The Information Generation

God knows on the heels of a blog about time management, it seems ironic to post something about getting online and staying informed, but Rouge Wavers, keeping informed about what’s happening in the business should be part of your daily commitment to your writing career. Rouge Wavers are a savvy bunch – hey, you found the Rouge Wave, right? But here are a couple of resources I find really helpful and entertaining:

www.Hollywoodwiretap.com is a daily newsfeed; sort of a thumbnail best-of so you don’t have to read through every page of Variety or the Hollywood Reporter which is expensive, time consuming and sometimes tedious. Think of wiretap as information served up quick and dirty for writers on the go, movers and shakers, the double latté generation, i.e., Rouge Wavers.

Also, www.mediabistro.com where today I saw this listing:

Freelancing for Public Radio - March 17 in Los Angeles
Learn how to get your stories on shows like All Things Considered or This American Life.

How cool does that sound? I have wanted to get something on NPR for a long time. This American Life is going to the small screen on Showtime later this month or in April, I believe. Not sure how it will translate; I love radio, personally.

Also on Media Bistro.com today -

Eisner Seeks to Reprise Role of Content Guy on the Web (LAT)
Michael Eisner is making entertainment again. The former Walt Disney Co. chief executive said his Tornante Co. will shoot 80 episodes of a new series called Prom Queen, each lasting just 90 seconds. The series will start showing online April 2 at Vuguru.com, YouTube and Veoh.com, a video sharing service in which Eisner is an investor.

I think the growth of YouTube and similar outlets for filmmakers to experiment with is really exciting. I have a friend who worked on Spiderman 3 with Sam Raimi and he said one day on the set, a young, pierced, tattooed kid was visiting; looking at the monitor right over Raimi’s shoulder and when he asked who it was, the AD told him it was a kid who’d made a 2 minute zombie movie on YouTube. Someone saw it, showed it to Raimi and Raimi invited him onto the set for a visit. WOW. It’s a whole new era and the Eisner article above is that era writ large. It’s a big, fat gilded invitation for you writer/directors out there looking to break in.

I also noticed a very intriguing resource in Script Magazine (which, if you haven’t checked out the hard copy relaunch under the aegis of Final Draft, you really must) which is a diagram of the various aspects of a writer’s life. It’s free and you can find it at www.Scriptwriterslife.com.

Rouge Wavers with other resources so share, feel free to comment. Writers have to stick together; networking and sharing information is a significant component in the writer’s survival kit. That and little bottles of vodka and cans of Red Bull.

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