Indie Film LA - Writers

CloseUp: Louis Bardel

2008-03-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

How does one write about his life?

I was thinking of writing in the third person with something like “Louis Bardel moved to Los Angeles in 2006. Originally from the Big Apple, Louis…” Naah.

I’ll cut to the chase.

I want to produce a beautiful story. I want the viewer, the reader to be enchanted by gorgeous images and solid ideas. The feelings must be strong.

Ideally, I get a job producing, finding talent, or scouting locations. Currently I teach drama to youth in South Central Los Angeles.

Oh yeah, I'm a writer too.

Of all the jobs I’ve had I’m most proud of my stint as a researcher at the Village Voice, America’s largest alternative weekly. Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Wayne Barrett, Ron Plotkin, Frank Owen, J. Hoberman, Pulitzer Prize-winner Mark Schoofs paid large dividends. I got the chance to publish several articles and learn the craft of reporting.

My interests include politics, education, voodoo, chemistry, fashion, Latinos, literature, family, Arabs, extreme sports, humor, travel, movies, Blacks, automobiles, history, romance, Europe, North Africa, dancing, Asians, and bicycles.

Contact Louis
louisbardel@yahoo.com
www.stageandscreenwriters.com

Getting Your Script "Ready"

2008-02-14T00:53:00.000-08:00

By Lynn Harrod

Writing a screenplay is no easy task. Don't let the overnight success stories you read about in Variety fool you. It takes more than a cool idea and a few weeks of writing to complete a script. And finishing a first draft is not finishing at all. It's just the beginning.

It takes time to revise it, revise it, revise it (sometimes completely rewrite it from scratch) into a work of gold, and gold it must be. As we've discussed before, there's no point in writing a "good" or "okay" script, because in this town, they are the same as "bad."

Your script must be GREAT -- nothing else will do -- and all great things take time. Even if you are a brilliant, seasoned writer, and even if you're able to spend all day, everyday, working on your script, it will still take a while. This is perhaps the first thing you must accept if you're serious about being a screenwriter.

There are many different approaches. Some writers create an extensive treatment first. Others write an outline. However you get there, your script should not be sent out into Tinseltown until it is "ready."

When exactly is your script ready? All beginning writers grapple with this question. My first response is that it's not ready just because you've finished it. The fact that you got to page 90 and typed "The End" means nothing. You are far from done.

Being "ready" realistically means...

1) You've completed a feature-length script, which is between 90-120 pages.
2) It has been read and critiqued by several trusted (and honest) friends and associates.
3) You've made revisions based on some (not all) of the feedback.
4) You've repeated Steps 2 and 3 until you felt that the script is as good as you can personally make it.

I must repeat that last step...

4) You've repeated Steps 2 and 3 until you felt that the script is as good as you can personally make it.

This means that you can no longer see any flaws in it. As far as you're concerned, it is perfect. When you send a script out, whether to an agent, a producer, or someone that can refer you to either, the script must be as perfect as possible in your eyes.

Don't make the rookie mistake of sending out a rough draft with a note, "I'm not sure about the ending, and the intro of the villain is kinda shaky, so I wanted to see what you thought." When you do this, you are essentially asking a professional to re-write or co-write your screenplay. An agent or producer will see this as amateurish and immediately toss it.

Armed with piles of Post-Its loaded with trusted feedback, you must revise your script until it is rock-solid. You may write seven, eight, fifteen drafts, so long as it gets tighter with each draft. Be careful not to get stuck in an endless time vortex, where you spend ten years revising the same damn screenplay. If you are truly improving it with each draft, it will be done.

When you finally do get that special feeling and decide that it is flawless, that there is nothing else to be done, you will promptly remove "26th Draft" from the cover. When you send it out into the world, as far as those agents are concerned, it is your first draft. The truth is, drafts are not actually used until the script is bought and/or in production.

Get that script written. Get it ready. Then get it out there.

[Lynn Harrod is a filmmaker, a seasoned screenwriter of twelve years. His work has placed in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, the Writers' Network Screenplay Competition, the FadeIn Awards, and the Nevada Film Office Screenwriting Competition. Lynn is a staff writer for IFLA.]

Targeting Literary Agents

2008-02-11T12:24:00.000-08:00

By Lynn Harrod

Congratulations, you finished a screenplay. It could be your first or your tenth. You could have the goal of directing it yourself, or perhaps you simply want to sell it. For this article, let's assume that it's a feature-length script, and it's "ready."

Be absolutely certain that it's ready before sending it out for consideration. If it's not ready, it tells people that you're not ready.

Now let's find a literary agent. There's two ways to approach them. The first and preferred way is by REFERRAL. This means that someone the agent trusts personally refers you for consideration. Your script still has to knock 'em dead, but at least the agent reads your work. If they like it, or feel they can do something with it (i.e. sell it), they will take you on as a client.

However, most of us do not know someone with such ties. For the rest of us, there is the dreaded QUERY letter.

Queries are dreaded because they are difficult to write (whole books exist that cover this skill), because the odds are slim that they will work (most agents depend on referrals, and many ignore queries entirely), and because they require research.

Research? Yes, because a good query is targeted to a specific agent or producer. Rather than read like a form letter, it should show that you did your homework and that you are reaching out specifically to this person.

The most common advice is to get a copy of the Hollywood Creative Directory (HCD) or the Hollywood Representation Directory (HRD) and send a mass mailing to every agent listed. It's a start. More intelligent advice says to target specific agents, ones whose current and past clients write material similar to your own. This will increase the odds that they will ask to see your script, bringing you a step closer to being represented.

1) Make a LIST OF MOVIES that are similar to your script. Don't put too much time into this step. Just jot down some movies from the top of your head.

2) Go to AMAZON.COM. Look up each movie on your list. Notice that each movie has a section, "Customers who bought this item also bought..." and another one, "What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?" These sections will give you more movies to add to your list. Only add movies that are indeed similar to your script.

3) Take your revised list and go to IMDB.COM. Better still, go to IMDBPRO.COM. With the Pro version, you can get a paid membership, or sign up for a two-week free trial period, which should be plenty of time for our research today.

4) Look up the movies on your list. For each movie, make note of its SCREENWRITER(s).

5) Look up each screenwriter and make note of their AGENT (or manager, if agent is not listed), including their mailing address and email, if listed. Now your list of movies is beginning to look like research. Each movie is similar to the script you just wrote. Jotted next to each title is the writer and his agent or manager, along with contact information.

6) Compose a master QUERY letter. If you don't know how, look into it and return to this step. Basically, the letter must sell you and your script as succinctly as possible.

7) Leave one paragraph of the letter open to PERSONAL INFO about the agent. This is where you will show off that you did your homework, "I feel Risk Factor will complement the espionage thrillers of your clients, Joe Bronton and Frank Carillo." You are basically creating a form letter, and then tweaking it for each person you send it to.

8) SEND OUT your letters. Snail mail used to be the preferred choice, but email is quickly becoming the new standard. Unlike a paper letter, which takes effort to open and respond to, an email is one click to read, another click to reply to. An agent will go through dozens of email queries a day, while perhaps putting off opening the snail mail queries (or not opening them at all).

If you do choose to email, make sure the subject line is something that will garner their attention. If you placed in a writing contest, make the subject "Chesterfield quarterfinalist," etc. If you were a soldier in the Iraq war, or used to be a stripper, or any past life that has to do with the script, mention it in the subject, "Script written by defected soldier," etc. This will virtually guarantee that the email will be read, versus something generic like "Read my query" or "Consider my new script."

Lastly, keep track of who you send a query to and when. Email makes this easy. After you send out an email query, look for it in your "Sent" folder. Move it to a new folder, such as "Agent Search." It serves as a convenient record for all your queries.

Future posts will deal with creating a solid query and following up on them and script submissions.

[Lynn Harrod is a filmmaker, a seasoned screenwriter of twelve years. His work has placed in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, the Writers' Network Screenplay Competition, the FadeIn Awards, and the Nevada Film Office Screenwriting Competition. Lynn is a staff writer for IFLA.]

Writers' Strike - Why We Fight

2007-12-18T01:26:00.000-08:00

A simple explainer as to the issues causing the current Writers Strike. [WGA.org]

How to write an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard

2007-11-23T07:05:00.001-08:00

You too can be a Hollywood scriptwriter for one of the most exciting series on television! Just follow this simple tutorial and you'll be writing Dukes episodes in no time... [continue]

everything2.com

How to Find Weaknesses in Your Script

2007-07-27T23:23:00.000-07:00

By Don Bledsoe

The new screenwriter tends to have a love affair with is/her "baby." He's married to every word and nuance he's carefully scripted onto each page. Often, it reads more like a novel than a screenplay and usually it needs a serious rewrite. It's time to get a divorce.

You must not be afraid to hack, chisel or cut-out ANYTHING that does not serve to push the story forward. Sooner or later, you'll write a scene that is just plain good. You're in love again and all is right with the world. Finally, you conclude that it doesn't serve the story as it should. You must get a divorce and hack it out of the script.

Remember: not every story is movie material. Not every story is as fascinating on the screen as it is in our heads. This is especially true of biographical stories. As interesting as someone's true-life experiences are, they rarely translate well to the screen. However, it often makes an excellent bestselling
book.

In screenwriting, you only have TWO TOOLS to work with in a screenplay:

DIALOGUE: that characters say
ACTION: a visual description of what is seen on the movie screen

This does NOT include:

* Anything anyone "knows" (i.e. "Ed heard about Jennifer's problem at school.")
* Anything that cannot be photographed (i.e. "Mary loves chocolate ice cream.")
* Anything the audience "knows" (i.e. "This is the same woman we saw earlier at the bar.")
* Any background information (i.e. "John is Tom's best friend.")
* Any action description that uses '-ing' words. (i.e. "Sue is reading the newspaper." should be "Sue reads the newspaper.")

Here's a common sense approach to self-analysis of your own screenplay:

1. Read some FIRST-RATE scripts!

You need outstanding examples of well-written screenplays against which you can compare your work objectively. I recommend you read at least three, preferably nine, screenplays. Here's the catch: You MUST read them ALL in the same week. Agents and development executives read 35-50 a week on their own time so I know you can read at least three. Don't look at a single page of your script until you've finished reading the scripts you downloaded. Read one (or more) in each of the following categories:

* One in the same genre as yours,
* One that's been made into an OSCAR-winning or nominated movie, and
* One that's an all-time favorite movie of yours.

2. Now: read your script.

It might seem a little different now, but that's GOOD. You're becoming a little more objective.

3. Read yours again: OUT LOUD.

Isaac Asimov: "Either it sounds right or it doesn't sound right."

You might be amazed at how you'll spot those things you know need a little extra attention. They're those things that seem "odd" or don't feel "right" to you when you read it out loud. You might find yourself thinking that certain characters say and do things that don't seem to "fit" their backstory. You likely find this especially true of dialogue. Circle these dialogue passages so you can come back to them later.

4. Act it out.

This is also an opportunity to get actor friends to read your script. If scenes are awkward or don't come across as you intended, they need work. Stage a reading of the script. Make sure all of the actors get a list of the characters they will portray and have someone assigned to all of the lesser, incidental characters. Don't prep them! Let the actor get the information about the character only from the script. If he doesn't get it, neither will an agent, reader or producer; and you need to go back the set-up the character so he DOES get it. During the reading, mark scenes that don't work or have the intended impact and come back to
them later.

5. Read it through out loud again, but only the ACTION DESCRIPTION.

Movies are a visual medium. If your story isn't visual, maybe it shouldn't be a movie. Did you get lost? Are things vague? Are the scenes not visual? Can you tell what's going by the visual clues? Mark those scenes and come back and flush them out a little more.

6. One more time out loud, but this time only the DIALOGUE.

Do characters seem to drone on and on? Can't tell WHAT they're talking about? Do they talk about things not essential to the scene? Mark these scenes and come back and rewrite them later.

Rule of Thumb: Scenes and dialogue should start at the point where, if you cut out the start of the scene, what follows doesn't make sense any more. This also applies to movies. Many screenplays really start around pages 30-50, which means the writer spent way too much time setting up the story. How do you tell? As you read, it suddenly seems as though you've started a "movie in a movie" and you like it better than the one you started. Time to get divorced. Unsure? Write a second script and see which version you like best.

Writing is Rewriting

Ernest Hemingway: "Don't get discouraged because there's a lot of mechanical work to writing...I rewrote the first part of Farewell to Arms at least fifty times."

Paddy Chayefsky: "I'm not a great writer, I'm a great rewriter."

Good advice from two guys who ought to know.
[Don Bledsoe started young, producing a short film for NBC while still in high school. He worked in the Story Department at Paramount Studios at age 19 and later as an actor and makeup artist in film and television in Hollywood. A self-confessed computer geek he took up screenwriting in the early 90's and founded Script Nurse in 1999.]

Paul Haggis - Interview

2007-07-27T22:55:00.000-07:00

Acclaimed writer-director Paul Haggis has been a fixture of television and film for over 25 years. In this wide-ranging interview, the Oscar-winning co-screenwriter, director, and producer of Crash (Best Picture 2005) discusses his three-decade career.

Joe Eszterhas - On Screenwriting

2007-07-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

Screenwriter and author Joe Eszterhas discusses the writing process, and offers some advice for aspiring screenwriters.

Complete program at: http://fora.tv/fora/showthread.php?t=368

The Hollwood Formula Part 1: Period Romances

2007-07-16T02:20:00.000-07:00

By Lynn Harrod

The Hollywood Formula, that illusive, foolproof recipe for a blockbuster hit. Everyone in Tinseltown is constantly hunting for that perfect equation. But here's a secret: there is no Hollywood Formula.

This is because the equation mutates daily, making the hunt for it pointless. Still, in the never-ending search for the investment of least risk, Hollywood producers continue to put stock in it. This is why films come out in twos and threes. Studios are constantly trying to one-up each other in that quest for the perfect cash cow.

This is part one in my ongoing series of what we'll simply call "The Formula," and what it has morphed into this week.

PERIOD ROMANCES

Not to be confused with Romantic Comedies, which are usually set in present day, Period Romances usually revolve around an historic figure, usually an author in the Victorian or Shakespearean era. Lot of frilly costumes, painfully proper English, featuring a maverick female author with charm, wit, and spunk, and the foppish pretty boy that loves her. The female author must be played by an actress that is not only pretty, but must also have a history of playing quirky characters.

Note the two recent films to the right, one about author Beatrix Potter, the other about author Jane Austin. It's almost as if the two actresses called each other and compared notes on how to coyly look at the camera while their hunks lusted for them.

There are many other examples, but it's late, and I'm tired. I'm sure you can think of several to add.

[Lynn Harrod is a filmmaker, and a seasoned screenwriter of twelve years. His work has placed in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, the Writers' Network Screenplay Competition, the FadeIn Awards, and the Nevada Film Office Screenwriting Competition. Lynn is a contributing writer for IFLA.]

Cliches, Stereotypes, and Formulas (Part 2)

2007-07-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

By Lynn Harrod

Greetings fellow filmmakers and film buffs. This is Part 2 of my article on Movie Cliches, Stereotypes, Archetypes, and Formulas. In that article, I suggest not to turn your nose up at cliches, formulaic dreck, and other hack material, as we students of cinema so often do, but to study them, to master them, so that you can avoid them at times, exploit them at others.

Nothing is more fun than playing with the audience's expectations, and the cliche can be a valuable tool to that end.

Below are my own contributions to Roger Ebert's Little Movie Glossary. See if you can spot them in the next film you watch. See if you can nail a few of your own.

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

LAST HAND WINS
In every card game in any film, the last player to show his hand is the winner.

MOVIE POKER MAGIC
In movies, card players always get amazing hands (Kings full). If a player loses, it's only because his opponent got an even more amazing hand (Aces full).

RICH SCHOOL, POOR SCHOOL
In movies about a maverick teacher that inspires his/her students: If the school is rich (i.e. ivy league private school), the teacher will be forced to quit and move away by the end of the film, though the students have surely be enlightened. If the school is poor (i.e. inner city public school), the teacher will be applauded and continue to enrich the students. For rich schools, see "Dead Poets Society" and "Mona Lisa Smile." For poor schools, see "Lean On Me," "Stand and Deliver," and "Dangerous Minds."

POSH SADIST SHOPS
Particularly in comedies, fancy restaurants and upscale boutiques are always run by sadistic, contemptuous people who are not content to just refuse service, but must also humiliate and degrade the blue-collar hero(es).

BETROTHED TO A BEAST
A woman is set to wed a man in an arranged marriage. The groom-to-be is bald, fat, hairy, a complete jerk, and stinkin' rich. The woman's family insists she marry him because of his wealth and status, but she loves another man, a poor hunk that treats her like a queen. Inevitably, she chooses the poor hunk. Sometimes, in an effort to appear original... Surprise! The poor hunk is actually stinkin' rich, too! (See "Sweet Home Alabama.")

MILITARY CLARITY
When two characters are arguing, and one outranks the other in an army/militia/tribe/mob/cult, the argument ends with one firmly telling the other "Is that CLEAR??" This three-word question always demands respect and reminds the other character who is in charge, mister, even if the situation dictates otherwise.

THE HERMIT WARRIOR
A highly-trained expert in warfare is sought out for an impossible mission. Government agents track him down only to find he's become a recluse living in the wilderness, haunted by that one last mission gone wrong. They beg him to come out of "retirement" because apparently he's the only human being capable of whatever they need done. (See "Rambo," "The Hunted," "Shooter.") Also applies to recluse scientists ("The Core") and computer hackers ("Swordfish").

FOUND ART GAG
In comedies, a character in a museum tries to impress his girlfriend by commenting on an abstract sculpture. After his profound appraisal of the piece, a custodian walks up and takes it away, revealing it was actually piping/trash/equipment he was working with.

HOME-FREE BEACH
To show that a criminal has completely gotten away with a crime/heist/caper scot-free, the film ends with drinks and pats on the back on a beach in a foreign country. (See "Trading Places," "Office Space," "Enemy of the State," and even "The Shawshank Redemption.")

CUSHY CONVENIENT DUMPSTER
When a hero seemingly has no means of escape from a high rooftop there will always be a trash dumpster far below to jump into. The dumpster will always be large, its doors open, and full of Hefty bags filled with cushy paper trash.

MOUNTAIN TRUCKERS
During a car chase on a narrow mountain cliff road, Hero will be separated from his nemesis by a number of cars. When he tries to pass the cars, a semi-truck will suddenly pop up around the corner, horn blaring, and nearly send him to his demise. This same semi-truck also appears when two characters are racing each other on a cliff road.

THE IRRESISTIBLE MAN-IN-DRAG
Whenever a man must dress as a woman against his will, other men must hit on him. The uglier and more obvious the man appears in drag, the more wildly attractive he is to his fellow man. The more repulsed he is to be dressed this way, the more blunt the flirtations are that he gets.

ONE-NAIL TRAFFIC SIGNS
A sign posted at a fork in the road will consist of a large arrow pointing the way to the hero's destination. This arrow is not painted, but rather a separate piece of the sign, held in place by a single nail in its gravitational center. The sign is inevitably knocked over, spinning the arrow around, forcing the hero to guess which way to go. The correct path is NEVER guessed. First pioneered in cartoons, the one-nail traffic sign has made many appearances in movies. See "Jurassic Park," "Quick Change."

GERMANS IN A HURRY
German bad guys in action movies always yell "Schnell!" to each other in repetition, and often not much else in their native language.

GOOD JUDGE OF CHARACTER
Whenever someone says he is a good judge of character, it means he is anything but. The person(s) he trusts always turn out to be double-crossing back-stabbers. (See "Jurassic Park.")

SPEAK NOW OR FOREVER HOLD THE CLICHE
In movie weddings, the minister must always pause the ceremony to ask "If there is anyone present who thinks this marriage should not take place, let him speak now or forever hold his peace." Someone ALWAYS objects. If they do not object immediately, there is a long silence while everyone looks around the room at each other. The minister then continues "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and---" At this point someone runs in breathlessly and shouts out to dramatically halt the ceremony... ONE word from completion!

WRONG NUMBER FLIRT
A character gathers the courage to call the girl he loves. On an impulse, he grabs the phone, dials her number, and immediately spouts sweet nothings into the phone before she can say a word. This always results in Romeo discovering to his horror that he dialed a wrong number, and is actually talking to a 400 lb. hairy man smoking a stogie.

HUNGRY CORONERS
Coroners in movies are always eating sandwiches, particularly during a grizzly autopsy. While other characters are nauseous and ready to vomit, the coroner will bite into a sloppy meatball sub as he leans over the rotted, splayed corpse.

BRAIN SCAN OBJECTIVE VIEW
Whenever memories are read/scanned/viewed using high-tech equipment, the viewpoint is third-person, not the point-of-view of the character. This is obviously due to advanced brain-scanning technology.

VIDEO GAME HOMAGE
In the movies, every video game, no matter the type of game or how advanced or realistic, uses sound effects from ONE real-life game: The 1982 Atari 2600 version of Pac Man. The scene almost always ends with the sound of Pac Man losing a life.

FAST FOOD HAT RULE
In movies, all fast food restaurant employees wear ridiculous over-the-top hats, usually in the shape of a hamburger, hot dog, or other food. If the employee is delivering an order, their car also wears an equally ridiculous "hat."

PSYCHIC BARTENDER
Whenever anyone orders a beer in a bar, a brand or size is never mentioned. "Gimme a beer" is enough for the bartender to immediately serve a cold one. Clearly, the bartender is clairvoyant. This also explains why no one actually pays the bartender, because he has ascertained through his mental powers that the customer wants to open a tab.

THE TWO TYPES OF ENEMIES
In action movies, there are two types of enemies the Hero will fight: 1) Goons with glass jaws and magnetic bodies, who fall cold when punched and seem to attract bullets, 2) Bosses that approach being superhuman, who can dodge bullets and give and take the most brutal beatings before coming to a spectacular demise.

IVY LEAGUE MONOPOLY
In the movies, unless the story is about a particular school, only two universities are ever mentioned: Harvard and Yale.

CATCHER SUPREME
To illustrate the hero's high level of training and skill, an object is thrown at them with great force, so that they may expertly catch it with one hand, without looking. A twist to this technique is to use a blade/sword to slice the speeding object in half. See "Kill Bill," "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "Peaceful Warrior," "A League of Their Own."

CHINESE TAKEOUT MONOPOLY
Whenever someone, usually an eclectic group, burns the midnight oil at the office, they sit around a conference table eating Chinese takeout out of those little folded white boxes ("oyster pails"). Neckties are undone, collars are loosened, and chopsticks are always faithfully used.

DRINK THE TIME AWAY
Related to the Chinese Takeout Monopoly. When it must be shown that time is passing during a mundane activity (reading, studying, working at the office), the characters will at some point be drinking and eating. See Gandolf in "Lord of the Rings," Peter Falk in "The Princess Bride," and virtually any courtroom drama.

AUTISTIC SAVANTS ABOUND
Ever since "Rain Man," every autistic child in film or TV is also a savant, possessing an extraordinary gift, such as a photographic memory or genius-level math skills. In real life this is a rare occurrence.

GIRLY SISTERS, MACHO BROTHERS
If a movie revolves around a group of brothers, they're tough guys from the wrong side of the tracks. If a movie revolves around a group of sisters, they're upper-middle class suburbanites.

"HE DESIGNED IT"
In thrillers, when a character has the upper hand, surprising everyone with detailed knowledge of a machine/computer/compound/military strategy, someone will ask "How the hell does he/she know that?" Another character will sheepishly reply, "He designed it." See "Flight Plan," "The Abyss," "Live Free or Die Hard," "Star Trek II," and "Prison Break."

[Lynn Harrod is a filmmaker, a seasoned screenwriter of twelve years. His work has placed in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, the Writers' Network Screenplay Competition, the FadeIn Awards, and the Nevada Film Office Screenwriting Competition. Lynn is a staff writer for IFLA.]

Settings and Props are Characters, Too

2007-03-05T00:40:00.000-08:00

By Lynn Harrod

If you read screenplays regularly (and you should be), you may notice that some scene headings read INT. SMOKEY'S LOUNGE whereas others may be less specific, as INT. BAR. Sometimes you'll get as simple as INT. ROOM. Personally, Smokey's Lounge sounds like a real place, a setting that sparks my curiosity. The Bar and Room sound generic.

There are times when you actually want to be generic, when the reader (and eventually the theater audience) are not supposed to be intimately familiar with a place until it's time for a reveal, but even then, they're still interesting on some level. Their initial descriptions and the events taking place make even the most mundane settings unique.

Settings are characters. Props and backgrounds are characters. Anything that plays into the story, helps makes it unique, you must write them as characters.

In "Little Miss Sunshine," the eclectic family is not merely travelling across the country in a van. They're sardined together in a dilapidated, faded yellow VW bus with a horn that is constantly going off, as if constantly bickering along with the family. The bus can't take off from a standstill. It must be pushed so the driver can pop the clutch.

That rickety old bus is certainly a character in that film. It's just like the rest of the family, flawed but lovable, struggling to make it to California.

A friend once asked me to critique her screenplay, a drama set in a high school. Her supporting characters felt too similar, and she anticipated that I might point that out. What she didn't see coming was my critique of the actual high school itself. She never once described it in any way, so I naturally began picturing my own high school. Inevitably, there were scenes that didn't make sense, because my high school didn't have a football field, and my high school wasn't near a lake, etc.

I told my friend that I wanted to picture her high school as I read her script. The fact that the entire story takes place there suggests it should be approached as a wrap-around character. There's an opportunity to create a unique place, one that can accent the ensemble. Think of the library in "The Breakfast Club," a two-story, dead slient room. (It was a set, not an actual school library, despite how convincing it looked). The way the tables were clustered together in the middle, with books towering all around them, added to the angst and evental bonding of the adolescent group.

In "The Green Mile," the good-hearted guards and tired convicts do not simply spend their days and nights in a generic prison. They're on the famous Green Mile. Death Row is often (appropriately) called the Last Mile. Because their Death Row had a bright green floor, they called it The Green Mile. Why is this important? Why do this at all? For one, it makes the otherwise standard prison a unique place. More importantly, it shows that the guards have an affection for where they work. They treat a dismal place like Death Row the same way they do their prisoners, with honor and respect.

Fleshing out that setting, making the prison a character, in turn, gave more depth to the main characters, making the story more unique.

Anything you don't give depth and insight, whether it be settings, props, even a character's wardrobe, you are taking for granted. You're leaving it up to the reader to fill in the gaps with their imagination, and that doesn't always fit with your vision. This is when people "don't get it," and give you feedback that, to you, doesn't make sense.

The old bus in Little Miss Sunshine was established immediately as a barely-running relic, with rich description and dialogue. The characters questioned if it would make it all the way to California. Thus, we accept when it slowly starts to fall apart throughout the story. If it had been described merely as "a bus," a reader might ask on page 67, "Why is the horn suddenly always going off?"

I mentioned wardrobe can be a character. It can definitely be vital to a character. Everyone knows what Indiana Jones wears, right? Dusty leather bomber, boots, and the famous brown Fedora. Add the bullwhip, and you've got one of the all time classic movie characters.

How about Austin Powers and his nemesis, Doctor Evil? You're probably picturing their outfits right now, maybe even Doctor Evil's lair. This is because Mike Myers wrote their characters with such detail that even their clothing and environments had personalities all their own. Because of this, there's no mistaking these characters with any other in film. They are truly unique.

Unique characters, including settings, props, and wardrobe, are not enough to make a great screenplay (you still have story, relationships, and dialogue to iron out), but they are certainly critical if you want to create something special.

If you get only this part right, you're already ahead of most of the tens of thousands of hopefuls in town right now, with bland, forgettable scripts in their back pockets.

[Lynn Harrod is a filmmaker, a seasoned screenwriter of twelve years. His work has placed in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, the Writers' Network Screenplay Competition, the FadeIn Awards, and the Nevada Film Office Screenwriting Competition. Lynn is a staff writer for IFLA.]

Responding To Feedback

2007-03-05T00:09:00.000-08:00

By Lynn Harrod

Perhaps the most important part of the writing process, whether it be screenwriting or any other form, is receiving input, feedback, or as it's more formally known, "coverage." It's difficult for both the writer and the critic.

As a writer, you must know how to take criticism well and use it to reshape (ideally, improve) your script. Your reader must, first of all, know how to read a screenplay, analyze it, and offer constructive criticism, as opposed to making suggestions (more on that later).

If you're thinking, "What? Feedback is difficult for the writer?" you probably haven't received any yet.

Think about it. You pour your heart into a script, spending hours a day for months (sometimes years), designing, writing, rewriting, and polishing it. Even if it's not a story close to your heart, you put forth monumental effort just to get it on the page, and even more effort to make it great. Then comes the moment where you hand your baby to someone else to pick apart.

It's never good. Even when it actually is, it's not good, because the last thing you want to hear is simply "It was good" or "It was great." That kind of abbreviated critique means you have a weak reader. It probably also masks deeper, true feelings for your work, and does nothing to help you improve your script.

I used to work for a large data collection company for the film industry. They're the ones that hold test screenings, pass out surveys, and compile all the results from them, so that the studio can look over the test results in a few condensed pages. The data company had a saying, "OK is bad." After all the varied opinions, after all the questions and answers, test audiences are asked to give an overall impression of the film they just saw. They choose from "Good," "Bad," "OK," and often times the dreaded "Rental," as in, "I might rent it, but I wouldn't pay to see it in a theater."

"Rental" really means "OK" at best, and as we established, OK means Bad. It means they would not see it again. No one wants to see an OK film again.

Same goes for screenplays. No one wants to read an OK script again, and certainly, no one would recommend or champion an OK script. It must be Great. Nothing else will do.

But that's another post.

Back to feedback. I mentioned that it's also a tall task for the reader. This is because reading a script "deliberately," with all of one's attention and intellect, is actually pretty hard. It takes practice, observation, and a working knowledge of conventional storytelling. Doing anything deliberately (tasting wine, watching films, etc.) is both a fine art and an exact science.

Another reason it's difficult is that it entails pointing out someone else's mistakes and shortcomings. This is all subjective, of course, but many friendships have suffered and even ended after someone uttered the words, "Will you cover my script?" This brings us back to the main topic. The title of this post is, after all, "Responding To Feedback."

How do you take criticism? The short answer is to simply shut up. Don't get defensive. Don't take it personally. Don't say a word. Just nod and let the stinging words come. You will find this to be very hard. Let your reader tell you what they really think of your work. If you interrupt them in any way, you run the risk of making them feel that you "can't take it," and they will suddenly water down or even reverse what they were going to dish out. Valuable feedback like "The main characters feel interchangeable" will transform into the worthless "The main characters need some work, but they're good, don't get me wrong." Worse, you run the risk of losing a good reader.

If the coverage is on paper, and you're reading it alone, do not call your reader to "discuss" it. "Discuss" really means "debate," because you feel they didn't get your clever symbolism or the point of the murder in the last scene. It doesn't matter if they "get it," because quite often, they won't. What matters is their first impression of your script. Instead of trying to make them get it, you should be wondering why they didn't get it, whether it was them, or whether it was your vague, wandering story.

Alright, so the idea is to always shut up and take it, right? Quietly take all the criticism and sift through it later. Again, the short answer is yes. Shut up.

Well, there is one time you can and should speak up. It's when your reader offers suggestions instead of constructive criticism (and there is a big difference). You may choose to gently remind them that you're looking for feedback on what's there, not what they think should be there, a.k.a. "You Know What Would Be Cool?" If you manage to grab a good reader, one that knows how to properly cover a screenplay, you usually don't have to worry about this, but it will more often pop up and you must nip it in the bud. Here's some examples...

Constructive (good): "The main character's husband, Thomas, felt weak and flat. I didn't buy that he'd be married to someone as strong as Sarah."

Suggestion (bad): "Thomas should be an alcoholic. It would make him tough. You know what would be cool? He and Sarah can get into a drunken fight at a party, at her in-laws, maybe."

Constructive (good): "The characters all feel interchangeable. Their dialogue, their introductions, are too similar. They don't have distinct voices or personalities."

Suggestion (bad): "There should be more women. Turn Thomas into "Tammy." The fact that they all work at a coffee shop is boring. You know what would be cool? They should work at a bar, or a strip club. Sex sells."

Personally, I address it whenever someone offers what I feel are too many suggestions. Sometimes, I cross them off my list of readers entirely (securing a good group of readers takes time). Whether or not to cancel out suggestions is up to you (at least it is before the script is bought). You may elect to hear them and consider them, depending on who's dishing them out, but beware when allowing your reader to continue making suggestions. Pretty soon, they're spontaneously rewriting your script on the fly. Forget about coverage, now you're talking about a whole different story!

A better approach is to jot down notes on the (few) suggestions that actually spark your interest. Otherwise, kill it fast. You're here to harvest quality constructive feedback and make your screenplay as good as you can.

All this being said, if you're lucky enough to get that quality constructive feedback, I must reiterate, your job is to simply shut up and listen.

[Lynn Harrod is a filmmaker, a seasoned screenwriter of twelve years. His work has placed in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, the Writers' Network Screenplay Competition, the FadeIn Awards, and the Nevada Film Office Screenwriting Competition. Lynn is a staff writer for IFLA.]

Cliches, Stereotypes, and Formulas (Part 1)

2007-02-20T16:55:00.000-08:00

By Lynn Harrod

Cliché: "A phrase, expression, or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or novelty." Related to the cliché are the Stereotype, the Archetype, and various formulas and literary devices.

In film school, we all vowed to avoid writing or directing any cliche in any form. What you learn with practice is that the cliche can be used as a tool of misdirection, a way of "playing the audience like a piano," as M. Night Shyamalan has said.

Roger Ebert started perhaps the first running list of movie clichés back in the late-80's on CompuServe (if you don't know what CompuServe is, you're too young, or I'm too old). Originally, he came up with the entries. Later, his colleague Gene Siskel contributed, followed by coworkers and friends. When readers started sending in their observations, the list grew into Ebert's Little Movie Glossary, available on his website, or better still, in book form.

If you've never read it (or any list of clichés) you'd be surprised at how informative and even educational it can be. It should be required reading at every film school. After screenwriting for many years, I took pride in not writing clichés, until I got this book. I flipped through it, laughing, wondering how anyone could write these tired scenes into their own scripts.

Then I saw an entry that pointed out that when the Hero enters a bar, the bartender is always doing... what? That's right... drying glasses. I paused and immediately thought of a script I was writing at the time. A couple of days earlier, I wrote a scene where my Hero walks into a bar and is greeted by a bartender... drying glasses.

I kept reading the list, and found several more clichés that I was guilty of using. Until you comb over a list like this, I would wager you are guilty of a few yourself.

To sum it up, you must know the rules before you can expertly break them. You must know what's considered hack in order to not be a hack yourself.

Take a look at Part 2 of this article to see my own contibutions to Ebert's glossary. See how many you can spot in your favorite films. I bet the next time you watch a film, you'll be able to nail a few.

[Lynn Harrod is a filmmaker, a seasoned screenwriter of twelve years. His work has placed in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, the Writers' Network Screenplay Competition, the FadeIn Awards, and the Nevada Film Office Screenwriting Competition. Lynn is a staff writer for IFLA.]

CloseUp: Lynn Harrod

2007-02-18T23:20:00.000-08:00

Besides being a staff writer for IFLA, Lynn Harrod is a student of all arts, a seasoned screenwriter of over twelve years. His work has placed in some of the most prestigious competitions in the film industry, including the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, the Writers' Network Screenplay Competition, the FadeIn Awards, and the Nevada Film Office Screenwriting Competition.

Lynn established Tomato Productions in Central California, where he wrote and directed his first feature film "Behind Lily's Eyes." He relocated to Los Angeles to pursue film, and was one of five students selected by his film school for the Arthur Hiller Master Directing Class. In addition to filmmaking, Lynn is also a freelance graphic designer, artist, and editor. He is currently a staff writer for IFLA.

Website: www.tomatoproductions.com
Contact: lynn@tomatoproductions.com

Below is his short film, "The Crane Operator" featuring James Runcorn.

Tips On Selecting A Film School

2007-02-14T21:31:00.001-08:00

By John Morris

Filmmaking is not only an interesting, enjoyable and fulfilling career but very lucrative as well. Unfortunately, realizing the big Hollywood dream entails hard work, commitment and great amount of skill, right attitude, guts and some luck, too. While it is true that you're not in full control of your fate, the initial steps toward being a successful filmmaker depend on you. Choosing the right or the best film school where you would hone your talents, develop more interest and learn more knowledge in filmmaking is your first step.

Your decision to choose a particular film school is very crucial to your success as a filmmaker since that film school shall equip you with or shall help you gain more knowledge, skills, techniques and experiences, which are essential to a filmmaker. Those are his tools in filmmaking that cannot be bought but are earned and cultivated through time.

1. Know What You Want

First of all, you have to know what you want. Ask yourself what realm of filmmaking do you want to venture in or what kind of films do you want to work on in the future? Do you want to be an independent filmmaker or a simple film artist? There are so many film schools in the country as well as in other parts of the globe and each has its own expertise. Knowing what you want in the first place would allow you to focus your research and thus refine your choices for good film schools. Also, this would help you save time and effort in searching for schools as you have already eliminated those that may not fit your interest and criteria.

2. What Are Your Considerations?

After deciding on what area you want to concentrate, you should also identify your major considerations in choosing a particular film school.

- the affordability of film courses - the facilities of the film school - the accessibility and proximity of the school - the film school's reputation and quality of education

3. Don't Skimp On Your Education

Remember that a good film education is really expensive so do not just choose a film school that offers the cheapest film courses. It is important to consider the quality of education and the reputation of the school above all else. Remember that with that school, you are building a career that is supposed to be a life-long profession. Short-term film courses, say a 2-yr filmmaking course may be a lot cheaper than a 4-yr course and is quite helpful as most provide hands on training and a lot of project work. If you want to really excel in this field, however, you might opt for a longer course as it is more comprehensive.

3. Identify Where You Want To Study

Knowing where you want to cultivate your skills and intensify your interest in filmmaking is essential in selecting the right film school for you. This would refine your search as well since you would have to concentrate in looking for film schools only in one particular area or locality. New York is one of the best places to study film. It has the most developed art scenes for film and a number of reputable film schools. If affordability of the film course is one of your major considerations, you can choose a film school in Chicago and Milwaukee, which are known for having the most affordable film schools in the country. If you want to make it to Hollywood, better start your search for the best film school there in Los Angeles and nearby cities. There are lots of renowned film schools there that offer short and long term film courses.

4. Explore Colleges and Universities

Now that you have refined your criteria: the area in filmmaking you want to concentrate in, your major considerations such as the affordability of the courses, the school's reputation and the place, you can now do some research. As you explore your options, consider the things you have identified earlier. It would be better if you list down every film school's advantages and disadvantages so you can easily compare and contrast them. Also, as you examine the school's film courses and their special attributes, you can add some more considerations to your list and see which of the film schools you have considered meet the most of your requirements.

5. Narrow Your List

After going through several colleges and universities, narrow now your list by eliminating those that do not meet your criteria. With your short but well researched list of the best film schools, you can be more confident now of making a right decision. But before you finally select the film school, seek for other people's advice and recommendations, especially those who are well familiar with filmmaking.

For more great Film Schools related articles and resources check out www.onlyfilmschools.com.

[John Morris]

Screenwriting With Impact

2007-02-14T03:04:00.000-08:00

By Don Bledsoe

The screenplay you've pounded out on your trusty word processor is finished at last! Before the reader even looks at the title of your script, it must pass the "rifle test." The rifle test tells a professional in seconds whether the script is professionally written or not. Is the screenplay in the right format? Does it look like it was written by a professional screenwriter? Is the script vertical?

The Rifle Test

Hollywood screenwriters know that a reader, agent or producer can tell instantly by fanning the pages back to front if your script is professionally written and in the proper format. Your script will not even get a read at an agency or get studio coverage if it doesn't look right. The typical development executive reads 35-50 scripts a week on their own time, away from the office. After reading hundreds and hundreds of scripts, they can see at a glance if it looks right. If it's not right, it's dumped. It's that simple. If you use a good screenwriting program, then this is an area you won't have to worry about. If you don't have one, at least follow the rules. They're relatively simple. They're also hard and fast and not meant to be deviated from, so don't "improve" upon the formula, just use it. You can get the layout details at ScriptNurse.com for free.

Before you get the screenplay down on paper, watch out for "speed bumps" that are practically guaranteed to stop the reader in his tracks. Remember, there are only TWO TOOLS to work with in writing a screenplay:

- ACTION: a description of what is seen on the screen visually

- DIALOGUE: what the characters say

Here are some rules and do's and don'ts for writing your screenplay with impact:

Action Description Tips

Don't direct or act: Directors don't like to be told how to shoot a scene. Besides, a good director might do it better than you suggest in the script. Actors don't like to be told how to act, so don't tell them how to play the scene in your script. By using techniques to make your script more "vertical" you can lead the director and the reader where you want them to go. Break up paragraphs into smaller ones so that each paragraph implies a shot. "we see" or "we hear" sounds like you're directing, so don't use them. Instead, the the technique of making your script "vertical" to accomplish the same thing.

Kill the camera: Remove all references to camera movement and angles. If you have to do it more than once or twice in an entire script, there's something wrong with the way you're writing it. Eliminate any "we see" or "we hear" references because "we" don't see or hear. Write the visual action the audience will see on the screen or the words the actors say. The simplicity of screenwriting is what makes it so hard to do. Use the "vertical" technique to lead the reader through the shots.

The verb "is" implies a state of being that cannot be photographed. Only visual action can be put on the screen. Any reference to whom "is thinking," "knows about," "wants to be," or "looks like" needs to be rewritten. Action description doesn't have to be perfect English. This isn't a novel. It DOES have to be colorful, descriptive and visual so the reader can "see" in their heads what you want seen on-screen.

Use strong language and avoid passive voice writing: "Fred is running around crazily" is weak compared to "Fred runs, flailing his arms frantically." Look for any descriptions that talk about "is" or "being." That's weak writing. Make it colorful! Use simple, colorful, visual words. Don't convert verbs into nouns as in the example above. The verb is "runs" -- keep it a verb and you'll have stronger, present tense writing.

Eliminate CUT TO: in your script. It's already implied when you show a new scene heading anyway.

Character Development

If they're good, make them very good. If they're bad, make them really bad. This makes your characters easier to identify with and clearer in the mind of the script reader. We all want to know who to root for and who to despise. Don't make it hard to figure out. It can always be "dumbed down" later.

Write backstories for your characters. Create their past lives and family history. Note their quirks, habits (good and bad), flaws, compulsions, fears, phobias and dark secrets. List things that scare them in the night. Write down every skeleton in their closet. Include parents and siblings, if appropriate. Write down traits others might see as good, redeeming and to be admired. What makes them likeable? What makes others immediately not like them? These all work together to help you understand your characters. It makes them come alive. Creating a past lets you create a future in your screenplay that's real and plausible. Having this understanding leads to you knowing that a character would or wouldn't "do that" or "say that." For example, everyone knows that Indiana Jones has a phobia about snakes that gives him pause. Since he's bigger than life, he faces his fear, but because he has a common phobia, we can all identify with him easily.

Try "casting" your script with a dream cast. Cast each principal role with the biggest name you can think of who is perfect for the part. See that $20 Million Star as the character you're writing. Get their photos and stick them up on a wall with their character name above the photo. When you've got Jack Nicholson speaking your lines, you find out very quickly the kinds of things he simply could not do or would not say.

Real vs. Reel Dialogue

There's real dialogue and "reel" dialogue. If you want real dialogue, just go outside, where there's plenty of it. Reel dialogue in film is different. It's terse and more direct without being "in your face" or "on the nose." Here's where reading good, quality scripts can really help you. If you need help with dialogue, I recommend getting a great dialogue tool called Great Dialogue (www.greatdialogue.com).

Rule of Thumb: In a properly formatted script, if there are more than five lines of dialogue under a character name, it's starting to become a speech. Too many speeches and your script becomes too "talky."

Strike every "well," "now," "listen," "oh," etc. that you find in your dialogue. Actors put those in where it's natural to do so and they only make a script harder to read.

Delete the "pleasantries" and "chit-chat" from scenes. You're just wasting time, boring the reader and keeping them from your story.

Act it out: say the lines out loud as you write them. It's amazing how much this helps.

Let's Start Hacking

It's time to get rid of the weak, passive and pointless from your script. Start by making a backup copy of the script before you get out the hacksaw and start chopping everything to pieces.

Your story might be too long, wanders aimlessly, or lacks impact. Let's thin it out without gutting it. Do this:

1. Strike every "well," "now," "listen," "oh," etc. that you find in your dialogue. Get to the subject at hand and cut to the chase. Cut out the unnecessary clutter in what your characters say. You can always put it back in if the producer wants it. Actors hate to be told how to act and producers hate reading about that, too.

2. Look for parentheticals (instructions to the actor in parentheses in the dialogue). Hack them out. Use them ONLY when there's no other way to indicate that a particular line is directed to a specific character out of several in the same scene or if it cannot be done by carefully selecting the words for a character. Parentheticals are speed bumps in a script. Avoid them entirely if possible.

3. See just how terse you can make the dialogue. Terseness helps to create impact and makes characters seem more forceful and decisive in a drama and funnier in a comedy. When it gets to the point where you're feeling a little uncomfortable with the directness, it's probably about right.

4. Review the action descriptions. Any "is" or "being" description needs to be re-written to give it impact. Strike references to ANYTHING not seen on the screen, like reminding the reader that "so-and-so was the same guy who..." -- you get the idea. If it can't be seen: HACK IT OUT! Think in master scenes. It's okay to write the interior and exterior scenes at one location as one scene. Use a separate action description paragraph to signal a separate shot without explicitly saying so, to let the reader know we went outside, if you started with INT. BAR - NIGHT. It's a LOT easier to read that way.

5. Find every instance of a simple word and give it more impact. Get simple, colorful language in your descriptions. Cars don't just "pull up at the curb." They also gasp, lurch, grind, shudder, gurgle, clatter and expire at the curb. Get a good thesaurus or use the one built into your screenwriting or word processing program. The point is -- use it! Also, eliminate big words not commonly used in everyday speech unless it's part of a character's persona.

By now, you should have thinned things out a LOT. Good. You're down to meat and potatoes, if you're lucky. Your script should be more visual, carry more impact and possess tight, crisp dialogue. Now set it aside for at least a week, preferably two. When you come back in one or two weeks, start again and repeat the process. You're done when you run out of things to hack out.

Making Your Script Vertical

A reader is looking for any excuse to dump your screenplay on the ever-growing reject pile. One way to do this is to look for the amount of white space that is seen when doing the "rifle test." Vertical scripts have more white space. How do you make a script vertical? Just break up the densely packed paragraphs into two or three sentence paragraphs. There's a side benefit to this approach, too. All of these smaller paragraphs serve to imply the shots that are needed. It's not good to tell a director how to direct, but it's not bad to lead him down the path. You can do this by the way you write the script and by making it vertical.

Conclusion

There you have it: a few approaches, do's and don'ts, exercises and suggestions. I hope you will put the exercises to a test. You might be very surprised at the results. Perhaps there's a better script inside the one you're working on just waiting to get out.

[Don Bledsoe - Long wanting to be in "the business," Don Bledsoe started young, producing a short film for NBC while still in high school, worked in the Story Department at Paramount Studios at age 19, and later as an actor and makeup artist in film and television in Hollywood. A self-confessed computer geek, he took up screenwriting in the early 90's and founded Script Nurse in 1999. ScriptNurse@scriptnurse.com]

I'm Just The Writer

2007-02-14T02:32:00.000-08:00

By Stephen Schochet

Writers are often are greatly surprised or disappointed by how their work is changed when it is adapted for the big screen. When Irwin Shaw's World War II novel The Young Lions was shot in Paris in 1958, the Nazi character was played by Marlon Brando. Ever the method actor, Brando provoked an uproar by strutting around town in his SS uniform, even going into restaurants to dine. The thirty three year old star was unsure if the Parisians ripping his clothes were doing it out of adulation or disdain. Like most actors Brando wanted to be loved and he took his concern to Shaw that the Nazi be made sympathetic. "You just don't understand the character", Brando told the amazed writer. "It's my character," replied Shaw. "Not anymore", replied the actor.

Some writers grow resigned to their voices being lost. George S. Kaufman wrote the screenplay for the Marx Brother's comedy Animal Crackers in 1930. He attended rehearsals and realized that nothing Groucho, Chico and Harpo were doing resembled his original draft. He watched as the director Victor Heerman was driven to distraction by the brothers showing up late, placing bets on horses, playing the stock market and never sticking to the script. Heeman literally threatened to imprison them in cages till they behaved. Kaufman took it in stride falling asleep through much of the tomfoolery. At one point the writer woke up with a start and shouted," Oh my God! I thought I heard one of my lines."

A few years ago comedy playwright Neil Simon announced he was moving from Los Angeles to New York. In Los Angeles he was isolated in his car all the time and he felt it is was hurting his writing. Better to be in New York where you walked everywhere and met people. His departure may have been hastened by writing and showing up to the set of The Marrying Man (1991). He got to witness Kim Basinger holding up the production with tardiness, temper tantrums and her much publicized love affair with co-star Alec Baldwin. Simon was humiliated when she held up her copy of the script and stated for all to hear," Whoever wrote this knows nothing about comedy!" The Odd Couple writer was too insulted to help fix the plot problems and the picture bombed.

Some writers are amazed to see their words turn into movie reality. When Margaret Mitchell (1900 -1949) was a young girl in Atlanta, various relatives took her on tours of Confederate battle sites, describing the Civil War so vividly that she imagined she was part of it. It took her ten years to write the text for Gone With The Wind which she scribbled on yellow legal pads, shoving them under her couch when friends would come over to visit her. The best-seller was turned into a movie in 1939 and Mitchell showed up in Hollywood for the fiming of Scarlett O'Hara (Vivian Leigh) nursing wounded soldiers at the Atlanta railway station. The author was overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of the scene. "My God", she told producer David O. Selznick. "If we would have had this many soldiers we would have won the war."

Some writers have strong ideas about who should play their characters. Novelist Tom Clancy was initially unhappy with the fifty year old Harrison Ford cast as the thirty something CIA agent Jack Ryan in Patriot Games (1992) and Clear And Present Danger (1994). He also berated the actor for suggesting plot changes to his stories. Ford angrily retorted that writers who sell their work to the big screen have to expect it to be changed, otherwise don't sell it. After the two films did great at the box office, Clancy hinted that he would be willing to bury the hatchet to get Ford to star in the next Jack Ryan installment, The Sum Of All Fears (eventually made with Ben Affleck in 2002). Ford demurred by saying," Maybe when I'm sixty."

Sometimes stars are better off just following the writer's instincts. Lou Holtz Jr. was disappointed that Jim Carrey brought in a team of writers to change his lighthearted script The Cable Guy (1996) into a dark tale about stalking. Despite Carrey winning the MTV award for best villain, the movie was panned by critics, led to several executives being fired at Sony pictures and became known in Hollywood as "The Straight To Cable Guy".

[Stephen Schochet is the author and narrator of the audiobooks Fascinating Walt Disney and Tales Of Hollywood. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says, "these two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining." Hear RealAudio samples of these great, unique gifts at www.hollywoodstories.com. orgofhlly@aol.com]

Writing a Screenplay Using Structure

2007-02-13T16:57:00.000-08:00

By Kal Bishop

Effective screenwriting relies on the good understanding and use of structure. Inexperienced screenwriters may believe that structure inhibits creativity, but experienced writers know that following a template helps them to problem identify, generate ideas...

Effective screenwriting relies on the good understanding and use of structure.

Inexperienced screenwriters may believe that structure inhibits creativity, but experienced writers know that following a template helps them to problem identify, generate ideas, select good ideas and develop them to reach that all important words-on-paper first draft – structure is not a hindrance but an enhancer of creative output.

If doubts about structure still exist, then they are soon eliminated – when screenplays are presented to decision makers for evaluation, writers soon learn that structure becomes an important part of the evaluation process.

A writer, through an individual and tortuous process of trial and error, may develop templates, or he or she may use one of the classic templates such as the Hero’s Journey. But a writer will rarely admit to the use of templates (it reduces the perception of originality) or he or she may be only mildly aware that they are following a process.

The Classic Hero’s Journey story structure template contains 106 sequences and more than 30 in the final act alone. It is an evolution of Campbells’ original model, containing only 17,18 or 19 sequences, depending on who the interpreter is.

There is a theory that there are only five jokes in the world. Similarly there is a theory that there is only one story in the world. An analyses of nearly all the stories produced by Hollywood bears this out from a certain perspective and the Hero’s Journey would be this universal template.

But from the one universal template are derived many descendants, and one of those is the NO WAY BUT DOWN story structure. In it, the anti-hero heads for self-destruction as a result of his own misdeeds and the betrayal of a shape shifter, allies and goddess et al. It is more exploratory of the darker side of human nature and behaviour and there are no happy endings…but it still makes for a fascinating story.

The Classic Hero’s Journey and the No Way But Down story structure templates can be found at www.managing-creativity.com.

[Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.]

Beyond Syd Field

2007-02-13T16:55:00.000-08:00

By Kal Bishop

Without denigrating the work and contribution of Syd Field to the art of screenwriting, it is about time many screenwriters moved on.

Syd Field gave us the plot point - a clearer definition of what was previously known as the “twist” - as well as other concepts such as the “pinch” and midpoint. His work is still a valuable start point for screenwriters.

Syd Field’s midpoint analysis moved us towards four-act structure, which is well established in many cultures, whereas western culture still tends to dwell on three acts.

It seems as though Syd Field had some issues with the mid-point, one of them being that the inclusion of the mid point and consequently four act structure does not fit well with all stories – his attempt at preciseness resulted in a consequential lack of broadness and hence greater critical analysis as a template.

Hollywood has implicitly accepted four act structure – most movies now have a high point midway – usually a catastrophic event for the protagonist. Resistance to four-act structure is probably a result of our theatrical heritage.

But moving light years ahead in terms of structure is the Hero’s Journey.

Ironically, Campbell published Hero with a Thousand Faces before Syd Field published his work. Vogler wrote an easy to read update in 1992 (The Writer’s Journey). The Hero’s journey is a well established anthropological analysis of stories across cultures.

Depending on the interpretation, there were 17, 18 or 19 stages to the Hero’s Journey. But a modern, detailed analysis reveals at least 106.

There is some rejection of the Hero’s Journey as a universal template primarily because the archetypes (Mentor, Shape Shifter, Threshold Guardians etc) refer to the Quest, Fable, Fantastic et al genres. However, this is a misunderstanding as a metaphoric and symbolic interpretation leads to such classics as Midnight Cowboy and Get Carter, the original Michael Caine classic.

Ultimately, the Hero’s Journey is a much more sophisticated study of Story Structure than Syd Field’s analysis – and story structure is the most fundamental and critical of the skills that screenwriters need to possess.

Other theorists, such as McKee in Story are not as structure orientated, but their input when debating structure, is also indicative to it’s importance. For example, McKee rightly states that the screenwriting process should involve a step-outline, treatment and then a words-on-paper first draft.

The thing that held us back was this idea that a template had to be broad, which made sense if that template had to explain many stories. But a conceptual leap is the understanding that detailed templates, which may not each explain large numbers of stories, when taken together, can be more useful tools.

Further, whereas Syd Field’s analysis left the screenwriter with yawning gaps - the need to fill 30 and 60 pages – detailed templates overcome this problem.

Whereas Syd Field had difficulty with four acts, we are now playing with story structures with potentially 150 acts. This is the natural result of analysing sequences as opposed to acts.

It is like comparing today’s scientific analyses to Middle Aged analyses using Fire, Water, Earth and Air.

In conclusion, it is time screenwriters moved beyond Syd Field.

A detailed Hero’s Journey analysis and related story structure templates can be found at www.managing-creativity.com.

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

[Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on www.managing-creativity.com.]

Good Ideas for Stories

2007-02-13T16:53:00.000-08:00

By Kal Bishop

The principle for writing good screenplays begins with good idea generation and then the use of structure to extrapolate that idea into a coherent story.

The principle for writing good screenplays begins with good idea generation and then the use of structure to extrapolate that idea into a coherent story.

Sources of Good Ideas:

a) Ideas that push cultural boundaries work well. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night, The Defiant Ones, On the Watefront and so on were all controversial in their time and still very watchable movies.

b) Ideas that tug at the emotions and arouse passions. Imagine the worst thing you would want to happen to you. What are you most embarrassing moments? What causes the most pain?

c) Cathartic events. Protagonists engage in conflict and challenge but the final act is always cathartic.

d) Aspirational and self-actualising events. Make the audience move toward their ideal selves.

e) Fantasy and escapism. Take the audience to a new place, we're tired of this world today.

f) Humour. What are the funniest, most ridiculous, most hypocritical, incongruous, bizarre, irrational moments of life.

g) Education and morality. Teach them something or show them how we should be.

h) Special people. Take us into the world of people we fear or admire. Show us the lives of people who have travelled to places we dare not or cannot go.

i) Romance and love. How sweet it is when we can get it.

j) Different people. Show us how different people live. Compare and contrast.

k) The power of the group. Show us how we are more intelligent, able and greater together than alone.

l) Ambition. Is it pleasure or poison. Does it fulfill or corrupt.

m) Friendship. How real are our friendships. Do we know who our real friends are. What happens when they betray us.

n) Intellectual cross pollination - search the media, information sources...

o) Simply choose a story and write a screenplay. Good ideas will come to you during the project - make sure you capture them.

Structural Templates

a) The classic template is the HERO’S JOURNEY, consisting of 106 sequences with more than 30 in the final act.

The Hero’s journey can be reformed in an infinite number of ways:

b) The THREE KINGS, where the three rivals battle it out.

c) The LONE WOLF, where the Hero succeeds without he aid of allies, the Goddess or the Shape Shifter.

d) NO WAY BUT DOWN, where an anti-hero falls from grace and does not recover.

These topics are further discussed and Story Structure Templates and other Managing Creativity and Innovation products are available at www.managing-creativity.com.

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

[Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London, and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on www.managing-creativity.]

Building Your Screenwriting Career - The Missing Pieces

2007-02-13T16:51:00.000-08:00

By Gordon Meyer

Once upon a time, there was a young man who very much wanted to be in show business, or more specifically, making movies. He attended one of the best film schools in the world, while there discovered the joys of writing and producing and everyone around him had high expectations about his career. Yet for more years than he cares to admit, that career was stalled.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that young man was me. And this article is for everyone who, like me, has visions of having their name up on the big screen as a writer. It's all about the importance of getting a balance of what I call "macro training."

Over the years, I've invested tens of thousands of dollars in classes, seminars, books and retreats all intended to teach me to be a better writer. Don't get me wrong. Many of these classes were well worth the money when it came to teaching me about the CRAFT of screenwriting. I absolutely learned a lot. But talent and craft by themselves are not enough to make you a regularly working professional screenwriter.

I learned through painful experience that if you want to succeed as a professional artist in show business, whether it's as a writer, actor, director or any other craft that's employed by the networks and studios, you have to treat your career as a small business with yourself as the CEO. As countless people have said to me over the years, it's called Show "Business" for a reason.

Eureka! This was the missing piece. When it finally registered with me the importance of treating my artistic endeavors like an entrepreneurial small business, I began to see things in an entirely different light. I call myself a writer and producer - and those are accurate titles - but the business I'm in is really manufacturing, sales and distribution. Huh?

Think about it. As a professional writer, you're manufacturing a product - the things you write. In order to get paid for that product, you also have to have a sales, marketing and distribution mechanism in place so that the scripts you write can generate money for you.

Of course you have to have the talent and skills to consistently deliver quality scripts and do so on time. But talent and skill alone don't hack it. If you want to be a successful, consistently and steadily working writer, you have to understand that you're in the business of creating and selling products. Your products are your scripts.

Like any manufacturer, in addition to dedicating part of your business to developing and creating products, you also need to address the sales, marketing and distribution of those products (scripts) along with the business affairs aspect (contracts, accounting, etc.) of working with your customers (studios, production companies and/or networks). You don't have to do it all by yourself, but you do need to make sure these aspects of your business as a professional writer are handled. Just by making that shift in the way you see yourself and your career, you'll immediately transform from would-be writer to an entrepreneurial professional well on the road to success.

[Gordon Meyer created, produced and hosted the long-running series, "Hollywood's Master Storytellers" which enabled audiences the opportunity to see and hear some of the most successful and celebrated filmmakers in the world talk about the movies they're best known for, including Academy Award® winners Oliver Stone, James Cameron and Paul Haggis.]

Screenwriting Success Secrets: How to Write Your Script

2007-02-13T16:33:00.000-08:00

By Brian Konradt

Screenwriting is a competitive trade. To distinguish yourself as a prize-winning writer you need to master organizational skills, take creative risks, and learn how best to present your final product. For the aspiring screenwriter, Tom Lazarus' book, "Secrets of Film Writing" is one of the best. An exceptional screenwriter with five produced screenplays, Lazarus developed this book for beginning writers enrolled in his classes at UCLA.

This article examines a few of the many techniques outlined in "Secrets of Film Writing" and provides examples of screenwriters who succeeded with Tom Lazarus' guidelines.

ORGANIZATION IS KEY

Master organization and you're closer to producing a stellar screenplay, not a mediocre one. Ask yourself these questions:

1) Does the screenplay have a clear beginning, middle and end?

2) Does the story drift aimlessly or does it make its point successfully?

These may seem like basic questions, yet many screenwriters grapple with organizational problems.

Lazarus addresses this issue in his book; he recommends writers use one of four organizational methods to ensure their screenplays flow smoothly: outlines, treatments, index cards, and scene lists. All four of these tools are equally effective. Writers need to be discreet to decide which organizational crutch best suits their needs.

In writing the screenplay for the Hollywood feature film "Stigmata," Lazarus chose to use a scene list for organizational support since he already had specific ideas about the chronology and action details of his story. To writers who have difficult organizing and prefer a different method, Lazarus says, "Go for it, because no one is going to see it. It's a process. There is no wrong way."

MAKE IT INTERESTING

Writing is a process. Great screenwriters take creative risks. Without an interesting story, even the most organized screenplay will be unmarketable. The goal should never be to copy another writer's style; instead exercise your own imagination and experiment with different ways to spark your story.

When Warner Brothers hired Tim McCanlies to adapt Ted Hughes' famous English novel "The Iron Man" for the screen, he struggled with whether he should remain true to Hughes' vision or develop a new story based loosely on the original book's events. McCanlies chose to do something risky and wildly creative; he Americanized "The Iron Man" by setting the story in the 1950s during the Cold War terror and renamed it "The Iron Giant." His calculated risk proved worthwhile. American audiences related to the film and appreciated its examination of an unusual time in their nation's history. Also, English audiences embraced "The Iron Giant" despite its variation from the original English text and awarded it the 2000 BAFTA Award for best feature film.

McCanlies' success lends a valuable lesson: when you risk nothing, you gain nothing. McCanlies, Lazarus, and other successful screenwriters embroil themselves in chances, write creatively, experiment with different ideas, and raise their characters' stakes.

SUBMIT YOUR SCRIPT LIKE A PRO

Once you have written an interesting, well-organized screenplay you need to submit your script neatly and according to studio standards. Lazarus warns his UCLA students about several technical errors in script presentation that annoy studio readers. Follow these guidelines:

1) A feature length screenplay should be longer than 95 pages and shorter than 125 pages when you submit it for studio consideration.

2) Don't include a synopsis or character biographies with your script as it gives studio readers an excuse not to review the whole screenplay.

3) Don't put scene numbers on your script until it is sold. This is a rule of the game; readers find scene numbers distracting and use them as an excuse to dub a screenplay "amateur" and unworthy of further consideration.

4) Studio readers prefer to receive scripts bound with circular metal brads. Using folders and binders hog office space and interns may discard scripts unintentionally during spring cleaning.

5) Finally, use one of the many screenwriting programs to help format your script, such as Movie Magic Screenwriter, Final Draft or Script Wizard. You can find discounted deals at StoryScribe.com (http://www.StoryScribe.com).

Make sure you proofread your script several times before submitting a script for Hollywood review. Busy studio readers will not peruse screenplays riddled with basic errors like confusing "it's" with "its" and using "are" when you mean "our." Use a program like Style Writer (found at http://www.StyleWriter-USA.com) to remedy such embarrassing grammar mistakes. When you're ready to submit your script, grab a Hollywood Creative Directory (found at http://www.storyscribe.com/mgbooks.html) to find markets for your script.

THINK SUCCESS AND BE A SUCCESS

Remember to take risks with plot and character development, and follow studio standards for script submissions. Studying resources like "Secrets of Film Writing" by Tom Lazarus, "How Not to Write a Screenplay" by Denny Martin Flinn, "Crafty Screenwriting" by Alex Epstein, and "Alternative Scriptwriting" by Ken Dancyger and Jeff Rush can be helpful for aspiring writers. Developing strong writing skills takes time, a willingness to learn, and perseverance. Writers who constantly improve their skills and experiment with new ideas will succeed.

[Brian Konradt is a freelance writer for www.CyberScreenwriter.com and writes about screenwriting news, screenwriting software, and screenwriting contests.]

Screenplay and Script Writing Software

2007-02-13T16:30:00.000-08:00

By Mark S. Gonney

When it comes to screenplay software each screenwriter needs to determine what they need from the program they purchase and pick one that fits their specific needs. Screenwriting software doesn't write the screenplay for you. Why do I say this? I don't want you to be under the impression one software application is "better" or the "best" script writing software. No script writing software should be chosen based on it helping you complete your screenplay "better" or "faster" than another.

What makes a screenplay "better" is the skill and execution of the writer. What determines how fast a screenplay is completed is how fast the writer is with their skill and execution. Thinking particular screenplay software helps you write a better screenplay is like thinking a fancy gun helps you shoot on target. You are the writer and you are the creative force behind your idea or concept. Picking the proper tools to help you complete this idea or concept are choices only you can determine based on your particular writing needs.

For me, the program I utilize is Final Draft. Why? For my needs Final Draft acts like a word processing program on steroids. Its user face is similar to Microsoft Word with the only difference being it is specific to industry standard screenplay format. In other words, unlike writing a screenplay in a word processing program like MS Word, Once you put a character's name in the first time you don't have to type it again. What happens is when it gets to the section of the screenplay where you type in the character it will either punch it in for you once you type the first letter or a pop up pull down menu will come up so you can pick from the list of characters you've introduced if two characters have the same first initial!

For sections where you would input setting, action & dialogue the program automatically tabs to the proper position just allowing you to just write your screenplay. This is all I need from screen writing software. I don't utilize all of the tools of Final Draft that exist, but they have some cool ones like the double dialogue feature and the notes feature that act like index cards amongst other things.

Final Draft

Movie Magic Screenwriter

Dramatica Pro 4

Power Structure

Dr. Format Screenwriting Software

Write Brothers StoryView 2.0

The Hollywood Screenplay Screenwriting Software Suite

Hollywood Screenwriter

Sophocles Screenwriting software

Scriptware

Each of these screenplay writing software programs is a powerful, stand-alone tool. It is up to you to decide which is more comfortable for you and which fits your writing needs, but remember...all these programs can be are tools to help you complete your screenplay. They do not create characters or ideas or give logic to your story. Only you, the screenwriter, can do this. So read the reviews from users who have tried these programs and see which one works best for you.

[Mr. Mark S. Gonney is a former script reader for The Urbanworld Film Festival and an article writer for www.screenwriting-resources.com.]