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Screenwriting Blog

Ruminations about screenwriting, movies, Hollywood, and the Seattle filmmaking scene by NWSG President, Aadip Desai

June 2008:

 

June 27, 2008 - Films I've Seen Recently

I got behind on my movie watching, so I just crammed a whole bevy of films down my throat.

June 24, 2008 - Long Live Rufus

One of my favorite comics of all time just passed away. When Laura and I merged our households, we had a few duplicate DVDs: Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Reservoir Dogs.

Another thing we both shared was a love of stand-up comedy--Foxx, Pryor, Cosby, Murphy, Rock, Seinfeld, Rickles, Smothers Brothers, Newhart, Rivers, Carvey, Mac, Cook, etc. AND Kevin Smith films. George Carlin fits in both categories.

Sadly, I was hoping to cast him in my newest film as the father of the bride. His mastery of words (including the SEVEN DEADLY ones), impeccable timing, fearlessness, and commitment to his craft are an inspiration to any of us trying to write anything, especially comedy. He was just too damn funny.

George Carlin's Filmography:

We'll miss you, Rufus.

June 22, 2008 - Untraceable

Tonight, I watched Untraceable with Diane Lane. No, she wasn't there with me (I wish), but she happens to be the star of the film. This was an interesting movie because it combined some of the graphic aspects of Saw with a cyber-thriller tone. This was directed by Gregory Hoblit (Fracture, Hart's War, Frequency, Fallen, Primal Fear), and I think it's worth seeing for several reasons.

1st: It is set in Portland and does a very good job of letting us know that we're in the NW. Originally this was supposed to be set in Maryland and shot in Portland, so they shot it in Portland AS Portland. The city gets a lot of props from the filmmakers.
2nd: Diane Lane, Bill Burke (born and raised in Bellingham), and Colin Hanks (son of Tom)
3rd: It makes you think about how we use the internet.
4th: The DVD extras are excellent.

In the chapter called "Tracking Untraceable," we see how the movie went from concept to screen. It started with a couple of screenwriters (an orthopedic surgeon and a lawyer), then it was immediately rewritten by a Hollywood screenwriter (Allison Burnett), who added the backstory to both the Diane Lane's character and the villain.

I won't spoil anything here, but suffice it to say, without these rich backstories and their respective added supporting characters ad motivations, this movie would not have kept me in the seat. I would have chalked it up to yet another generic thriller with a broken detective. We also learn about all the research they did with regard to PDX itself, the cybercrimes division of the FBI, technology/internet issues, and much much more. Very thorough and believable.

June 19, 2008 - Catching Up on Blogging

Just got back from Spokane for the Democratic State Convention. What did I learn? I learned that politicians' stump speeches are actually pitches to the voters. It's all very similar to our story/screenplay pitches where we need a solid hook with a concrete beginning, middle, and end, a repeated theme, a focused delivery, and emotional impact.

Yesterday, I finished the rough draft of my next script. Of course it's short 18 pages and my beats are all over the place, but Blake Snyder says that's normal. Tomorrow I'll sit down to punch up my scenes, set-up my protagonist better, deepen the B-Story, and amp up my midpoint. All in a day's work?  Sheesh.

Gonna try and see WANTED tomorrow. The film is based on the graphic novel/comic book series by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones (published by Top Cow), which I've read and own. This is the English-language debut of Russian filmmaker, Timur Bekmambetov of Night Watch fame (the highest grossing Russian film of all time). I've read that book and seen the film too. Both are slightly overrated. I guess it's all relative to what's come before you.

For those of you who don't know, they've taken the Catwoman-esque, African-American assassin role, The Fox, and rewrote it for Angelina Jolie. It's bad enough she was in A Mighty Heart. On top of that, Morgan Freeman plays Sloan, a character that didn't exist in the original. He shows the ropes to the protagonist, Wesley Gibson, played by James McAvoy, which was the job originally held by The Fox.

So they've replaced a strong female, African-American role with a white woman and a black man. I know they have to get talent attached who can open a movie, hence AJ and MF, but it'd be nice to see more roles for people of color beyond Morgan Freeman mentoring someone, again. I love the guy, but you know what I mean.

June 12, 2008 - Katherine Heigl Lashes Out

So Katherine Heigl in today's news pulled her name from the running in this year's EMMY awards. She told Tom O'Neil, "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention. In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials."

She's blaming the writers for the lack of good material for her this season, but had no problem accepting the award last year. She also slammed Knocked Up, which made her a star. If she thought Knocked Up was sexist, why did she take the role? Cash and the potential for fame won out, I guess. I support her right to feel the way she does, and she probably has some grounds, BUT, she read the script, so she must've known what she was in for. 

I mean we all have opinions, criticisms and stuff about film and TV, but to shit on the two things that made you a name (27 Dresses and Roswell ain't gonna do it), come on.

So what's another entitled actress to do? She and Lindsay and the rest of them can party, complain, and excuse themselves from the Hollywood A-List one by one. Apparently gratitude is in short supply in the Heigl household. If only I had been born a marginally talented hot girl, then my shit wouldn't stink too. Give me a freakin' break. Full article here.

June 9, 2008 - Prepare for Awesomeness

 

Laura is back in town, so we were able to go see (or hear) Jack Black and company in Kung Fu Panda. It had a couple different styles of animation (dream sequences vs. the rest of the thing), great sound, and followed the Vogler/Campbell/Snyder methods very closely. The beats just hit right on time. This movie is just plain fun. I highly suggest seeing it with kids--it helps highlight how this film works on 2-3 different levels, depending on if you're an adult, a teenager, or 10 and under. Very satisfying.

I want to make special mention of Dustin Hoffman, who is carrying the Mentor baton. He just makes me smile in every role. It was amazing how they made all the Furious Five reflect the actors behind the voices. Coolness.

SKA-DOUCHE.

June 6, 2008 - So You Wanna Sell A Spec?

As many of you know, I try to keep up on what's being sold down in the old H-W. So after analyzing the recent sales posted on Done Deal Pro, I was slightly disheartened.

Out of the 21 sales:
9 - Adaptations (comic books, graphic novels, novels, video games)
5 - Original Specs (2 of which are under Hilary Swank's prod co)
3 - Remakes of films (the original films were adaptations of books or true stories)
2 - Based on characters created previously (Sherlock Holmes, Merlin)
2 - Based on true stories

What this tells me is that in addition to working on our spec screenplays, it behooves us to work on other forms of storytelling. I converted a script treatment to a graphic novel treatment out of frustration with all the N-Os. Ironically, the same reason why my script wasn't viable (period) made it a non-viable property for a graphic novel. These days the comic books companies have deals with the studios, so they are looking at titles that can be dropped into the pipeline for films. So if you're writing a graphic novel, think about how it could translate to the screen and what types of logistical limitations there are. 

Sad to say, with the media/entertainment world so highly integrated vertically and horizontally, we as writers have to be aware of how this will impede our ability to make sales.

On other comic book adaptations for film, get this...Liev Schreiber as Sabertooth in the upcoming Wolverine movie. WTF!

That makes no sense at all. I guess if Hugh Jackman can be Wolverine then the casting makes sense. Can't actually have someone badass playing Tooth. That would make Hugh looking extra-wimpy. I have little faith in this thing.

June 5, 2008 - When Will The Sun Gods Visit Us? / Bill True and Dean Hyers / Barack Obama

Anyone else tired of this weather? So gray, so rainy, so awful. Even Brando didn't want to go out for a walk. I'm sitting in my favorite coffee shop, surrounded by everyone else trying to get a pick-me-up. About to add some more pages to my script, hoping to finish by next week.

Since I haven't blogged about it yet, let's talk about the amazing BILL TRUE and DEAN HYERS. These two are on my top 10 list of nicest guys ever. This list includes Blake Snyder, by the way. We will bring them back again. For those of you who missed it, shame on you :) This was hands down the most invaluable pitching training I've ever had.

We were all nervous as hell. Pitching in front of an audience is hard. I don't care who you are. Even as President of NWSG (basically a volunteer Project Manager) I ranked 6th out of 22, which was a hard pill to swallow. Of course I blew through my pitch in 37 seconds instead of the allotted 90 seconds.  I left out my catalyst (duh!) and a major piece of the subtext/set-up puzzle. 

The hardest thing was to admit that I didn't do my best, didn't prepare properly, and sold myself short by not using all the time.  I forgot that it doesn't matter how hard we try to check our egos and pride at the door, they still crash the party. So, not only did I learn how to pitch better, more from the heart, and how to hit the major plot points, but I learned that I need to acknowledge that my ego is right there with me, vulnerable to, as Dean Hyers would say, devastation.

Phew. Who needs therapy when you can just pitch in front of an audience and get feedback! Imagine if these guys were mean, I think I would've gone home and drank a bottle of Vodka and watched Taxi Driver. But, in this case, I was appreciative of their knowledge, brutally honest feedback, and I was inspired to take my pitch to the next level.

Here's what they said about US...

Aadip,
Dean and I wanted to take a moment to thank you and all the great people of the NWSG for making us feel so welcome and at home this past weekend in Seattle.

As you know, I just sent a message to Linnea Toney of the Austin Film Festival, telling her what an amazing group you folks have up there. I would like to echo those sentiments here by reiterating your group really and truly “gets it right—and it encourages and educates on the art and the business simultaneously. I am so impressed by the people they get up there to speak—from Michael Hague to Blake Snyder to Pilar Alessandra. I am even more impressed by the number of options and potential sales the group is beginning to see. All I can say is ‘wow.’”

Not only did Dean and I have a great time, we appreciated the groups hunger to learn and to improve. Our hope is that our teaching—based on our personal experience in the trenches—gave them something they can use to help take their writing careers to the next level.

Please send our thanks to the entire group. We look forward to seeing our friends in Seattle again soon!

All the Best,
Bill True & Dean Hyers

 

Finally, I'm putting it out there. It's not secret that I am a huge Barack Obama supporter and consider political involvement an important part of who I am. I was a delegate to my district and congressional caucuses, but I'm also going to Spokane next week as a state delegate on behalf of Obama. I've been volunteering on behalf of the campaign for years, even before there was an official one, so I feel personally involved in his nomination. That's the power of a leader like him, he can rally many disenfranchised voters to at take part and even derive pride and value from the fact that someone like him can have a serious chance at being President. I want to say that Hillary Clinton's commitment to universal healthcare will be her calling card in the future, whether or not she is involved in the Obama administration or not. 

I want to congratulate Barack on winning all the delegates necessary and doing so with class, style, and grace. I'm also excited to try to speak with superdelegates in WA State about incentivizing filmmakers to shoot their stuff in WA, instead of going to Canada, Bulgaria, and New Mexico. We'll see.