Howard Casner

ROM COMS: A FACEBOOK DISCUSSIONS

2012-02-18T07:35:00.000-08:00

Marty Kane

Post for the day- Romance! Do you, or have you ever, written romance, or romantic comedy? If you've got some experience in this department, please share what to do and what not to do. Also, do you like using romance in your B- story?

- Gregory Blair Several of my screenplays have romantic elements, but only one could really be considered a romantic comedy. I think every film needs a little romance. It doesn't have to be a love story about two people: every journey can be seen as romantic, whether it’s about passion for another person, an art form, or an idea.
  
  Or maybe I’m just romanticizing! ;)
  February 14 at 2:49pm · · 5
- Carol Hovsepian In the middle of optioning my rom com now but rewriting. I like usiing romance in the B story only if it reflect and moves the main story forward. Here's an exceptional article on writing romantic comedies by Michael Hauge:
  February 14 at 3:22pm · · 1
- Screenwriter Rolando Vinas I have a Rom-Com that has investors interested, but I need to do another rewrite of it. Rom-Com's follow the basic formula, so I focus on making it high concept. The logline for the script made the Top 50 loglines of 2010 for Creative Screenwriting Mag. Hopefully it'll make it to a theater near you soon my friends. :^)
  February 14 at 3:22pm · · 2
- Carol Hovsepian Michael Hauge's link on writing rom coms isn't posting but you can go to his website storymastery.com and click on his article "Writing Romantic Comedies".
  February 14 at 3:25pm · · 1
- Banks Darrell J My first script Death and the Family ( a portion is in my book Character Within the Screenplay). Keep it simple in RC not like that Reese Whiterspoon pending movie. A-B-C works when D doesn't want A to be with B. The wedding planer etc. Four Weddings and a Funeral.
  February 14 at 3:43pm ·
- Jane Valquist I can't write rom-com or romance... I suck at it!!!
  February 14 at 3:52pm · · 2
- Rick Reichman How to do a romcom in one sentence: Keep the two people apart until the end of the movie.
  February 14 at 3:58pm · · 3
- Paul Roman I tend to use the end of romance as a jumping off point for all my scripts. Somehow it's become my thing to start a script off with a break up.
  February 14 at 6:15pm · · 2
- Celeste Wolfe Not a rom-com writer, but definitely use romance in my B-stories!
  February 14 at 8:03pm via mobile · · 1
- Howard Casner I've never really written a rom com, so can't comment from that perspective. But I can share a couple of things I've noticed in reading a ton of rom coms where authors err. One is that they don't give the audience a reason to want the two people in the story to be together; the author often just assumes that the audience will automatically want the two leads to be together, when often I have to tell the writer the audience may actually want them to end up apart. The author doesn't resolve the real issues keeping the two love birds apart for most of the movie; i.e., when the movie is over, I often go, I'll give them three months before they break up. The author gives the female lead two choices, character a or character b, when in reality she often has the much superior third choice, neither one (the author just assumes that a woman will want to be in a relationship). Authors often don't realize that the least sympathetic characters are the ones who desperately want to be in a relationship; they assume we will automatically be on their side, when the audience will often want the character to get a life. In relation to this, I've noticed that for some of the greatest rom coms (It Happened One Night, The Awful Truth, His Gal Friday, Bringing Up Baby, Top Hat, Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany's), it's not about people looking for love or looking for a relationship, it's about people who happen to fall in love while doing something else.
  Wednesday at 7:39am · · 2
- Bart Baker modern rom coms follow a formula like this: antipathy, antipathy, save the cat moment - wow, I see them in a different light, grow together, secret complication, grow together, fall in love, secret complication revealed, romance over, struggle with emotional fallout, true love grows, struggle to win over, big moment - wow, I was right to fall in love, back in love, the end.
  Wednesday at 7:50am · · 4
- Howard Casner I prefer the more simpler boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl.
  Wednesday at 7:52am ·
- Andy Silverman I think it's important that the stakes be very high. What do your characters stand to lose if they do not end up together. It can't be, oh they just go date other people.
  Wednesday at 8:05am ·
- Wallace Brown Can't do romance. But passion... ;-)
  Wednesday at 9:05am ·
- Diane Johnson I'm not a romantic, but the romance I have incorporated into my not-so-romantic scripts usually involves two people who are comfortable together without words. I usually get positive comments on those moments, so I agree with Howard about giving the audience a reason to want these two people together. My characters are rarely seeking love for the sake of being in a relationship. An example that got positive feedback was between two characters, one in an abusive relationship with her exhusband - who still lived with her, the other who loved her but had self esteem issues and therefore never treated their friendship as more than that. The story wasn't about the two of them getting together. It was about her standing up for herself and him feeling better about himself. And the 'romance' between them just developed out of that... if that makes sense.

SCREENPLAY SCTRUCUTRE-A FACEBOOK DISCUSSION

2012-02-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

Proscreenplays Screenplay Development

Name your favorite movie. I bet you there is a solid structure in there that be easily spotted. Structure is in every story, use it, it works.

- Howard Casner Every movie has a structure; that goes without saying. Even a structureless film has a structure. The issue isn't whether a film has a structure, it's whether certain structures are superior than others or the idea that if you don't use a certain prescribed structure, the movie ipso facto can't be any good.
  Thursday at 12:28pm · · 1
- Yana Gibbs I guess, you meant "strong structure"? Oh yeah... Deja-Vu, Source Code, Bolt, Meet the Robinsons, Up (sorryt, lots of cartoons, but sometimes they are better movies), Monsters And Co, Bourne ID - all three...
  Thursday at 1:15pm via mobile ·
- Proscreenplays Screenplay Development Yes Howard, very true. I don't like how some "guru's" seem to state their OWN structure is the best or the only way to do it. Especially since they are all just variations of original "screenplay structure". The trick is to find a structure you are happy with and you feel works well for your style and master it.
  Thursday at 1:29pm · · 1
- Howard Casner I like everything from Citizen Kane to Vertigo to Slacker to The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie to Duck Soup to Pulp Fiction to Amarcord--all with different structures, all brilliant.
  Thursday at 3:06pm · · 1
- Proscreenplays Screenplay Development I know. Because really, it all comes down to the story at its core. Great story, great screenplay, great movie. Shitty story, and it doesn't matter how bang on the structure is.
  Yesterday at 7:25am · · 1
- Bart Baker I agree PSD. People argue over structure on these forums -- Save the Cat is better than McKee, McKee is better than Syd Fields, such and such script follows the blah-blah beats for perfect script writing. I don't get it. Sorry it's not a one-size fits all business. Each screenplay is different, and our job is to tell the BEST STORY in the best screenplay structure for that story. That's all I've ever done, try to find a great story to tell and tell it the best way I can in screenplay form.
  23 hours ago · · 3
- Proscreenplays Screenplay Development Very, very well said.
  23 hours ago ·
- Lin Fahrenheit ‎@ Howard - exactly. I don't subscribe to the "this way or the highway" approach some authors (I don't use guru anymore) push.
  
  It is understandable because how can they push a book without making the target audience believe they need it?
  
  Most of them are just back engineering movies and scripts and fitting them into their paradigms. Anyone of us could do likewise if we wanted to.
  
  Just write your story as best you can, don't worry about what some author says you have to do.
  17 hours ago via mobile ·
- Cordell Garrett Here's a question I have, why do some of the more established writers always push for a certain format to tell stories? I don't get that.
  17 hours ago ·
- Howard Casner Which established writers?
  17 hours ago ·
- Cordell Garrett http://somethingstartlinghappens.blogspot.com/. Take this guy for example.
  17 hours ago ·
- Howard Casner I looked up Todd Klick on IMDB. He doesn't seem like an established writer to me.
  17 hours ago ·
- Cordell Garrett I see, but I still think my question is valid though why do some writers insist on following certain formats? This is just more of curoisty for me
  17 hours ago ·
- Howard Casner It makes them money.
  17 hours ago · · 1
- Yana Gibbs And his book is not well rated on Amazon - just looking at the most recent reviews.
  17 hours ago ·
- Cordell Garrett So then should I continue to craft my stories like I had been doing then? I usually will get an idea and just type what comes to mind and if I get stuck on a plot point, I'll just relax or do something until I get inspiration
  17 hours ago ·
- Howard Casner That's how I do it, but of course, I'm not established either. I think books and gurus can be useful. When you get stuck or something isn't working, they might have a reason or idea that will help you get unstuck. But I think it's a mistake to start a screenplay based on a structure in a book. And in the end, you need to know what you are trying to do, what you are trying to achieve so that when you do get feedback or read a book, you know what applies to your screenplay and what doesn't.
  14 hours ago · · 1
- Bart Baker Lin - write how it works best for you, how the stories come out of you organically. If outlining does that for you, do it. If a certain structure works for you, use it. If free riffing like a jazz musician helps you create a great screenplay, then that's your gift.
  I don't outline (unless it's a paid gig and they want an outline.)
  
  But when I spec material, as I write I watch the movie in my head, yet I'm still innately aware that something physically or emotionally explosive must happens every five to ten pages (there's my structure I guess.) Outlining ruins the journey the characters take me on and the excitement of discovery I feel as my character reveal more layers to themselves through the story. I do not like to impose behavior or events on them. This way of works for me, but I would never suggest that another screenwriter this is the way to a successful screenplay because everyone is different and has different styles. Work the way that works best for you.
  13 hours ago · · 2
- William Martell I was going to say that all screenplays have a structure - but I've read some that did not... they were like humans without bones... slug-like. But *good* stories have a structure... and 99% of the time that's a three act structure, since it's what has worked for over 2,400 years so far. But *works* is all that matters. If you write something odd *and it works* that's all that matters.
  10 hours ago ·
- Lin Fahrenheit ‎@ Bart - That's pretty much my philosophy. I outline sometimes but it's more a general story GPS device for me to establish a frame work and see the big picture. It leaves plenty of unanswered questions and blank spaces for exploration and discovery.
  
  Not into "this is how it must happen" outlines that are a 100 pages long.
  
  Cordell -- As for gurus and experts and all that, I find that there are lots of experts out here who for some reason feel qualified to tell others "how" they should be doing something. I ignore that because usually when you read their stuff it's plagued with the same issues they claim to have the answers for.
  
  They have fancy, complex names for stuff like central dramatic arguments and thematic/anti-thematic layering. It makes storytelling and screenwriting sound like chaos math and quantum physics. Keep the younglings confused and in need of the next book or seminar.
  
  Screenwriting/writing is one of few crafts where there is a side industry designed specially to maintain a class of permanent apprentices and that's the scam in my opinion.
  
  I prefer books (this not a plug) like Will Martell's stuff. More "this is what I've learned and I'm sharing it" it's info exchange not someone saying "this the way, truth and light".
  
  I remember an article where Scott Frank, a very successful screenwriter, talks about someone asking him if he used some 8 sequence structure technique that was the flavor of the moment.
  
  His response: "What the hell is that?"
  
  I believe in information and idea exchange and learning. If you've been writing for 5-10 years you should something of a guru yourself in my opinion and reading books becomes a function of exposing yourself to other ideas and approaches, not learning the craft.
  4 hours ago via mobile ·
- Lin Fahrenheit Cordell peek at the 120 beats article and I doubt the writers sat there pondering minute by minute about these things.
  
  I think over time, reading, research, WRITING, watching and discussing movies and sharing ideas, etc., creates a foundation or a well in the subscious that makes a lot of story execution instinctive.
  
  Most writers aren't sitting there with a check list that goes - page 3 "world upside" check and so on.
  
  The instinct is there developed over years of exposure and it just happens. I'm not saying there is not conscious thought about structure and all that. I just don't think it happens the way some of these books and blogs would have you believe.
  
  Lucus didn't have Screenplay on the table when he was writing star wars.
  
  Anyone here have a friend or relative who just tells a great story. They can talk about the time Joe was late for his wedding and put you right there. They lay out the details and build the tension perfectly.
  
  They haven't read one book on how to tell a good story.

KUNG FU PANDA 2

2012-02-16T07:52:00.000-08:00

The further adventures of Po. It has some amazing animation (especially the action fight scenes and a peacock whose tail fans in and out on a moment's notice), but the story is only serviceable. The plot seemed more chosen to show off the skills of the animators rather than to drum up any emotional feelings for the characters. The whole thing takes place in China, so of course the most important characters are voiced by Westerners (Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and Gary Oldman). Jack Black's never been better (not sure that's a compliment). It's not as bad as I'm making it sound, but it's also nothing to write home about.

A BETTER LIFE

2012-02-15T12:03:00.000-08:00

A very sincere film about a problem that doesn't have a solution. It's about an illegal alien whose son was born in the U.S. and how the two cope. It's well done in many ways and the background of illegals in the U.S. gives the story a nice grounding in reality, but it's also a film that I wanted to like more than I did. The most interesting part of the plot is the middle third, which is based on Vittoria De Sica's The Bicycle Thief. Beyond that, I found the whole thing just a bit too familiar with somewhat formulaic character arcs and a plot that is pretty predictable with no real surprises. Oscar nominee Demian Bichir (of Weeds) goes against type and does a very credible job; director Chris Weitz also goes against type, but doesn't succeed as well.

INDISCRETION OF AN AMERICAN WIFE

2012-02-14T16:53:00.000-08:00

Vittorio De Sica's 1953 attempt to wed an American approach of story telling to an Italian neo-realist background; neo-realism wins. Jennifer Jones spends more than an hour deciding whether to leave Rome or sleep with Montgomery Clift--most people would make that decision in five minutes. The soap opera at the core is perfectly serviceable; the real reason to see the film is the background. Filmed on location at Stazione Termini, the director fills the screen with extras, supporting characters and tiny subplots that are more fascinating than the central characters (especially a woman who has to be taken to the first aid department because she's pregnant). Richard Beymer of West Side Story makes one of his first appearances as Dick Beymer.

THE CHASE

2012-02-13T13:33:00.000-08:00

Arthur Penn's 1966 film about a convict who's escaped and is returning to his home town; the town goes off the deep end about it, though it's a little unclear why anybody cares as much as they do. It starts off well enough, but ends up being so over the top, it becomes a real hoot. It's basically a hate valentine aimed at right wing conservatives (the theme seems to be that Peyton Place was an absolutely edenic place to live in) and since everyone involved in making the film is so intent on hate mongering the hate mongerers, there's no place for the story to go. The most interesting aspect is the cast; it's made up of old time Hollywood studio stalwarts (Grady Sutton, Henry Hull and a remarkable Miriam Hopkins) and a slew of rising young turks (Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, James Fox, Paul Williams, Robert Duvall) and between them strides Marlon Brando like a colossus. Lillian Hellman wrote the script (though I believe she disliked the result) and it's based on a play and book by Horton Foote (though I swear the final product doesn't bear that much resemblance to the source).

THE BIG SKY

2012-02-11T15:52:00.000-08:00

Howard Hawks 1953 western about fur traders on a trip up the Missouri River starring Kirk Douglas and Arthur Hunnicutt (who got an Oscar Nom). On the surface, it's just about a group of traders trying to reach the Blackfeet Indian nation to trade with them; but the subtext tells the story of a group of traders who set up a socialist cooperative in which they will all split the profits equality fighting against a greedy capitalist business trying to become a monopoly. It's a wonder everybody wasn't called in front of the HUAC. It's beautiful to look at; has a nice music score; the dialog has a great colloquial ring to it; and the way the different ethnic groups and nationalities relate to each other has a realistic feel to it. But it also never really rises above what it is, a standard western with a standard plot with performances that are a bit too cute and ethnic for the movie to work as well as it might.

IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT

2012-02-11T15:42:00.000-08:00

One of the five doc noms for the Oscars. It's about the ELF, environmental terrorists who went around burning down businesses that were harming the environment and it's actually very entertaining, well told and at times moving. At the same time, though the participants resent being called terrorists, they never make a very convincing argument as to why they aren't, and sympathy finally flies out the window when their final two acts burnt down businesses that didn't conflict with the ELF's moral stance; they just seem to toss it off as an "oops, my bad". But it's definitely a film worth seeing.

KILL LIST

2012-02-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

A British movie that a lot of people have been raving about. It's a cross genre picture, crime meets supernatural dealings in the English countryside (the latter a very particularly British genre), with more than a touch of domestic soap. There is something compulsively watchable about the movie, one has to see how it all turns out, and though it starts out a little leisurely, the tension builds as the story goes along. The acting (Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Harry Simpson) is first rate. But the story (by director Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump) is underwritten; the accents at times impenetrable; and the various genres haven't quite been finessed together well enough to make it work as well as it could. In the end, Hot Fuzz crosses the same genres and does it much more successfully, though it's much better than Wicker Man, which it is often compared to.

HELL AND BACK AGAIN

2012-02-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

Danfung Dennis's documentary that is nominated for an Oscar. It's about the final mission of Nathan Harris, a Marine in Afghanistan, and his subsequent rehabilitation from a leg wound. I wasn't sure how to feel about it. I felt great sympathy for the pain and difficulty he was going through in trying to get his life back to normal and I have great admiration for his sacrifice in Afghanistan. At the same time, I'm not convinced that the at times cruel and contemptuous way he treated his wife could be traced to the trauma he suffered during battle, and I found his obsession with guns and his stated desire to kill people a bit disturbing.

SCREENPLAY PRESENTATION: How to Submit a Hard Copy, Interesting Discussion on Facebook

2012-02-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

Marty Kane

Post for the day- Presentation. Someone of importance has asked you for your script, but they want a hard copy. What method of binding it do use, and what else do you be sure to do before handing it in?

· · February 2 at 1:14pm via mobile

Edward Olivier likes this.
- Sarah Hurst Bind it with brads. Someone who wasn't all that important casually said he would read my script, with no possibility he would have any role in getting it made, so I gave him a copy, and his main reaction was that it should have been bound with brads - and when he sent it back he even enclosed a brad to show me what one looked like.
  February 2 at 1:23pm · · 1
- Howard Casner I use the standard three whole punch, but only two brads (I usually have them copied at a copy shop who already know the routine). I also use heavy stock on the front and back. I haven't, but I'm stupid for not--go through each copy and make sure there are no missing pages.
  February 2 at 1:23pm · · 3
- Tracy Elisabeth Marina The three-hole punch with two brads is the only method I've ever heard recommended.
  February 2 at 2:57pm · · 2
- Rick Reichman ‎20 pound bond paper; standard three hole punch, with 110 pound card stock--also standard three hole punched. Use same color card-stock on front and back. Take one and a quarter or one and a half inch brads with the large heads. Put one through the top hole front to back; one in the bottom hole front to back. Flatten prongs to the as much as possible in the back of the script on the covers.
  
  Of course make sure that when you open the script, you have the title page first: Title down about 17 lines from the top edge of the paper, centered; all in caps with smart quote marks on either side, then staying centered, triple space to the words Written by--with the letter W capped, then staying centered double space to your name or you and your partner's name on one line and be sure to connect you and your partner's name with an ampersand (&)--NOT the word and--between the two names. From there go down about three-quarters of the page from the top--not from the title block--and on the right side put your phone #--the one where they can most easily reach you--and your email. That's it, no date, no draft #, no copyright or WGA notice.
  
  The next page is page one, with title and FADE IN:--though I've seen many a script without one or either--and the screenplay begins. There is no number on page one. Page 2 begins the numbering with the number 2 and it's consecutively numbered from then on. Make sure it is consecutively numbered, that there are no blank pages or misplaced pages in the script and that THE END is not on a separate page.
  
  Hopefully, now your script is all dressed up with someplace nice to go!
  February 2 at 2:59pm · · 3
- Rick Reichman Oh yeah, I hope it goes without saying--so I'll say in anyway--white paper. And any color card stock but white.
  February 2 at 3:00pm ·
- Rick Yost my ritual before handing any of my babies off to 'Someone' (as opposed to 'anyone else') is:
  
  - get drunk
  - post on FB and all my other screenwriting haunts all about how awesome I am and how everyone else sucks (because I'm way drunk by this point...)
  - page 1 rewrite, while still very drunk, and on thru the next day, hangover day...
  - at some point, I'm gonna have to throw up; I'll say it's due to excitement and adrenaline, but most likely, it's from the drunk... hopefully, I don't puke on the new, fresh script pages... or the cat...
  - print, collate, same-colored card stock front and back cover sheets, 3 hole punch, 2 brass brads, shipping box, shipping labels, professionally packaged to perfection
  - send that sucker off!
  - a few more long lonely days of drinking... actually, it's probably weeks, but, when you're drunk, time doesn't seem to matter or make sense any more, right?
  - at some point, I get a call or e-mail, maybe even a visit from some 'important offical' type person with some follow-up concerns and questions..
  
  the inquiry almost always has to do with why oh why did I send a dead, puke-covered cat to the rep or production company...
  
  oh, bother...
  
  write on!
  February 2 at 3:13pm · · 3
- Rick Reichman One last item--I hope. Page # is four lines down from top edge of paper 7.2 inches from left edge of paper. In other words way to the right at the top of the page.
  February 2 at 3:14pm ·
- Rick Reichman After that, then follow Rick Y's MO. :)
  February 2 at 3:15pm ·
- Diane Johnson ‎3 hole punch, two brads, cardstock covers, final draft takes care of the format. I make sure the title page has the right contact info. make sure the pages are all there. I have no problem including the WGA or copyright # on the cover. I know some believe that it's unprofessional, but I really don't see why.
  February 2 at 4:25pm ·
- Diane Johnson ‎^ copyright # on the title page, rather than cover :]
  February 2 at 4:26pm ·
- Rick Reichman Diane: No Copyright because--or so I've been told--you're making subtext, text. By putting in Copyright and/or WGA, you're saying to the folks you're sending the screenplay to, "I don't trust you." Well, you don't, but first we assume you're a professional and have registered your copyright, and second, you don't go broadcasting the fact you don't trust them. It makes for bad feelings all the way around.
  February 2 at 4:30pm · · 3
- Diane Johnson Yeah, I've heard the same thing. But I just feel like people who read into the posting of copyright on that deep a level - as a statement of mistrust - might be taking it way too personally... Competitions seem to require proof of copyright or registration these days, so I wonder if the unspoken rule of 'don't show the copyright' is changing.
  February 2 at 4:41pm · · 2
- Sarah Hurst Copyrighting seems standard to me and not an announcement that you don't trust someone.
  February 2 at 4:49pm · · 1
- Rick Reichman Sarah: Copyrighting is standard, which is another reason you don't need to announce it.
  February 2 at 5:17pm ·
- Sarah Hurst Yes, but if you do, and people are offended by it, I agree with Diane they must be a little over-sensitive. Don't writers have to scrape and grovel enough to potential readers without being afraid to even say their work is copyright, to assert ownership?
  February 2 at 5:19pm · · 1
- Bart Baker Don't most people read all their scripts on a Kindle anymore? I haven't been asked for anything other than in an e-mail in the last few years? I know most agencies and management companies put everything on their e-readers, and can even do notes on them (don't ask me how that works...)
  February 2 at 5:25pm · · 1
- Carol Hovsepian Never put THE END at the end.
  February 2 at 8:29pm · · 1
- Steve Spatucci I have access to a repro center, so I just print on normal (non-punched) 20 lb. stock, and then later I use a paper drill to make the holes. Then I bind with those "professional" alternate non-brad binders that spin shut, like a screw. Then I add in the index with all my drawings, concept art, character bios, diagrams, maps and the other stuff you're supposed to include with every script.
  
  But when I say this, I mostly mean just for me - because in the five years I've been pursing this, only one company asked for a hardcopy.
  
  And I don't include the copyright info/date, or the WGA registration number, for the reasons stated above. Just a note that says "DO NOT STEAL OR I WILL FIND YOU", which I'm told is industry standard.
  February 3 at 7:22am · · 2
- Steve Spatucci ‎Rick - I haven't used a smart quote yet. What do you think - something by Einstein or Newton?
  February 3 at 7:27am ·
- Wallace Brown ‎...and just before you send it. Re-read. Again. And...once again.
  February 3 at 7:47am · · 1
- Nicole Roberts Yeah, you def. Register your script, to get copy written at the admin. Office and Never ever Hand in the original. Always have extra copies. And to the ppl out there who don't know all about getting it reg. At the copywrite office, you can always just mail it to yourself, in a self addressed envelope, then when you receieve it, do not open it. Lol just. Store it in a good spot til you need it. :) happy scriptwriting Friday, everyone!!
  February 3 at 8:57am ·
- Howard Casner Sorry, Nicole, but I'm not sure I understand what you're saying about mailing it to yourself at the copyright office. Are you suggesting that mailing it to yourself is sufficient? In theory it is (in theory, once you write it, it's yours, period), but in actuality, I would never depend on that; it's far too dangerous and you'll probably never be able to get any monetary damages if someone steals your script and it's a real dicey legal situation. Always register with the copyright office. Always. Even if you register with the WGA, register with the copyright office. Always.
  February 3 at 9:12am · · 1
- Sally J. Walker I just got a script from a production company to evaluate and mark up. It came with plastic spiral binding. But that's from a company. I have always sent hard-copies, three-hole punched with #6 brads and card-stock covers.
  February 3 at 9:14am ·
- Howard Casner Sally, that's happened to me. I've gotten them with butterfly clips. I think that's probably how they got it and just sent it on to you as was.
  February 3 at 9:41am ·
- Howard Casner But speaking of being asked for a hard copy of the script by a production company, etc., rather than a PDF, to be honest, warning bells do go off a bit in my head. I would send it, of course, but I would wonder why this guy was so out of the zeitgeist.
  February 3 at 9:42am · · 2
- Rick Reichman Howard: Maybe it's my age, but hard copy is easier to read, catch errors, determine what is working and what isn't. Of course, that's for critiquing a script. For just reading to know if it's good to produce, maybe it doesn't matter so much if it's on the computer or hard copy.
  
  And, yes, I realize all one has to do is print it, but that takes ink and paper and a bit of time, and from all I can figure out about agents and producers, they really don't want to have to be bothered by all that.
  
  Or did I miss something somewhere?
  February 3 at 10:40am ·
- Marty Kane I use plastic spiral with a clear cover from staples. Easy to read, durable, and I've never got a complaint or mention about it. I've also seen them with a spine and print on both pages.
  February 3 at 10:49am via mobile · · 1
- Marty Kane And I have been asked for hsrd copies from producers and an agency. APA.
  February 3 at 10:55am via mobile ·
- Scott Mullen Agents and producers have interns to do their printing, or they can read it on their iPad. And if they want someone else to read a script they liked, it's much easier to e-mail an electronic copy than copy a hard-copy or hand over the only copy.
  February 3 at 10:55am ·
- Marty Kane I understand that, and I always assume I'll be emailing it, but I have been asked. Bottom line; give them what they want and make it as easy and pleasant as possible for them to read. That includes content and grammar.
  February 3 at 11:55am via mobile · · 4
- Anna Maria Elisa Manalo Yeah, what Marty said and watch those typos and spaces.

SCREENPLAY STORY DEVELOPMENT: Interesting Facebook Discussion

2012-02-08T07:26:00.001-08:00

Marty Kane

Post for the day- After you've come up with a story that works, and you have some really cool scenes and characters already in your head, how do you go about filling in the rest of the story with great scene after scene?

· · · Yesterday at 6:45am via mobile

4 people like this.
- Carol Hovsepian Great question, Marty! I first just right the screenplay the way I visualize it then I go back to see what worled and what didn't. Look at the holes in the character arcs and make sure they not only make sense but are believable, convincing. Fill in the blanks, move things around, punch up traits and how they bounce off the traits of other characters, delete exess wording, look at unusual visual settings, etc. I guess that's the norm...
  Yesterday at 6:58am · · 4
- Désirée Nordlund I do a mind map with all the important turning points, catalyst, high peak, low peak, and so on. Then I work with the characters Then I do index cards for each scene. THEN I start writing. I never, ever write without a plan. It doesn't work for me.
  Yesterday at 7:22am · · 2
- Tracee Oles Beebe I do a 9 block story map that has the key beats and plot points and them start fleshing it out from there.
  23 hours ago via mobile · · 2
- Sally J. Walker Character Profiles until all are alive demanding to be shown then the "What if" logic of the Plot Paradigm. Before investing my soul in the writing I make damn sure I feel a PASSION for the point the story will make. At that time I know what I have to research for authenticity. When those ducks are lined up, I start the actual writing and tell the world to go away.
  23 hours ago ·
- Howard Casner I tend to sort of wing it. When I have it generally mapped out, then I start writing and things come to me. I take a walk and suddenly I'll have an idea as to how to do this or that or make the scene stronger. I'll have a problem and think about it until I have a solution. I'm a instinct writer, I write more based on taking it as it comes along rather than heavily planning things out (if I planned things out in any serious or deep detail, I'm one of those people who would never start writing). That's what works best for me. However, it's not until I finish it and have people read it and get feedback and reread it that I really start fixing the issues and finding out what scenes, characters, et. need work.
  22 hours ago · · 2
- Gregory Blair I'm more like Howard as far as letting the story unfold as I go. It's exciting and you discover things that you might have missed if you stuck to a cookie cutter plan. A basic idea for the general story flow should be there, but after that, I like to let a little magic happen.
  22 hours ago · · 1
- Howard Casner Thanks, Gregory. I sometimes think of it like a creating a crossword puzzle. You set up the outline of it (which squares are dark, which aren't; how many squares there are); you then fill in the major blocks that can't be changed (the ones that contain the theme of the puzzle); and then you start filling in the other words--these can be changed and fiddled with, but in the end, have to fit together to make the puzzle work.
  21 hours ago · · 1
- Rick Reichman Are the seven major turning points in the three act structure clear? Does the contact point (opening) involve the characters as well as the Reader? Do I know what the protagonists original goal is? What is the protagonist's new goal after the first 7 to 10 pages? What and who are blocking the protagonist from reaching that new goal? What about the three minor turning poiints near the end of Act II or into Act III? Are they clear and how do the characters get there? What are the changes outwardly and inwardly that the characters go through--especially the protagonist? What are the 3 subplots and how do they answer all the questions posed so far? What are my rhyming scenes and my connectives?
  
  This is not to say that everything is set. It shouldn't be. You need to--as others have suggested--discover new plot lines, character traits and development, and unexpected reversals along the way. In other words, you need to let lagniappe happen. But you also need enough structure so you have a pretty good map, and in case you get a little lost--which is okay--you can always get back to the map to know where you wanted to go or maybe take the detour that's necessary to find your way there.
  21 hours ago ·
- Kevin Isaacson I'm not sure if I've found my way yet as I seem to do it different each time and dabble in a lot of different things. I did one totally free hand. It was a mess. I did one with a beat sheet, into an outline, into index cards, and it came out sterile. Lately, I've tried doing beat sheets but I get hung up on one of the points later in the story and then get frustrated. So instead of writing it, it gets shelved. Now...I get the basic beats in my head and then write it out. If something isn't working, I go back to a physical beat sheet and map it out again. See where it is falling apart. That seems to be the most comfortable method to me at this time. :)
  21 hours ago · · 1
- Rick Reichman Kevin: If it works, stick with it. Each has their own way of getting there. Mine is posted. It's not for everyone, but it sure has helped alot of my students.
  21 hours ago ·
- Bart Baker Camp Casner/Blair. I take their "wing-it" correspondence course.
  20 hours ago ·
- Rick Yost Save The Cat, 15 beats + 5-Point Finale, then expand those 20 beats into 40 'scene cards'
  19 hours ago · · 1
- Chuck Dudley outline, outline, outline. I can't start without it. I'll even bullet point each scene and sketch some dialogue or ideas:
  
  Ray and Sydney in car.
  “You like her”. Ray denies. He drops her off at her apartment.
  
  I also use the document as a scratch pad where I just copy/paste any research notes I find from the internet, I'll also write in my own ideas etc. The document is a mess of words, and notes and outlines. Ugly.
  16 hours ago ·
- Sarah Hurst I won a copy of MovieOutline in a screenwriting contest and I find it very useful to do all the planning and keep my notes in one place. I also used it to write the script but then I found that it only converts to Final Draft 8 and not 7, which was a pain.
  16 hours ago ·
- Geno Scala ‎Bart Baker- let's not forget the "Fling It And See What Sticks" Masters...
  15 hours ago · · 1
- Rick Reichman Rick Y: As much as I like some of the stuff in "Cat," I have no idea what 40 beats and 5 point finale means. If a written, author's scene is between 3.5 and 7 pages--which I believe and see in most every movie that it is--with a beginning, middle, climax, and end, then there really can't be more than about 22 to 25 scenes or scene cards.
  
  I can usually pinpoint when a scene begins and ends--even with some of the transition shots that tie scenes together--but pinpointing beats sounds like the definition of shots, which means there are many, many more in a screenplay than forty.
  
  But I would be happy to do a back and forth on this. Maybe I can learn some new things, which is always helpful.
  15 hours ago · · 1
- Sherry Lloyd I would love to be able to outline. I just have no patience for it. I'm also one of those people who just starts writing and whatever I feel at the time that makes sense, I put in. Then I go back, of course, and read it through and try to decipher what works and will stay in or do the "What the hell was I thinking?" bit and rewrite what is needed.
  15 hours ago · · 1
- Rick Yost ‎Rick R, I'm no guru, I'm probably the last guy-who-calls-himself-a-screenwriter who should be involved in a back-and-forth as a teacher or guide or guru regarding any screenwriting-related topic, but, since you ask, in my humble amatuerish opinion, the STC method (15 beats + 5 Point Finale into 40 'scene cards') is basically Blake Snyder's take on the sequence method...
  
  you state the obvious mathematical and logical bit which dictates 22-25 scenes or cards (at 3-7 pages/minutes per card) = 75-120 page/minute screenplay/movie, and you're not wrong. STC doesn't go into too much detail regarding what goes into those magical mysterious 'extra' 15-20 beats/cards, so, what inevitably happens is those cards play out a sequence that could, techincally, be considered 'one scene/sequence/card'...
  
  the 15 STC Beats (or 20, if you count the 5-Point Finale) ARE those same 22-25 scenes/sequences...
  
  it's just that, rather than using one card to say:
  
  CARD # 4: '20 minutes of set-piece action and mayhem occurs... no really, it's going to be awesome! for realz!! believe me! whatever the production people can come up with to fill this section of my sci-fi action-adventure horror epic saga, it will be awesome and it occurs here in the story for the next 20 minutes...'
  
  you might take 4 or 5 cards in the Fun & Games 'beat' of the STC outline, to detail the Foot Race to the Car Chase to the Gunfight to the Bank Robbery to the Getaway Car Chase... or whatever...
  
  it's still 'one beat' out of 15 STC beats, called the Fun&Games beat which takes up the first half of Act II, but it takes up 3, 4, 5 cards to outline the beat in however many sequences you choose, or according to whatever other set of rules or paradigm you wish to mix into the STC method...
  
  that's what I get out of the STC method. As I say, I'm no master, nor master debater. Mileage may vary...
  
  write on!
  8 hours ago ·
- Marty Kane If I started writing based on an idea, I'd spend hours and hours staring at the screen wondering what to write next.
  
  I like to do a "STC" outline first so that I have a general idea of what is going to take place in the story, then I beat it out. I used to use a big cork board and index cards, but now I use the "STC" software. Like it or not, structure is very important, and can mean the difference of you getting rewritten out of your own script by another writer or not.
  
  Once I have all my index cards filled in I can look at the story and see where it's weak and strong and do my improvements there. By the time I'm finished with my beat board, I know the story so well that I barely have to look at it, and when I sit down to write, I can find my character's voice and spend hours and hours doing a lot of really productive writing. It's so productive that I really don't have to rewrite it- just give it a polish or two. And, it only takes me a couple of weeks to finish a script.
  
  The problem? Coming up with stories that I deem worthy of taking the time to write, then fleshing out a whole story. The jury is still out on a lot of stories, so yeah, sometimes I don't get to writing as quickly as I'd like, but I'm always writing, whether I'm going for a walk, reading a book, or day dreaming- I'm always conjuring up something.

PAN TADEUSZ

2012-02-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

Andrzej Wajda's epic, a somewhat Shakespearian look at Poland during the Napoleonic wars. I was surprised at how involved I got in the story--people feel it's a bit too Polish for Western audiences--but I very much enjoyed it. It's beautiful to look at with lovely costumes and sets, as well as an amazing score by Wojciech Kilar (who also did Dracula, The Pianist, We Own the Night and something called Life as a Sexually Transmitted Disease--don't ask). The movie was a huge hit in Poland--in a way I'm surprised, because it seems to be an satiric attack on Poles who claim their actions are based on noble motives of freeing their country from Russia when in reality their actions are based on petty squabbles and long held personal grudges. But it all has a happy ending with everyone dancing a Polonaise.

THE INNKEEPERS

2012-02-07T19:55:00.001-08:00

A ghost story set in a hotel that is closing, and I highly recommend it. It's Ti West's new movie (he did House of the Devil) and it's very effective. It's one of those slow burn movies; the author doesn't push the situation, but lets the creepiness creep up on you at a steady build, with many of the scares coming from how we tend to scare ourselves. It also helps that the two leads, Sara Paxton and Pat Healy, are very appealing. The issue as to why this is happening now is never satisfactorily answered (the closing of the hotel isn't sufficient), but it doesn't matter. It definitely works. Go and have some scary fun.

HANGMEN ALSO DIE!

2012-02-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

Just saw Hangmen Also Die!, a 1943 film about the Czech underground that is one of Bertolt Brecht's only screen credits for writing (Fritz Lang directed). It actually starts out with some interesting moral ideas and questions worth discussing, but then it turns into a wildly improbably melodrama. What it actually made me ask is how come comedies and farces, like To Be Or Not To Be or The Great Dictator or Life is Beautiful, seem to be more effective or last the longest in dealing with such nightmarish situations (it's the same way with Dr. Strangelove, which is a better movie than Failsafe).

MARGARET

2012-02-04T10:59:00.001-08:00

Kenneth Lonergan's latest film, starring Anna Paquin, the one that was held up in release due to artistic disagreements between Lonergan and the producer. It's actually easy to see why. The first half is often amazing and wonderful as you get caught up in the moral issues the central character faces. And the acting is often impressive. But in the second half, everything goes off the rails as Lonergan seems to completely lose control of what is going on and the whole thing stops going anywhere understandable. It's one of those fascinating failures, but a failure none the less.

APPROPRIATE ADULT

2012-02-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

A British two part TV drama--Samantha Morton plays the title role--a social worker who sits in on police interrogations of youths or mentally impaired adults. It's a true story based on a frightening serial killer case from the 1980's and it is riveting and devastating at times. Morton and Dominic West are memorable.

SHAME

2012-02-04T10:54:00.000-08:00

Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan were great (though Fassbender's accent got a little wonky at times). An interesting character study, but in the end, I wasn't quite sure what the point was. But for what the movie was, I did enjoy it (even with the slight whiff of homophobia connected to it).

THE IRON LADY

2012-02-04T10:53:00.001-08:00

Meryl Streep is absolutely brilliant (as is James Broadbent), but it's not much of a biopic and it takes the same attitude that Paddy Chayevsky took towards Faye Dunaway's character in Network: this is what happens when a woman tries to do a man's job; they're not just emotional stable enough for it.

A DANGEROUS METHOD

2012-02-04T10:51:00.001-08:00

A Dangerous Method. Viggo Mortenson was great (if the film had only been about Freud and Jung, they might have had something), but the two women in front of us hit the nail on the head--it tried to be so deep, but ended up being so shallow. Keira Knightly was tres annoying.

CARNAGE

2012-02-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

What I've read is that the story feels forced because there's no reason for the Winslet/Waltz couple not to leave. I thought the problem to the whole movie is that there's no satisfactory reason for them to have gotten together in the first place. Waltz gives the best performance (he's great), but it may be because he's playing a character who seems to have no idea why he is where he is--a logical reaction to the situation. It's almost like the movie started in the middle or end of act one--which may be a holdover from the source material.

MISS BALA

2012-02-04T10:47:00.001-08:00

Miss Bala is the Mexican entry in the foreign film Oscar category. It held my interest for awhile, but after a point it felt like it stopped going anywhere and I wasn't sure what the point was. It's about a woman entering a beauty pageant who becomes the pawn of a drug lord, but the story was more interested in the drugs than the pageant, which probably wasn't a good idea.

THE GREY

2012-02-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

Saw The Grey, Liam Neeson's movie about some crash survivors who have to fight off a pack of wolves. The thriller aspects of the movie worked best--the sections devoted to how the characters stay alive; these scenes, as well as the plane crash, are often heart stopping. Unfortunately, the characters also have to open their mouths and the movie tends to sink whenever that happens--the wolves handle their lines much better. In spite of all the gobbledegook the authors give characters to say, they still can't create an emotional connection with the audience. The surprise ending doesn't really do anything but confuse the situation and it's a bit unclear what the whole point is. See Lifeboat, Sahara or The Flight of the Phoenix instead.

WARRIOR

2012-02-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

Saw Warrior last night, a story about two brothers who end up fighting each other in a mixed martial arts tournament. It's almost insultingly formulaic, but the acting (especially Hardy and Nolte) is first rate. And once the final tournament begins, just try not to watch; just try. But as emotional as it is, the writers painted themselves into a corner and they didn't really have a satisfactory exit strategy, though the director and actors works very hard to make you not notice.

INDIEWIRE ARTICLE: 10 MUST SEE INDIE FILMS FOR FEBRUARY

2012-02-02T13:16:00.000-08:00

I've seen two of them. Michael, which didn't really work for me, and Rampart, which ultimately doesn't quite come together, but gets you going for the most part and one of Woody Harrelson's best performances (maybe his best).
http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-10-indie-films-you-must-see-this-february

BACKGROUND ON SCREENPLAYS HUGO, BRIDESMAIDS, MARGIN CALL, THE DESCENDANTS

2012-02-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

An article giving some background to some of the screenplay nominations this year, mainly Hugo, Bridesmaids, Margin Call and the Descendants.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/movies/awardsseason/oscars-for-screenwriters-are-a-cliffhanger.html?_r=3&ref=movies

LENGTH OF SPEC SCRIPTS: INFORMATIVE DISCUSSION ON SCREENWRITERS NETWORK FACEBOOK PAGE

2012-02-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

Page length can vary in a script depending on the genre. What can you tell us about the page length for different genres, and what do you know about what production companies are looking for?

- Screenwriter Rolando Vinas I try to keep to keep my scripts in what I consider the "Goldilocks Zone"...100 to 110 pages. As for what prodcos are looking for, my contacts in Hollywood tell me they're looking for Thrillers right now. I just had a thriller requested by an agency.
  Tuesday at 2:11pm · · 2
- Steve Spatucci I aim for 90 pages no matter the genre, but I know I'm going to go over it, but I still push hard to come in low. I don't think I've come in over 100 pages yet, but 102, 106, 108 is common for me.
  Tuesday at 3:41pm ·
- Del Rée Oh great...thrillers. I guess I could write my life.
  Tuesday at 3:47pm ·
- Anna Maria Elisa Manalo Good to know. I have 3 thrillers ready to sell.
  Tuesday at 3:51pm via mobile ·
- Rick Reichman Here's one huge change that really affects this question of page length. Back when I was in grad school, I learned that the page a minute rule--or guideline, if you will--was done where you tripled space from the last of a shot to the following slugline.
  
  As the computer programs came in, they--for some weird reason--went to only double spacing from the last of a shot to the following slug line. That may not seem like such a big deal, but a student of mine wrote a 112 page screenplay that an interested producer put on one of the computer programs--going from triple spacing to slug lines to double spacing to them. So the same exact screenplay--with nothing changed but the spacing to slug lines--suddenly went to 96 pages.
  
  I still like triple spacing as I think it makes the page more readable, more ink to white space friendly, and keeps the page a minute guide. But H'wood seems to want the double spaced screenplay, so that means even the former 120 page standard is now down to between 100 and 105 pages.
  
  So if we're not doing 2 hours anymore, then 95 to 100 is probably the right number of pages for most screenplays.
  Tuesday at 3:53pm · · 1
- Steve Spatucci That sounds like too much of a change, Rick - unless you've got 2-3 scenes a page. But still, it's an advantage. I too like the look of triple-spacing (two blank lines above, one below) because it separates the scenes visually - but I like coming in at a lower page count more.
  Tuesday at 4:13pm ·
- Marty Kane I always shoot for 105-110. I just had a producer ask me to write a horror, and when I asked him how many pages he wanted, I suggested 90, he said make it 100 so we can work with it after it's done.
  Tuesday at 4:31pm ·
- Diane Johnson I've only been aware of the minute per page general rule, so that's what I shoot for. And I consider 120 pages generally top heavy. Best to aim for about 100, give or take.
  
  But I've been trying my hand at spec tv scripts in the past couple of months, and I understand that one hour dramas can be as many as 60 pages. and 1/2 hour sitcoms as many as 45 pages. Those numbers seem high to me once you factor in air time for commercials... I'm sure dialogue factors in on the sitcom page count, but the numbers still seem high. Can anyone confirm?
  Tuesday at 4:33pm ·
- Rick Reichman Steve S: I learned and teach that the difference between shots and scenes is: A shot is a slug line and whatever follows it--directiion and/or dialogue--until the next slug line. A scene is a 3 and a half to 7 page segment of a screenplay centered on a theme and/or an action, with a beginning, middle, climax, and end. In other words each scene is a little short story, which can pretty much stand alone but is affected by what happened before and affects what will happen next.
  
  So what I am discussing is shots--from one slug line to the next--and if you end a shot in the former system and go to a slug line it was tripled space, but now it's doubled space, and that makes a difference in a normal screenplay, with a few shots or more per scene, of about 18 pages.
  
  And I just don't like the double space system as I think it really clutters the page, makes it more ink heavy, and has it busier than it need be. But right now that seems to be the way H'wood wants it.
  Tuesday at 5:01pm · · 1
- Rick Reichman Diane: The page a minute was for triple spacing to the slug line. Now with double spacing a former120 page screenplay is about 95-100 pages. And so it goes.
  Tuesday at 5:06pm ·
- Steve Spatucci Thanks for clarifying, Rick. Though from the way you're describing it (and this is going to derail the thread, I'm afraid), you're saying a shot always has a slugline ("So what I am discussing is shots--from one slug line to the next")? I think we're talking about the same thing in general, but you're right - I was originally thinking you were referring to scenes. It just sounds like you're using slug lines for every paragraph/shot.
  Tuesday at 5:16pm ·
- Diane Johnson Rick - I'm using Final Draft 8 - I'll have to scrutinize the spacing :]. It might explain why my scripts are shorter now - bummer! I thought I finally learned how to edit! :]
  Tuesday at 5:17pm ·
- Rick Reichman Steve: Slug line: EXT. STREET - DAY
  Steve: Slug Line: EXT. STREET - DAY
  
  Steve: Slug Line: EXT. STREET - DAY or INT. ROOM - NIGHT... A slug are those lines always capped that tell inside or outside, where,
  
  day or night. They begin scenes--which are called primary slug lines and change the audience's eye within the scene--called secondary slug lines. They are
  RUDY
  
  Steve: Slug Line:
  EXT. STREET - DAY
  Tuesday at 5:28pm ·
- Rick Reichman Steve: Sorry for the above reply. Strange things happening on my writing space with stuff disappearing and reappearing and moving around on me. It's truly weird.
  Tuesday at 5:30pm ·
- Rick Reichman So when you end a shot on a direction, dialogue, or a transition such as CUT TO: you used to triple space to what followed, which is always a slug. Now you double space and that's a lot of the difference in screenplay page numbers these days.
  
  Would someone please tell me what is going on with the comment space? I can't get it to work right.
  Tuesday at 5:32pm ·
- Bart Baker ‎@Diane - I teach a TV course and I try and keep the one hour scripts around 45 pages give or take. A few years ago most shows were a teaser and four acts. Now many are five often six acts.
  
  And as far as script length...I write until I finish my story. I would never turn in a 120 page script anymore but I don't freak out if it's 117. (FYI - THE HELP was 141. ) I think we freak ourselves out over things we shouldn't until we're all about the rules and forget what we are: story tellers for a visual medium.
  Tuesday at 5:36pm · · 1
- Peter Floro It seems to get known in Hollywood one has to abide by the rules - strict page count, clear and concise description - but once in, one can bend those rules?
  Tuesday at 5:43pm · · 1
- Rick Reichman Yeah, but for those living in Whitefish, MT trying to sell their first screenplay, and without access to the $$$$$$$ to buy the rights to The Help, you need to stick pretty closely to whatever "they" want--at least in format.
  Tuesday at 5:46pm · · 1
- Diane Johnson ‎@Bart - Thanks. 40-45 has been my target for hour long material with the 4 act (+ teaser and epilogue) structure.
  Tuesday at 5:46pm ·
- Rick Reichman Something is really wrong with my comment rectangle. I'm signing off now.
  Tuesday at 5:47pm ·
- Howard Casner Great discussion.
  Tuesday at 6:23pm · · 1
- Celeste Wolfe ‎@Diane Johnson -- Shooting scripts in one hour are fr/ 49-60 pages depending on the show. Spec pilots, however should come in between 53-60 pages... but I've seen some come in fatter at 65-70 BUT never thinner and never at 45 pages for a one hour spec pilot. That would be a mistake. If you stay around 55 pages, you're gold.
  
  Single camera comedy shooting scripts come in between 23-25 pages. A spec single camera comedy pilot comes in at 23-30 pages.
  
  A multi-camera comedy formatted script could be from 45-50 pages. I don't know what the shooting script count is for 3 camera format, since I haven't written in this format nor have studied it closely. If you can find some 2-1/2 Men shooting scripts, you'll get your answer on page count for multi-cam format shooting script page count.
  Tuesday at 11:29pm via mobile · · 2
- Tracee Oles Beebe ‎Marty Kane, is there a way that you could have a general help topic open in addition to the daily questions? I sometimes have an issue I am working on that is unrelated to yourpot for the day and it would be great to get feedback from this awesome group!
  Yesterday at 7:01am · · 2
- Diane Johnson ‎@Celeste - thank you too. I've had the opportunity to read some Office specs and Modern Family specs where the page counts were in the 45 ballpark. Is the sitcom length dependent partly on the dialogue and format as opposed to a feature spec format?
  23 hours ago ·
- Tracee Oles Beebe I think a lot of t has to do with the pacing of the show.
  21 hours ago ·
- Tracee Oles Beebe Where is Logline Wednsday?? I need help! :D
  20 hours ago ·
- Celeste Wolfe Wow, none of the Modern Family shooting scripts I read were 45 ever. They all came in at 23-25. I haven't read any Office eps, so I can't speak to this show. The sample I did find here -- http://www.simplyscripts.com/scripts/TheOfficeSample-theMasseuse.pdf -- is 30 pages. So I don't know where this 45 page count is coming from. This 2-1/2 Men script in 3 cam format is 36 pages -- http://www.simplyscripts.com/scripts/FinishedTwoandaHalfMen.pdf
  6 hours ago via mobile ·
- Celeste Wolfe If you go to Simply Scripts, you will see pilot samples like -- http://www.zen134237.zen.co.uk/Terra_Nova_1x01_-_Pilot.pdf Note none of them are 45 pages, ever.
  6 hours ago via mobile · · 1
- Celeste Wolfe ‎^^^^^For one hour pilots^^^^^^^
  6 hours ago via mobile ·
- Celeste Wolfe Here's a Big Bang Theory in 3 cam format & it's 36 pages -- http://www.zen134237.zen.co.uk/Big_Bang_Theory/The_Big_Bang_Theory_2x10_-_The_Vartabedian_Conundrum..pdf
  http://www.zen134237.zen.co.uk/Big_Bang_Theory/The_Big_Bang_Theory_2x10_-_The_Vartabedian_Conundrum.
  www.zen134237.zen.co.uk

DECLARATION OF WAR

2012-02-01T21:26:00.001-08:00

Just got back from Declaration of War, the French entry in the Academy foreign film category. It's an autobiographical film about two parents who learn their two year old son has a very serious health issue. It's often moving and I was never bored. At the same time, the direction, by writer and star Valerie Donzelli (she co-wrote with the father of the child, Jeremie Elkaim), which is obviously influenced by French new wave directors like Truffaut and Godard, is a bit too hit and miss, sometimes connecting, but also too often not. It doesn't quite come up to 50/50.

MY HUD REVIEW GOT A NICE DISCUSSION GOING ON FACEBOOK

2012-02-01T07:05:00.000-08:00

Just finished watching Hud, with Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and Brandon De Wilde, a movie that for some reason I have never managed to see before now. Beautiful cinematography by James Wong Howe and the acting is first rate, but did anyone buy, even then, Hud as a symbol of the degeneracy of America? Really?

- Jim Hoffmaster I doubt your average movie-goer gave it a second's thought.
  Monday at 9:05pm ·
- Jim Hoffmaster ‎(Great movie, though.)
  Monday at 9:05pm ·
- Bob Fish Yeah, I'd say so, though I doubt "degeneracy" is exactly the right word -- more like "failing" or "decline." And that's because of his misanthropy, certainly not his perfectly polished physicality. I totally bought it, and I'm thrilled that I still do. Without much hesitation at all, I rank "Hud" as my favorite pic of all time. It's seamless, contemporary while simultaneously universal, and the acting is at Nigel Tufnel's 11 across the board. You can't GET me to say a bad word about that film, and I'm one of the pickiest of nit-pickers. Didn't realize you were a virgin. Glad you saw it and liked it.
  Monday at 10:21pm ·
- Howard Casner I can't say I liked it; I found it entertaining enough. But I had serious issues with it as well. My main issue with Hud as a symbol of degeneracy is that every generation somebody writes a book or makes a movie about how the previous generation was perfect and that the new generation is bringing the world to an end, yet the world keeps on going until the new generation writes a book about how the previous generation (the one that was earlier considered to be the end of the world) was perfect and the new generation is going to destroy the world, so I can't really take that part of the movie seriously. In addition, I think that the focus is off. The central character is Brandon De Wilde's Lonnie who is suppose to choose between Hud and his grandfather, but Newman's Hud or Newman himself took away so much focus from that, I didn't felt this conflict in Lonnie's character was strongly dramatized enough (and his final scene of walking on down the road at age 17 to become his own man was something I had difficulty taking seriously as well; was his life on the ranch really that bad, really?). I also couldn't take seriously the grandfather's overwrought speech about how he would not sell an oil lease because it wasn't a way to make money he wanted to (because he couldn't go out and touch it or some such that never worked for me); I could buy this if he could still raise cattle, but I couldn't feel the same empathy when he was now just being stubborn and unrealistic. For me, Hud would have worked better as a character study of a sociopath (which Hud almost is), rather than a symbol of America. On the plus side is that incredible camera work and Newman and Neal. The dialog was also wonderfully Texan at times, especially Lonnie's dialog.
  Yesterday at 5:07am ·
- Bob Fish Well, I never really thought of him as a symbol of America, though people are welcome to that sort of expansiveness if it suits them. I've always seen it as a character study, and I believe the title when it says it's Hud's story rather than Lonnie's. Lonnie can be considered the narrative voice or perspective. As for Grandpa, old people can often be stubborn and unrealistic. Hud as a borderline psychopath is pretty accurate, I'd say, and to understand him and all the rest of the family, we should understand the stultifying force of that place and its rigid society. They're all victims, which is not popular these days, but they're such fascinating victims that I'm suckered in. Compassion's the key, I think, to accepting these people and their behavior -- a Greek tragedy, really. I think it was the perfect picture for its day. (I saw it first run --Jesus God!)
  Yesterday at 5:20am ·
- Howard Casner I think we'd have to say we did see a different movie (which is what going to movies and viewing art and arguing about it is all about and why I love doing it). The dialog where the author tries to make Hud this symbol of America is when Lonnie and his grandfather have a conversation about Hud and Lonnie says Hud doesn't seem all that different from others and the grandfather says that's the problem, it didn't use to be this way, but this is the way the new generation is heading and Lonnie is going to have to make a choice (which he does at the end). I also didn't see the town as stultifying or rigid; it actually seemed rather unstultifying and unrigid if Hud could be one of its most popular citizens (it's the grandfather who is coming across as stultifying and rigid--he only loosens up when he sings Clementine at the movie theater ). I think the movie would have worked better for me if it had been about Hud's sociopathology and Lonnie's reaction to it rather than try to make more of Hud that he is. I just saw Last Summer again about some teens involvement with a sociopath (Barbara Hershey). I never got the idea that the author was saying this is what the new generation of teens is like and American is headed for the scrap heap; which is maybe why I found it more powerful in its message and more universal. But Hud was superior from a technical standpoint.

SEX AND PROFANITY IN SPEC SCRIPTS: An interesting discussion from Screenwriters Network page

2012-02-01T06:59:00.000-08:00

Post for the day- Sex and profanity in your script. Do you use either or both of them? Tell us your thoughts on the use, or avoidance of sex and profanity in a screenplay.

- Dixon Rice Used to be, a PG or G rating for a non-Disney film was the kiss of death, and screenwriters would drop in a few F-bombs or some nudity to ensure an R rating. Is that still the norm?
  Monday at 9:01am ·
- Bart Baker I believe those things are script-specific. Depending on the story, the characters and the audience you're funneling your script towards, each script will bear it's own weight. I tend to cuss like a drunken sailor on shore leave -- well, until kids came into my life -- and I love creative uses of curse words (The Last Detail). I will say I use it now far less than I used to in my writing. And as far as sex...I love a good romance but watching two people in a graphic sex scene on film...ugh. I can think of only a handful of times it's been hot on screen (The Big Easy, Sea of Love...hello, Ellen Barkin, Postman Rings Twice Nicholson/Lange.) Unless you're using it for comedy (one of the best scenes in Bridesmaids) once two characters fall into bed, time to let the imagination take over.
  Monday at 9:05am · · 3
- Gregory Blair Bart's kind of hit it. You've got to be true to the story & characters--including in all dialogue and action choices. A story about low-end prostitutes that had no sex or profanity would work in a surreal fantasy, but not in a gritty drama based in reality. Make your choices and be fearless!
  Monday at 9:23am · · 2
- Howard Casner Like Bart, it's script specific. For most of mine, though, I'm very frank about sex and language. For others, I hold back. It's part of parcel of the milieu I write about. Most of my films would be rated R or even NC 17, unless a very creative director came aboard (and since they are often gay oriented, they automatically will get a higher rating for types of scenes that in a non-gay oriented film would receive a lower rating). There are exceptions and I've written a Disney type family film that could be rated G and a sci-fi that would be rated PG probably. I would add one thing--you can be as frank as you want in dialog, but I strongly advise ever using vulgarities in the narrative (always say have sex or make love, not f*ck like rabbits). The reason for this is that the narrative is you speaking whereas the dialog is the character. Producers often have a very different reaction to vulgarities in the narrative than in the dialog. It's the same reason for never using politically incorrect ethnic terms in narrative as opposed to dialog. In the end, though, I don't expect most of my films to be of interest to the studios, but are aimed toward the indie market.
  Monday at 9:35am ·
- Gail O' Connor Agreed definitely script specific in both cases. And also, avoidance to gratuitary sex/violence etc is best IMO, I find it can overwhelm the story and detract from the storyline one is going for, watering down it's arcs/intensity etc. The characters one is creating, should allow them to gauge how much of each is needed if at all. Just my opinion! :0) Hey there Marty, hope you're well! Been a while, been out of the loop on here a bit.
  Monday at 10:10am ·
- Diane Johnson I have used both sex and profanity in my scripts - but like everyone else, it's script specific. I wrote a kids film - no profanity. There was a love interest, but that amounted to two neighbors dancing in silhouette beside a backlit window.
  
  But when I write about something like a satanic themed rock band, the profanity just seems natural. Or if it's about a relationship between a high school senior and a wealthy, lonely cougar - well the sex is a big part of it, and it's meant to make the audience uncomfortable. Of course, there are tasteful ways to imply things, and I do try to keep that in mind.
  Monday at 11:10am · · 1
- Sally J. Walker Yup, script specific and never gratuitous. And I allude to "making love" but leave the "choreography" and extent to the director and actors. A script is merely a blue print. AND I have simply gone to identifying Me-the-Writer as S. J. Walker because some of my scripts have gritty characters with grittier language that doesn't quite "fit" with a "Sally." I made a Navy Captain laugh when I said I couldn't imagine a Navy SEAL or 3-tour Marine saying "Gosh darn, you are a terrible idiot!"
  Monday at 11:54am · · 1
- Rick Yost script-specific profanity, but there's usually always the 'sex@60' Midpoint moment, when 'something orgasmic' happens to rock the story over the hump and into the downhill stretch toward the Finale...
  Monday at 12:25pm · · 1
- Karen Mueller Bryson It depends upon the genre. I write a lot of faith-based and family material and it would not be appropriate for the audience.
  Monday at 1:22pm ·
- Chuck Dudley I agree with Bart Baker-- script/story specific.
  Monday at 1:58pm ·
- Boris Novak It really depends on what audience you're aiming for. I use it sparingly, otherwise it seems I walk the fine line of smut-quality. I think using it for effect to add tension in a work is great, but overdoing it can hinder a good quality piece of writing.
  Monday at 2:58pm ·
- Jonathon E. Baez When I was younger, in my first attempts at writing, I ripped off Tarantino, who was huge at the time, and tried non-stop swear words. But soon after that, I tried the opposite and kind of stuck with it ever since. In most of my writing, I put in about two or three swear words, or none at all. And as for sex, haven't written anything like that yet.
  Monday at 3:24pm ·
- Wallace Brown Try to make the sex scene poetical rather than graphical and the F words to a minimal so when it's uttered, it carries meaning
  Monday at 3:28pm ·
- Howard Casner Wallace, but what if you don't want your sex scenes to be poetical? And what if you don't want your F words to carry meaning, but simply to reflect a certain reality?
  Monday at 5:36pm ·
- Melle Hartley I sometimes use profanity only because it can put emphasis on a character's emotions. I don't just add the F bomb for the hell of it! I have yet to write a script that has a sex scene. I think sex scenes in films are cheap unless it's an important part of the overall story.
  Monday at 6:10pm · · 1
- John Radtke If there is a place for it.
  Monday at 6:12pm ·
- Bob Adams It feels weird writing a sex scene. I feel like my Mom is looking over my shoulder. And, she passed years ago. Again, weird.
  Monday at 7:10pm · · 4
- Désirée Nordlund As always, I include what is important for the story. But I keep in mind that Natalie Portman had a role as a stripper and shows everything, without the audience seeing anything. So it is possible to write a lot without the need of showing anything.
  Monday at 11:22pm · · 1
- Howard Casner Desiree: But the decision for Portman not to show anything wasn't the writer's decision, but was probably made up of how much the director wanted to show; the rating they were trying to achieve; what Portman's contract said; etc. Other directors might have shown everything.
  Yesterday at 5:18am · · 1
- Howard Casner Melle: why do you think sex scenes in films are cheap unless it's an important part of the overall story? It's a feeling many people have and I've never quite understood it, to be honest (it may partially be because I don't know what "cheap" means exactly). Do you feel the same way about violence? It's interesting how morals and mores vary from country to country and culture to culture. Some places are more open to sex, some more open to violence. I prefer sex.
  Yesterday at 5:23am · · 1
- Wallace Brown ‎@Howard, i.e. instead of "he clamps one hand on her breast and the other between her crotch", I try to make it read less like blue and more like sparkle...and when telling one to F off, I inject a little more swagger in the creation. That is, a little more "ouch" in the wording. Note: the F word is fast losing its place on the stage of remarkable inventions ;-)
  Yesterday at 6:17am ·
- Wallace Brown ‎...and there is a reason the films that will stay in our hearts and minds long after our own dust to dust settles is because of the writer's talent for creating the whirl of imagination in many a film goer without having to resort to the naked nipple and the F & C words. From Casablanca to When Harry Met Sally to Ben Hur to All About to Eve to Alien et al.
  Yesterday at 6:23am · · 1
- Howard Casner I have to be honest, Wallace, I don't think I understand what you are saying or how it responds to my response. I've already said that narrative should never be "blue", but I'm not sure what sparkle means or why that would be poetical. I also am not sure what "swagger in the creation" means or what "the F word is fast losing its place on the stage of remarkable inventions" means. I also don't know what "having to resort" means. If someone chooses realistic language or a realistic portrayal of sex, I don't think that is "having to resort", I think that is making a considered choice and I think as writers we should be more open than closed about each others decisions and encourage each other to find their own way. Joe Pesci told a story once about the shooting of Goodfellas or Raging Bull (I'm not sure which) where the producers suggested to Scorcese he reshoot some scenes and tone down the language so that when the movie was on TV they could replace the scenes; Pesci said to Scorcese, "I didn't know you made movies for TV" and with that Scorcese got furious and didn't reshoot any scenes. Different people have different philosophies about sex and violence in movies, but I'm not sure one is any better a philosophy than the other; like others have been saying, it's script specific. I think All About Eve is one of the greatest movies ever made, but I'm not sure I want to return to those restrictive times when it comes to writing a screenplay.
  Yesterday at 6:35am · · 2
- Susan Ann Langford JOIN- BRINGING DOWN GOLIATH--THE MOVIE PAGE! BRING YOUR FRIENDS
  
  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bringing-Down-Goliath-The-Movie/259118600814549
  22 hours ago ·
- Désirée Nordlund ‎Howard, yes, you are right, it is not the writer's decision. I agree with you completely. What I meant was that there is really no need to worry about actual nudity. If I need a naked stripper for the story, then I can write that she is nude.
  
  Then of course I should consider what would happen if the director chooses to show everything I write and if it still would be a film I would have my name on.
  21 hours ago · · 1
- Diane Johnson ‎Susan Ann Langford - I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, but your promotional posts don't really address the prompt. Maybe they're better suited for logline Wednesday.
  20 hours ago ·
- Howard Casner Desiree--so true. And right on target. I have read scripts where people detail sex scenes and I have to tell them, you know, this isn't going to be your choice. So sorry for misunderstanding you, because you're right. As for whether you would want to have your name on it, funny story: when Gore Vidal wrote Caligula, they weren't going to put his name on it, and he fought to have it put there; then when he saw the film, he fought to have it taken off. In the end, what's really odd (well, not really, there's a reason for it) is that the WGA has the final say on whose name goes on as writer and even if you want to remove it, you might not be able to.
  19 hours ago · · 1
- Marty Kane Less is more as far as the sex goes. You don't have to get into detail, unless you're writing porn. As for profanity, use it if you need it. It's great for bringing a character to life. Real people swear. They also cheat on their partner, and showing a sex scene can really have an effect on how an audience feels about a character. Sure, you could show a couple leaving a cheap motel together and it would suggest the same thing as showing sex, but showing it can really turn a stomach, and that's the business we're in; making people feel things. So it's up to you to figure out what the best way to tell the story is. In my opinion, getting into detail on a sex scene is pointless and a waste of space on the page. Be brief! When the script goes into production they'll use their own vision of how the sex should be shown.
  16 hours ago · · 4
- Steve Spatucci So I should stop including detailed line drawings and diagrams in my sex scenes? Aw man...
  15 hours ago · · 2
- Howard Casner Only if I can read the scripts first, Steve.

HAYWIRE

2012-01-31T18:01:00.001-08:00

Also just got back from seeing Haywire, one of those agents betrayed by the big guys movie. Director Steven Soderberg is no Paul Greengrass, but he gets the motor running and does some nice things here and there. The story is a bit untidy and no one can get any serious emotional resonance going among the characters. But the real reason to see the movie is Gina Carano who seems to be as much at ease in acting as she is with martial arts. She may actually put Diana Rigg's Emma Peel a bit to shame.

NORWEGIAN WOOD

2012-01-31T17:56:00.001-08:00

Just got back from Norwegian Wood, a Japanese film about a young man whose best friend commits suicide and then becomes involved with the friend's girlfriend, who has emotional problems. At first the staid, understated, Ozu like approach to the subject matter was quite interesting and its often beautiful to look like. But then it becomes tedious what with an odd approach to the sexual dysfunctions of the characters and what is probably an error on the part of the screenplay in which they wait to long to let the audience know what is wrong with the girlfriend.

ONE OF THE BEST ANALYSES OF THE OSCAR SEASON I'VE READ

2012-01-31T08:14:00.000-08:00

Most analyzers of the Oscar season don't seem to get it. But I think this article does.
http://www.avclub.com/articles/i-likehate-the-artist-how-the-academy-awards-slant,68516/

HUD

2012-01-30T20:51:00.000-08:00

Just finished watching Hud, with Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and Brandon De Wilde, a movie that for some reason I have never managed to see before now. Beautiful cinematography by James Wong Howe and the acting is first rate, but did anyone buy, even then, Hud as a symbol of the degeneracy of America? Really?

A DISCUSSION OF JAMES MCBRIDE'S OPEN LETTER ON RED HOOK SUMMER AND THE STATE OF BLACKS IN CINEMA IN THE U.S.

2012-01-29T09:55:00.000-08:00

http://www.indiewire.com/article/spike-lees-co-writer-writes-an-open-letter-nothing-in-this-world-happens-unless-white-folks-says-it-happens

Spike Lee's Co-Writer Pens an Open Letter: "Nothing in this world happens unless white folks says it

www.indiewire.com

This hasn't been a good Sundance for Spike Lee. Reviews for "Red Hook Summer" were generally not good; nor were reviews of his post-premiere Q&A, in which the director launched into an extended rant about Hollywood's marginalization of black stories. Today, Lee's "Red Hook" co-writer, James McBride,...

· · · Share · Thursday at 11:56am

Debbie Boynes and Karen Mueller Bryson like this.
- William Martell Though that's probably true of mainstream audiences and even studios distribution, there are plenty of exceptions (movies that *star* African Americans as the lead characters - I can easily name 5 Black movie stars... including the #1 star in the world). But critics love Spike and want to love his movies. They are his cheerleaders... and if they did not like RED HOOK it may just be because it doesn't work (I haven't seen it).
  
  The critics also didn't like MIRACLE - which was written by the same writer... I just checked the RT score - 24%.
  
  There are lots of indie guys who have a limited range (Kevin Smith is one) and when the audience tires of what they do best they do something else... that they don't have the skill-set for.
  
  That's what I thought about MIRACLE - it *looked* ragged, was too long, and the sort of flat look that might work on some gritty NYC movie just didn't work in a period piece. Spike needed to up his game before he made that. I'm not even getting into the script.
  
  You can't blame the system for problems with the film. Just like with a script - if it isn't working, the *writer* needs to make it work - not blame the biz for not accepting it.
  Friday at 12:51am · · 1
- Rich Weems It's an interesting discussion, and I think McBride makes a lot of valid points. Having said that, I do think it comes down to "green" as opposed to "black" or "white".
  
  I wrote a script that achieved some small measure of success in contests, but not much else. Because it's a "gay" script. I had read an article in Entertainment Weekly a few years ago where openly gay producers were decrying the lack of good "gay" scripts. So I wrote one thinking it would get noticed. And it did, but not by anyone who wants to make a movie.
  
  The reality is that any "minority" movie is going to have a tough time being made, but
  
  BUT...would McBride have written his letter if his films had been better received by the critics? Where was the letter from him complaining about Tyler Perry's lack of success? Or Oprah's?
  Friday at 7:26am ·
- Rich Weems By the way, there is some bias on my part as I'm a white, straight male so take everything I say about "minorities" with a grain of salt. Not pepper. Salt.
  Friday at 7:28am ·
- Howard Casner I think I agree with what people are saying. It's a complicated issue and McBride makes some good points (such as, when Lucas said something, people took it seriously; when Lee says it, he's an angry, black man). And there are exceptions to what he is saying (Washington, Smith and Tyler Perry). And I have to say, I've never been as big a fan of Lee as a filmmaker; I don't think he's as good as many people think he is. And Rich is right, every minority has this problem. Part of this is the powers that be that won't support chancier material, but part is an audience who often won't go to it. One of the issues is how we fiance movies in the U.S. It's all so box office dependent, it's hard to get movies with minorities made (from black to Hispanic to female to gay, etc.). I'm also a white male, but I am gay.
  Friday at 7:41am ·
- William Martell The issue with the business side is always going to be "what will ge the *most* butts in seats" - so anything aimed at minorities or even just unusual is going to hit a roadblock. What that means is that there are going to be 2 film industries: mainstream (no sharpe edges, aimed at widest possible audience) and niche (a bunch of different kids of movies aimed for different kinds of audiences). And mainstream movies are always going to be all about the money and exclude anything that isn't appealing to majority audience. When you're above average height, you can't shop at a department store - you have to shop at the Big&Tall.
  Friday at 5:21pm ·
- William Greenways I agree and I'm 5' 17" (really).
  Friday at 6:44pm ·
- Howard Casner Some other countries handle financing of independent movies differently, which is why, I think, I find foreign movies often more interesting than American ones and why these films are often more diverse in subject matter.
  Friday at 8:10pm ·
- ScreenwriterHank Byrd I agree. It is green, but at the expense of blacks. And George Lucas was correct in saying that the studios don't get behind African American films, which are, at their core, AMERICAN films. Black indie filmmakers have a better shot at a getting a halfway decent distribution deal on Redbox, iTunes or Netflix than getting the studios to pony up the dough to produce and market our films, largely because they are scared that white audiences won't come to see our films if there are too many of US (black folks) on the screen. In a research paper published in May of 2011, Andrew J. Weaver, a telecommunications professor at Indiana University, conducted two studies to test whether the racial makeup of a film’s cast could influence the decisions of white audiences. The study, called “The Role of Actors’ Race in White Audiences’ Selective Exposure to Movies”, concluded “minority cast members” do in fact lead white audiences to be less interested in seeing certain films.
  Friday at 10:21pm · · 1
- ScreenwriterHank Byrd Heres another interesting article: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/opinion/martin-red-tails-hollywood/index.html
  Friday at 10:21pm · · 1
- Howard Casner I think we all know the problem. But once you know the problem, the problem becomes, what is the solution.
  Yesterday at 6:48am ·
- Lin Fahrenheit What did you guys thank of the Malcolm X film?
  Yesterday at 7:35am via mobile ·
- Howard Casner I remember when it came out and I and a friend were commenting on the idea that originally Richard Attenborough (I believe) was suppose to direct it and Spike Lee shamed the studio into giving it to him, and damn, if he doesn't go and make a film that is no different than the one Attenborough would have made. I and my friend have a phrase we use for movies like this: a typical Warner Brothers bio pic. It did have a wonderful performance by Denzel Washington and the wonderful cinematography by Ernest R. Dickerson.
  22 hours ago ·
- William Martell Just about everywhere except the USA has government funding of films - so that they end up *not* a commercial product. These arts programs are designed to employ artists from the country to make art that represents the country. The closest we have to that in the USA is the NEA. So here it is a business, aimed at a global audience.
  13 hours ago ·
- William Martell One of the weird issues is that USA films dominate the BO in just about every country - because they tend to be entertainment rather than art. Countries like France that are very protective, still end up with mostly US films drawing an audience. The other films that make money in France end up being French genre films - mainstream comedies and Luc Besson flicks. In the UK they have decided to quit throwing money at movies that fail to attract an audience and look at film funding in a more commercial way. Controversial.
  13 hours ago · · 1
- Howard Casner In the U.S., we haven't figured out a way for the government to fund art. Don't know if we ever will.

KEN RUSSELL'S THE MUSIC LOVERS

2012-01-29T09:49:00.000-08:00

Saw Ken Russell's The Music Lovers, his "biography" of Peter Tchaicovsky. Well, it's certainly more coherent that many of his movies are. Beyond that, all I can say is that I can now say I've seen it and cross it off my list. I've never been a big Russell fan and don't quite know why he has such a high following.