HOLLYWOODSCRIPT.COM NEWSLETTER
Craig Kellem
Hollywoodscript.com Newsletter, which is published by script
consultants Craig Kellem, Judy Kellem http://www.hollywoodscript.com
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The purpose of this newsletter is to share information, ideas etc.
concerning the fascinating (and elusive) world of screenwriting.
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NOW WRITE! SCREENWRITING
Hi Folks, well it’s getting colder, but we’re doing fine and looking
forward to January when a prestigious, new screenwriting book comes
out, to which we were proud contributors. Here’s the skinny:
Edited by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson, the latest addition to the
"NOW WRITE!" writing guide series will be released by Tarcher/Penguin
on January 6, 2011! An essential handbook featuring
never-before-published writing exercises from the acclaimed
screenwriters of RAGING BULL, ALI, TERMINATOR 2, GROUNDHOG DAY, CAPE
FEAR, Lost, True Blood, The Shield, and many other hit films and
television shows. Additional screenwriting professionals also make
important creative contributions in the book. NOW WRITE! SCREENWRITING
offers practical advice and exercises, straight from the personal
stashes of the top screenwriters working today.
http://nowwrite.net <http://nowwrite.net/>
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“The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer”
Writer/Producer Sergio Bambaren reports that his film (on which we
consulted) has been released in all of Latin America, including Mexico
and Brazil, via Fox Distribution, as well as in the rest of the world:
Russia, China, Turkey, Poland, Israel, the Middle East, Northern
Africa, Spain, France, German-speaking countries and Italy in BLU-RAY.
The only countries still left are the English speaking countries
(U.K., Australia, etc) where it cannot be released until at least 3
months after Fox has released it in the USA, CANADA and PUERTO RICO.
Sergio wrote:
“A dream that started more than 10 years ago in a faraway beach in
Portugal, has crossed many crystal walls. Life works in strange, but
wonderful ways. Thanks to all of you, Twentieth Century FOX is
releasing this December 7th the DVD of, The Dolphin: Story of a
Dreamer, in North America and Puerto Rico (dubbed in English and
Spanish). And now, more than ever, we need your help. As there was no
theatrical release in the States & Canada, the awareness of the film’s
imminent release will strongly depend on word of mouth. That’s why we
believe that marketing the film through Social Networks, Blogging and
Emailing are the tools that will make this happen. Here are some
links that can help:
-Watch the Trailer and get to know the characters:
The Dolphin Movie Site <http://www.thedolphin-movie.com/>
IMDB <http:/ www.imdb.com/title/tt1206541/>
-Pre Order the film here:
Amazon.com <http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00475B0H6/?tag=imwan-20>
Amazon.ca <http://www.amazon.ca/The-Dolphin/dp/B00475B0H6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1289252816&sr=8-4>
FOX CONNECT <http://www.foxconnect.com/dolphin-the-dvd-widescreen.html>
Thank you all for your kind support. Your help will definitely make a
difference, and the dolphins will thank you too! (Part of the revenues
will go to the preservation of dolphins, whales and marine wildlife.)
Thanks again to Craig and Judy. Judy’s credits will appear in all
English speaking countries and all formats!”
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C.J.O.A.E.!!!
BY CRAIG KELLEM
It’s human nature to try to figure out the essence of things. Indeed,
you can see this demonstrated in articles and such, which attempt to
define what the “real truth” is in this or that. The innovator who
touches on the ultimate heart of a matter is going to be the one who
catches the proverbial brass ring. It can be argued that the great
thinkers and philosophers in history are those who everyone feels has
“the answers”.
In the more humble universe of screenwriting, trade writers recognize
that there are inherent, ultimate truths underlying the very form of a
script, the nature of which must always be respected in order for a
piece to really work. Take for example, the omnipotence of the
three-act structure. Any writer who has ever violated the underlying
rhythmic demands of this fundamental design, knows the havoc wrecked
upon the entire script. One cannot get away with a first act devoid of
story set up, or a second act in which the plot barely progresses, or
a third act launched on a sleepy, un-dramatic note. All great
scriptwriters intuitively bow to the essential, story-telling pace
imposed by the three act structure, fully aware that they must adhere
to this “truth” about the overall form in order for their piece to
really gel. Same goes for including an “inciting incident” in any film
or insuring that there is a sympathetic protagonist dominating the
script. These factors must become assumed, guiding hands, ever-present
within the writer in order for him/her to do good work.
For me, there are many ultimate truths involved in screenwriting, but
if someone were to force me to identify the most essential of the
bunch, I’d say it’s the ample inclusion of: CONFLICT, JEOPARDY,
OBSTACLES, ANGST AND EVENTFULNESS (C.J.O.A.E.).
The first of these, CONFLICT, came to my special attention when I was
leaving Twentieth Century Fox and moving on to Universal to be in
charge of a large, creative department. I was excited, but quite
nervous. In fact it reminded me of the time that I was involved in the
first year of, Saturday Night Live and Lorne Michaels - after going
through all the pains of selling and setting up the show – heavily
sighed, “I guess we’ve got to go out and make the show now.” He looked
uncharacteristically anxious saying this.
So too, I found myself worriedly wandering into the Fox commissary
during one of my last days there, and sidling up to a notable ex CBS
exec who’d just started at Twentieth, to tell him about my new
position and ask for some basic advice. He glanced up from his Chinese
chicken salad and grunted, “remember conflict.”
He was spot-on right.
I soon discovered that good news, being nice, polite, soft, agreeable,
genteel, and subtle were great for real life, but toxic in theatre.
Great story telling requires heaps and heaps of conflict. It’s the
ingredient that captures everyone’s attention. Just think of all the
rubbernecking that instantly creates hours of traffic!
Now, of course this doesn’t mean that one should contrive so much
jeopardy, obstacle, and angst in one’s material that it reads
gratuitous and so forced that it’s hard to believe. Every writer must
find the balance in his or her material, so that the drama feels
authentic and organic to the story. But you’d be surprised at how
many projects there are out there that suffer from a lack of
excitement and mojo, which could be easily remedied by dashes of
C.J.O.A.E. Misery and malice almost always get a reader wondering
about what’s going to happen next, and that keeps them firmly in what
I sometimes call the “story tent.” This is where you want your
moviegoer to be – not just enjoying and admiring your movie, but so
into it that they happily wait to see what’s going to happen next,
rather than taking a needed trip to the bathroom. Talk about a litmus
test!!
Bottom line: Give characters more conflict, angst, obstacles, woes,
and difficult situations, and they will automatically become more
interesting – PLUS, their dreams and goals will become more story-like
because your reader will be worried about them, rooting for them, and
wondering, “what’s going to happen next?” – which is of course the
very essence of what story is all about and why we continue to turn
pages.
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BIG CONGRATS TO SEVERAL RECENT MONTHLY CONTEST WINNERS:
STEPHEN C. SETTLE for “EKE’BOLOS”
NAOMI LAMONT for “THE TOUCH”
JACQUELINE STAHL for “DOUBLEWIDE”
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR PRIZES WHICH PROVIDE INDUSTRY EXPOSURE ETC GO HERE:
http://www.hollywoodscript.com/contest.html__________________________
FEELING STUCK? FIND THAT WRITING CAP!
BY JUDY KELLEM
It’s easy to move through the world without your writing cap – to pass
the day having conversations wherein you’re not hearing “dialogue”; to
interact with others without that internal narrator noting the
“dramatic details” of the exchange. In fact, it can be a serious
relief to turn off that artist voice inside that wants to make a story
or scene out of practically every second of one’s existence.
It’s relief until you show up to your writing desk and find it’s very
hard to get started, you’re feeling “blank” and even doing a revision
of material that’s already written proves daunting – you keep coming
up with “nothing”.
In these moments, it’s always a good idea to stop, relax, and go find
your writing cap – that way of perceiving the world as MATERIAL.
You can start by narrating yourself, describing the details of
yourself in that moment, earlier that day, leading up to trying to
write. You can take detours into your interior – random thoughts you
are having or were having hours before that you were not completely
paying attention to, the impressions you had while walking or driving
or talking to someone, which at the time you were not “hearing and
seeing”. Remind yourself of the day before: What did you do, who were
you with and how did you feel about it?
As you make these descriptions, no matter how mundane they may or may
not seem, you are waking up the artist inside, forcing him or her to
have a cup of coffee, find the hook where your writers cap hangs and
put that cap firmly on your head. In so doing, you are replacing the
mind’s eye that only looks, without much thinking and reminding it to
really see, to start examining.
Once the cap is placed, call someone or go do some simple task wherein
you are re-exposed to dialogue. Test your hearing. Are you starting to
really pay attention to the way others speak? Are you again tuned in
to the intonations people make, the subtle layers of deeper
information they unconsciously (or consciously) reveal in what they
say? Listen with your writer’s ear; watch the speaker with your
writer’s eye – how do they express themselves, what body language do
they use? How do they use their eyes? Identify the characteristics
conveyed through the most casual conversation. The writing material
will start to gather instantly.
Then go back to your desk. Chances are that blankness will have
dissipated and your head will be lively with images and voices, ready
for creative expression.
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SEE BELOW FOR MORE GOOD STUFF FROM OUR L.A. WRITER FRIEND AND
HUFFINGTON POST COLUMNIST MARK MILLER. To follow him on The Huffington
Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-c-miller
Hollywood's Job Whisperer
http://www.deadline.com/2010/08/hollywoods-job-whisperer/#comments
This was the BRILLIANT 3 minute pitch that got The Muppet Show on the
air. (still relevant as an example of innovative hustling))
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KorhvVQRUM&feature=player_embedded
Very funny take on a movie pitch meeting
http://www.deadline.com/2010/08/boy-meets-coil-hope-springs-eternal/
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7028371/
Never underestimate the power of a great story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd3dIXXLcdE
Good essay about the current facts of life for creative folks in L.A.
(and elsewhere).
Book Trailer Basics: Bring Your Story to Life
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/39-FE6-BookTrailerBasics.html
What Every Writer and Author Website Needs
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/34-FE4-AuthorWebsiteChecklist.html
Annette Fix is the author of The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir. She speaks
at national writer's conferences and hosts online and in-person
workshops: “Online Author and Book Promotion,” “How to Get the Right
Agent for Your Manuscript,” and “Memoir 101: Drawing from Your Life to
Create Your Story.”
Annette blogs about writing and book marketing at www.annettefix.com.
She is the former senior editor of WOW! Women On Writing.
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Dear Craig,
Soon after our last talk about my screenplay Samaritans, I put it away
for a while and settled into other, competing projects. When I went
back to it a couple of years later, in truth I found the script to be
nearly “there.” I made a few more fine-tooth passes, keeping always in
mind the constant theme of our two talks – my need in this script to
tighten and hone, tighten and hone. You were always very complimentary
and encouraging about the characters and dialogue, the story, the
structure, the flavor – but pushed and re-pushed me to tighten and
toughen.
Your pushing and my resultant efforts have at last borne some small
fruit. Samaritans was a screenplay finalist in two categories at this
year’s Austin Film Festival, its first shot out of the box since
before I sent it to you. Recognition at Austin is a nice welcome for a
small, uncommercial script, and the comments about it that I’ve
received have been deeply gratifying.
Thank you, once again, for pushing, and for pushing hard. I did
resist, but as my lapsed objectivity returned and took over, ruthless
cutting became easier and I came to appeciate more and more your
insistence on what the script needed. I’ll keep you posted on any
further developments.
Best wishes,
David Korr
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HollywoodScript.com is a boutique script consultation service run by
former Universal and Fox development exec and ex-agent, Craig Kellem.
Craig and studio analyst associate Judy Kellem (M.A. in Creative
Writing) operate a two-person company helping people to seriously
prepare scripts for the marketplace.
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