_Read through this again yesterday. Even though it is 20 years old it still resonates today. It also shows you that in Hollywood some things never change. This is one of those “must reads” for anyone serious about making films.
http://www.latimes.com/media/acrobat/2011-02/59309732.pdf You want to know the secret of success in making a great movie. It all boils down to this: A good story, well executed.
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Lately I have run into a few people who have been putting out the call for people to come and help them out with the movie God told them to make. Nothing wrong with that I say, if God is for it then who can be against it right? However on closer inspection of said project it becomes evidently clear that these people are clueless when it comes to the craft and business of film making. I know, I know, the bible is full of examples of God calling clueless newbies into service to do mighty works for Him, but God also equipped them to succeed. So when someone tells me that God called them to make a movie and the writing, acting, camerawork, sound, lighting, editing and music are all amateur hour rubbish then I seem to be at a dilemma. If I tell them their movie sucks then all of a sudden I am questioning the anointed and calling down judgment upon myself. However if I tell them their movie is great then I am a liar and the truth is not in me and call even more judgment down on myself. I heard someone say that God didn’t call Noah to build a leaky boat. So true. So why does he seemingly call people to make sucky movies? Tomorrow night in Houston the latest short that I wrote and produced called "The Code" will screen at Splatterfest in Houston. It's the story of a young couple out on a date who a suddenly descended upon by zombies, a serial killer, a vampire and Big Foot followed by much confusion. The film was made as a part of the Splatterfest short film contest where teams have 54 hours to write, shoot and edit a 4-7 minute horror short. Like most speed film making contests each film maker has to include certain elements in their film. With splatterfest you are given a weapon that must kill a character on screen, ours was a weed wacker; a line of dialog, ours was "Are you enjoying this as much as I am"; and a character, ours was...a porn star.
Great. So what do you do when a film making contest has set you up to deliver something dark and salacious? You make a comedy of course. Splatterfest is looking for dark twisted tales full of violence and gore, the bloodier the better. We didn't give them what they wanted. Instead we gave them what they needed: a smart, funny, unexpected and original story. Anyone can throw blood at the screen for five minutes and call themselves a filmmaker, but that is the easy road. We chose the road less traveled. They wanted darkness and we gave them light. We made a movie about a porn star, and I couldn't be more proud. "The Code" premieres September 28th at Splatterfest, Houston. I was perusing this weekend's box office reports as the execs at lions Gate were scratching their heads over why their Conan the Barbarian remake arrived with a dismal thud when I ran across this quote over at BoxOfficeMojo:
"The Conan remake's marketing relied on the brand name and generic fantasy action instead of presenting a compelling story and strong characters." Surely I am not alone when it comes to my general disinterest in seeing more "pre-awareness" titles coming from the Hollywood studios. I will take a compelling story and strong characters over generic eye candy any day. Why do you think Pixar has the track record they do? It's not because they are really good at blowing stuff up on screen. Of course for every Conan that flops you have a Transformers that makes a billion dollars. So the reheating of leftovers continues. If you don't believe me just take a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B3moWiI_J4 Zzzzzzzzzzzzz............ I am not a huge blog reader, I'd much rather download a podcast and listen in as I drive around, but I recently stumbled across this little gem by The Bitter Script reader.
http://thebitterscriptreader.blogspot.com/ As a profession script reader he has read more than his fair share of bad scripts and is more than willing to share his thought on what makes a bad script bad and a good script good. Tons of useful information for both the amateur and the pro (or semi pro such as myself). Check it out. Procrastination is the writers best friend and worst enemy. It gets you out of writing that difficult scene while you clean the oven, but it also puts your creativity on hold. I have found the perfect cure for procrastination, I call it the "Movie idea a day" cure. The idea is simple, come up with one idea for a movie in logline form every day. It's the perfect way to stay creative while putting off working on your latest draft and at the end of a year I figure I will have 365 half baked movie ideas to comb through for my next project.
So what was my movie idea for today you ask? I have not come up with one yet. I was too busy procrastinating writing this blog post to write one down. A few years ago I ran across the book "Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film, and Culture". In it Christian filmmakers discuss how they balance the integration their faith and art while navigating the pitfalls of Hollywood. My favorite chapter is the one from Scott Derrikson, the director of "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" and the remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still', where he compared the journey of the Christian filmmaker seeking his duty and purpose in Hollywood to that of the of the pilgrims progress. It is a journey that I am also on, and I recognized several stops along the way. An abridged version of the chapter can be found here. So what do you think is the duty of a Christian in Hollywood?
I have a brand new site that comes with a brand new blog, which I guess makes me a blogger now. Stay tuned for further thoughts on screenwriting, film making and my feeble little attempts on breaking in.
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welcomeI am a screenwriter and a story teller. Jesus related to the culture of the day through simple stories that illustrated God's kingdom principles. My passion is to follow his example. Archives
December 2016
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