26.2.09

Good Critics Are Hard to Find

Soon after I started this blog I let a few friends know about it. A few of them checked it out, gave me kudos. That was nice. Then a particular friend - let's just call him "Tim the Tool Man" to protect his identity - pointed out a couple tiny errors in one of my posts. One was an error in grammar, a misuse of quotation marks. The other was the context in which I referenced Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's 11 (I was writing about attributes of successful original screenplays and mentioned Ocean's as possessing those attributes. Though Ocean's did illustrate the point I was making, technically it was an adaptation of existing material, not an "original" screenplay by Ted Griffin).

Small transgressions. But I am a writer, and everything I write represents me to others, including people who can hire me. Small mistakes here and there add up, suddenly I come  off as sloppy and unprofessional, and real pros don't work with people like that. Christian Bale knows where I'm coming from.

So in everything you write, it is crucially important that you remember EVERYTHING MATTERS - spelling, punctuation, proper grammar, syntax, tenses, etc.  If you don't know or are unsure of a particular rule of grammar - look it up, learn it and then learn more. You're a writer, fer Christssake!

You never know who could be looking at any random message or post you may put online or anywhere else. Could be the person who could give you that first "big break" you've been hoping and dreaming for. If that person isn't impressed because they're a stickler for proper grammar, syntax and punctuation and you're all over the place... there goes your "big break".

Small mistakes are too easy for most friends and family to overlook and forgive (they're just happy you managed to accomplish anything at all). But a good friend and critic - someone like Tim the Tool Man - will be detail oriented, blunt and honest. They will test your theories and pick your story apart like Perry Mason cross examining O.J. Simpson, and as a writer, you need that. That person is not being "picky", they are being helpful. They are holding you to the standards professionals will. In short, put your best foot forward, always. Then seek out honest, detailed feedback and be grateful for it, because people like Tim the Tool Man are indeed rare.

24.2.09

Oscar Thought for Writers

Concerning the nominees for Best Original and Adapted screenplays and Best Picture, I was trying to look for some pattern in these categories that may be of some help to us aspiring screenwriters. My question was, regardless of their individual merits or shortcomings, what was it specifically about these individual and vastly differing projects that got them to the pinnacle of the Hollywood game? What do they all have in common that directly contributed to their success?
The answer is a two-parter:

1. Excellent Writing - writing that got readers (agents, producers, studio execs, directors, stars, etc.) excited.
2. A Champion - someone like a producer or director who were so excited by the material that they fought for it and protected it the whole way through, from gestation to finished product.

Put those two together and my conclusion is for any writer - beginner or otherwise - to get their screenplay not just bought (if a sale is your end-game, you'll be playing one very short game) but actually seen in a real, live movie theater, the writing must be so engaging as to gain not one or two, but a literal army of Champions - all the people a film requires who will do the hard work of transferring your blueprint sketch into a complete, living, breathing work of art (or at least, cinema).

So when you're considering your next writing project, and during the actual writing, always remember that many very smart, powerful and talented individuals MUST respond to your material in such a way that they dedicate 2 or 3 years of their very lives, perhaps even more, to seeing it through to fruition in as accurate an interpretation as possible (a real Champion is one who not  just gets behind, but also protects the material).

Everyone's different though, so what key ingredients will make all these different people with different agendas come together to champion your screenplay?
I believe the answer is a combination of superlative, unique storytelling coupled with a clear, distinctive marketing concept. There, the "M" word, I said it.
Now, you may not think of films like Doubt, Frozen River or Slumdog Millionaire as obviously marketable. But if you examine their loglines or overall concepts, I think they are all clearly distinctive from other films out there, and also share universal stories. "Distinctive" is a good place to be in any market, and in marketing terms "universality" translates to wide audience appeal. 
Why am I focusing on marketability? Because in the end, you need to sell your work, and agents, creative execs and producers are basically all just salespeople. They need product, plain and simple, and in order to sell the most product that product must be familiar to the buyer yet also stand out as unique in the marketplace, an attribute I'm calling "original familiarity". Think about it, these players want to take risks, but not if it means losing their jobs or industry clout. So they like different. But they need familiar. And that's the trick in crafting your screenplay.
The classic actioner Lethal Weapon has ridiculously familiar plot - two cops team up to bring down a ruthless drug cartel. How many times have we seen that before, right? But it was the writer's specific take on the details of the story - mainly the interaction and relationships of the main characters - that gave Lethal Weapon its uniqueness. It was the telling of the story that made it seem like an original. Try the original/familiar approach when looking at the concepts & premises behind 99.9% of "successful" films, I bet they're all originally familiar.

19.2.09

Too Funny...

Not the greatest video, but funny, and most importantly for our purposes, instructional. A few days ago no one knew who these assistants were, they were nameless and faceless to the rest of the industry. But by creating this video, they have created "buzz" around themselves. I'm sure by week's end they'll at least have an agent, if not a production deal! All because they thought out of the box and created their own project instead of waiting around for someone to hand them one. A good lesson for writers - why not shoot what you write? Make a web video, webisodes, a short film, whatever. Lesson  being, don't wait for anyone to give you permission - go out and make your own breaks. I have a tendency to write big and expensively, but I'm trying to focus on smaller fare too, the kind I can shoot on the cheap. Also looking into graphic novels, so if your best bud happens to be an aspiring comic artist searching for unsucky material, let me know.
Also, on a mechanics of writing level, think how much better this video would be if it were about 2 minutes shorter - less is always more! Think of this when you're editing your scenes - the shorter they are, the more powerful they will be. Always leave them wanting more...
Hollywood ASST from Back of the Class on Vimeo.