HOLLYWOODSCRIPT.COM NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the latest edition of the
Hollywoodscript.com Newsletter, which is published by script
consultants Craig Kellem, Judy Kellem
http://www.hollywoodscript.com
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please reply to this
E-Mail and put the word "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line.
The purpose of this newsletter is to share information, ideas etc.
concerning the fascinating (and elusive) world of
screenwriting______________________________________
Free Monthly Contest! Prize: Hollywood reads plus free "Coverage" and
more for clients!
Recent comments from current contest winners (we had two winners--ie:
a tie last month):
**"Craig Kellem's a razor sharp editor and tremendous "teaching"
script coach. We just announced and put my script "Fish Gutting for
Newlyweds" out there four days ago, and I've already had 16 top
producers and agents ask to read it. And because of Craig, I'm
completely confident that what I'm sending them is awesome and up to
industry standards." Amy Bailey
**“Judy and Craig have put their seal of approval on what I am proud
to call “My Screenplay.” Winning their contest has helped me to secure
an agent in record time and he is currently shopping the script in
LA.” Fran Goodman
A MONTH EARLIER
**"Working with Craig Kellem has been an absolute pleasure. Just
talking with him for five minutes gives a feeling of security because
it's clear that Craig knows damn well what he's talking about and has
the brass balls experience to back it up. He knows the industry
standards, he gives very polite and very necessary advice in order to
further his client down the path. I've recently won his contest and it
has already opened up doors and contacts and relationship building
that (although I knew it would come somehow) I only dreamed about.
Craig Kellem is the liaison to success as a screenwriter." Zach Bliss
NEXT WINNER
Big congrats to our newest winner Paul Sheridan for his terrific
script STARK VENDETTA (soon to be posted).
________________________
JUDGING THE CONTEST. THE PARADOX OF A GOOD THING!
By Craig Kellem
Judging our monthly contest can be a bear for both of us. There's pain
wearing two hats, first being supportive, creative mentors and then
stoic, objective “deciders”. For me (Craig) this duty goes against
deeply held instincts in the area of personal loyalty, which is a big
part of my natural
makeup. I'm a guy who's been known to “give hate”
to folks who have
unjustifiably wronged friends, only to find out
that they made up long ago while
I'm left still carrying the ax. I'm
as loyal as a golden retriever folks!
But the contest is important and it isn't loyalty which is at stake
here, it's our
best call in a given month.
In the business of screenwriting, deserved recognition can be a rare
commodity. After one finds success it's easy to see the gold, but
before
this happens good work
can be overlooked out there. Thus it's
really important for those of us who sit alone
somewhere writing our
hearts out to be told that someone can
perceive the true value in our
work, and especially appreciate it.
Any and all signs of light in this game are ever so nurturing and
necessary, and being
told that you've written something so special
and professional that
we'll put our name to it, can be just what the
doctor ordered. Not to mention the fact
that it's nice to have your
script read by folks in the industry, and to
be able to tell everyone
that you’ve won something. The coverage remains on
our site for a
very long time, so in the click or two of the mouse, there's
your
glowing and objective coverage for all to see.
However, not everyone wins at the exact moment they most want it to
happen.
Sometimes a script which is also competing, simply has the
edge. Or maybe the work isn't quite there yet,
even though there's
often real promise in the material, and it could payoff with the next
revision or subsequent screenplay. It can be a conceptual
issue,
wherein the idea may be fine, but perhaps not necessarily ready for
broad Hollywood consumption. The latter is not always part of the
criteria, but sometimes it can be.
We try hard to accommodate our valued clients and even have a rule
that if
we don't have a winner for a given month, a script that
didn't make it the
first time around can now be slotted in as the
current winner. This has happened many times and it's always such a
pleasure when we can make this
possible.
So, please know that we really do care and feel badly when a
borderline project
(and there are many) doesn't make it. I always
feel so awkward when that
happens because the material is often quite
promising, and this makes our decision even tougher.
Ultimately we owe our loyalty in this phase of things to the very best
call we can make at the time, and because it’s not easy to impress
Hollywood, the material we send out (and sometimes contact Industry
folks about directly etc) must be right down the middle of the strike
zone.
So please don't think that we don't agonize over these
decisions--because we do!
We also try hard to convey the idea that
our contest is a PERK. The
ULTIMATE SERVICE service we offer is to
provide the creative help which is necessary to get your script right
on target. This achievement is a BIG DEAL, and can also profoundly
affect future projects one might have.
You may not have won the contest yet, but if we’ve helped you upgrade
your script to PRO LEVEL or a pro script to a higher plane, and it’s
the best script of your life, please don’t be mad.
COPYRIGHT 2008-2012
HOLLYWOODSCRIPT.COM LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________________________
FOLKS OFTEN CALL US TO ASK ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY HOLLYWOOD PAYS FOR
SCRIPTS. TRY THIS LINK ON THE SUBJECT
http://www.wga.org/subpage_writersresources.aspx?id=68
______________________
MORE GOOD STUFF
****Hi Craig,
Hope all is well with you and Judy. In 2006, the two off you walked
me through and patiently guided me with my screenplay, DUCKS. Your
suggestions and advice, as always, were spot on and the script has
been optioned. Thanks for all of your help it is much appreciated.
The producers and I are currently busy forging the shooting script and
are getting close to the final product. Below is the INKTIP
announcement.
Best,
Jack
Matthew Hsu Options "Ducks"
Matthew Hsu with Fleuron Films discovered “Ducks” on InkTip and with
his partner, Veronica Shamo-Garcia, optioned it from writer Jack
Vandagriff. Matthew and Veronica’s credits include the upcoming
Lionsgate release “Trail of Blood.” This is Jack's third option
through InkTip.
__________________
**Remember me....you helped this Aussie on my very first screenplay a
year ago called "The Entrepreneur"
My Skype meeting with you and notes helped me to really fine tune the
script. So much so, that I am a semi-finalist with it in the 10th
"Film Makers International Screenwriting contest"
I am over the moon, and once again thank you for all your input.
Carey Watkins
______________________
Dear Craig,
I just wanted to take a moment, before we start on this second script,
to THANK YOU for all you have given me with the first.
Not only have you taught me to:
1. Create a compelling focal character.
2. Send him on his way to finding what he wants and what he needs .. then
3. Beat the ever living poop out of him all the way there.
You have also taught me to "distill" the entire script until it's
190-proof ass-kicking moonshine.
I can't wait to swallow my next elephant,
Amy
____________________
On May 2, 2012, at 3:56 PM, JASON PHILPS wrote:
Thought you might like to know that my script Absolution that we
worked on last year [about a woman violinist who wants to play like
Paganini and so makes a deal with the devil] has just come 2nd in the
Horror/Thriller category of Scriptvamp screenplay contest. While it's
not the Nicholl Fellowship it is a start!
Thanks again for your help.
Jason
___________________________________
AN INTRIGUING ARTICLE
Telling Tales With a Tear and a Smile
As comedians pursue the relatively new school of
storytelling, they sometimes show that emotion can be mixed
with humor.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/arts/advancing-a-new-form-of-comedy-storytelling.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha28_20120405
______________________________________
AN INTRIGUING ARTICLE FROM QUAD CINEMA (NYC)
THE WIT AND WISDOM OF ALFRED HITCHCOCK. In my continuing series of
some of the wittiest and wisest movie celebrities, my honoree this
week is Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock believed that the most powerful
way of gripping an audience was through suspense, which he brilliantly
achieved with minimal dialogue. He moved the camera in a way that
mimicked a person’s gaze, forcing the viewers to engage in a form of
voyeurism (think "Rear Window"). Hitchcock once commented that "The
writer and I plan out the entire script down to the smallest detail,
and when we're finished all that's left to do is to shoot the film".
His biographer, Steven DeRosa wrote that "Hitchcock supervised and
guided his writers through every draft, insisting on a strict
attention to detail and a preference for telling the story through
visual rather than verbal means." He was so certain and clear as to
how each scene should be played that he rarely bothered looking
through the viewfinder. Truffaut described Hitchcock as "the most
influential filmmaker of all-time." John Frankenheimer stated that
"Any American director who says he hasn't been influenced by him is
out of his mind."
Hitchcock, with a huge tongue in his cheek, obliged the press with a
variety of "bon mots" about himself and his work: "There is no terror
in the bang, only in the anticipation of it."....."A good film is when
the price of admission, the dinner and the babysitter were well worth
it."...."The cinema is not a slice of life, it's a piece of
cake."....." I'm a typed director. If I made CINDERELLA, the audience
would be looking for a body in the coach."......"When people say I'm
70 I say that's a confounded lie. I'm twice 35."....."The length of
the film should be directly related to the endurance of the human
bladder."....."Always make the audience suffer as much as
possible."....."Television has brought back murder to the home---where
it belongs."....."Give them pleasure, the same pleasure they have when
they wake up from a nightmare."....."Drama is life with the dull parts
left out."....."I have a perfect cure for a sore throat: cut
it."....."Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that
shows up the bloody footprints."....."Seeing a murder on television
can help work off one's antagonisms. And if you haven't any
antagonisms, the commercials will give you some"....."I can't read
fiction without visualizing every scene. The result is it becomes a
series of pictures rather than a book."....."The picture's over. Now I
have to go and put it on film.".....A glimpse into the world proves
that horror is nothing other than reality."....."In feature films the
director is God; in a documentary films God is the director."....."If
it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still
have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on."....."When an actor
comes to me and wants to discuss character, I say, IT'S IN THE SCRIPT.
If he asks BUT WHAT IS MY MOTIVATION? I say, YOUR SALARY."....."I am
to provide the public with beneficial shocks."....."I'm not against
the police; I'm just afraid of them."....."Luck is everything. My good
luck in life was to be a really frightened person. I'm fortunate to be
a coward, to have a low threshold of fear, because a hero couldn't
make a good suspense film."....."When an actress asked Hitchcock if
her right or left profile was better, he told her, MY DEAR, YOU'RE
SITTING ON YOUR BEST PROFILE."....."To make a great film you need
three things---the script, the script and the script."....."Some of
our most exquisite murders have been domestic, performed with
tenderness in simple, homey places like the kitchen."....."Television
has done much for psychiatry by spreading information about it, as
well as contributing the need for it."
When Hitchcock received the Irving Thalberg Award, in his acceptance
speech he simply said: "Thank you!"
______________________________
YET ANOTHER INTRIGUING ARTICLE SEND BY A WRITER FRIEND
The Storytelling Animal: The Science of How We Came to Live and Breathe Stories
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/05/03/the-storytelling-animal-jonathan-gottschall/
---
Sent from Zite personalized magazine iPad app.
Available for free in the App Store.
www.zite.com
_____________________________
HOLLYWOODSCRIPT.COM is a boutique script consultation service run by
former Universal and Fox development exec Craig Kellem. Craig and his
studio analyst associate, Judy Kellem, (who has a Masters in English
and Creative Writing) operate this two person company.
Motto: The #1 Secret for Selling a Script...MATERIAL THAT’S READY!
SERVICES: Script consultation, Coverage, Developmental Help (ie Works
in Progress), Book manuscripts, Free query letter analysis, Free mini
consultation
HOLLYWOODSCRIPT.COM CONTEST-Free MONTHLY contest for clients. Prize:
free coverage--guaranteed big industry exposure.
**
craig....@valley.net,
craig....@gmail.com
W
201-918-6993, H
201-918-6952
**
judy....@earthlink.net
917-647-8782
___________________________________________________
SCRIPTBLASTER E-QUERY SERVICE has an incredibly vast database of
producers,
agents, managers and the like. They can zap your coverage
or query directly into
the hands of many viable Hollywood producers,
agents, managers etc. A unique
feature is that the emails will be
generated from your own personal email so
industry professionals will
respond directly to you.
If you'd like assistance writing your query letter, their experienced
editing
team can create a complete query letter for you that will
include a tight
logline and a compelling synopsis.
For more information about their services visit:
http://www.scriptblaster.com
Or if you have any questions you can email them at:
http://www....@scriptblaster.com
_______________________________
INKTIP.COM is a screenplay facilitation company that helps Industry
Professionals find good scripts & writers.
www.inktip.com.
COPYRIGHT
HOLLYWOODSCRIPT.COM
2012-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED