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=================================================================== Screenwriter's Monthly Newsletter - February 2006 =================================================================== --------------> THE ULTIMATE SCREENWRITING EXPERIENCE --------------> Serving Screenwriters Since 1996 --------------> ----------------------------------- --------------> Going out to over 60,000 screenwriters! --------------> ----------------------------------- --------------> THIS IS NOT SPAM - You have signed up for this e-newsletter --------------> If you feel this is a mistake you can remove yourself via the --------------> instructions at the bottom of this email. Thank you! =================================================================== FIRST A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR: =================================================================== Make your dream career as an independent digital filmmaker a reality. Get your Master Degree in Digital Cinema at National University. Combines film theory with crucial hands-on experience. Graduate as a well-rounded filmmaker able to work on low budget, independent and documentary style films. Click URL http://e.nvero.net/eas?camp=6278;ty=ct ======================== TOC ======================== ---> CONTENT > February 2004 ===================================================== (1) Screenwriting DOs and DON'Ts (2) Newswire: Bombs, Busts and Bores (3) INTERVIEW: 10 Questions with NIXON and ALI Screenwriter Chris Wilkinson (4) CRAFT: OLD SCHOOL to NEW SCHOOL: A New Take on Screenwriting Manuals (5) FADE OUT ====================== END TOC ====================== (1)===================================================== SCREENWRITING TIP of the Month: DOs and DON'Ts ===================================================== DO know your characters before you start. Know your protagonist and make s/he both weak and strong. DON'T forget about the antagonist! Make s/he even stronger??¦ and weaker. DO know your ending before your start. It is the target and without it your story's aim will be completely off. DON'T spend so much time "tweaking" your story that you never finish it. DO allow yourself the freedom to change anything at a moments notice if it "feels" right. DON'T worry about plot points, mid-points, beats, and tempo. If you take care of your story, it will take care of them. DO use conflict and tension for they are the stuff of drama. DON'T believe that there is only one way or the highway. Brought to you by the fine professionals at 4Screenwriters.com, Screenwriting Institute. http://www.4screenwriters.com ----------------------------------------------------------- 4|Screenwriters Institute ----------------------------------------------------------- Writing Your First Screenplay (4-week) Screenwriting 101 (4 week) What Goes Bump In The Night - Writing Horror (8-week) Screenwriter's Market (4-week) Advanced Screenwriting (4-week) http://www.4screenwriters.com/ ----------------------------------------------------------- (2)===================================================== NEWSWIRE: Bombs, Busts and Bores ===================================================== ?· 78th Academy Award Nominations, all BROKEBACK... ?· BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN dominates Golden Globes ?· 18th Annual USC Scripter(R) Award Winners Announced ?· Hollywood gets angry ?· Bombs, Busts and Bores http://www.screenwritersutopia.com (3)===================================================== Interview: ===================================================== BY CHRIS WEHNER Continuing our "10 Questions..." series we feature an interview with Screenwriter Chris Wilkinson (???Nixon,??? ???Ali???), who stopped by our e-offices and was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule for a quick interview. Wilkinson contacted me regarding a review of his screenplay for the movie Ali I had written several years back. (He co-wrote it with his writing partner Stephen J. Rivele) A screenplay I enjoyed and thought would make an excellent film, only problem, director Michael Mann (???The Insider,??? ???Heat???) for whatever reason ended up filming something a little different. In all five screenwriters worked on the script, including Mann himself. Wilkinson was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule for a quick interview. He has been writing for a long time and has specialized in historically based stories. He has also shown diversity working as a director and producer. In this interview, Wilkinson discusses how he got into the business, what makes for good screenwriting, and much more. >>>>>>Looking at your credits I'm surprised by the diversity: directing, writing, producing, ect. How did you get into the business? I suppose, looking back, my credits are diverse. After film school at Temple University, I began making documentaries and industrials in Philadelphia. I don't think the film food chain gets too much lower. And my range of skills probably comes from the fact that I had so little money to make these productions. I would write, produce, direct, shoot, and edit them. Since, I began my career as a musician, I would sometimes even do the music. During this time I also worked as a cameraman for ESPN. This was not the slick sports behemoth we know today. This was the ESPN that used to do midget chain-saw wrestling or celebrity shark-tagging -- virtually any sport they could fill 24 hours with (no matter how ridiculous). It was a lot of fun, actually. >>>>>>As someone who has written originals, adaptations, and rewrites, does it take any special adjustment to switch gears like that? How do you approach taking on something with a different source writer? The process is pretty much the same. If we do a rewrite or an adaptation, it is because we were attracted to the original author's core idea. And, of course, you still have to do the research. However, we have learned to be a bit careful about the non-originals we take on because a great premise does not always lead to a great screenplay. And a brilliant book may be just that... a brilliant book. >>>>>>Do you have any maxims as a writer, or guidelines, that you tend to follow when you approach a rewrite or adaptation, or even an original story? Be true to your characters. As schizoid as this might sound, we try to let the characters tell us what they want to do, as opposed to forcing them into situations that will simply solve the story. We try to let the characters work things out for themselves organically. >>>>>>Do you consider learning the art and craft of screenwriting as a continual process? Is it something that can be learned? Why? I believe screenwriting is a very peculiar skill. You simply do not have the array of narrative tools that a novelist has. Perhaps this is why so many great, great writers have difficulty with this form and vice versa, of course. Screenplays are about events. If you have a ten page scene, someone better get laid or something better blow up. The inner life of your characters must be dramatized by events, by things happening. I sometimes think of screenwriting as more of a musical skill than a writing skill, because rhythm and timing are so important. But perhaps this is because I started as a musician. And yes, I believe it is a continual learning process. I think it's very important not just to watch the movies of writers you admire, but to read their scripts. Read more: http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=2755 /===================== SPONSOR ===================== Make your dream career as an independent digital filmmaker a reality. Get your Master Degree in Digital Cinema at National University. Combines film theory with crucial hands-on experience. Graduate as a well-rounded filmmaker able to work on low budget, independent and documentary style films. Click URL http://e.nvero.net/eas?camp=6278;ty=ct ===================================================/ (4)===================================================== CRAFT: OLD SCHOOL to NEW SCHOOL: A New Take on Screenwriting Manuals ===================================================== by CHRIS WEHNER The art and craft of screenwriting is constantly changing, always in motion. The motion picture evolves constantly, forever will, into what unknown future we can only guess at. How is technology effecting the screenwriter and how has it already effected the screenplay form? The shooting script for Cellular (due out in theaters in September) dated September 2nd 2003 written by Larry Cohen with revisions by J. Mackey Gruber and Eric Bress, contains something I haven??™t seen or noticed before in a screenplay, actual references to special effects for sound, such as: SFX: BZZZZZZZZTT!! SFX: HONK-HONK!! SUDDENLY -- SFX: RYAN??™S PHONE BEGINS BEEPING It appears no longer is it good enough to simply mention the sound or underline it, you now make it a special effect. (Note to beginner screenwriters, I'm joking.) And, of course, we??™ve all seen screenwriters make references to computer generated special effects in their scripts, that??™s been going on for years. I could care less about those happenings, what interests me is how modern screenwriting is starting to challenge the classical structure and its paradigm. Screenplays such as Pulp Fiction, The Usual Suspects, Memento, Run Lola Run, 21 Grams, Mulholland Drive, Vanilla Sky, Magnolia, The Player, American Beauty, Training Day, Lost in Translation, defy the classical (Old School) teachings on structure, conflict, and even sometimes drama and characterization. As a screenwriter or soon to be screenwriter, you might be thinking about purchasing your first book on screenwriting or adding to that small collection scattered about on your bookshelf, and on the floor next to your desk. So, what books should you be considering? Which ones can keep you in step with the ever-changing craft of screenwriting? What books can help you stay in the game; because the game is always changing my friends. Well, I have some suggestions. Read more: http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=2717 More articles: CRAFT: The Most Serious Screenwriting Mistakes CRAFT: Talking Common Sense About Format and style CRAFT:Screenwriting Craft: Making Screenplays Vertical ...and more, all FREE, at SU! http://www.screenwritersutopia.com (5)==================================================================== FADE OUT ==================================================================== Publisher / MoviePartners INC Editor-n-chief / Chris Wehner Want to get reviewed? Send us book, article, video, or dvd: Screenwriters 2139 North 12th Street #10 Box 9010 Grand Junction, CO 81501 WE are LOOKING for CONTENT: Interviews specifically with professional screenwriters. Also, articles on the art and craft of screenwriting and marketing. E-mail: editor@screenwritersutopia.com We try to answer all of our e-mail, so drop us a line: Website: http://www.screenwritersutopia.com E-mail: editor@screenwritersutopia.com Want to ADVERTISE? editor@screenwritersutopia.com Want to be REMOVED from this e-list? See link at bottom OR E-mail: editor@screenwritersutopia.com OR write to us at the address above. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. You are, however, welcome to forward this e-mail to whomever you wish. All letters, comments and reviews sent to Screenwriters in any manner are assumed intended for publication, unless stated otherwise. == CUT and Print == |
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| << January23, 2006 - You Lost it in the Second Act! |
February17, 2006 - Screenwriting 101 - Get 1/2 Off >> |
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