The View from the Middle

So, I live in Roswell, GA.  It’s a suburb of Atlanta.  And as much as I love living in Atlanta, the big thing we’re missing is a body of water.  The closest beach is about a 5-hour drive.  (Unless you count the local lake… which, I mean, come on).  We do have a perfectly good river though, and thanks to that river, we in Roswell have a waterfall.

Roswell has a lot of history to it.  The town was built around an old cotton mill – a mill that was once used to make Confederate uniforms for the Civil War (before it was burned to the ground).  And to power this mill, they built a 30 ft. dam.

The ruins of this mill and the dam are now one of the most beautiful areas in the Atlanta area.  It looks like this:

Today, while exploring the falls, I was trying to navigate my way up a rocky path.  As I looked up, it was clear there was only one way up.  Every other possible path was either too dangerous or blocked by thick brush.

So I followed this one and only path to the top and looked back down.  What I discovered was this:

The brush wasn’t as thick as I assumed.  The dangerous rocks were safe and level.  There were many paths to the top.  I just couldn’t see them because of my limited view.  

And as I stood at the top, looking back down, it occurred to me… this is a great cheesy metaphor!

But that’s what life is like, right?  Especially for creatives.  We may be paralyzed by fear of the unknown.  We may be convinced that the path we want to go down is blocked or that the journey to the top is too risky.  It’s only when we make it to our destination and look back down that we see how clear the path really was.

I met a guy the other day who referred to himself as “an unsuccessful writer.”  When I told him that “success is just a mindset,” he replied “that’s something only successful writers say.”

My first thought was “He’s somehow been fooled into thinking I’m a successful writer!  What a sucker!”  But I suppose it’s true, I have found a little success in writing.  I’m still not doing it full time, but I do have a body of work to show for the past 8 years.  I’ve sold screenplays.  I’ve made a well-received short film.  I’ve had comics published on websites that I respect.  I’ve spoken at a conference on storytelling.  But it’s only looking back on these accomplishments that I feel anything resembling success.  While in the middle of the journey, these are very small steps surrounded by ten times that many disappointments and failures.

The only difference between me and this “unsuccessful writer” was that he just couldn’t yet see his path.  The further you climb, the clearer the path becomes.  You just have to keep moving forward.

Success is just a combination of time and consistency.  To constantly be producing over a long period of time.  Focus on the good, not the bad.  Overcome your fears.  Put your head down and keep climbing.  You’ll have plenty of time to figure out the path when you get to the top.

Post-Break Up Convos

Memories and anecdotes from my last long-term relationship. Presented here out of context and out of order. New comic every Wednesday (or Thursday).

Tiny Opinions on a Gigantic Comic-Con

Got back from San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday so I should be fully adjusted back to normal life… sometime next year.

What an amazing experience!   For those of you who haven’t been, the best way to describe it is MASSIVE.  So like picture in your head what you think ComicCon is like and multiply that times a thousand.  130,000 people, a GIANT convention floor with thousands of booths and exhibitors, barely able to move through the crowd, and literally 100 things to do every hour – most of which sound awesome.

There’s something for everyone – video games, animation, comic books, role-playing games, cosplay, movies, television, toys, visual arts, books, anime, manga, and every mixture in between.  I mean, you’d really have to be a douche-bag to not be into at least one of those things, right?

And there’s something about being surrounded by so many like-minded people…

I’m now having withdrawals.

We were invited to take part this year by screening the short film I wrote, Rooney’s World, at the convention and therefore got free professional badges, which was totally rad.  The screening was a lot of fun.  We had a decent turn-out and got to do a Q&A following.

My favorite part of the week was (arguably) the meet and greet time we had with other filmmakers.  It’s an odd thing, making movies.  You put SO much time and effort into this creative outlet and put it out there, hoping it finds an audience.  It can be very nerve-wracking when this product, which is a huge part of you, is rejected.  It can be soul-crushing.  For example, we were turned down for ten festivals before Comic-Con accepted.  So it was nice to discuss with these other filmmakers the ups and downs of the process… to know that we weren’t the only ones going through it.

And that in a nutshell is what Comic-Con is all about: 130,000 people getting together and validating each other – learning that our passions (whether that be film or cosplay or toys) are worthy passions.  Isn’t this what we all want from life?  To be understood?  To connect with other human beings?

I encourage you to find your own group of encouragement – a small group of people in your area that share in your passions – to be your light through the darker periods of your creative endeavors.

Putting ourselves out like this is a risk.  We’re not always going to get that validation we’re looking for.  We all need to be reminded during those times… WE ARE NOT ALONE.

Rooney’s World on Film School Rejects

Thanks to the fantastic site Film School Rejects for featuring Rooney’s World on their site!  FSR is one of the best film sites on the web and one that I read consistently.  Here’s a snippet of what they had to say about the short:

“A smart, playful comedy, this short… handled with a ton of heart… deserves to be seen by kids of all ages.”

Read the entire write-up here and be sure to poke around the rest of their site!

Postpartum Humor

Memories and anecdotes from my last long-term relationship.  Presented here out of context and out of order.  New comic every Wednesday.

I want to hang out with you at ComicCon!

If you’re going to be at San Diego ComicCon this week, PLEASE come by and say hello.  Our short is screening on Friday at 3:15pm in Marriott Hall 2 and we’d love to hang out!

Also feel free to share any other events and awesomeness (read: parties) in the comments.

 

Who are you?

I’ve recently been testing out some tactics on WordPress to boost readers of this site.  Posting more often, being more interactive, checking out the blogs of others.  And it’s helped.  Views have steadily been going up.  But I quickly grew uncomfortable with this idea of self-promotion, because it turned people into numbers and I’m a little grossed out by that.  I had to reevaluate the purpose of this site.

I realized my real goal is not to boost readership, but to boost relationships.  

So, with that in mind – I want to get to know you as a person, not as a number.  Maybe you’re a new visitor, maybe you’ve been coming by for a long time, maybe you’re a friend or family member, whatever it may be, I invite you to fill out this little quiz and post your response in the comments.

1. Where are you from?

2. What is your creative passion?

3. What is your favorite Tom Cruise movie?

4. Which author (alive or dead, fiction or non-fiction) would you want writing your biography?

5. Do you have a blog or other online home?  If so, where can I find it?

I’m gonna try to keep this a regular thing, post one of these every couple of weeks. Look forward to getting to you know you!

Reading / Watching / Listening – Machine Man / Safety Not Guaranteed / Knaves Grave

Reading - MACHINE MAN by Max Barry

Wow.  Just finished this book this morning and it’s just so perfect.  Everything I look for in a great story.  Grounded science fiction, a romance at it’s heart, laugh out loud, brought tears to my eyes, gasped audibly, asked deep questions about life without providing pat easy answers.  HIGHLY recommended.

Machine Man tells the story of Charles Neumann, a scientist who loses a leg in a lab accident and finds himself disappointed with the current limb-replacement technology.  So he builds himself a new leg.  A scientifically perfect leg.  But then Neumann finds himself disappointed with his remaining human limbs.

My previous experience with Barry was reading Jennifer Government, another book that I loved, and he’s quickly become one of my favorite authors.  Both books deal with the potential dangers of unregulated capitalism, but in a satirical way that is never at the forefront.  You almost get the feeling that Barry WANTS these unethical visions of capitalism to come true, just to see what’s possible.  There’s a curiosity there.  A trait of all great writers.  Max Barry is kind of like Kurt Vonnegut, had Vonnegut survived a marketing degree instead of World War II.

Darren Aronofsky is apparently attached to direct the film, and it’s ripe for adaptation.  Structured like a film.  Very visual.

Watching – Safety Not Guaranteed

I pretty much limit my TV viewing to two sitcoms and can safely say that Jake Johnson is what makes New Girl worth watching every week (sorry Zooey).  Aubrey Plaza is consistently great in everything she’s done – Parks & Rec (the only other sitcom I keep up with), Scott Pilgrim, Funny People.  The Duplass Brothers (producing here) are within my top ten filmmakers.  Mark Duplass as an actor continues to impress me, a rare, truly relatable leading man.  Producers Marc Turtletaub & Peter Saraf previously brought us Adaptation, Little Miss Sunshine, & Away We Go.

So pull all these pieces together with a creative and clever premise and a unique voice from first-time feature director (Colin Trevorrow) & writer (Derek Connolly), and this film was tailor-made for me.

Safety Not Guaranteed is based on an actual classified ad which reads:

WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me.  This is not a joke.  You’ll get paid after we get back.  Must bring your own weapons.  I have only done this one before.  Safety not Guaranteed.

The film follows Johnson and Plaza who, as journalists, track down the man who posted the ad (played by Duplass) in order to write an article poking fun at the ridiculousness of it.  Along the way Plaza develops feelings for Duplass, but what’s so refreshing about that film is how much it keeps you guessing from there.  A wonderful example of how you can take big ideas and make them on a budget.  A wonderful film full of surprises, humor, depth, and heart.

Listening – KNAVES GRAVE – Jake Ryan Maxi-Single

My friend Sunni told me she played in a band.  Normally when a friend tells me this I cross my fingers.  I want them to be good SO bad.  And honestly, I’m pleasantly surprised about 70% of the time.  But occasionally I’m completely blown away… and this was the case with Knaves Grave.

Knaves Grave is girl-fronted, straight-forward rock-n-roll.  They’ve got hints of the lo-fi riot grrrl thing, but without taking themselves too seriously  - at it’s heart, these are nostalgia-influenced pop songs, catchy sing-alongs.  There’s a Prince cover (I Would Die 4 U), an homage to the Ramones (Fuck Off Like Totally), and an instrumental clearly influenced by the Cure (Heartbreak #2).  The title track Jack Ryan is just my favorite thing ever – will get caught in your head for days and you’ll be happy about it.

You can download the whole album for free here.

What separates you from the professionals in your field?

If only you’d get that big break.  If only you knew the right person.  If only your family was more connected.  If only you had just a little more luck.  If only you had more money, more free time, more guts, then you’d be doing your passion full time, right?

If only… If only…

The truth is, the only thing separating you and the professionals in your field is the amount of time you’ve put into your craft.  

I’m not basing that on my own experiences, but on the experience of those professionals.  In the words of three writers from film, comics, & books:

Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin)

I made the observation that anyone who worked at a job for ten years invariably became an expert at that job. This insight freed me from the fear of picking a so-called ‘impossible’ job. I could pick any field I wanted, free of intimidation, because it was guaranteed I would become an expert… if I was willing to stick to it for ten years. So I picked the job I really wanted deep in my heart: writing for movies.

Since Ted and I were going to be working and studying screenwriting for ten years, that took some of the pressure off. It doesn’t make sense to kick yourself after failing at something for four years, when the path you’re on is designed to take ten. This allowed a period of time to undertake an analysis and exploration of the business, the techniques, the craft, the history, etc. Step by step, from style to format to character to concept to theme, etc. In other words, we gave ourselves room to practice.

Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Lost)

Write more, do other stuff less.

That’s it. Everything else is meaningless. You can take all the classes in the world and read every book on the craft out there, but at the end of the day, writing is sorta like dieting. There are plenty of stupid fads out there and charlatans promising quick fixes, but if you want to lose weight, you have to exercise more and eat less. Period. Every writer has 10,000 pages of shit in them, and the only way your writing is going to be any good at all is to work hard and hit 10,001.

And this isn’t just some tired cliche, I believe that’s a provable mathematical equation. I started writing five pages a day, every single day, when I began my senior year of high school. That means I hit 10,001 roughly a year after I graduated NYU, which was exactly when I pitched Y: THE LAST MAN to Vertigo.

Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers, Blink)

An innate gift and a certain amount of intelligence are important, but what really pays is ordinary experience. Bill Gates is successful largely because he had the good fortune to attend a school that gave him the opportunity to spend an enormous amount of time programming computers-more than 10,000 hours… The Beatles had a musical gift, but what made them the Beatles was a random invitation to play in Hamburg, Germany, where they performed live as much as five hours a night, seven days a week. That early opportunity for practice made them shine. Talented? Absolutely. But they also simply put in more hours than anyone else.

…to invest an extraordinary amount of time in pursuing that particular passion. Again, not just for a little time. The magic number for them, for Mozart, and for so many outliers, as I call them, appears to be 10,000 hours.

10 years.  

10,000 pages.  

10,000 hours.  

How close are you to these milestones?  How much time have you spent deliberately practicing your craft today?  Be pro-active.  Get feedback.  What area’s are you weak in?  How can you work to actively build those skills?  Give yourself time.  Be patient.  Enjoy this period in your life.

It’s easy to create one piece of art and then sit around complaining that no one wants it.  You can blame luck, you can blame nepotism, you can blame your financial situation, but there’s only one thing standing in the way of your success.

If you want to be a professional, you’ve got to put the time in.  There are no short cuts.

Fun with Crossword Puzzles – Part 2

Memories and anecdotes from my last long-term relationship.  Presented here out of context and out of order.  New comic every Wednesday.  Follow me on Instagram to get it a day early – @hudsonphillips

Rooney’s World – Awards & Reviews

Now that Rooney’s World is online and playing in festivals, we’re getting more and more positive feedback.  It’s such an encouraging thing to get reviews from people who aren’t friends or family, a great sense of accomplishment.  Really happy that it’s finding some kind of audience.

We also just won our first award!  Rooney’s World was voted People’s Choice for Best Short Film at AthFest Film Fest in Athens, GA this past weekend.  AthFest was our first film festival, so it was a big surprise to be coming home with an award, especially one voted on by the audience.

Here’s some of the positive reviews we’ve received so far:

“Rooney’s World shines as a funny and family-friendly short film. It is one of the few films to actually make me laugh out loud. I know it is very hard to do comedy in a short film but the lighthearted comedic touches in this film are just enough to make it appealing.” - Film Festval Judge

“Rooney’s World opens with a shot of a faded children’s TV show host (reminiscent of foxy Steve from Blue’s Clues) cheerlessly and messily cutting the crusts of a dismally soggy PB&J. What follows is a tale of fall from grace, reclaimed love and cartoon friendship — but trust me, it works. What works most is the host’s cartoon co-host, the titular Rooney, and his squeaky voice. It’s like the teacher from “Peanuts” but way cuter.” - Journalist

“A really cute film., it’s a well executed blend of live action and animation, and it’s a sweet story” - Writer / Film Festival Judge

“I like the script a lot. I like what it’s trying to say about life. Well-written and funny.”  - Actor / Writer / Director

“Took me totally by surprise.  Professional and weird and funny… all good things.”  - Television & Film Writer

“Great! Love the humor, the soul and the interesting questions the story raises.”  - Writer / Producer

“Funny, sincere and with a good dose of heart and goofiness.”  - Comic Book Writer / Filmmaker

“Wonderfully insane.” - Arts Center Owner

For those of you who haven’t seen the short yet, you can still catch it at rooneysworld.com or at Comic-Con on Friday, July 13th!

Top 5 Movies of 2012 (so far)

We’re coming up to the halfway mark on the year and I thought it’d be a good time to look back on the best films so far.  I think it’s actually been a pretty great year for film.  We haven’t really seen any Oscar-worthy flicks yet, but those always come in the last part of the year.  What we do have is a LOT of fun at the movies.  Here’s my top 5 so far…

1.The Avengers

The Avengers is not a perfect movie.  It’s got a slow, aimless first act, not much motivation for the antagonist, and Scarlett Johansson.  But these are just nitpicks really because OH MY GOD did I have a good time at this movie.  And not only that, but it won me over emotionally as well.  Joss Whedon is finally starting to get the praise he deserves with this film.  And once again, he earned it.  To pack a movie with this many characters and to make it work.  To be emotionally invested in them, to have them be so clearly defined.  It’s an achievement.  A GIANT, fun, character driven tale, I could watch those last 30 minutes on repeat.

2. 21 Jump Street

This is the year of Channing Tatum.  Between the massive success of 21 Jump Street, The Vow (which I also enjoyed), the upcoming Magic Mike, and they even apparently pushed back the release date of GI Joe 2 in order to un-kill his character!  But when you watch 21 Jump Street, you get it.  The guy is charming and hilarious.  This movie is smartly (and VERY funnily) written, playing up it’s premise perfectly with the occasional wink at the camera.  With an additional brilliant move of swapping the roles of the leads, with Jonah Hill becoming the popular kid, and Tatum becoming the nerdy one.  A refreshing throw-back to the great 80′s action-comedy flicks.

3. Brave

I went into this one expecting to be “meh” on it.  Reviews were so-so, it was coming on the heels of the only Pixar movie I skipped (Cars 2), and I usually enjoy the more outlandishly plotted Pixar films (Up, Wall-E).  But Brave is a wonderful original fairy tale.  It’s funny, adventurous, and emotionally gripping.  Pixar has created not only their first female lead, but in my opinion, their best character yet.  Merida is strong and independent while still being relatable.  This could be the greatest of the Disney Princesses, a great role model for young girls – heck, a great role model for me!  The movie also bravely chooses to not include a romance, instead putting all of it’s focus on Merida and the relationship with her mother.  And more surprisingly, I didn’t miss it.

4. Safety Not Guaranteed

I LOVE this movie.  Take two of my favorite actors from the only two sitcoms I watch (Jake Johnson from New Girl / Aubrey Plaza from Parks & Rec), add a 3rd star (and producer) from one of my favorite writer/director teams (the Duplass Brothers’ Mark Duplass), plus an amazing, funny borderline sci-fi premise, and you’ve got a film that is bound to be in my top 10 of the year.  This movie is laugh-out-loud hilarious, touching, romantic (I may or may not have fallen in love with Aubrey Plaza’s character), all the while asking some wonderful and deep questions about life.

5. MISC

Having a hard time picking a final spot, so I’m just gonna list the ones that come close.  And while I enjoyed all of these and recommend them, I doubt any will end up on my best-of-end-of-year list.

Prometheus – a wonderfully deep sci-fi movie.

John Carter – a lot of fun with a great ending.

This Means War – surprisingly funny and clever.

Cabin in the Woods – one of the most insane, risk-taking movies I’ve ever seen.

Fun with Crossword Puzzles – Part 1

Memories and anecdotes from my last long-term relationship.  Presented here out of context and out of order.  New comic every Wednesday.

 

Writing Happiness

I recently caught a TED talk by Dr. Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology (which basically states that psychology can be used for more than just making miserable people not-miserable, but also for making not-miserable people happy.)

In this study of happiness, Seligman has divided happiness into three categories:

Emotional Happiness - This is what we typically think of as happiness.  Laughing, spending time with friends, falling in love.  Activities that bring about an emotional reaction.

Seligman states that the one thing that happy people have in common is that they are all social.  They are in romantic relationships and have deep friendships.  BUT for those lonely, friendless folks, there are two other types of happiness that are deeper and longer lasting…

Engaging Happiness - These are those moments when life disappears around you and you’re “in the zone.”  When you’re writing a song and you look up at the clock and realize you’ve been sitting there with a guitar for 4 hours.  I think everyone can relate to those moments.

Maybe your zone is basketball.  Maybe it’s drawing, writing, knitting, game-playing, climbing, speaking, designing – maybe it’s a hobby, or maybe it’s your job.  This is much of what I was getting at with this post on doing what you were meant to be doing.

Generally these activities are absent of “emotional happiness” but the one emotion I would assign to this type of happiness is exhilaration.

Meaningful Happiness - The final type of happiness is the one with the most lasting effect.  And it’s to be part of something bigger than yourself.  To give of yourself.  To serve others.  To live a life of gratitude and gratefulness.  To live a life of meaning and purpose.

Seligman tells us that if a person has all three types of happiness, they are exponentially greater than the sum of their parts.

What occurred to me though, is how these three types of happiness show up in all kinds of places.  Take movies for example.  Don’t your favorite movies explore these three types of happiness?  Aren’t they emotionally deep – even if that emotion is laughter or excitement or romance?  Aren’t they engaging – that you disappear from the real world for an hour or two, away from all your problems?  And aren’t the very best ones meaningful – that you leave the theater questioning your own life?

So this week’s challenge is to explore these three types of happiness, not just in your life, but in your art and in your work.  Don’t just create something fun, create something engaging, create something meaningful.  These are the things that last.

You can find out more about happiness (and take lots of fun quizes) at Speligman’s website, authentichappiness.org, or watch the talk in its entirety here:

HeroesCon

Just made it back from HeroesCon in Charlotte yesterday.  Such a wonderful convention, HIGHLY recommended to anyone interested in creating comics.  I was only there for a day and a half but was able to set up a booth and do some Rooney’s World promo, caught a panel on pitching comics by Chris Schweizer, met dozens of AMAZING comic book artists and creators, ate lots of food, drank lots of drink, and made lots of new friends.  Sleep?  Not so much.  Thanks to everyone who was so awesome to me.

It just occurred to me that the only photo I took was the one to the left.  NOTE TO SELF: Take more photos next year.  Love, Hudson.

You should make it a point of being there next year and come hang out with us.  Yes, YOU!

Reading / Watching / Listening – Slaughterhouse-Five / Contagion / Santigold

Reading – SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE

I’d read only one novel and a handful of essays and short stories by Vonnegut before and I’m a huge fan of his voice, so I figured I’d give his most well-known book a shot.

I didn’t know much about the book, besides its passing reference in Footloose.  And based on the description, I thought it was a traditional war book, so I kind of kept my distance from it, as that’s not really my thing.  But was happy to discover a book filled with aliens and time travel and that wonderful Vonnegut wit.

My one complaint is that the book seems all theme, and all voice.  He’s got one of the best voices out there, and I’d read anything the guy writes, but I would’ve liked to see a little more plot from him.

That isn’t to say the book doesn’t have plot.  And the themes it explores are deep.  Everyone calls it an anti-war book, but I think it’s deeper than that.  I’d call it a pro-life book.  It explores the idea that if timelines don’t really exist, if we never die, but instead just keep living the same moments over and over again… how would that change the way you live your life?

Watching – CONTAGION

This is one of two Steven Soderbergh films from last year that looked pretty unoriginal, so I skipped them.  But my brother highly recommended Contagion and I’m working on a story that deals with a virus, so I decided to give it a shot.  And man, I was reminding how much I love Soderbergh.  In fact, I’ve loved EVERYTHING I’ve seen of his, so why am I not rushing out to the theater every time he makes a movie?  The thing is, he’s so prolific (and often with super low budget films that get no wide release) that it’s easy to skip some.  Now I AM going to rush out and catch up on movies of his that I’ve missed.

Anyways, Contagion is more original than it looks.  A realistic take on the behind-the-scenes of a virus outbreak.  Masterfully edited, great score and impressively acted by the whole lot.  Really eye-opening and surprisingly touching.

Listening – SANTIGOLD – MASTER OF MY MAKE-BELIEVE

I was a huge fan of the first Santigold album, (self-titled Santogold – wait a second, is that a misprint or did she change the spelling of her name between the first and second album?) coming across it randomly on eMusic, it’s a mix of world music / reggae, hip-hop, & punk rock.  This album is more of the same, with a little more electronic influence.  The first track, GO! features Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and this fits right at home with their last album.

And like the first Sanitold/Santogold album, EVERY track is great.  And that’s a rare thing to find these days.  Check out the tracks GO! and This Isn’t Our Parade to get a good feel.  For fans of MIA or dance partys.  GO GET IT!

Top Five Screenwriting Resources

For the past 7 or 8 years I’ve been soaking up as much information on screenwriting as possible.  I’ve probably read dozens of books on writing, listened to hundreds of interviews, read thousands of articles.  This was my film-school.

These days I’m having less and less time for research, as I spend that time ACTUALLY WRITING, but I think it’s an important process for those starting out.

What follows is a list of my favorite resources, and the ones that I still revisit on a regular basis:

Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too!

If you only track down one resources from this list, make it this one.  Written by the State alum Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon, it’s one of the only screenwriting books you’ll find written by ACTUAL SCREENWRITERS.  It’s also incredibly funny.

The book is split into two parts.  Part One: Selling Your Movie takes you through the process of what it’s like to work as a writer in Hollywood – How to Pitch Your Movie, Our Lunch With Jackie Chan, and Why Does Almost Every Studio Movie SUCK Donkey Balls?  It’s pretty eye-opening to learn what the job of a screenwriter actually entails.

The second part, Part Two: Writing A Screenplay, tells you how to… write a screenplay.  Structure, characters, drinking too much, and it’s all fantastic advice from guys who do this stuff for a living.  All you need to write a movie is right here.

Don’t let the cover fool you.  It’s a very smart book.  And in a sea of boring screenwriting books, this is the one that stands out.

The Coffee Break Screenwriter: Writing Your Script Ten Minutes at a Time

Written by Pilar Alessandra, a speaker and script consultant, the book is cutely divided in to ten-minute chunks and filled with ten-minute exercises.  It walks you through the writing of a screenplay from beginning to end.  Extremely detailed, great content on structure and with a much-needed emphasis on rewriting.  And yeah, it literally tells you how to write a movie on your coffee breaks.  So no more complaining that you don’t have time.

This is the only book I still reference while I’m writing.  It helps me focus on specific areas of need when I get lost.  Like having my own little script consultant.

Wordplayer.com

52 essays on the craft and business of screenwriting.  This site has been around for a while and isn’t much to look at, but these essays are just wonderful.  Written by Pirates of the Caribbean writers, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, you can tell that the articles were born out of real-life screenplay problem solving.  This is the only screenwriting website I recommend checking out.  Not because other’s aren’t any good, but because this puts them all to shame.

The Q&A / Creative Screenwriting Magazine Podcast

An amazing wealth of screenwriting knowledge, The Q&A is usually about an hour long and features interviews with screenwriters of new (and sometimes old) films.  Hosted by Jeff Goldsmith, who after a few listens, you’ll just be dying to make fun of, but he’s one of the best interviewers out there.  He consistently asks great questions and gets the information you wanna know.

You can find older interviews in the Creative Screenwriting Magazine Podcast.  Same guy, same format, just a different name.  You’ll probably find your favorite screenwriter in there somewhere.

Screenwriting Tips You Hack

Xander Bennett gives you short, daily screenwriting tips.  This is also a book.  And a website.  But since all these tips are pretty short, Twitter is the perfect spot for them.  Go back and read all of them – there’s over a 1000.

Honorable Mentions:

Website: ScriptShadow – Carson Reeves reviews unproduced screenplays.

Podcast: ScriptNotes – John August & Craig Mazin discuss the business of screenwriting.

Book: Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies – Blake Snyder walks you through hundreds of examples of structure used in popular movies.

Do you have any favorites that I missed?  Leave a comment and let me know!

Candy’s Not Supposed To Be Sour

Memories and anecdotes from my last long-term relationship.  Presented here out of context and out of order.  New comic every Wednesday.

 

Empathy

All wars begin because of one thing.  Romantic break-ups, political disagreements, family fall-outs, religious persecution… all because we lack EMPATHY:

The ability to put ourselves in the shoes of others.

If you want a successful marriage, if you want a successful business partnership, if you want a successful marketing campaign with your clients or customers – the key is empathy.  It’s not about convincing someone else what you want, but it’s finding what the other person needs.  And the only way to do that is to put yourself in their shoes.

I had an old friend contact me the other day for coffee.  I hadn’t seen him in years and thought it would be good to catch up.  But the moment we sat down, he goes into a pitch on something he’s trying to sell me.  He only cared about what he wanted at that moment.  He could care less about what I needed.  And I haven’t talked to him since.  A much wiser decision would’ve been to catch up, build a relationship, get to know me on a personal level and find out if I even needed what he was offering.

Why do we have such a hard time with empathy?  I think mostly because it’s difficult.  It takes work.  It’s much easier for us to corner ourselves off in this black and white world where we are always right.  Where the world revolves around us.  Where all relationships exist to help us reach our goals.

Just about every time I see my step-dad, we argue over politics.  He tries to convince me that his political beliefs are “right” and mine are “wrong.”  I always kind of laugh and shrug it off (he doesn’t care for this response).  But what does he gain from me agreeing with him?  What does he lose by me disagreeing with him?

Because the moment we clash with someone who might have a different perspective, our black and white world becomes grey and all those walls we’ve built up around ourselves crumble.

Being empathetic is being vulnerable.

It’s not enough to just assume what the other person wants (humans are really bad guessers) but we have to actually communicate to find that out.  Listen to your clients.  Listen to your spouse.  Don’t try to impose your view on them, but accept their view as their own and figure out how you can serve that view.

We all come from different walks of life and we are going to have different needs, but it’s important to realize that it doesn’t make one person wrong and one person right, it just makes us different.  And we have to celebrate those differences, not impose our point of view on everyone else.

What can you do differently this week to empathize with your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, co-worker, boss, mom, dad, brother, sister, friend, neighbor, fan or client?

My Fave Films of 2011

Well, this is late.  But I’ve caught up on a few films from last year, and now feel confident about my list.  I saw right around 60 films from 2011.  These are my top 10.  And to clarify how I choose my top ten: these may not be the best films, but they are the ones that I left the theater most excited about, that I will buy on DVD and watch over and over again (some of which I already have).  Generally these are the movies that made me FEEL the most.  And if I had to sum up this year, I’d have to say it’s the year of the great ending.  Some of the films below may be flawed, but all of them won me over by the end.

Feel free to disagree and sound off in the comments below.  Let me know any films you think I missed, and I might even get around to some honorable mentions.

Here goes:

10. REAL STEEL

Between this, Super 8, and Attack the Block, could this be the year of return to Amblin-style films?  Those films of our youth that leave cynicism at the door and embrace the magic of the movies?  Where robots and aliens and treasure maps all really exist and are embraced by emotionally genuine characters?  Real Steel is a great father & son story.  Is it Over the Top with robots?  Sure.  But you get more emotion from the deadest of these robots than you do from Sly Stallone.  Made me want to stand up and cheer AND evaluate my relationship with my son at the same time.

Unforgettable Scene: The first time the kid wins a fight, even after everyone telling him he’ll never make it out alive.  Who doesn’t love an underdog?

9. TAKE SHELTER

Take Shelter is like Field of Dreams’s goth little brother.  Not that the film itself is goth – it’s actually a refreshingly accurate portrait of middle-America – but it is dark.  And this plot ALWAYS works:  A man who gives up everything for a goal.  And in this film, the (possibly insane) protagonist sacrifices everything in order to build a shelter to protect his family from a coming apocalypse.  The greatest compliment I can give this movie is I had no idea where it was going.  Much like the main character, you’re not sure what is reality and what isn’t.  But underneath it all, it’s also a film about family.  About acceptance and unconditional love.  Brutal and beautiful.

Unforgettable Scene:  Don’t’ wanna ruin it, but it’s the last scene.  I had no idea how they were going to end it, but couldn’t ask for a more surprising, satisfying, and unforgettable ending.

8. THOR

Thor?  I couldn’t think of a less interesting comic book character.  Kenneth Branagh?  Not my thing.  Chris Hemsworth?  Never heard of him.  Natalie Portman?  Okay, I’ll watch her in anything.  But other than that, I wasn’t expecting much from this film.  And boy was I pleasantly surprised.  This is one that I really enjoyed in the theater and it got better each time I watched it, ultimately becoming my favorite super hero movie of the year (apologies to all the X-Men, Cap, and the Greens).  It was big and fun (and funny).  Lacking in cynicism.  And had a great heart.

Unforgettable Scene: They hit this same beat a number of times – “I’m Thor, how dare you challenge me?” followed by Thor getting tazzered or hit by a car or getting a tranquilizer to the butt.  But I belly laughed every time.

7. SUPER 8

A wonderful celebration of youth.  Not just all the moments that remind us of our own childhood, but the homages to the MOVIES the remind us of our own childhood.  On top of that, a very honest exploration of loss and new beginnings.  I lost my father at a young age, and this hit so close to home.  I’ll be honest, the monster parts of this movie were my least favorite.  It’s everything else that draws me to this film.

Unforgettable Scene: When Joe is applying zombie make-up on Alice and she shows off her acting skills, coming THIS CLOSE to biting his neck, leaving lipstick behind.  Such a cute and romantic moment.

6. THE ARTIST

A silent feel-good epic.  Such charm.  A nice companion piece to Midnight in Paris, except while that film told us to look forward instead of back, I sure am glad the Artist looked back.  Touches on our value in the creative world, how it can (and will) be swept away in an instant… and all that’s left are the relationships we cultivate along the way.

Unforgettable Scene:  The last “line” in the movie.  Such a unique twist that made the entire film before it a masterpiece.

5. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

It took me a while to check this one out.  While I usually enjoy Woody Allen, the original previews mentioned nothing of time travel!  So once a friend explained to me what it was actually about, I had to check it out.  Such a feel-good little film with a great concept.  Great performances all around from Dignan, to Loki and Kim Pine playing the Fitzgeralds, to Bloom as Dali, to whoever played Hemingway, and that guy from Twilight being such a great non-blood sucking douchebag.  Another film defined largely by its score of classic swing tunes.

Unforgettable Scene: Anytime Hemingway is on screen.

4. ATTACK THE BLOCK

This one kind of came and went, praised inside the fanboy community, but not much outside of it.  It’s unfortunate because it’s a great, fun film.  Breakfast Club meets Die Hard with aliens is the most accurate way I could describe it.  And that’s pretty spot on.  And it wasn’t just good for laughs or scares, but a real in depth look at family and a generation growing up without one, and a great message of taking responsibility for your actions.  That might sound borderline after-school special, but Joe Cornish couldn’t have picked a more interesting and authentic world to tell his tale in.  Loved it.

Unforgettable Scene: “Moses!  Moses!  Moses!”

3. DRIVE

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of all things Gosling.  And yes, I do mean ALL things (*cough* Notebook).  He’s always a pleasure to watch and Drive was no exception.  So refreshing to watch an UNDERstated action movie.  And that soundtrack!  I recently watched Last of the Mohicans for the first time, and while it was a good movie, it’s soundtrack makes it UNFORGETTABLE.  Same thing here.  Such a refreshing choice to throw in the synth-pop soundtrack and it fit perfectly, like a musical with the songs filling in the blanks of what’s left unsaid.

Unforgettable Scene:  Come on… gotta be that elevator kiss.  This did not make me cry, but it did make me want to fall in love.  Bash a guys head in?  Not so much.

2. MONEYBALL

I don’t play sports.  I don’t watch sports.  But this movie made me love baseball, it made me love business, it made me love Brad Pitt (even more), it made me love my family (even more), and it made me love film (even more).  Brilliantly written by Aaron Sorkin & Steve Zaillian and equally directed by Bennet Miller.  One of the all-time great “guy who is good at his job overcomes obstacles” dramas, right up there with Jerry Maguire and Up in the Air.

Unforgettable Scene: Pitt driving off into the sunset listening to his daughter’s acoustic version of Lenka’s “The Show.”  Such a sweet and satisfying ending.  And yes, this made me cry.

1. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART II

My love for the Harry Potter films, especially the last four is… how do I put this… RIDICULOUS.  So ridiculous that I feel like I can safely say that Deathly Hallows Part II is not only the best finale of any franchise, but a perfect finale to the greatest franchise ever.  An amazing emotional roller coaster that is completely satisfying.  David Yates and team pulled off a miracle.

Unforgettable Scene: That Snape back story montage will always bring me to tears.  SO beautiful.  This is why Snape is one of the top ten greatest characters ever put on screen.