DIY Spotlight: Writer/Director Jon Hart, AMERICAN SWING

How the writer/co-director of AMERICAN SWING took the bull by the horns and made the damn movie himself!

by Jim Cirile

I’ve never actually met Jon Hart, but I’ve known him seems like forever. It all started with a comedy script he cowrote with my friend, comedian Johnny Lampert, called BEER MAN. A funny and charming screenplay about a washed-up baseball pitcher forced to sell stadium suds who finally gets his mojo back, the script made the rounds in Hollywood, landed those guys a manager and then… well... (crickets chirp.) Yet another one of those “Man, this seems like a natural -– I can’t believe it didn’t sell” stories.

A few years later, I consulted on a fascinating script Jon had written about the rise and fall of the famous ‘70s NYC sex club Plato’s Retreat. This thing had ‘tough sell’ written all over it, but it was also a great piece of writing and research. Whatever happened to that project is an interesting tale. Rather than let it turn into just another script collecting dust on his shelf, Hart decided to DIY. “American Swing” was reborn in spectacular style -- as a documentary. The film went on to land theatrical distribution, stellar reviews in national publications and even screened at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival. We asked Mr. Hart about how this “no-holds-barred exploration of the meaning of sex” (“The Hollywood Reporter”) came about.

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Jim Cirile: Jon, tell us a bit about yourself and your writing background.

Jon Hart: I started off as a journalist, writing for newspapers and magazines. Eventually, I branched out to other genres - screenplays, among others.

JC: I first became aware of you when you and Johnny Lampert were sending out BEER MAN about ten years ago. So whatever happened with that?

JH: Thanks for reminding me on the lengthy timeline. Anyway, I’m still fine-tuning it, talking it up. It’s my Mona Lisa, my piece de resistance. Meanwhile, Lampert has sworn off screenwriting, so we’ve gone our separate ways as far as writing together – but we’re still friends. We’re like the guys from Wham – except not as pretty.

JC: I dunno, have you seen George Michael lately? Then later I read a cool and well-researched script you wrote which was a true story about the founding of famous sex den Plato's Retreat in 1970s NYC. How did you get started on that one and what was your in to the subject matter?

JH: Back in the day, I was working on a newspaper article on cab drivers and I got a lead that the owner of Plato’s, Larry Levenson, was (now working as) a hack. Larry was a rich, complex character. He wanted me to tell his story, and I wanted to tell it. After months of interviews, my profile on Levenson was published in the “Village Voice.” I always believed that the Plato’s story – an untold story – deserved a larger venue though, so I wrote a screenplay... which was basically ignored. You know the drill. As far as rights, I got permission from the individuals involved.

JC: Basically ignored as in...

JH: I was given the Heisman by many low-level, unworthy development people. And I use the word ‘development’ generously.

JC: I hear you, my brother. How/why did you decide to take the Plato's material and DIY as a documentary? And what were the challenges of making it?

JH: Early on, I started collecting archival material on Plato’s. When the screenplay wasn’t able to generate interest, I decided to put my years of research and treasure trove of material to use. It seemed like the logical step.

JC: And so the narrative screenplay morphed into the documentary “American Swing.” Any great (or harrowing) stories from the making of the movie?

JH: The major obstacle was - big surprise – financing. Fortunately, my co-director, Matthew Kaufman, is a real pro in that area. We were introduced through a mutual friend. I'm not a great networker, but the story was so strong that I didn't have to be. When we started, we did not know how much money we needed. We created the trailer and beat the bushes, working the phones. No secret. Nothing fancy. As far as financing, we took what was offered and went from there. One way or another, this documentary was going to get made. That was the attitude. People are more apt to get on a bandwagon that is moving forward rather than an idle idea. OK, I'll get off my soapbox now.

JC: OK, you finish the film — what do you do with it? How did you get Magnolia to come aboard to distribute? And how did you get it into Toronto?

JH: At the beginning, we made a six-minute trailer and got some interest from HDNet Films (billionaire Mark Cuban’s company), which was affiliated with Magnolia Films. It was a matter of getting to the right people at the right time. You've heard it before – but that's the truth. As far as Toronto, we submitted like everyone else – and prayed – a lot.

JC: The film got great reviews including an "A-" from "Entertainment Weekly." That’s amazing! Tell us a bit about the theatrical run.

JH: We had three glorious weeks at the Quad in New York City, one week at the Sunset Five in West Hollywood. Things went exponentially better in New York. But that’s understandable, as Plato’s has much more cache on the east coast. Little known fact, Plato's opened a franchise in LA in the late ‘70s. After a few months, it closed. New York and LA: two different animals.

"American Swing" is a rags to riches to rags story. When I met him, Levenson was driving a cab. Ten years earlier, Levenson owned one of the hottest, most insane clubs in the world. His journey was very compelling - funny and sad. I found Levenson to be extremely likable. What's it like to have the world by the balls and lose it all? As far as I was concerned, Levenson's tale had to be told. Sadly, Levenson passed away in 1999 following quadruple bypass surgery. He would have enjoyed the documentary.

JC: Where can folks get a copy of “American Swing”?

JH: It’s available on On Demand and Amazon. It’s also available at DVD outlets, including Netflix. If someone wants to catch “American Swing,” it’s right at your fingertips.

JC: Thanks, man. What's next for you? Any final words of encouragement/advice to our readers who may also get fed up with pursuing the spec script game and seize the means of production?

JH: I’m leaning towards fiction – but you never know. I’ve written a few screenplays. You know how that is. I very well might be calling on Coverage Ink. for a quick tune-up. As far as advice, disregard all advice. Follow your heart and tell the story that you have to tell. As far as leisure, hey, Lampert just got a boat. He must be doing something right. Anyway, I hope to spend some time on it. During which, I'll definitely harangue him about Beer Man – how he's missing out on the next big screenplay. Lampert – great guy.

Check out the official “American Swing” website HERE.

WOTS QUARTERFINALS SO FAR (seriously!)

Writers on the Storm is not even over, but we already have some quarterfinalists. How can this be so?, you might ask. Allow us to explain!

Here's how it works. Anyone who submits their scripts to Coverage, Ink for analysis is automatically entered in the contest. Entries submitted directly to the contest (at www.writerstorm.com or www.withoutabox.com) are judged after the contest’s final deadline (8/10). But scripts sent in to CI for analysis get judged in advance – so if you score a ‘consider with reservations’ or better for script (roughly top 10%), you lock in quarterfinalist status early on. You can then let it ride, or polish it up and resubmit, theoretically bettering your odds.

Thus we now have five quarterfinalists in the running for the $28,500 cash and prizes!

Presenting our rockin’ quarterfinalists thus far:

The Enginist by Tim McGrath
Macau Twilight by Tony Shyu
Nightmare in the Ardennes by Walt Malinowski
Shades of Grey by Michael Morra
Svengali Effect by Jeremy Shipp

Great work, guys! (Hey, all men so far? What gives? Come on, ladies!)

Join the Writers on the Storm Facebook group right HERE.

Writers on the Storm update - a note from Portia

Greetings, Stormies!

We’re now in month two of our Writers on the Storm screenwriting competition, which means… the deluge is upon us! As the submissions start to pour in, so do the questions. Is my script going to be disqualified if it's got a few typos? Can I include the research I did for my historical epic for reference? Am I going to lose just because I'm a guy and I wrote a RomCom? The answers, Of Course, are Nah, Please Don't, and, Uh...What? ;)

I wanted to take a moment to discuss one of my favorite — and least favorite — types of scripts — Romantic Comedies. Let me explain. Often maligned, tragically misunderstood, this genre is the warm and fuzzy cockroach of the screenwriting world – it's the genre that cannot be killed. No matter what the state of the industry, RomComs persist, adapting to their environment, but never disappearing entirely. But they are deceptively difficult to write – how hard could it be to come up with a twist on "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back?" Show of hands, how many of you have stared down your RomCom and wanted to hurl the laptop out the window? See, the main problem is that the audience KNOWS everything. Y’all have SEEN everything – cute and quirky guy with self-esteem issues or self-confident jerk with a good heart who needs to be taken down a peg meets bohemian artsy chick or tough-as-nails businessgal who really only needs to be loved. Insert infidelity or misunderstanding, add a meet/cute, and stir.

So what's a RomCom writer in search of originality to do? How do you mix it up enough to make it different without losing the audience?

A) Adjust the focus. More often we see the love story taking a backseat to the protag's journey - SEX AND THE CITY is far more about the women's friendship than it is about their relationships; HIGH FIDELITY is about John Cusack learning how to grow up, but there are still romantic hijinks throughout the story.

B) Change the audience. Judd Apatow came along and upended everyone’s notion of what the genre should be with The 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP. There's no reason a great Romantic Comedy has to be something girls have to drag their boyfriends to. There's no reason men can't write a funny, heartfelt love story from their perspective and have it appeal to a wide audience of men and women. In fact, what’s in demand right now are what’s called ‘bromances’— AKA male-driven romantic comedies!

So don't be afraid to try new things with your RomCom! Be creative! Try new angles and settings, play with the genre. The readers, and ultimately the audience, will appreciate it. Sad to say but the old paradigms — the SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLES, etc. — just aren’t going to fly anymore. I know, Ilove those movies, too. It’s just, if it seems like a Meg Ryan movie, well, no offense to Ms. Ryan, but that is no longer what the town wants.

And remember, we’ve only got a little more than 6 weeks till our regular deadline! I expect y’all to bring the greatness. Everyone here at Writers on the Storm, we are hungry to find great scripts, we really are, one that gets us really excited, makes us want to jump up and go, yeah! I got a live one here! So bring it, y’all!

Smoochies!

--Portia

Writers on the Storm 4
Regular deadline: 7/27
$10,000 Grand Prize
Over $28,500 total prizes - 140 companies - - Producer meetings - top ten finish in the money - top 50 receive prizes - all entries receive feedback!
Enter online right HERE!

Michael Lent's Belly of the Beast - INDIEWOOD

Boy, do we miss Michael Lent's Belly of the Beast column, which ran in "Creative Screenwriting" for years until 2007. We asked Michael if he could bang one out for us for old time's sake... and he did! Enjoy, folks!

Oh, and if you haven't checked out Lent's great BREAKFAST WITH SHARKS, do so! This is the only book on screenwriting that tells you how to navigate the dangerous shoals of Hollywood for those serious about making screenwriting a career. Highly recommended by Coverage, Ink.

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WELCOME TO INDIEWOOD

Have the Career You Want Right Now

Recently, I received an industry email with a headline reading “Get it together. Start fresh!”

I don’t want a fresh start. I don’t want, um, “Change.”

Despite all of the Skittles and nitro java-fueled resolutions we make periodically, all that reorganization of the mental deck chairs can leave a writer as creatively fallow as the Siege of Leningrad. After seminars and pitch fests, we feel tremendous pressure to reinvent ourselves, to cast out the old in favor of the new. Often the problem goes beyond our typical writers’ malaise and lies in trying to make too many “jump to light speed,” across-the-board changes at once. A “hot” new spec written in a new style with a new partner intended for a new agent is a few too many quantum leaps, sure to slam us into the side of a high-rise building a few months from now. Much like the old analogy of the butterfly flapping its wings in China, I believe that a few carefully crafted micro-adjustments will reap the more dramatic effect. When our writing and business sense is 95% there, it’s that last 5% that can make all the difference in creating the right access, opportunity and result. In other words, you may be closer to the gold ring than you think. The right simple change can have a profound impact RIGHT NOW. Proof of this is all around us. In fact, I owe my career as a working writer/producer to this simple principle.

Put a group of writers together for an extended period of time and invariably one will break out of the pack. Some of the others will lament their sour grapes that “there’s virtually no difference between that writer and me. I’m just as talented as he/she.” And they are right. The distinction is infinitesimal. Four years into my foray to be a professional writer, I was subsisting on $500 indie prodco options, big budget specs that didn’t quite sell and studio assignments that I didn’t quite get. All of my friends were basically in the same boat. Then I decided to make one small adjustment: I would stop waiting for career validation from the Joel Silvers of the world and immediately be the writer I wanted to be with the career I wanted to have. That was the one change. To repeat, I would stop waiting and start treating my work with the respect it deserved.

Immediately, I slew those internal dragons that ostensibly guarded my self-esteem but in fact roared at me at all hours of the night with enough self-doubt to keep me from changing the state of my career. While I realized that some self-doubt can be a good motivator, from that point on, nothing was out of my league. And yet, the league that I was already in was chockablock with opportunity. So the gritty little $500 options and assignments I managed to scrape together were no longer depressing stop gaps, or as one colleague referred to them, “cabana boy gigs.” Instead they were legitimate opportunities to lock down future relationships. For the next one that came my way, I sought out an entertainment accountant, as well as a top-rated attorney who charged $250 just to look over the deal memo. That meant the lawyer got half of my contract. Meanwhile, the accountant charged me three times what H & R Block did to do my taxes. Yikes! But fine. The accountant soon had me form a corporation that got most of my money back including her fees. And the lawyer proceeded to put a couple of key protections into the deal memo - language that more than paid for itself in terms of peace of mind. Plus, our professional relationship was off and running.

Indiewood is a state of mind. It means that just like a studio production company, you have a slate of projects in various stages of development. Typically, the average prodco might have acquired pitches, specs, books to adapt, video games and comic books. They might also have their hands in webisode productions. Likewise, in the past two three years I have been involved in the following: producing a horror film; co-producing a documentary; writer on two video games; co-ghost writing a sci-fi novel; developing television and webisode series, writer/producer on 3 graphic novels, author of two books. I also write spec scripts; however, they are generally linked with compatible material like graphic novels. I’ve also written and produced three animated short films or trailers used in support of other projects. Sounds like a lot but isn’t much different than doing rewrite after rewrite on the same two or three spec screenplays in the same period. Of course, all of the above means learning about things beyond writing. It means actually being in production, working actors, directors, composers, animators, effects people, etc, all the while expanding my skill set, which is not a bad thing in a down economy. And when the budget doesn’t allow for hiring some of those people, it means being resourceful or sometimes doing it yourself. Above all else, Indiewood means lean and mean and taking chances. Many of my projects were produced for pennies on the dollar. Remember that anything worth doing involves a certain amount of risk. Without risk there is no reward. Recently, I sold a pitch to the publishing division of Disney. Within weeks it meant that I was on a plane headed for the Arctic Circle as part of my research. Talk about holy friggin’ wow!

Of course, I still write specs and pitch on assignments, but I find that I don’t have time to hold my breath waiting to see what happens. I move on and it’s on them to catch up. The balance of power has shifted. All too often the Bill Clinton adage of “Wrong & Strong will always beat Weak & Right” applies to us writers and our Gilliganesque “L’il Buddy” status in this hazy, crazy movie business. Having a team behind me felt different, better than having gel inserts in my boxer briefs, and more like having a special key to a suitcase of nitroglycerin. I also noticed that I was more confident and less inclined to be “Weak & Right” in meetings with “all-powerful” producers. Suspect personal hygiene was no longer my biggest private fear. Later, I even felt confident enough to assume the co-producer reigns on a feature film project when the opportunity came. But before that, I landed a studio assignment at Miramax - a tough place I’d already tried to crack a couple of times earlier.


Be the writer you want to be right now.

Lots of times we think the next level is about someone else having more resources or more access. Yet there are plenty of people bopping around this planet, with incredible access who can’t make a go of it. They seem to have it all and don’t do anything with it. Here in Hollywood, it’s common to come across the children of legendary actors, directors or producers. The personal legacy of many of these privileged progeny is little more than some compromising photos taken outside of the Viper Room.

We have to carry ourselves as the writer we aspire to be BEFORE we put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, before we pick up that phone to set up our meeting. One time a producer who was stressing the importance of execution said to me, “Good ideas are like assholes, everybody’s got at least one.” Very profound. But I don’t agree with that idea, or even the idea that thoughts are in easy, limitless supply. Thoughts aren’t free in the sense that they take up space in the brain. We can only hold onto so many. Hence the invention of paper and post-it notes. Ideally, we want our brain filled with stuff pertaining to that amazing new project. Fine, but all too often our brain is filled with less inspirational matters like, “If I don’t sell this timely blockbuster on the dangers of acid reflux, how will I afford to be buried in a paupers’ grave?” or less charitable thoughts about how that aforementioned “friggin’ no-talent” colleague might be hit by a Mr. Tasty Ice Cream truck and thus, restore some sense of order in the Cosmos. Cynicism is a very dubious currency that’s only honored in the black markets of a tortured psyche.

Work on personal projects that are worthy of the writer you see yourself becoming.

We start our process of Indiewood and butterfly effects right now by truly believing we are gifted writers with limitless capabilities. Here those of us steeped in the Power of Negative Thought will say, “Hey, Mental Lental! None of that gifted shmifted stuff matters unless you’ve actually written a brilliant script.” Let me say this: to date I’ve been a judge of eight script and film competitions. For one contest alone I once read 135 scripts. One thing I noticed is that a disproportionate number of those screenplays featured protracted shootouts in warehouses. Seven utilized this one specific tired convention that seemed to go on and on. It occurred to me that if those writers truly believed they were gifted, would they really write about vampire rock bands or drug deals [with vampires] in warehouses gone bad? Or would they risk sharing just a little more insight with their audience? Wouldn’t they feel free to TRULY express themselves and trust their craft to deliver something no one had ever quite put on paper before? At the very least, a new way into Hitchcock or a screwball comedy? As a writing instructor I used to ask students to name their five favorite films. Often a student who was writing Count Chocula: The Movie would proclaim his favorite film of all time to be The Godfather. That’s a disconnect of confidence and ambition.

The well-known Sly Stallone story is apt here. As an actor, he was once so destitute that he reduced to doing porn and I’m pretty sure it was a non-speaking part. Yet, he had this one script that he truly believed in. Even when Stallone was offered $300,000 (big, big money back in the ‘70s) to sell the Rocky script and walk away from starring in it, his belief in himself as both writer AND actor was so strong, he turned down the money. The rest is history. Unfortunately, that history includes Spy Kids 3-D, Driven and Stop! Or Mom Will Shoot, as well as other films that may have included warehouse scenes, but that’s a different story. Bad things like Rocky V, or worse, or losing the opportunity to write Rocky V happen to us screenwriters all the time. But they don’t happen ALL of the time. Instead, these kind of Rocky (I) stories occur every day, all around us. That’s what we need to focus on instead of concern over losing a few heat shield tiles from one’s ego.

I realize that the idea of butterfly wings is a bit conceptual. Many writers have more immediate concerns like:

How do we land a meeting?
How do we make sure that it’s a good meeting?
How do we cement our reputation as a talented writer AND walk away with a deal?
How do we earn a consistent and good living with this craft, this hobby, this thing we love so much?

My book Breakfast with Sharks is filled with the answers to these game plan, taking action and taking chances sorts of questions. If it wasn’t, legendary studio head Mike Medavoy wouldn’t have written the Foreword. But going beyond A is to B is to C specifics, what we’re really talking about is turning our desire into our reality. What we’re talking about is going to the next level in our careers. We see it every day happening for others so we know it’s possible. And we’re right. It is our turn. And the good news is that we may be one small change away.

Michael Lent is currently writing 'On Thin Ice' for Disney. He is the author of the industry bestselling book, “Breakfast with Sharks” published by Random House. He has produced the feature films 'Hard Scrambled,' 'Witches’ Night' and 'Naked in America.' He wrote 'Prey: Origin of the Species,' published by Marvel Comics. He was a writer on the Xbox 360 game 'Vigilante 8: Arcade' released in 2008. As a screenwriter, he has sold, optioned or been assigned to ten feature film projects including 'The Hellseeker' for Miramax Studios.

Coverage Ink/Writers Boot Camp Mini Camp 6/23

Hey folks,

We're doing a little mini camp with Writers Boot Camp on Tuesday 6/23 (note: rescheduled from the original date of Weds 6/10) at the WBC campus in Santa Monica, CA. Mini Camp begins at 7:30 PM and runs for 90 minutes and is FREE! Writers Boot Camp founder Jeff Gordon will personally teach the class, which will basically cram about a ton and a half worth of tools and techniques and tips into two short hours.

To RSVP for this tres-cool FREE! event, just e-mail info@coverageink.com and put WBC! in the subject line, and we'll put you on the list. I'll be there, too, along with a couple of folks from the CI team, and we'll hang out afterwards to chat and answer questions. The price is right, so come on down and be a part of a great night of learning.

--Jim Cirile

WRITERS BOOT CAMP
L.A. Headquarters
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Ave., Bldg. I
Santa Monica, CA 90404
800.800.1733

SAVING MORE CATS THAN THE SPCA

The Blake Snyder Interview

By Jim Cirile

The first place I ever heard of Blake Snyder was in the UCLA Professional Program. Teacher Kris Young was explaining the “pet the dog” concept, and noted with some amusement that this was interchangeable with “save the cat,” and indeed there was a new book out about that very subject. And I thought, what the hell is he talking about? Turns out ‘pet the dog’ and ‘save the cat’ both refer to a scene early on in a screenplay where the protagonist does something unexpectedly selfless. It’s a technique used in many movies to make the audience like the hero -- especially if said hero is a criminal or exhibiting some unlikable behavior they are going to need to arc out of later on.

The next thing I thought was, Oh, joy, another book on screenwriting. Yawn. Some time later I saw the book at my local bookopolis and browsed it… for, like, an hour. There’s something about its elegant simplicity that just grabs you. I don’t know how to better describe it. I mean, I’ve read an awful lot of books on screenwriting and am as jaded as they come. But “Save the Cat!” is a grabber. Blake Snyder knows his stuff and conveys it in an incredibly effective, punchy way that just makes you go, of course! NOW I get it!

Snyder has sold big specs (“Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot”) and had big studio movies produced. He knows what the town wants. But his passion, amazingly enough, is imparting his secrets unto the likes of us. How cool is that? He now has two “Save the Cat!” books out with a third on the way, and his Save the Cat! software is an indispensable tool that forces you to structure your script properly. Oh, and he does seminars, too. Visit him online at blakesnyder.com.

Jim Cirile: Great to talk to you, Blake. Can you tell everyone a little about your background?

Blake Snyder: I’m third generation film business. My uncle was a publicist for RKO, and my dad was a TV producer for children’s television. He did shows like “Roger Ramjet” and “Big Blue Marble.”

JC: Wow, “Big Blue Marble”! PBS. I still remember the theme song.

BS: Oh, cool. Yeah, it was a beautiful show. So I grew up in the business, and when I graduated from college, I wanted to become a screenwriter. I came to Los Angeles and did all the jobs we do -- you know, assistant on sitcoms, I was a page at NBC and such.

JC: Kenneth the page! Where were you living before LA?

BS: I graduated from Georgetown with an English degree.

JC: Were you doing creative writing, short stories in school?

BS: Absolutely. I was editor of the high school newspaper and worked on the college paper and such. I was always interested in writing. I just happen to hit it at a time here in Los Angeles when the spec screenplay was king.

JC: So is this the early ‘90s, mid ‘90s we’re talking?

BS: Yes. I had good success. I worked with a cowriter named Colby Carr. We sold a script called “Blank Check,” then went on to sell a lot of screenplays and still do that actively. Recently,. I wrote one a couple of years ago called “Granny,” which is a slasher movie (laughs.) She kills teenagers who violate the rules of etiquette.

JC: As well she should!

BS: (laughs) And then another script called “Bones,” which is a nice family film. It’s about a boy and his ghost dog named Bones.

JC: Aw. I love that.

BS: But my real passion is helping other writers. I like to think of myself as a good screenwriter, but I think what I’m really good at is teaching. I really have a passion for it, and that’s what I discovered writing “Save the Cat!” I wrote it in 2003. It was published in 2005, and it was just an immediate kind of viral thing. It just took off.

JC: Okay, so let’s talk a little bit about the genesis of “Save the Cat!” Even in 2003, there were plenty of screenwriting books out there. What made you think you could stand out from the pack?

BS: I think it’s because of my experience in entertainment and in film. What really struck me about all the books that were out there was that they were excellent -- you could learn from all of those books. I love them all. But what was lacking to me was kind of an inside baseball approach. What are they really looking for, and what is this really about? I’ve been to many courses for screenwriting where they say, “Follow your muse.” Well… maybe. (laughs) A screenplay is a blueprint for further action. It is not in and of itself a final product. You’re going to have to attract somebody to partner up with you in some sense to go make that *proposal* a reality. So that’s what my angle was.


“Save the cat” and all the terms I use are just kind of slangy shorthand me and my friends use to get to the point of, what’s wrong with the script? What’s wrong with the idea? What’s wrong with the structure? It’s practical to me -- like, here’s something you can do *today.* The courses I took and the books I read, they were interesting, but they didn’t really give me a course of action. I think one of the best things about the book is the Blake Snyder beat sheet. It’s like fifteen beats -- just fill in those blanks.

JC: It’s a template for how movies are actually structured and what you will typically find in most movies. You can spend months plowing through “Story” and at the end of it have no idea what to do. What are the studios actually looking for? This is it, laid out in very concise, easy-to-understand format -- do this, this and this. I’ve never seen it all coalesce like that before.

BS: Thank you very much. That’s a real compliment. That’s what I was trying to do. I think story is story. We can go back to the (ancient) Greeks and find these same principles. But for me, a busy guy trying to figure out how to write a screenplay, I want to know, what do I do now? I tried to make it easy to read and fun and keep it light. I’m very appreciative of all the experiences I’ve had and was very ready to give back to others but also to have fun. I think many screenwriting courses are, “this is for only a privileged few of you who understand these principles.” No, let’s just jump in and play. You may sell your screenplay, you may not, but you’ll certainly understand how these principles work and have more fun doing it this way, I think.

JC: Give us a heads-up on what attending one of your seminars is like.

BS: It’s the most fun I have all week. It’s two days, Saturday and Sunday. The first class we call the Beats Weekend. A maximum of 12 writers come in to the room. They each have two or three movie ideas. We talk about pitching and loglines on Saturday morning, and we just jump in and beat out the story. By the end of the weekend, each writer stands in front of the group and pitches a 15-beat outline of their story. It’s just remarkable what happens in there.

As an objective listener to a pitch, I have no emotional involvement. I can hear the flaws. I’m not going to get you on them in a critical way, but I’ll say, here’s something I think you’re missing, or here’s a title suggestion or here’s a theme suggestion. That kind of peer-to-peer review is what we use in our workshops, and it’s just amazing. That’s the Beats Weekend. Then the next one, what we call the Board, is for six writers only. We take the 15 beats and we work out the 40 scenes that they’ll need to actually write the script. The sales that have come out of that workshop, I’ll talk about some of those in book three. And then for free after the class, we have Save the Cat! writers groups all over the world. If I go into a town -- Vancouver, Barcelona, London, give a workshop, and then someone volunteers to lead that writing group. Those writers then continue to meet and work on their stories using these tools. It’s empowering stuff.

JC: Talk a bit about the software.

BS: In the book, I talk about “the Board,” the four roads of Act 1, Act 2 and Act 3, Act 2 being twice as long as the other two acts and the layout of how all that works. It’s the bulletin board method, but it’s never been codified or explained in a software program like this.

JC: And it reminds you every step of the way through the process of where this material should be according to your methods, and it’s all very logical. It doesn’t let you just slap some random material anywhere into the script. It’s sort of like an intelligent, interactive bulletin board. I think it’s important to note that it holds your hand through the whole process.

BS: I appreciate that. That’s exactly right. The book and the software are the same in the sense that, “Proceed no further until you have the logline. Proceed no further until you have these beats or until these beats are arranged the right way.”

JC: I recommend “Save the Cat!” to our clients all the time. 99% of them are ecstatic and become STC! advocates themselves. But occasionally I hear, “This is not the kind of movie I want to write,” or “this is too limiting to me,” or “I’m much more of an indie guy than this.” My response is always that this paradigm is equally applicable to studio and most indie movies. If you want to do something experimental, then yeah, maybe it’s not for you. I think it’s a lot more universal than some people might give it credit for, if you really understand the way movies are made.

BS: Thank you for that, and it’s because you’re a professional who knows that this is the way the world works. This is one reason I wrote book two, “Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies.” In there I’ve included many indies that use the very same beats that I’m talking about here. The Save the Cat! method can kind be like cold water splashed on people who are kind of living in a dream world. (laughs) I think the pushback from people is because they’ve been awakened, and they don’t like it. They’d rather hit the snooze button and keep on dreaming. I’m not saying necessarily that they’re misleading themselves, and I’m not trying to squash their creativity. I’m just trying to get them to have success with it. The method is not a straitjacket or formula -- I hate the word “formula.” It’s freeing, completely freeing. (In any story,) you have to maintain certain principles, and you are better armed if you know them. All the great modernist painters, for instance -- they all studied the classics before they went off and did their own thing. That way their experimental work was much more insightful. I think for any career, you have to know what came before you and study how structure works in order to make yours work, too. Charlie Kaufman -- “Eternal Sunshine” is one of his most successful movies. It’s because he follows the beats.

##

Check out Blake’s web site at http://www.blakesnyder.com

CS OPEN TOURNAMENT ON HOLD

A bit of sad news for fans of the venerable CS Open, the live writing tournament we’ve been coordinating since the very first Screenwriting Expo in 1754. Over the past 7 years, thousands of writers have participated in Erik Bauer's brainchild, a fiendishly challenging live writing competition where participants get 90 minutes to write a brand-new, original scene -- in pencil -- based on parameters we give them. We’ve found tons of amazing talent along the way and reinvigorated the writing passion of more than a few. Alas, the economics of the situation have caused Creative Screenwriting to put the Open officially in limbo. It’s almost certain it won’t be back for Expo 2009.

The good news is that Coverage, Ink in conjunction with Great American Pitchfest are cooking up a whole new kind of live writing tournament called THE WORLD SERIES OF SCREENWRITING. This event will premiere at Pitchfest 2010 (yep, that’s a year from now. Visit pitchfest.com for info on this year's event, coming up in June.)

So from all of us here at CI, we wish you well, CS Open, as you make your long journey onto the shelf, at least for the time being. I’m fairly confident we’ll find a way to revive you in some form or another. We here at CI all love you too much to let you die.
Coverage Ink's Jim Cirile with the 2008 CS Open Top 13.

Writers on the Storm 4 Ready for Launch!

Hey, kiddles! It's me, Portia, and I am back for another year here running this crazy party we call Writers on the Storm. WOTS is sponsored by Coverage Ink and Writers Boot Camp, along with 20 other companies!

This year we have out best-ever prize package. We worked hard to bring in a lot of great companies into the mix. As of now we've got over $27,500 cash and prizes, including our 10 grand cash prize to the winner. Plus this year everyone in the top 10 finish in the money, and our top 50 (that would be the semifinalists) all get subscriptions to Moviemaker magazine. And of course, our entry fee is still $40 ($75 for two submissions of the same script) or free if you enter the contest through Coverage Ink.

We launch sometime on 4/27. Not sure exactly when -- basically when our web guy finishes testing all the submission forms and all that techie stuff. Don't worry, we run for three months so y'all have plenty of time to get in!

One more thing. We're ecstatic to bring you this bit of news: Writers on the Storm honorable mention Dale Shuen, writer of the hot comedy spec THE BRYCE LEE STORY, has been generating all sorts of interest with this script. He's been hip-pocketed by a well-known manager, and his script has generated meetings and a bunch of companies interested in him as a writer as a result of his placement in WOTS and our marketing efforts. Kick butt, Dale! For more on our contest winners please visit the WINNERS page at writerstorm.com.

Let's see what you all got for me!

Lova ya!

Portia Jefferson
Writers on the Storm 4 Coordinator
writerstorm@gmail.com

Meet iScript.com

by Jim Cirile

Here's a note we tend to give a lot here at Coverage, Ink: read your script aloud. As writers, we tend to isolate. We toil in our little stalactite-encrusted caves, hearing the screenplay only within our heads. Dialogue may seem fine, nay, even brilliant, on the page. But unless you're in a writing class or a writer's group, you may not ever hear your words spoken aloud.

See, something interesting happens when a screenplay is performed. Suddenly, passages that were fine moments ago may now seem lugubrious or awkward; speeches that looked eloquent and incisive on paper might seem overwrought or expository when spoken. Fortunately, the solutions to these issues are often immediately apparent. Right away you know what cuts to make, what dialogue needs to be finessed. It's a fantastic development tool.

Enter iScript.com. A new service founded by Lorena David, Mark Roberts, Mark David and Michael Lawrence, iScript.com will actually perform your screenplay for you. Such a brilliantly obvious idea, I can't believe no one had thought of this before. We chatted with cofounder Mark Roberts and got the lowdown on what they do. Check 'em out at iScript.com.

***

Jim Cirile: I love that you guys (iScript.com's partners) have 8 first names--Lorena David, Mark Roberts, Mark David and Michael Lawrence. Tell us about how and when you guys came to found iScript.com. Whose idea was it?

Mark Roberts: Lorena came up with the idea of recording scenes and listening to them for analysis. She would hand me recorded scenes for my drive home. It was a great way to make use of my drive time. I would listen, get home, and send notes based on the recording. It was the best set of notes I have given and it immediately made the project better. A little over a year ago we decided to raise a little money and launch iScript.com.

JC: Can you give us an idea exactly how iScript.com works?

MR: iScript.com uses real, professional readers along with picky sound editors to create your iScript quickly and with the highest quality (as high as an audio book). You go to our site, place your order, tell us any specific directions and then upload a file of your script. After we make your iScript, we send you an e-mail with the link and instructions of how to download your iScript. You can then put it on your mp3 player, burn a CD or send other people the recording through your download page.

JC: Very cool. I'm always telling people it's amazing how dialogue that looks fine on the page may sound awkward or unnatural when read aloud.

MR: Analysis is one way iScript.com is a very useful tool. It's a great way to examine the pacing, dialogue and characters in your script. Not all writers have the time to set up a table read for themselves. iScript.com clients don't like to waste time. They order their iScript and in two days are listening and getting right back to work. When you hear your writing read back to you by a professional reader, you instantly know if your dialogue is working or not.

There are a lot of writers that are so happy with the iScript of their screenplay that they send it out with the PDF and give people the option of reading or listening.


JC: Who are the performers? You have the option of selecting one or more voices, right? MR: One thing we realized early on is not just anyone can be an iScript reader. We interviewed and auditioned hundreds to find our readers. The goal of an iScript reader is to make every character and conversation sound as natural and real as possible.

iScript.com gives you the option of having one reader or two. It's up to the writer. A two-reader iScript is great because you can get a female and male reader so each gender is represented.

JC: Okay, what do you guys do when you get to a section where the dialogue is especially clunky or full of typos--just soldier through as best you can? Do you sometimes correct grammar or edit as you perform?

MR: Our readers are instructed to correct any obvious errors and make note of the corrections. We try not to correct too much. So far it has not been an issue. But we also offer proofreading and text editing services, which have mostly been used so far when writers do not use English as their first language.

JC: In my writing group, we read scripts aloud, and I've noticed that the material's reception can be influenced by the performance -- specifically, a poor or clunky performance can wound a good script, and an enthusiastic one can brighten a weak one. Do you guys just go for a flat read, or do you, say, amp it up a bit in action sequences for example?

MR: iScript allows you to give some direction when ordering your script. For example, you can ask for your script to be read flat or you can tell us about the characters; e.g., my main character sounds like Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman. Readers don't impersonate other actors but it gives them an idea of how to read a character. Direction from the writer helps a lot. Our goal is to make each script sound as good as it can so writers can use it to analyze and especially help sell their script.

JC: What's the most surprising thing you've had happen since launching iScript?

MR: A producer ordered an iScript of the film he was producing and gave people the option of listening or reading or both. I thought that was a great use of an iScript.

JC: What sort of reactions have you gotten so far? I see a lot of raves on your site, but I imagine there are some people who may be shocked upon hearing their script performed for the first time, right?

MR: We have had nothing but good reviews, but I'm sure you're right there are no doubt lots of writers shocked at hearing their script read for the first time.

JC: Thanks, Mark. Sounds like a cool service!

MR: Hearing is Believing. Ordering an iScript can get you one step closer to selling your screenplay and ultimately having it made. You are giving investors, agents and producers the option of reading or listening. That’s powerful.

Interview: WOTS winner John Dummer

“In the summer of 1969, an awkward teen is befriended by a reclusive old fisherman who may just be keeping an interplanetary secret...”


"The Moonbeam Fisherman” enchanted our entire team this year. Algonquin, Illinois-based screenwriter John Dummer took home the check for 10 grand… then buckled in for a couple months of solid development. We caught up with John to say, “you rock!,” and also just to introduce him to you guys.

Jim Cirile: Congrats again on winning WOTS, John. Tell us a little bit about your background as a writer.

John Dummer: I've been writing as long as I can remember -- short stories, song lyrics, sketch comedy -- but there's something special about telling a story visually and creating a world. In my head there's this wide screen just begging to be filled, and a bucket of imaginary popcorn already half-empty (damn I love that salty popcorn). I've been fortunate to have some wonderful screenwriting teachers along the way, including the late, great Mimi Roth at USC. Working with you on the rewrite in the last couple months has been a terrific experience. Nobody has ever made me feel better about killing my babies and making that creative leap of faith that will take the script to the next level.

JC: Thanks! Can you tell everyone a little about “The Moonbeam Fisherman"?

JD: It's a nostalgic fish tale about a troubled teen befriended by an old fisherman who may or may not be from another world. It's about dealing with loss, and the human gift for escaping a too-painful reality by fleeing into a fiction. It's also fun, because that's life -- painful, silly, and sublime.

The story was inspired by an experience I had with my mother a few years ago. She was confined to a wheelchair with congestive heart failure, and one day I took her for a walk and entertained her with the story of a half-finished script I was working on. Weeks later, out of the blue, she asked me how the story ended. I smiled and said, "I guess you'll have to wait and see." I was scrambling like mad to put together an ending on the morning she died. “The Moonbeam Fisherman” completes that conversation.


JC: So what's been happening with the script? In addition to WOTS, it was top ten for Slamdance this year also, right?

JD: Yep. Slamdance came first, so exciting was topped by thrilling.

JC: How do you feel about the whole Writers on the Storm experience? Did it meet your expectations? And what we can improve?

JD: I feel like I got paid $10,000 to take a masters class in screenwriting. Actually it's better than that because I received one-on-one mentoring with you. "Draft and a polish" doesn't begin to describe the thoughtful, in-depth guidance. You’re great with story and have a real nose for the market, which is something writers often lose sight of, consigned as we are to whatever lonely cubbyhole in our head we write from.

JC: John, you are a poet in screenwriter’s garb. What's happening with the script now?

JD: Having completed the rewrite, we're just now getting it out to agents, managers and producers. I hear a lot lately about how folks are flocking to the theaters for cinematic comfort food, so maybe our timing is right.


JC: What advice would you give to other writers hoping to be in your shoes this time next year? Anything you'd like to say to your peers, or any shout-outs?

JD: I never seem to be able to let a script go, even after I start sending it out to contests. Because WOTS came a little later in the contest season, it got the benefit of a more polished script. I'm sure every screenwriter is tired of hearing "write the best script possible," but that's the best advice I can give. Again, part of that is getting feedback from others, and being open enough to let them help you see a whole new set of possibilities. And then work very hard to fully integrate those new ideas, because it takes conscious effort to let go of the old stuff even after it's long gone from the page. (Shout-outs? What's the reach of your newsletter? Fire up the moonbeam gizmo and I'll give a shout-out to Millie and Mimi, my two moms.)

JC: Writers need to be careful of possible scams. You've entered a bunch of contests. Any candid views on the whole process -- disappointments, companies who didn't deliver on what was promised?

JD: I've made the semifinals of the Nicholl Fellowships a few times, which was exciting at the time but did not do for me what WOTS and you have done for me, which is to make me a better writer. Winning a contest is a long shot. Selling any given script, even if you win a contest, is a long shot. Money and prizes come and go, trust me. Investing in those things that make you a better writer -- classes, feedback from whatever source, butt-time in the chair, writing, writing, and more writing -- is what will make you a success in the long run.

Inspiration Strikes (Or Not.)

by Jim Cirile

You know the feeling as well as I do. That lightning-in-a-bottle moment of inspiration where you seize upon an idea that you think will make a fantastic screenplay -- days or even months of excitement as you reenergize, excited about sitting down and writing. You’re chasing that tiger by the proverbial tail, the endorphins are flowing, you forget all your failures and allow yourself to get frakkin’ psyched. It’s a beautiful thing, my friends.

But that’s not what this piece is about. This piece is about the dread feeling of, “Crap, I can’t think of a killer concept.” If you’re like me, you have a folder chockablock with script, scene and character ideas, maybe even an articles or titles file, too. I can’t tell you how long “Great Expectorations” -- a comedy about a high school loogie-hocking prodigy -- has sat there waiting for me to get to it (hint: a decade.) Yet sometimes, for the life of you, you can’t come up with an idea worth writing.

And that’s a very, very good thing.

What am I babbling about? Folks, we all have ideas. But not all of our ideas are good ones. And it is very important as writers that we learn to discern the boffo from the also-rans. Failure to develop that critical skill can lead to a big-ass pile of screenplays, perhaps even well-executed ones, that you can’t give away. Bookshelf to my left: piled with ‘em. I’ve wasted years of my life writing scripts that were dead on arrival based on concept alone. At UCLA, the esteemed Hal Ackerman preaches that one needs to set aside time to write every day. While I do not dispute this, I must add a qualifier: er, yah, unless all your ideas bite.

Okay, okay. I’m not being fair. True, there’s value in working on anything, because you never know where your best nuggets are going to come from. But it comes down to this: if you’re looking to pursue writing as a career, then you need to be a student of the marketplace and select your ideas with laser-guided precision.

I’ve been rockin’ the Agent’s Hot Sheet column for “Creative Screenwriting” for eight years, and there are certain themes I’ve seen over and over again. First and foremost: this isn’t 1973. Films that might have had a shot back in the day may not any more. For example, it’s hard to believe any major studio would take a flyer on “Star Wars” if went out as a spec today. Too expensive to make, no source material. Rather, they’ll adapt a graphic or sci-fi novel if they’re looking for a big sci-fi adventure to fill their slates. Dramas --“Ordinary People,” “Coming Home,” “The Deer Hunter” -- all those great movies would be real tough sledding now.

So what to write?

First, hone in on your intended market. Want to appeal to the studios? Then you have a microscopic target. Here are your choices: youth-focused comedy, new-style romantic comedy (male-centric,) action, horror, thriller. That’s pretty much it. Put your Western back in the stall. Enbalm the period drama. Photon torpedo your sci-fi adventure. Sports movie? A big maybe. Baseball and American football movies don’t do well foreign; agents and managers will tell you not to write them. Yet they are always getting made. More commercial is basketball for some reason. And heck, if you have a serious chops and castable parts, you might even be able to sell an Ultimate Frisbee or hacky-sack or foosball movie. A rugby-themed project just got set up two weeks ago.

Obviously that doesn’t give you a lot of creative leeway, so feel free to explore other avenues. What about indies? OK, but the days of Miramax making big period movies are over. If you’re aiming indie, you need to keep the budget low and still work within certain genres -- quirky or black comedy, rom-com, action/chase/thriller/suspense, horror. Still not a lot of drama on this list, sadly. If you keep the budget *really* low, you may be able to DIY and take it on the festival circuit or even break it up into webisodes. Bear in mind that most of the indies have been absorbed into the big media conglomerates.

Your last major target (for features) is cable. Network MOWs are a thing of the past. If you have a female-centric production, Lifetime could be interested; something music-themed, VH1; legal-themed, TruTV; and so on. The big kahunas are of course HBO and Showtime original movies, but those as difficult to break into as studio movies due to the prestige factor.

And please don't even think about writing an ensemble piece. These are generally auteur-driven projects, not specs. The only exception to this rule is an “Independence Day”-style action/adventure ensemble flick or maybe a crime thriller with a director attached.

So what to write?

Let’s say you have no idea at the moment. As I alluded to above, that’s actually a good thing -- because of course you *do* have ideas; you’re simply killing the iffy ones before you waste months on them. You’re hopefully savvy enough about what the market wants as to not go too far down the road developing that tearjerker about the Peloponnesian Wars. Remember well this advice from a producer friend: “I’d rather read a poorly executed script with a great idea than a fantastic script with a weak one.” And by “weak,” he means uncommercial. So take the time. Wait for that great idea, for that lightning to strike that bottle. Maybe it’ll take months. But you’ll know it when it hits. Zap!

One great way to come up with a marketable idea: find something to adapt. Nowadays, source material is all -- that means screenplayizing a pre-existing book, article or song into a screenplay. The comic book/graphic novel vein has been mined out, but there are a million novels and short stories ripe for the picking. Spend an afternoon browsing at the local library and make a note of books you like that have never been made into a movie. You may find works by well-known authors that not only speak to you, but the rights are available. The rights to a novelist’s back-catalog may be available and affordable. A quick phone call to the publishing company (contact info conveniently printed in the book) will tell you if the film rights are up for grabs, and if you can make a passionate case and have a strong sample, you may be able to convince the author or his rep to give you an option for a song. It’s worth a shot. Next time you talk to an exec, instead of saying, “uh, I’ve got a dumbass comedy called ‘Great Expectorations,’” you can say, “I have the rights to VC Andrews’ first novella and I’m adapting it into a teen thriller.” I can guarantee you people will listen.

One more thing. When you DO come up with an idea you think is the bomb, great! Put it through The Gauntlet of Scrutiny. Ask yourself: can you see this movie up on the marquee at your local 77-plex alongside “Comic Book Hero 5” and “Grisly Horror Porn 9”? Really see it? Or at the local indie theater playing alongside a Sundance winner? Does it have roles that will appeal to name actors? Most importantly, is it something immediately appealing about it to buyers -- a compelling real-life story, an adaptation of a cool book, a great title with a slick play on words? In other words, what’s the hook?

So what to write? Not something pretty good or lukewarm or even great for what it is. Write something AWESOME. And remember: it’s okay to 86 the also-rans. They’ll all keep themselves warm in the big, happy stack on your bookshelf.

Writers on the Storm Returns for 2009!

Hey, Stormies!

I am very pleased to announce that Writers on the Storm is back for 2009. We launch on 4/27 (that's, uh-oh, not that far off, gulp!) and our projected end date is 7/27. All of the goodness from last year remains--top prize of $10,000 and tons of useful prizes, plus probably the most aggressive development and marketing of the top ten scripts of any contest around!

We're in the thick of marketing the 2008 top ten (yep, I know. What took so long is the development/rewrite process with our top three--just today (March 9) we received a 'final' draft from one of our top 3 to send out!) So far we've had over 80 script requests, and one of our honorable mentions has been hip-pocketed by a manager who is sending the script into the big 3-letter agencies. Yeah!!!! And that's just the first wave. Coverage Ink associate Ruchika is working the phones this week, weeding out the companies that have disappeared in the past year (sadly, quite a few) and building a better, stronger, faster participating company list for this year's contest. That means a second round of marketing and submissions of the 2008 winners coming in the next few weeks!

No details on prizes yet except I can announce that MOVIEMAKER MAGAZINE has come on board and is offering free subscriptions to our top 50! Can you believe that? Plenty more to come. So batten down the hatches, because the storm is heading your way!

Love to all,

Portia Jefferson
Writers on the Storm 4 Coordinator

WOTS 2008 update

It's been a very exciting past ten days since we started contacting the big industry list about our Writers on the Storm 2008 top ten. The strategy was to contact our close industry connex first and give them a little window, and then roll out to the extended list. So far we've sent the loglines to about 100 companies, with about another 100 still to be contacted (which we're doing over the next week.) So far, 15 companies have requested over 75 scripts!

Best of all, one of our honorable mentions tells us he's already been hip-pocketed by a manager who is taking his script into major agencies! We'll hold off on announcing the project name and writer at this time due to the nature of the hip-pocket situation, but hopefully we'll have more on this soon. Top tenners, we'll be contacting you to let you who who's requested what.

In addition, last year's runner up ALGO POR MI, by Juan Sebastián Jácome, has been optioned! Juan writes in to tell us:

I wanted to let you know about the good news with Algo Por Mi. I just optioned the script to Astrakan Films, so they're looking to produce it. I also wanted to thanks you a lot for all your help in this year and a half. I really appreciate your effort with the script.

How is all there? I am doing well. Also with a couple of other projects. One that we're planning to shoot in Panama in February 2010 (the one that got selected to the Spain Lab)

More to come on all this very soon. Writers on the Storm IV begins 4/27/09!

Jim C.

THE 5 BEST WAYS TO *LOSE* AN AGENT

Got agent? Good. Now can you hold onto him? Hmm...

by Jim Cirile

Congratulations! You’ve been lucky enough to secure agency representation or literary management. Someone with actual industry juice has decided to take a flier on you, either as a hip-pocket (unofficial client) or as a full-fledged signed client. Guess what? You’re gonna blow it. yep, sorry folks, but we’re writers, and self-destruction is what we do. Sooner or later, you’re probably going to inadvertently screw yourself like some mad well-hung contortionist. The following tidbits come from my own experiences as well as from years of talking to the top reps in town for my Agent’s Hot Sheet column. And so in an effort to prevent you from committing career hari-kiri, we present to you the five best ways to lose an agent.

1) BE A PEST. Agents in particular, and managers to a lesser extent, are very busy people. An agent might have 80 to 100 clients. That’s a LOT of people with their own needs and neuroses. Given that, you might think you need to be a squeaky wheel to get any grease, right? BZZZ. The correct answer is: agents hate being bothered. If you’re calling your agent four times a week, he’s going to label you “high maintenance,” and before long his assistant will be given direct orders not to put you through. Needless to say, that’s a one-way ticket to losing representation.

So when is it okay to call your agent? Obviously, when you have business to discuss, a story or career concern -- anything legitimate. And by legitimate, I don’t mean spending an hour to think up some legitimate-sounding excuse to call your agent, the real goal of which is to ask him if there are any more people he can think of to send your script that everyone’s already passed on to. Beware the “just calling to check in” call. If you’re going to do that, make sure you have something of value to tell the agent, such as a few new loglines to run by him.

That said, if a month goes by and you haven’t heard from your agent, pick up the phone. There should always be some movement on something – whether it’s simply to find out who’s passed on what submissions or to give him a status report on how the new spec is coming. So control that neediness and desperation, folks! The relationship is firing on all cylinders when the agent looks forward to taking your calls and when you speak, there’s momentum and business discussed.

2) INSIST THEY ACTUALLY WORK FOR YOU. This sounds like a flip comment, but it’s really not. Here’s the thing – agents hate having to actually do work. It’s a pain in the ass to make a lot of calls, and especially to break a new writer. The truth is, an agent is going to do as much work for you as he feels is warranted. This is a hard lesson, but here it is: if the agent is not feeling your script, he may slip it to a handful of trusted producer friends for an opinion. If those five creative executives are not interested, you’re done. No amount of script revisions or suggestions of other places they can send it to are going to reenergize your rep. He rolled the dice and crapped out – on to the next. Write a new spec.

This is a staggeringly hard lesson and one we writers hate. But it’s reality. If you push it, and demand they actually work for you, guess what? Yep, you’re now “high maintenance.” (See above.) And this also applies to starting a new relationship with an agent. If you’re very forward the first time you meet and tell the agent, “I’m looking for someone with hustle who’s really going to work for me,” you’re done. Sounds crazy, right? But there it is. Agents want you to be easy-going, easy to work with, but also savvy about the business (like they are.) If you’ve got a great idea about an attachment or a marketing strategy, then absolutely lay it on him. But if you insist he send your spec, which just went out and racked up 25 passes, to another 25 companies, you’re digging your own grave. Let them call the shots and accept it. If you’re lucky, your agent will be a go-getter and will be out there hustling for you without you having to tell them. Of course, he could just be a lazy bastard, in which case, you’re pretty much effed either way.

3) SHOP AROUND FOR OTHER REPRESENTATION. This is one I did myself. I was repped by one of the big 3-letter agencies some time back, and I did not believe at the time that my agent was doing anything for me other than giving me lip service. When I’d ask him to send out a script, he’d make excuses. (This was before I learned about coverage, and that the real reason the agent wasn’t lifting a finger was because he had gotten some shitty coverage on my scripts. He had faith in me as a writer but for whatever reason was incapable of giving any constructive criticism that would help me improve.) This went on for the better part of two years until I finally got fed up. So what did I do? I started contacting other agencies. Naturally, I led with, “Hi, I’m Jim Cirile, and I’m currently repped by so-and-so from XXX.” See if you can guess how long it was before this got back to my agent?

You may think, “So what if it gets back to him? You’re dumping him anyway, right?” The problem is twofold. Firstly, this tells the town that if they do take you on, you’ll likely do the same thing to them someday. Pass. Secondly, it creates acrimony with the current agent, whereas perhaps the separation could have been more amicable and left the door open for interaction in the future. Ex-agents are like old significant others. Leave on good terms and keep their numbers for a possible future booty call as needed.

So how do you get new representation if you’re unhappy with your agent? The best way, of course, is you’re being courted by someone else. In that case, you’ve got some heat, you’re in demand. Agents poach clients from each other all the time. If you have no heat, you can try just having a conversation with your agent to see what the roadblock is. Why is the relationship breaking down? Perhaps, as in my case, the agent was not forthright about why he’s not working for you. You can always ask if maybe there’s a new assistant about to be promoted who’s building his client list, and if the agent would be interested in placing you. That way he can still be on the team (and make a commission) if you get work without actually having to DO any work. If you’re that easy-to-work-with, productive client, they’ll do that rather than lose you.

4) BE UNPRODUCTIVE. This one seems pretty obvious, right? You’d be amazed. As lazy as agents can be, we writers can be even lazier. Nothing gets an agent less excited than having a client take two years to give them anything new. There’s only so much mileage they can get out of your back catalog. Eventually you need to move on and actually produce something they can go sell. No one wants to rep the writer who never has anything new except excuses.

But writing a brand-new script from scratch is a pain in the ass, and who wants to do all that work, right? This is where a little psychology comes into play. By involving your agent in the process from the get-go, he will become invested in it and feel ownership of it -- and that means he’ll work significantly harder to get it set up than a finished script he simply read. If an agent feels his fingerprint is on the material, that he helped develop it, he’ll work that much harder for it, and HE’LL even call YOU regularly to monitor its progress. The technical term for that is, I believe, “lighting a fire under your ass.” Your productivity will go through the roof if you know you have an agent excitedly waiting on the material and helping you when you paint yourself into a corner in Act 2. So I propose soliciting as much input in the spec development process as he’s willing to offer from day one as a way to adrenalize your process and keep your agent stoked.

5) THE NAME’S DONNA. PRIMA DONNA. You are not a director. You’re a lowly writer. You do not have, nor will you ever earn, the right to be an asshole. If you think just because your spec sells and you land a big studio assignment that you can cop an attitude, think again, pal. Heat dissipates, and three years from now you’re going to be the struggling has-been whose calls no one returns. A word to the wise :)

TO INFINITY - THE TIM ALBAUGH INTERVIEW

By Jim Cirile

Quick – name a production company that’s been around for 15 years and every movie they’ve ever made was not only a huge critical hit but grossed hundreds of millions of dollars. Stumped? It’s Pixar, of course. Last year, the Emeryville company tapped writer/producer and UCLA Professional Program instructor Tim Albaugh to teach at “Pixar University” – a unique and amazing opportunity to work with some of the most talented folks around. Tim was one of my instructors at UCLA, and he and his partner Sean Sorensen own production company Popular Films, which handles high-end screenplay consultations in conjunction with Coverage, Ink. I was excited to find out how the experience went. I caught up with Tim to find out all about what it was like to work with Pixar.

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Jim Cirile: Tim, in the screenplay of your own life, can you tell us a bit about your protagonist’s backstory?

Tim Albaugh: I got my undergrad degree at San Francisco State. My last quarter there, I took a screenwriting class as an elective. I was going to go to law school. I wasn’t interested in writing at all. But in that class I had a wonderful professor who’s a producer here in town named Peter Almond, who produced “Thirteen Days,” the Kennedy missile crisis movie. I wrote a script in his class, and that script won the “Bay Guardian” screenwriting competition -- it’s the Bay Area’s “LA Weekly.” That put me in touch with (UCLA’s) Richard Walter. He was one of the judges of the competition. He invited me down to UCLA to sit in on one of his classes. Next thing I knew I was at grad school at UCLA. I spent three years there, and one of the scripts I wrote as a student there was the first thing I had produced (“Do Me A Favor”), and that was kind of the things that got me going. I wrote for about 8 or 9 years and was teaching at UCLA as well. Sean Sorensen was a student in my class.

JC: How did you wind up teaching at UCLA?

TA: I had a movie produced. They’re always looking for people to teach there, especially who are alumni, who’ve had some success. They contacted me after I had my first film produced and asked if I wanted to teach a class. Lew Hunter was my mentor at UCLA, and I always admired his approach. He was working professionally as a writer and also teaching, and I thought that that would be a good gig. I thought it would be a 1 or 2-quarter thing. Cut to 12 years later and I’m teaching a class there every quarter. I love it, and for me it’s been very good professionally, too, because that’s how my partnership with Sean came about. We started our own company, and many of the projects that we’ve been able to set up have been things that I’ve discovered through students in my classes or through other students at UCLA.

JC: I imagine being in that academic environment constantly helps your own writing and creativity, too.

TA: Yeah, and it’s just fun to be in a room with people who are working towards the same thing that you are.

JC: And you teach elsewhere also, right?

TA: Yes. The last two summers I’ve gone back to this wonderful place called Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia (www.hollins.edu), and they have an MFA program in screenwriting that only meets in the summers. Students come together for six weeks during the summer. They have an extensive 6-week term, and they get their MFA over a 4 or 5-year period.

JC: That’s crazy. Six weeks a year?

TA: Yes, but it’s been fun to spread the gospel back there. It’s a fun program. It’s modeled after UCLA, but it also has a very strong European influence. So it’s been fun to kind of be the Hollywood guy there.

JC: How does your style mesh with that? Do you wind up butting heads with these guys sometimes?

TA: We’ve had spirited discussions, sure. Ultimately it comes down to telling a good story, obviously. There are many ways to tell a good story. I just tend to practice the way that’s used by the major studios because that’s who I do business with.

JC: So how did this Pixar association come about?

TA: Again, a UCLA connection. I was teaching a course for the UCLA Professional Program online, which is very popular because you can get a UCLA class without actually having to go to UCLA...

JC: Or pay the $11 parking...

TA: Exactly, and hassle with traffic and all that. And of course it opens up the Professional Program to the entire world. There was a gentleman in my class named Stephan Bugaj who works at Pixar, a very good writer, and we forged a friendship. He told me that they occasionally bring in people to teach writing courses for the people at Pixar. “Would you like to be considered for that?” I said, sure. It took a little while to iron things out and go through the approval process.

JC: I would imagine the screening process was fairly rigorous, right? I mean, this is Pixar, where story is king. What did you have to go through, what kind of hoops?

TA: Uh… Stephan liked me, so they liked me. (laughs) Okay, well, obviously, my ten-year teaching record at UCLA, the track record of my students, and my ability to set up projects written by my students, all those things came into play. And they do have a relationship with UCLA. Linda Voorhees, a UCLA instructor, has taught at Pixar before, as well as, I believe, Fred Rubin.

JC: So what was the whole experience like?

TA: It was great. They’re up in Emeryville, so it was decided that I would teach two courses -- a general ‘write a script’ class, and then I also taught a class on how to approach rewriting. It’s part of a component they have called Pixar University, something that was started by, I believe, Steve Jobs. Happy employees make good product, so to speak. They definitely support people pursuing things other than what they do every day. A lot of the animators were in the course, generalists, technicians, IT people, one of the attorneys, one of the modelmakers who does all the models for the films… a wide spectrum of people. Obviously, the goal within Pixar is to tell the best story they can tell. The feeling is if you teach these storytellers how to tell their stories, even—well, you can’t say better than they already do, because they’re the best. But the idea is to keep everybody involved in the creative process.

JC: Were these taught during the work day?

TA: I believe that each Pixar employee is allowed four hours per week to take Pixar University classes. I taught one course on Thursday evenings from 6 to 8, and they would bring dinner into the class. I’d spend the night Thursday and then I would teach another course on Friday at noon, and that one, half of it was their lunch hour, and the other half was their P.U. time.

JC: Was what you were doing similar to your UCLA class? Were people bringing in pages?

TA: It was a workshop format. People had written many scripts. It’s funny. A lot of the people at Pixar want to be writers, too. Or some of the animators want to direct, and so they’re trying to develop a script they can use to direct a film. Everybody’s working towards the same thing, I think. What’s exciting for me is to work with smart people, and obviously, anybody who works at Pixar is pretty smart -- the best at what they do. So it was pretty exciting for me to go into a room each week and take what were already good ideas and try to make them better. They were people who were eager to learn and taking time out of their busy schedules -- these are people who work 80, 90, 100 hours a week already -- yet they’re pursuing these other things as well because they’re just passionate, driven people. And of course it’s a place that nurtures creativity and risk-taking. It’s just like a huge family. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

JC: For my money, Pixar makes the best movies around bar none. But it seems like there’s still a certain stigma involved, at least with some people, because they’re animated films. They think that this is second tier stuff, that it’s not as “real” as other types of filmmaking, and to that I say: bullshit. You know, I was blubbering like a toddler during Act 3 of “Wall-E.” It touches you on a deeply emotional level. All of their films speak to something human in all of us; they just happen to work in an animated format.

TA: I totally agree. It’s amazing when a movie that only does half a billion dollars worldwide is considered a disappointment in terms of a company’s track record. It’s an amazing place, and they do amazing things. “Wall-E” to me is the most romantic movie I’ve seen in 20 years.

JC: Thanks for taking a few minutes, Tim. I’m sure lots of folks reading this list wish they could take that class at Pixar! Although one can get pretty close to the experience with your UCLA online class I’m sure. Can you give our readers some parting advice?

TA: Sure. Coverage is a great way to start off. It’s a great way to find out where your script stands in the larger world of things. And then when you want to take it to the next level and you want to go through a consultation, Popular Films is here. Just make sure that you’ve addressed all the issues that have been brought up in the coverage. I think people are in too much of a rush, and send out material without having (developed all the problems out first.) With our consults, I approach it just as if I was producing the movie. Let’s find your take, your point of view, the message that you are trying to get across and pull that to the forefront. That’s what’s going to make it different. You’ve got to find your voice. And your voice comes from your attitude, I think. You have to have a unique take on the world and the human condition.

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You can bring the same firepower Pixar uses to your scripts. Check out the Popular Films page at Coverage Ink HERE.

BLACK DYNAMITE SELLS FOR $2 MILLION

We LOVE this! "Black Dynamite," a fake '70s blaxploitation film written by Michael Jai White ("Spawn,") Byron Minns and Scott Sanders, was snatched up by Sony Pictures at Sundance. This is particularly exciting because we've been tracking this film for a while and have known about it since inception. Michael Jai White has been on a multi-year crusade to get this puppy made, and the payoff is indeed sweet. Congratulations, Michael!

This from Nikki Finke's Dateline Hollywood:

I told you last night that the blaxsploitation spoof Black Dynamite was "an instant cult hit" at Sundance following the cheering at its packed midnight screening at the Library last night. Now it sold to Sony for $2M -- the second purchase at the film festival and the first overnight sale. As the film premiered, I hear Sony Picture's Worldwide Acquisition Group led by Peter Schlessel, and Endeavor Independent's Graham Taylor, Alexis Garcia, Mark Ankner and Liesl Copland repping the producer, negotiated in multiple rooms back at the agency's condo the rest of the night. Not only does the pic have a North American theatrical release commitment for this year, but also franchise expectations. "Astounding in a tough market for a little film without high-profile cast. It's a cinderella story," an insider tells me.

Check out the hilarious trailer HERE!