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Posts Tagged ‘Screenwriting’
You Will Read My F**king Script! – 11. September, 2009
Everyone is buzzing about this Village Voice article. Why? I think it’s because in the age of Reality TV Celebutantes sex tapes we love watching idiots make asses of themselves but let’s save that for later.
First, let me say that “I get it.” When I recently turned in my TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNON CHRONICLES TV spec for contests, I suffered over every sentence, every word. Not only did I employ all of John August’s tips but I also read it from last page to first and I reread the first ten pages ten times more than the rest of the script. If I go back and find I dropped an apostrophe from a contraction, I want to commit seppuku in the shower.
But that’s not everyone’s policy. Terrible writing chocked full of grammar and spelling mistakes isn’t just for the amateur either. I once worked for a small indie film production company run by a titan in the field and they asked me to clean up a certain filmmaker’s script before it went out. This writer/director, who shall go unnamed but I will say that he won Sundance, became an overnight success, still makes films and now also stars in big Hollywood productions, handed in a script that looked like it was typed up by a retarded orangutan. I, who am not an expert in grammar, could spot the syntactical carnage miles from the page… but I digress.
I get why this guy doesn’t want to read your script. No one wants to hear the truth. I know. The older I get the more honest I get and the more folk look hurt when I give them said honesty but in this industry you gotta develop thick skin. There’s a reason that all the filmmakers that make it are jerks.
But does this guy have to be such a douche? Maybe. But do I want to hear him rant about it? Let me say this: yes, that guy was a dick for cornering you but you are a dick for writing this article. Hey, I’m sorry if your diamond slippers are too tight. Might I help you slide them off with a chainsaw?
That’s what I thought.
Posted in Screenwriting
“No” Means “Try Harder” – 3. September, 2009
Before I get bombarded by some womyns group, let me assure you that 1) my momma raised a good boy and 2) I’m talking about perseverance in the film industry.
I know it’s frowned upon to share defeat but it’s the reality of working as a creative in the movie industry. Recently, I suffered two hits.
First, the spec commercial I made for the Amazon “Make-Your-Own-Ad” contest wasn’t chosen for one of the top 5 spots. I have no idea how many entries there were but I would assume a lot of people would take a shot at $20k.
Second, I topped out at the second round of the Austin Teleplay competition. They did send a letter saying that making the second round means I was in the top 10%. Someone even took the time to send me a hand written note with the form letter congratulating my courage for writing on a new show (the recently canceled TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES).
Obviously I’m bummed but if I dwell on the negative while trying to hack my way into this industry, I’d have committed suicide a long time ago. No, instead I take great pride in the work I’ve done, add it to the portfolio and move on to the next short (an actress from my Amazon spec pitched me an idea) and spec teleplay (I’m pretty sure it’ll be a FRINGE but I’m considering a DOLLHOUSE or possibly an EASTBOUND & DOWN).
As I say to my colleagues, I must heed as well: Chin up, gather your strength and keep moving forward.
My Summer 2009 – 31. August, 2009
As the summer of 2009 draws to a close, allow me a few minutes to look back at what I did for my summer vacation.
Vacation? Bull! I worked my ass off this summer (and I managed to have some fun, too). What did I do this summer?
- I wrote my first TV spec for the now canceled TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES.
- I found an editor for my feature.
- I shot a live-action/stop-motion spec for Amazon.
- I went to my first Comic-Con.
- I went to my first Tiki Oasis.
- I shot the first material for my multi-medium project.
- I directed scenes for an actor’s reel.
- I saw The Kills, Neko Case, Death Cab for Cutie and Andrew Bird in concert.
I’d say that’s a pretty damn productive summer.
2009 Midyear Update – 4. July, 2009
Six months into 2009, I think it’s time to check in with those goals I set for myself back in January.
Getting Back in the Directing Chair – Sadly, I haven’t directed anything since I wrapped my film at the end of last year. I was hoping to direct a web series I’d been developing with a troupe of actors but that fell through. I’d like to get something under my belt before the end of the year, maybe a spec spot or a short doc, but at this point…
Write Two Features and One Teleplay – There is cause to celebrate here. I finally finished my TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES spec.
Once I broke the story, the script came easily. And I gotta say I kinda enjoyed it. I really think I might give it another go later this year with a FRINGE spec.
Oh, and for those wondering what I do with a T:SCC spec, so far I’ve submitted to the Austin Film Festival Teleplay Competition and the Disney/ABC Television Writing Fellowship and soon I’ll be sending it to the Warner Brothers Writers Workshop.
As for writing a new feature script, I always have to consider what I’ll direct next. I have a few ideas simmering. Basically, I’m deciding between a sequel to the film I just shot, a zombie flick, a coming-of-age comedy and a twist on the bromance movie. Of the ideas I just listed, each one gets increasingly bigger and I think that affects my ability to set them up as my next directing gig. I’m also working on a web-series of my own that I can’t talk about (it’s sorta a legal thing).
Network More – I’ve been trying to reach out to folks but there’s plenty of room for improvement. I am also on the verge of re-styling my website and then possibly this blog (more computer stuff to learn).
Work on Pitching – Yeah, I haven’t really worked on that.
As for my other non-film related goals, I haven’t achieved any of them. I’ve been swamped with work since the year started. But I am teaching myself After Effects and I’m learning how to use the Magic Bullet Suite.
Lastly, I hope you have a happy and safe 4th of July.
My First TV Spec – 8. June, 2009
For a while now I’ve wanted to try my hand at writing a television spec but I didn’t really watch TV so I never found a show I was comfortable diving into until I caught TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES.
Soon after the series kicked off, I had a kernel of an idea for a script but I couldn’t break the story. Everything I hashed out didn’t fit the tone of the series and speccing TV is all about writing with the show’s voice. It was always “on again, off again” until May 12th. That day I received an email from the Austin Film Festival informing me that they’d extended the deadline for their teleplay contest to June 8. Okay, that gives me a deadline but I still hadn’t figured out the story. Then one morning as I was in the shower, BAM–I cracked the story wide open. That was May 17th. May 18th, Fox cancels the show.
This is the point when I should have thrown in the towel. But I kept hearing Brian Peterson saying that “TV writers get 2 weeks to write a script but sometimes they only get 3 days so if you can’t write fast, you don’t belong in television.”
Suddenly I had something to prove to myself.
By May 26th I had a 5-page outline. By June 1st I finished my first draft of the script. I took 4 days for the first rewrite and just 2 for the second. June 8th I rushed down to the WGA to register the script. 15 minutes later I was in line at my local post office.
For a recap:
I know that isn’t a world record (you all know the ROCKY story, right?) and writing shouldn’t be a race but sometimes it is and it feels damn good to cross the finish line.
Now, time to sleep.
No, wait, time to sync hours of footage.
No, first some sleep.
Posted in Screenwriting
The 2008 Black List – 26. May, 2009
After my last post on writing for Hollywood, I stumbled across this article about the 2008 Black List.
What is the black list? It’s a list of “great” scripts that generated some sort of heat throughout the year but for one reason or another never received a green-light. Who votes on the scripts that get in? Big time agents, managers and executives. So is this a big ploy to get traction for projects that have gone cold? Maybe, but is that a bad thing? Does being on the list mean your script is dead? No. Witness JUNO. It actually got turned into a pretty good movie (did I say that?).
Disclaimer: I’m friends with at least two writers that have been on previous black lists so take with a grain of salt.
Did you read the loglines of the top ten scripts? Any favorites?
Posted in Screenwriting
Writing Big Hollywood Pics – 18. May, 2009
Recently, the Writers Guild of America held a panel on the state of the industry. Here are some bullet points (all culled from John August with my commentary added–look at me being all web 2.0 and remix)
… Okay, are you as depressed as I am? If it’s any consolation, John pointed out that the panel was made up of studio guys that make big movies, not indie filmmakers.
Yeah, that doesn’t make me feel better.
Posted in Industry, Screenwriting
You Sunk My Writing Group! – 25. September, 2007
That reference to one of my favorite “board” games only disguises the sad fact that there is no writing group this fall. No one wanted to commit. Not true. One guy (besides me) wanted to do it. But two does not a writing group make.
Maybe this is a sign that I need to accomplish these goals on my own. In my experience nothing is easy, everything is hard. I’m always being reminded that I must do things on my own. I can’t count on anyone…
Whoa! That was a quick visit by Dark Tony.
I have to write this feature script. I’m now considering a UCLA extension class; I can’t take a 434, I’m not enrolled this quarter. Maybe I’ll pull a script-in-a-month for October. Either way, I must pound this out while prepping my thesis.
Ugh.
Posted in Screenwriting
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