Screenwriting Blog
Ruminations about screenwriting, movies, Hollywood, and the Seattle filmmaking scene by NWSG President, Aadip Desai
May 2008:
May 29, 2008 - Indiana Jones and Final Draft
Today was a good day. #1 - I got to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. No spoilers here, I promise. I thought it started out a little slow and expositional, but Laura reminded me that they needed to set it up for the younger viewers. OK, I'll give her that one. I thought once the ol' hat and lasso were back in the picture, it was all good. He and Shia had great chemistry and I was swept up by the whole Indiana Jones-ness of it all. What can I say? Some people think it was too much like a video game, but I say, it was great fun, and that's all one should expect from the franchise. Oh, Cate Blanchett freaked me out (in a good way). She seemed conceived in the Blake Snyder Limp and an Eyepatch machine (a Ukrainian Communist with a bob and a sword, go figure).
#2 - Welcome to
the 21st century, fellow screenwriters. Just say no to MS Word screenwriting
templates.
We are now officially sponsored by Final Draft software. Now our members can receive discounts on Final Draft products and events, including $120 off of FD7, $100 off of AV2.5. Sweet!
May 28, 2008 - I thought I wanted to be a hermit when I grew up...
...but I was wrong. Growing up, I thought, "When I get old and grumpy, I'll go live in a cabin away from everybody, and then I can write and play music and not be bothered." I was wrong. I just spent nearly a week in a cabin (it's not really a cabin, it's much nicer than my house), without another living soul, except for my dog, Brando.
Sure, the writing group came up for a day or two, and Laura (the wife) came up for three days. I really needed it. But, all told I've spent 6 of the last 9 days alone.
The good news is that in one week I wrote 75 pages of my next screenplay. I actually wrote 55 new pages, but I ended up rewriting a whole lot of the first 20 that I had. Plus, I had to restructure it, reorder scenes, reduce the number of characters, and realize that I had written myself into a corner.
Sequestering myself (or growing the beard) was key to finishing pages. I'll admit that, but I still only wrote a max of six hours a day. What does this mean? It means that I can go back to my regular life (sans mosquitoes and mean rural dogs) and still get pages done within my cliched urban lifestyle: freelance work, great coffee, dog-friendly stores, satellite TV, Indian food, and good old fashioned human contact. I just have to be more protective of my creative time, and I urge everyone else to make a date with yourself to write every day, even if it's just journaling.
Amazing! I must admit, I had taken about a month off of writing, and like the trumpet (my ex-harsh mistress), a month is just about enough time for your chops to atrophy. The first day of writing felt like blowing on that mouthpiece and feeling the air escape from the corners of my mouth. Of course, with writing, nobody else has to suffer through horrible long tones, arpeggios, and lips slurs. My brother-in-law/ex-roommate/ex-coworker/ex-bandmate still recoils at the thought of hearing all that Allen Vizzutti stuff. With writing, others just have to suffer through the 1st draft screaming fits, the 2nd draft blues, and the third draft questioning of one's talent. Those later drafts are just so much fun, aren't they? Polish, polish, polish. OK, we know these suckers are never done even if they're D-O-N-E.
So, why bother anyone with this useless blog entry? Well, I think it's important that we remember to keep writing no matter what, every day, whether the muse strikes or not. We have to make the time and if we write shit, so what, we're writing. Thinking about writing isn't writing. Talking about writing isn't writing. Writing is writing. We hear it all the time, but now I get it. It's not so scary to stare at the blank page once you realize that it is OK to write crap, cause you're gonna have to rewrite it anyway. That's been my problem all along. Just get it down--the mantra of every teacher/mentor I've had. I have to lock that editor in the closet with his wee red pen and his wee beady eyes and his wee beady thesaurus. I'll let him out, but not until we're done with that first draft or maybe even the second.
I also forgot that I love to write screenplays. I get so obsessed with research, character bios, outlines, and beat sheets, that I forgot that I discover so much while writing in Courier 12 point font and yelling at Final Draft for adding spaces or forgetting scene headings.
We have a lot of power as writers. We have the ability to escape the doldrums of a remote luxury cabin or the clamor of a tiny house near Aurora, without physically going anywhere. For hours a day, we get to forget the world around us, fall in love with or kill off our characters, put in a fight or chase scene (at the beginning of the second half of Act II, I promise), throw a few dogs (ruff ruff, not bang bang) in there, blow up the car, make someone's clothes fall off or see-through, create secret societies, make people cry, and show people having a good time even though they've fucked up their life or we've thrown down the gauntlet before them. On top of all that, it's legal, in this country.
That's pretty cool in my book/screenplay. Off to bed. Gonna drive back to Seattle in the morning and meet up with our guests for this weekend, Bill True and Dean Hyers. I am stoked. That's dude for elated.
May 26, 2008 - Goodbye Sydney :(
Sydney Pollack died today from his battle with cancer. I don't have a whole lot to say, except that I really loved his work and always got excited when he dropped in on a TV show in cameo role. He will be sorely missed by anyone who loves movies. It's a sad day.
I want to remind everyone of a few of his projects as a multi-talented Hollywood heavyweight: Michael Clayton, Entourage, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Sabrina, The Firm, Dead Again, King Ralph, Presumed Innocent, Out of Africa, Tootsie, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Cold Mountain, Sliding Doors, Absence of Malice, Eyes Wide Shut, Three Days Of The Condor, Jeremiah Johnson, Ben Casey, Will and Grace, The Sopranos, Frasier, and many more. Variety Article
May 21, 2008 - Walter Dalton at Cannes!
A little birdie told me that past guest, Walter Dalton, is at the Cannes Film Festival with his lovely wife. The last two films he acting in are being shown there. I can't wait to chat with him when he gets back. Soooo coool.
Speaking of cool. I'm up at a "cabin" near Lake Wenatchee, trying to get my next feature done. How lucky am I?! If I see Kathy Bates lurking around, I'll barricade the door.
May 17, 2008 - Pitching Pitching Pitching: Palmer + Pilar
Love is in the air. Actually, it's not love, it's the season of pitching. We're hosting our own PitchFest, equal parts workshop and competition (with prizes). We're also co-hosting a PitchSlam with IFP and SIFF. The Great American PitchFest is coming. Expo is in the fall. Whoa. Pitches are like a job interview and speed dating combined.
How should you prepare for a pitchfest?
First, read Stephanie Palmer's excellent book, GOOD IN A ROOM. Not only is this book informative and accessible, it's a fun and fast read. I consider this book required reading for anyone serious about pitching and taking meetings. You'll explore every aspect of a meeting, different types of meetings, preparation, goals, asks, desperation, teasers, trailers, when to get out, the importance of Q&A, and most notably, building rapport. I also cannot stress enough that everyone subscribe to Stephanie's free bi-weekly tips on being good in the room. I find them invaluable. Stephanie is your one-stop place to develop, refine, and take the fear out of pitching.
Second, listen to Pilar Alessandra's latest "On The Page" podcast, #37: PitchFests with Bob Schultz, Exec Director of the Great American PitchFest (a co-sponsor of our PitchFest event). This installment is a huge source of how to write loglines, pitches, synopses, acting professionally, approaching the meeting, staying cool, introducing yourself, etc. Each of her podcasts is like going to film school, but without the student loans and boredom. It's easily the best type of programming on screenwriting anywhere..and it's free. By the way, Pilar will be teaching at the GAPF, renamed the Great American Pilar Fest.
Finally, Pilar will be visiting us in July, conducting her much sought-after workshop, On The Page. People have already started registering for this event, so sign up soon.
May 16, 2008 - NBC Finales and Fear Itself
I just got back from my "Save The Cat" Writing Group, comprised of all Guild members, except for one, K8. She'll join soon, I just know it. Anyway, we had a good session where they broke down the first 20 pp of my next feature and read some awesome beats from Van's new feature project.
Got home and watched some NBC finales off the DVR, specifically The Office and ER. I won't ruin it for all of you who are saving up all your watching for the weekend, but I must say that they both had some surprising moments and some predictable ones (mostly in the form of OTN dialogue).
Steve Buscemi was grossly underutilized on ER, but I was excited to see the lovely Amy Ryan (Helene McCready in Gone Baby Gone) join the cast of The Office.
On a totally different tip, I'm stoked, yep, stoked to see the new horror/suspense series on NBC, called Fear Itself (premiering June 5th). I don't know about all of you out there, but a little horror goes a long way for me. Although I spend my time developing and writing comedy concepts/scripts these days, I am a long-time fan of the horror genre. Some say the horror genre thrives during tough political and economic times, and I think this move by NBC (and their advertisers, no less) reflects that.
According to the website: "Fear Itself" is a provocative, new 13-episode suspense and horror anthology series set to push the boundaries of this classic genre through a host of provocative talent, both in front of and behind the camera, including award-winning, sought-after directors John Landis ("An American Werewolf in London"), Darren Bousman ("Saw II, III and IV") and Ronny Yu ("Bride of Chucky"); actors Brandon Routh ("Superman Returns"), Shiri Appleby ("Charlie Wilson’s War"), Elisabeth Moss ("Mad Men"), Cynthia Watros ("Lost"), Eric Roberts (NBC’s “Heroes”) and John Billingsley ("Star Trek: Enterprise"); and writers, including Joe Gangemi ("Wind Chill," the novel "Inamorata"), Steve Niles ("30 Days of Night") and Dan Knauf ("Carnivàle," "Supernatural").
The series is produced by Lionsgate (I pitched them a horror two years ago) in association with IE Indy TV, and was created by Mick Garris. The Emmy-winning team of Keith Addis and Andrew Deane ("Masters of Horror") are the executive producers. Peter Block is co-executive producer; Grant Rosenberg is supervising producer; and Adam Goldworm, Ben Browning and Jonathan Hackett are producers.
By the way, check out this picture of our very own Bill Gohde at the Great American Pitch Fest last year. It's coming up next month, and we've secured a free pass to it for the winner of our own PitchFest on May 31st. Thanks to long-time Guild buddy, Signe Olynyk and new pal, Bill True.
May 13, 2008 - News on past guest, Bobby Moresco
(from Variety) Producer Robert Moresco ("Million Dollar Baby," "Crash") has partnered with Artist Relations Group to produce a biopic about Fidel Castro's exiled daughter, Alina Fernandez. Castro recently ceded power to his brother Raul after almost 50 years in power.
Story, set in 1958, begins after Castro seized control of Cuba, with Fernandez as a young girl naive to the fact that the bearded cigar smoker who secretly visits her mother and the man she sees on TV are one and the same.
Fernandez, who fled Cuba disguised as a Spanish tourist in 1993, published her life story, "Castro's Daughter: An Exile's Memoir of Cuba," will consult on the pic. Plot will also interweave other historical perspectives.
Austin-based ARG is headed by producers John Martinez and Noel Tristan, development financing was provided by The Lamy Group.
May 11, 2008 - Gray Days and Grants
Anyone else feel unmotivated to write during these gray days? I'm having a helluva time getting in the seat. So, I'll just jot down this little blog entry to get some writing in. Sheesh. I hope this winter will end soon.
On a cheerier note, I'm happy to announce that we've received an institutional grant from AMPAS (The Academy guys - the Oscar people). Besides being really cool (I've never written a grant before) it means that we can continue to provide the same level of service to our membership by bringing A-list instructors and talent to the northwest.
Starting Wednesday, I'll be taking an intro acting class at Freehold (they moved to Belltown, by the way). What's a FREEHOLD, anyway? Wish me luck. I'm not an actor, but I thought this class would help my writing. I hope this means I don't have to get a real head shot. Last time I did was when I tried out for The Apprentice. Long story. They already had an Indian guy and their "rocker" guy, so no need for the old deepster. That's OK. It was a good experience to audition on camera and see what actors go through on a daily basis.
I prefer to spend my time with my laptop with Final Draft open, my wireless turned off, a copy of Save The Cat at my side, a cup of cafe au lait, my dog, and some bebop (Diz, Bird, Monk, Budo, Brownie, Stitt, Fats, anything with Kenny Clarke, etc.) playing on my iPod.
-->May 10, 2008 - Iron Man, Subtext Revisited with Charles Baxter
Let me set this up. I'm a comic book fanboy. I tried to get my dad to invest in Marvel Comics in 1988. Of course, it was in the toilet until that little movie called Spiderman. Well, one of my favorite Marvel characters has been brought to the screen by no less than two separate writings teams. But, of all the comic book adaptation (not graphic novel) movies (Spawn, Blade, Ghost Rider, X-Men, Hell Boy, Fantastic Four, Hulk, etc.), Iron Man is probably one of the best. Instead of the critical fanboy/screenwriter mind taking over (like when I watched X-Men--why the hell is Rogue in Canada?), I enjoyed the ride--savoring nearly every moment of it. The key to why I liked it--they stayed true to the spirit of the original Iron Man, modernized it for present time, but kept many of the details from the original series (inclusion of the original song, the original look of Iron Man from 1963, and even kept the Yinsen name for the physicist who saves Tony's life). The action sequences were downright breathtaking, and the writers/director found a way to humanize and give character arcs to the freakin' helper robots.
Of course, Gwyneth was underutilized and very thin, physically, but Jon Favreau did an excellent job of getting great performances from his actors (OK, they don't need a whole lot of help), but he out-transformd Michael Bay's Transformers, and made Bryan Singer's Wolverine look like well-adjusted compared to Tony Stark/Iron Man. Kudos to Jon, Marvel, Paramount, Avi Arad, and of course the writers - Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway. Jeff "The Dude" Daniels was absolutely convincing as a bad guy, from minute one. That shaved head/goatee and power suits thing really worked for him. Although, every once in a while I kept thinking he would mix himself a white russian instead of all that single malt throughout the movie. Finally, I have to make particular mention of Robert Downey Jr. He was absolutely charming and believable as Tony Stark. I can't wait for the next one.
On a related note, Stan Lee is creating 10 characters for Virgin Comics. Cwazy. Virgin is already working with Guy Ritchie, John Woo, Nick Cage, Jenna Jameson (no kidding), and Hugh Jackman.
Subtext is such a hard concept to grasp. I consider it an advanced writing technique. Yet, there are hardly any resources that describe how subtext is used and how to develop your craft using it. My new favorite book on the subject is Charles Baxter's The Art of Subtext. I've read it twice already and I think it's the best $10 I've spent in some time. Not only is this an extremely intellectual, literary, and erudite read, but it is entertaining, inspiring, and wholly applicable in a pragmatic way to screenwriting. Baxter has broken out the use of subtext across dialogue, description, and talks about blocking and setting the scene. Very cool. Finally, he provides an in-depth discussion of the description of characters when we first see them in a piece of fiction--food for thought for screenwriters. Do we describe facial features, clothes, delve into the psychology (wait, that's for novelists, right?) of the character, or how ridiculously good looking they are? I don't know, read the book and find out.
May 3, 2008 - Marilyn Atlas Rocks!!!
I've never met anyone who's flight was almost two hours late and they were still in such good spirits. Actually, nobody is in a good mood at the airport. I knew when I picked up Marilyn Atlas from Sea-Tac and she was all smiles, that we were in a for a real treat this weekend. Coincidentally, Seth Talley, after a year of working on this event, is back from LA for several weeks (nice to see that ponytail and motorcycle). Thanks Seth and congrats on your five year anniversary!
On the way to the hotel, Marilyn and I had so much to talk about, from stereotypical roles for actors of color and our mutual Law and Order addiction to hot rapper/actor/producer-types (Ludacris, Ice Cube) and the types of concepts coming out of film schools (Oh no, not another heist or vampire movie).
After barely surviving Friday traffic in Seattle, a few Board Members had a great time at Taste of India with Marilyn, hearing some old war stories (Marilyn's trip to Uzbekistan) and getting our guest sufficiently full of rich curry, wild salmon, and bottomless chai infused with cardamom.
At the meeting, Marilyn and I had a great conversation/interview about writing scripts that will attract actors--actors being the folks that really get projects made--the dreaded or lauded "attachment" thing. Marilyn loved the questions from the audience, which I thought were excellent. Marilyn was an absolute gem, extremely forthcoming, and honest. I learned so much. I'll have to get someone's notes!
I just got back from our workshop at the NW Film Forum (we lost our usual room for today) and I learned even more. The first thing--the Sorrento Hotel loans their guests the world's most dangerous umbrella.
We've yet to have someone speak from the actors' or actors' representatives' perspective. I think it was instrumental in driving home how important character development is. We get structure crammed down our throats till kingdom come, but structure doesn't sell screenplays--it's character, dialogue, and of course, concept. I guess actors don't look at a script and say, "Wow, I love how the writer created that false victory at the midpoint" or "Man, that catalyst is something I can really sink my teeth into." They want to see that there is a character that a) lets them stretch/leaves them room to create, b) is compelling/non-stereotypical, and c) they have an emotional connection with. She confirmed that the worthwhile screenplay competitions are the Nicholl, Austin, Big Break, and Sundance.
She made it clear that our first ten pages must be stellar and to view each scene in the film as if it's the first scene--memorable, meaningful, and pushes the story forward.
She went around the room and asked everyone to name two memorable tv/film characters and why they were memorable. The characters we discussed were: Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs), Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver), Madeleine White (Jodie Foster in Inside Man), Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises), Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels (Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie), Erin Brockovitch (Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovitch, duh), Edward Scissorhands (Johnny Depp in ES), Darth Vadar (Star Wars), Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis in Trading Places), Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones), James Bond (a bunch of dudes in a bunch of flick), Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen in Galaxy Quest), Ana Garcia (America Ferrera in Real Women Have Curves), Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner), Roger 'Verbal' Kint (Kevin Spacey in Usual Suspects), Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfus in Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind), and many more.
Marilyn also discussed how dialogue, subtext, and description reveal character--very illuminating. We reviewed scenes and sides from Habla Con Ella, School of Rock, Mystic River, The Departed, Three Kings, and Devil Wears Prada. She also reiterated that we all see Wedding Banquet (Ang Lee). I think I speak for all in attendance that we definitely got our time and money's worth. I've never been to a workshop like that before. Did I mention that Marilyn is just a helluvalot of fun to be around? She's a firecracker.
Then I gave Marilyn her newly acquired pedometer so she can get all her steps in (rehabbing her leg). Tom procured some popcorn and shared it with the masses. Who doesn't love popcorn? On the way back to the hotel, Marilyn and I had a nice romp through Rite Aid--nothing like boding over toiletries, gossip magazines, and eye drops.
Tomorrow will be full of pitching at the Sorrento, which Marilyn is anticipating greatly. She was unable to hide her excitement about Seattle and the members of the NWSG. Apparently we're very insightful. Yay us! Hey, while those L.A. screenwriters are at the beach or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, we're avoiding the rain by penning that next great movie, right? I prefer the beach/writing combo, but I always get too much sand in my MacBook, and Brando gets sunburned. His poor pink belly.
Oh, I found this old Seattle PI article from Thursday, April 20, 2006 about how everyone wants to be a screenwriter instead of being a novelist. We made the list of some local resources for aspiring screenwriters, including "Best Local Support System and Best One-Stop Rundown of Script Contests." Yay us again. It is again if it happened two years ago? Whatever.
Laura and I are about to sit down and watch The Mark of Cain, a documentary on russian criminal tattoos. It's probably cause of all that talk about Eastern Promises today. I love that movie.