Set Your Course By the Stars

Hello, Wavers! Gosh, it feels like I've been away for awhile! It's a rare thing when I don't post on TRW for an entire week. Last week I had a milestone birthday, spent three days in Berkeley, taught a class at the Great American Pitch Fest and was on a panel with Laura Shapiro at the Broad Humor Film Festival. A tortoise named Echo also moved into the house for the summer but that's another story.

I realized, after the Top 10 Things Studio Readers Hate class at the Great American Pitch Fest that I said "shoot me in the face" at minimum twice during class, and maybe three times, giving people a violent and disturbing impression of sweet lil' ol' me. I just mean like, when scripts are so tough to read that one wants to...to um...to take a break for a few minutes.

I did receive a good question in The Rouge Wave mailbag while I was away:

First, let me say, I love your blog! I'm making my way through the archives, and it's worth more than many of my screenwriting classes!

Second, I was wondering if you could share (on your blog) what studios/producers are looking for right now. For example, I've heard comedies are currently more popular than dramas because people want to laugh in the current economic climate.

If someone was looking to break in, what type of script would be more commercially viable? Or is the important thing to tell an interesting story well, no matter what it's about?

Thanks for taking the time to read my question, and I look forward to your response (when you have time)!

-Popular in Poughkeepsie

Dear Pop:

Your question is a good one and when you find out the answer, let me know. I kid. Sort of. Everybody would love to have the answer to this question, most notably every single executive, producer and agent in Hollywood and their brother. Yes, I have also heard that during these tough times, audiences do gravitate toward comedy, but I wouldn't use that as a strategy for my writing. Your second sentiment is correct: An interesting story, well told is the brass ring. As Omar Khayyam said: “The moving finger writes; and having writ, moves on..." - wait, no, Omar Bradley: "Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship."

That about sums it up, Pop. If anyone in Hollywood knew what would make a hit movie, all movies would be hits. Nobody knows. Write what you love to write. If you love comedy, write that. Write the best, most unique, hilarious comedy you can. But if you really love thriller or sci-fi or action - write that. Writers looking to break in simply need to have VOICE and TALENT evident on the page. Easy, right? Wrong. But that's not the point I'm trying to make. You just cannot chase what you think might be popular as a way to break in. You'll chase your own tail like a cheeky monkey and eventually collapse in exhaustion and disillusionment. Write what YOU love - that is really, truly, madly, deeply the best advice I could give any writer, anywhere, writing anything. Otherwise, what's the point? Write because you love to write. And if you play your cards right, you might just make a career out of it. But stay true to yourself and to your writing first and foremost. You can sell out to the wiley, witchy bitch we call Hollywood later on, when you're established and can afford therapy, a masseuse and expensive Kentucky bourbon in which to drown your existential sorrows.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

Support the Cinefamily

So I live about...I don't know...two blocks from the Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax here in Los Angeles. Actually my neighborhood is weird - it's at the geographic crossroads of Hollywood, West Hollywood and the Fairfax neighborhood, one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in LA. So on a given day we have the hipsters, the Hasidim and gay couples walking their dogs all as they head toward Canter's Deli for mutually agreed upon goodness. But anyway. The Silent Movie Theatre.

"Built in 1942 by John and Dorothy Hampton, The Silent Movie Theatre ran for decades as the only fully functioning silent movie theatre in the country. It has been fully restored to its original, vintage 1940s art deco design, along with a brand new screen and sound system, to help a new generation enjoy the pleasures of cinema in a beautiful theatre."

So that's pretty cool, right? I get emails every week from Cinefamily, which is a sort of club that meets at the Silent Movie Theatre and I think oh, I should go see that movie, yeah, sure. And I never do.

Several friends of mine have plans to go see THE HANGOVER this weekend and I thought, well, sure, yeah, I love my friends very much. But - I'm not that excited to see THE HANGOVER, honestly. It's not really my cup of tea. Then I got this in my email inbox from the Cinefamily:

WINNEBAGO MAN, Sunday June 7th, 8pm

Jack Rebney, aka "the angriest RV salesman in the world," has delighted and fascinated millions of viewers with the hilariously foul-mouthed and ill-tempered outtakes from a Winnebago promotional video he made in the '80s - one of the first and best underground videos to be passed hand-to-hand, before the Internet turned him into a full-blown phenomena. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer takes on the seemingly impossible task of tracking down Jack, and his journey turns into a fascinating exploration of viral video culture, and what it means on a personal level to its sometimes unwilling subjects. When he finally tracks down Rebney, the real man is more savvy, irascible (of course), deep, weird, and cool than you could have possibly hoped for, and turns out to be more than able to hold his own in the modern media culture. In short, he is a star. A lovely and hilarious look at one man's response to Internet humiliation, and how that so-called "humiliation" can become a beacon of light to many. All hail Jack Rebney: the patron saint of our collective frustrations. Dir. Ben Steinbauer, 2009, HDCAM, 90 min.

- and I thought okay THAT I would see. That sounds fascinating. And I chide myself, momentarily, because I have not gotten out to support the Cinefamily and partaken of their impressively out-there play list and schedule. So for any Angelenos reading TRW today, please get out and support a theater that is off grid. Way off grid. A theater with a true love for the art and craft of cinema and the way in which the movies reflect just how odd we humans are. Step away from the megaplex once in awhile and see what else is out there.

***

The Cinefamily is an organization of movie lovers devoted to finding and presenting interesting and unusual programs of exceptional, distinctive, weird and wonderful films. The Cinefamily’s goal is to foster a spirit of community and a sense of discovery, while reinvigorating the movie-going experience. Like campfires, sporting events and church services, we believe that movies work best as social experiences. They are more meaningful, funnier and scarier when shared with others. Our home is the Silent Movie Theatre, one of Hollywood’s most beloved and beautiful cultural landmarks. There, the Cinefamily will provide a destination spot for Los Angelenos and others to rediscover the pleasures of cinema.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

So You Think You Can Read?

Since I started teaching the I Want To Be A Reader course, a number of students have signed up and completed it. But none with the enthusiasm and insight of Rouge Waver Michael Brownlee, who whipped up a frothy blog post about his experience:

***

Rouge Wave Pictures presents a new workplace thriller –

I WANT TO BE A READER

“Selfless coverage pro, Julie Gray, with only a computer, an internet connection and her vast knowledge of the craft, has only four weeks to turn a know-it-all screenwriter into a professional reader without losing her sanity or her professional credibility.”

Can she do it? Is four weeks enough? Can a know-it-all screenwriter be taught anything?

Spoiler Alert: Yes. Yes. And, thank god, Yes.

When I learned that studios hire people to read and cover screenplays I thought - How hard can it be? I know how to read. Besides, it’s got to be a better “industry job” than cleaning some junior executive’s cat litter box. Right? But after signing up for Julie’s I Want To Be A Reader course I discovered that there’s more to doing coverage than just reading a script.

The very first week I was blown away by how many elements a reader has to be on the lookout for. I quickly realized that reading a script for coverage would be nothing like reading one for pleasure. To start with I’d have to turn off my inner critic. One of the first assignments was a screenplay written with a dialect, where the words were phonetically spelled out. I loathe reading these. To be a professional reader you have to keep a certain distance and leave your personal feelings at the door. You read only what’s on the pages. That was probably the hardest and most valuable lesson I learned. (And one that’s actually helped me with my own screenwriting.)

As I read the scripts for homework, I felt like I was trying to keep a dozen plates spinning at once. Are the characters fleshed out? Does the structure work? Is the dialogue believable? With each week more plates were added. Writer’s voice. Synopsis writing. Reader comments. Trying to keep track of everything took constant focus. I struggled not to stop and jot down notes as I went along. After all, speed and efficiency are the reader’s two chief allies.

I was feeling pretty proud of myself when I finished reading a screenplay in under two hours. Then Week Three rolled around I learned that this probably wouldn’t cut it. Because a pro can read a screenplay and cover it in about two hours. Not only that, but she’ll do it three times a day five days in a row. What the what? I had been using every minute of the week between assignments to go back over my comments. Tinker with the synopsis a little. Even re-read parts of the screenplay to make sure I had all my ducks in a row. And we hadn’t even put all the elements of coverage together yet.

But when Week Four finally rolled around, and I had to write full coverage of three scripts, I was actually looking forward to the challenge. Because of the way the course is structured, learning one or two elements a week, I never felt overwhelmed. Challenged, yes. It felt good to get through those final screenplays, knowing what needed to be done and that I had been given all the tools to properly complete the job. It also felt good to have solved the mystery of what coverage is. Sure, there’s a lot more work than just reading a script, but now there’s also pride in being able to say “I can do that.”

Over four weeks, Julie walked me through all the steps needed to become a professional reader; from writing a synopsis that faithfully represents the script to keeping comments professional and on point to where to look for work. I highly recommend this course to anyone who’s thinking about becoming a professional reader. Now I have three samples and a letter of recommendation from Julie - a major foot in the door. And even if you aren't looking to become a reader, but are constantly looking for ways to improve your screenwriting, I would suggest you take it as well. After completing the course, I can honestly say that I’ll never look at a screenplay, my own or someone else's, the same way again. It’s like having new eyes. And that is worth the price of admission alone.

***

I am proud to say that Michael graduated with flying colors. Take advantage of my Economic Stimulus Discount, pay as you go and change the way you read scripts forever. Whether you're looking for work as a pro reader or just want to learn how to read scripts the way readers do, I promise you, you'll improve your own writing a thousand-fold. For more information, click HERE.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

Robotard 8000 REVEALED

Well - THAT didn't take long. All is revealed - or is it? Read all HERE. In the meantime I have received an email from the Robotard thanking me for my interest. This intrepid mystery writer or writers has got a Google Alert, it would seem. What a funny little mystery.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

The Robotard 8000

About a week or 10 days ago, I found the Robotard 8000 online. At first, I thought it was a joke. But the reviews of this script are by some pretty well known people. The site streaked around the intertubes with comments like - Have you SEEN this? Is this for real? ROFL what is this??

Is it a hoax? Is it a stunt? Is this by some unknown writer from Nebraska, desperate for attention? And if so - is this a genius move or is it the move of a, well, robotard?

I am told that this script is actually written by an A-lister associated with Will Ferrell. I have also been told this script was written by a collective of A-listers. I don't think anybody knows for sure but I'll tell you this - the script is hilarious. Not the most brilliant script I've ever read but what I like about it is that it is totally in keeping with the title of the script - BALLS OUT. Any script that starts with "fade the f*ck in" has my attention. The script is playful and ridiculous and offensive. And it's a quick, funny read.

Publicity stunt by a collective of A-listers or a hoax, you really should read the script for a sense of what "having fun on the page" looks like. The premise may not be the most original, but it's evident on page one and every page thereafter. The action lines are pithy, yes there are a few typos here and there, but it moves quickly and it's just so entertaining that you can't put it down. I read the first 30 pages while I was supposed to be doing something else. I just couldn't stop.

And that, Wavers, is how you want people to feel about your script. They just can't put it down.

So for a quick, fun, totally offensive read, stop by the Robotard 8000 and check out the script. The loglines on the very last page are the comedy topper of toppers.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

Can Winning a Competition Make a Difference?

Today The Script Department's very own Margaux Froley interviews a development exec about competition winning scripts, the spec market and what you can expect from a meeting. Enjoy.

***

I'm always curious about the perspective of other industry friends, especially those who have come up the demanding ladder of the development world. I recently discussed the current state of the industry with Brian Schornak, VP of Production at Back Lot Pictures. I consider Brian's taste in scripts to be impeccable, meaning he understands a writer's voice and has a terrific ability to help shepherd classy, yet quirky, films. He was involved with the recent successful film, SUNSHINE CLEANING.

For those of you who don't know this fun fact, the script of SUNSHINE CLEANING was discovered in a script contest by the company Brian works for. Brian was also one of the producers who met with the winner of the 2008 Silver Screenwriting Contest, so he's no stranger to seeing screenwriters blossom from contests.


Q: You've seen writers get discovered by contests before, including meeting with last year's Silver Screenwriting Grand Prize winner, Hilary Graham.What common elements are you seeing in the scripts that get plucked from these contests?

Generally, the writer has an interesting, distinctive voice and tells a story that really grabs the reader's attention. Not necessarily the most commercial, sellable story - it's more about establishing the writer as someone to work with and to watch grow. The winning script might turn into a hit spec sale but that's not the be-all and end-all. Some of the specific writing mechanics, like structure, might be imperfect - but those things can always be fixed with development.

Q: So a script wins a contest. Great. Now what? When you meet with the winning writer, what are you expecting them to bring to the table?

I like writers who come equipped with a bunch of ideas - fleshed-out or not - that will give me a sense of the type of screenwriting career that they want to pursue. I also love to talk about movies and get a sense of their general taste. All of this helps me when I'm looking to develop original material or fill writing assignments. Honestly, personality goes a long way, since being "good in a room" is key to landing paying writing jobs. You don't have to be the nicest or funniest person I've ever met, but I take a lot of meetings, so a great conversationalist with intuitive people skills will stick out in my mind long after we've parted ways.

Q: Can a writer really launch a career from a contest?

Absolutely. As a first-hand example, Megan Holley wrote SUNSHINE CLEANING, which was a fantastic script, and submitted it to the Virginia Governor's Screenwriting Competition back in 2003. Our company happened to be involved in the judging process because my boss Glenn Williamson is an alumnus of UVA. She won the competition, we made the movie, and now she's much sought-after all over town. It's been a great experience.

Many other contests - Nicholl in particular, have turned out viable writers, and I think that producers and literary reps alike are looking more closely at contest winners these days. The town is very competitive in terms of finding the next hot writer and the competitions are a great sorting mechanism.

Q: Among the "industry" crowd, how quickly do prize-winning writers get noticed? More by managers than agents?

It depends on the size and reputability of the contest, but in some cases there's a mad dash to obtain and read the winning scripts. Managers might be more inclined to sign writers who have a lot of potential but need some development, whereas agents are more likely to come aboard once a sale seems possible. But that's not always true.

Q: How does building and maintaining a relationship with a production company help a new writer with his/her career?

Writers are always welcome to check in periodically with the execs they had good meetings with (sometimes you just don't feel much of a connection, and that's okay, there are plenty of places to do business). Execs are always putting together lists of projects for paid writing assignments and for internal development projects, so it's good to maintain visibility.

Q: What's the spec market like right now?

The spec market waxes and wanes. Right now it's waning, as for economic reasons studios are cutting back on their development and production slates, so there's less incentive to buy new projects. As a result, production companies are more likely to package scripts with a director or a star before going out to buyers. The movie business, although largely tied to corporate conglomerates, does seem to be fairly recession-proof thus far, so I imagine and hope there will be more activity in the near future.

Brian has also already volunteered to again meet with this year's Grand Prize winner of the Silver Screenwriting Competition. He could be discussing your script with you by October! Hmm...what to wear? Click here to SUBMIT. Deadline: May 1st.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

Pilot Season

By Lisabeth Laiken

OK, quick, answer this — what will you want to watch this fall?

With everything going on in the world, can you hazard a guess right now where you will be and what you will be in the mood for in seven months?

Do you think you will want to watch shows about parenting? A family drama maybe? A family comedy? How about some more soft procedurals? Will you be ready to laugh at the exploits that happen after being fired? Or have your heart tugged by them? Will a new medical drama or two distract you from your woes? Or will you have had enough of reality and just want an escape, so maybe some familiar witches? Vampires? Aliens? Or do you just want to cut to the chase and see the apocalypse? Or the future? These are all options under consideration. Do any of them strike your fancy?

There are millions of dollars at stake right now trying to guess that answer. Maybe that’s why time travel is such a popular television theme; the network execs wish they could do it themselves!

Pilot season is a crazy carnival ride in a good year; this year it might be even wilder - how can the execs gauge anything with everything in such flux? And this pilot season wasn’t even supposed to happen. After the writers strike, the networks proclaimed very loudly that throwing money at an array of pilots didn’t work and wasn’t cost effective and they weren’t going to do it anymore. Well it may be true that it’s inefficient, but not doing it didn’t work out so well either, so they are back at it.

In the last few weeks, dozens of ideas have gotten the greenlight - to go to script, to be cast, to get directors - all with the hope that in March they will get the word to start shooting. If you are writing a spec script or developing your own television show idea, or if you just like TV and want to follow a kind of horserace, there are three great resources to keep track of it all: Variety's Pilot Watch, The Hollywood Reporter's articles and orders at Pilot Log, and The Futon Critic DevWatch. This last resource lists everything - details and history - with great filtering options!

The casting reports are starting to pop up. So much of a show's success depends on chemistry between set-up and actor. Just look at this seasons The Mentalist; its whole pull is what Simon Baker makes of that character in a rather middling show. Who would you like to see back out there? If you were writing a show, who would you want to be delivering your lines? I know that if Kyle Secor, John Hawkes, Emma Caulfield, or Caroline Dhavernas were to be cast in something I would need to check it out. Lauren Graham (who tops my list of MIAs) has a pilot for ABC called "Let It Go" that seems to be gaining momentum, so here’s hoping I’ll see at least one of my faves this fall.

Other shows on the radar already include the latest attempt to recreate AbFab (Kristen Johnston, Kathryn Hahn) and a remake of V. Two movies being dusted off and having their shoulder pads removed are Parenthood and Witches of Eastwick. The CW is hoping to attract the Twilight fans with Vampire Diaries. Hotties James Tupper and Michael Vartan have been tagged for medical shows, Mercy and Time Heals, respectively. Jenna Elfman is getting another go with Accidentally on Purpose and Amy Smart has her first lead in See Cate Run.

It’s way too early to say what will end up on the air. I have my fingers crossed very tightly for the new Herskovitz/Zwick drama A Marriage but who knows — a couple of years ago I was sure we’d be watching Judy Got a Gun and Nice Girls don’t Get a Corner Office. Anyone remember when those had the buzz? It was 2007. We got Cavemen instead.

Lisabeth Laiken has been scrutinizing television since they got the breed of dog wrong on Little House on the Prairie. After ending her college years watching movies and television critically in a joint Film Studies and Semiotics program, she went on to use two VCRs to collect and catalog all her favorite shows (over 500 tapes) long before DVR was a glimmer in anyone’s eye.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

Table Read Follow-Up

Last evening, The Script Department hosted another of our monthly table reads at The Attic Theater. And this is what the writer, Seth Fortin, had to say about the experience:

***

I always feel, as a screenwriter, that my work happens in a kind of vacuum until the moment someone actually reads it out loud. I know how these lines are supposed to be delivered, and in my head I can hear, oh, William Hurt or Michael Gambon or Glenn Close inflecting them with exactly the right emotional notes, allowing the subtext to ring out sharp and clear like a fork against a wine glass in a crowded room. I know how it's supposed to sound, I know what's been left unsaid in each scene, I know when characters are bluffing or holding something back or on the verge of tears.

But is it on the page?

Have I actually written the scenes in such a way that all that stuff comes to the fore?

Do the act breaks really ramp up the tension, or are they over-subtle and meaningful only to the guy who's got the whole story in his head?

Do the characters have all the distinctive bumps and wrinkles that I think they have, or have I left some of that stuff sitting in storage boxes in the abandoned warehouse of my imagination?

Is my exposition faced-paced and clever, like a West Wing walk-and-talk, or is it frustrating and sleep-inducing, like my college calculus class?

In short: did I write what I think I wrote?

One way to answer that question is to give your script to someone in the business and get their very first, unvarnished opinion. Another way is to get a bunch of working actors together and have them do a read-through, cold, with no rehearsal. It's not that a first impression is always right; it's just that if a group of professionals understand where you're trying to go with a certain scene or a certain joke or a character arc, then it's probably on the page. If not, you may have left something in the brain.

Happily, Julie and The Script Department can help you with both of these. Last evening, Julie and her colleagues organized a table read for my original science fiction comedy pilot Just In Time. Six actors, all Guild members, all pros, sat down and performed the script in front of a small audience, while Julie and special guest Margaux Froley, a writer for the CW's Privileged, took notes and prepared to give feedback.

As the actors did their thing, I had a chance to hear, directly, what a first-time reader thought was happening in each line of dialogue. I had a chance to see where, on a first look, character interactions were confusing or unclear. It was a useful exercise. But for me, as the creator of the characters, it was also a little bit magical to see them brought to life. (This is the other, private benefit of the table read. Sure, it's great to wade into the technical needs of your script. But it's also a thrill to see your work become a physical reality, even if it's an unrehearsed, off-the-cuff reality. Especially for those of us who are still writing spec scripts, there's no guarantee that the thing you're pouring soul and sweat into will ever be filmed. So if you ever do a table read -- treasure the moment!)

After the read-through, the actors gave their immediate impressions and asked me the things they'd been wondering as they read. These ranged from "The characters were well-drawn" to "If you cut down on the sci-fi exposition, you'd have more time to spend on character" to "Do you envision this as a single-camera or multi-camera show?"

Then we turned to the writers in the room. Friend-of-the-blog and previous table read participant Christopher Bosley and web-series producer Mike Perri both chimed in with great insights - including one casually-dropped idea that made me want to jump up and go "Holy crap! That's it! That's the missing link! Goodbye, everybody; I have to go write now!" (I didn't; I'm polite. But I wanted to.)

Next Margaux and Julie gave notes. At first they asked where I saw the show going, what I thought motivated the main character, what kinds of things we hadn't seen on the page yet - the vision questions. These are the kinds of questions you would expect to be asked if you were in a meeting with someone who could actually produce your show. This reminded me of the most important thing about writing pilots - you have to know what comes next, what could be happening in a year or several seasons down the road.

Then we got into the deep and brutal questions that have to be asked about any script. Really, they all boil down to a single question: Can you get an audience to watch this? Under that general question, subquestions: Is there a clear genre? Does this really work as a half-hour show, or would you be better off making it an hour-long drama? Are your characters the kinds of characters that people would want to see week after week? Do your act breaks make people want to stick around through the commercials?

Finally, while everyone else noshed on cookies and fruit, Margaux and I had a quick conference where she gave me her point-by-point notes, which ran from the technical ("use an en dash instead of an em dash") to the practical ("What show is this like? What network do you see this on?") to the philosophical ("It's not 'comedy-specific'... doesn't fit into an easy mold.")

By the end I had dozens and dozens of useful suggestions, enough to take a script, premise, and characters I love and shape them - I hope - into a sharp, marketable piece of work. And I had seen what every screenwriter hopes to see - my work leave the page and become a real thing for half an hour. Awesome!

Seth Fortin is a Rouge Waver and Los Angeles newbie of six months. In his previous life, he worked in Military Intelligence as a translator.

If you live in the Los Angeles area (or would like an excuse to visit) and would like a table read of your material, please click HERE for details and arrangements of this free, fun and illuminating experience.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

New Media: The Epicenter of Creation

When I was in high school - QUITE awhile ago (shut up, you in the back) - my best friend and I wrote, directed and produced a number of quality films. Yeah. Films. On a Super 8 camera. It was quality fare. It sapped our allowance though. The price of film and development made it out of our reach to make more than a few movies. We had no room for mistakes. Things got tense but we never let it affect the art. But seriously, at that time, to produce entertainment was prohibitive for anyone but the Already Connected and Working. Now anyone can create online entertainment. It's a brave new world. And I love it.

Wednesday I went to the Hollywood Web Television Meet Up, hosted by TubeFilter. I was SO amazed to be around such a wealth of pioneering creativity. I couldn't help but be struck by the fact that this was the epicenter of what's to come in New Media. The guest list was impressive. There were executives from Sony, Warner Brothers, NBC, UTA, Strike TV and Yahoo with titles like Content Aquisitions and Director, Online Development. There were actors, producers, directors and techie geeks, all braving the free bar and massive crowd. Pigeon John provided excellent music.

I met and talked with Tay Zonday and yes, his voice is just like that. And of course, who could miss Ruby Ann Boxcar who was gracious enough to share a peanut butter fudge via the microwave recipe with me.

And of course, our very own Citizen Kate. I don't know why I say our very own except yeah, she's been to my house and we're like, totally like THIS.

Now you might be saying to yourself, yeah but most New Media just isn't that great. You'd be wrong and you're not looking hard enough. If you haven't seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, you're missing out. Oh and Easy to Assemble. Of course, Funny Or Die has some great stuff. Drunk History is good stuff but please, click on and revel in Palatial Regalia. Tell me when you stop laughing. I'll wait.

I'm sure you wonder how anyone producing New Media will ever make money. Well, check out this sale to ABC Family. For you too-lazy-to-click-throughers: ABC Family has picked up Take180’s My Alibi for distribution on ABCFamily.com, marking the first major content deal coming out of the community driven web series site.

I have a dear friend who I probably shouldn't name who just shot an online pilot with HUGE comedic promise. Is he going to sell it to a television network? Maybe. More than maybe, quite possible. But I don't think his totally subversive idea could have come up in or flourished within the usual milieu. And in the time it took you to write a feature script, my friend wrote, directed and produced a pilot. Think about that. Cash and carry, baby.

New Media has its detractors and doubters but I'll tell you one thing, being around this huge group of talented story tellers who are breaking all the rules and writing and producing what they want was really thrilling for me. Because it's a new medium that is coming into its own. Because it feels a little like Hollywood in 1925 - things are wide open right now. It's a brave new world.

What does this mean for you? It means the sky's the limit. It means you can write outside the box and outside of the constraints of the entrenched studio system. It means something exciting is happening and you should pay attention. You never know, you might be the next Chocolate Rain guy. Or Ruby Ann Boxcar - mwah - see you at the Streamy after-party!

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

Mentoring, Networking & Paying it Forward

So my friend Marc Zicree kept telling me about this amazing writer/director/producer/(add other hyphenates here) group that has met every single Thursday for 15 years in Toluca Lake. It's an invitation only group that has swelled to 500 members (not all of whom show up to every meeting, otherwise it would be bedlam). So I went last night, brought a friend and was just amazed by the warmth and support in this amazing networking group. My friend had just moved to LA from Kentucky a few months ago and really hasn't found a big group of like-minded creatives to connect with but I think he's found a home now, for sure. The cool thing about this group is that some of its members are Oscar winners and Emmy winners - and we even had a Hugo Award winner there last evening. The majority, of course, are not quite at Oscar/Emmy level, which is nice, otherwise one would be frozen with awe rather than really interacting comfortably.

The best thing about this group is the premise and the intentionality: Marc goes around the room (there were probably 50 people there last evening) and you first talk about what's going on with you and then you ask for what you need. It might be advice, it might be some editing equipment, it might be a new headshot - and then, because the group is so big and so multi-connected, someone offers to help introduce you to someone or otherwise get you what you need. It's networking to the nth degree. And I love that it's invitation only; it ensures that everyone in the group has been vetted by Marc and understands that this is a group interested in really, truly supporting one another.

Last night I came away with a few headshots for my table reads, the business card of an actor who does bookkeeping on the side and an offer to have coffee next week with a comedy writer. The cool thing is I could have asked for just about anything - does someone know where I can get the best deal on snow tires? I'm sure someone would have a friend they could introduce me to. People last night were looking for a variety of things and some people had some really great news about various projects they are working on.

When my friend and I left, he said wow, I had heard that people in LA were so me, me, me but this group really isn't. Very true. It isn't. It's like the It Takes A Village Creative Support Group. Marc is a huge believer in networking and mentoring and he's had a fair measure of success in his own career to prove how helpful that really is. So many of Marc's stories start off with someone making an introduction to someone else who opened a door and then...Marc got what he needed in the end. He's all about paying it forward and all about making a list of the people who are doing what you want to be doing and finding a way to introduce yourself to those people and just by making that personal connection, you are paving the way for a future involvement with them. I can't possibly encapsulate or sum up the way Marc runs his group - or The Table as they call themselves - but I was just blown away by the warmth of this group of people. And it all springs from Marc, who is one of the kindest, most generous people I have ever met.

If you live in the LA area, Marc runs another group called The Super Mentors class and I'm going to be sure my friend signs up for it. Mentoring, networking, paying it forward - it seems old-fashioned, but it's the foundation Hollywood was built on. And it's nice to see it alive and well at a small cafe in Toluca Lake every Thursday night.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

Slumdog of Sundance: Part II

Wow, I will probably irritate quite a few people with this but -- I have still not seen a film yet. It's not that I don't want to. I really, really do, it's just that I'm a young writer trying to meet people and when opportunities arise I feel I have to take them. So maybe this blog is more about networking then anything.

Yesterday we went to several parties. Two were at Hollywoodlife for premiere after-parties. One for a film Denise Richards was in, I'm not sure the other. Paris Hilton was there with her many assistants. She of course was upstairs in the blocked off section, but it's not like meeting her is going to help a screenwriter's career anyway, right? Or maybe it would?

I met tons of publicists. I guess that makes sense. It's just funny that they would take an interest in a writer. I guess everyone needs publicity these days, though. They are great people to meet at parties because they introduce you to people right there on the spot. I met several people that way.

I met one of the producers of Harry Potter - she was very sweet and her husband was so nice. We talked to him quite a bit actually. She just did a documentary called The Cove that was at Slamdance I believe. We were at the after-party for it when we met her.

I'm loving Sundance. I've probably made over 10 valuable connections through it and already have meetings for next week when I get back to LA. And a name actor who recognized my director from the New York Film Festival told him he's interested in one of the roles for our movie!!

Monday was again more parties; however, Park City seems to be winding down. We went to Rock Band Lounge for the premiere after-party of Once More With Feeling. It's in Sundance noncompetition but it's nearly sold out for the entire week! Awesome because I have mutual friends with the filmmakers and I love when little films get some buzz!

I really want to go to the Slamdance happy hour. Some of the greatest people I've met both this year and last year have actually been at Slamdance events, not Sundance.

I promised myself I will see a movie if it's the last thing I do. How can I not?


DJ Halferty has written in the independent world writing paid assignments. He's optioned a script and recently signed a purchase agreement for teen comedy Aunt Sylvia's List, which he's currently doing rewrites on. It's in development/pre-production to be shot in Salt Lake City, Utah later this year.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

Put Your TiVo to Work

So earlier today while nursing a slight cold and doing Very Useful Things, I noticed that my TiVo didn't have my favorite channels listed. Despite the fact that I actually don't watch much in the way of TV other than Seinfeld reruns and the occasional - OKAY FINE - Dancing With the Stars, I chose a handful of faves. Then began flipping through them idly (wow cold medicine makes you feel all fluffy inside) when I noticed a plethora of movies that I either haven't seen or I loved. Check out this fun list:

JOHNNY BELINDA: Ahhhhh....never saw it? Has Jane Wyman? Good enough for me.

A DRY WHITE SEASON: Ohhhh I remember when that came out. I remember the trailer which may be why I have a vague sense I've seen this when I'm pretty sure I have not. (Does that happen to anybody else?)

BATS: Wait, didn't a friend tell me recently this is a HILARIOUSLY bad movie? Always TiVo the Funny-Badness.

NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER: Esther Williams, technicolor, synchronized swimming. Thank you. You're welcome.

CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: That is definitely a movie I think I thought I saw. Either that or the Long Term Movie Memory disk is offloading information. Anyway, South Africa, politics, tragedy, based on a book...Must seem serious and learned at parties concerning such.

HELLBOY: Have not seen that. And really should have. Whooo - just saved three bucks at the video store!

NINOTCHKA: Have not seen this. Oh Greta. I'm never as lonely as when I'm with you.

IT WAITS: This looks like a tragi-comically bad movie. Must TiVo the Funny-Badness. Always.

THE PETRIFIED FOREST: Horrified to admit I have not seen this. But - should I be? Ohhhh okay, Bette Davis and Leslie Howard. Done.

MARTY: I just gotta know why that line in QUIZ SHOW was so significant. Plus, two words: Paddy Chayefsky.

I WANT TO LIVE!: I am 95% sure I have seen this sort of goofy Susan Hayward tear-jerker. But what the hell. Live dangerously.

THE ITALIAN JOB: Haven't seen it. Might like it. Not that invested.

FIERCE PEOPLE: What's this?! Diane Lane movie I haven't seen?

SHAMPOO: Due to an intense aversion to Warren Beatty when I was a child (god I despised the whole overtan, tight white pantsed, hairy chest, gold necklace thing in the '70s, among so many other things) I have not seen this. And I should.

Are you making the most of your TiVo? Check out the future listings today and see if there are any movies on your Hall of Shame or What the Hell lists. It's fun, it's free and Wavers know how aspiring screenwriters with a dearth of film viewing hours particularly when it comes to seminal and classic movies gives me an EYE TWITCH. Do it for mama, guys. Watch more movies.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

The Slumdog of Sundance

I was meaning to blog each day for at least the first weekend since that's when most things go on, but we decided to take an already busy schedule and throw in a 24 hour film competition. So friday I wrote a 3 page script in roughly 20 minutes, went to meet up with some people that manage the main hotels for the week (Hotel Park City, The Yarrow, etc) to see about getting into certain events, then shot some scenes, and then went back to Park City. For friday night we weren't on any lists so we just figured we'd show up and see what we can do. We did talk to some publicists, via our friend April, about possibilities for us later on this week. We'll see...

Like I said, Sundance is about the parties. celebrities, money, etc. Not that I care about those things very much, but those are the things that get films made. Specifically, and hopefully, my films. So we went up to some place on Main Street (If you've never been, most of Sundance takes place on this street.) This place had a huge line. We slip up to the front and the doorman is telling everyone how it's at capacity. No one can be let in. Even on a list. Riight. I think they just say that. And my theory held true because the guy turns away all these people, but looks at my friend and I and says, "You two can go on in." Random? Yes.

After the party we went to go shoot another scene for this 24 hour contest. Part of the competition was they give you a prop you have to use. Haha, Therefore, I was dressed in a match costume, lol, and couldn't even move! I'm at the top of the stairs with no eye holes, hoping to God I don't trip and plummet down the steps.

We were up until 9:30 am shooting, but had to be at some SAG panel at 10:30. Haha...needless to say, we missed the panel. (A friend took notes for us, though.) Apparently an increasing number of projects are starting to be shot in Utah. Not just indie or LDS films either. (Nothing against either of those -- great films are great films regardless) But some major productions are deciding to shoot here as well. Anybody out there with any Utah contacts might want to consider this.

So we didn't make it to any screenings today (but we do know some volunteers who can hook us up -- another important thing to consider -- be a volunteer at Sundance. A lot of times you can even get a place to stay up in Park City for free.)

Instead, we met up with other friends to catch up and talk about projects. I met a few possibly good contacts at random places (waiting in lines while avoiding the cold, at a couple parties) who are looking for writers. Again, we'll see...

A lot of the celebs we're out to play today. I heard about tons of them, but only saw Ashley Judd, Brett Ratner, Alan Cummings, Kevin Bacon. I've noticed how much friendlier they are than what you would see on TMZ. Pretty sure it was Kim Bassinger today walking in front of me. Some girls pointed and screamed how much they love her. She smiled back and said she loved them even more. Easy enough, but still polite and kind.

What am I forgetting? Oh yeah went to an Ed Hardy show (and we might be heading to an Ed hardy party here pretty soon, but we're exhausted and our contact for it hasn't texted us back yet.)

Tomorrow I've got a meeting and I'm determined to finally go see one of the films. I'm hearing a lot about the 500 days of summer one. I love how people will ask each other "is this a good one?" "what have you heard?" "Yeah, it's supposed to be good." "No, I have no idea what it's about."

Just like last year, Sundance isn't changing my life, but it's fun and you can definitely meet people. So far I'm enjoying it despite the lack of sleep and cold philangees.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

The Slumdog of Sundance

Have you ever wanted to go to the Sundance Film Festival? I'm torn. The friends I have who have gone complain of the bitter cold, the scene-y atmosphere and the lack of quality films. But sure, I'd go just once to say I did. I might do it next year. But for this year, The Rouge Wave has a mole at Sundance. My friend DJ has made his way out there as of yesterday and will be sending Rouge Wavers blog reports of his experiences. Armed with the list of the hottest screenings and parties to talk his way into, he's mostly winging it so we'll take what we can get.

****

So here's our first message from Sundance:

So I just got into Utah. Cold! Nothing really happened today. I think this is partly due to the festival being cut back so much this year and most people just getting in or coming in Friday. It sure does seem scaled back. Way fewer parties from what I've been hearing.

So tonight I just walked around with my Utah filmmaker friends Colton Tran and April Frampton. (I won't bore you but they're amazingly talented. Colton's directing Aunt Sylvia's List, April does PR/pretty much everything.) We talked to some other people and just put together our game plan for the week. We saw Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue! April was joking and called out to a guy she thought looked like him. Turns out it was him. He said all of hi.

So tomorrow (16th) is when things really start going. So far what I have planned is a couple meetings, some screenings, a couple fashion shows, some parties of course. Sundance is all about the parties.

And yes, I promise I'll mention any celebrities I see. Last year I remember seeing Jimmy Fallon EVERY SINGLE DAY I was there. It's like he was omnipresent. I know as writers we don't care about celebrities...but let's be honest. You know you do.



DJ Halferty has written in the independent world writing paid assignments. He's optioned a script and recently signed a purchase agreement for teen comedy Aunt Sylvia's List, which he's currently doing rewrites on. It's in development/pre-production to be shot in Salt Lake City, Utah later this year.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

New Speak: It's JUST for Texting!

So how many Rouge Wavers text their family and friends? I do it a lot now. Texting has become part of my life. I was never one of those self-described Luddites. I can upload, download and update many things. Nevertheless, texting as far as I was concerned initially was a sort of last ditch thing for confirmation, etc., but now I text friends and colleagues about any number of things. When I first started texting I would text something like this: Hey, my flight is late. See you at the gate. I'm wearing a red coat which took me 3 minutes to text and gets a reply like: C U thr. So now I am down with the texting lingo: U R cmg @ 8? It was a brief learning curve but I can now text with the best of 'em.

As a sidenote, I'm fairly certain my Blackberry's "smart type" has some kind of content editor because no, I am not texting the work "duck" or "ducking" - ever.

Texting and IMing using a truncated new speak is not new. We're all familiar with brb, lol, omg, cya, kk and my funny newest - zomg! But one pitfall of new speak, whether it's in texting, IM or message boards is that we become lazy. It's fine to say "your gng 2 B lte!" - the operative word there being "your" instead of "you're". I have noticed that spelling in scripts I read has gotten worse and worse. And this is the truly horrible part - I have to catch myself more and more too.

Not that you're going to catch me writing: 2 B or nt 2 B anytime soon in a script or anywhere else, but it is a challenge when your brain shifts back and forth from proper spelling to new speak. Proper spelling and grammar is slowly eroding. On the one hand, that is the way of things. We no longer speak the way Shakespeare wrote - iffin that was the way Joe Average spoke at that time, or anywhere close. We no longer speak the way we did in the 1950s for that matter: Say, you are looking very nice today, Jody! Today that would be: Girl, you're hot!

Language is an organic thing and we have plenty of evidence to prove that. But make sure that you do check yourself when working on scripts or anything else that will be publicly consumed. Watch your "your" versus "you're," "to" versus "too" and duck versus...well - you get my point.

The hilarious thing is that your script will be read by people who are probably texting while reading it: Ths scrpt kicks ass! brb! Mtng! - but they'll still slam you if your script has spelling errors or language usage problems. Because the way we speak in some mediums is not the way we speak in others. Scripts are still expected to be written properly. I am not referring to the fact that you may have a character who uses slang, but particularly in your action lines - get it right.

So even if you are a texting aficionado, but sure to flip that switch when you write. It matters. No j/k.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

How Many Movies Were Released in 2008?

573 titles. Isn't that amazing?! It's a huge number. Now, many of these films were quite small (see the note below about what qualifies a movie to be on this list) and many were clearly a pretty bad investment. Go to Box Office Mojo to find out how each performed. Nonetheless, I do find this total number encouraging. Sure, sure, it might be less than in 2007 (I actually don't have stats on that, but this is what I am told) but let's not be negative, this is the Rouge Wave after all.

573 movies were released in 2008. Let's get your movie on the list for 2009, shall we? And not up for Razzie consideration! Which is the provenance of this list, by the way. I don't keep a notepad of stuff like this. I'd have to be freakishly organized. No, I rely on the hard work of OTHER people when providing nifty lists on The Rouge Wave. Thank you, Other People.

Enjoy skimming through this lavish list and coming upon titles and thinking, hey wait - whatever happened to that movie? TOWELHEAD had that affect on me. Right, right, that Allan Ball movie. Kerplunk.

*****

COMPLETE LIST of ALL 2008 RELEASES

January 1st through December 31st: 573 Titles

NOTES: To appear on this list, a film must have played at least a one-week/regular admission engagement in either Los Angeles or New York (Manhattan) commencing during calendar year 2008, thus qualifying it for both Golden Raspberry and Academy Award consideration.

KEY:

a = Animated

d = Documentary

f = Foreign Film

R = REMAKE

S = SEQUEL



21

27 DRESSES

88 MINUTES

$9.99

1968: TUNNEL RATS

10,000 B.C. / R

Able Danger

Adam Resurrected

The Air That I Breathe

Alexandra

Alice's House

Alice Neel / d

All in This Tea / f

Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert / d

The Alphabet Killer

The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela

America the Beautiful

AMERICAN CAROL / R

American Teen

American Zombie

Amusement

Anamorph

The Animation Show #4 / a

Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer

Antarctica

Appaloosa

Ashes of Time Redux / f

Asian Stories (Book 3)

August

August Evening

Australia

B.O.H.I.C.A.

Bab Aziz (The Prince Who Contemplates His Soul) / f

Baby Mama

Babylon A.D.

The Babysitters

Baghead

Ballast

BANG COCK? DANGEROUS! / R

The Bank Job

Battle in Seattle

Be Kind, Rewind

Beautiful Losers

The Beautiful Truth

BEDTIME STORIES

BEER FOR MY HORSES

Beaufort / f

Beauty in Trouble / f

Before the Rains

Ben X / f

Beverly Hills Chihuhua

Beyond the Call / d

Bigger, Stronger, Faster / d

Billy

Billy the Kid / d

The Black Balloon

Blind Mountain

Blindness

Blindsight

Bloodline

Boarding Gate

Body of Lies

Body of War / d

Bolt / a

Bomb It! / d

Bonneville

Bottle Shock

Boy A

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Bra Boys / d

Breakfast With Scott

Brick Lane

Brideshead Revisited / R

The Brothers Bloom

Burn After Reading

The Business of Being Born

Bustin' Down the Door / d

CSNY/Deja Vu

Cadillac Redords

Call + Response

Captain Abu Raed / f

Caramel / f

Cassandra's Dream

Changeling

Chaos Theory

Chapter 27

Charlie Bartlett

Che / R

Chicago 10

Children of Huang Shi

Choose Connor

Chop Shop

Chris & Don: A Love Story / d

A Christmas Tale / f

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian / S

Ciao!

CJ7 / f

Circulation

City of Ember

City of Men

The Class / f

Cloverfield

College

Constantine's Sword / d

The Cool School / d

The Counterfeiters / f

College Road Trip

Cover

Crossing Over

Cthulha / f

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Dare Not Walk Alone / d

The Dark Knight / S

Dark Matter

Dark Streets

THE DAY THE EARTH BLOWED UP REAL GOOD / R

Days and Clouds

DEAL

Dear Zachary

DEATH RACE / R

Deception

Defiance

Definitely, Maybe

Delgo / a

The Dhamma Brothers / d

Diary of the Dead

Dimished Capacity

DISASTER MOVIE

Doomsday

The Doorman

DR. SUESS' HORTON HIRES a HO / a, R

Dostana / f

Doubt

Dragon Hunters

Drillbit Taylor

The Duchess

The Duchess of Langleals / f

The Dukes

Dying to Live

Eagle Eye

Eden

The Edge of Heaven

Eight Miles High

Elegy

The Elephant King

Elsa and Fred

Encounters at the End of the World

The Exiles

Expelled / d

Expired

The Express

THE EYE / R

Faded Memories

The Fall

Fall of Hyperion

The Favor

Fears of the Dark

Felon

Filth and Wisdom

Fighting for Life / d

Finding Amanda

The First Basket

First Saturday in May / d

FIREPROOF

FIRST SUNDAY

Flash of Genius

Flash Point

Flawless

Flight of the Red Balloon / f

FLY ME TO THE MOON / a

The Flyboys

Flow / d

FOOL'S GOLD

The Foot Fist Way

Forbidden Kingdom

Forever / d

Forever Strong

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

FOUR CHRISTMASES

A Four Letter Word

Four Minutes / f

Fraude: Mexico 2006 / d - f

Freebird

Frost/Nixon

Frozen River

Fugitive Pieces

Funny Games

The Garden / d

Garden Party

Gardens of the Night

GET SMART / R

Ghost Town

A Girl Cut in Two /f

Girls Rock!

The Go-Getter

God and Gays: BRidging the Gap / d

God Bless This Couple / f

Gomorrah / f

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson / d

Good

A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy

Good Dick

Gran Torino

The Grand

The Grocer's Son / f

Gunnin' for That #1 Spot / d

Hamlet 2 / S

The Hammer

HANCOCK

Hania

Hank and Mike

Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert / d

M. Night Shyamalan's THE HAPPENING

Happy-Go-Lucky

Harold

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay / S

Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29 / d

Hats Off / d

THE HAUNTING OF MOLLY HARTLEY

Heavy Metal in Baghdad / d

Hell Ride

Hellboy II: The Golden Army / S

Henty Poole Is Here

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR / S

Holding Trevor

Hollywood Chinese / d

THE HOTTIE & THE NOTTIE

Hounddog

House

The House Bunny

House of Adam

House of the Sleeping Beauties / f

The House of Usher / R

How About You

How She Move

How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

Hunger

I Can't Think Straight / f

I.O.U.S.A. / d

I Served the King of England

Ice Blues

IGOR / a

Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust / d

In Bruges

In Search of a Midnight Kiss

The Incredible Hulk / R

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull / S

IN THE NAME OF THE KING: A DUNGEON SIEGE TALE

Irina Palm

Iron Man

I've Loved You So Long

J.C.V.D.

Jack & Jill vs. the World

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer

Jellyfish

A Jihad for Love / d

Johnny Got His Gun / R

Journey to the Center of the Earth / R

JUMPER

Just Add Water

Just Buried

Kabluey

Kenny

Kicking It / d

The Killing of John Lennon

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss the Bride

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

Kung Fu Panda / a

Lake City

Lakeview Terrace

Last Chance Harvey

The Last Mistress / f

Last Stop for Paul

Leatherheads

Let's Get Lost / d

Let the Right One In

Liberty Kid

The Life Before Her Eyes

Little Big Top

Little Chenier: A Cajun Story

The Little Red Truck / d

Live and Become

Loins of Pujab Presents

Lord, Save Us from Your Followers / d

The Longshots

The Lost

Lost in Beijing / f

Love & Honor

Lou Reed's Berlin / d

Love Comes Lately

THE LOVE GURU

Love Songs (Les Chansons D'Amour) / f

Lower Learning

The Lucky Ones

MAD MONEY

Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa / a - S

MADE OF HONOR

Mamma Mia!

A Man Named Pearl / d

Man on Wire

Marley & Me

Married Life

The Matador / d

Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux Universe

MAX PAYNE

Meet Bill

MEET DAVE

The Memory Thief

MEET THE SPARTANS

The Midnight Meat Train

Military Intelligence and You!

Milk

Miracle at St. Anna

MIRRORS / R

Miss Conception

Miss Pettigre Lives for a Day

Mister Foe

Mister Lonely

Momma's Man

Mongol / f

Morning Light

The Mother of Tears

Moving Midway

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR / S

Murder.com

MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL

My Blueberry Nights

My Brother Is an Only Child

My Father, My Lord

My Name is Albert Ayler / d

My Name is Bruce

My Winnipeg

Nana

Nanking / f

National Lampoon's Homo Erectus

NEVER BACK DOWN

Never Forever

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nights in Rodanthe

Nim's Island

NOBEL SON

Noise

No Regret

Noah's Ark: Jumping the Broom

Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 / d

Nothing But the Truth

Nothing Like the Holidays

Obscene

On the Other Hand, Murder

On the Rumba River / f

One Day You'll Understand

ONE MISSED CALL / R

Opa!

The Order of Myths / d

Orthodox Stance / d

OSS-117: Cairo, Nest of Spies

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL

Otto, or Up with Dead People

OVER HER DEAD BODY

P.J.

Paranoid Park

Partition

Passing Poston / d

Pathology

Patti SMith: Dream of Life / d

Penelope

Pineapple Express

Ping Pong Playa

The Pink Conspiracy

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything / a

Planet B-Boy / d

A Plumm Summer

The Poet

Poisoned by Polonium: The Litvenenko File / d

Polar Opposites

Uwe Boll's POSTAL

Poultrygeist

Pray the Devil Back to Hell / d

Praying with Lior / d

A Previous Engagement

Priceless / f

Pride and Glory

PROM NIGHT / R

The Promotion

Proud American

THE PUNISHER: WAR ZONE / S

Quantum of Solace / S

QUARANTINE / R

Quid Pro Quo

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi / f

Rachel Getting Married

RAMBO / S

The Reader

Red

Red Roses and Petrol

Redbelt

Refusenik / d

Religulous / d

Remember the Daze

REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA

Reprise

Retrieval / f

Revolutionary Road

RIGHTEOUS KILL

The Rocker

Rock-n-Rolla

Role Models

Roman de Gare / f

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired / d

Romulus, My Father

THE RUINS

Run, Fatboy, Run

Running with Arnold / d

Santouri the Music Man / f

Sangre de Mi Sangre (Blood of My Blood) / f

Savage Grace

Save Me

Saving Marriage / d

SAW V / S

Secrecy / d

A Secret / f

The Secret Life of Bees

The Secrets / f

SEMI-PRO

SEVEN POUNDS

Sex and Death 101

Sex and the City: The Movie / R

Sex Drive

Shelter

Shine a Light / d

Shoot Down

Shoot on Sight

Short Order

Shotgun Stories

Shrooms

SHUTTER / R

The Signal

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 / S

Sixty-Six

Sleepwalking

Slumdog Millionaire

Smart People

Smother

Snow Angels

Solar Flare

Son of Rambow

Soul Men

SPACE CHIMPS / a

Special

SPEED RACER / R

The Spiderwick Chronicles

THE SPIRIT

Splinter

Standard Operatng Procedure / d

STAR WARS: CLONE WARS / a - S

Stealing America: Vote by Vote / d

STEP BROTHERS

Step Up 2: The Streets / S

The Stone Angel

Stop-Loss

Stranded

STRANGE WILDERNESS

THE STRANGERS

Street Kings

Stuck

Sukiyaki Western Django

Summer Love / f

Summer Palace / f

Sunflower / f

SUPERHERO MOVIE

Super High Me

Surfer, Dude

Surfwise

Swimming in Auschwitz / d

SWING VOTE

Synecdoche, New York

Take

Takeout

Talento de Barrio / f

The Tale of Despereaux / a

Taxi to the Dark Side / d

Teeth

Tell No One / f

Ten Nights of Dreams

Tennessee

Then She Found Me

Thoda Payar, Thoda Magic / f

A Thousand years of Good Prayers

Time and Winds

Timecrimes / f

Tinkerbell Movie / a - S

Tired of Kissing Frogs

'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris / d

Toots / d

Towards Darkness / f

Towelhead

The Tracey Fragments

Trailer Park Boys: The Movie

Traitor

Transpoter 3 / S

Transsiberian

Tre

Tropic Thunder

Trouble the Water / d

Try Loved

Trumbo

Tyring to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon / d

Turn the River

Tuya's Marriage / f

TWILIGHT

Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns

Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys

Under the Same Moon / f

Undoing

The Unforseen / d

The Universe of Keith Haring / d

The Unknown Woman

Unsettled / d

Untraceable

Up the Yangtze / d

U2 3-D / d

VALKYRIE / R

Vantage Point

A Very British Gangster

Vice

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show / d

The Visitor

Vivere / f

The Violin / f

W.

The Wackness

Waiting in Bejing

A Walk into the Sea / d

A Walk to Beautiful

Wall E / a

Waltz with Bashir / a - f

WANTED

War Eage, Arkansas

WAR, INC.

Water / d

Water Lillies

Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins

Wendy and Lucy

Were the World Mine

Wetlands Preserved: The Story of an Activist Rock Club / d

What Doesn't Kill You

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS

What Just Happened

What We Do Is Secret

When Did You Last See Your Father?

Where God Left His Shoes

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? / d

While She Was Out

Without the King / d

WITLESS PROTECTION

THE WOMEN / R

Wonders Are Many: The Making of Doctor Atomic / d

The World Unseen

The Wrestler

X-FILES: I WANNA BE LEAVING... / S

XXYY

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

The Yellow Handkerchief

YES MAN

YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN

Young and Restless in China / d

Young @ Heart / d

Young Yakuza / d - f

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Zombie Strippers

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.

2008 Black List

Okay guys - this came out yesterday and shot around Hollywood with lightning speed. I can do no better to explain what this list is and means than to quote the cover page that comes along with it:

****

THE BLACK LIST was compiled from the suggestions of over 250 film executives, each of whom contributed the names of up to ten of their favorite scripts that were written in, or are somehow uniquely associated with, 2008 and will not be released in theaters during this calendar year.

This year, scripts had to receive at least four mentions to be included on THE BLACK LIST.

All reasonable effort has been made to confirm the information contained herein. THE BLACK LIST apologizes for all misspellings, misattributions, incorrect representation identification, and questionable “2008” affiliations.

It has been said many times, but it’s worth repeating:

THE BLACK LIST is not a “best of” list. It is, at best, a “most liked” list.

THE BLACK LIST salutes all those who spend their days attacking the blank page.

****

Now: each script is preceded by the number of votes it received. I have heard ugly rumors in the past that the black list is political, and that various managers, etc., lobby to get their clients listed. Is this true? I'm not sure. Let's say there's some degree of truth to it. In any event, I am happy to see Script Department client Ryan Condal is on the list for GALAHAD and that my friend Josh Zetumer is on for the second year in a row with his latest, MAN OF CLOTH. I also see a fellow Writer's Boot Camp alum on the list, Javier Rodriguez.

What does it mean to be on the Black List? It's good. It's very good. It means you have fans in the industry and it means that you will get more attention now.

Some stats that my lovely and capable assistant Chaia compiled: of the 107 scripts on this list, only 17 female writers showed up*. There are 19 partnered scripts and one three-way writing partnership.

*this is a pretty fair reflection of the general ratio of male to female screenwriters.

So take a look at this list, Wavers. What do you think of the titles? There are some really provocative, clever ones. Take a look at the loglines. Are you working on something similar? Might have to walk away from it then. Have a gander and start working toward showing up on this list yourself next year.

2008 BLACK LIST

[67 votes]

THE BEAVER by Kyle Killen
“A depressed man finds hope in a beaver puppet that he wears on his hand.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Cliff Roberts
MANAGER Anonymous Content –Keith Redmon
AVAILABLE. Anonymous Content producing.

[61 votes]

THE ORANGES by Jay Reiss & Ian Helfer
“A man has a romantic relationship with the daughter of a family friend, which turns their lives upside down.”
AGENT Reiss: Creative Artists Agency -Spencer Baumgarten, Greg McKnight, Jessica Matthews
Helfer: The Gersh Agency -Sandra Lucchesi, Eric Garfinkel,
Frank Wuliger
MANAGER Reiss:Mosaic Media Group –Paul Nelson, Jimmy Miller, Ilan Breil Helfer: Principal Entertainment –Danny Sherman
UNAVAILABLE. Media Rights Capital. A Likely Story producing.

[44 votes]

BUTTER by Jason Micallef
“A small town becomes a center for controversy and jealousy as its annual butter carving contest begins.”
AGENT Endeavor –Phil D’amecourt, Rich Cook
MANAGER Washington Square Arts -Josh McGuire
AVAILABLE. Michael De Luca Productions producing.

[42 votes]

BIG HOLE by Michael Gilio
“An old cowboy goes on a mission to recover his money after a million dollar sweepstakes scam cleans out his entire bank account.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Julien Thuan
MANAGER Industry Entertainment –Eryn Brown
AVAILABLE. Aversano Films producing.

[40 votes]

THE LOW DWELLER by Brad Ingelsby
“A man trying to assimilate into society after being released from jail discovers that someone from his past is out to settle a score.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Mike Esola, Rob Carlson
MANAGER Energy Entertainment -Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall
UNAVAILABLE. Relativity. Scott Free Productions, Energy Entertainment, Appian Way Productions producing.

[39 votes]

FUCKBUDDIES by Liz Meriwether
“A guy and a girl struggle to have an exclusively sexual relationship as they both come to realize they want much more.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Cliff Roberts
AVAILABLE. Montecito Picture Company producing.

[34 votes]

WINTER’S DISCONTENT by Paul Fruchbom
“When Herb Winter’s wife of fifty years dies, the faithful but sexually frustrated widower moves into a retirement community to start living the swinging single life.”
AGENT United Talent Agency -Jon Huddle, David Kramer, Adam Weinstein
MANAGER Circle of Confusion -Kemper Donovan
UNAVAILABLE. Sony. Atlas Entertainment producing.

[29 votes]

BROKEN CITY by Brian Tucker
“A New York private investigator gets sucked into a shady mayoral election.”
AGENT Endeavor -Sarah Lemkin
UNAVAILABLE. Mandate. Mr. Muddproducing.

[24 votes]

I’M WITH CANCER by Will Reiser
“A autobiographical comic account of one man’s struggle to beat cancer.”
AGENT United Talent Agency -Blair Kohan
MANAGER Thruline Entertainment -Jodi Lieberman, Willie Mercer
UNAVAILABLE. Mandate. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin producing.

[22 votes]

OUR BRAND IS CRISIS by Peter Straughan
“Based on the eponymous documentary. James Carville and a team of U.S. political consultants travel to South America to help Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (aka ‘Goni’) become President of Bolivia.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Brian Siberell
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Smoke House producing.

[21 votes]

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS by Quentin Tarantino
“American soldiers, French peasants, French resistance, and Nazis collide in Hitler occupied France.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Mike Simpson
UNAVAILABLE. Universal Pictures, The Weinstein Company. Lawrence Bender Productions producing.

[20 votes]

UNTITLED VANESSA TAYLOR PROJECT by Vanessa Taylor
“After thirty years of marriage, a middle-aged couple attends an intense counseling weekend to decide the fate of their marriage.”
AGENT United Talent Agency -Doug Johnson, Adam Weinstein
MANAGER Management 360 -Guymon Casady, Darin Friedman
AVAILABLE. Escape Artists, Management 360 producing.

[16]

GALAHAD by `Ryan Condal
“A revisionist twist on the King Arthur legend from the knight Galahad’s perspective.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Aaron Hart
MANAGER Energy Entertainment -Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall
UNAVAILABLE. The Film Department. Energy Entertainment producing.

THE WEST IS DEAD by Andrew Baldwin
“During the Great Depression, a group of semi-outlaws go on the run from the law when forced to vacate a town as the Hoover dam is constructed.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Jay Baker, Josh Krauss
MANAGER Anonymous Content -Bard Dorros, David Kanter
AVAILABLE.

[15 votes]

MANUSCRIPT by Paul Grellong
“A contemporary thriller about three bright, young New Yorkers with boundless literary ambition who will stop at nothing to get what they want.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Chris Till
MANAGER59 Entertainment -Marti Blumenthal
UNAVAILABLE. The Film Department. Donna Gigliotti producing.

THE TUTOR by Matthew Fogel
“A twenty three year old recent graduate decides, at his mother’s insistence, to tutor his ex-girlfriend’s younger sister for the SATs. When they begin a romantic relationship, his ex-girlfriend moves back home for the summer and begins to fall back in love with our anti-hero as well.”
AGENT United Talent Agency -Jason Burns, Adam Weinstein
AVAILABLE. Principato/Young Management producing.

[14 votes]

THE DESCENDANTS by Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“A newly widowed father -also one of the richest men in Oahu, Hawaii -takes off with his two rebellious daughters to track down his dead wife’s ex-lover on the island of Kauai.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Jay Baker, Brian Kend
MANAGERPrincipato/Young Management -Brian Dobbins, Paul Young
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Searchlight. Ad Hominem Enterprises producing.

SUNFLOWER by Misha Green
“Two young women struggle to escape from and exact revenge on the deranged college professor who holds them hostage.”
AGENT Endeavor -Susan Solomon
MANAGERN iadManagement -Jennifer Graff
UNAVAILABLE. Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. Vincent Newman producing.

GOING THE DISTANCE by Geoff LaTulippe
“A couple tries to maintain a long-distance relationship.”
AGENT The GershAgency -Sarah Self
MANAGER Mosaic Media Group -Michael Lasker
UNAVAILABLE. New Line. Offspring Entertainment producing.

[13 votes]

THE AMERICAN WAY by Brian Kistler
“Two brothers are affected by their parents’murder, leading one to the FBI and the other to a life of crime.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Alan Gasmer, Kimberly Bialek
UNAVAILABLE. The Film Department. Steve Golin producing.

NOWHERE BOY by Matt Greenhalgh
“The story of John Lennon’s rise from lonely, Liverpool teenager to iconic rock star.”
AGENT Endeavor -Chris Donnelly, Elia Infascelli-Smith
UNAVAILABLE. Film Four. Ecosse Films producing.

RAINDROPS ALL AROUND ME by Reed Agnew & Eli Jorne
“A socially awkward high school teacher learns to ‘dumb it down’in order to fit in with those around him.”
AGENT International Creative Management -Harley Copen
MANAGER Underground Films and Management -Oly Obst
UNAVAILABLE. Universal. Red Hour Films producing.

SEQUELS, REMAKES & ADAPTATIONS by Sam Esmail
“The outlandish journey of a young man in search of love and what he’s meant to do with his life.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Mike Esola
MANAGER Energy Entertainment -Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall
AVAILABLE. WAM Films producing.

[12 votes]

A COUPLE OF DICKS by Mark Cullen & Robb Cullen
“Two veteran LAPD detectives attempt to track down a stolen, mint-condition, 1952 baseball card that one of the detectives hopes to sell in order to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Cliff Roberts
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Marc Platt Productions producing.

GAY DUDE by Alan Yang
“A comedy about the friendship of two high school seniors that’s torn apart after one comes out of the closet.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Mike Esola
AVAILABLE.

THE MANY DEATHS OF BARNABY JAMES by Brian Nathanson
“A teenage apprentice in a macabre circus for the dead yearns to bring his true love back to life, but not before encountering the many dangerous and mysterious gothic characters that stand in his way.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Jay Baker, Jessica Matthews
MANAGER Benderspink-Jill McElroy, Langley Perer
AVAILABLE.

UNDERAGE by Scott Neustadter & Michael Weber
“A seventeen-year-old seduces a twentysomething man and then blackmails him into being her boyfriend in order to exact revenge on her high school aged ex.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Bill Zotti, Jessica Matthews
MANAGER Kaplan/PerroneEntertainment -Aaron Kaplan, Justin Killion, Sean Perrone
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. Montecito Picture Company producing.

[11 votes]

CODE NAME VEIL by Matt Billingsley
“Based on actual events. A young CIA agent struggles to maintain his morality while navigating dangerous and absurd conditions in 1980s Beirut.”
AGENT United Talent Agency -Charlie Ferraro, Adam Weinstein
Industry Entertainment -Eryn Brown, Jess Rosenthal
AVAILABLE. Stacy Cohen, Kristin Harms producing.

EVERYTHING MUST GO by Dan Rush
“A relapsed alcoholic loses his job and his wife and decides to live on his front lawn while selling all of his belongings in a yard sale.”
AGENT International Creative Management -Todd Hoffman, David Unger
MANAGER Management 360 -Guymon Casady
AVAILABLE. Temple Hill Productions producing.

THE FOURTH KIND by Olatunde Osunsanmi
“A woman investigates an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances from one small town in Alaska.”
AGENT Endeavor -Sarah Lemkin, Phil Raskind
MANAGER Caliber Media -Dallas Sonnier
UNAVAILABLE. Gold Circle Films.

FOXCATCHER by E Max Frye & Dan Futterman
“Based on the true story of John du Pont, a paranoid schizophrenic who was heir to the du Pont fortune. After building a wrestling training facility named Team Foxcatcher on his Pennsylvania estate, Du Pont shot and killed Olympic gold medal-winning grappler David Schulz.”
AGENT Frye: Endeavor -Tom Strickler
Futterman: Endeavor -Tom Strickler, Adriana Alberghetti
MANAGER Futterman: Principal Entertainment -Larry Taube
UNAVAILABLE. Media Rights Capital. Grandview Pictures, Bennett Miller producing.

THE PHANTOM LIMB by Kevin Koehler
“A troubled private detective uncovers a blackmail scam involvinga gangster who runs a brothel that caters to amputee fetishes (and other taboo sexual interests) and the doctor who performs the body modifications.”
AGENT Endeavor -Rich Cook, David Karp
MANAGERMosaic Media Group -Brent Lilley
AVAILABLE. John Cameron producing.

[10 votes]

THE APOSTLES OF INFINITE LOVE by Victoria Strouse
“When an upper class dysfunctional New York family learn their youngest daughter has joined a cult in the midwest, they recruit a cult deprogrammer and go on the road to save her while both parents and siblings confront their issues with one another.”
AGENT Endeavor -Adam Levine, Bryan Besser
MANAGER Anonymous Content -Michael Sugar
AVAILABLE. Red Hour Films producing.

THE F-WORD by Elan Mastai
“Two best friends struggle with falling in love without ruining the bond between them.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency -Frank Wuliger, Greg Pedicin
MANAGER Principato/Young Management -Paul Young, Dave Rosenthal
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Searchlight. Mark Stevenson, Ford Oelman, Mark Costa producing.

UP IN THE AIR by Jason Reitman
“A ruthless human resources executive, whose job is to fire people, looks forward to the only joy he has in life, his millionth frequent flyer mile, a goal he pursues with zeal as the rest of his life falls apart around him because he is constantly on the road.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Jeff Gorin, David Lonner
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. Montecito Picture Company, Hard C Productions producing.


[9 votes]

BACHELORETTE by Leslye Headland
“Ten years out of high school, three unhappy single friends come together as bridesmaids at a classmate's wedding, get drunk, get high, and trash the wedding dress while romancing new and old loves and settling old business.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Rebecca Ewing, Yuli Masinovsky
MANAGER Caliber Media –Max Roman, Dallas Sonnier
AVAILABLE. Mark Gordon producing.

JONNY QUEST by Dan Mazeau
“Young Jonny Quest travels the world with his scientist father, adopted brother from India, Bandit the bulldog, and a government agent assigned to protect them while they investigate scientific mysteries.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency –David Kopple
MANAGER Circle of Confusion –David Alpert, Ashley Berns
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Lin Pictures, Adrian Askarieh, Daniel Alter producing.

THE KARMA COALITION by Shawn Christensen
“A professor embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind his wife's death before the world ends.”
AGENT Endeavor –Bryan Besser
MANAGER Caliber Media –Dallas Sonnier
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Lin Pictures producing.

KEIKO by Elizabeth Wright Shapiro
“A white teenage girl, who was adopted and raised in Japan by Japanese parents, travels to America to find her long lost father, comedian Dana Carvey.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Tobin Babst, Blair Kohan
MANAGER Industry Entertainment –Jess Rosenthal
AVAILABLE.

KNIGHTS by Nick Confalone & Neal Dusedau
“A kickass British adventure where knighted celebrities (an entrepreneur, a soccer player, a musician, and an actor) are called upon to defend their country.”
MANAGER 3 Arts Entertainment –Greg Walter
AVAILABLE.

TWENTY TIMES A LADY by Gabrielle Allan & Jennifer Crittenden
“Based on the book by Karyn Bosnak. After realizing that she has had twice as many sexual partners as the national average, Ally swears off new guys and decides to go back and visit the previous twenty guys and find out if she overlooked anyone.”
AGENT Allen: United Talent Agency –Rebecca Ewing, Blair Kohan
Crittenden: Creative Artists Agency –Bill Zotti, Jeff Jacobs
UNAVAILABLE. Sony. Contrafilmproducing.

[8 votes]

CLEAR WINTER NOON by John Kolvenbach
“A hit man released from jail in his seventies tries to make amends for the innocent life he took.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Shana Eddy, Yuli Masinovsky, Jason Burns
MANAGER 3 Arts Entertainment –Tom Lassally
UNAVAILABLE. 2929 Productions. 2929 Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment producing.

FIERCE INVALIDS HOME FROM HOT CLIMATES by Eric Aronson
“Based on the novel by Tom Robbins. An irascible, world-weary CIA operative is duped by his boss into helping re-place a listening device back in Russian hands that is vital to spying on them.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Greg McKnight, Billy Hawkins
MANAGER Management 360 –Guymon Casady, Darin Friedman
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Infinitum Nihil, GK Films producing.

ROUNDTABLE by Brian K Vaughan
“In modern day, Merlin attempts to assemble a bunch of knights to battle an ancient evil.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Martin Spencer
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. Parkes/MacDonald Productions producing.

[7 votes]

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF THE MONOGAMOUS DUCK by Neeraj Katyal
“A writer struggling with drugs and his girlfriend’s death leaves New York for Los Angeles where he falls in love with a teacher and straightens out his life.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Barbara Dreyfus, Rebecca Ewing, Julien Thuan
AVAILABLE. Color Force producing.

THE GARY COLEMAN –EMMANUEL LEWIS PROJECT by Dan Fogelman
“Emmanuel Lewis and Gary Coleman save the world from an evil madman.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Danny Greenberg
MANAGER Industry Entertainment –Eryn Brown
AVAILABLE. Platinum Dunes producing.

THE LAYMAN’S TERMS by Jeremy Bailey
“In the midst of the Great Depression, a prodigal son returns home to face his demons and resurrect the dust bowl town he left behind. But the arrival of a mysterious woman soon threatens his way of life when he discovers she is being hunted by the very same Chicago gangsters he used to run with.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Charlie Ferraro, Adam Weinstein
MANAGER Magnet Management –Bob Sobhani
AVAILABLE.

THE MALLUSIONIST by Robbie Pickering & Jace Ricci
“A wannabe illusionist travels cross country with his young son to compete against his archnemesis in a Vegas magic show.”
AGENT Endeavor –Dawn Saltzman, Bill Weinstein
MANAGER Pickering: Benderspink–Charlie Gogolak
Ricci: Leverage Management –Gina Marcheschi
AVAILABLE. Red Hour Films producing.

PLAN B by Kate Angelo
“A woman sets out to be artificially inseminated and falls in love.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Jason Burns, Adam Weinstein
UNAVAILABLE. CBS Films. Escape Artists producing.

WHAT IS LIFE WORTH? By Max Borenstein
“Based on the memoir of Kenneth Feinberg, a dramatization of his involvement in the 9/11 victims compensation fund.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Alan Gasmer
MANAGERAnonymous Content –Bard Dorros, Adam Kossack
AVAILABLE. Michael De Luca Productions producing.

[6 votes]

ACOD: ADULT CHILDREN OF DIVORCE by Ben Karlin & Stu Zicherman
“A grown man finds himself still caught in the crossfire of his parents’ divorce.”
AGENT Karlin: United Talent Agency –Blair Kohan
Zicherman: William Morris Agency –David Lubliner
MANAGERKarlin:3 Arts Entertainment –David Miner
UNAVAILABLE. Miramax. Cohen Films, Ben Karlin producing.

BAD TEACHER by Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky
“After being dumped by her boyfriend, a foul-mouthed, gold-digging seventh-grade teacher sets her sights on a colleague who is dating the school’s model teacher.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Jeff Gorin, Aaron Hart
MANAGER Mosaic Media Group –Michael Lasker, Jimmy Miller
UNAVAILABLE. Sony. The Miller Company producing.

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY by Charles Randolph
“The true story of former Assistant United States attorney Stanley Alpert’s kidnapping by petty thieves and how he bonded with them in a Queens, NY apartment in 1998.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Rowena Arguelles, Risa Gertner
MANAGER Brillstein Entertainment Partners –Margaret Riley
AVAILABLE. Paula Wagner producing.

CHILD 44 by Richard Price
“Based on the novel by Tom Rob Smith. An officer in Stalinist Russia’s secret police is framed by a colleague for treason. While on the run with his wife, he stumbles upon a series of child murders and launches his own rogue investigation.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Bob Bookman
UNAVAILABLE. Fox 2000. Scott Free Productions producing.

EASY A by Bert Royal
“A good-natured high school student uses the rumor mill to personal advantage by pretending to be the school slut.”
AGENT Paradigm –Trevor Astbury, Valarie Phillips
MANAGER Dana Jackson
UNAVAILABLE. Screen Gems. Olive Bridge Entertainment producing.

GIANTS by Eric Nazarian
“A teenager with Marfan Syndrome comes to terms with his estranged father, his overworked mother, and the possibility that he very well might die during his upcoming procedure.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Alex Lerner, Stuart Manashil
MANAGER The Arlook Group –Jon Wolff
AVAILABLE. Lynette Ramirez producing.

GRAND THEFT AUTO by Jason Dean Hall
“Facing foreclosure on his repo yard, a young ex-con resumes a life of crime only to get blamed when his uncle’s coke deal gets hijacked. Caught in double crosses between Russian mafia, Yakuza, and the ATF, the young ex-con kidnaps a crime boss’s daughter and steals car after car on a Vegas bound suicide mission to retrieve the stolen drugs.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Jay Baker, Greg McKnight
MANAGER Management 360 –Darin Friedman
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Atomic. Stuart Parr, Roger Corman, Paul Rosenberg producing.

HELP ME SPREAD GOODNESS by Mark Friedman
“When an email predator dupes a man out of his son’s college fund, the man travels to Nigeria to confront those who ripped him off.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Charlie Ferraro, Rio Hernandez
MANAGER Chad Snopek Management –Chad Snopek
AVAILABLE. Participant Productions producing.

INFERNO: A LINDA LOVELACE STORY by Matt Wilder
“The story of Linda Lovelace, the first mainstream porn star who eventually overcame her past, found happiness in suburbia and led a crusade to stop pornography.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Brian Kend, Jay Baker
MANAGER Brillstein Entertainment Partners –Missy Malkin
AVAILABLE.

LONDON BOULEVARD by William Monahan
“Based on the book by Ken Fruen. Fresh out of prison, Mitchell lands a legitimate job as a handyman for a rich actress who's eager to reward him with cash, cars, and sex. But Mitchell can never truly escape his violent past or the dangerous world of loan sharks, drug addicts and other bottom feeders.”
AGENT Endeavor –Chris Donnelly
AVAILABLE. Quentin Curtis, William Monahan producing.

MEMOIRS by Will Fetters
“Two college students who’ve experienced recent loss fall in love and heal their fractured families.”
AGENT Endeavor –Elia Infascelli-Smith, Sarah Lemkin
MANAGER Underground Films and Management –Trevor Engelson, Nick Osborne, Oly Obst
AVAILABLE. Underground Films and Management producing.

SHRAPNEL by Evan Daugherty
“Two mortal enemies square off on a hunting trip to the death.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Tobin Babst, Rio Hernandez
MANAGER Energy Entertainment –Brooklyn Weaver, Jake Wagner
AVAILABLE.

YOUR DREAMS SUCK by Kat Dennings & Geoffrey Litwak
“An awkward teen with no self esteem regains his self-confidence after joining a Dance Dance Revolution team.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Jessica Matthews
MANAGER Management 360 –Nicole King
AVAILABLE. DiNoviPictures producing.

[5 votes]

AFTER HAILEY by Scott Frank
“Based on the novel by Jonathan Tropper. After a twentysomething man’s older wife dies, he remains in suburbia and struggles to raise her teenage son from a previous marriage.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Beth Swofford, Maha Dakhil, Bob Bookman
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. Michaels Goldwyn producing.

THE BLADE ITSELF by Aaron Stockard
“Based on the novel by Marcus Sakey. Two former childhood friends, who made their reputation committing petty crimes, are reunited years later, forcing one of them to decide how far he will go to protect his past.”
AGENT Endeavor –Elia Infascelli-Smith
UNAVAILABLE. Miramax. Idealogy, Inc. producing.

BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE by Adam Cozad
“Two orphans, raised by a CIA operative to be assassins, become targets themselves.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Jeff Gorin, Aaron Hart
MANAGER The Gotham Group –Jeremy Bell
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Thunder Road producing.

FRESHLY POPPED by Megan Parsons
“A teenage girl who works at a movie theater tries to decide to whom she wants to lose her virginity.”
AGENT Paradigm –Scott Henderson, Lucy Stille
MANAGER Kaplan/PerroneEntertainment –Justin Killion
UNAVAILABLE. Overture. Escape Artists producing.

GAZA by Frank Deasy
“A British woman goes to Gaza to recover the body of her dead daughter and comes to understand her daughter’s political ideals.”
AGENT Endeavor –Tom Strickler
UNAVAILABLE. BBC Films. Andy Harries producing.

GREETINGS FROM JERRY by John Killoran
“Jerry seems to have it all -money, women, and a ridiculously easy job as a greeting card writer -until a tiny mistake at work unravels his life. Having lost everything he had -but never earned -he's forced to confront who he really is and start again from scratch.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Jessica Matthews
AVAILABLE. Rick Yorn, Terra Firma Films producing.

GROWN MAN BUSINESS by Justin Britt-Gibson
“An older man who was a gangster in his youth returns to his neighborhood after a long absence to find the boys who murdered the son he abandoned years previous.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency –Sean Barclay
MANAGER Media Talent Group –Chris Davey
AVAILABLE. Winkler Films producing.

THE HERETIC by Javier Rodriguez
“The Roman Catholic Church asks a former inquisitor to assassinate rebel monk Martin Luther.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency –David Kopple, Greg Pedicin
MANAGER Mad Hatter Entertainment –Michael Connolly
AVAILABLE. Phoenix Pictures producing.

HOW TO BE GOOD by Cindy Chupack
“Based on the novel by Nick Hornby. A woman having second thoughts about her husband is pleased when he begins following a guru, but when her husband invites the guru to live with them, her point of view changes entirely.”
AGENT Endeavor –Adriana Alberghetti
UNAVAILABLE. Miramax. Laura Ziskin Productions producing.

IRON JACK by Johnny Rosenthal
“A renowned novelist’s comic quest for hidden treasure in the 1930s.”
AGENT Paradigm –Mark Ross
MANAGER Principato/Young Management –George Heller
UNAVAILABLE. Sony. Broken Road Productions producing.

MAN OF CLOTH by Josh Zetumer
“When an English minister's family (wife and youngest son) are unjustly punished and sent off to a prison colony in Australia, the minister and his oldest son travel to Australia to re-unite the family. Upon arrival though, the minister is informed of their death, and quickly vengeance is the only thing that can quiet his hurt.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Jason Burns
MANAGER Management 360 –Guymon Casady, Darin Friedman
AVAILABLE. Management 360 producing.

SLEEPING BEAUTY by Julia Leigh
“A haunting erotic fairy tale about Lucy, a student who drifts into prostitution and finds her niche as a woman who sleeps, drugged, in a ‘Sleeping Beauty chamber’while men do to her what she can‘t remember the next morning.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –BecSmith, Kassie Evashevski, JulienThuan
AVAILABLE.

THE SPELLMAN FILES by Bobby Florsheim & Josh Stolberg
“A family of private investigators use their gumshoe skills to crack cases and pry into one another’s personal lives.”
AGENT Florsheim: Endeavor –Adriana Alberghetti
Stolberg: United Talent Agency –Julien Thuan
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. Laura Ziskin Productions producing.

STOP HUNTINGDON ANIMAL CRUELTY by Adam Sachs
“A lonely journalist finds love and inspiration in a quirky, unlikely manner –covering the misadventures of a young boy’s ‘protest’of an animal rights movement.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Mike Esola
MANAGER Energy Entertainment –Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall
UNAVAILABLE. Lionsgate. Energy Entertainment, Broken Road Productions producing.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Beau Willimon
“Based on the novel by Charles Dickens. Set in Paris and London during the French Revolution, English aristocrat Sydney Carton sacrifices his own life for his unrequited love Lucie Manette and Frenchman Charles Darnay.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Chris Till, Bob Bookman
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Spring Creek Productions, Appian Way Productions producing.

UNLOCKED by Peter O’Brien
“A female CIA interrogator is duped into getting a terrorist to provide key information to the wrong side, thrusting her into the middle of a plot to plan a devastating biological attack in London.”
AGENT Original Artists –Jordan Bayer
MANAGER Brillstein Entertainment Partners –Margaret Riley
AVAILABLE. Rainmaker Films (Georgina Townsley, Paul Goldin), Di Bonaventura Pictures producing.

WHAT WOULD KENNY DO? by Chris Baldi
“A seventeen-year-old high school kid meets a ‘hologram’of himself at thirty-seven-years-old and benefits from their friendship.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Mike Esola, Ava Greenfield
MANAGER Abstract Entertainment –Josh Adler, Michael Goldberg
UNAVAILABLE. United Artists. Winkler Films producing.

THE ZERO by Stephen Chin
“Based on the novel by Jess Walter. After a New York City policeman shoots himself in the head following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he is assigned to work for a shadowy agency at ‘Ground Zero’and quickly finds himself drawn into a sinister government plot.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Michael Eisner, Carolyn Sivitz, Cliff Roberts
MANAGER Industry Entertainment –Rosalie Swedlin, Jess Rosenthal
AVAILABLE. John Wells, Blumhouseproducing.

[4 votes]

47 RONIN by Chris Morgan
“Forty-seven samurai seek vengeance upon a regional lord who is responsible for the death of their master.”
AGENT International Creative Management –Emile Gladstone
UNAVAILABLE. Universal. Stuber Productions, Walter Hamada producing.

BALLAD OF THE WHISKEY ROBBER by Rich Wilkes
“Based on the book by Julian Rubinstein.”
AGENT Endeavor –Tom Strickler
MANAGER Management 360 –Daniel Rappaport
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Infinitum Nihil producing.

THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED by Hanna Weg
“The tumultuous and doomed love affair of Jazz Age icons F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Shana Eddy, Keya Khayatian
UNAVAILABLE. The Film Department. FarFalla Films, Sandbar Pictures producing.

A BITTERSWEET LIFE by Mark L Smith
“A crime boss asks his trusted lieutenant to determine if his young mistress is having an affair (and to kill her and her lover if she is.) The lieutenant confirms the affair but, entranced by the girl, chooses to let them live. Discovering this, the crime boss orders the lieutenant killed, only he escapes and seeks vengeance.”
AGENT International Creative Management –Harley Copen
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Atomic. Shady Films producing.

BOBBIE SUE by Russell Sharman, Owen Egerton, & Chris Mass
“A hard charging female ambulance chaser becomes the face of a prestigious law firm when an important client is sued for sexual discrimination.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Jason Burns
MANAGER Untitled Entertainment –Jennifer Levine
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. De Line Pictures producing.

BOBISM by Ben Wexler
“A shy college student discovers that life in one thousand years will be based on his blog–and he has to stop aliens from the future who want him dead.”
AGENT Endeavor –Bryan Besser
UNAVAILABLE. MGM. Contrafilm producing.

DEADLINE by Soo Hugh
“A discredited journalist navigates dangerous politics to find a missing aid worker.”
AGENT Endeavor –Dawn Saltzman, David Karp
MANAGER Energy Entertainment –Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall
AVAILABLE.

THE DEBT by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn
“Based on the Israeli film HaHov. Three Israeli Mossad agents discover that a war criminal is still alive and set out to pursue him.”
AGENT Goldman: Aitken Alexander Associates (UK)
Vaughn: Endeavor –Phil Raskind
MANAGER Vaughn: Brillstein Entertainment Partners –Naren Desai, Cynthia Pett-Dante
UNAVAILABLE. Miramax. MARV Films producing.

THE ENDS OF THE EARTH by Chris Terrio
“Based on a true story. The controversial love affair between an oil baron and his adopted daughter destroys the empire they built together.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Rowena Arguelles
AVAILABLE. Escape Artists producing.

HEARTSTOPPER by Dan Antoniazzi & Ben Shiffrin
“A romantic comedy, with a serial killer.”
AVAILABLE.

THE HOW-TO GUIDE FOR SAVING THE WORLD by Ben David Grabinski
“A loser discovers a book on how to stop an alien invasion and is thrust into action to stop a real one.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Aaron Hart, Cliff Roberts, Danny Greenberg
MANAGER Kaplan/PerroneEntertainment –Justin Killion, Sean Perrone
AVAILABLE. Barry Sonnenfeld producing.

I KILLED BUDDY CLOY by Nick Garrison & Chase Pletts
“When a terrible act of violence shatters Ray’s hum-drum existence, his sociopath uncle lures him down an absurd, vengeful path.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Aaron Hart, Ben Rowe, Jeff Gorin
AVAILABLE.

JAR CITY by Michael Ross
“Based on the film by Baltasar Kormakur. A police detective’s investigation of a murder leads to the uncovering of secrets in a small town.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency –David Kopple
UNAVAILABLE. Overture. Baltasar Kormakur producing.

A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY by Susan Walter
“A female clothing designer struggles to find love and success after turning thirty.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Michael Eisner, Ava Greenfield
MANAGER Untitled Entertainment –Jennifer Levine
AVAILABLE. Anonymous Content, Jennifer Levine producing.

THE MOST ANNOYING MAN IN THE WORLD by Kevin Kopelow & Heath Seifert
“A man travels across the country with his annoying brother in order to get to his own wedding.”
AGENT Endeavor –Bill Weinstein, David Karp
UNAVAILABLE. Walt Disney. Oops Doughnuts Productions producing.

MOTORCADE by Billy Ray
“The President of the United States and his motorcade are attacked during a visit to Los Angeles.”
AGENT International Creative Management –Bruce Kaufman
MANAGER Management 360 –Guymon Casady
UNAVAILABLE. Dreamworks. Parkes/MacDonald Productions producing.

THE MURDERER AMONG US by Lori Gambino
“Based on true events. Legendary filmmaker Fritz Lang contends with a mounting police investigation into the death of his first wife, the growing threat of the Third Reich, and a caustic relationship with his female collaborator; all leading to the production of the film M.”
MANAGER Luber-Roklin Entertainment –Stephen Crawford
AVAILABLE.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HELL by Brian McGreevy & Lee Shipman
“A gritty, contemporary retelling of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO set in the underworld of the Hell’s Kitchen Irish mob.”
AGENT Paradigm –Valarie Phillips, Trevor Astbury
MANAGER Mad Hatter Entertainment –Michael Connolly
AVAILABLE. Mad Hatter Entertainment producing.

SAMURAI by Fernley Phillips
“Set in Japan during the 150 Year War, a ronin out for justice teams up with a ninja and a green-eyed English boy to rid Japan of an evil Lord. Their partnership becomes the stuff of myth.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Jay Baker
MANAGER Energy Entertainment –Brooklyn Weaver
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Atomic. State Street Pictures producing.

THE SCAVENGERS by Nate Edelman
“Based on the play Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge. A ne’er-do-well Irish twentysomethingbecomes infamous when he commits a haphazard murder and catchesthe fancy of a brazen barmaid who, bored with her small town existence, sees him as the
rebel he always wanted to be and follows him on the run.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Rio Hernandez, Shana Eddy
MANAGERManage-ment–Dan Halstead
AVAILABLE.

SERIAL KILLER DAYS by Mark Carter
“A dark comedy blending stories of teen love and municipal corruption set against the backdrop of a town plagued by a serial killer that decides to profit the only way it can -by creating a festival and economy around the fact that they have a serial killer.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Rio Hernandez, Keya Khayatian
MANAGER New Wave Entertainment –Brad Mendelsohn
AVAILABLE. Hard C Productions producing.

SHERLOCK HOLMES by Tony Peckham
“A dark, sophisticated take on Sherlock Holmes and his trusted number two, Dr. Watson.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Cliff Roberts
MANAGEMENT Anonymous Content –Michael Sugar, Bard Dorros
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Silver Pictures, Wigram Productions, Lin Pictures producing.

SWINGLES by Jeff Roda
“After their best friends get engaged, a dedicated bachelor and a high-strung lawyer team up to help each other get dates by giving revealing insights into the opposite sex (thus inventing ‘swingling’) but complications ensue when they fall for each other.”
AGENT Endeavor –Lis Rowinski, Adriana Alberghetti
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. MisherFilms producing.

‘TIL BETH DO US PART by Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg
“The friendship of two twentysomething men is put to the test when one of them becomes engaged.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Todd Feldman, Greg McKnight
MANAGER Principato/Young Management –Dave Rosenthal, Paul Young
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Principato/Young Management producing.

UNTITLED CHANNING TATUM PROJECT by Doug Jung
“A Los Angeles cop escorts a Korean gang leader back to South Korea. When the gang leader escapes, killing the cop's partner in the process, he teams with a young Korean gangster in a bloody pursuit of revenge that takes them through the dangerous and exotic underworld of Seoul.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Charlie Ferraro, Barbara Dreyfus
MANAGER New Wave Entertainment –Brad Mendelsohn
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Atomic. Vertigo, Management 360 producing

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.