HOLLYWOODSCRIPT.COM NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the latest edition of Hollywoodscript.com Newsletter which is published by script consultants Craig Kellem, Judy Kellem (http://www.hollywoodscript.com)
THIS NEWSLETTER IS NEVER SPAM.
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The purpose of this newsletter is to share information, ideas etc. concerning the fascinating (and elusive) world of screenwriting.
MADE IT!
We're proud to have been informed that one of our contest winning scripts has gone the distance and has been made. It's our THIRD movie in the last 12 months! The other two were "O" and "the Amati Girls." (There's another that we'll soon announce). Here's the note we received regarding "CREEK MAN." Congrats to Richard Squires!
Dear Craig,
Just thought you'd like to know that my screenplay CREEK MAN, which won your contest last December, has just completed principal photography on location in Virginia, with Roger Rees and Mary McDonnell in the lead roles. We had a great shoot, made every scene and even added a few. Going into post-production right away. Still examining the field for distribution. We're hoping that the present climate will favor principled works like this. Your consultation on the script was very useful to me in getting the project off the ground.
Cheers,
Richard
WINNER!! Our latest contest winner is NYC's Lorraine Duffy Merkl for her fine script, DOUBLE OR NOTHING. Info about it will soon be on the site. (and the process of introducing it to Hollywood will be underway).
WIP
A reminder that our new service (for writers GETTING STARTED or need help with WORKS IN PROGRESS (WIP) is up and running. This is tailored for writers who want deep help EARLY in the writing process or BEFORE the script is even started. . . Check it out--http://www.hollywoodscript.com/WIP.html
GETTING STARTED
By Craig Kellem
"I've got an idea, how can I get started WRITING?" We're asked this question on a daily basis. More often than not, there's a subtext to that question, a sense of an oncoming gold rush. The writer woke up in the morning with a million-dollar idea and must get ready to write the script before lunch . . . if possible. One foot is already out the door and headed for Hollywood.
That's of course an exaggeration but there's real truth to it. Getting the idea is, of course, the place to start but a long courtship with your notion has only just begun. You need to dance with the idea, often for quite some time, before commencing to the next stage. And the next stage is NOT writing.
Instead it may be wise to first determine this: IS YOUR IDEA TRULY A MOVIE?
Make sure your answer is yes, and that it's not just a one note joke; a desperate venture to get rich; a deliberate imitation; or a passion that could be fully satisfied in a hot scene or two but would never hold up over an entire script.
Think you have that aspect covered? Consider this.
There are many otherwise quite capable writers out there who come up with a high concept "gem" and run through the barn with it, counting their money, without realizing that the fully developed idea could barely fill a four minute slug on SNL. They work their hearts out to no avail.
Movies are long. They have breadth. Your idea needs to have dimension in order to fly. It needs to teem with opportunity: eventful scenes, twists and turns, and character magic.
Another question is this: How much do YOU like the idea? Be honest! Does it really come from the heart? Or, is it a marketing scheme? Or the remnant of your last cocktail or raucous outing with your buds?
Writing a screenplay is a big investment. So why not commit to something that fascinates and thrills you, something that you want to spend the better part of a year bouncing around?
Initially, this may be hard to determine. But it's worth giving yourself the time to live with the notion and see which way the wind blows. Let it gestate and grow. Ideas take on a life of their own. . . or not. Study its behavior. Leading you one way or the other.
Now, focus in on what's popping up in your mind. Does your idea suggest a scene or two? Write them down. Put them on index cards randomly, no need to be organized...yet. Let your mind wander. Get it all down on paper without restrictions. Thinking about a characters? Jot down the hot licks about them remembering that the main ingredient is YOUR emotional connection with them. Forget the mundane--stick with your creative electricity. Only collect the stuff that's a ten on the Richter scale of your heart.
Now, are you beginning to get a sense of the trajectory of your film? A rough sense of how your idea sets up, then develops. You may even get a sense of how your story resolves? Good! Then you'll have the rough parameters of Acts 1, 2 and 3 (Act 1, the set up; Act 2, tell the story; Act 3, resolve it). The form will be manifesting.
As you bubble and percolate, AVOID the temptation to write at all costs! Instead, let the DESIRE to write build up as you dabble. Let your energy be expressed in the proliferation of creative nuggets randomly thrown on a page or on index cards.
Also, resist the temptation to start marketing your idea to Hollywood. C'mon, you don't need an agent yet. Nor do you need a query letter. The impulse that Hollywood must be alerted must be muted. You must remain in the role of the mad scientist mixing his/her elixir and letting it brew.
It takes time to do this right. Instant gratification is your solemn enemy right now.
In creating pieces of the puzzle, try to work from the inside out. So many writers, in their zeal to get it done, reach for hare-brained filler and contrivances when great ideas are only a heartbeat away. They are found in your mind and soul but they must be gently accessed and cultivated.
Look into your heart.
My associate Judy (Kellem) says this--"there is a marked, qualitative disparity between stories and images born from real life experience and those made from pure intellectual invention. Life is rife with evocative moments, large and small, which create powerful feelings. Insights. Unique situations."
Wait for them. Build them slowly. Give them life.
Sooner or later you will catch a creative wave and you'll be writing on the walls. Things will start to go quickly now. Pieces begin to fit in. Keep prepping. The devil's in the details. Thicken your offensive.
Start writing only when it's ready--full and brimming with promise and preparedness.
GETTING STARTED is more about slow growth, invention and discovery of your idea, rather than a rush to put it all together and get it out there.
Have faith. Don't rush. "It will be there when you get there."
WE ASKED A HONCO FROM FINAL DRAFT WHY WE SHOULD RECOMMEND HIS SOFTWARE--
HIS RESPONSE,
"Most writers who are using Word are essentially formatting with a program that is not geared towards screenplays at all. When you open a new document. Word treats it the same way as it would a resume, a letter, a novel or a term paper. With Final Draft all the formatting rules for writing screenplays are built in and are handled automatically as you write. So when you're done typing, you're really done and the file will look completely professional and ready for submission."
Makes sense to me!
OH MY GOD, SOMEONE ELSE HAS MADE MY MOVIE!
We often receive email from worried writers who have just finished a script only to discover that their idea is "out there." This can produce terrible anxiety. Here's our conventional wisdom on that issue.
FEAR OF SIMILARITY
1. After all is said and done, they usually aren't all that similar.
2. If the other "guy's" movie stinks it will disappear.
3. If the other movie is a gem, people will want to "imitate" it thus creating a possible market for you
4. If both projects are very much alike and theirs is getting a lot of heat, lay low for a while--it will soon be off the radar screen.
FEAR NOT, as Judy (Kellem) often says, "we're all really telling the same stories over and over and over again..we just have our own voice to bring to the table!!" The proof is in the pudding: People haven't stopped being fascinated and attracted to art, over all these centuries in which we've been cranking out numerous versions of the same basic stories: love, madness, war, pain, fear of god, faith.... It's the way of the world. Stories can look the same but each one is in fact delightfully different and unique in and of itself. Even in the field of translation this is true. No two are ever the same and non will ever fully match what the original author did in the native tongue. So I encourage you to silence those wheels and just write your screenplay that is so inherently your own, so reflective of your own individual spin on things. You will find an audience that loves your particular take and will consider it absolutely singular amidst all the rest.
SCRIPTAPALOOZA SCREENWRITING COMPETITION
CALL FOR ENTRIES for the 4th Annual Scriptapalooza Screenwriting Competition.
First prize is $10,000 and screenwriting software for the 3 winners, 10 runners up and 17 finalists. All thirteen winners will be considered by Scriptapalooza$E2Äôs outstanding participants which include AMG, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Film Colony, Evolution, Phoenix Pictures and many more. Sponsors include Screenplay Systems, The Writer's Store and Hollywood.com. The upcoming deadline is March 1, 2002. All entries must be postmarked no later than the Final deadline April 15, 2002. For further information or an application please visit www.scriptapalooza.com or call 323.654.5809.
A PLUG FOR SKIP
Having made a continuous living for over a decade for his writing in books, film, magazines, radio, television and theater, Skip Press thought he might be somebody when he won a Silver Medal at the NY International Film Festival and got into some Who's Who books. Life in Hollywood quickly popped that balloon, and continues to do so. Press has written about about his comeuppances in three editions of his Writer's Guide to Hollywood Producers, Directors and Screenwriting Agents (Prima), which has caused aspiring screenwriters around the world to think he's somebody, for at least a chapter or two.
WE LOVE THESE KIND OF LETTERS
Dear Craig-
Thanks for the (second) consultancy! The first one I received after I had sent out my script to a whole bunch of agents and producers only to find out that their opinions were echoed by your 'on-the-money' feedback. This time I was wiser and sent my new script to you first. I was initially skeptical of the 'audio-tape' method but now I see it's a great system. Accompanied by the telephone call, the tape is a much more personal feedback system. Especially valuable for the comedy genre (my second script). I like the way that you offer very valuable micro notes on the tape, and you discuss macro problems on the call. The great thing about listening to the tape and your consultancy style is that you offer the feedback in 'real-time' and you ALSO tell me consistently throughout the tape which scenes/lines you particularly LIKED rather than just delivering a litany of notes. This helped a lot because sometimes you would tell me that a certain line was funny which I wasn't so sure about myself. It also helped to actually hear you laughing as you gave your comment on certain lines proving that the response was real. Thanks again for the accurate and yet encouraging feedback. I look forward to sending you my next script. best regards, Steve (a real person I swear)
I FOUND THIS IN MY EMAIL--DON'T KNOW THIS CHAP BUT IT SOUNDS INTERESTING
To whom it may concern,
I am looking for a script to produce, I would like to find a story that can be produced for $2M or under. I have many possibilities for financing, ranging from a few business associates of mine, a relationship I have with a studio executive or even self financing. If you could help, please email me at efeig@pacbell.net.
Thank you
Eran Feig
WRITERS ARE SOMETIMES SHY ABOUT SENDING THEIR SCRIPTS BECAUSE OF A FEAR THAT THEIR CONFIDENTIALITY WON'T BE RESPECTED.
Here's my response to that concern.
TOP REASON WHY I'LL NEVER TELL
It doesn't feel good to be dishonest.
You may shoot me if I squeal.
You could sue me and then I'd be poor.
I'm self obsessed and would rather talk about myself .
It's fun to be straight with folks.
I'm a pro and I know better.
TRUTH IN HUMOR!
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If you want to find out more about Hollywoodscript.com and the work we do with screenwriters and their scripts, please
visit our site at http://www.hollywoodscript.com
Copyright HSCL 2002, all rights reserved.
NY Screenwriter article used via their permission.
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