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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Why I Love Horror Movies

As a 15-year-old horror movie lover and the daughter of a movie freak (sorry, mom but it's true) I have seen a large variety of movies from The Exorcist, to Rosemary's Baby to Saw, to Ju-On, 28 Days Later to The Hills Have Eyes. I’m writing this target audience members view of what makes the movie good to the kids that are actually going to watch it. There are a lot of different things that make up a horror movie. There is the simple horror formula, something that all horror movies need and that can be used without being cheesy and keeping that originality. Another important thing is your subgenre. The subgenre of the movie will define just how the formula works, and how your script can be made into something more than what has been done in the past.

The horror movie formula, (thank you, Scream), is simple. You need at least one survivor, the virgin. They have to be good and wholesome, yet strong enough to eventually face off with the villain. Other characters, especially in teen flicks, need to be drinking beer and being mean and what not, because they will all die. The villain has to be mysterious, but scary at the same time, and somewhat relatable to real life (that makes it a lot scarier). The one thing with the formula is it’s SO hard to take it seriously. I’m laughing while I write it, but honestly, without it, a horror movie just isn’t horror. I think that what some people don’t realize is that horror is definitely not a serious genre. Not that it doesn’t count, but when writing something scary, it’s good to have a little fun with it. Make it a little campy, and you’re giving it more potential. Take the Nightmare on Elm Street series, possibly the campiest series I’ve ever seen (sorry, Robert Englund) yet one of the most popular franchise horrors yet.

The subgenre of the movie is hard to kinda spell out in a blog, so forgive me if I didn’t do it in perfect format. Basically, you have your main subgenres which include Monster movies (the Thing, the Descent, the Wolfman, ect), Slashers and Serial killer movies (Saw, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween) Supernatural (The Ring, The Shining, The Amityville Horror), Zombie, yes it has it’s own subgenre (Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later, Night of the Living Dead), Demonic (The Omen, The Exorcist, The Exorcism of Emily Rose), and of course, the small but vibrant category, Vampires (Lost boys, Dracula, Nosferatu). When you know what subgenre of horror you’re writing, it is a lot easier to find guidelines, suggestions, and history on the theme. For instance if you’re making a zombie movie, you need to know the “evolution” of zombies. You need to learn what the difference is between Night of the Living Dead and 28 Days Later because if you don’t you’ll be WAY behind.

Whenever my mom talks about a horror movie, she always uses the term "the pop-out moment" because you see it a lot in horror movies. This is what some people think of as a crucial thing in horror movies, but actually, if you’ve got a good story, I would not suggest using a lot of pop out moments. Although they startle the audience, the movie is twice as frightening if you can work the fear in without using too much standard stuff like that. My mom and I watched The Orphanage a couple of weeks ago, a horror/thriller with maybe one or two pop-out moments. And the moments were really scary because there were only one or two of them.

The horror movie that has scared me the most out of everything I’ve seen was the first Saw movie. It scared me because while it wasn’t exactly realistic, it was possible. I related to it and that kept me up for nights. There’s the same kinda thing going on with The Strangers and Misery. Is it likely that a random person is going to capture and kill you? No, but the idea that it is possible is a lot scarier than say, The Ring. We know that there is no such thing as a video that kills you, and even though supernatural movies are scary sometimes, the fear goes away quickly because you’re so aware that it’s not real.

Something that people don’t always take into consideration is a memorable villain. Would Halloween be the same without Michael Myers? Probably not. You need somebody that people will think about and make into an icon. You need a characteristic they always have (Jason’s hockey mask, Dracula’s fangs, Leather Face’s chainsaw), The villain also needs a good back story. Basically all Hannibal Lecter Fans know the creepy cannibal psychiatrist’s story, and that goes for any good movie villain. With a good back-story the fan base will build up twice as much. Another thing to do is to make the villain connect with a basic fear. Like fear of the dark, or of something hiding in your closet. Make the viewers remember when they were young and had to sleep with night-lights on.

In the end, if you’re looking to write a horror movie, do your homework. Find your subgenre, watch some previous films similar to yours, use the formula, and have fun with it. And remember that in horror movies, especially supernatural ones, almost anything goes. I hope this was a helpful article and I’ll look forward to seeing some good new horror movies come out!

- Mini W

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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

From the Mailbag

Dear Wave-inatrix:

This idea of screenwriting is relatively new for me, although I have always loved to write. It's a little daunting trying to simultaneously learn a little about everything--the creative part, the technical requirements, trying to decide between television scripts and movie scripts, the realities of those businesses, the nuts and bolts of pulling a script together--and still pay attention to my family and my job (which is, thankfully, flexible). Do you recommend just starting to get script ideas down while reading up on all that other stuff, including produced scripts, or do you have a more useful way to manage things? How interchangeable are writing skills for television and movies?

-Overwhelmed in Ohio


Dear Overwhelmed:

PJ McIlvaine here, tag-teaming with the Wave-inatrix. First of all - WHOA! I had no idea that I was supposed to do all this, what meme did I miss? If I stopped to think about all these things, I'd be paralyzed not to mention DOA. My suggestion? Take a deep breath and put that "Dummies for Screenwriting" book down. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. I mean, God took at least seven to create us, didn't he? At this point, if you're really a total and complete newbie, just....write. Every day. Jot down ideas, whatever, that great bit of conversation you heard at the 7-11, that teary cell phone confab that everyone in the movie theatre could hear and commiserate with. Don't worry about the biz or getting an agent or manager or if you should write for TV or the movies. Just write. Read scripts, sure, but in between writing and working on your own stuff. Network with other writers, read their stuff. Do this even if it's only an hour, a half hour or day, fifteen minutes. Make it known to your family and friends that this is YOUR time. I used to write when my kids were playing on the floor beside me, I wrote at work during my lunch hour, breaks and down time...write that first script, put it away, write a second script, put that away, when you finish some more, then go revisit the first one and so forth....but quite simply, write.

Dear Overwhelmed:
I agree with PJ completely and would add that if you really want to learn to screenwrite, focus on that first and then absorb the other information (agents, managers, the nuts and bolts) incrementally and over time. You have plenty of time because those other things are meaningless until you have a good script anyway. So focus on the art and craft of screenwriting. Pick up a book or two, not a whole library of them, save your money. I recommend: Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach by Paul Joseph Gulino and Inside Story: The Power of the Transformative Arc by Dara Marks. And I highly recommend taking a beginning level online screenwriting class through UCLA Extension Writers Program while you're at it. In fact, that's where I would start, if I were you.

In-between writing every day and taking a couple of courses, cruise the internet and slowly absorb tips while networking with other writers. Go to a screenwriting conference and take a few workshops. The Creative Screenwriting Expo is a really good event for that. This year's expo will be held in November 12th through the 16th at the LA Convention Center. That's a good use of your time. Do the 14 Scripts in 14 Days program suggested, brilliantly, by Scott Myers. Take your vitamins, read the Rouge Wave daily and get plenty of rest.

As for your question about whether writing skills are interchangeable for television and movies, I'm not sure whether you mean interchangeable directly between the two (answer: completely) or whether you mean other writing skills like first person, short fiction, etc. Wavers can answer that one for you because they know what I'll say: COMPLETELY. Good writing is good writing. Screenwriting is a very distinct kind of writing, a mixture of poetry and mathematical equation but a facility with language and imagery is imperative in all writing and it won't ever let you down. Now have a cupcake and get to work, young lady!

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

All Shook Up

Well. That was fun. Very funny, god - ha ha! 5.8 earthquake here in Los Angeles. Please let that be the end of it for awhile. The Wave-inatrix was in San Francisco during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and you know, I'm over the whole earthquake thing. Give me a tornado - that you can at least see coming.

This calls for a crappy 1970's disaster movie festival!

Earthquake
Airport
The Poseidon Adventure

Hmm...what else. There's got to be plenty more hall-of-cheesy-shame disaster flicks.

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Media Bistro Courses

I get these Media Bistro newsletters all the time - many Wavers probably do too. And I skim over them and delete them. But today I really looked at the upcoming online and on-the-ground courses and I am just blown away by how cool these classes are. One of the finalists in the last Rouge Wave First Person Essay competition was so encouraged that he signed up for a first-person essay class at UCLA. THAT'S the kind of thing that makes me very happy. I always review the classes offered at UCLA - primarily the weekend classes and like a kid in a candy store, I think - oh MAN a weekend course about Shakespeare's Sonnets!! Do I need that? Is it relative to screenwriting? Not really. But WOW how fun! Ongoing education is crucial when you are a writer. You got to feed your mind and the rest will follow.

So check out the current Media Bistro offerings, Wavers, and see if there's a course that appeals to you. Shake off the dust! Stretch those wings!

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The Emperor's New Clothes

As the Wave-inatrix is approaching full flower in the summer of my life (wait - note to self: summer is the new spring) I find that have fewer and fewer judgments about other people; it's all such a big, messy stew, this life, how can we judge anybody? How can we really understand what lies within the human heart? But I will say this - the new frontier is not space, it's human consciousness. And I do wonder - collectively, what is going on in the consciousness that we humans need to worship celebrities? Why do you bring this up, Wave-inatrix? Well...I'll say it:

Heath Ledger – bravura performance – but Oscar worthy? I was as sad as anyone at his untimely death – really sad - and certainly substance abuse is tragic – but does it elevate a performer into some kind of sainted realm? When is a performer responsible for their personal behavior? Heath was a gifted actor and he clearly had a lot more go give. It’s a loss for all of us but the bottom line is that he cheated us (not to mention, primarily, his young daughter and family) by being irresponsible – personal demons or not. Hey- we’ve all got ‘em. But some of us don’t have multiple residences, million dollar paychecks and private jets. Fame can be a terrible thing – as Ava Gardner once said: Fame gave me everything I never wanted.

But when is foolishness foolishness? Can we not call a spade a spade? Or a joker a joker? Enjoy his performance – it is haunting given what we know happened next for him personally. And certainly, feel the pain of loss. But really – really? Don’t we have more important things to obsess about?

And now Shia LaBeouf and this car accident thing. And of course, much more famous examples like Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Kurt Cobain. Then there was the whole Lana Turner thing - wait, that actually WAS a pretty fascinating story. Angelina and Brad and their new twins? Really? This is news?!

And what, Wave-inatrix, does this have to do with screenwriting? It doesn't. Not really. It's just my opinion that having a social conscious rather than a celebrity consciousness is a better use of time if this world and humanity along with it is to evolve into its next iteration.

One of my favorite social action organizations is One Kid One World. Don't worry about Heath, he's in a better place now. One would hope. And I really think the Jolie-Pitt clan is going to do just fine. How about helping a child in Sudan get an education?



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Monday, July 28, 2008

Scott Myers, Synergy and Cupcake Kisses

Wonderful new friend of the Wave-inatrix, bon vivant and handsome devil Scott Myers posted on his fabulouso new blog yesterday: 14 Scripts in 14 Days. Wavers - this is wonderful timing. Please check it out and try the 14 day script reading plan - it's brilliant.

Scott has written over 30 projects and teaches screenwriting at UCLA (Wavers know that is my favorite online program, by far) and was kind enough to answer some questions for the Rouge Wave. A thousand cupcakes kisses to you for sharing with us today, Scott.


You lived in LA for many years and have written over 30 projects, including Alaska, with Thora Birch. Does an aspiring screenwriter have to live in LA to make it?

No. The only thing that matters is this: write a great script. You can live anywhere and do that. Write a great script and it will find its way to a buyer.

That said, there are obvious networking opportunities if you live in LA. You can't go to a restaurant, club or yoga class without bumping into someone in The Biz, and each one of these people represents a possible way in. However, if you don't have a great script, it won't matter because they'll read what you submit (or more accurately, they'll have your script covered by a script reader) and your script (and you metaphorically) will end up in the recycle bin with a big, fat PASS attached to it.

Again: write a great script.

Now let's say you write a great script and it sells. You'll either have enough dough to move to LA or you'll keep living where you are and fly out for the occasional meeting. Most communication in Hwood happens via the phone or email anyhow -- so even if you become a successful screenwriter, you can live anywhere and do your job.

You teach screenwriting online at UCLA. I have taken these online courses myself, so I’m prejudiced, but what do you say to writers who may hesitate, thinking that self-paced, online courses may not be as powerful as “on-the-ground” classes?

I've taught over 20 online screenwriting courses and honestly, I think they're better than the on-site class experience. From the student's perspective: (A) You can access the course site any time, any place; which means if you want to hang out in bed in your jammies, eating bon-bons, while downloading a lecture, you can do that; (B) Speaking of lectures, instead of listening to an instructor's babble and having to scribble down notes, in the online world the instructor provides you with a written version of the lecture, all their thoughts in a nice coherent set of pages -- much better access to all the core learning material that way; (C) Your classmates may come from all around the world (I've had students from Germany, England, Switzerland, Netherlands, UAE, Guatemala, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Siberia, and even a U.S. soldier while serving in Iraq) -- this makes for a fascinating cross-pollination of personalities and ideas; (D) In part because of the 'anonymity' of being online, I find that there is much more class participation than in on-site courses -- even the 'shy' types feel comfortable typing up their questions, critiques, and comments; (E) Plus, student responses tend to be more helpful because they actually have time to think about your script pages or your question, then compose their response, as opposed to off-the-cuff on-site course feedback like, "Yeah, um, I really, um, liked your pages 'coz they, um, were, like, good;" (F) Finally, it's amazing the sense of community that evolves in online courses -- I have students who have stayed in touch with each other from classes they took 5 years ago. So two thumbs way up for online education, especially through UCLA Extension's Writer's Program, which has outstanding instructors with extensive experience in distance learning.

Yeah, no kidding. I love UCLA Extension. I see that you’ve written both television and feature work – which do you prefer as a medium?

I'm a movie guy. Have been since I was a kid. I love TV, novels, poetry, art, music, but nothing has the cumulative magic that a movie does, an amazing ability to transport the viewer into another story universe.

What are you working on right now?

Trying to keep my head above water. Between my job at Distillery Pictures, teaching, blogging, family life, and rooting for the LA Galaxy soccer team, I don't have much time. However, I have been doing some research on a novel. I've never written one and this particular story feels like it's best suited as a novel.

Is Distillery Pictures looking for new material? If so, what type of material are you looking to develop and produce?

One of our goals is to get into low-budget feature films, however per our business plan, we are focused on developing and producing non-scripted programming for cable TV.

Do you have any celebrity stories or encounters to tell us about? Come on, a little gossip here!

Well, I could talk about the movie premiere where amidst the post-screening throng, I accidentally goosed Faye Dunaway. Or another movie premiere where I inadvertently spilled champagne on director Peter Jackson's shoe (he never noticed). But then you'd think I was a klutz, so -- nevermind!

What do you say to aspiring screenwriters who get discouraged and disgusted by the poor quality of projects that get made?

It sucks. I mean it's not like the studios start out intending to make bad movies. They do have release schedules and distribution networks that need to be 'fed,' so that's one part of the problem, the inherent pressure to produce movies. On the other side, much of the greenlight decision-making is more about project attachments (i.e., actors, director) than where the script is in terms of the development process. And then there's the actual production and post process. Look, making a movie is like getting pregnant and having a baby: there are a million things that can go wrong. If you're lucky, you end up with a healthy child. But if movies really were babies, sad to say we'd have an awful lot of ugly kids running around.

How many scripts did you write before you broke in?

K-9 was my third script.

What's your favorite kind of cupcake?

Chocolate with creamy vanilla icing from Babycakes in Manhattan -- refined sugar free, gluten free, vegan. Seriously the best cupcake I've ever had.

Okay well obviously you've never had my homemade Duncan Hines cupcakes. :)

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Script Sources

The Wave-inatrix has been exhorting screenwriters to read good scripts so that the difference between good pages and double-plus ungood pages (that's from 1984, for you Philistines who are confused by that uncharacteristically weird word usage from the W).

But where to find scripts to keep you busy reading 2 or 3 a week? Well, naturally, like others who work here in LA, I am spoiled; I get my hands on produced scripts and scripts about to get shopped all the time. I have a definite inside track.

I don't want to start an avalanche that I can't keep up with but Wavers interested in obtaining a few great scripts to read can contact me and I'll send you a few. But ongoing, try Drew's Script-o-Rama or Simply Scripts.

Also, on the Done Deal Message Board there is a thriving script exchange community and you can see what you can drum up there.

And to the snarky would-be-Waver (there's always one in every bunch) who questioned my statement that every Silver Screenwriting entrant has a lot riding on their submission, pointing out that the cash prizes are not as big as some competitions, etc., a) no cupcake for you. ever. and b) is that all it's about for you? The cash prize? How about the meetings? How about the pitching session with Stephanie Palmer? How cool would it be to have a drink with Blake Snyder and enjoy his company and pick his brain?

When I say that every entrant has a lot riding on their submission, I mean that each writer has put weeks, months and sometimes years of their life into their script. They have poured their passion, dedication and time into it and I take that very seriously. Will winning the SSC change your life as a writer? Yeah, it actually could. And even if you just place, sometimes, after all that blood, sweat and tears, simply getting some validation that your work was pretty good is what a writer needs to keep on going.

Years ago, I entered many scripts in what today I consider relatively inconsequential script competitions - small prizes, no big connections - but I tell you what - when I did place, it meant the world to me. It was just enough validation to keep me believing that I could write. Which I did. And my writing continued to improve.

But back to my statement about entrants having a lot riding on his or her script. If you think you know one thing about the Wave-inatrix, know this: I respect the hell out of anyone who attempts to do this crazy thing, year in and year out. That's a lot of late nights and ignoring the laundry and being on the receiving end of raised eyebrows and nagging from friends and family who don't get it. We are a tribe, we writers, and it weighs heavily on me to have to pass on a script for this competition, knowing what the writer had to give up to write that script. Even if the result was not so good. This time. If I had the time I would send every single entrant a hand-written note thanking them for trying and encouraging them to continue developing their skill set and to hold on to their dreams. Alas, carpal tunnel would set in very quickly and this is not possible. But you read it here.

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Sunday, July 27, 2008

It's Dog Eat Dog

So - this judging, this weighing and advancing or not advancing scripts in the Silver Screenwriting Competition is tough. There's so much riding on it for each entrant. I want to advance almost every script so badly because I love writers and I love passion and hard work. But I can't. Some must be left behind. In fact, the majority must be left behind in this first round elimination.

Now, I figure I have read thousands of scripts at this point in my life. On a very busy day, I might read three scripts. Not these days - now I have the luxury of having readers and if I do read a script, I make sure it's one and only one so I can give it all of my energy and focus.

No such luxury when reading scripts for first round eliminations for a competition. You might review 25 scripts in one day. I say review not read because at the first round eliminations here is what happens: if we can't get through the first five or ten pages - the script does not advance. If we get to page 20, get lost in the story and then realize we gotta pick things up and move on to another script - that script will advance.

It's as simple as that, really. Interesting? Compelling? Formatted properly? Readable? Engaging ? Advance. Bad or wrong formatting? Boring, dense action lines? Confusing? Do not advance. If I ever said that I could tell you whether a script was good or not in the space of less than three pages - I reiterate and confirm that now. I don't quit reading after three pages - but I know in my gut by page three and guess what - I've not been wrong yet. If the first three pages suck - that only heralds many more sucky pages. Without exception.

Now mind you, this is first round eliminations - the broadest eliminations happen here. The scripts that advance will be examined much, much more closely. Sure the first 10 or 20 pages and the last 10 or 20 pages were good - but if there are problems with this script in the way of character arc, theme, structure, etc. that will be revealed in the next round. In the next rounds, the magnifying glass comes out and a sharp beam of light is shone on each script.

But in the first round - it's crystal clear that the first few pages have to ROCK. Why? Because your script is being reviewed among a pile of hundreds of others. Compared to them. Not in theory - actually being compared head to head. Right now.

We all know that our scripts are compared to other scripts - of course they are. We know that screenwriting is a high stakes game and that few make it into the citadel. But when you read piles of literally hundreds - HUNDREDS of scripts back to back to back - the ones that rise to the top have something very much in common. Wavers, I have been reading all weekend, all day, both days and I keep trying to think of a way to phrase just what it is about scripts that pass the test, even if initially upon a relatively surface inspection.... What is it that separates the wheat from the chaff by page three? I'm hard pressed to put it into words, exactly but regardless of genre, regardless of the gender, age or location of the writer - the scripts that go into the wheat pile after less than 10 pages are scripts that are highly engaging for the reader. They have verve. They have movement. They clip along with voice and style. They never, ever, ever bore.

Well that's just terrific, Wave-inobvious. That's what you're thinking, isn't it, Wavers? MY script IS verve-y, it DOES clip along and MY voice is terrific! MY pages do NOT bore! That's what you're thinking too, isn't it Wavers?

But we have arrived at the central problem. Can you really be objective about your script? Look, Wavers. All newborns are ugly. They just are. But not to the parents right? What screenwriter writes a script thinking oh damn, this is dull, flat, over-written and not engaging or compelling but I'm going to enter it into a script competition anyway! Oh no - you have worked hard on your script. You are convinced it's terrific - or, pretty good, anyway. Well - it's the best you could do and hey, from where you stand, after weeks and months, it is not the least bit boring. To you.

So how do you know if your labor of love, if your little beauty of a script actually is interesting and compelling to anyone outside of you and your friends? How do you know how it will stack up against hundreds of other scripts read in quick succession? Well, the answer is again fairly obvious and that is that you need to obtain objective feedback on your work.

I work with a lot of clients on a private one-on-one basis. Recently a client clasped my hand a little too tightly and I had to remind her that I am not in the business of creating a dependence on me or my business but rather of creating better, smarter, more productive and independent writers who internalize what they learn and raise the level of their writing as a result of that. Feedback is always important - at The Script Department we work with many established writers who get feedback as part of the process of arriving at a final draft. So it's not that you will arrive at a place where you do not ever benefit from feedback from a respected peer or service. Disabuse yourself of that arrogant pipe dream immediately. Getting feedback is just a normal part of the process and not a reflection on you or your writing. It's like getting your eyes checked or your knee whacked with that tiny little hammer.

But gosh darn it, Wavers, you need to recognize what good pages are and what good pages are NOT. Feedback is the cure for where you might have gone astray. But reading good scripts is a preventive for going astray in the first place.

You cannot know for sure how your pages are - you beautiful little darlings - unless you know what great writing looks like. Please, Wavers -read scripts. Read a lot of them. Make the commitment to read 2 or 3 produced scripts a week. Soon, you will come to see the patterns present in good writing. And then you will begin to emulate those patterns in your own voice and style. And your writing will begin to transform. If there is only one thing you ever learn from the Rouge Wave, let this be it. Reading good writing begets writing good writing. Learn to recognize good writing and strive to emulate it.

So raise your cupcakes up high, Wavers, raise those cupcakes and make an oath to read more scripts. That is all. Koo-koo-ka-choo.



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Saturday, July 26, 2008

It's a Mac, Mac, Mac, Mac World

So in the informal poll here on the Rouge Wave, 60% of respondents said that they used Mac rather than PC. And the Wave-inatrix was curious - why is that?

I used a PC for years and years but in the past couple of years, I noticed that to a one, all of my writer friends used Mac. So last fall when my computer belched forth smoke and spaghettios, it was clear it was time to switch. I went Mac and I'll never look back. I'm not sure why I love my Mac so - because all the writers have them? Because they're cool looking? Because there's a manufactured patina of hipness about everything Mac and I am a marketing researcher's wet dream?

Or - as Apple would have us believe, because Mac's are more user friendly? Of course, when you first switch, Mac is anything but user friendly. It's a freaking nightmare. But once you get acclimated, it is a more intuitive computer to use, I'll say that. And I think I even know what that means. It just makes more sense than my PC did. Cute little icons. Fancy gadgets that take your picture and the way my icons GET BIGGERthensmaller when I roll over them with the cursor. The Ical function. The spotlight function. And the super cool carrying case I got for mine - baby blue and plaid, thank you very much.

Now, 60% to 40% here on the Rouge Wave is hardly a scientific sampling and also not a landslide for Mac. But it was as I suspected - the majority. The Wave-inatrix is no staticisian but in my day to day observation, I have noticed a very strong trend among creatives to use Mac and for accountant/eggheads to use PC. Now calm down you riotous 40% - I'm not calling you square eggheads, throw-backs or hold-outs. You go right ahead and use your boxy, square, black or grey rat-a-tats. I for one am busy using my Photo Booth to take super cool pictures of me with googly eyes.

*oh and by the way, the title of this refers to a classic, very silly movie, the precursor to the most excellent Rat Race, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.


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Blake Snyder: Coolest Guy Ever.

As most Rouge Wavers know, Blake Snyder is a friend, cheerleader and mentor of the Wave-inatrix. Our philosophical alignment is quite close and, well, the Wave-inatrix has a penchant for authentic, smart people with vim, verve and classiness to spare. That would describe Blake. The following is an excerpt of an interview that our very own PJ McIlvaine did of Blake a few weeks ago. Read. Enjoy. And if you entered the Silver Screenwriting Competition, dream of being the lucky Grand Prize winner who is going to have a cocktail with Blake at the Chateau Marmont this fall. It's going to be super fun and of course, the Wave-inatrix will be there too.

***

Blake Snyder didn’t just save his cat, he turned his kitty into pure gold. Author of the best-selling “Save the Cat” how-to screenwriter books/franchise, Blake is a hot commodity at classes, conferences and workshops around the globe for devotees of his now famous “beat sheet,” along with his common-sense methods and savvy tips. A screenwriter and producer for over twenty years, Blake is now busy writing the third installment of the popular “Save the Cat” series in which he is happily devising increasingly clever and crafty ways for writers to get their characters in and out of trouble. We caught up with Blake in Vancouver as he prepared to host one of his popular “Beat Sheet Workshops” (for more information on upcoming workshops, the “Save the Cat” books and ancillary products such as software, please go to www.blakesnyder.com).

Blake, was it always your intent to be a screenwriter? Do you see yourself primarily as a screenwriter or as a writer?

Well, I did tell a friend that I was going to be a big Hollywood screenwriter and sell a script for a million dollars, and it came true. I wrote my first screenplay when I was only seventeen. I am still very much in demand as a screenwriter. I get asked to write screenplays all the time. In the course of my career, I’ve sold over thirteen scripts. “Blank Check” was a successful Disney film. But for now, my primary focus is on the “Save the Cat” books. Writers everywhere tell me that they use and adapt the methods found in the books. I’m delighted to say that even non-writers have found the books useful. I once had a Realtor tell me that they used the books to sell a house!


What would your pitch be to a writer who has never heard of the “Save the Cat” books before?

That they are the first and last screenwriting books you will ever need! When I started out, I wish I had had this information, it would have saved me a lot of time and heartache. I had to educate myself on how to construct a snappy logline, a crackling pitch, and now I am delighted to impart that information to help others who are struggling in much the same way I did years ago. I went through hard times.
You know, so many screenwriters are focused on writing a great script that they forget that it is also about networking and making the necessary contacts in order to get their great script read. It’s all about connecting. Look at it from the executive’s point of view. They’d much rather work with a friend than a stranger. After all, wouldn’t you rather work with a friend than someone you didn’t know at all? I know I would. You can never discount the schmooze factor. You need to be pleasant and sincere.

Where exactly did the idea of "Save the Cat" evolve from?

All the other screenwriting gurus I came of age with, and loved and learned from, were not screenwriters, so when I wrote my book I wanted it to be from the point of view of someone who actually wrote and sold scripts. As a successful screenwriter myself, I wanted my book to be full of the slangy, how we really talk, brass tacks information that I and my screenwriter pals used to talk about and solve writing problems. One phrase I always used is "save the cat" where's the "save the cat" scene I'd ask of a writing partner or when pitching a story, I'd use that phrase to describe the moment as yet to be devised where we know we like the hero in a story. My books and methods are chock full of this stuff, it comes from 20-plus years of shorthand, cut to the set piece, flowery, slangy insider stuff I never heard anywhere else. That's why I think my books inform both new and veteran writers.

Regarding the books, I have a question from a fan. There seems to be a bit of a controversy, or let’s say, a disagreement, about the beats. Some people insist that you must adhere to the structure you lay out exactly, you must be very rigid in the page count where you have the beats, it has to be on this page or that page, and if you deviate from it somehow you’re ruining the formula. Do you have to be such a slave to it or can you deviate a little bit?

It is a guideline, and it is totally adaptable. I am fighting against the idea all the time that certain plot points must be on page 16 or page 25 and if it is not, the reader will simply toss the script aside. The books and the beat sheets are a distillation of everything I have learned over the years, information I sorely wish I had had when I first started out. However, the only way to educate oneself and learn is through trial and error, it is by doing, it is by the actual physical act of writing. There is no getting around that.

I know that for me, and I’m sure I speak for many other writers as well, that the mere mention of pitching strikes terror into our hearts. What was your first experience like pitching?

I can tell you that I was not very good at it. It was not until I educated myself on what made a good logline, the actual construction of it, that I got better at it. I say it in my books, go to Starbucks and pitch to the people standing on line with you. You will see by their reaction if this is a movie they would want to see. Pitch to your family, friends, neighbors. It is invaluable feedback.

If you were starting out as a screenwriter today, what would be your approach?

Well, it is so very much different for a screenwriter starting out today. There are so many opportunities for them, avenues and outlet that were not available back then: the Internet, You Tube, My Space, and the world of independent filmmaking that require less money to go tell a story. Stories are everywhere. We live in an age when visuals are the most important way of telling that story, be it a speech, 30-second commercial, a two-minute You Tube or a film downloaded to a phone. New outlets will be created for the once hemmed-in screenwriter to educate, persuade or create.

What about ageism in Hollywood and the idea that you must live in California to have a screenwriting career? I ask because I have a friend who recently told me that she was giving up screenwriting because one, she was tired of the rejection, and two, she was afraid that she was “over the hill” age-wise.

I hope you tell your friend to call me and hopefully I can talk her out of it! It is still about what is on the page and about making connections. If as a writer you constantly refresh yourself, keep yourself current and viable, I do not think it is a problem. The same applies for living in California, especially now with the Internet. It can be done.

When did you realize that you were on the right track, screenwriting-wise?


I just spoke to a very new writer. As part of my outreach I often spend half-hour coffees with writers to help them. I give back to my industry and that's one way I do it. I asked him what he was working on and he was pitching his stories badly. He was using all the well-intentioned but misguided methods that I used early in my career. Well, by the end of the coffee, I am proud to say, we fixed that. He will never pitch "beat for beat" again. He will focus his story because he'll know what it is. My particular problem early on was attitude. When I started, my whole attitude was, I'm special, I'm different, and these rules don't apply to moi! And so, 20 scripts later that did NOT sell, I really was forced to take a look at that attitude and that method. Was I really going to do this, was I going to be a pro, or was I going to stay being an unsold dilettante? My turn came when I asked: what service do I offer? Why would anyone hire me to write anything? And how can I make it easier for producers, agents and executives to find me, and work with me. That was my big change. Starting from there I started to really examine what sold and what didn't and why. Logline was key. I scoured the trades for spec screenplay sales and examined, really analyzed the loglines and why oh why did they sell and mine did not. I started to make my ideas and scripts more like theirs, and soon my attitude of entitlement changed, and I became a better writer, and soon, one that sold with partners and on my own, a lot of scripts.


You stress the idea that screenwriters are providing a "service" and that scripts should be "transforming." Can you elaborate on that?


We writers have a noble profession, and it is complicated and hard work and all kinds of problems abound, but in fact the job is simple: Tell me a story. What is that? It's about a hero who faces his greatest fear, dies, and is reborn. That's every story. Why? It's because it's what we do every day; we rise, face the day, face our fears, fail or succeed and close our eyes at the end of it transformed. We die a little every day, we grow a little every day, and what we are all seeking, no matter how we seek it, is an interaction with the divine. However you seek that, falsely or in full consciousness of it, that experience is what successful storytellers recreate in their stories. The reason we like to hear stories of you going through this horrible transformative process, and not us is, it's painful to change! No caterpillar wants to die by becoming a cocoon, especially when we don't know for sure that we'll have wings on the other side of the transformation. But we all do it. Living each day is an act of faith and stories we tell let us know that it's worth it. Every story. Comedy or drama or musical, at core, the good ones address this truth. And as writers we must be aware of that.


What common mistakes or misconceptions new screenwriters have that they should try to avoid? For example, one fear expressed by many is that their scripts and/or ideas will be "stolen."


Yes. I say that only amateurs have this fear. If you only have one idea worth stealing you should be in another business. As to common mistakes, there are so many, I will have to keep writing books about them because I have made them all. But the good news is mistakes are how we grow. 


If there's one bit of advice you could give newbie screenwriters, what would it be?


Be happy. You're in a great profession with more opportunities now than ever in the history of man. Be open. The best thing we can be as writers is flexible; the definition of humility is that state in which you are open to learn. Do not always think of what people can do for you; think about what you can do for them. It really is all about good karma.

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Friday, July 25, 2008

Judging Scripts is Fun and Easy!

Well. That's not exactly the truth. But it is interesting. The Wave-inatrix has been keeping quite busy judging scripts for the first round eliminations of the Silver Screenwriting Competition.

Together with my partner Jim Mercurio, I created guidelines for the judging, including numeric ratings for categories like character, dialogue, premise, theme, structure and format. You're reading the script bearing in mind that certain categories will need a numeric value assigned. You're looking for "voice". You're looking or commercial potential. You're looking for a compelling read. To advance the script to the next round or not to advance. That is the question.

This is how I know I'm reading a script that will advance: I can't seem to slow down the read in order to be analytical. I'm totally caught up in the experience. What categories? What guidelines? I have to see what happens next! Of course, after all is said and done, I have to be analytical and fill out a comment sheet on the script and on the writer. Man that's fun when the pages rock. I'm just sayin'.

I must have gotten lucky or something because the first batch of scripts assigned to me have been really good. In the past two days, I have read scripts set in the Wild West, in the Pacific Northwest, in England and in 5,000 B.C. I have read romcom, I have read horror, I have read a script about alchemy...and it's really great fun. I have judged and rated scripts in another competition so I know how this works. But this time, it's my competition and I'll tell you what the bottom line is for me: just effing entertain me.

That's all for now. Carry on.

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Rear Window


You've heard of Found Objects, right, Wavers? Stuff that you find that has intrinsic artistic or sentimental value? Or that guy - who was that guy - anyway, it was on NPR or something, who gathered notes and lists he found everywhere he went and compiled the notes and lists into a book. Well anyway, so it's summer in Los Angeles, and the Wave-inatrix lives in a neighborhood with beautiful old-growth trees, palm and otherwise, and lined with very grand, old, 1920's apartment buildings.

When it's hot, which it often is, everybody hangs around outside on their front stoops and leaves their windows wide open at night, owing to the heat-keeping nature of stucco circa 1925. The buildings are insulated in a way in which locks in temperature - heat or cold. So there's a little something you give up for the built-ins, hardwood, high ceilings and arched doorways. Oh, Charm, you beguiling temptress of real estate choices!

Upshot: particularly at night - everybody can hear everybody. Music, tv, arguments, laughter. The neighborhood is alive with human interaction. And this is what the Wave-inatrix heard just the other evening:

Susan: But I WANNA read in bed!
Charlie: (incomprehensible)
Susan: So GET a book you like!
Charlie: (incomprehensible)
Susan: But I LIKE reading in bed!
Charlie: (incomprehensible)
Susan: But it’s not FAIR!
Charlie: (sharp retort)
Susan: (exclamation)
Charlie: Well, what makes ANYONE happy?
Susan: (whining, fading away)

Writers are thieves - you've heard that expression before, no doubt. The Wave-inatrix lived in San Francisco proper for many, many years. And walking through my neighborhood at night was one of my favorite things to do. All those Victorians, cheek by jowl, in the early evening, before the curtains are pulled to - and all those people inside, laughing, kissing, arguing, stooping to put something away - a silent pantomime of life. What were they talking about? What was going on?

There is one evening in San Francisco that I will never forget. I lived in Noe Valley and it was foggy as usual. Maybe 2am or so. When suddenly, out of the moist, foggy blanket of silence, I was awoken to hear a woman begging, in a low moan, for someone to please, stop! She begged and she begged. With silences in-between. Was it some kind of consensual sexual activity? Or was she really being hurt? Her cries rose in intensity and she began to scream and cry. No - whatever it was - it wasn't consensual. Alarmed, I called 911. Where was it coming from, they asked? I stared out the back window at the maze of adjoining gardens, covered with wet vines and nasturtium. The houses were dark. Not one light. I - I don't know, I stammered. The woman screamed again - Please! Please, stop!

Look, Miss, the 911 operator said, we can't help if we don't know where to look. My heart raced. Someone definitely needed help. But where? How could I help her? With an annoyed sigh, the 911 operator said she'd send a squad car to circle the block but if they couldn't find anything, they couldn't very well help, could they? I went back to bed and clutched the blankets to my chest and stared out the window, the lace curtain moving softly in the foggy breeze. The cries continued. Then grew softer. And faded back into the fog. I never knew what happened or who that woman was. But I'll never forget that voice, that begging.

Use the life going on all around you, Wavers, as you seek inspiration for story ideas, bits of dialogue or chemistry and dynamics in relationships. Life is a stage and we are all actors upon it. What is really going on behind closed doors?


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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Narrative First Person Competition

So check this out, Wavers -
The Narrative First-Person Contest is open to all writers. We’re looking for works of fiction or nonfiction written in the first-person point of view in the following categories: short stories, short short stories, novel excerpts, essays, memoirs, and excerpts from book-length nonfiction. Entries must be previously unpublished, no longer than 8,000 words, and must not have been previously chosen as a winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest.

In seeking fiction and nonfiction written in first-person point of view, we are especially looking for works that transcend narrow self-interest and self-expression. We are looking for authors whose use of the first person demonstrates a sense of proportion and perspective, an engagement with the world beyond the self, for authors whose gifts of thought or feeling and of insight enhance a reader’s sense of connection and possibility. And, as always, we are looking for manuscripts with a strong narrative, in which the effects of language are intense and total. Reading the first-person narrator—the I of the story—we hope to find the most necessary, most intimate, most personal stories made universal.

Awards: First Prize is $3,000, Second Prize is $1,750, and Third Prize is $1,000. The prize winners will be announced in Narrative and will be eligible for publication. Additionally, ten finalists will receive $125 each. We’ll announce finalists in the magazine as well. All entries will be considered for publication.

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Warner Bros. Television Workshop


Any Rouge Wavers out there interested in applying for the Warner Brothers Television Workshop should know that the deadline for submission is July 25th - that's Friday for you calendar-challenged types.

This is a GREAT opportunity that can launch your television writing career. Just ask one of last year's participants, Margaux Froley Outhred, who was recently staffed on the new CW show, Privileged. On a personal note, Margaux was kind enough to give the Mini-W a tour of the new set and the Paramount lot just today and mama was quite jealous. I hear there are Oompah Loompahs in there but the Mini-W will never tell. She did, however, enjoy the commissary and apparently, though there are conflicting stories, nobody turned into a giant blueberry.

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

From the Mailbag

The mailroom at the Rouge Wave has received some really interesting questions of late. And to Sticky in Sweden - I prefer Mrs. Butterfield's and no, I never put berry-flavored syrup on my pancakes. But I digress. The Wave-inatrix knows lots of stuff and has lots of experience, yes, even with the question below, but for this one, I turned to the expertise of my colleague, friend and mentor, Jeff Lyons for the answer.*

***

Dear Wave-inatrix:

My author friend asked me to adapt a novel he has the rights to. He is someone I trust completely but would be foolish to not at least check with someone in the business on the typical compensation percentages as he thinks we should have something in writing, which I agree with.

He told me that a screenwriter adapting a novel gets 10% of every dollar that comes in, but he wants me to have 20%. Does that math sound right to you? Of course all this is contingent on lightning striking and something actually happening with this screenplay. I'd just like to have my bases covered if it does. Thanks,

-Cautious in Colorado

Dear Cautious,
You are right to be cautious. It gets messy. It all depends on what your relationship is to the project. Are you being hired and attached as the writer? And you will follow the project as the writer thru the dog-and-pony show from company to company, etc? Or are you just being hired by another writer to do a one-off work-for-hire job, i.e., ghostwriting?

If the latter, then your deal is only with the person hiring you. Adaptations can follow guild rules for such. WAG rates are anywhere from 20k to 60K depending if there is a treatment, etc. If you are not following WGA compensation rules then a freelance job like this is usually paid in steps: 1/3 on start, 1/3 on delivery of draft, final 1/3 on deliver of 1 polish. Total compensation depends on their budget. I’d go with WGA rules, but I’d charge at least 10k. The percentage stuff of every dollar is nonsense. What dollars? Backend dollars? There are never back end dollars. That’s why everybody gets paid up front. And do you really want to wait two or three years to get paid, because that’s how long it’ll take to get this thing to market, if it is sold tomorrow. So... Just settle on a flat rate and step the payments out based on delivery of pieces. You should have something in writing, always. There are tons of books out there that have sample writer step agreements you can use as a template.

If you are being hired as the sole writer (i.e., not as a ghostwriter) and writing this on spec and are not getting any money up front, then your deal will have to be with a production company or the owner of the property. They will set what the compensation rates will be and any profit participations. You will not be getting any on-going percentages of any dollars, so let that one go. You will have to wait until the project gets made and distributed before any money changes hands and, again, this will all depend on whether you go with WGA minimums or some other formula. This is usually a step deal again with something saying upon sale of property you get so-much money and then participate in someone else’s share of the profits, usually the person who hired you. The production company will tell you to go fly a kite if you ask for a piece of their pie.


*Jeff is not an entertainment attorney, these are his thoughts from his experience, which is pretty formidable. If you would like, Cautious, you may solicit the advice of an entertainment attorney to discuss this further. I have someone I recommend.

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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

From the Mailbag


Dear Mistress of the Cupcakes:

According to The Screenwriter's Bible, Scene Headings and Action Lines start 1.5 inches from the left edge of the page. Character Cues, Dialogue, and Parenthesis start at 3.7, 2.5, and 3.1 respectively. All these numbers are adjustable in Final Draft. So my question is: What are the correct Indentations for Transitions and Shots? Trottier's book doesn't say anything about these two. I've looked online too but the sources don't say too much. To see exactly what I'm talking about, open Final Draft, then go to the top where it says Format, then Elements, then click the Paragraph tab. This alone is one of the greatest features a screenwriting program can have.
-Wide Margin in Wisconsin

Dear Wide:

I asked my colleague Andrew Zinnes Master of the Donuts, to answer your question so here goes:

Shots begin at the same point as scene headings. And they are always in CAPITAL LETTERS. Transitions (like CUT TO:) start at the far right page margin and work back towards the center. I believe this margin is 7.5 inches in from the left (or 1 inch from the right edge of the paper).

But the real question is: what are you doing that you are monkeying around with these settings in Final Draft? The only answer that seems to make sense to me is that you are trying to create your own template in Word or Pages. I guess if you cannot afford FD that would be a way to go, but I would be interested to know what other little quirks or limitations pop up since Word isn't specifically designed for the screenwriting process and therefore automatically conforms to the industry format standard. If this is not the case, then I would strongly suggest you leave everything be - you're only asking for technological nightmares that will probably crush your creativity and keep you from writing.

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The Mini-W Reviews: The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and the late Heath Ledger, was possibly one of the most anticipated films of 2008. Naturally I was SO excited to see it, and even though I got a seat at the very back row of the theatre (it was completely packed even at a matinee) I was pumped up as hell.

The results, however, I was not as happy about. As much as I respect Christian Bale as an actor, when he put on his Batman mask and his tough guy voice, I kind of wanted to laugh. On the other hand, Heath Ledger’s performance was great. The part of the Joker is written in such a cheesy way, that it takes a great actor to turn it into something dark and creepy. Almost like Kathy Bates’ performance in Stephen King’s 1990 film Misery.

Although I quite liked Ledger’s performance, I strongly disagree with the Academy Award buzz that he’s getting. Yes, it is sad that he had problems, and yes, it is tragic that he passed away, but honestly, that performance was not Oscar material. A friend of mine compared Ledger’s possible nomination to Johnny Depp’s nomination for best actor in 2003 as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl but in my opinion Ledger wasn’t nearly as good as Depp.

In this installment of the Batman franchise, Batman fights the Joker and all these bad guys that I lost track of over and over again. The story doesn’t have much going on or if it did it was confusing which made it hard for me as a viewer to pay attention (my generation supposedly has a very low attention span). I think that there was a great cast, great special effects, and great action, but overall this movie was more publicity and less quality. I’m looking forward to the new Mummy movie. I give Batman a 2 out of five jelly beans rating.

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Monday, July 21, 2008

Entourage. Do You Need One?

What's the difference between a manager and an agent? Do you need one or do you need both? How about some guy like Turtle hanging around?

My friend and colleague Garth Pappas of High Concept Management was kind enough to guest blog for The Rouge Wave today, and in doing so, get down to the nitty gritty when it comes to managers and agents. Read. Enjoy. Then get back to work!

***

Agencies are licensed and regulated by the State. Agents submit spec scripts to studios in hopes for a sale. They are also interested in developing a writer's career if their respective literary team agrees to rep a writer (after reading and liking their writing samples). So to you writers out there, you must have at least two samples ... Now, not every writer has an agent and a manager on their team ... but every writer needs a good attorney (usually referred by the agent or manager involved in a writer's life) ... the decision to have both an agent and manager is up to the writer; if you're chugging along in your career and you have only one, then it might make sense to get a third member on the team; the larger the team, the better coverage you'll get; meaning, consideration for job opportunities at both the studios and production companies.

The technical difference between an agent and manager is: agents can only negotiate on behalf of their client. Managers can attach themselves to a screenplay as a producer; agents cannot. Why do you need both? Well, you don't. But you do need one who's got solid relationships with studio and production executives; and, one who can effectively cover every studio in town. If you start off with a manager and the manager gets your material exposure which will then hopefully lead to some meetings, then you can hold off on giving another 10% to an agent. If you start with an agent and they do the same, then you don't need to give the other 10 to a manager. It's a marriage. It's about chemistry and it's about getting the writer results. I think it's a good idea for a writer to meet several reps and see which one fits best. Good luck!



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Sunday, July 20, 2008

Essay WINNER

Will Tracee Andrea please contact the Rouge Wave to collect her prize? A $25 gift certificate to Amazon, AMC Theaters or The Script Department.

Job well done to Tracee and the other contestants; your essays were beautiful, to a one. But "Tankini" seems to be the clear popular favorite and for that, Tracee, you are hereby acknowledged and rewarded.

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The Mini-W Reviews: Hancock

Hancock, starring Will Smith, Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron, is packed with fun and excitement. Although the story is not your average generic plotline, and the special effects show just how far Hollywood technology has gotten these days, the film was overall mediocre and disappointing. My mom didn’t agree with me but she's old.

The story starts out with a burnt-out alcoholic who just happens to have superpowers. As he saves people while causing damage, the crowds sneer at his sad efforts to help. One day, Hancock saves a grateful man (Jason Bateman, who I really liked) and is introduced to his family. He eventually agrees to let Bateman help him with publicity. Hancock reluctantly enters jail, and works on “cleaning up” The movie started to get so boring at this point that I got some money from my mom and got some candy and came back.

Finally some action comes when Hancock is released and learns that being a superhero isn’t as easy as it seems. The aspect of the movie that most disappointed me was the twist. It almost ruined the whole story, and was not well thought out. It was like suddenly I was watching a completely different movie. Hancock is okay, definitely not as good as Wanted, but definitely something to think about seeing if you’re a Jason Bateman fan.

I saw Hancock in The Cinerama Dome at the Arclight Theatre in Hollywood which is cool because it’s right by Amoeba Music. The Cinerama Dome is leftover from a million years ago in the 50s when they tried to make movies go completely around you or something. That’s what my mom told me but I don’t get it because it makes you dizzy so whatever. We also saw Pan's Labyrinth there last year and I was so traumatized.

Unless you are a big Will Smith fan, which I am not, I would wait to see this movie on dvd. I want to see the Dark Knight but my mom hates crowds so we have to see a stupid matinee. But we’ll see it this week and I’ll review it next. I’d give Hancock a two out of five jelly bean rating, overall.


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Saturday, July 19, 2008

Last Day To Vote

The hours are waning. Cast your vote for the First Person essay finalists lest the Rouge Wave become a totalitarian regime in which the Wave-inatrix wears a leopard-skin Fez, dances to rifle fire, smokes Cubans and forces small children to sew tiny little stitches in tiny little yak skin shoes for entertainment.

Here are the finalists.

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The Doctor is IN:

Dear Doctor Jeff:

I am writing a romantic comedy about a woman in her thirties who is obsessed with getting married and having children. I think I understand why women sometimes do this (I’m a guy) but I was wondering if you have any thoughts about this so that I can really nail what my character’s motivation and flaw is. In other words, why do some women consider that a benchmark? What is behind a strong emotional need to be a mother and how can I better understand it as a man?
-Piqued in Poughkeepsie

Dear Piqued,

Great question, man-to-man. I think it’s difficult for women re: the questions of motherhood and marriage to separate what’s instinctual (inborn) from what’s ingrained (societally imposed.) That, in fact, might be the flaw… your heroine’s struggle to untangle who she really is from who she’s supposed to be. (It’s also the human dilemma to shake off the trance and separate who we really are, from who we’ve been trained, raised, manipulated to be… then, to live it!)

A thought: If the heroine had a best friend, a lesbian for instance, (someone who lives outside the traditional definitions of marriage and motherhood) her friend might provide the heroine with the shake up/wake up she needs to make a conscious decision from the one she's been subliminally taught to be.

Be well,
Doctor Jeff


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Friday, July 18, 2008

Voice: Exhibit One

So this voice thing. It is muy importanté, no? Manolo the Shoeblogger is, naturally, a good friend of the Wave-inatrix. We are two sling back sandals of a leather. Very, very few people in this world have met the real Manolo and I am proud to be one of them. In fact, we're having a sidecar together tomorrow afternoon. Because the Manolo and the Wave-inatrix, we like the good cocktail. Besos, Manolo, besos.

Here's the thing with the Manolo - he's brilliant. Is his creator exactly like his persona? Exactly. Or perhaps not. I'll never tell. But I know one thing, this excerpt from Manolo's upcoming memoir, Super Fantastic, is an example of voice like nobody's business. Enjoy.

***

Near Cordoba

It was late spring when the Manolo, laying about himself like Samson with the jawbone of the ass, had attempted to kill his brother Maximo with the giant wooden ladle.

Unfortunately, each time the Manolo would swing, Maximo would leap just beyond the reach of the heavy spoon, leaving the other party guests to take the errant blow.

The first had struck Don Alvaro in the ribs, sending the ancient and respectable tanner to the ground like the bag of broken twigs. The second had caught Maria Eulalia flat on the back of the buttocks with the great slapping sound. And the third, the mightiest of all, missed Maximo by the mere centimeters, swooshed past the Maestro Tampopo’s wife’s ear, and connected powerfully with Señor Chiquitita, sending the tiny dog, and the tip of the lovely Esmeralda’s nose (which he had just clenched between his teeth in righteous anger and would not release) flying many meters through the air.

His fury subsiding, the Manolo surveyed the carnage around him; three peoples lying on the ground injured and moaning, Esmeralda disfigured, Senor Chiquitita yipping into the thicket at the edge of the encampment, and the hated Maximo still standing, unscathed, his eyes aflame with malicious delight.

In that instant the Manolo decided to run away.

To Madrid

The old shepherd had said the Guardia Civil were hunting for the Manolo, believing that he was not merely the runaway apprentice guilty of assaulting his master’s family, but also of robbing that family of their fortune, which has disappeared from the strong box in the caravan where it had resided peacefully for many years.

Clearly it was the malign Maximo who had taken the money, but it was Manolo who was now apportioned the blame.

So, the Manolo turned to the north, away from the caravans of home, toward Madrid, the one place where he could perhaps be assured of anonymity.

Mostly he traveled alone, walking northward through the hills and across the dry plains along the sheltered and isolated paths, slowly making his progression to the city, each day taking him closer to Madrid, and deeper into the summer.

He was not yet fifteen years of age, more than the boy, but less than the man, and such isolation as he often now knew at night, alone in the wide empty spaces of the mountains and the meseta, would have been more than many older men could have borne. But the long hours he had spent at night in the caravan, working on the miraculous shoes that would have (but for Maximo’s evil!) graced the feets of the fair Esmeralda, had taught him the self-discipline and the courage to be alone with his own thoughts and fears

The kindness of those he had met along his trip had also eased his difficulty, with friendliness and good humor, and with the needed provisions. He now traveled with the small pack on his back, filled with food and clothing and with the blankets, and as dusk approached each evening he would find the sheltered place, unroll his bed, make his humble dinner, and say his prayers, and then he would try to sleep.

But the night was full of noises and often the Manolo’s own thoughts raced on, heedless of any attempt to silence them. In these wakeful nighttimes he often stared at the stars, and thought of his family, of his mother and father, and his sisters and brothers, and of the horses and the caravans of home, but mostly he thought about the shoes. It was clear to him that no matter what happened his life now belonged to the shoes, and that he must by both necessity and personal choice build his life around service to the noble ideals expressed in good shoes.

But first, he would have to avenge himself on Maximo

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Voice - What Does That Even MEAN?


Voice. Doesn't it sound sort of pretentious and indefinable? Does your writing have a "voice"? Can "voice" be taught? Where does it come from? What exactly does it even mean, really?

Voice in your writing - whether that's screenwriting, poetry, prose or non-fiction writing like essays, memoirs or articles, refers to a particular, unique style in the writing. It means that no one but you could have written the material in question because it has a particular rhythm, point of view and flavor.

It's still a little ineffable until we think about writing examples which (purposely) are totally devoid of "voice". When is the last time you read the newspaper, for example? This is straight journalism - you aren't intended to identify with the writer, just to glean the facts. What about National Geographic Magazine? Anyone still read that besides the Wave-inatrix? Last month's article about the Altiplano in Bolivia was fact-filled and...fact filled. Because, again, in venues such as those, voice is not the point. I don't exactly want my doctor's "voice" in his prescriptions, know what I mean? I want the facts. Same with the grocery list. Or analytic piece in the Atlantic Monthly about whatever happened to Hilary Clinton. Of course, there are brilliant non-fiction writers who lightly combine voice with fact but let's set that aside for the moment for the sake of simplicity. Ahem.

When writing prose, voice is indispensable. It is the delivery system for the story, without which one is reading a third rate pulp romance novel. Does Danielle Steele have a "voice"? Not so much. And, by the way, the Wave-inatrix feels pretty confident that my theory that Steele employs a cadre of mini-Steeles who churn out her books is not a myth - in the same way that Nancy Drew author Carolyn Keene was like, in fact, eighteen people. But I digress.

So - what is voice? How do you know if you have one or not? Can you download one on your iPod?

Voice is something that takes time to develop. The Rouge Wave is written in a voice, is it not? Those who know the Wave-inatrix personally know that the voice with which I write the Rouge Wave is not terribly different from my own. But it's still a voice. And not the same voice I employ when I write scripts, short stories or stern notes left behind for the Mini-W.

It is a conscious choice used to evoke a specific tone and reader reaction. But - voice is also a paradox - it is both conscious and unconscious - it is who the writer unapologetically is and it is also a way to evoke a specific reaction to the writing. It is a tool and a gift. A scalpel and an aura. An eclair with cream filling.

And that, dear Wavers, gets us down to the heart of the matter. How does one go about obtaining a voice? So often, new writers and particularly new screenwriters become, and rightly so, very pedantic about the craft of screenwriting itself. So pedantic that they are more concerned about getting it right than just letting loose and being themselves. If there's one thing most readers LOVE in a script - it's voice. It's the writer who lets loose a bit and is fearless in the writing.

However, particularly relative to screenwriting, voice is dessert while execution is the vegetables. By execution/broccoli I mean that voice will get you exactly nowhere in a script if you don't have an excellent premise, tight structure, proper action lines and unique characters with a distinct arc. So yes, you really do need to nail the craft before you start popping wheelies with voice. But be thinking about it now - be developing your voice alongside your craft skill set. Who are you? We know that writers are liars, thieves, truth tellers and magicians. We illuminate, we entertain, we provoke and we reflect ourselves back to ourselves. We are living proof both that no two people are alike and yet - we are all one.

Don't hold back - develop your voice and do it now. Because voice is indeed something that cannot be taught - only unleashed.

Here is a very short list of fiction writers, in no time/date order, who have made a living and a contribution to the medium with fearless VOICE.

Garrison Keillor
Raymond Chandler
Dave Eggers
Jonathan Safran Foer
TC Boyle
Stephen King
PG Wodehouse
Evelyn Waugh
Truman Capote
Flannery O'Connor
Sherman Alexie
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Tim O'Brien

And here is a very short list of screenwriters who have distinctive voices:

Quentin Tarrantino
Richard Linklater
John August
Chuck Palahniuk
Kevin Smith
Diablo Cody
Shane Black

So - what's your voice? Who are you? Where are you from? Where are you going? What is your opinion about things large and small like love, death, betrayal, growing up, dope smoking, bike riding, mothers, fathers and easter egg hunts?

Don't make the mistake of trying to please everyone with your point of view. Develop a voice that is totally distinctive. Just effing entertain us. And maybe teach us a little something, too.

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

First Person Essay Finalists

The Wave-inatrix is again happy to note that the Rouge Wave has been inundated with a new wave of - Wavers - who might be, at this moment, confused. This is a screenwriting blog, right? It says so right up in the little red wave icon thingy.

Welcome to the Rouge Wave, new Wavers. This is a screenwriting blog. And the Wave-inatrix holds one truth to be self-evident: writers write. And aspiring or established screenwriters can do themselves no better favor than to not only read excellent writing (did anybody go buy the New Yorker yesterday?!) but to stretch their muscles and write in other mediums. Essays, plays, short fiction, novels - hell - twitter! As the goddess Nike says - Just Do It. Story telling is story telling, regardless of the rules and expectations of the particular medium you are writing in. And this is no less true of a first person essay. Often, a first person essay is mistaken for a jr. high homework assignment. Blah blah blah. Blah blah. No. A good first person essay should take us into a time and place, a world and your experience. It should contain both specificity and universality. It should elicit emotion and revelation. It should move the reader.

The Wave-inatrix was just floored by the quality of the submissions I received. If I ever had a doubt that Wavers were great writers, it was put to bed by this particular Rouge Wave competition. So here are the top three first person essays. Please take the time to read them. They are short - 500 word limit - and they are beautifully written. Read. Enjoy. Vote.

*****

Tankini
by Tracee Andrea

I was fourteen. And before my family's annual vacation to Cape Cod, my mother and I went shopping for clothes, which included our usual drama. She had ideas about what I should wear. I had mine.

“Youth!” my mother muttered as I held up baggy tops and shorts. “It’s wasted on you kids. You don’t know what you have until you lose it.”

But I knew better. After a lifetime of being taller and wider than my peers, hiding was my best defense. I won most of the battles, but she won some, including “just one” tankini: “See, it’s not even a bikini- you have a whole top!” I figured no one who mattered, like my classmates, would be there, so I let it slide.

Our first morning at Cape Cod, I went straight for a bathing suit. The only one there was the tankini. Reminding myself that no one who mattered was there, and not wanting to stay away from the water, I pulled it on.

We stayed on the beach, so all I had to do was step off the deck. Although I managed to slip on dry pavement, my toes curled into the full, grainy sand, allowing me to amble along. The breeze pressed my t-shirt against me and lifted my ponytail, but it didn’t break my stride. The sun made the dark ripples of water sparkle.

I pulled off my t-shirt and dropped it in the sand, along with my towel. The low whistle didn’t even give me pause as I approached the sea’s edge, where the sand hardened into a wet slab. The water licked my toes and encircled my feet; the thrill of its coldness made my skin prickle with goose bumps.

“Drea?”

I glanced back to see Colin- a boy whose family also rented a house on the beach. Although our parents got together for dinner, we had little to say to each other.

“Oh, hey, Colin.”

I edged further into the water for some serious swimming.

“It’s- you- hi.”

This made me pause. What was his problem? As I studied him, Colin’s eyes drifted down lower to my enhanced cleavage. Was he looking at my…

I folded my arms tight.

“See you around.”

And with that, I strode into the sea as fast as I could- which wasn’t very fast because of the water- until I got deep enough to swim.

But Colin waited for me, eyeing me as I splashed up after my swim. And once I was sure he wasn’t joking, he was the one who made my skin prickle with goose bumps when he slid his arm around my waist, standing close enough for me to see how his eyes were as dark as the water, and leaned in to press his warm lips against mine, giving me my first kiss, right there at the water’s edge, with me in my tankini.

Carnaval
by Maria Clara Mattos

I was five. Six? Five. Maybe six. It was Carnaval. For those not acquainted to the word or the feast, that’s when the whole country – the whole country! – stops for four days. Nobody works, everybody drinks and dances and parties on the streets. For someone like me, shy, white as a ghost (and by that I mean transparent with green veins showing in my face), and totally averse to crowds, Carnaval was, is the moment when I think “why was I born here?” The only thing I liked about it was the costumes we typically wear on this date. Ballerinas, my favorite.

Every Carnaval, my parents took me and my brother and sister to this condo in the countryside called Quitandinha. I won’t bother trying to explain this name ‘cause I wouldn’t be able to even in Portuguese, my mother, father and holy spirited language. Anyway, for me, Quitandinha was the dream place. There was an old woman who walked around with her poodle dressed in costumes (typically ballerinas, just like me!) and a seahorse-shaped swimming pool where I not only swam, but also nurtured the secret wish of becoming an oceanographer. Secret because anyone who knew me for five minutes would know I wouldn’t go anywhere further than the sand. But one has the right to pretend being adventurous when under the blue waters of a seahorse.

My nanny, Aparecida (literally, "appeared" in English) accompanied us to take care of me. What she really did was lock herself into the closet to read gossip magazines and threaten me, saying she’d go away if I told my mother. One night, we heard screams coming from the seahorse. We ran outside. A drunk Aparecida appeared (pun intended) from its deep blue waters, her face blurred with lipstick, her wet clothes a reminder to me that she was in fact a woman (she had breasts!). When my mother saw me ogling at Aparecida’s improper and shameless tits, she took me away, promising a new ballerina costume for the big event to come.

It was Carnaval. I was five. Six? Five. Maybe six. And I fell in love. In Quitandinha, there were Carnaval balls. Four of them. One for each day. I, in my new blue ballerina outfit, saw this boy in a Tyrolese costume: tall, well, taller than me, older – maybe even 12 - with Romeo-ish hair and a seriousness in his face that made me see him as a real man. I don’t remember much of him, but I do remember his presence in my five-or-six-year-old life. The next ball I went without a costume. Just white pants, t-shirt and a belt. I was mature, I was in love, I would have breasts someday, I was a woman. Such a woman I was that I approached this boy and took a picture with him. Holding hands. The smile in my face a reflex of the ecstasy in my eyes while kids danced behind me without my notice.


When Dope Was Dope

by Millar Prescott

The din of prepubescent exuberance pealed through the neighborhood signaling to all that the prisoners had been released. No more classes. No more homework. No more Mr. Gemmel. We were indeed truly free.

I broke the world record as I pedaled home that day. How could I not have? My tank was full of highly explosive and lethal super-duper rocket fuel made from a mixture of 2 free tickets to Playland (courtesy of the school board), a stellar report card (recommending a pass from grade 6 to 7), and a massive dollop of anticipation (I was to start my paper route the next day). By the way, that rocket fuel, I'm pretty sure, was the very same super-duper concoction that sent Neil Armstrong to the moon almost two years to the day later; although I suspect he used a different recipe.

Anyway, the night before the newspaper's district manager, Mr Gibson, phoned to say that Phillip Major was moving and his paper route would be available and if I was still interested I could have it but would have to start in two days. Oh my! So soon? One had to be twelve years old in order to deliver papers. I was only eleven but my mother, reluctantly complicit in the deception, gave her blessing. After all, I would be twelve soon enough, it was for a good cause, and I had already sub'd for Brian Simonson on occasion without scrutiny or incident. In the newspaper delivery business the most sought after routes were those consisting of a large number of papers over a few blocks. Phillip Major's route was not one of these. Route 11 was, in fact, the complete opposite. Route 11 by all accounts was the worst in the district. Fifty papers over seven blocks. Simonson's route, by contrast, was ninety papers over three blocks. Route 11 sucked. But, I'd do it.

It was the Summer Of Love. As I carried the headlines door to door, sweet scents of weed and patchouli wafted unrestrained through doors and windows. The songs of the day were the anthems of the generation. Flower power was fueling a revolution. Martin had a dream and Bobby spoke of hope. Fathers and sons and brothers were soon to return. The medium was the message and I was the messenger.

Route 11's fifty papers were a heavy load. That was then. I'm not so sure it would be any lighter today.

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Documentary Film Making Courses

Our very own Andrew Zinnes, just back from a very long sojourn at the bottom of a Polish salt mine, is hosting two documentary film making courses in July, one in the Bay Area and one in Los Angeles. Rouge Wavers get a 10% discount on either course.

***

"A powerful seminar that was jam packed with great information from the first hour to the closing night. Barely three months later I am now in productiion directing my first feature length documnentary thanks to their guidance and wisdom." Shane Harvey, Producer/Director, Vancouver

Learn how to get your documentary film idea MADE and your message out into the world. This practical seminar is taught by working producer and author of The Documentary Film Makers Handbook, Andrew Zinnes. New format makes it easier to attend and choose the topics you want to learn.

When: July 19-20, 2008 9AM-6PM
Where: East Bay Media Center, 1939 Addison St., Berkeley, CA 94704

When: July 26-27, 2008 9AM-6PM
Where: Filmmakers Alliance, 1030 W. Hillcrest Ave., Inglewood, CA

Day 1: Story, Research, Finance and Legal issues (9AM-3PM) - $99
Workshop 1: Limit 6 people (3:15PM-6:00PM) - $99

Day 2: Production, Post-production, Sales & Distribution - $99
Workshop 2: Limit 6 people (3:15PM-6:00PM) - $99

Go to Script Tonic or call 310-941-2168 to get more information or to register for the seminar sections.

Rouge Wavers get a 10% discount with coupon code DOCDISCOUNT. Everyone who attends gets a free DVD on Fair Use which could save you thousands of dollars on licensing archival material.

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Because I Love the Onion So

From yesterday's Onion:

Going to the Tops of Things Still Favored by Nation's Tourists


NEW YORK—According to a report released Monday by the American Tourism Society, going to the tops of things is still the preferred activity among the nation's tourists. "Although driving past things and swimming in things have both grown in popularity over the last decade, going to the tops of things still surpasses both by nearly 30 percent," said ATS president Kimberly Davis, who was careful to point out that the photographing of things was not included in the report, since the near constant occurrence of this activity makes its frequency impossible to calculate. "In 2008, tourists remained committed to standing in long lines at the bottoms of things, paying upwards of $20 to gain access to the tops of those things, and then staring at other smaller, more distant things for a few minutes before descending, often to have funny pictures of themselves drawn incorporating the things in the background." Davis added that, perhaps as a consequence of the declining economy, the purchasing of miniature representations of the things that tourists enjoy going to the tops of has dropped by 14%.

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