Resource Alert - Job Search Tools

Everyone wants to work from home. Especially writers. I sure as hell do. That's the end goal, isn't it? Sell a script and spend your day working in your pajamas while everyone else drives, trains, or treks to the office. Enjoy your lunch in front of the tv. Maybe cast off those nagging pants when it gets too hot and work commando. Hey, you're your own boss. You can do what you want. 

Well, until the dream becomes a reality, we aspiring writers must earn our keep some other way. If you're like me, that means a 9 to 5 (hopefully one that truly ends at 5 and allows you the time you need to write each day). However, there's a rise in the number of sites designed to help freelancers secure remote and telecommute work, so I figured I would share a few with you here, which I've come across in my searches. Granted, there are always the job-hunt search sites, the Monsters and Indeeds and Craigs lists and Jobs Radars of the world, but these are tailored to contractors with specialties. Many of the sites require employers to pay directly through the site, and all users can be flagged and vetted, decreasing the chances that the ad you're clicking on will infect your computer - your LIVELIHOOD - with some evil virus. 

People always need writing and writers. Sign up (most of the following are free, and the sites add 10% to your fee, which they take, rather than extracting the fees from your income), create your profile, list your specialties, and see if you can cobble some work together. And i fyou have leads to other sites you've found helpful, please share them with us, and we'll update the below. Happy hunting.

oDesk

eLance

eBy Line

Thumbtack

86th Annual Academy Award Nominations Announced!

Nominations for the 86th Annual Oscars (which will he held March 2, 2014) have been announced. Congratulations to all nominees. Below, the nominations for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Adapted Screenplay. You can see the nominees for all categories here.

Best Picture
"12 Years a Slave"
"The Wolf of Wall Street"
"Captain Phillips"
"Her"
"American Hustle"
"Gravity"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Nebraska"
"Philomena"

Best Original Screenplay
"American Hustle" -- David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer
"Blue Jasmine" -- Woody Allen
"Her" -- Spike Jonze
"Nebraska" -- Bob Nelson
"Dallas Buyers Club" -- Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

Best Adapted Screenplay
"12 Years a Slave" -- John Ridley
"Before Midnight" -- Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater
"The Wolf of Wall Street" -- Terence Winter
"Captain Phillips" -- Billy Ray
"Philomena" -- Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

What are your thoughts? Who got snubbed? Is anyone getting undue praise? Share your opinions in the comments!

Resource Alert - The 2014 Writers Calendar

The Black List, Go Into The Story, and Black Board have collaborated to bring screenwriters a tool they are calling, The 2014 Writers Calendar. The calendar, which is also available as a Google calendar, lists festivals, competitions, deadlines, and award ceremonies, among other important dates screenwriters should track throughout the year.

Check out the calendar here. 

Thanks to The Black List, Go Into the Story, and Black Board for the great resource!

WGA Award Nominations Announced

Happy New Year, writers! To kick off 2014, here's a list of the WGA Award nominations for outstanding screenwriting in 2013. Perhaps you'll find some inspiration in the list. (Head over to Deadline Hollywood for a longer write-up and analysis.)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell; Columbia Pictures
Blue Jasmine, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Dallas Buyers Club, Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack; Focus Features
Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.
Nebraska, Written by Bob Nelson; Paramount Pictures

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

August: Osage County, Screenplay by Tracy Letts; Based on his play; The Weinstein Company
Before Midnight, Written by Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke; Based on characters created by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan; Sony Classics
Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures
Lone Survivor, Written by Peter Berg; Based on the book by Marcus Lutrell with Patrick Robinson; Universal Pictures
The Wolf of Wall Street, Screenplay by Terence Winter; Based on the book by Jordan Belfort; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Dirty Wars, Written by Jeremy Scahill & David Riker; Sundance Selects
Herblock – The Black & The White, Written by Sara Lukinson & Michael Stevens; The Stevens Company
No Place on Earth, Written by Janet Tobias & Paul Laikin; Magnolia Pictures
Stories We Tell, Written by Sarah Polley; Roadside Attractions
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks; Written by Alex Gibney; Focus Features


Which of these have you seen? What do you think is over-touted, and what is missing? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The 2013 Black List Revealed

Deadline Hollywood is live updating its announcement of the 2013 Black List selected screenplays. The Black List is a yearly list that recognizes the best unproduced screenplays of the past twelve months. Initially, the list was meant to showcase new work by emerging talent, and placement on the list often led to representation, sales, production deals, and the like. More recently, the List has experienced some controversy, since many well-known writers with projects that have already been set up feature heavily in the ranking. Technically, their featured screenplays are still unproduced, though when Tarantino's DJANGO UNCHAINED made the list a couple years back, for example, many felt the nature of the list had been besmirched. Still, kudos to all who have made it on, especially those who are new to the industry.

Check out the 2013 Black List Screenplays here. 

UPDATED 12/17

You can now read the loglines and representation and production/financing info for all Black List screenplays on the Black List's official site.   

Writing Opportunity Alert - Nickelodeon Writing Program

The annual Nickelodeon Writing Program application dates have been announced. The program is designed to usher in a new crop of talented writers each year, who are selected based off the strength of a spec television script they submit for a show currently on air. Selected writers are then offered a year's placement as a salaried writing staff member.

As always with any fellowship, competition, or submission, be sure to read the guidelines carefully before submitting. I've regretted forgetting to take, say, my name off a title page when instructions clearly indicated that I had to, and you never want something like that to be the difference between placement and a form rejection.

Good luck!

The Writing Week (Vol. 6) part 283 - Outlining (Again)

It has been 22 months since I first began collaborating with actor turned director-writer, W.A., on our sci-fi project. I have since lost track of the number of drafts of the outline and script that I've written, but it's up there. A few months ago, we sent the script to our representatives for their feedback, hoping they would be on board to start shopping the material around. Unfortunately, they didn't think the script was ready yet. After my initial disappointment at their qualms with it, I came to see the points and understand the flaws they had picked up on. I then went back to the drawing board. 

The major problem with the script, as pointed out to us, was that the first half (and especially the first half of Act Two) failed to excite. A lot happens exposition-wise, and there is a strong science component that the characters focus on. However, as my agent said, we created a heightened other world that the story is set in, but then just have characters sit around in a room for a long time. While an exaggeration, it's not too far off the mark. The more I reread the notes, the more clearly I saw the weaknesses of the first half. Yes, things happen, but it's not riveting, nor is it visually compelling - at least, it's not as aesthetically exciting as a story set in the world we've devised should be. Something big happens at the midpoint that both elevates the emotional resonance and capitalizes on the world and action potential established early on, but the 50 pages before that barely scratch the surface. Our big obstacle in rewriting, therefore, was to make better use of the first half of the script.

W.A. and I got on the phone (a few times) to hammer out ideas. I pitched him one that actually struck me as we spoke. I didn't know if it would be too out there or too disruptive, but the great thing about working with W.A. is that he's always totally game for whatever idea, as long as he thinks it could work. He thought this radical one would be the perfect way to address the first half shortcomings, so we started spitballing using that as our base. I since went back to outlining, as neither of us wanted to spend any time writing before we were positive we had the new direction firmly set. It took me a while to crack the first half of the revised second act, but after a call on Monday with W.A., I think we're there. 

The change I proposed ups the emotional impact of the script very early on, moving a major reveal from page 70 to page 10. IT catapults the characters and story in a way that the inciting incident hadn't yet before, and (we hope) it buys us a little more time before we need a major action beat. We still push the action up, but in really looking at the rules of the world that we've established, it became apparent that certain things simply cannot happen - at least, not organically - and therefore limit how and when we can have a tentpole, edge of your seat scene. Still, with the new incarnation, the major first half of act two action sequence moves up from page 42 to somewhere around 32, which is great.

So, now, after months off, I am about to dive back into pages for the script in what's almost (but not quite entirely) a page one rewrite. In the meantime, I've had additional reviews go up on Under the Radar. You can read my two latest online exclusives there, for Last Days on Mars and Expecting. Suffice it to say, I was underwhelmed by both films I saw.