Issue One

THE WORD FROM COLIN CHAPMAN

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Greetings and welcome to the first issue of Movie Scribe Online. Let me begin by telling you just a little bit our goals for this newsletter and where we are coming from.

First off, I'm a screenwriter who happens to make his living building websites (please refer to Craig's point number 14, below). I'm the webmaster for the Hollywood Script.Com website as well as chapman film and several others (entertainment, law and business).

There are a couple of perspectives I will be bringing to this newsletter. The first is the perspective of a writer who is trying to make it. I'll be doing columns on the craft, joys, thrills and frustrations of writing.

Another perspective I bring is a perspective on what the Internet has to offer writers. I'll be doing columns on how screenwriters can use the web. One of the craziest things I've done in my life was to put my screenplay, Smoke and Mirrors on the internet and make a full copy available to anyone who asked to read it. If I had listened to other writers, lawyers and ex-agents, I would have kept my script hidden in a drawer. As it turns out, publishing Smoke and Mirrors on the net was without question the smartest thing I've ever done career wise as a writer. This is an experience I'll be sharing in more detail in future issues.

I'll also be highlighting news headlines which I feel are of interest to screenwriters and offering my single shot analysis of the articles.

Craig Kellem will be offering his experience as a studio executive, producer, agent and writer in Hollywood to help anyone who cares to make use of it. And by the way, if you have a completed script and you want to know what you need to do with it next, you owe it to yourself and your script to have Craig work on it with you. At $150, you can't go wrong.

MORE LATER

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CRAIG'S CORNER

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HOLLYWOODSCRIPT.COM

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Craig Kellem.

I am a transposed Hollywood professional. I've been an agent, studio development exec, producer and writer (WGA member). I now have a script consulting service. I help people improve their scripts and seriously prepare their material for the marketplace.

If you want to find out more, please visit my site at http://www.hollywoodscript.com

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TOP TEN LIST (AND THEN SOME) FOR SUCCESSFUL SCREENWRITING

1. If the story doesn't work, then the script won't work. If at any given time, your reader is not wondering, "What's going to happen next?"--you've got a problem.

2. Author Julia Cameron says, "The singular image is what haunts us and becomes art." Think about that! At last "a place" to put all of your little insights, moments of truth, fascinations and unique experiences that previously lacked a "file." If you access that "file" while preparing your script and use these hot little tidbits as springboards for scenes, your script is going to be buzzing with honesty and life. This is what audiences crave.

3. There is no such thing as a throwaway or a transitional scene. Scenes should not only add value to the overall story but should also have intrinsic entertainment value as well.

4. Writing a script is relatively easy. The real work is in preparing, building and "arc-ing" out the story and defining the characters. Once the "blueprint" is in place, the writing itself is usually a welcome enterprise. Many writers have trouble being patient enough with this process and it can cost them dearly in the long run.

5. There are many "techniques" for creating and developing characters some of which are effective. However, the single most important thing you can do is to have a strong emotional connection with your character. Intellectual platitudes and techniques are OK, but audiences want characters who are alive. Find your most visceral emotional connections. Don't settle on a character until you do.

6. Remember those POW movies where the prisoners tried to escape by digging a secret tunnel? Then they'd get rid of the dirt by putting it into the cuffs of their pants and spread it around the camp? That's how exposition (ie: info that the audience needs to be told) should be handled. Hide it. Spread it around. Keep it as invisible as you can and always try to convert it into ammunition (ie: action).

7. Subtext is the name of the game. Potential lovers nervously conversing about train schedules (when you know their real underlying "conversation" is about their aching desire for each other), is usually more compelling and effective than the same twosome spilling every thought in their head. In Casablanca the entire relationship between Rick and Renault was completely subtextual. (Rent the movie and see what I mean).

8. When it comes to dialogue, less is better. Pick up the most successful screenplays and you'll notice great economies when it comes to words.

9. "Who is your hero? What is his/her goal? Who or what is preventing her/him from reaching that goal?" (Intense pressure on your hero in a atmosphere of conflict will help keep your story mobile and entertaining).

10. If you have to stretch reality, do it judiciously and surround it with a bedrock of credibility and truth in other issues.

11. "Layer" your scenes. One of the most effective strategies writers use (like, for example, Quentin Tarantino) is to add extra juicy tidbits and mini-subplots within scenes, while the main story continues to unravel.

12. Make room for surprises. Audiences love them.

13. Surrender to this fact: writing is rewriting.

14. Have another (nice) way of making a living while you're trying to make it as a writer. This will give you space to grow and create without going nuts.Waiting by the telephone is a prescription for despair.

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GETTING READ

Getting read is the 64,000 question. It's a question that doesn't have an easy answer. Producers, agents and studios receive so much material that the can't possibly read it all.

They're also very scared of lawsuits. Thus so-called "unsolicited material" is usually sent back unopened. So where does that leave you and how do writers' break through?

Lots of ways is the answer. Sometimes a writer knows someone who knows someone. Who do you know? Rack your brains. Sometimes the writer takes a course or a seminar and the teacher is "connected." Getting this instructor to read your script is the first step. Another method is to send a query letter to agents and producers.

Also you can call the various agencies (and studios) and try to get the names of the newer agents/recently promoted young turks--people starting out who may be "hungry" for new blood. Schmooze with receptionists for a name. Scan the "trades" for announcements of these kinds of promotions. There are also contests one can enter. Hollywood is always impressed with contest recognition.

Check out various screenwriting websites concerning these contests. Pick up some writing magazines as well for this info. In these same magazines there are often articles where Hollywood pros are interviewed. You can find out what's on their mind. Then you can write to them personally and refer to what they said in the article. Get back issues of these magazines as well.

Here's another method that could produce interesting results: write to the director and/or star who you'd like to participate in your movie. Make it like a fan letter. Make a convincing creative argument regarding why your script is right for them. Draw analogies with work they've done. Often these artists have offices on the various "lots." You might be able to find their studio addresses through the various guilds (DGA, SAG, WGA). Consider the whole effort like good detective work. Pursue the hell out of it!

Someone will read your script. But the script's gotta be "cherry."

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A BURNING DESIRE TO CREATE

We (writers) are such a breed. We sit alone somewhere with a dream--usually undefined--scary, ambiguous etc.

But there's an undeniable burning desire to create something--to express . But the actual idea of doing it can be quite daunting. The main thing I want you to know is that although learning the "rules" of screenwriting is essential that's not where it's at.

Corny as it may sound, it's really about accessing your creativity from within. What do you want to write about? What ideas do you have? What scenes do you see? Keep a journal--religiously. Your subconscious will start to take you seriously and it will eventually flood you with more ideas and clarity. What do you know about? What have you seen? What character burns inside of you waiting to be born? What buzzes around in your heart? Julia Cameron who wrote a book I highly recommend called "The Artist Way." In it she says, "It's the singular image that haunts us that becomes art."

Think about that. What a wonderful thing to know. What a validation capsule for our juiciest notions and insights. What snapshots of reality do you have in your portfolio. Incidents, moments, insights etc. Collect them. Cultivate ideas. Play with them.

Recognize that they usually come in whispers--you need to listen closely.

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IS MY SCRIPT GOING TO BE STOLEN?

If there is one trait that distinguishes unproduced writers from professional writers, it is that unproduced writers are always afraid there script is going to be stolen.

It is a question I get asked about a fair amount. For example, I received this post on the Hollywood Script Bulletin Board (http://www.hollywoodscript.com/messageboard.html).

"I really believe in my work because what I have wrote is what i know nobody else ever could. The one thing I am afraid of is sending out a script and having them read it, change the names and ideas, give it a new total and call them theirs. I have a copyright on my work. I just don't know if I'm worrying all for nothing."

Here is how I have responded to this question:

There are only so many ideas in the universe. The good ones have been done over and over again. Your variation on it is what makes an idea new. The variation (ie: how you do it) is usually a matter of execution rather than just "the idea." Your execution is protected by a copyright. If someone is stupid enough to steal copyrighted material you'll have a nice lawsuit and probably make more money than you would have selling your script. Don't worry about it. It doesn't happen that often.

And here are the Top 5 reasons I have for not stealing anyone else's story idea:

1. I have ideas of my own

2. If I get sued and lose I'll be poor

3. I'm too lazy to write a screenplay

4. I'm moral

5. I'm a pro--I just don't do that kinda thing!

Suggestion--before you send your script to anyone:

* Register it with the WGA (it costs about 20 bucks)

*Put a "C" in a circle on the cover--it will be copyrighted via commom law

*Mail it to yourself and don't open the envelope

COLIN RESPONDS:

There is the old joke about how do you tell if a Hollywood producer (distributer or agent or lawyer, fill in the blank) is lying? His lips are moving. There is a justification to protect yourself, however, that is not justification to never let a producer see your script.

The only thing which I disagree with is "Register it with the WGA (it costs about 20 bucks)". My point of view is that when working on spec, copyright registration with the Library of Congress makes far more sense and is the same money (cirumstances are different when on a "for hire" project and often make WGA registration crucial).

There are two reasons why. The first is that WGA registration does nothing except establish evidence of date of authorship. LOC registration gives you this in addition to a registered copyright.

Second, copyright with LOC allows the owner of the copyright to sue for triple damages, punitive damages and prosecute the scumbag producer who couldn't come up with his own idea criminally. Even without a copyright statement on a work of intellectual property, it is still "copyrighted". However, the owner of a copyright is only entitled to actual damages.

I'm not a lawyer or even write for one on TV. So this is not legal advice. For more information on this topic, read the book, 'The Writer Got Screwed, But Didn't Have To' or consult your own legal counsel.

Finally, anyone who steals a someone's intellectual property is just begging to get caught. So let's say you steal somebody else's story and sell it. This isn't exactly a secret transaction. What happens next? You get sued. The person who you sold this story to gets sued. Congratulations, you have just burned every bridge there is and you will never sell another script again, period.

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THIS WEEK'S HEADLINES

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Newsweek: Networks Face Stiff Competition From 'Narrowcasters'

http://www.newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/bz/bz0201_1.htm

Apparently life is hard for Network Execs as they come to the startling realization that force feeding us "Erkel", "Working", and "Suddenly Susan" just isn't getting it done anymore. The good news here for screenwriters is that as people tune out of the networks, cable is becoming a hot new market for original quality programing.

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Washington Post: Slow Readers Sue Disney

http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-12/25/096l-122598-idx.html

Okay, chances are, the former special ed students don't stand much of a chance in their law suit against the most powerful force known to man this side of Redmond, Washington. However, there is an important point here for screenwriters: If you are creating characters and you have an ax to grind, fictionalize. And whatever you do, don't keep your victims name the same and then use a digitally altered version of his photo.

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LA Times - Company Town: Weinsteins In Love

http://www.latimes.com/HOME/BUSINESS/COTOWN/t000115325.html

The LA Times gives us the low down on "Shakespere in Love" and how Harvey Weinstein, a man who truely does have it all, just wants to be loved.

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LA Times - Technology: Size Really Matters

http://www.latimes.com/HOME/BUSINESS/t000118402.html

Yes, you do care (in answer to your question about why did I throw in a tech story in a screenwriting newsletter). The entertainment industry (filmmakers in particular) is responsible for pushing internet technology in one direction -- full screen, 30 frame per second streaming video. The impact this technology will have on writers is simple -- more need for good material.

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CNN: Hollywood Does $7 Billion in 98

http://cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9812/27/year.end.movies/index.html

When you think about the fact that $1 billion is 1,000 $1 million, it's pretty obvious that at $7 Bil, Hollywood had one heck of a year.

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