I am still writing a screenplay.

Break’s over. Stay tuned.

Screening #4: High Fidelity

Okay, first off, Cody built up High Fidelity quite a bit. So I was expecting, pretty much, the best movie ever. In my humble, clueless opinion it was good overall– in some specific areas it achieved greatness and in others only subpar-ness.

My main turn-on in the movie was Jack Black. I absolutely love him. Hilarious to the level of pure insanity–fox-like insanity. My main turn-off? The obsessive self-centeredness of the main character. And a lot of reviews say that this movie captures the male view of romantic relationships, but isn’t that insulting to men if Cusak’s character cheats and worries almost exclusively about his own feelings? It’s more like a caricature of their point of view, perhaps. That said, Cusak’s performance in the role of a selfish, list-making record-store owner was fantastic. Not as good as Jack Black, though. No way. Without JB that movie would’ve fizzled more than sparkled.

As an aspiring screenwriter, the main thing I noticed about this film was that it broke many of the rules I learned about through my screenwriting research. “Limit or omit phone call scenes?” Nah, let’s throw in a ton of calls! “Don’t let one person talk too long so others are left standing around?” Whatever, let’s have everyone go off on rants–we’ll make it work! “Avoid flashbacks?” Forget that! Let’s include several!

Of course, the rule-breaking actually helped make the movie work. The diatribes? Brilliant. Phone calls? Key to the plot and to romantic relationships in general. Flashbacks? Crucial to setting up the resolutions that come he calls/meets up with the past girlfriends who make up his top 5 worst break-ups list. I guess those “don’ts” I read about are more like cautionary warnings for new screenwriters, who need to tread more carefully due to lack of experience.

Thinking back on the film, I realize why Cody may’ve found it a bit more powerful. He’s a music snob. He’s in a band. He’s a man. He’s from the midwest. And he’s 35. The exact demographic depicted. In fact he could have worked at Championship Vinyl and held his own with Rob, Dick and Barry. But he’s a mix of all three of them, and he’d never be rude to customers.

Oh, and if you’re a Jack Black fan, you may enjoy this interview with Jackie K. Cooper about School of Rock.

Nano update

Over the past week I kicked off several large freelance projects, so the screenwriting took a backseat. Please note that when something or someone is in the backseat, they are not left behind. They’re simply out of the loop, not active participants in conversation. Hence the popularity of riding shotgun. My dad once claimed that he and his friends used to refer to riding in the backseat as “riding frog.” Why? Because only the top half of a person’s head can be seen over the large diner booth that is the front seat of a 1955 Chevy, a scenario that can be likened to a frog sitting in water with its eyes just above the surface. I’m 99% sure he made that up to amuse both himself and his daughters. But I digress…

There IS progress to report. I am up to 25 scenes sketched out on index cards (up from 18 as of the last time I reported) and will soon write an overdue post on last weekend’s screening #4: “High Fidelity“. I’d never seen it before, a fact that some people found absolutely shocking and borderline offensive.

P.S. I love Jack Black.

P.P.S. Cody, my husband, could easily have starred in “High Fidelity”. I’ll soon explain.

Weekend update

Over the weekend, you might assume that I just kicked back and enjoyed screening #3. Not so, my friend. I also did a bunch of other screenwriting stuff, including:

• Wrote 4 pages of the screenplay using my fabulous new software, and I’m really starting to get the hang of it! I was a bit slow in getting started with the actual detailed writing of scenes and dialogue, but was able to get into a groove once I took the plunge. As I become more familiar with the program and more educated about the nuances of screenwriting (including the terminology), and as I continue to progress with the below items, I expect the writing process to speed up.

• Sketched out several additional scenes on index cards which brings the stack to a total of 18. I take them with me everywhere, so that I’m able to make notes or start a new card when inspiration strikes. And I still haven’t fully mined the brainstorm notes in my journal, which is full of ideas for scenes. Movie Magic Screenwriter includes digital index cards, but I prefer the physical ones for now. Of course, not all of the cards will make the cut. I’m figuring it all out as I go, and seeing what feels and reads right.

• Completed two more one-page character outlines (background sketches) for a total of 5; I find this to be very satisfying work for some reason. And that’s good because I have a few more to do. One of the characters I created is completely new to the story–an experience from this weekend inspired me to add this person into the mix, and I think she’ll greatly enhance the story. Very excited about that. And I was able to quickly sort through my scene cards and make notes on them about how she could appear throughout the movie. She fits in well and is a vehicle for injecting some cultural commentary and questioning.

• Fleshed out the overarching storyline; while I knew how it would start and end, the obstacles and action in between were fuzzy at best–until this weekend.

Yeah, I know I’m just getting started, but it feels good. The creative juices continue to flow. They’re delicious. And surprisingly, non-alcoholic.

Screening #3: The Graduate

At last I have seen this classic, coming-of-age comedy. And I absolutely loved it. Savored every minute of it.

Like everyone else on the planet, I was familiar with the “plastics” gem and general storyline. Yet in so many ways, I didn’t know what to expect from “The Graduate”. Before I go any further I’ll just admit that I certainly don’t need to review this film as I couldn’t possibly add anything to the 40-year conversation. So I’ll just share a bit about what I learned and can apply to my own screenplay.

The life situation and neuroticism of Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) resonated with me and synced up with the issues faced by the central character in my film. I loved how Benjamin’s angst, confusion and isolation–and that of 1960’s upper crust culture–was conveyed through dialogue, photography, satire and music. It was artistic and moody, hilarious and haunting.

Of course, this story centers around a recent graduate–a person who personifies “inbetween-ness” in life–and it took place in the 60’s–an “in-between” time when social and sexual mores were in the midst of upheaval. However, just about everyone, regardless of education, upbringing, when they were born, etc. experiences feelings of uncertainty about the future, aloneness due to the fact that they don’t always fit in, and the sense that the right path seems hidden from view. We all come to crossroads at various times in our lives. We all face tough decisions about which way to go–and often the way that feels right is the very one that leads us in a completely different direction from those around us. Hopelessness and listlessness (and perhaps some other nefarious nesses) may grab hold until something, good or bad, snaps us out of it and propels us forward. Or we give up, and develop into bitter and empty souls, like the predatory but ultimately passion-less Mrs. Robinson.

Benjamin Braddock was “a little nervous about his future.” He said he didn’t know what to do with his life. But it seems more likely to me that he knew what he wanted to do, or at least had ideas, but that his desired direction was so outside the bounds of acceptibility that he didn’t allow himself to entertain such ideas. For a while, it was that way for me–though I was kind enough to save most of my whining for my blog. And come to think of it, Benjamin probably would’ve been blogging poolside if it were possible. The same tension and inner turmoil exists for my main character, who is slowly coming to life on my laptop.

“The Graduate” instilled me with a burning desire to not only capture my character’s internal struggle to find direction and meaning, but also to convey in innovative, surprising ways how it fits into the bigger social, economic and cultural picture that is her era and representative circumstance. I hope that made at least some sense.

I was also inspired by the fact that this movie represents Dustin Hoffman’s first role in a Hollywood film. He was 29 during filming, 30 by the time it was released.

FADE IN

Just a quick post about a running epiphany.

I’ve taken to running–okay, jogging–for 40 to 60 minutes in the morning. And just about every time, ideas for my screenplay start flowing. It usually happens during the latter half of my run (jog), when I’m warmed up and in the groove. How cool is that?

Today, somewhere between strides, I figured out how my movie will begin. The opening scene revealed itself in all its glory; I saw it almost as if it were already on screen! And I LOVE it because the scene depicts how the main character feels about her life at the time without her having to say too much, it’s darn funny, and it introduces several characters and their relationships to the main character. This is key because Syd Field and others taught me that I have ten minutes in which to convince the audience that they’ll enjoy the film.

In thinking about my opening scene, with its touch of physical comedy and fish-out-of-water scenario, I realized that Ugly Betty is a real influence for me. While unique, with different priorities and at a different place in her life, my main character has some key characteristics in common with Betty. I find that exciting as well as marketable–which I hate to admit, but it’s really a side benefit to something that evolved organically.

Until a little while ago, I had a downtown work meeting planned for tomorrow. But it was postponed, so I plan to spend the vast majority of Friday working on my screenplay. A couple of copywriting projects kick off next week so I want to make the most of my open day tomorrow. I hope to draft this scene in its entirety and flesh out the greater storyline. Can’t wait to get it all down on digital paper.

The plan for Friday night is happy hour with my husband followed by screening #3, on which I’ll report soon.

Software, scenes and self doubt

I’ve started to get familiar with my new software. Sure, it will take some time to get the hang of it, but it seems impressively intuitive. When you start the program, a blank screenplay page appears. Intimidating. Until you realize that Movie Magic Screenwriter knows you’re just starting out with the screenplay and therefore suggests adding “FADE IN” followed by a scene heading followed by a location followed by–you get the picture. Feeling great about this purchase! (And no, I don’t work for Write Brothers.)

Today, after fiddling around a bit with the program, I wrote twelve scenes onto 3×5 cards and wrote one page of detailed biographical information for each of the four main characters, which was fun! (I still have a couple more to do.) Let’s see… Because he was so clueless and geeky, the boss character was picked on mercilessly as a kid, which explains why even though he’s all grown up and is a VP of Marketing, he’s almost pathologically afraid of being perceived as uncool. He’s still pretty clueless, unfortunately. Another character, who fills a co-worker role, wears khaki shorts no matter what the weather, even on bone-chilling days when everyone else in the office is bundled up. He claims it’s because he’s always hot but that’s not the real reason.

Quite a bit of time was spent researching names, so there’s at least an inkling of meaning in each moniker. While somewhat tedious work, it was satisfying in the end.

I must admit that self doubt is already rearing its ugly and annoying head. But I think it’s normal and healthy. One thing I gleaned from my skimming of Screenwriters’ Masterclass was that when in the process of writing, Wes Anderson often suspects that a screenplay is utterly useless–even if it turns out to be wildly successful. Even he has moments where he’s practically drowning in self doubt. If it happens to him, it’s going to happen to me–and to a far worse degree. The key, of course, is to not let it stop me.

With my trusty Movie Magic Screenwriter by my side (or at my fingertips), it ain’t gonna.

Screening #2: Bringing Up Baby

Before watching the film the only thing I knew about “Bringing Up Baby” was that Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn star in it. I didn’t know that “baby” referred to a leopard and that Cary Grant would seem so geeky and unfamiliar (especially having just watched “Charade”). This classic wound up on our “watch list” after a cursory google search revealed that it was included on several prominent film publications/organizations’ ‘top movies of all time’ lists. Quite frankly, we weren’t expecting it to be so nuts, albeit delightfully nuts.

This is a screwball comedy that moves at a breakneck pace. The premise? A nervous-Nelly paleontologist (Grant as Dr. David Huxley) gets entangled with an eccentric socialite/heiress (Hepburn as Susan Vance), helping her transport a pet leopard to her aunt in Connecticut. This causes him to miss his own wedding (although he never really seems all that worried about it…) and the opportunity to secure $1 million in funding needed for his museum, and lose the final, long-awaited brontosaurus bone he’s just received for his big project. Oh, and OF COURSE, they come face to face with another leopard–a vicious one on a killing spree–that they mistake for Baby. So yeah, it was crazy, but again, delightfully so due to impecable performances by the cast and fun, quippy, dizzying dialog (especially between Grant and Hepburn).

The movie is one misunderstanding after misadventure after miscommunication after mishap after another misunderstanding. And Katherine Hepburn’s character, heiress Susan Vance, is responsible for all of it. Eccentricity personified and determined to marry the engaged Dr. Huxley, she creates endless complications in an attempt to keep him by her side.

Because the movie was so over the top, so zany and absurd, I found it difficult at first to pinpoint lessons that would help with my own screenplay. With the aid of some quick online research, I realized that many takeaways lay below the surface. “Bringing Up Baby” is chalk full of (possible) symbolism and social commentary on gender roles, psychology and sexuality.

A reviewer on IMDB points out that David’s occupation was carefully selected. The original Ross (yes, I refer to “Friends”) is very cautious, buttoned up worrywart–not exactly exuding zest for life. So it makes perfect sense that he works with bones, the remnants of extinct creatures. Susan is the polar opposite, completely unrestrained, absolutely unconcerned with consequences, and recklessly aggressive in the pursuit of her wants. The IMDB review refers to Susan as the “id character, all action and movement.”  For God’s sake, she has a leopard for a (temporary) pet.

An old entry on a now defunct movie blog (the best I can do given time limitations and laziness) examines, among many other things, the use of water and animals as symbols used for exploring gender roles. Water, being so unruly and all, has long been used in literature to represent sexual tension, and at one point in “Bringing Up Baby”, Susan “accidentally” leads David into a deep creek, causing them both to be submerged, when it’s clear she knows the land very well and therefore the depth of the water. This underscores her role as the aggressor in the relationship; she is pursuing him rather than the other way around, which is a bold reversal especially within the context of the 1930’s. I was particularly interested in this aspect of the film. Cody is often reminded, by myself and others, that it was I who asked him out initially. Even today the scenario in which a woman takes the lead in pursuing a romantic relationship with a man is seen as noteworthy, novel and fodder for comedy, though naturally not nearly as outrageous and uncommon as it was in the era of “Bringing Up Baby.” Luckily, a leopard wasn’t necessary in getting Cody to stick around.

The leopards clearly represent and refer to sexuality. The wild, untamed one sends frightened men running just as Susan does, while the tamed cat, a beloved pet, seems to represent a view of traditionally acceptable, nonthreatening female sexuality. At one point, Susan approaches the other characters with the wild leopard in tow, and group’s heads explode. Okay, not really, but they might as well have.

At first I didn’t realize what a smart film this was. I was completely distracted by the incredible cast/performances, larger than life characters and chaotic story. But I now realize that “Bringing Up Baby” is a fabulous testament to the importance of layering a film with substantive underlying themes. (I’ve actually had one in mind from the start.) So, as I develop scenes, background stories for the main characters, and every other element, I’ll be sure to give much consideration to subtext.

That, and I’ll try to work an exotic, predatory animal and a drunk Irish gardener into the central storyline. Those seem to help.

Click here to watch a scene from “Bringing Up Baby”.

Nano update

Sketched out an office scene today, and Cody and I made a date for tomorrow evening: happy hour followed by romantic comedy screening #2.

Book tour

Today I studied for more than two hours at Third Place Books. Grabbed about ten books on screenwriting, set up camp in a comfy leather chair, scanned the stack of paperbacks for bits of guidance and instruction that resonated with me (a total beginner in the beginning stage of the screenwriting process), took seven pages of notes, generated some ideas for structure and storytelling along the way, and purchased nothing.

I learned a lot! Got a handle on some of the basics (including the three-act structure and plot points as explained by Syd Field vs. “rising action” as endorsed by Tom Lazarus, and the importance of near endless re-writes) as well as the nuances of screenwriting (phone conversations and voiceovers are generally no-no’s, especially for beginners). Practical how-to stuff was also gleened, including how to do background sketches for main characters, which helps ward off the temptation to use flashbacks, and use of 3×5 cards in digital or physical format to allow reshuffling of scenes. A concrete list of action items is forming in regards to the writing process, which is great.

The books from which I stole most of the knowledge gained today include:

Screenplay: The Foundation of Screenwriting by Syd Field

Secrets of Film Writing by Tom Lazarus

The Screenwriter Within: How to Turn the Movie in Your Head into a Salable Screenplay by D.B. Gilles.

The Compete Idiot’s Guide to Screenwriting, Second Edition

Rewriting Secrets for Screenwriters: Seven Strategies to Improve and Sell Your Work by Tom Lazarus

Screenwriters’ Masterclass: Screenwriters Talk About Their Greatest Movies by Kevin Conroy Scott (Editor)

Screenwriting for Dummies by Laura Schellhardt (Author), John Logan (Foreword)

Perhaps most importantly, my initial study session gave me an idea of what I don’t know. Which is a lot. But somehow I’m still confident about my screenplay’s premise, characters, plot and sub-plot. And my ability to bring it all together (with a serious investment of time, energy and determination). I remain energized and excited. Assuming I’m at least somewhat in touch with reality, that’s got to be a good sign.