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December 21, 2006
Success?
Late last week, I posted a logline for a short script I wrote on a Web site called InkTip.com. It's a clearinghouse for producers and others seeking screenplays to develop. I wrote the short during the McKee Story seminar, adapting a yarn he spun to illustrate different forms of narrative structure.
Today, I received an email from an applicant to the American Film Institute's 2007 Directing Workshop for Women. She read a 2-sentence summary for the short and was very intrigued.
We chatted on the phone before I emailed her the script; she wrote back one hour later seeking permission to include it in her application. If she's accepted, she'll receive a $5,000 production grant, and she can raise as much as $20K more.
I feel the need to reiterate that I'm not a natural-born hornblower, but there are two things at work here that please me greatly:
1. I wrote a successful logline. It conveyed a sense of story and character that compelled a reader to request the full script.
2. The marketplace has responded positively to my work.
I sincerely hope she's accepted into the workshop. I'm very excited by the idea of people coming together around something I wrote: a director, camera, sound, four actors, an editor, student critiques.
Making the whole thing even more delicious: Liz discovered that McKee's supposedly unfilmable anecdote is actually an urban legend.
Posted by Your Protagonist at 03:48 PM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2006
A short toot of the horn.
I don't blog much about my writing. It's somewhat ironic that someone who's paid to do marketing is not much of a self-promoter, but each of us must play the cards we're dealt.
Since attending the McKee Story seminar, I'm much more confident and focused. I listed my last script with a .com clearinghouse used by producers seeking new projects; I've also been talking to more writers about This Thing We Do.
Several months ago, my spec script netted me two meetings with producers in LA. I offered multiple pitches, two were met with enthusiasm: a romantic comedy and another action script. After prolonged delays (due to my own inaction and compounded by events outside my control) I'm back on track.
I'm proud of the completed script, but I'm much more excited about the new projects. I'm running on 4.5 hours of sleep today because at 3:30 this morning, I let out a deep sigh.
When Liz asked what was wrong, I grumpily explained that I could not sleep until I cut short an intra-cranial capriole of characterizations, themes and plot points. Her cat grumbled and rolled off my hip as I reached for my laptop and downloaded a full page of single-spaced notes.
After the jump, read the logline for my last script. Loglines are meant to convey the controlling idea and impel the reader to ask for a copy of the complete screenplay. As ever, if you have a suggestion or comment, don't be shy.
KEEP AWAY is an action script that wasn't done by the numbers. Male/female leads are thrust into extraordinary circumstances and forced to make choices that reveal their best selves. A romcom subplot raises the stakes for a cast of unique, layered characters who challenge our expectations about identity and trust in a nation where we color-code our anxiety level.
Posted by Your Protagonist at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2006
I may even purchase a fedora and start saying "swell."
Late for a downtown appointment, I had the bright idea of hailing a cab on Market Street.
I stood at an intersection for several minutes, waving. No dice.
Just as I was zipping my iPod into my backpack, a cab with an unlit dome light whipped around the corner. My hands were full! Eight minutes to the appointment! What to do?
I let loose a piercing whistle. The taxi pulled over, the rear door lock popped up with a satisfying "ker-CHUNK."
Snappy!
Posted by Your Protagonist at 01:46 PM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2006
Scene on Sunset.
I spent last weekend at Robert McKee's Story seminar in Las Vegas. It was a birthday gift from Liz. Three days, 12-hour sessions. I'm still making sense of it, but more about that later.
On Day 1, McKee related a "true story" that entertained the class. After he wrapped it up, he asked us:
"Did I describe that as a screenplay, or was that in the style of a novel?"
"Screenplay," I said under my breath.
"Novel," said most of the others.
"Novel," agreed McKee. "I told that story entirely from her point of view -- we were in her head."
Chastened, I thought about that correction for hours. I was entirely wrong, but the telling of the story was so evocative. In 90 seconds, he put me right there.
Back at the Luxor, I scribbled this scene in an attempt at redemption. It's no Casablanca, but it certainly beats the pants off the TV adaptation starring David Soul as Rick Blaine.
I've embroidered his anecdote in an effort to flesh out the protagonist. If you have any feedback, please leave a comment -- I'm chiefly interested in hearing what, if any feedback you have on the main character.
More on the Story seminar later, most definitely.
Read on, Macduff.
FADE IN:
EXT. NEWSSTAND ON SUNSET BLVD. - DAY
A pair of DAZZLING BLUE EYES fills the screen -- the camera pulls
back to reveal a People Magazine cover touting the "Sexiest
Man Alive." A woman's hand shoves him aside, and we pull out further to take in BRENDA RASNICK, 37,
professional. She's carrying a oversized purse and a wool jacket
that matches her just-so skirt. She snatches copies of The
Economist and The New Republic.EXT. SUNSET BLVD. - MOMENTS LATER
PASTY TOURISTS and TANNED ANGELENOS amble past in tees and
shorts. BRENDA's bangs are plastered to her forehead;
perspiration soaks through her silk blouse.A retro sign for an ice-cream parlor catches Brenda's eye.
INT. SUGAR'S ON SUNSET - CONTINUOUS
An old-fashioned soda fountain with counter stools and a
stamped-tin ceiling. Two GOTH GIRLS wearing dramatic makeup
and gingham aprons slump behind the counter. BRENDA stands
directly beneath an A/C duct, browsing the ice cream
selection.The front door bell tinkles, and in walks an inexcusably
handsome man. He is the SEXIEST MAN ALIVE. The Goth Girls
smirk and exchange brief nods. Brenda puts her hand over her
mouth, then catches herself.She turns to the wall and inspects her reflection in an old
Coca-Cola mirror. She starts to fluff her hair, then frowns,
before stepping up to the counter.BRENDA
(overly formal)
Good afternoon. One scoop of green
tea and a scoop of mango. In a
sugar cone, please.GOTH GIRLS 1 and 2 exchange blank looks until Goth Girl 2
sighs and opens the freezer case.GOTH GIRL 1
(ringing her up)
Four seventy-nine.Brenda steals a glance and sees the Sexiest Man Alive
browsing ice cream cakes in a corner display.EXT. SUNSET BLVD. - MOMENTS LATER
BRENDA smiles until she sees her reflection in a storefront.
She's holding a napkin, her jacket and her bag. That's
all.EXT. SUGAR'S ON SUNSET - MOMENTS LATER
BRENDA walks to the door, hesitates, turns around. She sighs
and pushes the door open with effort.INT. SUGAR'S ON SUNSET - DAY
GOTH GIRL 2 is behind the counter while GOTH GIRL 1 helps the
SEXIEST MAN ALIVE select an ice cream cake. BRENDA walks to
the register.BRENDA
I forgot my ice cream cone.Goth Girl 2 points at an empty plastic tray on the counter
next to the register.GOTH GIRL 2
You sure?BRENDA
I left less than a minute ago.
Green tea and mango.GOTH GIRL 2
Green tea and mango?BRENDA
(eyes darting between Goth Girls)
Aren't you the one who -- I was
just here! Maybe someone else took
it by mistake. Can you --The Sexiest Man Alive walks up behind Brenda and taps her
shoulder. He leans in close and looks straight into her soul
with glacier-blue eyes.SEXIEST MAN ALIVE
(whispering)
You put it in your purse.The look of genuine humiliation on Brenda's face makes us
eager toFADE TO BLACK.
Posted by Your Protagonist at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)