The Good Guy

This afternoon, I had the privilege of attending a screening at Tribeca of The Good Guy (starring Scott Porter, Alexis Bledel, and Bryan Greenberg). I hope not to give too much away, because it is a worthwhile film and I hope it gets distributed. But I can't stop thinking about the film, especially the script, and thought I'd share my ruminations.

The basic premise is a love triangle centered on Wall Street. It's a romantic comedy -- though not quite in the same league as Kate Hudson/Meg Ryan movies. More a comedy whose anchor was partly romance.

The characters were really the most interesting aspect of the movie. The writer/director Julio DePietro broke all sorts of basic rules with his protagonist. First, there were essentially three protagonists who occupied mostly equal amounts of screen time (though one was slightly more focal than the others). They each had valuable stories that didn't really overshadow one another. Yet, it wasn't an ensemble piece. Each protagonist was also the antagonist at different moments, which kept the audience guessing. And, what I found most intriguing about the film, was that the characters were all people we've seen in real life -- cliches almost -- but not people we've ever seen on screen. They were real people who we'd recognize but not movie characters.

It was actually disconcerting to watch this film with all the script reading I'm doing. The rules for what works in scripts can sometimes be so rigid. This is usually a good thing -- most first time writers don't understand the rules well enough to break them, so the result is a clumsy script. I'm so used to evaluating scripts -- and movies -- with my mental checklist of the dos and don'ts of screenwriting that for a while I couldn't decide if The Good Guy worked or not. But, after marinating on the film and talking briefly with DiPietro, I realize it did.

There are a few reasons the movie worked, even with its rule-breaking characters. First, the comedy was great. The audience laughed out loud multiple times. Even during gut-wrenching scenes, there was room for laughter. Second, the movie hinted at what it was doing. It basically acknowledged that the characters in the film were going to be a little different, and how. The script actually foreshadowed itself in a way. Acknowledging that rules were about to be broken softened the blow. It was obvious that DiPietro understood screenwriting and the basic storytelling rules of the medium, but that he had a statement to make by breaking them. Three, the techinical stuff -- editing, music, direction, acting -- were superb.

So what's the moral? It's okay to break screenwriting rules every so often -- just make sure you know what the rules are, you understand you're breaking them, and you strengthen another aspect (like comedy) of your script so a finicky reader is too excited to pass. Don't be afraid of unconventional characters.

Oh, and check out The Good Guy, either at Tribeca or when it hopefully gets a distribution deal.

Networking Tips, Inspired by Tribeca

The Tribeca Film Festival is here! Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend two Tribeca events, a panel on writing for big budget vs small budget films, and a screening of the romantic comedy TiMER. (Yes, it is a lower-case "i").

I'll give notes on the panel in an upcoming post. The movie was really charming. It stars Emma Caulfield of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame (she played Anya). It's a romantic comedy set in a world where you can get a wrist implant that will count down to the day you will meet your soulmate -- so a lot of the love game is gone. I liked it a lot. And I got to meet Emma afterwards, which was fantastic, since I'm a huge Buffy fan.

But anyway...I mostly attended these events for the networking opportunities involved. It's great to know as much about the business as possible, but without connections, knowledge, creativity, and talent won't get you anywhere. I made one great career connection and one personal connection (which, you never know what it could lead to!)

But along the way I noticed some networking faux pas.

First off, if you arrive early for an event, don't pull out a book or an ipod or anything. Try to engage with the people around you. They all share some similar interest, right? Otherwise you wouldn't be at the same event. Everyone is looking for their next connection -- let it be you! Try to take a seat next to someone, instead of a few over. This way you can really converse. Even though an opening is scary, it's worth it. Try "I like your shirt/dress/boots." Or, "Do you know what time this starts?" or "Oh, I've been meaning to read that book you're holding, is it good?" or "Boy, it's nice out today, isn't it?" Then, follow up with "By the way, my name is (Cindy). Nice to meet you. What brings you here today?"

I opened up to the person next to me at the TiMER screening by asking if she was with Tribeca. She was wearing a Heineken lanyard, which the volunteers and workers all had. She responded (quite curtly) "No, I'm an industry professional." "Oh," I said. "What do you do?"
"I'm an aspiring filmmaker." (still curtly)
"Very nice."
"Yeah, well, I'm working in web and video for a company so I got this pass."
And then she stopped talking to me. No follow-up questions.

Not to toot my own horn, but this woman could have been making a huge mistake. She had no idea who I was -- maybe a student (I look young) or an aspiring filmmaker like herself -- or maybe I've had things produced. Maybe I'm an assistant at Mirimax. Maybe I'm Martin Scorcese's niece. How would she know? She never asked. She missed out on making a connection because she was rude and had no follow-up. So always follow-up with someone if they approach you to network. I've had too many people at networking events just stare blankly, as if the adage "Don't talk to strangers" applies at business networking events. It doesn't.

Another error this "industry professional" made is that she assumed I was not worth networking with. EVERYONE is worth networking with. You never know what the future holds for someone. In 5 years, I could be a senior writer on a major TV show (we hope we hope we hope). Even people who aren't in the industry are worthwhile. You never know who someone knows. Maybe someone is an accountant. But maybe this accountant has an important client. Or plays golf with a big Hollywood person. You're only hurting yourself if you judge based on appearance, past credits, or career.

There's a famous Hollywood truth that's worth repeating. Today's assistant is tomorrow's exec. Be courteous to everyone, take an interest in everyone, and soon your Rolodex (or blackberry or twitter friends) will grow.

Tonight I'm headed to an event sponsored by NYWIFT that I'm really excited for -- a Conversation with Theresa Rebeck (writer on Law and Order, writer of Harriet the Spy and Gossip, as well as others...playwright). I hope networking opportunities abound, and as always, if there's something interesting that pops up I'll be sure to share it!

Neuroses

Ever since I started taking screenwriting seriously and reading script after script, I realize I've become a little neurotic. I find myself cringing at minor details that any normal person wouldn't even notice. But in this business, you kind of have to be neurotic, because everyone else is.

So here are some of the things that make me cringe, that most people would ignore.

1. The wrong font. Scripts should be in courier new size 12. Not in anything else. Just courier new. It is your friend.

2. Camera language. You don't look smarter for knowing what a Wide Angle is or a closeup. You look like you don't know what a screenwriter's job is and what a director's job is.

3. Underlined words. If we can't figure out the inflection in the dialogue from the words on the page, think about how to reconstruct the sentence so it's obvious. Again, you're a writer, not an actor.

4. Sluglines that aren't INT. LOCATION -- TIME or EXT. LOCATION -- TIME. Don't include extra info. Don't switch the order around. Don't forget to use a slugline.

5. Sluglines that say "INT. DARCY'S KITCHEN -- DAY" followed by, "Darcy is in her kitchen." Well, if she's anywhere on screen it's in her kitchen. We learned that from the slugline.

6. The wrong size brads. Now, I didn't know this a bit ago, and I panicked trying to find the right brads. They are Acco #5s, available special order from Staples or Office Depot or thewritersstore.com. They are not the same as Staples brands. I held both in my hand, and they are vastly different. #5s are 1 1/4 inch. And made of real brass. Use two of them, but punch 3 holes.

7. If you are submitting a script online, convert it a PDF. Not everyone has Final Draft or Moviemagic on their computers, and you don't want someone not to be able to open your script. A Word document will likely screw up your formatting. When I read scripts in Word, I know there are bound to be errors and pre-judge the script. Conversely, if there aren't any errors, I get thrilled that the writer really took the time to understand formatting and proofread, but that's not usually the case.

More to come later...but for now, those are things that drive me CRAZY when I'm reading a script.

What Separates High Concept from Boring

One of the first things you learn as a screenwriter is that you have to write something that can sell. That your script should be as marketable as possible, and one of the ways to do that is to create a "high concept" script. You know, a script that has an idea so simple and catchy it can be summed up in one sentence.

For example: A journalist lacking romantic experience goes undercover to a high school, where she falls for her English teacher -- Never Been Kissed. A blonde sorority president from LA enrolls in Harvard Law School when her ex-boyfriend dumps her for a more intellectual old-money girl -- Legally Blonde. Two single guys crash weddings to pick up girls -- Wedding Crashers.

These movies' premises seem simple enough. But there's more to them than just a good concept. Too often, I read scripts that have great hooks, are high concept, but lack the extra edge to get them pushed toward a recommend. That extra edge is soul, heart, a universal theme. It's like when your friend tells you a funny story -- it's either great, or it's the kind of story that begs you to respond "And then you found five dollars, right?" Too many scripts fall into that latter category.

A script needs to be about something. A charming concept is a great start, but it needs to be backed up by a story that the audience can relate to, with characters that transport them. It seems obvious enough, but most of the scripts I read lack this simple element. They focus on plot, on getting the concept from point A to point B – but since the beauty of a high concept script is that we kind of already know what to expect (hence it’s salability, because the audience knows they’ll like it), following a plot along gets tedious. It’s especially problematic with comedies that lack this element, because they wind up becoming too-long sketches. No one wants to watch (or read) two hours of the same joke. But a joke that accompanies growing characters and a universal theme is golden.

Let’s explore some of the earlier examples I gave. What is the universal theme or the heart in Never Been Kissed? Well, Drew Barrymore’s character Josie has always been the nerd, always been a few steps behind in her life, but when she gets the chance to live through high school again, her brother helps boost her popularity, and her teacher falls for her sexy intellect. It all starts to crumble when her secret is discovered, and she winds up being humiliated – as humiliated as she was back in high school when the hottest guy in school stood her up for prom. The only difference is, this time she has the confidence to face the humiliation and the courage to make things right. The audience can relate to her, and to the movie, because everyone’s had those moments where we feel a few steps behind of everyone else. Everyone’s been humiliated, been heart-broken – so when Josie stands up there on the pitcher’s mound, finally taking charge of her life and leaving her bad memories behind, we’re right there with her.

Or take Legally Blonde. The joke of a superficial sorority girl at Harvard Law would get pretty old pretty fast if there wasn’t something more to the story. Legally Blonde is a story about standing up for yourself in the face of adversity, believing in yourself when no one else does, and trusting your instincts. This theme is all over the movie – in Elle’s sunny declaration that she’ll go to Harvard; when Elle helps her manicurist Paulette get her dog back and win over the UPS guy; when Elle believes Brooke is innocent and sticks her neck out to prove it; when Elle walks away from the case after Callahan puts a move on her, but swiftly returns because she believes she can win the case; when she uses her Cosmo knowledge to win the case. The movie is funny, and the concept brings the audience in, but it’s the message of the movie that gives it its soul – and its Golden Globe noms.

And Wedding Crashers? It’s more than just an outrageous comedy filled with quotable dialogue and memorable provocative scenes (who can ever forget the hand job at the dinner table?). It’s a story about friendship. About friends who are so close they do everything together. They’re the perfect single buddies, living the bromantic life until they fall in love, and have to deal with the complications that will inevitability change their friendship.

Pick any high concept movie and you’ll see that it’s about a lot more than its simple premise would suggest. A script with a funny hook that fails to convey a message to the audience, a script that plods along its plot without characters that are beautifully and wholly human, isn’t going to make it past a reader. Before you sit down to write a script, tune in to yourself to find what it is you want to tell the world, what inner universal truth you’re committed to spreading. To paraphrase Jewel, if you could tell the world one thing, what would it be? Answer that in your high concept script, and you’ll have an audience hooked.

Welcome!

It's that age old question of what to write after Fade In...you know where you'd like to take the story, but you're not quite sure where it begins. So too, my blog.

I'd like this blog to serve a few purposes:

I'll share some of my knowledge of what to do and what not to do when writing and submitting a script. I've been reading scripts for a management company for a while now, and I see a lot of the same errors over and over. I've also read a few scripts that got it right, and I'd love to see more of them. I won't be able to get into any specifics about the scripts themselves, but I'll share tips that can get your script past readers like me.

I'm also working on some of my own writing projects. I have a feature and a TV spec that I've completed and I'm just beginning work on my next project. I'll talk a little about my writing process and share those wonderful and frustrating moments only writers can really appreciate.

I'm currently interning at a fabulous organization called New York Women in Film and TV. The organization hosts speakers, seminars, panels, screenings, etc., with the hopes of providing resources and networking opportunities for filmmakers (women specifically, but men are encouraged to join). I'll share some of what I've learned both from the events themselves and from networking. Because we're all great writers, right? We just need those connections...so I'll be talking a bit on how to get and maintain some connections.

Speaking of connections...what I think will be the most of fun aspect of this blog is that I intend for it to be interactive. I'd love to respond to readers' questions. On the other hand, I have yet to be paid for my writing work, so obviously I won't have all the answers. It would be great if you all could send me some of your insights and experiences, and I'll post them here (with proper attribution, of course!). I also want to lend my "script reader goggles" to you, so if you have a scene that you're having trouble with or just need a pair of eyes to look over, send it my way, and I'll post it here with some feedback. I'd love to have this blog become an online hub of screenwriters, so we can all build our networks, have moral support, and polish our writing while we do it.

Welcome to the blog, I hope you enjoy it!