stems from.

So, what am I here to say about Cloverfield, now? This is not about how I feel that the motivated home video aspect is a silly gimmick, though I do think that. I'm actually pissed off at what I deem (despite not having seen the film) to be a relative tastelessness in it.

Minor spoiler alert (yes, even though I haven't seen it)

The first thing I saw regarding this film was the teaser trailer months ago. You know, the one where the Statue of Liberty's head crashes down into the street. And I actually thought it was a cool image, and liked the idea of it.

Next I saw the teaser poster, which picked up on the headless statue motif:

Fair enough. That's a cool looking image, and Manhattan burning in the background is not bad either. But what didn't become clear to me until I recently saw the full-width billboard of the image, was what part of Manhattan was on fire. Look:

That is not the best shot of the billboard, so in case it is unclear to any of you, that is basically the exact location of "Ground Zero" where the World Trade Center was. The billboard I saw the other night has even more space on the right side, so it is completely clear that that is the southern tip of Manhattan island.

Now, I thought that was pretty tacky and heartless. Then, a friend of mine saw the movie (and hated it, by the way), and I mentioned that to him. He then told me (and here's a minor spoiler) that one of the early images you see in the film is of the Empire State Building collapsing.

So now it seems like more than just coincidence, for sure. A massive conflagration at Ground Zero, an iconic skyscraper collapsing to the ground, and two recognizable images of Manhattan destroyed.

I'm sure there is the possibility that the whole film is meant in some ways as a meditation on/metaphor for the 9/11 attacks. Some unknown beast unexpectedly attacks New York City and wreaks havoc and creates turmoil. And thus, those parallels would be intentional. But to me, they still seem tacky, tasteless, thoughtless and heartless. No, I'm not going to say, "It's too soon to do movies where there is destruction in New York City," or something like that. But when you make the parallels as close as Cloverfield does, this is more than just making a movie that has destruction in Manhattan. It is a direct and pointed reminder of that time.

And though I haven't seen the film (so it is possible that I'm wrong here, and please tell me if you think I am), I doubt that Cloverfield offers up any kind of new perspective on 9/11. I don't think there is any political commentary or anything. After all, the whole thing everywhere in the press has been pitched merely as a monster movie seen from the victims' perspective.

So, maybe I'm wrong. But in my sight-unseen opinion, Cloverfield has been made or at least marketed in very poor taste.

Tags: Cloverfield, movie+marketing, 9-11

Think Like Your Audience

2008-01-18T04:11:00.000+02:00

A couple of posts ago, I promised more posts on the craft of writing. Here's the first.

One of the more frequent questions I get about being a script reader is some variation of, "What is the most common mistake you see developing writers making over and over?" I've got lots of responses to that question. But recently, as I read a script for a consulting client, I saw that he one of the bigger problems with his screenplay was indicative of a larger problem that I see much too frequently.

The screenplay was a satirical thriller with more than its share of reversals and plot twists. Characters regularly turned out to be anything but what they first seemed to be. And then later, they might actually turn out to have been yet a third thing.

Sounds like a pretty good thing, right? Keep the audience on their toes, and guessing what is going to happen next. What could be bad?

In this case, a lot. While the reversals were interesting and exciting at first, the audience never got more actual information as the film progressed about what was, in fact, real. What makes mysteries engaging is that they do just that -- they engage the audience. When a film holds back certain details and facts from an audience, it is generally in order to keep the audience guessing what will happen next. But the best such screenplays will carefully dole out bits of information along the way, so that the audience can actively participate in figuring out what is happening. Or at least to keep them guessing about what might be happening.

By not actually feeding the audience any further information along the way, the screenwriter in this case was not engaging his audience. He was "performing" for his audience, pulling literary sleight of hand. You thought the character was over here, but in fact she was inside the hat, with the rabbit! Ta da!

He compounded his problems with a different flaw. The film's central character was a young man whose parents are murdered in the beginning. Through the rest of the film, he is trying to figure out what happened to them. Or maybe he isn't. He may have actually set up their murder in order to make money and get out from under their meddling oversight. Is he a nice guy victim or a cold-blooded criminal?

Now, while having a complex character is a good thing, and while we might want to be kept guessing about his true nature, the way the screenplay set things up, we don't have a rooting interest one way or the other. We (as an audience) aren't sure if we want him to succeed or fail, nor are we even sure what success or failure would actually look like in this case.

To my mind, both of these flaws stem from the same overall mistake, and it is this mistake that I want to highlight in this post.

The screenwriter was so absorbed in using the tools and skills available to him as a screenwriter, employing them to trick his audience, that he neglected to think about how those tricks would be perceived by his audience. In other words, he was thinking like a writer, not thinking like an audience!

Do audiences love to have the rug pulled out from under them? No question! But at the same time, they want to feel satisfied afterwards, not like they just had the wool pulled over their eyes. I love Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner as an extremely twisty film that constantly keeps me guessing, and which pays those twists off at the climax quite effectively. On the other hand, I absolutely hated Fincher/Brancato/Ferris' The Game. I know a lot of people liked that film and will disagree with me, but I felt there was no real point to the tricks. Nothing was as it seemed, but I came out of the film feeling cheated by the filmmakers, rather than thrilled and satisfied. The reversals were little more than a gimmick, to my viewpoint.

Being a screenwriter is not just about staying in our own little worlds, putting words on a page, and creating art for its own sake. Screenplays are blueprints for finished works in another medium -- words that are purely designed to be turned into pictures. And those pictures are specifically meant to connect with large groups of people.

So to a certain degree, when we write screenplays, we need to meet certain audience expectations. This doesn't mean we should be predictable. Just the opposite. Audiences expect to be surprised, and we meet those expectations by presenting the unexpected. (How are those for reversals?) But they also expect that the surprises that we give them will have a purpose, and not simply be examples of us fooling them for the sake of fooling them.

Movies should also give audiences something to root for, or want to happen. Different types of films will deliver or thwart those hopes to varying degrees, and those are all acceptable. But what isn't acceptable is not giving them anything to hope for at all. If an audience doesn't something to happen, they won't care what happens one way or the other.

So, bottom line? Think like your audience as you write. How will the images and scenes you create be perceived by those who will eventually watch them on the screen? How conscious you are of these perceptions is almost directly correlative with -- and is certainly indicative of -- how skilled a screenwriter you have become.

Tags: screenwriting

FFFJ: Passengers

2008-01-10T19:47:00.000+02:00

So Emily recently brought to my attention that Jon Spaihts' Passengers was among the screenplays on this past year's Black List. For those who aren't familiar with the Black List, or who would like to see the full list, you may go HERE first. I'll wait.

Now I had glanced at that list when it was first released, but oddly I didn't notice Passengers, even though it was listed at number three. But I actually read Spaihts' script back int he middle of June. When Emily mentioned it to me, it rang a bell. So I figured I'd use it as my next FFFJ post.

Since this is still recent, and since my comments (in this case) made it a PASS for the specific company I was reading for, I've decided not to post my full comments on it. Instead, I will excerpt some quotes and summarize some other points. Here we go:

LOGLINE: An interstellar traveler finds meaning in life when his hibernation pod malfunctions and he wakes alone, 90 years too soon.

Overall, I liked Passengers, though I did have a few reservations about it. One of the things I liked best about it was that while it had a strong and unique concept, it still would not cost much to make.

Passengers is unique and thoughtful science fiction film that has the added benefit of not requiring an exorbitant budget to produce, due to a small cast, single primary location, and few serious effects shots.

At the same time, however, I recognized that even with the low budget, this was not likely to be a runaway blockbuster success.

COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL:
The film’s potential to be made for a budget lower than most Sci-Fi films suggests some commercial viability. Of course, its more intimate, dramatic and less action-oriented nature suggest it will never become a blockbuster.

Still, I liked the overall concept of the film.

[The concept] is both unique and thought provoking. As an audience, we can easily empathize with Jim and Aurora, and wrestle with their dilemmas ourselves. The film is an excellent example of finding a story out of a “what if” scenario.

I did, however, have some problems with the plotline.

There are a number of plot holes that might not be terrible, but still exist. None of them alone is that bad, but in conjunction with each other, they do weaken the story somewhat.

And in my discussion with Emily about the script, it was one such plot flaw that (in my understanding) made her dislike it. This differing take on things can be instructive for an understanding of how script readers think, which is why I wanted to bring it up.

When I read a screenplay professionally, I am not just looking at what is on the page. Rather I'm looking at a combination of what is on the page and what could be on the screen. Most screenplays have flaws, some greater and some more minor. When a flaw is more directly tied to, and inherently a part of a screenplay's structure or concept, it becomes a much greater obstacle to the film's success. It is a central flaw. In this case, while the series of plot weaknesses might have compounded each other to become a larger problem overall, none of them could not have been rectified with relatively simple rewrites.

So to Emily (and again, this is in my understanding of her complaint), how could a script with such a glaring error make it onto the Black List? Whereas, to me the idea was: though not perfect, this script has a lot going for it, and the weaknesses it has could be easily fixed. Plus, there was a reason it was on the Black List -- those were scripts that were not going to be released this year. They all had some problems to them!

Anyway, in the end I gave the script a PASS anyway. But not because of the script's weaknesses. Rather simply because the script did not match with the mission statement of the specific company for whom I read it. And this is another point to remember when thinking about script readers. We don't evaluate scripts in a vacuum. We read them and evaluate whether they would make good films, but also whether those would be the types of films that our employers make. For example, if I read for a company that exclusively makes films in the $20 million budget range, a film with a $100 million budget will never be right for them, no matter how great that script is.

So, I'd say that Passengers is worth a read. Yes, there are flaws in it. But overall, there is also a lot of promise in it.

Tags: screenwriting, Black+List, Passengers, Jon+Spaihts

Strike TV Boot Camp

2008-01-10T05:00:00.000+02:00

LONG post, but worth the read, I think/hope.

Sorry it has been a while since I last posted. After I got back from my trip, I was involved in settling back into life/work here in LA. I have a lot of posts waiting to be written, including another Safari Picture Update, another Strike Round-Up, and one or two FFFJ posts. Plus, following a recent script consultation I did, I got an idea for another craft-related post. It has been a very long time since I've written one of those! So lots to look hopefully forward to.

But I thought I'd stick with the most timely post first. Earlier today I attended the Strike TV Boot Camp at the WGA Theater. I wasn't particularly sure what to expect, but I learned a lot and had a good time, while seeing an old face or two and meeting some new people as well. Thought I'd tell you all about it, and let you know some of what I learned.

The first guy I met as I was walking up Doheny towards the theater was Paul Barber (I think I have his name right, and I believe that is the right link on IMDB). He saw me and immediately said, "you're a writer, right?" He had identified me, as I pegged him as one too. Funny, I guess writers have a certain look to them! Well, we chatted briefly as we walked up to the theater, and I later found out he was slightly more involved than just being some other guy who was attending.

The place was really packed with a ton of people, which I found to be very exciting. I was kind of expecting there to be about 50-odd people there, but the place was really packed. I've always been terrible at estimating numbers of people in a crowd, but I'd say there were definitely a few hundred. Though there were certainly empty seats scattered throughout the theater, overall it felt generally full. I ran into Marc Zicree, whom I'd met before. He filled me in on, and gave me a copy of Star Trek New Voyages: World Enough and Time, a full-length new Star Trek episode that he directed, starring George Takei. Then, when I went to sit down, I saw Bill, which was nice. Always good to see a friendly face. I'm sure he'll have a good post up about it as well!

The event started with an introduction by Ian Deitchman, one of the founders of Strike TV. He explained that the idea is to allow writers to get back to work, and to own their work. Strike TV's plan is to have writers create and own their own content, broadcast it on the web, and use it as an Internet fundraiser. The other people involved are Jim (I didn't catch his last name), who made the "Why We Fight" video, and Peter "the Gooch" Hyoguchi. Ian said that Strike TV was the "logical next step" to follow United Hollywood, and the buzz it had created.

Strike TV will feature original shows that are not strike related, and will monetize them via ad revenues. The revenue will then be contributed to the Industry Support Fund, which benefits non-Guild members who have been hurt by the strike. Since the Writers will own their content, if a particular piece is a success, it could then be moved into other formats and exploited as the writers see fit. Ideally, said Ian, there would be some profit participation with the other creatives involved.

This would all be done under "union jurisdiction" with Strike TV as a union signatory, but since the writers would be employers and employees, there is little need for the guild to protect them from screwing themselves. Unfortunately, this also meant that the rest of my day there would largely be dedicated to educating myself, rather than learning how I could get involved, since it seems that the pieces will need to be written by WGA members. Oh well.

Ian also mentioned that Paul (whom I'd met on the street) had come up with another idea a few months earlier, also called Strike TV, which was similar. He gave him credit for it, but also said that Paul's idea was more long-term, and theirs was a short-term idea. He sees it not as a new business model. Rather it is a foundation. As he put it, before you build the railroad, you need to lay the tracks.

Next up was "the Gooch," who caught us up on the last 100 years of cinematic history. Money has always been the obstacle for cinematic storytellers, both in terms of production and distribution. But now, with the advent of affordable HD production and post-production, and with the ability to upload films onto the 'net for free, the who this is no longer a real issue. And since it is finally getting to a point where video on the Internet can be monetized, we are at the start of something big. He pointed to the start of cinema, when the big "hit" film was "Man Sneezing." And he said that now on the Internet, the big hit is "Panda Sneezing" (5.5 million views when I just watched it, FYI).

He said we are all pioneers. Creating content for the Internet is not slumming these days. It is a superior distribution medium. We just need to be the ones to create the big hits that will prove that it is a viable moneymaking medium.

Next, there was a panel discussion. On the panel were Kent Nichols, co-creator of AskANinja.com; Tom Smuts, who has written for TV and has been moving into web content; Rob LaZebnik, a writer on The Simpsons who co-founded Icebox, an early web video site; Aaron Mendelsohn, a writer who recently started VirtualArtists; and Ken Hayes, a non-writer who specializes in Internet advertising and New Media ventures.

Kent spoke first, and entertained us all with the story of AskANinja, and how it has grown. Among other things, he says that he and his co-founder gave themselves permission to be less than perfect. He cited early episodes of The Simpsons and Homestar Runner, and pointed out how much worse they were than later episodes. They started simple, built a following via their social network (they now use Ning, which I'd never seen before but which looks intriguing as a tool), and got lucky by being featured early on as an iTunes podcast.

Some relevant numbers. They started with a $50,000 investment from friends and family, that basically paid their rent, etc. Currently they have revenues of approximately $100,000 a month, 80-90% of which comes from ads. The rest comes from merchandising and other deals. Their ad deals are brokered by agents at UTA, who take their cut as well, of course. They signed their main ad deal about 1 year after launching, and currently are signed with Federated Media, which Kent seems very pleased with. Currently they get 2.5-3 million views a month and 1 million page views. They beat Adult Swim's viewer demographic.

Tom spoke next and says he sees what Kent is doing as a return to the heyday of TV production, before financial syndication (Fin-Syn) ended. He also spoke about what happened with quarterlife, and the various shifting possibilities offered to Herskovitz and Zwick.

Rob spoke about his experiences with Icebox. Basically he attributed the failure to poor management. The story he told was relatively common for web startups during the first dotcom boom. He recognized Kent for not biting off more than he could chew, and said that is really the key in this type of venture. He suggests starting small and letting the opportunities come to you.

Aaron spoke about what he sees as "Hollywood 2.0" -- a direct relationship between content creators and content consumers. He said his venture began as picket line talk, where they wondered why we were bothering to fight over pennies, DVD and the Internet, when we could just go straight to the Internet ourselves. He said writers should be out there trying to make a deal with the Googles of the world, not the studios. He met with Internet guru Henry Poole, and they decided to create VirtualArtists (just a splash page now, but bookmark it) as a marriage between Hollywood content creators and Silicon Valley.

Finally, Ken gave a PowerPoint presentation about how to monetize new media. Firstly, he pointed out that an extremely small percentage of advertising dollars are being spent online, compared with a tremendous amount of time being spent online. It was by far the most disparate segment of any media documented here.

He then broke down the various types of content and ad formats. Basically, traffic comes to a site either organically or via pay (e.g. advertising, etc.) On the published site, content can come from users, editorial, or a niche that Ken referred to as "scraped" -- taken and aggregated from other content sources around the web. Finally, advertising comes in four ways -- flat rate, CPM (cost per thousand ad views), CPC (cost per click, as with Google's AdSense program), or CPA (cost per action, basically commission for product sales, such as affiliate programs). And the largest ad segment online is via search (e.g. sponsored ads on Google).

A commenter (might have been Kent) in the crowd at that point also mentioned a recent statistic that online video views had recently reached parity with online searches, suggested the potential to monetize videos could be as large. But as everyone seemed to point out, few companies have yet figured out the key to fully monetizing video, though there is no question that they have started and are constantly experimenting.

Ken said (daringly in a room full of writers) that content is not king. Traffic is King, he believes. Your content will inevitably be scraped (one of the challenges he mentioned at the end), but if you own your traffic and find ways to bring them back to your site and keep them there, you can monetize them. You can have your content monetizing itself, no matter where it shows up, for example by embedding links to your site in videos. Other challenges he pointed out include more or less revenue sharing between web publishers and content creators, and recognizing that the real value of your content may not necessarily be in its rebroadcast, but in other areas such as merchandising.

The panel then responded to questions from the crowd. Regarding length of content, which has been most successful in shorter segments, the panelists seemed to agree that that is still the best way to go for now. But at the same time, Aaron suggested there was an evolution taking place and as TV and Internet grow closer together, this will gradually change. Kent furthermore pointed out that many people already download feature films (illegally) and watch them on their computers. So it is already happening.

Tom sees the future as Internet content that builds a brand around itself, instead of simply being the entire content in and of itself. He mentioned the way TheKnot expanded their offerings as an example of this. The content can be used to launch other revenue-generating streams.

Lastly, Kent mentioned a new organization for which he serves on the Board of Advisors: the Association for Downloadable Media. The ADM is aiming to normalize the ad business and model for videos and the like. Seems interesting.

Overall, it was a very interesting and enlightening afternoon. I learned a lot, and got thinking about projects of my own. Lastly, I'll give a shout out to someone I met in the lobby afterwards. Tanja Barnes has been making The Writers' Strike Chronicles, a podcast about the strike. She was there recording the proceedings, and interviewing people. I might make it into this episode, as she interviewed me. But either way, I recommend you check it out!

Tags: new+media, Internet+video, WGA, screenwriting, writers+strike, Strike+TV

The Traveling Scribospherian

2007-12-19T04:56:00.000+02:00

Yep, that's me! I type this in the middle of the night here in London, and I'm only still up because I'm afraid that if I go to sleep, I'll miss my cab to the airport in the wee morning hours.

So first off, let me say that I'm heading to Israel tomorrow night (after a very brief stopover in Rome). So if any of you readers are in Israel and would like to meet up over the next week or so, please get in touch.

And on a related note, that's just what happened today. I was part of a really enjoyable (and potentially the first?) intercontinental gathering of members of the Scribosphere. That's right. The truly wonderful Lucy Vee organized the meet-up on my behalf, and I am indebted to her for it. It ended up being a group of 8 -- 6 with screenwriting blogs (including me), 1 screenwriter without a blog, and 1 other American (non-screen) writer with a blog as well. We got some food, had some coffee, chatted shop and not, and really just got to know each other. Was really a nice afternoon for me, and I hope for them as well.

In addition to Lucy and I, the other attendees were Elinor, Helen, James (whose film Severance I am looking forward to seeing, as it looks like a lot of fun), Potdoll (not sure if she wants her real name revealed), the blogless Paolo and Joyce.

Anyway, I'll write more about my trip in a bit, but for now I just wanted to get the word out about Israel. If you are there and are reading this, get in touch if you want to hang!

Tags: Scribosphere, screenwriting

Clarifications, Updates and "Thanks, DGA!"

2007-12-14T19:57:00.000+02:00

After reviewing my last (extremely rambly) post, I realized I could have made my points much more clearly. Or at least, they could have been made more clearly. How do I know? Because I read a few other posts around that did just that. So for clarity's sake, let me point them out. And while I'm at it, I'll update a few things.

First of all, I discussed that by demanding that the WGA take 6 points of the table before any further discussions commenced, the AMPTP was countering the meaning of "negotiating." This post makes that clearer by stating, "The AMPTP wants to make the WGA reduce our demands to the bottom line so we’ll negotiate down from an acceptable deal to a bad deal." Negotiations are compromises -- I take this off, you take that off. (Get your sick minds out of the gutter!) But if we start from our bottom line position, what can we possibly take off that will leave us with a deal that is fair and acceptable?

I also focused on the issues of reality and animation. In this post, Crazy Canadian writer Alex Epstein addresses these issues more effectively than I did, but with similar sentiment. He writes, "A big chunk of the AMPTP's effort during this strike has been to identify where the movie and TV industries are going -- CGI animation, internet distribution -- and then get a contract that excludes the future."

It is for this reason that I am in support of the WGA's claim filed with the National Labor Relations Board against the AMPTP. The AMPTP have been acting with such arrogance and a sense of entitlement for far too long, both in these negotiations and in the way they treat unions in general and reality TV staff in particular. Well, to put it in literary terms, the AMPTP's tragic flaw is hubris, and such an attitude in conflict with the law must be met with legal challenges. Let them call it table pounding. I don't care. Because I don't think that's what it is. When you flaunt the law, you must face the law.

It is also for this reason that I respectfully disagree with some of Craig's points here. I agree that the reason the AMPTP has taken the tack they have is most likely because "This offer is a red herring designed to distract us from their real position, which is that they don’t want to make a deal with our union at this time." I've stated this opinion already. I just disagree with what the appropriate response to that is. Craig believes the WGA should, "dramatically reduce all of our demands down to the only one that matters, in an attempt to wrest this negotiation back to our union and away from the DGA." I believe that by doing that, the WGA inevitably will be forced to take a deal that is unfair and unacceptable. Even if the WGA never expects to close a deal that includes reality and animation (though I think they are points worth fighting for), they can't take them off the table with no quid pro quo from the AMPTP.

And no, agreeing to come back to the table is not acceptable "quo" for our "quid." (Sorry if the Latin doesn't hold up there -- I never studied it!)

I discussed force majeur taking effect at the end of this week. This article gives more details of how that might play out. And for more on how much the strike actually is hurting the networks (despite the offensive and ridiculous pay they give to their execs), this article tells the bottom line.

So, where does this leave things? Well, for starters, the DGA has basically said they will start negotiating with the AMPTP in January. Well, I certainly have no problem with the DGA beginning negotiations with the AMPTP before the WGA has settled their issues... in theory. My fears relate to how the DGA's negotiations may proceed.

They say that with the right circumstances "the DGA will commence formal talks in the hope that a fresh perspective and the additional pressure we can bring to bear will help force the AMPTP to settle the issues before us in a fair and reasonable manner."

What could that "fresh perspective" possibly be? Are they dissatisfied with the desires and/or demands that the WGA has put forth? Do they feel the WGA is being unreasonable? I can only see one possible "fresh perspective" and it is the one I've been worried about all along. Undercutting the WGA in making a deal with poor residuals.

Why, some may wonder, would the DGA accept that? Wouldn't they want good residuals as much as everyone else? My understanding is that directors split their residuals with many below the line crew members, and thus are less reliant on residuals to begin with. Keeping this in mind, they negotiate better up-front deals for themselves to begin with. And so, with less reliance on residuals, they may very likely accept a contract that has a low residual rate.

And though the WGA is fond of claiming that they don't care what deal the DGA strikes -- the "just because they take something doesn't mean we have to" mentality -- the truth is that like it or not, once one guild settles for something (especially when that guild represents such high profile talent as the DGA), the AMPTP will be using it as a benchmark. Period.

Maybe I'm being an overly pessimistic doomsayer, but with the above DGA statements, and this response by the AMPTP, it almost seems choreographed. January rolls around, the DGA-AMPTP negotiations start, they take a bad residual deal quickly, and to make it seem like it wasn't planned, we have the AMPTP statement here. Back-channel negotiations happening already? You think? Man I hope there are some "fresh perspectives" out there that I'm overlooking!

Lastly, I want to congratulate MTV Networks' "permalancers" on winning their fight. Hopefully the same will come to the writers if we stand strong. And if we remember who are friends are, and aren't. Sorry, I couldn't resist -- that last one makes me laugh.

(Looks like I can't help but ramble. Sorry, and thanks for reading this whole thing, if you did!)

Tags: writers+strike, WGA, screenwriting

Strike Round-Up # Whatever

2007-12-13T02:53:00.000+02:00

This is going to be a long one and a bit rambling, but I hope you'll read it all. There may be some good nuggets buried in here!

Once again, it has been too long since my last strike update. I keep bookmarking interesting pages, and by the time I'm ready to post, at least 1/4 of them are no longer relevant. I'll try to do my best here!

So, the AMPTP walked out. Again. And again they blamed the WGA. This after the AMPTP offered a half-baked (or at least half formed, as they told the WGA they'd come back with the other half and then never did) "New Economic Partnership" proposal that they claimed broke new ground. By offering the vast sum of $250 for unlimited usage of streaming vids, the only new ground I can see them breaking is in how insulting they can be. Furthering that insult, they kept in their clause about no payments for whatever they deem to be promotional. So basically, writers shouldn't even count on getting that treasure trove if a $250 payday.

An explanation of the $250 proposal:

But when the AMPTP walked on Friday, they blamed the WGA. They used words they didn't really understand to characterize the WGA. They said that there were six points which were roadblocks to them closing a deal, and that they refused to negotiate until the WGA completely removed these issues from the table. Well, let's take a look at what's wrong with this claim.

The day before the strike started, the AMPTP got the WGA to remove DVD from the table, claiming it was the roadblock to moving forwards with negotiations. "The" is a definite article (though I know studio execs don't know grammar as goodly as us writery peoples do), indicating it is the only roadblock, not one of many. The WGA agreed to take it off the table and were thanked with the AMPTP's generous quid pro quo offer of... nothing. Guess that wasn't the issue after all, huh? So DVDs have been put back on the table.

Now they say there are other issues that are the sticking points. Should we believe them this time? I doubt it. But whether or not we believe them, there's a more important issue at play here.

In the four days between the AMPTP's offer of $250 and the WGA's response to it, Nikki Finke reported that an AMPTP insider said something to the effect of, "I hope the WGA realizes this is just an initial offer. They should negotiate with us and bring a counter offer." Seems logical, as that is, in fact, the definition of a negotiation, and what most collective bargaining entails. By coming to the WGA and saying, "We won't negotiate until you take these demands off the table," the AMPTP is removing themselves from the standard procedure. Rather than saying that these are points which are up for negotiation, and which we are prepared to offer x in exchange for their removal, they are saying their negotiating method is to ask the WGA to remove those points in exchange for nothing at all.

So let's examine the most prominent of those points, reality TV and animation.

Why does the AMPTP insist on excluding reality TV? Obviously, the biggest reason is they'd prefer to save as much money as possible, and that's acceptable -- they are running a business. But I think there is another reason that should be debunked. If they admit that reality TV is "written," then how can they continue to call it reality? My response: who cares? Viewers will continue watching! After the WWF was forced to admit in court that its wrestling matches were completely staged fabrications, viewership didn't drop. Nobody cares if reality is actually reality, and in fact, the average American would probably tell you outright that it isn't, if you asked them. So get over it!

Still, while I disagree with the concept, I can hear and understand the arguments and think that reality TV may be a lost cause (until the producers are charged with the numerous labor law violations and/or Congressional hearings they are likely facing). Animation, on the other hand, makes no sense to me whatsoever.

I believe I said it once before, but it is worth repeating. As it stands currently, the same writer could write two different movies for the same studio, one animated and one live action, and be covered for one and not the other. Does this make any logical sense? You want o claim that reality TV editors aren't really writers? I disagree, but I can accept it. Try explaining the animation situation logically!

And it is sad, really. I know a guy who has written some major animated features, and he told me once about how he is stopping writing animated films and only doing live action. Why? Because it was not economically wise for him to keep writing animation. His live action films have done well, but at his core he is an animation writer and always has been. Why should he be forced to change what he writes simply because of an idiotic provision of the contracts?

Furthermore, with the advances in digital FX technology, more and more film are becoming categorized as animation, when they really aren't. While Beowulf's MoCap technology still included a lot of real animation, a large part of it wouldn't traditionally be categorized as such. What about Transformers? How much of a film will need to be digitally created before the AMPTP classifies it as "animation" thus removing the need to compensate the writer fairly?

So, can we see what the AMPTP is really going for here? They clearly want as much as possible in as many ways as possible. What do I mean by that? Well, in their spin on this past week's nonsense, the AMPTP sent out this letter. Notice what they say they believe: "writers should be compensated from the revenues created by new media." Notice what they didn't say: "fairly" next to that word "compensated."

They also purport to care about the fact that "tens of thousands of below-the-line workers are seeing their health insurance jeopardized by the continuing strike." Of course, that must only hold true for some workers, not those who are full-time freelancers, aka "permalancers." If they cared about them, this walk out at MTV Networks would never have happened.

Maybe they really are possessed by evil demons of greed. Perhaps more exorcisms are necessary.

Footage of the exorcism at Warners:
(Check out Friend of Fun Joel, writer Father Stephen Susco, in this vid.)

So, how long will this all last, really? No one knows, but it obviously looks like longer rather than shorter. From talking to a lot of people, I hear lots of varied (and well thought out) opinions. Some say that the fact that the AMPTP walked out now is a good thing, indicating they may be ready to settle it by mid January some time. The idea there is that they walked out as a strategy to weaken the WGA's resolve, then plan to return after 4-6 weeks and settle it. If they were really planning to hold out until March or later, they wouldn't have walked out yet. That's one theory I heard.

Another theory relates largely to this up coming weekend. Some think that the entire reason that the AMPTP forced the strike (and let's be honest, they made it pretty hard for the WGA to not walk out) was so that they could take advantage of force majeur clauses in numerous contracts. Force majeur is a legal term that allows for the dissolution of contracts when an outside "major force" beyond the contract's parties' control prevents them from meeting their obligations. Typically this refers to so-called "acts of God," but the studios have already begin to invoke this clause in some cases (or at least warn that they will). I am not an expert on the legal issues, but for whatever reason, the studios will be able to invoke force majeur beginning December 15 -- this coming Saturday. So keep your eyes peeled about that.

What does this have to do with the strike? Some believe that since most of the studios are now owned by huge multinational conglomerates, this is their first opportunity to "clean house" as they do in so many other industries when they move in. There are numerous "vanity contracts" floating around Hollywood that cost the studios lots of money and net them nothing in return. Once they can invoke force majeur, they will be able to dissolve many of these contracts.

Now, I have no idea how much these contracts actually cost the companies, but it would have to be a lot to make it worth the hit that the strike is inflicting on the studios. And make no mistake -- while the strike is not going to shut down these companies for good, it is certainly hurting them right now. Want some examples?

For starters, though a bit outdated, check out this drop in stock prices. As predicted, networks are starting to refund huge amounts of money to advertisers.

NBC's plan, after refunding $500,000 to each advertiser:

And the studios and networks who are represented collectively by the AMPTP may be splintering somewhat. So while they try to drive wedges between the various groups of writers by focusing on animation and reality TV, they may in fact be the ones who are dividing. Many have even questioned how it is that they are allowed to negotiate together -- in every other industry, that is called collusion. The United Auto Workers, for example, negotiate with each automotive company separately.

The AMPTP recently redesigned their website (and no, I'm not referring to this hilarious spoof website which has been blogged about ad nauseum in the span of just one single day), and on it they include a nifty counter akin to the "national debt counter" that used to sit a block from Times Square in NYC. Amazing how they can do the math on that, but can't possibly figure out how they can make money off the Internet! Well, I think the WGA should put up their own counter, showing how much it is costing the studios and networks. $500,000 ad refunds, canceled film productions, weak movie box office (potentially due in part to no late night TV promotions) and dropping stock prices has to be adding up.

Okay, so that's where I stand for now. We must stand strong and united, until the AMPTP decides to negotiate in good faith. Finally, let me leave you with some of my favorite videos and other links. Some are entertaining, some are insightful, some just are.

A great aggregation of media sources and vids about the strike.

A proposed solution, if you just believe:

The Strike and Your Marriage:

More on proposed solutions, by various genre writers:

Rumble in the Negotiating Room:

Pets on Strike:

And my two faves, so far, from the Speechless Without Writers series:

...and this vid below for its punchline...

Tags: writers+strike, WGA, screenwriting

London Calling, and I'm Answering

2007-12-12T18:14:00.000+02:00

Cheerio, London!

Just wanted to let you blokes and birds know that I'll be hopping across the pond and spending a few days in London next week. So if you live there, or can get there from elsewhere in the UK, let me know! Would love to get together with you!

The lovely Lucy is meeting me on Tuesday, and is planning to bring some other UK Scribospherians out as well. So if you (Scribospherian or not) want to join us, let me know. Otherwise, my schedule is relatively open. I get in on Sunday afternoon and leave again on Wednesday morning.

I hear you Brits know something about pubs, yeah?

Cheers!

Tags: Scribosphere, travel

One Reason I Love December

2007-12-12T02:01:00.000+02:00

I am on a lot of email lists from which I receive invitations, year-round, to see free preview screenings of various films. But one thing I love about December is that the quantity of such films increases significantly during this month. So what this mans is that I've been able to see a lot of movies lately, and not spend much money! Instead of doing separate reviews of each, I wanted to give you one post about many of them, as well as a few other films I wanted to spread the word about! So, in sequence:

Eastern Promises
I saw this a few weeks ago, and really liked it. This film is not for the faint of heart, with a lot of graphic violence. The new film by David Cronenberg, this film again stars Viggo Mortensen, as did Cronenberg's previous A History of Violence.

To me, this film is much better than History of Violence. I think the acting is better, and the story works and holds together more cohesively. I felt that the former film rambled a bit and was somewhat unfocused in terms of its theme and point. I still liked it, but I didn't love it. Eastern Promises may try to say less, and that may be why it works better, in my book.

On a funny side note, the screening was followed by a Q&A with screenwriter Steven Knight. He also wrote this past year's Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce. I am ashamed to admit that I haven't seen this film, but I have heard wonderful things about it. Why am I ashamed? Because I read the original version of this film for the producers, as well as two subsequent drafts, each by different writers. I had loved the subject, as well as the treatment it received int he initial script, and the company bought the script for development. The two rewrites I read were inferior, in my opinion, to the initial draft I read, and I said so in my coverage. I did not, however, read Knight's version.

I went over to him after the screening and identified myself to him. It was actually kind of fun for me, since essentially he might not have had that specific gig if it weren't for me, since the film might not have been made otherwise!

The Mist
I had originally gone out to see a free preview of Walk Hard, but alas I got there too late and was closed out of the screening. So don't let it be said that you don't have to pay for these free screenings -- you must pay with your time. My friend and I were already at the theater, so we decided to go see something else anyway, and the only film there that was mildly appealing was The Mist.

Wow. I was very disappointed. I expect a lot from Frank Darabont. Shawshank was amazing and classic, and I really liked his screenplay for the upcoming Farenheit 451 (which hopefully I'll discuss in a future post). But this film was a major disappointment, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Highly overwrought and bombastic, overall.

This is not to say it was without its strengths. In fact, there were actually a number of aspects that I really admired here, which made my disappointment with the other parts even more painful. I thought he handled the character interactions excellently, and pulled some amazing performances and intense moments out of the actors. There were some truly dramatic scenes, and painfully so. Much of the thematic subtext is powerful as well. But overall the film just feels heavy-handed, and the whole suffers irreparably from this flaw, in my opinion.

Yiddish Theater: A Love Story
This little documentary was produced and directed by friends of mine, and I went to a special screening on Sunday, a week and a half ago. It is a remarkable little film in a small release, and could really use all the support it can get. But be aware that is has received excellent reviews from many major newspapers, so this isn't just a plea on my friends' behalf!

The film is a truly touching story about the triumph of the human spirit. And yes, I am Jewish, but I don't really know any Yiddish, and I don't think you need to know any in order to appreciate the film. In fact, many of the attendees were not Jewish either, and they all seemed to enjoy it immensely.

It is currently playing at the Pioneer Theater in NYC, two Laemmle theaters in Los Angeles, and at the Lev Theater in Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv. Its run has been successfully extended in each city in which it has opened, a testament to the film's quality and popularity.

On another humorous side note, I actually ran into Michael in the lobby (he was going to the next screening), and got to meet Josh as well. It turns out that Josh used to intern for my friends who made the film! Michael was there to meet Josh and see the film as well. It was quite the fun coincidence, and provided the added benefit that Josh recognized me when he saw me on the Fox picket lines this past Friday, during the Mutant Enemy gathering. More on that later as well.

Juno
Go and see this film. I really loved it. Like Waitress earlier in the year, this film worked as a true dramedy. (I guess that offers another bit of synergy, since when I saw Nathan Fillion at the Mutant Enemy picket, I thought I would have told him how much I liked his work in Waitress had we had a conversation. We didn't.) The comedic parts were very funny, and the dramatic bits were touching as well. There were parts that were uncomfortable to watch, and others that were quite touching. And nearly every character had some serious depth to them.

All this is even more impressive when you learn that this was writer Diablo Cody's first attempt at writing a screenplay, it was written in just 2 months or so, and was barely changed before it was shot. Diablo and director Jason Reitman were there for a Q&A afterwards. I had previously met and spoken with Reitman following a screening of his excellent Thank You For Smoking, and I briefly greeted him again, as well as mentioning former Scribospherian Warren Leonard to Diablo (he'd interviewed her).

The truth is that Reitman and Cody make a great team. Their sensibilities seem to match very nicely and he did a wonderful job of bringing her script to the screen. And I'm pretty sure we'll be hearing much more from Cody down the road. Hopefully by her second or third film she'll be regularly described solely as a writer; every current news story absolutely has to mention her prior profession. I won't.

* * *

Tonight I'll be going to a screening of The Kite Runner, and am looking forward to it. I haven't read the book, but I've heard amazing things about it. Unfortunately, that means I'll be missing a preview of Sweeney Todd, which I'd also love to see. That is one of the problems of this season -- too much of a good thing. I've missed other screenings as well due to conflicts. Oh well.

And you know I must really not want to see a film if I don't even want to attend a free screening! I got an invite today to a screening of The Great Debaters. I'm sorry, but this film just looks so trite and familiar. Teacher inspiring underdog students to achieve academically. Denzel looking self-important. (Sorry, I like him often, but other times I just find him annoying.) Okay, there is seemingly a bit more of a race issue here. But is that enough to make it stand out? Hey, look, maybe I'm wrong. But I've found that I have a pretty good idea of whether or not I'll enjoy a film before I see it, and this one seem more like a "not" to me.

Lastly, I wanted to mention a few other friends' films, and encourage you to see them. Support indie films!

In addition to Yiddish Theater and What Would Jesus Buy? (which I mentioned in my Holiday Gifts post), I also have two other friends with indie projects out right now. My buddy and writing group partner Brooks Elms is having two screenings of Schooled this coming weekend in L.A. Brooks worked on the script for this film in our writing group, so I had the chance to see the film really develop. The film is a drama that deals with alternative schooling, an interesting and somewhat controversial topic.

The screenings will be at the Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax, near Melrose. There are two screenings, one of which is a benefit and the other of which is the official DVD release party. Details:

"Schooled"
At the Silent Movie Theater
611 N Fairfax (south of Melrose) 90036

Saturday, December 15th at 4:30pm
(Benefit Screening for Play Mountain Place)

AND

Monday, December 17th at 7:30pm
(Followed by The Official DVD Release party!!)

Tickets $12 - ($15 at the door. Seating is VERY limited!)
www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/24116
1-800-838-3006

And lastly, my friend Debbie is in a new horror film called Timber Falls. It opened this past weekend in 50 theaters throughout Southern California, including Mann's Chinese and Beverly Center in Los Angeles. Hopefully, if enough people go see it they can expand their release.

Tags: movie+reviews

I'm Being Interviewed

2007-12-09T17:27:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the last minute announcement, but I am scheduled to be interviewed today by the Scribosphere's own Chris Soth, as part of his awesome Hollywood By Phone series.

The call should start at 5:30 PT/8:30 ET, and is bound to be a lot of fun. And hopefully informative as well! Hope to hear from many of you on the call!

Tags: screenwriting, interview, screenwriter, Hollywood+by+Phone

2007 Holiday Gifts for Screenwriters!

2007-11-29T03:56:00.000+02:00

Yep, it's that time of year again, folks. Time to start shopping for gifts for the writers in your life. Whether your screenwriter friend, relative or significant other celebrates Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Solstice or any other holiday, you might want to consider these as potential presents for him or her.

But first...
At the risk of defeating the whole purpose of this blog post, I still want to make note briefly of a new movie that's coming out. A guy I went to grad school with many years back has a brand new documentary out that aims to counteract the growing commercialization of the holiday season, and in fact of America in general. I haven't seen it yet, but it looks hilarious and thought provoking, and I recommend you check it out. Produced by Morgan Spurlock (of Super Size Me fame), and directed by my friend Rob VanAlkemade, What Would Jesus Buy? looks like just the film for the season!

That being said, if you aren't going to be completely avoiding the "Shopocalypse" (to cop a term from WWJB?), allow me to make a few suggestions!

Firstly, let me link to my previous posts. Nearly all of the links from those pages still work, and my opinions of those products have not changed. They are all excellent choices for the gifts you can give to your writing cohorts!

The Original Catalog was broken into 3 main sections:
Part 1 featured my Top 10 most essential things for screenwriters. (Let me just give you this updated link for The Hero With a Thousand Faces. And here is an updated link for the Hollywood Creative Directory - Representation book.)

Part 2 featured 13 options to help writers develop story structure, general writing skills and character development.

Part 3 focused on some of the greats in the screenwriting world, as well as a number of solid "stocking stuffer" type gifts.

Then, last year, I added some more links in the 2006 Gift Catalog. Again, I still stand by these suggestions for screenwriter gifts, so check those out as well!

So now on to the new additions for this year.

Firstly, let me reiterate that I am once again offering my holiday special sale on screenplay services. 10% off my regular affordable prices! Give the gift of professional feedback and advice. For others, or just treat yourself. Please note that these can also be purchased in advance and used later, so if you or your gift recipient isn't ready for notes now, but you want to take advantage of the discounted prices, no problem at all. Just contact me, and we'll go from there!

What else? I looked over the films from this past year, and in all honesty, I realized that I was a bit disappointed, in retrospect. Not that many great ones, though who knows where the big holiday movies will take us? However, I did find two that are worth reviewing from a screenwriting perspective.

Waitress was a remarkable film. It is one of the few dramedies I've seen that truly works on both dramatic and comedic levels, without shortchanging either. And there was a true bittersweet realism in the film. It was unflinching, but even handed, and it also had true heart and soul to it. Nearly everyone I know who saw it loved it. I highly recommend watching it and examining its excellent screenplay.

A few weeks ago, I saw a preview screening of Beowulf in 3-D, before it was released. I meant to post about it, but the time passed. But what I will say is that I was quite impressed with the screenplay in particular. It has been a while since I've read the book, but I remember it to be a sprawling tale that is somewhat haphazard. But the screenplay here did a wonderful job of finding a cohesive and compelling story. A developing screenwriter seeking to view this in greater detail, could compare the book to the script.

Here's another silly/fun stocking stuffer type novelty gift. Glow in the Dark Flesh-Eating Zombie action figures! Ah yes, fun for the whole family.

How about gifts for writers on strike, or those who support them (which should be all of us)? Well, let me again link first to Writers Strike Swag. But let me also suggest this pedometer as a way for them to track how much exercise they're getting walking the picket lines! Or something with which to soothe their aching feet when they get home.

Last year I noted the disappearance of the Famous Writer Shot Glasses. I still can't find them, but what about that other enduring stereotype for writers -- coffee? This is the coffee maker that I use all the time, and I love it. Seriously. You can put in whole beans and water at night, program it for the morning, and have freshly ground, delicious coffee brewed to order for when you wake up! An excellent gift for the coffee lovers out there.

Lastly, two portable electronic devices that should be of tremendous use to most screenwriters out there. This handheld digital voice recorder holds up to 130 hours, and is great for taking notes on the run, repeating overheard snippets of dialogue, and talking through story ideas out loud. And no screenwriter I know would complain about receiving this portable DVD player. A great way to watch Waitress or any other favorite DVD.

That being said, Happy Holidays to all (in advance). I hope this has given you some good new ideas, and please consider doing your shopping through this site. I'll get a tiny percentage of the money you spend, and it will cost you the same amount. I'll take that as your gift to me! Thanks.

Tags: screenwriting, screenwriters, holiday+gifts

Chanukah Gift Idea

2007-11-28T04:13:00.000+02:00

Ever wonder about the correct way to spell that Jewish 8-day holiday? Chanukah? Hanukkah? Channuka? Whatever. There is no right way to spell it -- it is just a transliteration from Hebrew, so spell it however you like.

But our annual oil-filled celebration begins next week, on Tuesday night. And so I have an option to offer up for any of you deciding what to buy for your literary-minded Jewish friends as a gift. No, this isn't screenwriting-related directly, but it is writing-related.

There is a just-released book called "How To Spell Chanukah...And Other Holiday Dilemmas." It looks like a pretty fun book, and I felt the need to mention it since among its anthologized authors, there are three who are friends of mine. So support them, and give a gift to a Jew you love!

And if you're looking for more screenwriting-related gift ideas, keep your eyes peeled for the annual update to my Holiday Gifts for Screenwriters suggestions! I'll hopefully get it posted within the next day or two.

Tags: Chanukah, holiday+gift+ideas

Strike/Me Update

2007-11-26T22:20:00.000+02:00

(LONG post warning.)

Where does the time go? One week and I'm posting tons of things about the strike. Turn around, and it's two and a half weeks later, with no posts! And its not that I haven't been keeping up on the news or participating. I just haven't had the time to post. So consider this a catch-up post. Many of the links in here, you may have already seen. But I'm posting them because I think they are worth highlighting, for those who may not have seen them yet.

So let me start by updating you all on what I've been doing. Let me pick up with Day 5 of the Strike. I did end up attending the big rally at Fox, and saw lots of stars. Shook hands with and thanked many, including Jesse Jackson, Dennis Haysbert, Seth MacFarlane, Tom Morello and Zach de la Rocha. Others I saw from close up were the guys from Reno 911 in their uniforms, Ed Helms, Brian Posehn and others.

I was pleased and overwhelmed by the number of people and the spirit of camaraderie, and though I didn't see a number of my peers/friends who I know were there, I did end up running into many others who I didn't expect to see. So that was a pleasant experience overall. And when will I next have a chance to sit down in the middle of Pico Blvd. in the middle of the day?

I made it out to the lines again once or twice the following week. I saw Steve Zaillian again (confirming my prior suspicion), introduced myself to him and chatted briefly and pleasantly. I also met a nice woman who writes for one of the daytime soaps. I'd never met anyone who wrote for a soap before, and it was really interesting to learn about that whole world and process. Additionally, since she was a Black woman, we discussed the lack of people of color on the lines (which I mentioned in that same post). She said she'd certainly noticed it as well. In fact, when she had walked to her car one time, she said that some people (non-strikers) asked her if she were "the only one." But we agreed that there may be more distributed at other locations, and that we'd seen a decent number during the Friday rally.

Another nice guy I chatted with had written some novels, then transitioned into features. He's one of those guys who has made a living in Hollywood without seeing much produced. These stories are more prevalent then you might think!

I also got to see a few more people that I knew, and reconnect with a few of the nice writers I'd met on previous days. Starting to recognize people there, which is nice. Of course, I knew it would be a while until I saw them again, since I was heading out to NYC/NJ the next night! This also meant that I unfortunately had to miss both the big march down Hollywood Boulevard, and the "Assistants Picket," which I would certainly have attended.

My original plan was to try to hit the picket lines in NYC as well for a day or two. Unfortunately, that was not to be. I got into the city early on Friday the 16th. But I had already learned the previous night that there were no pickets scheduled for that day. I got in touch with Alex to let him know, since he too was coming to town. We planned, instead, to meet up on the pickets on Monday. But when we later learned that they weren't going to be picketing that day either, the plan was nixed. Luckily, however, we did get to meet up at a bar on Sunday night, and it was a pleasure to finally meet him in person after all this time we'd been in touch in the virtual world of the Scribosphere.

Bottom line, for the entire 10 days that have been in NYC/NJ, there was only one day of picketing, on Tuesday. And unfortunately, I had too much work to do that morning, so I didn't make it out to the lines until about 5 minutes after the pickets ended. I at least got to meet a few of the WGAE picketers, and introduced myself to them, only to learn I'd missed my last opportunity to join them. Oh well. Would've been nice, and sounds (from the article) like they had some cool people out in support that day. Regardless, over this trip, I did get a chance to meet up with some of my readers, one of whom I'd met before and one with whom I'd only corresponded. I again failed to meet up with Joshua, but that was largely my fault this time. And I also got together with a guy I used to work for, who is now out on his own. And saw lots of friends, unrelated to the industry.

All this time, I've also been doing more research for the safari picture. As you may recall, I am in the midst of re-re-revising the treatment, and in my discussions (of which there were many during the week prior to my flight back East) we hit an impasse. The first half of the film is pretty set, but we're now completely rethinking or at least reconsidering the second half. And research seems the only way to go about this. It is frustrating, but I also know it is necessary. If we can solve these problems up front, I know the script will be better overall. And I hope that once we can agree on a good direction for that, I'll be able to get moving on the script itself, and hopefully knock it out relatively quickly. I certainly have my work cut out for me this week.

* * *

Okay, so now a number of thoughts, links, etc. about the strike.

Let me start by saying, I'm very pleased that both sides have agreed to meet again today. And I'm positively hopeful that there are rumors that this is all a formality. As you can see here and here, insiders are suggesting that the two sides have already agreed to most of the broadstrokes, and now just have some specific details to finalize. So hopefully, many of these thoughts I post here will not be relevant much longer.

That being said, let's think a bit about what the strike may have accomplished. Many people felt there was simply no way that the WGA could prevail and succeed against such wealthy and powerful corporations as those that own the studios and networks. (And for a great peek at exactly how huge these corporations are, you must check out this diagram from The Nation. Click on each company to see their details. And if you think these are already too big, you may want to examine a bill heading to congress now. Check out THIS site for more info.)

Still, I think that the studios/nets were going to be hurt a lot more than they'd originally foreseen. Some of the people I spoke to on the lines said the timing of the WGA strike was unexpected, since in '88 they waited to begin at the same time as SAG. Couple this with the showrunners walking en masse, which supposedly also caught the bosses off guard. Add this all up and it seems TV has been hurt more than originally expected. How much so? Enough that the nets could easily take a hit to their bottom line soon. There have been reports that advertisers are likely to ask for money back if too many reruns cut into viewership. Let me explain.

My limited understanding of how media buying goes (and please correct any fallacies I have here, if you know better) is that networks show their upcoming shows to advertisers. The advertisers (via media buyers) buy ad time, and the nets must deliver at least a certain level of ratings. This is done seasonally, which is why networks run sweeps weeks, to boost aggregate viewership for the period. (On a side note, it seems that the studios had enough shows to not have the strike affect the current season's sweeps week.) Anyway, if nets deliver higher ratings, all is good. But if it is too low, advertisers may get money back. This may be a big reason that the nets are so carefully examining their strategies to airing reruns.

What about the feature side of the business? Is there any damage the strike is doing there? Well, we must start with the fact that without late night TV, the studios lose a huge promotional vehicle for their big Holiday movies. This could hurt their bottom line sooner as well. And it may explain the talk of getting late night back on the air sooner.

But what about looking ahead? The lag time between production and release in features is significantly longer than in TV. So a prolonged strike would not show much of an impact until later in 2008, and into '09. We all heard the AMPTP party line about how they all stockpiled tons of feature scripts in advance of the strike. But as writers know, that only gave them more scripts that would need revisions -- revisions which can't happen during a strike. There are general rewrites needed, and once stars or directors attach themselves, they require rewrites as well. So first, the studios had to take a good look at their caches of scripts to see which were actually shootable.

And of course, that could lead to borderline decisions. Read this paragraph from the first of the above Variety articles for some of what we might have to look forward to, should the strike continue for a long time:

For pics going into production, producers would have to get creative in how scripts are reworked during filming. There's been talk that actors in comedies might be allowed to improvise, or that directors, producers or thesps will be allowed to tackle rewrites as long as they're not WGA members.

Luckily for us, the studios have started to wise up to the fact that can't work in many cases. In fact, we've already started to see some major films cancel production. Here's one story, and it has links to previous high-profile films that also shut down. Furthermore, though there are many films shooting on location (as opposed to on the lots that are being picketed), many of them have been shut down by loud picketers as well. If you're interested in knowing where there are film shoots in downtown LA, you might check this map. Not sure how accurate or up-to-date it is, but it could be a way to do something proactive.

A few random points, as well...

Those who have been following the news of the Strike have no doubt read that IATSE was not as supportive of the WGA as some of the other guilds (e.g. SAG and Teamsters). Well, this post points out why IATSE should be rethinking its position, as I think we've begun to see on at least an anecdotal basis.

We also know that the agents are the ones who were instrumental in getting the WGA and AMPTP back to the table today. But they are not the only ones likely to be hurt by a prolonged strike. The LA Times details exactly how high the costs of this strike could be to the city's economy overall, which is why politicians tried (generally unsuccessfully) to get this resolved as well.

At the beginning of the strike, people were complaining how boring the writers' strike signs were. They said that writers should be able to come up with better slogans! Well, I think we all know how much that has changed, but here is a nice collection of photos of some of the signs from the Fox rally a few weeks back, as proof.

And how else are writers putting their skills to work (without actually working)? Well, for starters, some are looking to the web, as this article from before the strike points out. This has clearly been a web-centric strike, in all ways possible. People have protested online, they have found ways to organize online, they have posted videos online, and the key sticking point int he contracts has been about the web. Here, then, are a few of my favorite vids from around the web. I'm sure you've seen some, but may have missed others:

Voices of Uncertainty
Videologblog: Writers Strike (Colbert Report writers)
Same Old Story (Irv Brecher)
WGA Strike: A Love Story

And as the strike wore on, we actually got a few that had some better production values as well:

Strike Police
Writer Boi - WGA
The Speechless campaign (make sure to scroll down for previous episodes)
The Mighty Pencil

And speaking of the mighty pencil, I'll point out the Pencils2MediaMoguls.com protest. If you're looking for more you can do until this strike ends, check these three posts for ideas. And if you want to help those who are hurt financially by the strike, here's one way to do it (even if they spell it swag instead of my preferred "schwag").

Lastly, here's a funny video from some "scab" writers. Kind of. And if you wonder about the origin of the term "scab," check HERE. I still prefer my definition in the comments to that post: "Whether this is its origin or not, I think the term scab is appropriate because it is something that covers up a gaping wound, but looks damn ugly while doing it."

Here's to hoping for a quick and favorable (to writers) resolution!

Tags: Writers+strike, WGA

A-Listers?

2007-11-09T18:25:00.000+02:00

Admittedly, I have only been to one strike location, but I've also been reading a lot of strike coverage on the web. And so I have one question (and no, it is not an accusation -- just information gathering):

Where are all the A-List feature writers? True, I saw Zaillian (I think), and I know John August has been out at Paramount. And maybe I'll see a bunch at Fox today.

But with all of the coverage I've been seeing, there have been tons of TV showrunners (stars in that world) and SAG stars, but I've seen very few pictures of the bigger feature writers. I'm not going to list the names of the types of people I'm referring to, but I really do wonder. For those of you who have been out, or noticed the coverage, please tell me I'm just overlooking this, or that it is just spotty coverage on the blogs. If you've seen some big-name feature screenwriters on the lines (and of course I use the term "big-name" in a relative sense), post about it in the comments, please.

Thanks!

Tags: screenwriters, writers+strike, WGA

Writers Strike Round-Up

2007-11-09T04:06:00.000+02:00

First and foremost, I must give kudos to the showrunners, who have agreed to show solidarity with each other and with their writers despite threatened lawsuits from the networks. I'm not sure whether those breach of contract lawsuits have any grounds or not, but I give these producers great respect for standing their ground in the face of some very scary prospects.

Now, on Day 4 of the strike, it seems that everyone is trying to come up with creative solutions. Apparently our "esteemed governor" is getting involved. Nikki Finke last night suggested getting the agencies involved as negotiators, due to their experience, knowledge and relevant interest, as well as having A-listers pressure the AMPTP. Ed Decter suggests the interesting albeit not-very-likely solution of urging Google to come to the rescue. There is also a petition on the web, that is gathering tremendous support very rapidly (to judge this, I was #2955 at 3:59 PM PST today -- see where it is at now). I encourage you all to sign it.

Okay, well let me suggest my own only-partially-tongue-in-cheek, and ridiculously unlikely solution. Starbucks. They have to be losing lots of money with screenwriters not writing, so it would be in their interests to get this strike resolved. And they have good enough business sense to convince millions of Americans that bad coffee is worth paying a lot for. Sounds like something the AMPTP could relate to!

What else? My plan was totally to attend the picket/rally at Fox tomorrow morning, but I just got word of a eulogy/funeral I need to attend tomorrow morning. Not a relative or close friend, but an amazing man who lived a tremendously full and heroic life and who attended my synagogue. I owe it to him to be there, so I'm not 100% sure if I will make it to Fox as well. And if I do, I have no idea what time I will get there. Just wanted to let you know. Regardless, I encourage you all to attend if you can!

You've heard about all the food and drinks and snacks that well-wishers are donating at picket sites? Well don't worry about your favorite writers getting fat(ter). I've seen varying quotes around the blogosphere from pedometer-wearing picketers indicating that they walked between 4 and 9+ miles in a single shift! (I think the discrepant lengths stem from the percentage of time spent on the picket lines, and what locations they were at.) So now you can not only support the guild and writers, you can also get into shape at the same time!

Okay, so I think that's it for now.

Tags: WGA, writers+strike

My Afternoon on the Line

2007-11-08T06:12:00.000+02:00

So I had decided, and so I did. If you go to that second link, you will see the video player on the side of the page. The second video (picture of Katherine Heigle) has the reporter positioned outside of Fox Studios on Pico and Motor. If you look carefully, you can see me in the background crossing the street as I picket the entrance to the studio. You can see me a bit at the beginning, and better during the closing wrap up by the reporter. I am wearing shorts and a red Hawaiian shirt. (By the way, I don't know how long the video stays up attached to that story, so if you read this post in the future, you may have to take my word for it.)

Anyway, yeah, I walked the picket lines at Fox Studios this afternoon. Let me tell you a few of the things that happened, and some of my feelings.

-- First of all, the emotions seem really positive. Most of the people I spoke with were happy to be there, and had a generally cheerful attitude. Many people brought food and treats by, and there were different drinks donated by various places. Overall, there was a sense of comaraderie about the line. When people found out that I had joined them, despite not being a WGA member, they were universally thankful. I paid that thanks forward by thanking the various SAG members that were joining us. While I did it because I am thankful for WGA members who will hopefully win benefits that I will enjoy in the future, the SAG members will never gain anything from our contract. So I appreciated their solidarity even more.

-- There was not a lot of chanting going on at Fox. Most of the cheers and efforts went to getting cars on the street to honk their horns in support, and at times there was a lot of honking. Loud and long. If you drive past picketers, and you do support us, please honk. It seems silly, but it really does give a boost.

-- On the topic of honking, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. Almost without fail, every single Prius driver honked at us! Now, to be fair, there were plenty of people driving Mercedes, BMWs and Audis honking as well, and plenty of people in suits who honked support. There were even people who seemed to work for Fox and who honked as they were driving off the lot. So I don't want you to think I'm saying there is only one demographic of car driver who supported us, or that all the luxury car drivers were anti the strike. But it was remarkable how nearly universal that Prius effect was.

-- A few favorite slogans of the day. Simple but potent, a sign that said, "Reruns Suck." A horn-honker driving past leaned towards his open window and shouted to me, "Blank Page, Blank Stage!" A young woman walking the line with us, wearing overalls and fluffy slippers (perhaps with Simpsons characters on them?) held a sign that read, "Desperate Housewife."

-- I spoke with a few people who had been a part of the strikes in '88 and '85. The feeling that this one was much more unified and organized. The Internet (you know that thing they don't want to pay us for) plays a big part in this, as does a much larger union membership.

-- I have no idea if this is representative of union membership, but while there were large numbers of both males and females represented, I noticed there was almost not a single person of color on the line. Does anyone know the approximate percentage of the WGA that is non-White?

-- I had been planning to take some pictures to show y'all, but my camera is having problems, so that didn't work. But I did meet some cool people, both pros and others like myself. I had some nice conversations with working writers from both TV and features, including Matt Stone (not the South Park Matt Stone), Scott Wiper, and writers from House, King of the Hill, My Name is Earl and others. I did not speak to him, but I'm 99.9% sure it was Steve Zaillian who I saw on the line all afternoon. I also had a really nice conversation with Joe Siegman, a retired (I believe) writer/producer (he joked that he was striking against himself) who did a bunch of TV in the 70s. Mostly stand-up comedy shows and what he referred to as "junk shows" -- precursors to reality TV with celebrity challenges, such as Celebrity Bowling. And I also had the pleasure of running into someone I knew already, David Sacks, who has written on a number of big sitcoms, and currently has a show prepping to air on Comedy Central. My final meet-up of the day was also the most coincidental. A writer on Kyle XY overheard me talking to someone else, and it turns out that we grew up in the same town in NJ, only a few blocks away from each other!

-- One of the first people I met was another guy who was much in the same boat as me. His name is Josh, and he is also not a guild member. He's done one film (I believe it was a Sci-Fi Original, horror type film) and has been making his forward progress in his career, like I have. It was nice to have someone else in a similar situation, and be able to compare notes about hwo this may or may not affect us.

Okay, so I will again encourage all of you, if you support the WGA, to join the picket lines, even if you aren't a guild member. I will likely be back again, maybe tomorrow afternoon, maybe Friday morning. And if you would like to join me, let me know. Plus, I may see about joining a line in NYC while I am there.

On a side (but related) note, I want to direct your attention to THIS POST by my friend Bill Cunningham. In it he begins a grass roots campaign to call the studios' bluff on how "insignificant" Internet really is. He suggests we vow to not watch any TV streamed over the Internet until the strike ends. I would add that if we avoid watching movies, renting DVDs, etc. we would make the point even more strongly. I know that's difficult though -- I'm just saying...

Tags: WGA, writers+strike, Fox+Studios

On Facebook?

2007-11-07T05:25:00.000+02:00

If so, be aware that United Hollywood has a group on there, which you can join. When I joined this morning there were just over 30 members. As of now, there are already 219!

While you're there, feel free to add me as a friend as well if you like, but just identify yourself as a blog reader so I know who you are! :-)

Tags: WGA, writers+strike, Facebook

I've Made My Decision

2007-11-06T10:21:00.000+02:00

I've thought it over, and I'm 95% sure that I will be joining the picket line at Fox Studios tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon. Let me briefly tell you why.

In general, I am not a big union guy. I'm not a real anti-union guy either, but I usually don't pay much mind to pickets. I've crossed lines before, but I'm also not the guy cursing out the picketers, spewing vitriol. Basically, my feelings on pickets are mixed and complex.

But to me, my decision is not about how I feel about picket lines as a concept. To me, this is about showing gratitude. I know that a lot of writers (and others) are sacrificing a lot in the hopes of making gains for the future, a future that I hope (and believe) will affect me directly. I am not a guild member currently, but I hope to be one in the not too distant future. And so, I believe that any gains the WGA earns now will benefit me down the road.

So I feel the need to thank the current members for going to bat for me, even if they don't know who I am. Even if they may be self-motivated more than altruistic. And the best way that I can think of to show my thanks is through a showing of solidarity.

If any of you feel similarly, I encourage you to follow suit, and join those lines as well. They had a great showing today, but as the strike wears on, those numbers and the spirits of those on the lines are likely to drop. If you would like to join me in person at Fox tomorrow, contact me directly. And if not, consider joining any of the myriad other locations. And if you head to Fox, I'll be the one in the red shirt. (Kidding!)

UPDATE: Like Josh (in the comments below), it is not looking like I will make it there today. But hopefully tomorrow or Thursday.

Tags: WGA, writers+strike, picket+lines

First Strike Casualty?

2007-11-06T01:49:00.000+02:00

No, I'm not talking about people out of work losing income and/or homes. I'm talking about a picketing writer being hit by a car!

The report from KABC-TV.

Let's hope someone got the driver's license number!

Tags: writers+strike, WGA

Jolly Jet-Setting Joel

2007-11-05T23:32:00.000+02:00

I'm just two weeks back from my Africa jaunt, and I'm already looking ahead to more journeys. I have two more trips planned before the new year! I'll still be working (one of the pleasures of being a freelancer in the telecommuting age), but they are still trips nonetheless. So, why am I telling you?

Because it will hopefully be an opportunity to meet some more of you that I have not yet met! So let me tell you where I'll be, and when. If any of you know of a writing group or class or something that would like to have me come speak on a more formal basis, I would love to try to work that in, following up on my Expo seminars. Definitely let me know! But otherwise, I would also love to just meet some of you on a more relaxed basis -- coffee or drinks, one-on-one or in groups. So let me know that as well.

So here's my schedule:
NYC/NJ from 11/16-11/26
London from 12/16-12/18
Israel from 12/20-12/26

Obviously, part of the NYC/NJ trip will be taken up by family Thanksgiving stuff, but much of the rest of that time I'm available. And for the detail mongers among you, 12/19 is a travel day, with some stopping, but no availability to meet up.

So, for any of my readers in NYC/NJ, London (or the UK and willing/able to travel to London), and Israel, please do get in touch.

Tags: screenwriting

Jon Stewart Rocks

2007-11-05T20:04:00.000+02:00

On the off chance you haven't seen this yet (though I hope you are all reading Deadline Hollywood Daily, which is where I came across this tidbit), Jon Stewart is stepping up for his writers and those of The Colbert Report.

I'm sure some cynics will claim this is just a clever way to keep his show airing fresh episodes while the others go dark to repeats, and there may in fact be some truth to this. Regardless, I love it and thank him for it. Kudos to you, sir!

UPDATE: Deadline H'wood is now reporting that Stewart's agent has denied this rumor. Not saying I blame him for not doing it. It was quite surprising when the news came out in the first place. So I don't hold it against him if he isn't. Just not going to praise him after all! :-)

Tags: writers+strike, Jon+Stewart

Explain It To Your Mom

2007-11-05T12:12:00.000+02:00

Via Dave's blog, I just came across this simple 4-minute video that explains what the WGA is asking for, and why it is justified to do so. (Forgive the audio dropouts periodically -- I think it was made quickly.) I know many of you who read this also read Dave's blog, but I just wanted to spread this as widely as possible.

Point your friends and relatives to "The Writers Strike: Why We Fight" should they ask what is really going on, or when they complain about not being able to see Dave or Jon tomorrow night or Days of Our Lives next week!

Tags: screenwriters, writers+strike, WGA

Strike Update and Opinions

2007-11-04T23:58:00.000+02:00

I am still holding out hope that the WGA and the AMPTP can reach an agreement today, averting a strike. But I'm not holding my breath, despite rumors of some progress made today. Especially after I note the untruths and combative nature of the various statements over at the AMPTP website (I hesitated to link to it, but more information circulating is better in my opinion).

One of the things that I've been doing the last couple of days is talking to writers that I know, gathering their opinions. And I've been interested to find some differing points of view from those I've spoken to. I spoke with two working writers yesterday at synagogue, and another today via IM. I'm not going to mention any of their names since I didn't ask their permission, and since I easily could be misquoting them or misinterpreting their impressions. And if any of you do read this, and I have misinterpreted, please accept my apologies, and understand that is why I left you anonymous! But I did want to air some of the opinions.

The first writer I spoke to is a WGA member who has written for television, and then had a few features produced. He's approximately the same age as me (I'm 36), and married with a family. I'm giving details like this as a frame of reference only. I will refer to him as "A."

"A" was adamantly against the strike, and rather angry with the WGA for what is going on. He felt that those agitating for the strike are not representative of most working writers, primarily coming from the ranks of either the extremely successful and wealthy A-listers or the writers who are in the union more by fluke. People who may have written a single film or TV episode, got into the union, but make their living in other fields like law or something else. This was also a bone of contention in our discussion, since I am not in the guild, but I tried to assure him I was really just trying to learn his opinion and educate myself, not argue with him or tell him what the guild should be doing.

"A" sees the damage that the strike will do as much more significant than the gains it might achieve, and actually doesn't believe there will be much gained either. To him, DVD is a ship that has sailed already, a fight we already lost. So why are we bringing it up again now? And with internet, he believes no one has figured out how to make money off of it yet, so why not table the discussion until later when we really have an idea what we are arguing about.

Furthermore, "A" is doubtful that any strike will accomplish much because it will hurt the writers more than the producers, and we are bound to lose any war of attrition. He quoted a friend in likening it to sitting down to play poker against the richest man in the world. I didn't mention it then, but I don't think the analogy proves the point, because I take the opposite view. I have played poker against people who were significantly wealthier than me, and who brought lots of money to the table. And yet, I was still able to make a good amount of money off of them, sometimes more than I would against a less wealthy player. If you think the goal of a strike is to hurt the opposition, then you are right -- you can't beat the wealthiest man in the world. But if your goal is simply to improve your own standing, then the wealthiest man can be an excellent opportunity to do so.

Writer "B" is a bit older than Writer "A," probably in his 40s. He too is married with kids (older than A's kids), and is a bit further along in his feature career. He too was unhappy with the current situation. But he seemed less pessimistic or adamant about it. "B's" biggest complaint was that he felt the WGA had done too little to avert a strike, and that the leadership wanted one all along. I don't think he felt the points were not worth fighting for, just that the means of achieving them were not ideal. His wife, who was standing next to him, seemed more nervous about what it would mean, though she was also trying to keep on a positive face. But the bottom line, however, was that he was angry that it got to this point, but that he agreed that there was little choice at this point but to strike. It was bad that they didn't do enough to avoid the strike, but now there was no other way.

Writer "C" is almost exactly my age, younger than me by 5 or 6 months, married with a young baby. He is an associate member of the guild, and has had a number of deals go through in both TV and Film, though none have gotten to production as of yet. He just sold one of his specs to a major studio, closing the deal just under the wire, and has also been developing various TV pilots and the like. "C" is a staunch supporter of the strike. He sees the WGA's fight as significant, due to the way writers have been treated previously, and the potential for the future that this opens up. DVD's were a lost cause and Internet is going to be potentially huge. And he worries about it both because of the way we were treated with DVD, and also because of the prevailing (dismissive) attitude towards writers in Hollywood in general.

"C" is also hopeful about the WGA's power in a strike -- it's ability to achieve its goals. In his numbers, if the WGA got what they wanted from a new deal, its members would collectively gain around $200 million over the next 3 years. And the industry will lose $2 billion in a strike. So it is just good business to avoid the strike or end it quickly. (I did not inquire about the source of those figures, so I have no idea how accurate or inaccurate they are.) I pointed out that while I hope he's right, it also isn't as black and white as he paints it. Because as "A" correctly pointed out to me, what the AMPTP gives writers will not be viewed in a vacuum. Rather, any increases we gain will also be seen as indicators of the gains that SAG and the DGA will be seeking for their new contracts, in 9 months' time.

Still, "C" did also make another interesting point about the WGA's power in this. As has been noted in Variety and elsewhere, late night TV is going to be one of the first areas to be hit by this strike, potentially blacking out shows as early as Monday night. "C" pointed out that this shorts the studios of one of their major means of promoting their films that will be released in coming months and mid-season TV shows. This is a potentially large hit to their bottom lines, and something they may want to avoid.

So, that's an anecdotal collection of some of the opinions I've been hearing from pro writers. I'd love to hear the opinions of a few others out there from around the Scribosphere. We all know where we can find Craig's opinions, and even some of John's. But how about you others? Stephen? Chris? Jon? Julie? Anyone else who is a working writer? I'd love your opinions.

Now, just as a side note, I wanted to let you know that if you are not a member of the WGA, but you support the strike, you can still show your support by joining a picket line, if you like. I have not decided if I will do so, and know how shocking it would be to my parents if their son actually joined a picket line (come on dad, you can tell me in the comments here how you'd feel if I did). If I do go, it is most likely you'll find me outside the Fox lot, since it is closest and most conveniently located for me. We'll see. While I still support this strike, I'm trying to process all of the different pieces of information I've been hearing and evaluating everything.

(On an unrelated note, I apparently spoke too soon in my last post, and The Jets have accomplished what I should have come to expect -- they blew it again. And on another unrelated note, I may hold off on the last post I wanted to get up, and write it tomorrow instead.)

UPDATE: I meant to mention that I found it interesting (though not all that significant) that none of the three writers I spoke with had attended the WGA meeting on Thursday night at the Convention Center. Though Writer B's writing partner did attend. I also wanted to direct you to another working writer's opinions. And she was in attendance at the meeting. Kira has just begun what I hope will be a long and successful TV writing career. Read what she has to say, for the perspective of someone at a different point in her career than the other three I listed.

Tags: screenwriting, WGA, writers+strike, working+screenwriters

Musically Memetic

2007-11-04T22:14:00.000+02:00

I actually have a few posts I want to put up today, working around a manuscript read, and checking up on my NY Jets (who, miracle of miracles, might actually win a game). But figure I'll start with a brief one, a response to the music meme that's been going around, and with which Shawna tagged me. First, the instructions quoted from her:

Find a song that inspires you to write something, whether it gives you an idea for a script or just puts you into a better frame of mind. AND/OR (don't you love choices) peek into the lyrics and find a stanza that sums up the theme of whatever script you're working on. It's quite uncanny how the two circumstances go together.

If possible, post a video of the song to really get people into the mood. (Yep, I'm aware of the irony of using Internet clips during the pissing contest. I like irony as much as bitchiness.)

At first I was going to choose a different song, from an indie anti-folk artist out of Brooklyn, but there is no video available, and he no longer performs. So instead I went with an old standby for me, and I think one that really gets at my attitude's essence. It doesn't relate directly to any single project I'm working on, but rather creates an optimistic mood overall, one which helps me keep writing all the time.

I am referring to one of my favorite Bob Marley tunes, "Coming in From the Cold." (By the way, check that link -- it is SO cute.) It is not one of his most famous tunes, but it has always struck a chord in me, ever since I first heard it. I own the album on vinyl, I have many different performance versions downloaded, etc. First, a few lyrics:

It's you, it's you, it's you I'm talkin' to.
Well, you (it's you), you (it's you), you I'm talking to now.
Why do you look so sad and forsaken?
When one door is closed, don't you know, another is open?

Would you let the system make you kill your brotherman?
No, Dread, no!
Would you make the system make you kill your brotherman?
No, Dread, no!
Would you make the system get on top of your head again?
No, Dread, no!
Well, the biggest man you ever did see, was once a baby.

That last line kind of reminds me of that quote I recently posted that said that every produced screenwriter has at one time never sold a screenplay.

Alright, here's some video. I'm actually going to post two versions. The first is a bit more traditional, a concert performance (though the camera spends too much time filming the audience that we can't see in this version anyway). The other one has a lot more soul and is a bit more rough and non-traditional. Part of a performance during an interview apparently. Enjoy!

As for who I'm tagging, how about Stephen, Bill, Jeremy, Scoopy, and Christina.

Tags: writing, music, meme, Bob+Marley

Fall Script Services Sale!

2007-11-01T21:27:00.000+02:00

Both as a follow-up reward to all the new people I met and/or taught at the Expo, and in advance of a potential strike-and-holiday-induced slowdown of my other reading work, I am offering up a 10% discount on my primary screenplay services for the next two months, through the end of 2007!

In particular, I am reducing the rate for full Development Notes to just $270 from the usual $300 rate. And the less in depth Studio Style Coverage now costs only $135, reduced from $150.

I've always aimed to keep my costs affordable, and on the lower end of the range of options out there. And I have gotten a great response from those who have used my services in the past, as well as having done repeat work for a number of people. (Maybe I'll try to put a few feedback quotes up here soon.) So I really hope that many of you take advantage of this offer!

If you are interested, please email me directly (change the bracketed [AT] and [DOT] to the appropriate symbols), and we can discuss specifics, such as timing, etc. And if you are curious about what each of those types of reports entails, click on the sidebar link to the left that reads "Fun Joel's Screenplay Services," or HERE.

Thanks!

Tags: script+reading, screenplay+coverage

Safari Picture Update #6

2007-11-01T00:51:00.000+02:00

Okay, so this is a drop later than I had originally planned. But it took me a little while to get back into the groove of things following Expo. And then I first had to wade through a month's worth of emails that I had only rushed through looking for any that were "important." So now, I am finally ready to give y'all a bit of an update on my trip, and the movie that was its impetus! But this will just be a "greatest hits" type version, not a complete blow-by-blow. And while much of this is not directly related to writing, or to film, enough of you have asked for details that I figure it is an acceptable exception to my general focus. Plus, it relates in broad terms!

First, some details of the trip. Following a brief visit to NYC/NJ where I caught up with many of my old friends (though not as many as I would've liked, due to the briefness of my stay), I jetted off to Istanbul, via Turkish air. I was lucky enough to have a friend of a friend in Istanbul, and he was kind enough to pick me up at the airport and act as my private chauffeur/tour guide for the day. A very nice guy and actually in the TV and lit fields, so we had some relevant stuff to discuss as well. Istanbul is actually a beautiful city, and I had a lovely time there. But it was only an 11-hour layover, and then I was off to South Africa.

I landed the next morning in Johannesburg (or Jo'burg as it is commonly known). The next three weeks or so would be spent using Joburg as a base for operations, with trips to our various safari destinations interspersed with time there. While in town, I met lots of nice new people, some of which will continue to be friends in my ever-expanding group of people I know. (On a side note, I'm currently reading Malcolm Gladwell's interesting book The Tipping Point, and I think that anyone who has read it will agree there is no doubt that I am a "Connector.") I also reconnected with an old acquaintance who I knew from LA and who moved back there. Good to find a familiar face in such an unfamiliar city.

I also had the opportunity to watch a lot of rugby, since SA was embroiled in their ultimately successful hunt to win the Rugby World Cup. What a lekker jol (in SA slang) to have been there to celebrate the Sprinbok win! We miss that in the States, because we don't actively participate in any real international sports on that level. Soccer, Rugby, even Cricket (which I can't stand). None of them are sports we are big on, and conversely, the sports that are our largest are ones that are unpopular around the world: football, baseball, basketball. Hockey is about the closest we come, and it is neither one in which we participate that strongly worldwide, nor one that is that popular. And while this isn't a major big deal, I will still say that we miss out on the feeling of what it is like when the entire country celebrates something like that together. It really bonds people in a prideful way. But anyway...

Things I learned about SA, that probably won't matter much for this script (since it will be set in Botswana, not SA), but which might have some relevance, and might gain even more for a future project... Lots of slang that I've learned the meaning of, along with certain foods that are quite popular (e.g. biltong). I also learned how much those South Africans love their braais (Afrikaans word for a BBQ). Man, I must have put on a good number of pounds eating that much meat all the time! As a city, Joburg feels very much like LA, except for three things. The security situation (as evidenced by high walls and electric wire surrounding homes, and heavily armed security guards all over the streets), driving on the other side of the road, and legendary thunderstorms.

Okay, but let me discuss the core of the trip, my two safaris (or game drives as I would say in SA, so I'd sound a bit less like a tourist). The first was in northern Botswana, in the Okavango Delta. We were based in a town called Maun, at a place called Audi Camp, which was quite a nice place to stay. We had just driven straight through the night to get there, and necessarily went slowly -- the roads in Botswana are heavily populated by wild donkeys on the side of the road. The cows and goats that also line the edges tend to stay there, but the donkeys will just walk out onto the road and refuse to move as cars approach. Dangerous!

Upon our arrival in Audi, we had an hour or so to settle in and get ready, and then we left to head into the bush (as the wild is referred to). This is as good a time as any to tell you why there are no pictures in this post. Over the course of the entire journey, I probably took about 600 pictures. The vast majority of those were shot on film, with the same camera I've used almost my entire life, a Ricoh SLR that has served me very well over the years. Before the trip I did buy a new 75-300 mm telephoto lens, as well as a doubler to extend that lens in necessary situations. So hopefully I got a ton of awesome pictures. But at the same time, I still need to get them processed, and that will likely cost me around $100. So I'm waiting a drop longer on that. Soon hopefully, and when I get them back, I will certainly post some.

Anyway, we first did a 2-day game drive, sleeping in the open bush in tents. This was in the Moremi Game reserve, a portion of the Delta. We saw tons of amazing animals in some very dramatic situations. As a welcome, when we were setting up our tents at the campsite, a group of 20 or so elephants walked right past us. The last one on the line was eyeing us, stepped a bit in our direction and even grunted slightly at us. But nothing really happened, and it was mostly an exhilarating moment. Other dramatic things we saw: a lioness hunting a lechwe (a type of antelope) at dusk, that same lion go up into a tree (very rare), a leopard underneath a tree with the impala it had killed stuck up in the branches (leopards pull their kills into trees to protect them from scavengers), and a baby elephant carcass that was half eaten out with a lion lying right next to it. These are the types of things you hope to see when you go on safari, and while they can be gruesome or disgusting at times, more so they are beautiful, since they represent nature in action. Nature works, in general, because things are in perfect balance with each other overall.

After our return to Audi Camp, we took another one-day drive into the bush. This time we took a ride in mekoros (traditional dugout canoes that are poled along, like Venetian gondolas), and then did a walking safari. The previous two days had been spent primarily in an open-sided safari jeep, so this was a completely different experience. The big sightings that day were when we made it to a watering hole and saw a herd of hippos inside. They approached a certain amount, then grunted warnings at us, but didn't come any closer. We were fine so long as we didn't enter the water itself. There were also many other animals on the far side of the watering hole.

Our other game drive, the following week, was a vastly different kind of experience. It was in the Kruger National Park, in South Africa, close to the border with Mozambique. While we had guides for our drives in Botswana, the Kruger portion of our trip was self-guided. We were in a closed van (though we did frequently open the doors to get better shots and views). Instead of sleeping int he bush, we were in a camp with near-luxury chalets, air conditioning and all.

We did see more game of greater variety, and in greater proximity to each other. In fact we had the pleasure of seeing the so-called "Big Five" (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo) in a single day, four of them before breakfast. This was quite a treat, considering you never know what you'll see, and some people see almost nothing, or a fraction of what we did. But even still, the Okavango portion of the trip was so much more real and dramatic. We were in an open vehicle, and got so much closer to many of the animals. In Moremi I was maybe 15-20 feet from the leopard we saw, with a kill up in the tree, while in Kruger the leopard we saw was like 100 yards away, lounging on top of a rock. And while it was beautiful to see, it was somewhat less dramatic. It was quite something to see an entire pride of lions together in Kruger (5-6 of them lounging around together), but seeing that single lion hunt and then up in the tree (and much closer to us) in Moremi was even more dramatic. Plus, there were a number of other animals in Moremi that we were able to get even closer to, including the beautiful kudu (another type of antelope).

So overall, both trips were truly awesome, and were very different types of trips. I took a lot from both, and some things that will hopefully find their way into the final script. But given a choice, if I could only do one of them again, it would be the Delta.

Okay, so what about that screenplay? While we were up there, we had a few conversations about the treatment, and guess what? Another significant change that will require me to re-revise the treatment before diving into the screenplay itself. For those keeping score, this is the fourth version of the treatment. What type of changes? Elimination of a few characters and introduction of another major character. A shift in the core of one of the characters' journey. A bit more meat and purpose for one of the other characters, who remains somewhat secondary. And overall, the changes should hopefully help make the film overall more realistic, by getting rid of some of the more contrived elements. And I do believe that the final product will be better overall. Hopefully I'm right!

So this week will be spent thrashing out a new version of the treatment, and once the producers like it, I will then dive into writing the script in earnest. That about brings us up to date. Thanks for reading this long post. Hope it was at least somewhat as interesting and fun for you as it was for me!

Tags: screenwriting, safari, South+Africa, Johannesburg, Kruger+National+Park, Botswana, Okavango+Delta, Moremi+Game+Reserve

Strike Info

2007-10-31T22:54:00.000+02:00

Just wanted to throw out a few links to help you all keep updated.

Of course, you should all be following Craig's frequent updates. But in case you missed it, he also linked today to a new blog that is by a group of other writers who are involved more directly, and I recommend a look at United Hollywood.

Via Scribe LA, I bring you Variety's page with updated news. And the WGA's news page.

Another good blog for strike news is Deadline Hollywood, by Nikki Finke, a columnist for LA Weekly.

Since I know most of you, like me, are not Guild Members, you may be thinking, "why should I care?" I think the answer to this is manifold. Firstly, even if you aren't yet a member of the WGA, you hopefully will be someday, and what these contract negotiations accomplish or fail to will affect the conditions under which you will hopefully be paid in the future. Secondly, the attitudes of both the AMPTP and of the public in general during this negotiation are both an echo of, and a signal to the future of how screenwriters are treated and viewed overall. We often complain that screenwriters don't get the respect they deserve and have earned as the initial creators of most of the product that comes out of Hollywood. Well, that lack of respect affects us all, and when you all hopefully become working screenwriters in the industry, you will benefit from any respect that is earned by your predecessors.

Why else? If you work in the industry in any way, or even if you work in Los Angeles in general, a prolonged strike could have serious effects on the extended community, beyond just writers. I was not in Hollywood during the last strike, but from what I've been told, it was not pretty. I know that a decent amount of my reading work may dry up (though many producers are simply saying they will be looking more at books and manuscripts in the interim). If you are in the process of making any progress in your career, and may be moving towards the step of looking for an agent or manager, could a strike put things on delay in those areas? I don't know, but potentially. Plus, the length and intensity of any potential strike will also have an effect (though somewhat unpredictable, I think) on the tone of the spec market following the strike's end.

Knowledge, they say, is power. And even if you are not a WGA member currently, you need to stay educated and aware of what is happening if you have any hopes at all of ever being a working writer in Hollywood. Hey, that's just my opinion, but I think it is worth considering at the very least.

Tags: Writer's+strike, screenwriting, film+business, WGA

Making Ends Meet During a Strike

2007-10-29T18:33:00.000+02:00

Wondering how all of Hollywood's writers will get by during the impending strike? This instructional video should be enlightening on the subject:

From the mind of Gregg Rossen. It does answer one question -- why these guys write instead of act! ;-)

(Let's hope it doesn't come to this!)

Tags: WGA+strike, Heroes+of+the+Writers+Strike

Expo Update

2007-10-28T11:33:00.000+02:00

On Monday I plan to finally post my update regarding my Africa trip. But I wanted to address the more current first -- the Screenwriting Expo.

So let's see now. Got back to LA on Monday, and nearly immediately dove into finalizing my preparations for the Expo seminars. Didn't even have time to process my thoughts about the trip. As you know, I added two new seminars to the two I'd taught previously. Which meant more prep than would have otherwise been necessary. I'm happy to report, however, that I got everything ready on time.

Thursday was my big working day, with three seminars to teach. As opposed to last year, when I was sorely disappointed in the tiny size of the rooms they stuck me in, this year I had a good sized room, and the same one for all of my seminars (which made things a drop easier). Plus I got all of the equipment I requested, also unlike last year. The only real technical snafu was that They had asked me to let them videotape one of my seminars for inclusion in the Screenwriting Expo DVD Series. I was obviously excited to be asked and agreed, but due to a scheduling mix-up, that taping never happened. Oh well. Maybe I'll try to arrange to speak a different time and produce the DVD on my own. Or there's always next year!

My seminars were successful and I had a nice turnout, but my third seminar, one of the two new ones, attracted my largest audience ever. It was the seminar on Effective Use of Flashbacks and Voiceovers, and I had 70 people there. I used excerpts from a number of films, many of which were recommended by commenters in this old post.

Thursday night I went to the networking party, and got to chat with old friends, new friends, etc. Henry, who I met at the Expo 3 years ago. Viorica, who I met last year, and who was my assistant for my classes this year. Becky and Jack from Chicago, who had been in my class earlier in the day, along with their friend Priya. And others. Then I hung out around the hotel and met more people from the Expo, including two lovely ladies (Fiona and Fionnoula) who came to the Expo all the way from Ireland (though Fiona is originally from Scotland). This is the stuff I love about Expo -- just meeting people, hanging out, having a good time with other writers, etc. In fact, one of the first people I ran into when I got to the Expo was David, who I had never met in person before. Good to meet him (even if I didn't make his Twitter feed).

Friday morning, bright and early, I had my last seminar. It was designed to be a workshop follow-up to the Verbalizing the Visual seminar I had taught the day before. In that workshop, I go through various screenplays to see how they wrote non-verbal, active sequences. Physical comedy, chases, fights, sex, general action, sports, etc. So the plan was to work with the class to build some new scenes using the techniques highlighted the day before.

Things did not go exactly as planned, however. Only one person who showed up for the workshop had been at the original seminar. So I ended up spending about 1/2 the class reviewing (in brief) the seminar material, and then rushed the workshop portion. While I think we had fun with it, it was probably less illustrative than I would've liked. But I hope that people liked it anyway, and found the effort informative.

I also love hanging out in the speakers' lounge at the Expo, because it gives me the chance to chat with some really nice and intelligent people, and people who are doing similar things to me. Among others, I chatted with Robert Flaxman, Brad Schreiber, Philippa Burgess, Coleman Hough, Karl Iglesias, Steven Barnes and Heather Hale. Others that I've run into around the Expo include Chris Soth and Julie Gray.

I stayed home today, and plan to head back tomorrow for more hanging, and maybe a seminar or two. I am out of business cards, so I ran out tonight to pick up a batch of "print-your-owns" from Office Depot, so I'd at least have something to give people who ask. And I actually am happy I did, because even though they look a bit cheesy, I did get to finally use this logo. I hope to meet many more of you, and if you are checking in here following one of my seminars, welcome and please stick around. Hope to see many of you at Champions tomorrow night, for drinks, post-Expo!

Tags: Screenwriting+Expo, Expo+6

3rd Annual Post-Expo Scribosphere Gathering

2007-10-23T09:05:00.000+02:00

Well, I'm back in the country! I will definitely be posting about my trip, but I'm simply too tired now. I thank all of you who have stuck around, and/or kept checking in to the blog while I was away. I'd hoped to get at least one post up while I was there, but my internet access was sporadic, and I just couldn't work it in. I got back to LA this afternoon, and though the trip was amazing, it also feel great to be home getting back to life again.

But what I did want to do was at least throw up a quick announcement regarding this year's Post-Expo Scribosphere Gathering. Following successful gatherings after the past two Expos, I'm organizing once more. And the plan currently is to hold the gathering at the same location as last year's: the hotel bar at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott, a sports bar named Champions. It is on the right side of the lobby when you walk in. I haven't spoken with anyone there yet, but I can't imagine it being a problem, however, if there are any issues, I'll post again with the changes.

This year's closing ceremony is scheduled to end at 7 PM, but I will most-likely be there before then. By the way, this is not only open to those who have screenwriting blogs, but also for those who are part of our extended community. And even if you don't attend the Expo, you are more than welcome, and encouraged, to join. Please do me a favor and if you know you'd like to come, let me know, so I have some idea of how many to expect.

Cheers for now!

Tags: Screenwriting+Expo, Expo+6, Scribosphere

Safari Picture Update #5

2007-09-25T02:04:00.000+02:00

So, not that much new to report, but I did want to throw up a quick update here.

I leave L.A. tomorrow morning, on an 11 AM flight, beginning my journey of the next month or so. Last night I celebrated by going out with lots of people for a karaoke night at my regular karaoke haunt. Tomorrow night I will be reuniting with many friends in NYC at another of my old haunts (so if you are around NYC and want to meet up for drinks, let me know today and I'll get you details). I'll be around there for a few days, and then the real adventure begins!

I should have sporadic Internet access during the trip, so I hope to check in periodically, if possible. But if not, I hope to get some good posts up upon my return.

So what else? I find it really interesting the way this script has evolved over the various drafts of the treatment. The first draft was basically a lot of researched stuff all packed in together, with little real connection. I talked things over with the producers, and set on a new direction. The second draft grew into more of an ensemble piece, as a partial means of organization, plus it also had more of a progression of events.

Now, with the new spine, it has morphed into something else. It is largely a different story than it started out as. Sure it still has the same main characters, and the same point, achieved in largely the same way. But the story itself is more singular and focused, and brings in a slightly deeper substance. It has more heart.

So hopefully, while I'm down there, I'll come up with lots of great color for the script, will thrash out some of the details with the producers, and will get a better feel for the general logistics of things there. At least that's the plan!

On another note, I've moved forward with mentoring/helping the less experienced writer of another project the producers have going. It has been an interesting process for me, and fun. It really gets me back to thinking about the basics of screenwriting, trying to get him to focus on the most important stuff, and to not get ahead of himself. So that's kind of cool for me.

Anyway, that's all for now. As I said, I'll try to post more from the road and check in. But if not, I hope to "see" you all upon my return. Perhaps, for many of you, at Expo!

Tags: screenwriting

Following Up on Framing Stories

2007-09-21T03:32:00.000+02:00

I was going to respond in the comments section to the last post, but instead decided it would be more in depth and I should post separately.

So first to respond to some of the specific commenters:

Amitbe -- I had thought about The Usual Suspects. I need to rewatch/revisit to determine exactly where that falls in the scope of the flashback/framing story device. But I think it definitely relates to one of the traditional uses of the Framing Story, which I will discuss a drop later on.

Steve -- I haven't seen The Never-Ending Story, but sounds interesting. I'll have to check it out.

Joshua -- Not a traditional framing story, but I want to discuss those kind of tales as well. I'm referring to the ones where the film opens with an event at the end or late in the film, moves back to the start, and then catches up to the opening scene again. Definitely an example of that here, and there are many other as well.

Lucy -- Haven't seen that film either. Will check it out.

Okay. So as I thought more about framing stories as a device, I went to one of my favorite research tools, Wikipedia. The entry they have on Framing Stories gave me good food for thought. So I thought I'd mention a few of the points.

First of all, it mentioned a book, the film of which definitely makes effective use of the device. So much so I can't believe no one jumped out and said it immediately. Wizard of Oz! Classic usage!

Now beyond that, I realized that many of the same reasons one might use a framing story in a book might also apply in films, though not all of them, and the device doesn't have to be overly clever or effective to achieve its goals. It might just be a subtle device that adds a bit.

First of all, though much rarer in films, there is the example in which a framing device is used to collect a number of disparate tales. The first film examples that spring to mind for me are Four Rooms and the recent film The Ten. I forget (and have to revisit), but I think The Adventures of Baron Munchausen might work the same way.

I think that often in literature, a framing device helps to add a certain amount of verisimilitude. If a character tells it over to another character, for some reason it seems a bit more like it really happened to someone. Perhaps because it is one more step removed from what we are reading on the page. If I read a novel, it is words describing an event that theoretically could have taken place. If I read a framed story in a novel, it is words describing another person's recounting of an event that theoretically could have taken place.

This purpose, however, seems less necessary in film. Film, by its nature, is such a realistic medium. (I often discuss the way our mind relates movies to potential reality because we are so used to seeing news and other videographic documents of actual events, that there is no physical distinction between what we see as a fictional film and what we see as documentary footage.) Thus, I don;t think the framing device adds any aspect of realism that didn't exist already.

Another usage of the framing device in literature is to raise questions about the narrator's objectivity or reliability. This is certainly useful in film as well, and perhaps might relate to the frame and narration in a film such as Sunset Boulevard, or another similarly structured film, Double Indemnity. This was also the purpose I referred to above regarding The Usual Suspects.

Next, a framing story may be used to position the specific angle from which the viewers experience the story. Theoretically, this could be the purpose of the framing device in Titanic, creating a certain emotional depth to the story. In my opinion, this failed here, and was in fact unnecessary; there was a lot more emotional depth in the historic tale itself than in the contemporary framing tale. Still, the device can be useful for this purpose, and I'll have to think about a potentially effective use of the device in this fashion.

Frame stories can also be used when the central story is a dream vision of sorts. Obviously, this is what took place in Wizard of Oz.

I think there is also a distinction to be made between film in which the framing story is told by a completely distinct narrator and those in which the narrator is a character in the central story. Princess Bride is a prime example of the former. The Ten, in part, is an example of the latter, since Paul Rudd's character does appear in one of the other ten stories.

So, that's more on frame stories. Any other thoughts you all have, I'd love to hear them.

Tags: screenwriting, storytelling+devices

On Frame Stories (not Flashbacks)

2007-09-20T02:09:00.000+02:00

I was recently reviewing the comments on this old post. In the end, I never ended up writing the article I referenced there, but the thoughts have grown into one of my new seminars at this year's Expo.

So the comments got me thinking. One or two people mentioned framing stories, differentiating them (correctly) from flashbacks. So I began to think of various films that have used real framing stories, such as Titanic. And for the life of me, I could not think of a film with a framing story that would not have been better off without one. Not that the frame ruined the film entirely, but just that they were unnecessary.

Can any of you think of a film that used a framing story specifically (not flashbacks) to good use. Okay, actually I just now thought of one -- The Princess Bride. Anyone have another?

Tags: screenwriting, storytelling+devices

FFFJ: Gossip Girl

2007-09-18T19:52:00.000+02:00

It has been quite a while since my last FFFJ post, so I should probably start by reviewing the concept for those who may be new to the blog. The idea is, over the years I have been given many properties to cover for various production companies, agencies, etc. Many of those have gone on to be produced, either for the companies I read them for, or for others. I keep all my coverage reports on my computer (hence the name, From the Files of Fun Joel, or FFFJ), so I thought it might be worthwhile and interesting to highlight the comments I gave these scripts, and to discuss the types of strengths and weaknesses that were evident. Also, sometimes I would talk about unproduced scripts from which we could learn, or which I felt should be produced.

Over time, for some reason, I stopped exclusively calling these FFFJ posts, and for the produced projects I started calling them simply "Screenplay Reviews," but they really are the same thing. If you have any interest, here are a list of the past FFFJ posts:

Mondo Beyondo
Prison Song
Fanboys
The Watch
Venus Kincaid
Push
Code Name: The Cleaner

And Screenplay Reviews:

The Island
Pretty Persuasion
The Constant Gardener
Prime
Aeon Flux
Brick
The Hills Have Eyes (remake)

Okay, now that being said, why am I reinaugurating this feature now? Firstly, because I really like it, I know some others do too, and it has been too long since I've done one of these posts. But also because I now have the unique (for me) opportunity to do an FFFJ post on a TV program.

I rarely read any TV material. I think I've probably read less than 5 specs, professionally. This is due to the combined facts that I work for film production companies, not TV networks, and that I don't really know TV. I rarely watch much TV, and the proof I always give about how little I understand TV (since I don't watch it much) is that I was convinced that CSI would bomb. Yeah. How many years and spinoffs later now are we? So anyway...

That being said, I did receive a TV series proposal to read a number of years back, when I was working as a reader at a major agency in NYC. Interestingly, this was just that -- a proposal. No pilot script, no real episode breakdown (that I can recall). Really just a very brief outline of characters, concept, and maybe the pilot episode's outline. 8 pages in total (which I liked, because I still got paid the full script price for reading and covering it).

And yet, all this time later, the show (Gossip Girl) is finally about to air, beginning tomorrow night on The CW network. (By the way, does anyone know what that network's name stands for, if anything? I know it was a combo of The WB and UPN, but what does it mean?)

Now, I should start by saying that in the intervening years, the concept became a series of (apparently) popular books aimed at teen girls. But I read this proposal in November of 2000, and the first book came out in 2002, at least according to Wikipedia. I have no idea if the book series was already in the works when I got the proposal.

Regardless, my comments were essentially that the concept had promise but it was too difficult to make a determination based on such a small proposal. But on to the coverage!

Spoiler Alert (but I think this has all been covered in the book series already)

When I covered this on 11/8/00, I was not supplied the writer's name. This happens sometimes for any number of reasons, by the way. But I just wanted to mention it, since I usually credit the writer of a script.

I summarized the series concept as:

A perfect-in-nearly-every-way, rich, New York teen returns to her local prep school, after being expelled from an upper crust boarding school, and tries to regain her former glory.

Since the books have already come out (and it might be interesting to see how things changed, or didn't, from this initial concept), here is my brief 3-paragraph Summary (I also did a longer Synopsis, but this should do fine for now):

SERENA VAN DER WOODSEN, a near-perfect, rich girl from New York City’s Upper East Side, returns to The Spence School (all girls) in her Junior year. She had previously been away at Taft, a boarding school, but got expelled, though no one knows exactly why. Rumors swirl, but the bottom line is that she’s coming home, regardless of why. Though she had been famously popular before she left for Taft, when she returns she is faced with subtle resentment from the other girls. It isn't outright hostility – after all, she is still Serena van der Woodsen. However, her popularity has been knocked down a very noticeable notch.

Serena decides to increase her extracurricular activities, at first looking into the theater. She assumes that it can’t be that difficult, and also thinks it will be a great way to meet boys. But when she can’t secure a leading role, she looks to an alternative drama production – an avant garde theater piece being put on by VANESSA WIENER, a strange, punkish girl. Vanessa dreams of getting DANIEL HUMPHREY, a dark and quiet West Side boy, to star in her show. She’s in love with him. When Serena realizes she won’t have a lead role in Vanessa’s play either, she decides to mount her own production – a film to trump the two plays. She also goes after Daniel, assuming he must be talented if Vanessa wants him so badly. She gets him easily, as he has been in love with her since seventh grade, unbeknownst to her. His younger sister, JENNY also idolizes Serena and begins to imitate her. Serena thinks she’s cute, and is particularly pleased with her because Jenny is rather handy with a camera.

In all this, an anonymous column appears on the Spence website. It is a thinly veiled fictionalized account of Serena’s travails upon her return to Spence. It is written as the old-time society gossip columns were. We are unsure who writes the column, signed "Gossip Girl," and it could be any of the main characters. The column, as it continues, becomes wildly popular, first across NYC, then eventually all through America. Everyone is fascinated by the lives of these lucky rich girls from the Upper East Side. But most of all, everyone wants to know who the real Gossip Girl is.

Okay, and now finally, my comments (TV-ignorance, warts and all):

Gossip Girl focuses on a setting that has certainly shown some promise recently. With the success of TV shows set in the world of upper class teens (starting with Beverly Hills 90210 and moving up through Dawson’s Creek), as well as the resurgent growth of the teen film market (particularly in a film like Cruel Intentions, which focused on the same NYC world), a TV series of this sort is certainly worth some consideration.

One thing, however, that might supply some reservations to this series’ hopes is the city in which it is set. For some reason, show types that work in other settings, sometimes fail in a New York setting. For example, one might look at CPW, the failed NYC version of Melrose Place. Part of the appeal of some of the other successful teen shows is the locale in which they are set. Whether or not an audience would enjoy a teen show set in the Upper Crust world of the Upper East Side is at least debatable.

Another reason that Gossip Girl isn't assured success, based on this treatment, is that it supplies very little towards the manner in which the story will progress. Much of the treatment focuses on the back-story of what Serena was like before the main story starts – presumably background that would not be directly addressed in the series itself. Thus, the story itself, presented here, supplies little more than a pilot’s worth of material. While this material is somewhat promising, it would be hard to determine its long-term potential without an idea of the direction in which the story might progress.

A final point that speaks in favor of considering Gossip Girl is the potential market itself. It is no secret that today’s teens have more disposable income than any other generation previously. Which, of course, explains the growth of entertainment aimed at this market of late. True, there have been at least as many failures within this genre as there have been successes. But the potential is still there.

In short, Gossip Girl is certainly worth consideration, based solely on its setting and audience. However, without a more in-depth presentation of the proposed series, it is really impossible to determine the overall commercial potential for this series.

CONSIDER

So if any of you watch this show (I'm pretty sure I won't), let me know how it compares!

Tags: screenwriting, television, Gossip+Girl

6 Years

2007-09-11T17:59:00.000+03:00

In Memorium

"On 9-11-01"
by G. Love (and Special Sauce?)

Flags flown at half mast
To remember all the lives past and gone,
Before their time had come.
From a hijacker's crash,
A terrible blast,
A building collapses
And falls to the ground.

Who would have known?

So long and hard to make.
So easy to break.
Foundations quake
To rock your world.

Planes exploding in the sky.
No one knows the reasons why.
Make me wanna cry.

How hard it is
To protect yourself
From hatred
You cant understand
Dedication to destruction
Is their unholy plan.
No corporate scenes.
They move in a mist.
Try to shake their hands
While they're slicing your wrists.
Killers beyond comprehensions of our minds.
How cowards could burn up blood in the skies.
Blood in our eyes.
On 9-11-01.

Planes exploding in the sky.
No one knows the reasons why.
Hold my little baby tight.
Make me wanna cry
And find a way
To carry on.

New York City on lock down.
The whole east coast on lock down.
Hold your family close on lock down.

Our country mourns the day.
So many bright lights,
Young lives,
Were taken away,
Forever and ever,
And no one can replace,
And how can I forget this day.

Planes exploding in the sky.
No one knows the reasons why.
Hold my little baby tight.
Make me wanna cry.

Planes exploding in the sky,
On 9-11-01.
The day the devils died,
To kill our loved ones.
Hold my little baby tight,
On 9-11-01.
Make me wanna cry,
And find a way
To carry on.

Movie Review: 3:10 to Yuma

2007-09-11T01:11:00.000+03:00

I went to see 3:10 to Yuma last night, and I'll admit it -- I was disappointed. Yes, I know it finished number 1 in the box office (though it didn't do gangbusters business), and I had high hopes for it. But ultimately I felt the movie failed because it was simply unbelievable, even within its own context. I've previously discussed two other westerns that I really like -- Unforgiven and The Proposition. In my book, 3:10 to Yuma doesn't even hold a candle to those.

Spoiler Alert!

Truth is, there were some good moments in Yuma, and it wasn't like the film sucked or anything. A number of good action scenes, some decent acting (with at least one very good performance), and a few good reversals in the plot. I'm not a huge fan of either Christian Bale or Russell Crowe in general. I don't hate either of them, but both are the kind of actors that I can take or leave. In this case, I actually felt both were perfectly serviceable in their roles (I didn't think either was great, both no problems there, from my perspective). And I thought Ben Foster's performance as Crowe's right hand man was quite a unique take on a role that could have been cliched.

To me, the main problem lies in the film's script (by Halsted Welles and Michael Brandt & Derek Haas, from a short story by Elmore Leonard). In it I see two main weaknesses, one of which removes the film from the category of great, and the other which lowers it to the category of flawed.

In general, the Western film is a genre of parable. More than many other genres, films in this genre typically are deeply steeped in material that is used to deliver a subtle message of sorts. In order to effectively achieve this, you need a strong theme that ties everything together. Yuma definitely had some elements of theme, but I felt the various pieces were not tied together cohesively enough, in that not everything was tied to theme, or at least not effectively enough. We have some bits that deal with earning respect, maintaining a sense of honor, saving face, good and evil, pragmatism vs. right, etc.

Still, these bits are not so disconnected from each other as to make for a truly muddled film. It is just disparate enough to say that Yuma would probably not be considered among the great films of the western genre. It is the other script weakness that I feel is more problematic. (And here's where the serious spoilers come in). The climax is simply not believable in my book. The fact that Wade (Crowe) would help Evans (Bale) get him to the train is difficult to believe, but acceptable. Hell, Evans could just kill him if he had to. But to then believe that Wade would kill his own men after they shoot Evans, and that he would then willfully get onto the train taking him to prison at Yuma is silly. To go a step further, and say that he would stop choking Evans and have his transformative moment when Evans tells him how he couldn't bear to tell his son the embarrassing truth about how he lost his leg? Now we're bordering on the patently ridiculous.

I mentioned this to my friend who I saw the movie with, and he said I was "overanalyzing things." And I thought about that comment, but disagree. I went into the film wanting to like it. That means that I was starting from a status quo on the positive side of the opinion scale. For me to feel that way coming out means that they did something specific that lost me. I was not watching the films with critiquing eyes. Only after I began to feel gypped did I start to think about why I was feeling that way.

Then I discussed it with my roommate, who had seen it on Saturday night and loved it. His take on it was that Wade wanted money, so he needed to lead a gang of assholes. In order to lead this gang, he needed to be ruthless, though he actually was not a ruthless person. At least, he wasn't someone who wanted to be ruthless. So now that he has the money, he's able to kill the gang because he doesn't need them anymore and he won't be able to drop that way of life without them gone. And he gets on the train because he knows he can escape Yuma prison again, as he did twice before.

I hear that as a plausible take on the ending, but not particularly viable either. As I see it, that is a way of forcing some potentially logical explanation on the plot. To me, the main reason for this lack of believability, whichever take on the ending you want to take, is a lack of establishment. Sure, the film takes pains to show Wade as a somewhat cultured man, and one with a deeper soul than that of a purely ruthless killer. But little in the film prior to the end suggests anything about either his regrets over leading a life of ruthless killing (per my roommate's explanation of the film) or of his "heart of gold" good side that would lead to a redemptive moment of killing his men and turning himself in (even if he knew he could later escape).

So bottom line, to me I think the film focused a bit too much on style and action and too little on building character, relying instead on a bit of shorthand to explain character. Without that character development, the ending became laughable to me, thus hurting the film overall.

Anyone else see it? Agree? Disagree? Liked it? Disliked it? Chime in!

Tags: screenwriting, movie+review, 3:10+to+Yuma

Booked!

2007-09-04T18:50:00.000+03:00

Just a brief follow-up to my last post.

Spoke with the producers on Sunday. They really liked the animal bios/research. They also agreed to my new take on the spine of the film. All is good, and we have officially booked my trip.

For those who care about the details (and I share them because it is exciting):
9/25 I fly LA to NYC, and spend a few days there seeing friends and family. 9/30 I leave for South Africa, via Istanbul. I have an 11+ hour layover there, so I'm hoping to be able to head into Istanbul for a few hours and see some stuff. I arrive in Johannesburg on the morning of 10/2. Spend a few days around Jo'burg, and then head up to Botswana around the 6th. We are not going to do 2 safaris in Botswana as originally planned. I was originally going to visit both the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park. Instead I'll only be going to Okavango, and instead returning to SA and going to Kruger National Park during the second week. Many of you may be familiar with Kruger as the scene of this well-viewed, amazing YouTube video, Battle at Kruger:

Finally, I'll spend a few more days wrapping up in Johannesburg. I leave to fly back on Sunday 10/21, fly to London, transfer, and fly back to LA. Just to give an idea of how far away I'm going, the flight from Jo'burg to London is 11 hours and 5 minutes, and the flight from London to LAX is 11 hours and 15 minutes. It's like I'm going halfway around the world twice! I land on Monday 10/22, and then have the Expo starting on 10/24, with my first seminars on 10/25.

Whew! Quite the journey, but an exciting one.

Additionally, the producers have also asked me to work on something else for them. They have another writer working on a different project. He has written a number of short stories and plays, and he knows the subject matter of his piece quite well, but he has never written a screenplay. So they'd like me to meet with him and try to get him to understand the form a bit more. So that could be an interesting second little gig.

So, now that I have the trip planned, and I realize that I'll be away for almost a full month, I have to maximize the next few weeks before I leave, while also working around the Jewish holidays. So, I'm going to schedule my time, and basically hit four goals: write a new (shorter) draft of the treatment, work with this other writer a bit to teach him screenplay format/style/structure, prep for my Expo seminars, and try to make some money (since I won't be doing much freelancing work while I'm out of town).

Forgive me in advance if posting is a little more sparse, but I'll try to get regular posts up.

Tags: screenwriting, safari

Safari Picture Update #4

2007-09-02T22:32:00.000+03:00

In my last update, I mentioned two main things. One was that I was starting to do some more in-depth research on various safari animals in order to write "character bios" for the animals, and the other was that my actual trip to Botswana had been pushed back. I'm here now to update you on both of those items.

As of Friday, I have turned in the animal character bios. What I did for these, basically, was research seven different animals, learn as much as I could about them, and then write up in paragraph form a description of what these animals' lives are really like. What do they do during the day, and what at night? What do they eat? How do they kill or acquire their food? What are their mating habits? What kind of social structure? Etc.

For each of them, I tried to come up with one to two sentences that summed up the overall character of these creatures. So for example, in addressing the lion, I mentioned that it has earned the moniker "King of the Jungle" (or in our case, savanna), but explained that the title applies due to more than just the lion's place at the top of the African food chain. It also has to do with the lion's attitude, mannerisms and social habits.

By doing this, I aimed to not just list a bunch of facts about these creatures, but also to open a window onto their species' personalities. The animals I covered are those that are known as the Big Five -- lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros -- as well as the hyena and hippopotamus.

To give an idea about how detailed these sketches were, my initial treatment, which included character bios for 8 characters and a detailed outline of plot, came in at 16 1/3 pages. The second draft was just over 17 pages. This document with animal character descriptions for seven animal species came in at 19 1/2 pages! So, if any of you need to know anything about any of those seven animals, let me know. I'm no expert, but I certainly know a lot more than I ever did before!

Additionally, in doing the research I read a fascinating article that supplied me with something that I think I can use as a good spine to tie the various animal-human encounters together. It would mean a slight shift to the story from what I had originally outlined, but I think it will be worth it, and tie things together nicely and cohesively. So I emailed a brief sketch of that to the producers as well, for them to look over and think about. So now they have the animal bios and a brief proposal on how I want to "connect the dots" from the previous treatment draft.

Which brings me to the other point to update. After much logistical wrangling, the producers were finally able to work out a tentative schedule for my trip to Africa. But it is also a rather expensive trip, more so than they had originally expected. So they really want to make sure they like the way things are standing with the treatment, etc, before they finalize booking. So I'm hoping that they like the work I've done here, and if so, we can set everything in place.

But if all goes according to the current tentative plan, I will be gone from L.A. for almost a month, though I will only be in safari for about 2 weeks of that time. Transit itself (both ways) eats up 3-5 days, plus I'll be spending a few days in a few places along the way. I'd return to L.A. about 3 days before the start of the Screenwriting Expo.

So yeah, that the excitement in my world. Waiting to speak to the producers in the next couple of days to discuss the animal bios, the new spine idea, and the trip.

Tags: screenwriting, safari, animal+behavior

Want Access? Ask Larry Meistrich!

2007-08-30T21:55:00.000+03:00

I recently learned about Larry Meistrich's most recent film venture, NEHST Studios. For those unfamiliar with Meistrich (and you should be familiar with him), he founded The Shooting Gallery, and has produced nearly 100 films, including Laws of Gravity, Sling Blade, You Can Count on Me and Belly. I spoke with Meistrich recently to learn more about his new venture, which should be of interest to most of my readers.

Following the shuttering of The Shooting Gallery's doors in 2001, Meistrich started Film Movement, a subscription DVD of the month club featuring foreign and independent productions. He eventually sold out his stake in the successful company and launched Nehst along with some colleagues he'd previously worked with in other capacities. (The name, by the way, is pronounced "Next," and is the Old English spelling of that word.)

I wanted to know why he and his partners started Nehst. What does Nehst offer that is unique? The answer came down to one word: access.

"There are 3 parts to the filmmaking system right now," says Meistrich. "With traditional production and distribution in place, the third part is access. Hollywood is using the same 200 people for everything, and if you’re not represented and you’re not one of those 200, it is hard to get in and have your ideas read. So the films that Hollywood is making are a lot blander than they could be."

To overcome this problem and tap into the vast pool of talented people with no ability to get their work seen, Nehst has an open pitching policy, and has created a process by which anyone can easily pitch their ideas to the company. There are multiple ways to do this, including virtual pitching online at their website PitchNehst.com, weekly one-on-one pitch sessions every Tuesday, and periodic full-day pitch sessions. They even hold weekend-long movie boot camps that teach the "reality of filmmaking, not just the theory." These weekends culminate in a pitching session.

The one-on-one pitches are held alternately at NYC's Four Seasons Hotel and in Edgewater, NJ, which means if you are one of my readers from the Northeast you have particularly good access. Registration is on the Pitch Nehst site, and scheduling is handled over the phone.

The full-day pitch events are scheduled for various locations around the country, with a schedule also available on the website. In them, they spend the first half of the day teaching participants the skills needed to pitch effectively, then spend the second half of the day listening to open pitches from those who are interested in doing so. Meistrich says there is no need to be scared of such events. "We’re not American Idol. We don’t embarrass anyone, and we don’t say yes or no right then. If we’re interested, we contact people afterwards to tell them directly."

So far, Nehst has held about 5 such pitch days, each capped at 60 people. Meistrich has been amazed at the quality of pitches they've heard. He says on average 30-50% of the pitches they hear in a given day are good enough for them to follow up for a read. At one recent pitch day in Sacramento, that number was closer to 80%.

Another benefit to pitching Nehst is that the equal access opportunity extends to the vetting process. They do not use readers for the projects that are submitted. While this means turnaround time is slower, it also means that each piece is read by the executives who make the final decisions.

And the process seems to be working well for parties on both sides of the production equation. The company was started in March, and has already purchased (or in one case optioned) 10 projects -- 6 features and 4 web series. Considering his past, I asked Meistrich if he was looking exclusively for indie style works. He was quick to point out that he's produced projects of a wide variety in the past, and they are looking for equally diverse properties at Nehst.

"We’re just looking to fund good ideas. They could be for film, web series, TV series, whatever."

Meistrich says they are "particularly looking for writers." So far, they have stuck with the original writers on the features for rewrites. But since the TV/web series have often come in from non-writers, they will need to staff the projects with writers. He encourages screenwriters to bring in completed spec screenplays, pitches or writing samples for consideration as a writer for hire.

Among the web series they are developing is an irreverent cooking show aimed at college students, called Cook U. Meistrich described the positive reaction the show received from an agent at William Morris Agency. She had to agree when Meistrich pointed out that series creator Rafi Marcus never would have gotten past the WMA switchboard had he not brought the project to Nehst.

"The Bruce Beresford, Annette Bening, Jessica Biel picture for $10 million is easy to make." But the established players won't listen to ideas from people like Marcus, or James Eschricht and John Infantino, creators of Dribble Kick Throw. The latter project is one of Nehst's highest profile projects, and is described as The Little Rascals with sports.

Among the projects they've bought, there is a traditional indie, comedy, horror, animated, documentary, and a "crazy action film." The web series came in as TV pitches, and will be made with full production value, ready to move to TV should the opportunity present itself. But the company embraces full web technology, and its initial plans are to air these series on a self-branded website, supported by advertiser dollars. They have partnered with a major advertising agency (to be announced shortly) to bring the top brands in the world in as sponsors.

Some of the projects came in from people inside of the industry who still lacked representation or the proper access, while others came from complete unknowns. People from out of nowhere who had no real aspirations of working in the industry and just had a good idea.

"We’ll take pitches from everybody," explains Meistrich. "We have a somewhat onerous agreement so we don’t get sued. And there is a slight fee of $10, which helps to weed out the total crazies. Plus it helps create a more manageable number of people."

But that "onerous agreement" is more to protect themselves than to shortchange the works' creators. Purchase deals are negotiated independent to that pitch agreement. And Nehst has even helped connect some of their writers with representation.

Nehst's production level aims at making projects in the $2-50 million range. Quite the range, but not unlimited. The one option (as opposed to purchase) deal they made was for a film with a budget around $150 million, for which they will be seeking co-financing. So where has the funding come from? Private investors. And Meistrich and Nehst plan a major announcement to coincide with the upcoming Toronto Film Festival, publicizing the amount they've raised. Meistrich kept mum on the amount, but referred to it as a "big number."

Nehst is also seeking completed films to distribute. They've already picked up two such films, and are negotiating for another. They will looking to make more such deals at Toronto. The company is also keeping an open mind regarding distribution channels. Properties may get a theatrical release, go straight to DVD, or be released on cable or for direct download, depending on the specific project.

In addition to PitchNehst.com, the company is using other self-created web outlets to get the word out. They do their casting via screentest.biz, which is currently listing casting calls for two features, two web series and a TV series.

One of the most common complaints developing writers have is about the difficulties of breaking down doors to take their first steps. Larry Meistrich and Nehst Studios have lowered this barrier to entry significantly. Now all you have to do is create something good and hope they find it worth their while!

(Hat tip to new friend Dave McCrea for the heads up about Nehst!)

Tags: screenwriting, filmmaking, Larry+Meistrich, Nehst+Studios

Discount for Screenwriting Expo

2007-08-29T09:59:00.000+03:00

As promised previously, I have a discount code for you all to use for the upcoming Screenwriting Expo in October. The discount code will get you $10 off the registration fee between now and September 14th, or $30 off after that. So for best rates, register before September 14th and use the code; fees will be $64.95 for a regular registration and $289.95 for a Gold Pass.

To use the code, click HERE. After choosing which of the two options you'd like and clicking on the "Register Now" button, insert the code 2007Expo_Haber in the Coupon Code slot. Then hit "Apply Coupon."

Once again, here is my course schedule for the event:

Joel Haber (Rated a star speaker in 2005, 2006)

Thursday, October 25
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Writing to be Read Course Level: ALL
Course Description: You already know that format errors and poor grammar mark your screenplay as amateurish, turning off any script reader to whom it is assigned. Professional script analyst and screenwriter Joel Haber draws on his experience to examine specific examples of screenplays that were rejected, taking your understanding of the reader's thought process to a higher level. If you can get past what might annoy a reader and really get into his or her head, you can learn how to give your screenplay a better chance of garnering that coveted RECOMMEND rating!
Buy Now More Information...

Thursday, October 25
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Verbalizing the Visual Moved from Thurs at 9 a.m. Course Level: ADV
Course Description: While you may write witty dialogue, how do you fare with long, active passages in which little dialogue is uttered? Professional screenwriter and script analyst Joel Haber examines excerpts from the screenplays of well known movies to highlight the techniques that help to create the evocative descriptions that can enliven chases, fights, physical comedy and even sex scenes.
Buy Now More Information...

Thursday, October 25
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Effective Use of Flashbacks and Voiceovers Course Level: ADV
Course Description: Flashbacks and voiceovers are much-maligned storytelling devices, and there are few ways to make your script look more amateurish than through their misuse. However, when used effectively, they can go a long way to creating a mood, adding suspense or surprise, or simply telling your story in a unique way. Professional screenwriter and script analyst Joel Haber highlights ways these tools can be used to positive effect, using excerpts from well known films as illustration.
Buy Now More Information...

Friday, October 26
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Verbalizing the Visual: Scene Creation Workshop Moved from Thurs at 3 p.m. Course Level: ADV
Course Description: In this workshop follow-up to his Verbalizing the Visual seminar, professional screenwriter and script analyst Joel Haber will work with students to put the techniques into effect. Participants will create scenes from scratch, which we will then review collectively to examine the application of the Verbalizing the Visual techniques. Please note: this workshop is designed for those participants who have already attended the Verbalizing the Visual seminar, at this Expo or in previous years.
Buy Now More Information...

As it gets a little closer, I'll also offer up some of my picks/suggestions for other seminars and events. Hope to see you all there!

Tags: screenwriting, Screenwriting+Expo

DVD Movie Review: Dreams on Spec

2007-08-28T19:44:00.000+03:00

A few people around the Scribosphere have mentioned the new doc Dreams on Spec (by Daniel Snyder), and I've watched it and want to give a brief review. For those who don't know, the film is a look at three of the thousands of people who each year write screenplays on spec, hoping to make the move from developing amateur to working professional. In other words, it is about people like most of us.

Spoilers ahead (but hey, it is a documentary, so what do you expect?!)

The film is good -- generally well-made and interesting with moments that are entertaining, moving and/or interesting. And while it never truly answers the question it poses (i.e. What drives so many people to write spec screenplays when the sheer numbers make the odds of success seem ridiculous?), it still offers some minor insights. The film follows three writers who (fortuitously or by design) basically end up in each of the three ways that they logically could. One gains some measure of success, one quits, and one perseveres and continues writing, despite rejection.

The decisions each makes, and the tribulations they each face (both professionally and personally) should be familiar to most of us, and the film is thus relatable. At the same time, while it might shed some light on the psyche of the writer to those who are unfamiliar, there will be little new in this film for most of us. For the bulk of the film, most of the people reading this blog will be nodding their heads knowingly, rather than thinking deeper thoughts or learning new things about the spec screenwriting life.

Still, there are some things in Dreams on Spec that should be good for even our crowd, despite the lack of unfamiliar material. Firstly, it is nice to be able to watch these people, and see bits of ourselves in there. It makes us feel that we're not alone in our struggles (much the same way that reading the various blogs of our Scribosphere community do). It can sometimes be heartening when you know that other people are sharing the same struggles that you are.

But perhaps the best part for us developing writers is that Snyder has intercut the three screenwriters' stories with interviews of well-known and successful screenwriters. Among others, the filmmakers interviewed Gary Ross, Nora Ephron, Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, James L. Brooks and Steven de Souza. Amongst the most interesting was Dennis Palumbo, a former screenwriter and current therapist who specializes in writers and other industry types. He adds an interesting insight into the writer's mind.

Probably most poignant, and unfortunately least surprising, is that the writer who calls it quits after struggling too long and facing too much rejection is the one who has the most external cards stacked against her. She is a Black woman, and she also seems to focus on the slightly more indie side of things. But sadly, she also seems like she might be the most talented (hard to tell since we never read or hear much of their scripts), or at least the one with the best balance of the commercial and artistic. Furthermore, she came from a job working for a production company, where she presumably had learned the business and craft better (as I know I have from my work). Thus, her despair is that much more moving when it hits.

Also interesting is the continued struggles and compromises faced by the "successful" one of the three. Even with his film moving towards production, he still faces numerous hurdles both annoying and (at times) insulting, all for the cause of getting a film made.

Ultimately, Dreams on Spec is not a great or groundbreaking film, but a good one worth watching. This is true both for the myriad other spec screenwriters of the world, and for anyone who is curious about what drives us. And while it might never fully answer this question, it still might add to an understanding of where our minds are, collectively speaking.

Update: Alex Epstein posted his review of the film yesterday, but I hadn't read it yet. You should go read it HERE. He raises some points that I felt uncomfortable saying, but he's right. One of the reasons that so many spec writers struggle for so long without finding success is that many of them simply are bad writers. Not all. But many.

So the idea is that if a writer writes screenplays for a certain amount of time (and I'm not saying I know how long that is, though as one of Alex' commenters suggests, 10 years is a good starting point for the discussion) and still finds no success, (s)he should likely call it quits, because (s)he is likely lacking the necessary skills/talent. Certainly there are some writers who call it quits too early, and that shows they lacked the perseverance to succeed. And others do persevere, and finally do find success after much longer. But most of that latter category probably found some minor measures of success along the way rather than just pure rejections.

Most likely, it all comes down to how you define your own progress and success. But if you work for long enough and you fail to meet those definitions, you certainly need to ply yourself with a good dose of reality.

Tags: screenwriting, Dreams+on+Spec

Change Those Sidebar Links

2007-08-28T04:49:00.000+03:00

Yet another active member of the Scribosphere has moved from promising amateur screenwriter to the pro ranks. So if you have your links separated (as some do) between the pros and the others, you all can move his link to a new category.

Please join me in congratulating my virtual friend, Joshua James!

Tags: screenwriting, Scribosphere

Screenwriters Save the World!

2007-08-25T00:37:00.000+03:00

Or at least save some trees. Which, I suppose, is one way to start saving the world as well, no?

My old friend Tamara (we've known each other since around 5th grade or so) has started a grass roots campaign to try to save some paper, and thus some trees. Called Change the Margins, the initiative has lofty goals that will require very little from any one of us. Think of it as environmentalism for the lazy man (or woman).

The idea is, if we all change our word processors to have narrower margins (the suggestion is .75" instead of the typical 1.25 inches per side), every document we print will consume less paper, and thus contribute to fewer trees killed worldwide. Admittedly, any one of us will have little effect on this issue, but if enough people make this change, the collective global impact could be substantial.

One goal the campaign has set, which could increase the impact of this measure is to try to persuade Microsoft to change the default margin settings on MS Word. There is a petition up at the site, and I hope you'll consider signing it, as I already have.

Now, it's true that screenplays have very rigid formatting guidelines, and most of us don't have the option of altering them when we submit our scripts. (I did, however, once encounter a script that had been submitted from a production company to the larger company, for which I was working. It contained a form note on the bottom of the title page that said that as an environmentally conscious company, they submit all screenplays printed double-sided. Nice!) Still, I did want to at least suggest a few changes that we, as screenwriters can make to contribute (in addition to changing the margins for our non-script documents).

I don't know about you, but I'm the type of writer who writes on the computer, but tends to do a lot of my editing on paper. After I finish a draft, I typically print it out and mark it up by hand. Well, those printed pages don't have to waste as much paper as they might.

One option you have is to change your settings so that you print 2 pages per sheet, instead of one. They will be printed side by side on the page, held with the long side of the page running along the top, instead of top to bottom. Thus, you are using half as much paper. And if you then go and print on both sides of the page, you are actually using 1/4 the paper you would have! It is true that the font size prints much smaller, but it isn't tiny, and your eyes adjust relatively quickly. And even if you still can't adjust to 2 pages per side, printing double sided should be standard for draft copies.

Another option is something that my parents have been doing for a long time. They have a stack of "dirty paper" by the printer. This is paper that they may have brought home from the office, or previously printed drafts on. The paper has stuff already printed on one side, but it is stuff that isn't important. The paper would have normally been thrown out. Instead, they use it to print drafts on the other, "clean" side. I've done this as well, and I highly recommend it for drafts, or other "unimportant" work pages.

It is easy for writers to close themselves up in their rooms and forget about the world outside. These have been a few simple steps we can all take to reverse that, and help save the world instead.

(And kudos to you, Tamara!)

Tags: Change+the+Margins, environmentalism, paper+conservation, screenwriting

Expo 6 Announcement

2007-08-21T03:48:00.000+03:00

Astute screenwriters out there may have noticed that the schedules for Screenwriting Expo 6 have been posted. I was waiting to post about this, because there was a drop of tweaking I needed to do with my schedule, but now that that has been accomplished, I'm pleased to announce that I will once again be presenting seminars at this year's Screenwriting Expo.

To recap my previous involvement, I first attended Expo as a participant in 2004 (Expo 3). I enjoyed it immensely and learned a lot, as well as meeting lots of great people, and making contacts, etc. In the following two years, I presented the same two seminars at Expos 4 and 5. I am honored to have been named a "Star Speaker" for both of those years, meaning that my seminars were rated very highly by those who attended them.

At this upcoming Expo, on October 24-28, 2007, I will be expanding my presentations. I will be again presenting the two seminars I've given previously: "Writing to be Read" and "Verbalizing the Visual." In the former, I review specific scripts that I have given a PASS rating, as a reader, and explore the complex reasons they received that rating, in the hope of helping you get into a reader's mind. In "Verbalizing the Visual" I go through excerpts of well-known scripts to highlight scenes that were primarily visual in nature, and learn numerous techniques by which the screenwriters translated those visual scenes into verbal descriptions. This seminar in particular has been a very popular one for me in years past.

The two new seminars I will be adding this year build on those. One is a "Verbalizing the Visual Workshop" for those who have taken the first seminar. In it, we will create scenes from scratch, using the techniques we've learned. Then we will review them as a group. The other is called "Effective Use of Flashbacks and Voiceovers." In that seminar I will approach these two oft-maligned tools, looking at numerous screenplay and video excerpts that used these techniques well or poorly, identifying the differences.

Complete descriptions of all my seminars can be found here.

I would love to see many of you at those seminars! I'm also planning to throw yet another "Expo Scribosphere Gathering" which I hope will be better attended than last year's drinkfest. As it gets closer, I'll get details out to you. Let me know if you're interested in joining! It is also possible that I might have some other things going on during Expo, but I'll fill you all in if and when I know more.

Be aware that registration prices for Expo go up significantly ($50) after September 14th. But I'll also say that I'm hoping to get a discount code for y'all in the not too distant future.

Tags: Screenwriting+Expo, screenwriting+seminars, Scribosphere

Happy Bukday Week!

2007-08-15T20:41:00.000+03:00

I've always appreciated when fans of a dead artist remember him (or her) on his birthday, rather than on the day of his death. I'm well-known as a Deadhead, and I loved the fact that we choose to remember Jerry on August 1st, his birthday, rather than a week later on August 9th, the day he died.

Well, tomorrow is the birthday of another great but dead 20th Century drunk, err, artist -- Charles Bukowski. And though he is the type of (alcoholic) character who might appreciate being remembered on the day of his death (March 9, 1994), I'll still be thinking of him during this time. And in fact, some people have organized a Bukday Week celebration in honor of Buk's b-day.

I've been a fan of Buk's work for a while, and always got a kick out of his thinly-veiled self-references. For screenwriters and film fans, I highly recommend watching or rewatching Barfly. The first time I saw this film, I enjoyed it, but I saw it purely as a drama. But the second time I watched it, I realized how funny it is too, and how there is a true dark comedy buried in this autobiographical piece. The film also contains two top-notch performances (Faye Dunaway and Mickey Rourke, both giving what I consider amongst their best performances on screen), as well as a favorite line of mine. When the art critic from the magazine finds him leaving his bar, she asks him, "Who are you?" to confirm that he is Bukowski (or Chinaski, actually). To which Chinaski responds, "Ahhhhh, the eternal question..."

Now, for those who would like to take their Bukday celebration a step further, I'd also recommend reading Buk's novel Hollywood. In it, you'll find Bukowski's thinly-veiled retelling of his life while writing Barfly, itself a thinly-veiled retelling of his earlier life. How's that for post-modern self-reference?

If that's not enough of a celebration, you can drink some whiskey (and by some, I mean a bottle or three), and pass out in a pool of your own vomit. Though it might be easier to take advantage of some of the events around L.A. (if you're in town here). LAist has a few listed here. Anyone feel like trekking downtown with me tonight?

Tags: Charles+Bukowski, Bukday, writing, screenwriting, alcoholism

Who Art Thou?

2007-08-14T06:30:00.000+03:00

A recent search landed someone on this former post of mine. And just as it followed up on this prior post, I would again like to reprise the question.

So, who are you? Tell me something about yourselves. This will be a nice way to see who is still here (or back) after my year-long lag in regular posting.

First time around I asked you to

Drop a comment with your name (or pseudonym if you're feeling secretive), some of your writing background if you have it, where you live, and anything else that seems pertinent. Fave films or genres? Birthday (don't expect presents)? Favorite cut of beef?

The second time it was

If you responded the first time around (click that link above to check), no need to comment again here, unless you want to update us! It also might be fun to reread that and see how your life may have changed since then.

But for those who didn't respond then, I'd love it if you spoke up now. Give us a name or pseudonym. What is your favorite drink? What is the most embarrassing thing you've ever written? Any distinguishing scars or features? Tell us whatever you think we should know! As I said then, this is your post.

Thanks.

Okay, so if you didn't comment previously, I'd love it if you commented now. And if you have, feel free to update us. Answer any of the above questions, or something else. Who was your first kiss? Tell us about that time you were arrested. Or that other time. Whatever you want.

After all, this is your post!

Tags: blogging, Scribosphere