TEN MINUTES. DOESN’T SEEM LIKE MUCH RIGHT?

Written in collaboration with Clay McLeod Chapman

Our short film—Henley—had been back-burning in our brains for over five years. Clay had published a novel back in 2003 called Miss Corpus. Craig, it turns out, was the only person who read it. There’s a chapter in the book, The Henley Road Motel, which is all about a boy growing up in a family-run roach motel. Think lil’ Normie Bates before donning mom’s summer dress. When business begins to dwindle, our 9-year-old hero cracks a pretty devious scheme to bring customers back to the family business—and poof: A short film is born.

When you’re writing a script and the phrase “a dilapidated motel sits next to a lonesome highway” mysteriously appears on your computer screen, you think—Oh, we’ll be able to find one of those, no problem.

Not that you’d tell the motel owners this. “Quaint” was an oft-expressed term we used during our location scout. Or “homey.”

Not “run down,” which it said in the script. Not “ramshackle.”

Ask and you shall receive: Located right off the interstate in rural, back-country Virginia, we found “quaint.” We found “homey.” Six rooms. The beds were nothing but rusty-wired cots that doubled as ant farms. For a shower, you needed to wait about three minutes for the water to reach an acceptable hue, flushing the mud out. Each A/C was on the fritz from day one—and this being rural Virginia in the thick of summer, the temperature was already well on its way into triple digits.

We had sweet-talked the owner into renting out the entire motel for eight days. During the day, we’d shoot, turning the motel into our own set—and at night (more like four in the morning), we would crash right there on-set, picking whichever room was available and grabbing a few hours of sleep before starting the whole thing up again in the morning. In theory, it was perfect. With little money to go around, we had everything all under one roof: A set that had practically designed itself, housing for talent and crew… The works.… Read the rest

THE MICROBUDGET CONVERSATION: “EX-GIRLFRIENDS”

By John Yost

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to take a master class with Ted Hope and Christina Vachon.  Now out of respect to them I will not reveal all that was discussed, but what I can tell you is that my perspective of things has been altered quite a bit. I first started this blog with the intention of showcasing microbudget work as the passionate filmmaking it is…and fuck the rules. (The whole series of manifestos is evidence of that.) We were making cinema fast and cheap, and we needed to completely re-write the rules; a message that can be exhilarating if not short-sided. Don’t get me wrong, the old way of making films will soon be gone forever, but there are just some tent poles that can’t be taken down. I don’t think the goal of this column has changed, but the amount I have learned from our readers and the wonderful folks I’ve met because of this column cannot go unabsorbed. This is a time for learning and growth in this industry, and my time waiting for the ground to stop shifting is over…it’s time to embrace the future with new ideas built over the skeleton of tradition. One of those beams is Authenticity. A wonderful byproduct of a collapsing industry, like the new elements formed from an exploding star, and if embraced could lead to a community of artists, audience members, and gatekeepers that could spell nothing but Renaissance.

This week our contributor is Alexander Poe, a recent Columbia graduate and filmmaker with plenty of experience under his belt. In this play by play of how he was able to “just go out and shoot” his first feature Ex-Girlfriends, Alex shows us that the “go get’m” attitude has to be mixed in with the foundations of good cinema; story, collaboration, and professionalism.

When I set out to write and direct my first micro-budget feature, Ex-Girlfriends, I tried to find out as much as I could about how other filmmakers had done it. To some degree each film requires a unique approach, but still … Read the rest

ON GATEKEEPERS AND “MALKOVICH’S MAIL”

By Scott Macaulay

Each week I write an original newsletter that I usually don’t repost to the blog. Here’s this week’s, about a favorite documentary I just found on YouTube. To receive future newsletters, you can sign up for free here.

If I ever teach a course in the film business, there’s a documentary I’m going to make required viewing. My guess is that you probably haven’t seen it because it was made for AMC a few years ago as part of a short-lived strand of docs about film. It’s called Malkovich’s Mail, and it was directed by the independent filmmakers Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe. The doc’s concept is simple. Fulton and Pepe visit the production office of John Malkovich’s production company, Mr. Mudd, and wade through his slush pile of unsolicited treatments and screenplays. They take a handful of these scripts — oddball stories written by film business outsiders — and try to convince Malkovich to pitch them to the studios. What’s great about Malkovich’s Mail is that the filmmakers also travel the country to visit the screenwriters and discover what motivates them to take up screenwriting. There’s a housewife who gets up at 4:00 AM every morning to secretly write while her husband sleeps; she’s too embarrassed to let him know that she harbors artistic ambitions. There’s a police diver who has written a thriller, and a challenged young man obsessed with flying dinosaurs. For these folks, film represents a validation of their dreams.

Malkovich’s Mail dates from 2003, and I think I initially took a shine to it because its concept was resonant to me as someone with a production company. I don’t have a Juno under my belt, as Mr. Mudd does, but even today I still get my fair share of unsolicited pitches — one pagers that come with self-addressed stamped envelopes for my reply. (Is some book out there telling folks that this is the way to pitch projects?) What cemented Malkovich’s Mail in my mind, though, was one small moment that occurs about half way through the film. When the filmmakers finally corral Malkovich, … Read the rest

MY OWN FILM SCHOOL

By Eric Samulski

There are some jobs that bring about as much pain and rejection as they do inspiration and success. Screenwriting might be at the top of that list of professions. For every motivational tale of years spent toiling, hunched over the keyboard finally resulting in a six-figure sale, there are thousands of writers who continue to pound keys in front of just the pale, blue glow, still dreaming of being illuminated by a larger spotlight.

Beginning writers are known to try everything in order to fulfill these dreams. They spend hours scanning the internet for names of agents and managers. They find work on any movie set they can in order to thicken their contact list. They debate shelling out another huge sum of money to go back to class and attend film school.

I had taken all of these roads and always found myself in a similar situation. It wasn’t until almost two years after starting my full-time pursuit of a writing career that I finally stumbled onto something that would change the way I worked. I created a Film School for myself.

Without thousands of dollars in the bank, having already taken too much money from my parents and with no desire to acquire massive student loans, Film School was never a viable option for me. This was an unfortunate fact because I liked school. I enjoyed learning more about my passions and being able to put my newfound knowledge to use.

Yet, I was twenty-six years old, living at home with two degrees in a manila envelope and working catering and production assistant jobs to make money. Which was when the idea for my own private film school finally struck.

As a student, I had been a more effective worker when I was forced to fit into the guidelines of a school setting. Additionally, I had experience writing curriculum and teaching classes when I completed my Masters in Education. So why not create a similar setting in the comfort of my own home? (well, my parents’ home).

Using nothing more than the internet, iTunes, a DVD player and … Read the rest

IFP’S SCRIPT TO SCREEN ON SATURDAY

By Jason Guerrasio

It’s not too late to attend the IFP’s Script to Screen Conference, which takes place this Saturday at 92Y Tribeca in New York City.

Highlights include conversations with writer-director Barry Levinson (Rain Man) and Black Swan screenwriter Mark Heyman; a Pitch Workshop in which five emerging screenwriters will pitch their screenplays to a panel of experts (including sales agents, Magnolia Pictures’ head of acquisitions, and a producer from Glass Eye Pix); a case-study with the team from Sundance hit Martha Marcy May Marlene moderated by Ted Hope; a live reading of two IFP alumni screenplays for dialogue analysis with independent film producers; and a panel on new platforms for writers, featuring Carol Kolb, head writer for The Onion News Network.

If you’re an IFP member you will get in with a special $80 discounted member rate.

To learn more about the conference and how to get tickets go to ifp.org/script-to-screen-conference.… Read the rest

IFP ANNOUNCES SCRIPT TO SCREEN CONFERENCE LINEUP

By Jason Guerrasio

The IFP announced today the lineup for this year’s Script to Screen Conference. Taking place March 5, the event will take place at 92Y Tribeca in New York City.

This year’s keynotes include Barry Levinson and Black Swan screenwriter Mark Heyman. There will also be a discussion on new platforms for writers with Onion News Network head writer Carol Kolb, a conversation with producer Ted Hope and the filmmakers behind Sundance hit Martha Marcy May Marlene talk about creative teamwork.

To learn more about the conference and how to get tickets go to http://www.ifp.org/script-to-screen-conference/

Read the press release on Script to Screen below.

Contacts:

Joana Vicente, Executive Director, IFP – 212-465-8200 x 223

Amy Dotson, Deputy Director, IFP – 212.465.8200 x 203

IFP’s SCRIPT TO SCREEN CONFERENCE

INCLUDES KEYNOTES FROM BARRY LEVINSON AND MARK HEYMAN

DISCUSSION OF NEW WRITING PLATFORMS, PITCHING TIPS,

DIALOGUE WRITING and CREATIVE COLLABORATION

NEW YORK CITY, MARCH 5, 2011

http://www.ifp.org/script-to-screen-conference/

Brooklyn, NY (February 21, 2011) – IFP announced the line-up for its popular writer/directors conference, Script to Screen. Hosted at 92Y Tribeca, IFP’s Script to Screen Conference will take place March 5, and is presented in partnership with Writers Guild of America, East and the Nantucket Film Festival.

IFP, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, presents Script to Screen to host conversations with some of the most innovative writers and iconic entertainment industry professionals, including “Conversations With…” writer Mark Heyman (Black Swan) and iconic writer/producer/director Barry Levinson (Diner, Rain Man, “You Don’t Know Jack”), as well as discussion of new platforms for writers with “Onion News Network” Head Writer Carol Kolb, and a conversation with Producer Ted Hope (21 Grams, Happiness) and the filmmakers behind festival hits Martha Marcy May Marlene and Afterschool on creative teamwork.

In addition, Script to Screen provides writers with the tools to improve their craft, including a Pitch Workshop, where writers will be selected in an open call to pitch their project to a panel of producers and agents for critique and feedback; and a live reading of scenes from two screenplays from IFP’s Emerging Narrative … Read the rest

WHAT’S IN MY INSTAPAPER: SUNDAY MORNING LINKS, 2/20/11

By Scott Macaulay

Here are a few things in my Instapaper this week.

In GQ, Mark Harris looks back at “The Day the Movies Died” and the preeminence of easy marketing over original ideas. An excerpt:

Such an unrelenting focus on the sell rather than the goods may be why so many of the dispiritingly awful movies that studios throw at us look as if they were planned from the poster backward rather than from the good idea forward. Marketers revere the idea of brands, because a brand means that somebody, somewhere, once bought the thing they’re now trying to sell.

YouTube has a contest for non-profits making videos.

Boing Boing considers outside filmmaker Neil Breen, “real estate magnate turned sci-fi auteur.” His latest:

I Am Here….Now (trailer) from Cinefamily on Vimeo.

At Shadowlocked, a useful and detailed exploration of the major studio policies on take down notices and YouTube.

Via Paid Content, a report from a publishing industry invite-only “Roundtable on Tablet Subscriptions” held in London. The publishers’ number 1 demand? A reduction of Apple’s just-announced 30% tariff on iOS-delivered content? No. “A fair business partnership” is #4. #1 is:

1. Censorship of content

Freedom of speech is the basis of the media’s existence. Publishers cannot agree with the practices of technology companies that interfere with editorial decisions on what to put into a digital publication. So we appeal to Apple to change its rules and practices that led to the rejection of apps in some European countries regarding content considered legal and appropriate in those countries.

Like a ton of people, I linked to the fantastic reverse-zombie Dead Island trailer this week. A bona fide viral sensation, the trailer has now prompted a movie deal in which the film will embrace the backwards-chronology style of the trailer instead of the more normal forward gameplay of the game title itself. Reports Drew McWeeney at Hitflix:

Techland, the Polish developer for the game, has got to be dancing in the streets right now. This is a game that had been delayed and that had fallen off the radar after being

… Read the rest

DARREN ARONOFSKY’S TOP 5 BOOKS ON THE MOVIES

By Scott Macaulay

Over at The Browser, Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky names and discusses his top five books on films and filmmaking. There’s an obvious one (Sidney Lumet’s Making Movies), an unexpected autobiography (Kirk Douglas’s The Ragman’s Son), and then the following screenplay tome. From Aronofsky’s piece:

The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler. It’s the Bible for screenwriters. I think it’s the best book on how to write a screenplay ever written. It helped me get through so many roadblocks as a writer.

Vogler adapted the work of Joseph Campbell, an American academic, to the art of screenwriting. Vogler’s approach to screenwriting was based on Campbell’s theory that, because of myths, the arc of a hero’s journey was a story ingrained deeply inside all of us. I really incorporated his ideas and techniques into how I structured films—I referred to it a lot.

By the time I became a working filmmaker, Vogler had become larger than life to me. When another filmmaker I know well—Scott Silver, who wrote The Fighter and is an old friend from film school—told me he had met with Vogler, I nearly had a heart attack. I thought: Whoa, you can actually talk to him! So I eventually got in touch myself. He gave me some feedback on some drafts. I got to hang out with him socially, and he’s become a friend.

I teach sometimes, and always say that The Writer’s Journey is the first book that everyone’s got to read.

Read the complete list at the link.… Read the rest

WHAT’S IN MY INSTAPAPER: SUNDAY MORNING LINKS, 1/9/11

By Scott Macaulay

Here are some articles of interest I’ve sent to my Instapaper this week.

At Script Shadow, Carson Reeves lists the 10 ways he knows he’s reading an amateur script. All of these are quotable, but here’s one:

BORING ON-THE-NOSE DIALOGUE – This is probably the biggest clue that you’re dealing with an amateur. The dialogue is really straightforward and boring. Characters say exactly what they mean: “You make me so angry!’ Characters get way more specific than people in real life would: “I’m going to head over to get a cheeseburger at Portillo’s and then call my mom.” (instead of “I need a chili dog before my stomach starts eating itself.”) There’s no nuance or slang. People talk like robots. There’s no subtext or conflict. Characters aren’t hiding anything from one another (which always makes for interesting dialogue). You need to understand all of these things in order to get that dialogue to pro level.

You may have read about Goldman Sachs’s private investment in Facebook. At the Baseline Scenario, Simon Johnson asks, “Why is the U.S. Taxpayer Subsidizing Facebook — and the Next Bubble?” Pointing out that Goldman Sachs is now a bank holding company and has unlimited access to the Fed discount window, Johnson goes on to write:

Social networking firms should be able to attract risk capital and compete intensely. They do not need subsidies in the form of cheaper funding (seen today as a more favorable valuation for Facebook) or in any other form.

Social networking is a bubble in the sense that email was a bubble. The technology will without doubt change forever how we communicate with each other, and this may have profound effects on the nature of our society. But investors will get carried away, valuations will become too high, and some people will lose a lot of money.

A blog has been created to highlight the work of recently discovered Chicago street photographer Vivian Maier, whose striking black-and-white images where shot from the 1950s – 90s. There is also a Kickstarter campaign for Finding Vivian Maier, a documentary on the artist. … Read the rest

WHAT’S IN MY INSTAPAPER: SUNDAY MORNING LINKS

By Scott Macaulay

I haven’t done one of these in a while, so a few of these links are less than current. In any case, here are some links of interest from my Instapaper archives.

First, Instapaper itself, and its founder Marco Arment, got some love from today’s New York Times.

In The Paris Review, filmmaker Michael Almereyda collects largely unseen and uncollected photographs by William Eggleston. He writes:

William Eggleston’s color photographs are among the most widely viewed, and widely admired, in the medium. But I wanted to survey Eggleston’s unseen, unpublished work—his B-sides, bootlegs, unreleased tracks—and to that end I made five trips to Memphis in the course of a year, rummaging through roughly 35,000 digital scans archived by the Eggleston Artistic Trust. The intention was to come up with a book of images rescued from near oblivion. The resulting selection—necessarily partial, narrow, subjective—favors pictures of people, many of them the photographer’s blood relatives and close friends…

Here’s one photo with commentary by Eggleston:

“She used to dance onstage with a hippie band called Insect Trust. Their music, you could say, was too new for me. You could say I never made the mistake of listening to their music. I was studying Bach at the time. I never made a mistake when I listened to Bach.”

Here’s a great post for screenwriters from Carson Reeves at Scriptshadow on writing the perfect script to, alternately, win a Nicholl Fellowship, make it onto the Black List, make a $1-million spec sale, create viral buzz or wallow in obscurity. Reeves ID’s the traits the cause scripts to excel in each category.

The Guardian on Wikileaks backlash and the beginning of the first global cyberwar. Related: at Scripting, “Are We Starting an All-Out War on the internet?” And, Clay Shirky strikes a balanced position in “Wikileaks and the Long Haul.”

At his blog, SEOmoz CEO Rand Fishkin on why “The Algorithm and the Crowd Are Not Enough.” A post on a promising new tech trend of start-ups that bring expert, curatorial and essentially human voices back to ‘net-based selection processes.

If you, like me … Read the rest