I'm in Savannah, Georgia at the moment enjoying the fine weather and sunny beaches. Actually, I've been flown down here by my company to work. 52 hours of work a week for two weeks. I did have a couple of days off and was able to swim in the Atlantic Ocean for a bit, lay out on the Savannah beach and get an annoying sun burn on my back.
What is of interest to people out there in MovieLand is Savannah is the place where many movies are filmed. The most notorious being Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil. If you've seen the movie you know Savannah is beautiful. It's even more spectacular in person.
Let me be frank. the movie wasn't really that great. I don't know why my free time has been consumed with the movie. But I found it at Best Buy for $7.50 and picked it up. I enjoyed watching the movie and then seeing the actual scenery that was filmed in person. I can imagine the only thing better would be to see a movie actually being filmed at the time. No wait. Even better would be to see your own script being filmed live on location.
I wanted to see the Bird Girl, the statue that graces both the movie poster and the book. But they've moved it out of the cemetery and placed it in a museum that was going to charge me ten bucks to see it. I didn't think it was worth that much at the time. Maybe later. Really, I was only going to look at it just so I can say I've seen it live in person. I did buy the book and a post card of the Bird Girl. So that will have to do.
I did stop at a shop that calls itself the official store of the Midnight book and movie. If I wanted to I could have walked out with a small statue of Bird Girl for a Hundred Bucks. Maybe next time, also.
I had an interesting conversation with the lady who worked there. She was one of those people who love to tell stories and had a ghost story to tell us relating to the nearby city we working in. When I told her I was from Kalamazoo she said it sounded like a song. So I told her about the old song with the same name, which she was familiar with. I asked her about the Savannah Art College because we were seeing a lot of buildings with their name on it. She city was behing taken over by the college. It turns out she was a graduate of the college along time ago. She got her degree and probably never left the city. She said she survived cancer twice and now was working at a tiny gift shop. I'm assuming since she went to college and works at a gift shop she never achieved anything with her art degree. And that she is a struggling artist who devoted her entire life to art with nothing to show for it. But she did seem very happy. I can only hope that after I've lived a long life, whether or not I have achieved any success in screenwriting, that I can be doing something I love associated with my passions in life and be just as happy as she seemed.
I was asked the other day by a good friend how much am I willing to put into this to achieve success in screenwriting. My answer was if I live the rest of my life writing screenplays and I achieve nothing, it will still be worth it because I am having that much fun reading screenplay books and watching and studying movies now. My answer reminds me of the old lady working in that gift shop. Maybe living in Savannah just being surrounded by great art is enough for her to be passionate about life. Just like how I would perceive living in Hollywood being surrounded by movies and artists passionate about movies would be.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Office Memo #1
They say you should treat your screenwriting career like a business. The sooner you can take it that serious enough, the sooner you'll be on your way to making the necessary steps to success. Well, I created an inter-office memo to myself to do just that.
To: Myself
From: Myself, CEO & Chairman of your career
Date: 7/05/07
Subject: Morning Habits
We'd like to thank you for your commitment and dedication to screenwriting. We feel your accomplishments in the not-too-distant future will have a positive effect financially for our organization. We'd like to take this opportunity to challenge you to remain steadfast in our company policy.
It has recently come to our attention that you have been "sleeping in" instead of rising early enough to perfect your craft. Although your alarm clock is set at 4 a.m. eastern/standard time, pressing snooze for an hour and a half and awakening at the last possible minute before being taken away to your other job is counter-productive and goes against your better judgments as a screenwriter. Please make all necessary changes to keep your account in good standing with our firm.
To: Myself
From: Myself, CEO & Chairman of your career
Date: 7/05/07
Subject: Morning Habits
We'd like to thank you for your commitment and dedication to screenwriting. We feel your accomplishments in the not-too-distant future will have a positive effect financially for our organization. We'd like to take this opportunity to challenge you to remain steadfast in our company policy.
It has recently come to our attention that you have been "sleeping in" instead of rising early enough to perfect your craft. Although your alarm clock is set at 4 a.m. eastern/standard time, pressing snooze for an hour and a half and awakening at the last possible minute before being taken away to your other job is counter-productive and goes against your better judgments as a screenwriter. Please make all necessary changes to keep your account in good standing with our firm.
Monday, July 2, 2007
The Bathroom Reader Of Screenwriting
Book Review: Zen And The Art Of Screenwriting Vol. 1 & 2
It's not that these were awful books full of toilet humor or anything like that. It just happens to be the time that I chose to read this books. I needed something screenwriting related to read while taking a massive a dump only a man can be proud of (I ripped that off of John From Cincinnati). These books were the perfect opportunity to do so. The insights were usually only a couple of pages long and offered plenty of good food for thought. The interviews were also informative. Not Like, "Holy-shit, I need to know this stuff!". But more in retrospect of your favorite movies and authors. The first volume was published in 1996, with volume 2 in 2000. So most of the interviews from author William Froug are with the legends of screenwriting and seem to be a bit dated. So anybody looking for fresh perspectives on the industry today might do better with a current copy of Creative Screenwriting.
Another problem I have with the book is the misinterpretation with the title. There is no chapter on Zen philosophy and how it relates to screenwriting. But that's fine. I understand it was just a clever title. I pretty much try to pattern the titles of my blogs in a similar fashion. Hell, the title "Philosophy Of Screenwriting" was inspired by these books. I just wish they had picked something else so I could use the title for a true journey into Zen and screenwriting. But I digress.
So these books, along with Joel Engel's "Screenwriters On Screenwriting", have become my choice for bathroom reading. I have a few other books by Engel and Froug that will later take their place on top of the magazine rack in my bathroom full of old Playboy's and men's magazines. If it has to be all screenwriting all the time, then I need to keep my priorities straight. So that Playboy will have to wait. Right now, my current bathroom reader is "Screenwriters: America's Storytellers In Portrait." Hey, what do you know? It's got pictures. Who needs those Playboy's after all.
It's not that these were awful books full of toilet humor or anything like that. It just happens to be the time that I chose to read this books. I needed something screenwriting related to read while taking a massive a dump only a man can be proud of (I ripped that off of John From Cincinnati). These books were the perfect opportunity to do so. The insights were usually only a couple of pages long and offered plenty of good food for thought. The interviews were also informative. Not Like, "Holy-shit, I need to know this stuff!". But more in retrospect of your favorite movies and authors. The first volume was published in 1996, with volume 2 in 2000. So most of the interviews from author William Froug are with the legends of screenwriting and seem to be a bit dated. So anybody looking for fresh perspectives on the industry today might do better with a current copy of Creative Screenwriting.
Another problem I have with the book is the misinterpretation with the title. There is no chapter on Zen philosophy and how it relates to screenwriting. But that's fine. I understand it was just a clever title. I pretty much try to pattern the titles of my blogs in a similar fashion. Hell, the title "Philosophy Of Screenwriting" was inspired by these books. I just wish they had picked something else so I could use the title for a true journey into Zen and screenwriting. But I digress.
So these books, along with Joel Engel's "Screenwriters On Screenwriting", have become my choice for bathroom reading. I have a few other books by Engel and Froug that will later take their place on top of the magazine rack in my bathroom full of old Playboy's and men's magazines. If it has to be all screenwriting all the time, then I need to keep my priorities straight. So that Playboy will have to wait. Right now, my current bathroom reader is "Screenwriters: America's Storytellers In Portrait." Hey, what do you know? It's got pictures. Who needs those Playboy's after all.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Pulp Fiction And The Theory Of Autonomy
Have you ever been asked what your favorite movie is? Have you ever asked someone what their favorite movie is and they couldn't give you a response? It's a hard question to answer. With all the great movies out there it's hard to narrow it down to just one. And there's always the fear of rejection when they didn't like the movie you chose.
I find this a hard question to answer when it comes to music. I listen to so many different types of music and I love music so much that I'm not able to give a justifiable answer. Giving an answer to your favorite band question is even more typecasting than movies. If I said Nine Inch Nails then you would automatically assume I'm goth. Or if I said Bon Jovi, you would assume I'm an over-the-hill pot smoker stuck in the 80's. And If I told you what I really like to listen to right now is Bluegrass, you would assume I'm a down-on-the-farm country hick with straw sticking out of my mouth. But really, I'm a college town suburbanite from the Midwest.
But when it comes to movies, it's more ambiguous. For instance, what does it really mean to like Will Ferrell movies? Well, for me, it's on par to liking Britney Spears or the Backstreet Boys. Yeah, they have that one good song, but overall they suck!
But not having an answer to your favorite movie is just as bad. It either means you are incapable of forming your own opinion or you just haven't thought it through yet. Or it means, your afraid I'm going to judge you harshly for liking Will Ferrell movies .
I decided long ago that the answer to my question was going to be Pulp Fiction. And here are the reasons:
A) It's a safe option, being one of the most critically acclaimed movies. And it's constantly being listed on every one's best movies of all time lists. Besides, if you say you didn't like it, I can say you're a moron and more people agree with me than you.
B) No move has ever given me a better movie-going experience than Pulp Fiction. Here's the story: Me and my girlfriend at the time went to go see it at the theater when it first came out in 1994 (So I'm not jumping on the bandwagon, here). To me, I was just going to see the latest Bruce Willis movie. I'm one of those people who will go see a movie just because it has Bruce Willis in it. And I remember sitting there listening to Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer just talk about nothing important and it through me for a loop. Where's the story at? What's the point? Then the cool surf music came, then there was that guy from Grease and some black guy with an Afro. I thought, "How cool is that?"
Then they killed a guy for something in a brief case and then John Travolta was dancing. And then Uma Thurman O.D.'s and John stabs an adrenaline shot into her chest to make her wake up. At this time it's game over. This has been the coolest movie with the sickest shit I've ever seen! My best friend at the time, rented this movie and got to this part and had to shut it off. He couldn't watch any more. I don't think to this day, he ever did finish watching it.
And Bruce Willis hadn't even done anything at this point. When he comes out and does his "Die Hard" thing, It's like you've watched two cool movies at once. And it ain't over. There's the Bonnie Situation, and Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer again. None of the stories put together made any sense, but you still walked out of the movie theater thinking you watched a complete movie.
Not only can you quote from it, you can watch it over and over again and still surprised.
So that's my favorite movie of all-time. When I tell people that, they're either surprised that I've thought it through so much or they didn't see the movie to begin with and couldn't say much either way.
And it pretty much defines who I am. I love crime movies. I love Tarantino. I love Film-Noir or Neo-Noir. And I live my life in a post-modern society where pop-culture is recycled and spoon fed to the masses. This movie is the turning point. It's the Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit" of Cinema. You can take it or leave it. But that's just me.
I find this a hard question to answer when it comes to music. I listen to so many different types of music and I love music so much that I'm not able to give a justifiable answer. Giving an answer to your favorite band question is even more typecasting than movies. If I said Nine Inch Nails then you would automatically assume I'm goth. Or if I said Bon Jovi, you would assume I'm an over-the-hill pot smoker stuck in the 80's. And If I told you what I really like to listen to right now is Bluegrass, you would assume I'm a down-on-the-farm country hick with straw sticking out of my mouth. But really, I'm a college town suburbanite from the Midwest.
But when it comes to movies, it's more ambiguous. For instance, what does it really mean to like Will Ferrell movies? Well, for me, it's on par to liking Britney Spears or the Backstreet Boys. Yeah, they have that one good song, but overall they suck!
But not having an answer to your favorite movie is just as bad. It either means you are incapable of forming your own opinion or you just haven't thought it through yet. Or it means, your afraid I'm going to judge you harshly for liking Will Ferrell movies .
I decided long ago that the answer to my question was going to be Pulp Fiction. And here are the reasons:
A) It's a safe option, being one of the most critically acclaimed movies. And it's constantly being listed on every one's best movies of all time lists. Besides, if you say you didn't like it, I can say you're a moron and more people agree with me than you.
B) No move has ever given me a better movie-going experience than Pulp Fiction. Here's the story: Me and my girlfriend at the time went to go see it at the theater when it first came out in 1994 (So I'm not jumping on the bandwagon, here). To me, I was just going to see the latest Bruce Willis movie. I'm one of those people who will go see a movie just because it has Bruce Willis in it. And I remember sitting there listening to Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer just talk about nothing important and it through me for a loop. Where's the story at? What's the point? Then the cool surf music came, then there was that guy from Grease and some black guy with an Afro. I thought, "How cool is that?"
Then they killed a guy for something in a brief case and then John Travolta was dancing. And then Uma Thurman O.D.'s and John stabs an adrenaline shot into her chest to make her wake up. At this time it's game over. This has been the coolest movie with the sickest shit I've ever seen! My best friend at the time, rented this movie and got to this part and had to shut it off. He couldn't watch any more. I don't think to this day, he ever did finish watching it.
And Bruce Willis hadn't even done anything at this point. When he comes out and does his "Die Hard" thing, It's like you've watched two cool movies at once. And it ain't over. There's the Bonnie Situation, and Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer again. None of the stories put together made any sense, but you still walked out of the movie theater thinking you watched a complete movie.
Not only can you quote from it, you can watch it over and over again and still surprised.
So that's my favorite movie of all-time. When I tell people that, they're either surprised that I've thought it through so much or they didn't see the movie to begin with and couldn't say much either way.
And it pretty much defines who I am. I love crime movies. I love Tarantino. I love Film-Noir or Neo-Noir. And I live my life in a post-modern society where pop-culture is recycled and spoon fed to the masses. This movie is the turning point. It's the Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit" of Cinema. You can take it or leave it. But that's just me.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Another Top 5...
Top 5 movies as this years Waterfront Film Festival:
1) Chapter 27 - The darkest movie I saw this year. A fictional tale about Mark David Chapman's three day stay in New York City before he shot John Lennon. His adventures mirror that of Holden Caulfield's in Catcher In The Rye. And Jared Leto gained 67 lbs. to play the lead role. He won't get an Oscar nod but he sure does deserve one.
2) Eagle Vs. Shark - New Zealand's answer to Napoleon Dynamite and in many ways, surpasses it. A quirky romantic comedy for the rest of us.
3) When A Man Falls In The Forest - This movie contained the single most exciting moment of the film festival. When Timothy Hutton calls his wife Sharon Stone on the phone and gets her answering machine, he pours out his heart and soul in rapid fire. Afterwards, the audience clapped at his heartfelt honesty. Then the audience let out a loud gasp at what happened next. Go see this movie to find out.
4) The Go-Getter - They ought to name a genre after Holden Caulfield in which the premise is always the same. A teenage boy comes of age while going on a road trip to find a family member or discover an unknown truth. Throw in a little Oedipus Complex and you got yourself a good movie.
5) Tie - Blue State/ Divergence - Both these movies took on Bush and the war in Iraq. In Blue State, a defeated democrat attempts to move to Canada. in Divergence, a wounded soldier falls in love while contemplating the fact he may have to go back to war. I'm not anti-war or anti-Bush so the filmmakers' attempts to draw sympathy to their plight went over my head. But put together, these two movies did have enough of a storyline outside their political agenda to warrant a place on my top 5.
1) Chapter 27 - The darkest movie I saw this year. A fictional tale about Mark David Chapman's three day stay in New York City before he shot John Lennon. His adventures mirror that of Holden Caulfield's in Catcher In The Rye. And Jared Leto gained 67 lbs. to play the lead role. He won't get an Oscar nod but he sure does deserve one.
2) Eagle Vs. Shark - New Zealand's answer to Napoleon Dynamite and in many ways, surpasses it. A quirky romantic comedy for the rest of us.
3) When A Man Falls In The Forest - This movie contained the single most exciting moment of the film festival. When Timothy Hutton calls his wife Sharon Stone on the phone and gets her answering machine, he pours out his heart and soul in rapid fire. Afterwards, the audience clapped at his heartfelt honesty. Then the audience let out a loud gasp at what happened next. Go see this movie to find out.
4) The Go-Getter - They ought to name a genre after Holden Caulfield in which the premise is always the same. A teenage boy comes of age while going on a road trip to find a family member or discover an unknown truth. Throw in a little Oedipus Complex and you got yourself a good movie.
5) Tie - Blue State/ Divergence - Both these movies took on Bush and the war in Iraq. In Blue State, a defeated democrat attempts to move to Canada. in Divergence, a wounded soldier falls in love while contemplating the fact he may have to go back to war. I'm not anti-war or anti-Bush so the filmmakers' attempts to draw sympathy to their plight went over my head. But put together, these two movies did have enough of a storyline outside their political agenda to warrant a place on my top 5.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Screenwriting And The Art Of Being Lazy
I realize I haven't been posting that much on here. My excuse is that I'm busy working my day job trying to make money to eventually make the move out west. But really my intention was to only write quality stuff on here to represent my writing style. I suppose I could turn this into an online diary and tell you guys what I had for breakfast, but I think I should keep it somewhat professional.
Instead, I'll give a sort of state-of-the-union address on this summer so far. First, what's with all these two-and-a-half/three hour Blockbuster movies? Pirates, Spiderman, etc. I thought we were told to keep our scripts under 110 pages? I personally subscribe to the hour-and-a-half movie theory myself. If it clocks in at one-fifteen, bonus!
Next week, I'll be attending the Waterfront Film Festival and I'm excited. I was a bit disappointed at this year's selection at first. But after reading all the movies, I've found a couple I'm looking forward to seeing. Like Chapter 27, the Mark David Chapman movie starring Jared Leto. Lindsey Lohen is in it, and since she's Maxim's hottest babe right now, that can't be bad thing. Although, there's no horror movies this year. Where's all the genre films at? But I'll get my weekend pass and watch every movie I can. I plan on taking in over 19 movies/documentaries/seminars/short film programs in a three day span. I'm devoted like that. Or crazy.
I've got my next script down in treatment form. I let my screenwriter friend read it and he liked the storyline and loved the title. But he often likes my ideas then trashes my screenplays. But that lets me know what I need to work on then.
Top 5 movies of the first half of 2007:
1) Smokin' Aces
2) Grindhouse
3) 300
4) Alpha Dog
5) The Number 23
Instead, I'll give a sort of state-of-the-union address on this summer so far. First, what's with all these two-and-a-half/three hour Blockbuster movies? Pirates, Spiderman, etc. I thought we were told to keep our scripts under 110 pages? I personally subscribe to the hour-and-a-half movie theory myself. If it clocks in at one-fifteen, bonus!
Next week, I'll be attending the Waterfront Film Festival and I'm excited. I was a bit disappointed at this year's selection at first. But after reading all the movies, I've found a couple I'm looking forward to seeing. Like Chapter 27, the Mark David Chapman movie starring Jared Leto. Lindsey Lohen is in it, and since she's Maxim's hottest babe right now, that can't be bad thing. Although, there's no horror movies this year. Where's all the genre films at? But I'll get my weekend pass and watch every movie I can. I plan on taking in over 19 movies/documentaries/seminars/short film programs in a three day span. I'm devoted like that. Or crazy.
I've got my next script down in treatment form. I let my screenwriter friend read it and he liked the storyline and loved the title. But he often likes my ideas then trashes my screenplays. But that lets me know what I need to work on then.
Top 5 movies of the first half of 2007:
1) Smokin' Aces
2) Grindhouse
3) 300
4) Alpha Dog
5) The Number 23
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Screenwriting And The Art Of Losing
Well, that screenplay contest I entered just announced the finalists. And I wasn't one of them. I'm not too upset because you can't expect to win everything. But it is a good experience for me to feel failure and rejection on one of my screenplays. It's all new to me. It's a new feeling. One that I'm going to have to sort out and work through. Other screenwriters have felt this feeling on much larger scales. It's something I should expect to get used to.
It does bring up a lot of questions, though. You take stock in what you've accomplished so far and measure all the hard work you've put into it. You start asking questions like is it all worth it to continue? Do I believe I have enough talent and determination to continue? Am I willing to make it a life-long career pursuit or should I try something else? Am I ready for Hollywood?
Than you need to ask yourself the hard questions. Did I really write the best screenplay I could write? Did I really work hard enough? Am I just fooling myself? I can say the answer to that last question is yes. We all are fooling ourselves. But some how we press on anyways. It doesn't matter that we're chasing after fool's gold. Because how neat would it be to write a movie someday?
So, here's my post-contest depression plan:
1) I'm going to post this for all the world to see.
2) I'm going straight to the movie theater. I'm going to sit by myself with a large tub of popcorn with extra butter and I'm going to fight through the screenplay blues.
3) I'm going to come home and take stock. Set more goals. drop more time-consuming activities. Read more books. Write more every day.
4) Enter another screenplay contest.
5) Repeat process until I have a happier ending.
P.S. Now that I think about it. My original goal wasn't to win the screenplay contest. It was to enter the screenplay contest. Something I had wanted to do the last two years and had failed. But this year I was determined to and I did. So I'm a winner after all.
It does bring up a lot of questions, though. You take stock in what you've accomplished so far and measure all the hard work you've put into it. You start asking questions like is it all worth it to continue? Do I believe I have enough talent and determination to continue? Am I willing to make it a life-long career pursuit or should I try something else? Am I ready for Hollywood?
Than you need to ask yourself the hard questions. Did I really write the best screenplay I could write? Did I really work hard enough? Am I just fooling myself? I can say the answer to that last question is yes. We all are fooling ourselves. But some how we press on anyways. It doesn't matter that we're chasing after fool's gold. Because how neat would it be to write a movie someday?
So, here's my post-contest depression plan:
1) I'm going to post this for all the world to see.
2) I'm going straight to the movie theater. I'm going to sit by myself with a large tub of popcorn with extra butter and I'm going to fight through the screenplay blues.
3) I'm going to come home and take stock. Set more goals. drop more time-consuming activities. Read more books. Write more every day.
4) Enter another screenplay contest.
5) Repeat process until I have a happier ending.
P.S. Now that I think about it. My original goal wasn't to win the screenplay contest. It was to enter the screenplay contest. Something I had wanted to do the last two years and had failed. But this year I was determined to and I did. So I'm a winner after all.
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