Amazing advice/rant from Unk

If you haven't read The Unknown Screenwriters rant/post on original concepts, get on it. It's long and full of swears, but some of the best screenwriting advice I've read in a while, well worth reading no matter how many scripts you've written:

If you’re going to go ahead and write a spec about something we’ve basically all seen before, you might as well stand the fuckin’ thing UPSIDE DOWN. Instead of giving us the direct to DVD version, go the extra mile and do something with it we’ve never seen before! Make YOUR VERSION the new version by which this genre will forever be measured! And, if you can’t pull that off — that’s okay — as long as that’s what you’ve been striving for.

I mean go ahead and pull that spec out right now. Got it? Good. Why is it DIFFERENT than the plethora of movies within the same genre? Is it differerent? Is it good different? Is it the same as everything we’ve seen before? Even if it’s well written, is it the same old tired thing we’ve seen a hundred times before?

Check out the full thing here. If you're not already subscribed to Unk's blog, jump on that right away.

The Three Stages of Feedback

Just want to give you a heads-up to a fun post on Danny Stack's blog where he defines the three stages of feedback:

You worked hard on your script and handed it in on time, feeling good that it was a smoking first draft. But you haven’t heard anything in weeks. You begin to worry. An email arrives, finally, and it’s notes from the script editor. You click on the attachment and open the file. Your stomach churns, hoping to see only minor comments but you scroll down the screen to see pages of notes, all critical of what you’ve done. You fail to see the sugar coated or positive remarks, while the negative and critical notes stand out in bold and in capitals, or so it seems. You panic! They hate it. They think you’re rubbish. You are rubbish! You’re never going to work again!

I know I've felt that stage before just from fellow Leaguers' feedback alone. There's always that horrible, sinking feeling in your stomach when your beloved baby gets ripped apart by the wolves.

Check it out, if at least for the great photo illustrations.

Quick, Cool Page vs. Screen link

Kid Sis has posted a scene from her film, The Commune, along with the pages of the script for comparison.

Thought some of you screenwriters out there might want to see my journey from page to screen. Even when you direct your own work, things change onset due to budget, time, and reality. Cuz real life is a bitch; not nearly as malleable as imaginaryland.

It's worth checking out - especially for those of us who have or are thinking of shooting their scripts themselves. Her quick explanation of what worked and didn't work onscreen vs. the script is interesting.

The full post is here.

Screenwriting on the Web II

Danny Stack, a brother screenwriter/blogger in the UK, was recently ask to share what revelations he's had since starting his writing career.

He goes on to list these revelations, which are all very worthwhile reading for anyone early in their screenwriting career. A few examples:

- It doesn’t get easier. It gets more difficult. You always have to raise your game, dig deeper, work harder.
- The system doesn’t care about writers. It’s a bit like Mother Nature: it has the capacity to be beautiful and nurturing, and we couldn’t exist without it, but it will also cut you down without any reasoning or judgement.
- You have the capability of writing just as much shite as the stuff you mock on TV or at the cinema every day. It will help if you recognise this, otherwise you’re in trouble.

The rest of his wise words can be read here. This post also outlines how Danny began his career, and is very encouraging to all of us who are trying to follow a similar career path.

(Another recent post that ALL beginning writers should check out: Danny's description of the 'Three P's' that all writers should live by.)

Danny's blog, Scriptwriting in the UK, [http://dannystack.blogspot.com/] updates very often with boatloads of great advice, and really deserves to be on any aspiring writer's RSS reader.

Screenwriting Link of the Week

Ken Levine recently posted his summer movie preview up on his excellent blog. My favorite bit:

THE PROMOTION – Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly are two schleppers vying for a promotion at a Walmart type store. Comedy in aisle five! More fun: wait till it’s on cable, gather your friends, and play the drinking game every time there’s a pratfall.

Ken's entertaining take on what will be this summer's winners and duds can be found here: Part I and Part II.

Ken Levine is a veteran television comedy writer, having worked on many of the most successful sitcoms of the last 30 years, including M*A*S*H, Frasier, and The Simpsons. (Check out his impressive IMDB listing.)

His blog, By Ken Levine..., updates daily with his views on the television and film industry.