This Savage Art

[I decided to pull this post out of the sidebar because I wanted to add some more to it.]

Michael Clayton writer/director gets beyond the mechanics of screenwriting and to heart of the matter – imagination [via GreenCine - added podcast.] The podcast itself is a nice little film school compacted into a half an hour program hosted by the always enjoyable Elvis Mitchell. What I like about it is its a real inside take on the process of filmmaking from a doer. Not to take anything away from anyone. I’m a doer. You might be a doer. What I mean is he’s a pro writer turned director who isn’t talking out of his ass like some guru who has never been in the trenches. The real trenches. Twenty years of grinding it out only to emerge now with a project that is getting much attention. When I saw it in the theater all I kept thinking was how much I wanted to read the screenplay [you can download a PDF here.]

I attended a Script to Screen event that the IFP hosted around 2000-01(?) and Gilroy spoke with Raymond De Felitta about screenwriting. It was early on in his career and he was coming off Proof of Life. I remember thinking “that is what a pro screenwriter sounds like.” The guy walked the walk. As you will gather from listening to the podcast you’ll get the idea that he’s worked on his share of questionable films but it’s also where he learned his craft and how to swim the political waters of Hollywood. You can see the culmination of all that in Michael Clayton. You can also see the early films of Alan J. Pakula in it too which is a plus in my book. It is a shame the film got buried amongst the muck early in the year because as far as what Hollywood is celebrating right now as Academy Award fare, this is as good as I’ve seen in a long time.

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If there ever was a time when the film world was in a total state of flux it would be now. With a writer’s strike still looming everyone needs a new slate and fast. Sundance starts today and it should be interesting to see what studios will want to push out to its audiences this year. Safe is in and has been for a while which doesn’t give me a lot of confidence that we will be seeing a big push of daring new independent films this year but you never know. Damn I miss them! It seems that smaller films that were bought up last year and expected to break out just didn’t. There is definitely a Little Miss Sunshine vibe in the air I’m sure. There will much press and analysis of the festival in the next week so check this little tidbit out before the floodgates are opened. Remember, nobody knows nothing [or anything depending on how grammatically correct you want to get.]

Also, starting tomorrow you can watch festival shorts for free from the Sundance site.

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Sometimes being an independent filmmaker is like the celluloid life of a New York cop. You trudge through a career trying to make a difference but in the end you don’t know if you even made a dent. Cynical, maybe, but that’s how I felt a couple of weeks ago after having lunch with a Nicholl Fellowship winner. This writer played the game. He came out of a major screenwriting program then won the Fellowship, the most prestigious award that can be granted to a screenwriter. Got heavily courted by Hollywood, got a manager, got optioned, got major star interest. Manager relationship went sour, broke off with his representation. Options didn’t take. A significant amount of time has passed between the award and now. Back to square one without representation.

It was tough to hear this story because I know it is so common for so many — to try and because the planets didn’t align have a hard earned accomplishment like finishing a screenplay you’re proud of fall short of a deserved destination. I guess the more obvious insult to injury was that this writer won the Fellowship — basically saying “We the Academy aka The Industry, deem this work exceptional and worthy of such accolades.”

Is the Nicholl just the SAT for the film industry or is it the ticket for a screenwriter’s career? Can be. Truth is, and as the numbers¹ serve me, most winners don’t go on to have their screenplays produced but it is definitely a jumping off point.² It’s a chance to meet the industry and probably get representation. What you do with all of that is really up to you. More so, what this really illustrates is there is absolutely no logic or stock answer to how to get a pass into the club. It just makes you question the whole process. Maybe the real question to ask is — other than the money rewarded³, is a Nicholl Fellowship screenplay relevant in today’s Hollywood? Probably just as relevant as any other well-written, producible screenplay — you just jump to the head of the line.

Before we went our separate ways this writer told me an unrelated story of a well known and proven producer who was responsible for some significant achievements in filmmaking. He said “Back then we weren’t interested in how commercial a film was, we just set out to make the best film we could possibly make.” Well, maybe not so unrelated.

A final note, the writer I’m speaking of submitted his screenplay three times to the Academy before the Nicholl Fellowship was awarded.

[...]

As a coda to this entry I would like to add my personal take on contests and fellowships for screenwriting and/or filmmaking; take them all with a grain of salt. Your career shouldn’t rest on the outcome of a committee regardless of who they are. Sure, a big fat check and a little attention would be nice but the odds are against you. Should you bother? Absolutely. If you feel your work is ready to go out there and compete (let’s not fool ourselves, it is a competition) with others for that golden ticket then do it. I entered Dyre Avenue in the Nicholl, the BlueCat Screenplay Competition and the Sundance Lab last year and got an overwhelming “no” across the board. This year I reentered BlueCat with a new draft and got in the upper 10%, still waiting on Sundance Lab. None of this is stopping me from my mission of turning my current screenplay into my first feature.

Be selective with your choices. Make sure the competitions are legit and they can actually advance your career in some way otherwise what’s the point? Be proactive. Keep writing and pursuing your goals.

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1. Of the 96 scripts that have earned their writers Fellowships from 1986-2006, 13 have been produced [↩]
2. Many Fellows have used the award to launch rewarding careers.[↩]
3. Up to five $30,000 Fellowships are awarded each year [↩]

I just received this e-mail from a reader who asked for some guidance;

I’ve read that William Monahan is considering a prequel or sequel to The
Departed. I also hear that the will be including the ruthless killer Steve
Flemmi. My husband is Stevie’s son and was very much involved in the business.
He will be able to tell a side of the story that no one knows. He had a book
deal at one point but was not emotionally ready to move forward with it. He is
now ready to tell the accurate side of the story, since everyone else has blown
their loads with inaccuracy. Is there a way for us to contact William Monahan?
or guide me in the right direction. My husband has some people out of Boston he
is talking to in the industry we also have a producer coming to meet with him on
Mon. from L.A. I have been working behind the scenes to see what I can come up
with. Like everyone has been telling him, he has an amazing yet sad story that
should be heard and we have one chance to get it right. Any help or guidance
would be greatly appreciated.

This was my response;

Thanks for contacting me. Okay, first things first. Scorsese’s film, The Departed is based on the Asian film Infernal Affairs, which you may or may not know. The principal players, Scorsese and Monahan are currently hammering out a deal to do a prequel and a third installment which may or may not happen. Most likely it will considering the good experience they had working together and the awards and all.

The Whitey Bulger connection up in Boston was used as inspiration for the Frank Costello character. The film was never meant to be that story. I don’t think that they were trying specifically to tell the story of that actual Irish mob in Boston. They were just trying to transfer the story from Hong Kong to America for an American audience. I can guarantee there will be a film made about Whitey Bulger and his crew if it’s not in the works already. How accurate it will be, who knows? I know there are dozens of books about Southie and the mob out now.

Regarding contacting William Monahan; he is represented by the Endeavor Agency. I would find out who his agent is. If you do get in touch with the agent, tell them who you are and see where that takes you. Maybe your husband can be a consultant on the upcoming prequel and sequel. Monahan is swamped with work right now so I wouldn’t expect much but I wouldn’t turn away the chance to be a part of that experience because you don’t know where it will take you. It might get your husband representation, who knows.

If your husband is willing to mine his story at this point in his life I can only say, be patient. Get representation for the book. Just let your husband know it is a long process especially if you want it done accurately. There is no such thing as getting it done right the first time regarding it be committed to film. If you sell the rights to your story to a production company you will most likely forfeit your rights to have any say in what the final cut of the film will look like and ultimately say. That is the way the business works. If you want to guarantee that not happening, write the book independently and press the book yourself or write the screenplay and raise the money for a film that you have control of.

Again, if your husband wants to tell his story he will find a way. Let his commitment to the material dictate how he approaches the business. I am not an attorney or an agent so everything I’m saying here are just suggestions – I’m just a guy trying to get my own projects off the ground too. Whatever happens, I wish you luck.

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The Times has a great article called Survival Tips for the Aging Independent Filmmaker. A very cautionary and very real look at what happens when it works out and when it doesn’t. The playing field has shifted immensely since the 80′s and 90′s and the article illustrates some of the paths these filmmakers who came up in that era made, some life-altering decisions to continue doing what they do. Take notes, I have.

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I did it. I put my screenplay Dyre Avenue on InkTip, an online service that brings writers together with producers, agents and managers. Out of curiousity or desperation I’m not sure which but it is there. I would equate it to Match.com but for the biz. I can see the companies that are checking out the screenplay. They can look at my background and read the first 15 pages. It’s like a game. I get the company name then I go over to IMDb and check their credits. Then I go into best-case-scenerio fantasy mode.

I’m not sure how a story like mine will fare on a site like this but there is only one way to find out, right? $50. Six months. It’s an investment.

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Inktip, the industry matchmaker of screenwriters with producers, managers and agents has just revamped their website. Very slick and easy on the eyes. I have no experience with this service so I can’t verify anything – enter at your own risk. I does look legit though and has been around since 2000. Someone in my writing class has used it and has been in touch with a few producers discussing his material. I’ll see if he can comment on his experience with it. If anyone out there has used this service please leave a comment with your impressions.

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On Howard 100, the Sirius Radio home of Howard Stern’s non-terrestrial radio show, M. Night Shyamalan showed up as a guest this morning. He’s been on in the past and always gets along with Howard and a good time is had by all. Today M. (or is it Night?) spoke of the foul taste that was left in his mouth after Disney stiff-armed him on his current project, the one he ended up making with Warner Brothers instead, The Lady in the Water.

It goes something like this; M. Night approaches Disney, who he’s had a long and happy relationship with over the years, that he wants to make this screenplay he’s been working on. He pitches it to them and submits an early draft. They respond with “too weird” and balk on the project. This is the guy who made The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. It sounded like the reaction was a lot more brutal than what I’m describing here. So he went to Warner Brothers with the understanding that he would be fully supported through the process – a big sticking point with him – go figure. Something he said that I thought was really interesting was that he wanted to make independent, daring films on that mega scale. I think that’s pretty impressive that you are given the keys to the castle and you still want to make films that challenge people but hey, that’s just me.

Now there are two sides to every story but if a writer/director makes 2 BILLION dollars for a company don’t you think that would entitle that said writer/director to a little support on his next project from the studio he made that kind of revenue for? I mean if M. Night can’t get a little love from a studio that he’s done nothing but good things for…Another thing I noticed is a serious hatred for this filmmaker. Personally, I’ve seen his films and found them to be entertaining. That is where it begins and ends for me. They are twisty, supernatural thrillers with the same kind of mass appeal as a Hitchcock or Spielberg film. Sure, I’ve been critical of certain elements of his films but what’s with all the vitriol for this guy? Is it just industry bullshit? Is it because he’s an outsider? Or maybe it’s just playa hatin’? Tell me what you think…

Update 7.24.06: Here is another POV.

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If you know nothing about the independent film movement, which is really not a movement but actually the way films got made back in the day, then the Turner Classic Movies documentary, Edge of Outside is something you should take a look at. It’s for anyone who doesn’t know the history of those filmmakers and their passionate drive to make personal films part of the world of cinema — my pursuit of a film career wouldn’t exist without them. This is why as much as I appreciate and enjoy documentaries like this one I know they only scratch the surface. Those directors made films the hard way and we only see a glimpse of the price they paid for being outsiders — it’s essentially a primer for the freshman in the film program at NYU. These filmmakers are that of legend and they should be recognized for having the sheer tenacity, balls and mental instability to take on a career making films outside the system. That is what we already know. I want to hear the crazy stories, the amazing stories, of the fights, the reasons why these films had to get made not just the fact that they did. I think TCM dropped the ball on this one. This should have been a series profiling, in detail, all of the mentioned filmmakers with a fresh 2006 perspective of their influence and relevance. Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so. Overall, it’s worth a look and through the month TCM is playing selected films from some of those filmmakers.

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I got turned on to this screenwriter’s resource via west coast writer/blogger Dave Anaxagoras’ site Man Bytes Hollywood and I haven’t stopped checking it out. It is basically a sit down with a lot of heavies in the screenwriting world. Paul Haggis (yawn), Stuart Beattie and David Goyer to name a few all being interviewed by producer Michael De Luca. It is sold as a series of DVDs but there are clips from some of the writers on the site to give you a taste. It claims to be no bullshit. Check out the Goyer clip and his take on outlines. Yes, he does them but never under any circumstances does he give them to the studio. When asked for them what is the answer he gives with a smile? “Fuck off” — I like this guy. Feeling the need to be, uh, inspired I purchased the Jim Uhls and Stuart Beattie DVDs so we shall see. Maybe I’ll get the Goyer one depending on these two. Look for a review.

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