Robert McKee — Worth Watching

Now this is NOT one of the gurus I was alluding to in the previous post… I like Robert McKee. Some of you think I don’t like him but I do and you can’t argue how much he fucking knows about STORY. My only problem was reading his book and then plopping down FIVE BIG ONES only to find out that I was listening to him RECITE his book.

I just wish I hadn’t just read his book before that weekend… Which is strange to me because if I remember correctly, I seem to remember getting an email from his company recommending that I do in fact read the book prior to attending the workshop.

Is he worth seeing in person?

Oh HELL yeah. I would have rather been surprised is all. The good new is that if you can’t afford to attend, purchase his audio book because that is pretty much the workshop except for the laughs and the cell phone donations.

This video is a little over an hour long but an hour well spent if you need a nice little brush up…

Unk

April 24, 2010 | Filed Under Gurus, Screenwriting

22 Comments 

I Wonder

iwonder

What do I wonder about? I wonder WHY there seems to be so many screenwriting gurus who aren’t really screenwriting gurus at all?

Rather than teach you how to write a professional level spec screenplay, they are instead, trying to teach you how to maneuver the straits of Hollywood.

As I first started to see this NEW screenwriting niche beginning to take root, I figured sure… Some people can probably use this shit. Whom you ask? Screenwriters that have ALREADY learned how to write a professional level screenplay.

But how do you know WHOM you are?

Well, it appears with this new screenwriting niche, IT DOESN’T MATTER.

But here’s what REALLY PISSES ME OFF… Lots of producers, screenwriters, agents, managers, etc. are getting in on this new screenwriting niche. Now some of you might not know what the fuck I’m even talking about so let me clue you in… I’m talking about a few people out there purporting to be the Tony Robbins of the screenwriting world.

In other words…

It’s all in your fucking head. Even IF you have a great fuckin’ screenplay you’re gonna FAIL. Why? Because you’re not THINKING like a successful producer, manager, agent, blah blah blah FUCKING BLAH!

Jesus H. Christ… Do we really all have to think alike and act alike to sell a fucking screenplay?

Nope.

Don’t take my word for it but here’s the recipe to the SECRET SAUCE… Write a GREAT FUCKING SCREENPLAY. Then write another one. And another. Do that and success will come EVEN if you don’t ACT like a successful producer. Even if you don’t ACT like a successful agent. Even if you don’t act like the Tony Robbins of Hollywood.

Another THING I fucking wonder about with these guys AND YOU KNOW WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE is this…

Why aren’t you making sure the people that pay for your “SERVICES” can already write a profesional level screenplay? I mean, why put the cart before the horse?

Oh yeah…

CHA-CHING! Money.

I’ve watched some of these videos from some of these gurus and it makes me want to puke. And the prices they charge… They suck you in with the less than $100 a month price and then slowly reel you in month after month after month and then SET THE HOOK with an upsell that costs a few grand.

WOW!

And none of this shit guarantees SHIT. None of this guarantees that it will flop your screenwriting ass down in front of even ONE heavy-hitter that can even make a fucking decision.

Why?

Why the hell can’t they guarantee that?

Because the bottom line is that you still need to be able to write a fucking screenplay that ROCKS!

Do that and you don’t need these guys… Focus on the writing and your efforts will pay off. Cave in to the DELUSION that your writing is ALREADY UP TO PAR and take these online classes, courses, webinars, whatever and see what happens…

Unk

April 21, 2010 | Filed Under Bullshit

33 Comments 

It’s settled…

fuck-hollywoodI’m definitely moving to Arizona…

Probably Scottsdale. Turns out that a good percentage of those working in the business already live out there and commute to Los Angeles day to day or they head out to Scottsdale to chill on the weekends.

But that’s just the icing on the cake… The real reason I’ll try to move out there before the end of the year is because of Arizona’s new law that allows you to carry a concealed weapon.

If you read the very bottom of the article, it says…

“Critics worry it will lead to more shootings as people with less training have more access to guns.”

Cool. I’ve always thought I was born a hundred years too late so here’s my chance to get back to basics. Not only that but WOW… Arizona just fuckin’ does what it wants to and fuck everyone else.

You gotta love that even if you don’t agree with it…

Or not.

But seriously… Last month I had reason to hold up in Scottsdale for a few days and I couldn’t believe how many people out there are in the business. And NOT the usual people I happen to meet in Los Angeles either. Definitely higher up on the totem pole than the usual burrito eating wiseguy.

So where are we at?

I apologize to those of you who keep sending me emails literally begging for something new on the site. It’s been a year since my brother took his life and I just couldn’t help but relive the events just before and after which pretty much made me more of a hermit than usual.

I’ve also had some strange shit happen to me since that fateful day that has made me really reevaluate EVERYTHING going on in my life. The good news (at least for me) is that I’m still alive and kickin’. Not writing as much as I would like but that should be changing very soon.

For those of you that have asked me about my spec that I mentioned awhile back… Good to go. Although it’s still going to take a year or two to go into production, all that is solid now.

I’m glad I went through the old marketing experience again… I feel like that experience really let me feel the current pulse of Hollyweird i.e., nobody can make a decision. Everybody wants to know what everybody else is doing before they do it too. Unfortunately, Hollywood continues to reboot and remake movies in rabid fashion instead of doing something original except of course for the very few fairly original concepts that somehow manage to sneak through.

Distribution is still a problem… Getting a little better here and there but I find it interesting that a lot those who worked for the Yari Film Group ended up at The Film Department and are still having problems getting off the ground.

But something tells me that things might be getting back to NORMAL if the Weinstein brothers can manage to get Miramax back even though insiders who no longer work for the dynamic duo say that they’ve been seriously reevaluating the way they make and buy movies. And even if that is true, another something tells me that Harvey is gonna fucking do what Harvey wants to do even IF Ron Burkle is the actual owner.

And I like that… Without the REAL Miramax, Hollywood sucks even more than usual… At least to ME.

Good news for Ultra low budget indie filmmakers… $250k is the new $2.5 Mil but as usual… The only the only thing certain in filmmaking is the script.

Is anyone else out there besides me excited about the new futures market where you’ll be able to wager whether certain movies will do better or worse than expected? I mean hell… Just the fact that this idea has the MPAA up in arms makes it really attractive to me. Not to mention the fact that I’ve been predicting weekend box office for a very long time with a fairly high success rate over the years so why not make some additional cash on this ability? Kinda reminds me of handicapping the horses but a whole hell of a lot easier since I’m already doing the research.

Just remember… In a lot of cases, STAR POWER IS DOWN. I like that too. In many MANY cases, those actors that were commanding up to $5 Mil a pic just can’t do that in today’s economy. I just wish it would hit some of those sitting up high on the per pic rollercoaster. Many of these actors are quite simply afraid to make a movie right now on the off chance that it dies at the box office because if it dies, so does their box office pull and so does their per pic take.

So in a lot of ways, the economy is having a very interesting effect on the BIZ. Most of which I like but only time will tell.

I guess a lot of you might be doing your last minute polishes for the Nicholl… One of the few screenwriting competitions actually worth entering. Good luck!

Back to it.

Unk

April 19, 2010 | Filed Under Rants

17 Comments