This Savage Art

Don’t waste people’s time with that shitty screenplay you wrote.

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Does anyone out there have PDF versions of Into The Wild and The Darjeeling Limited? It seems that the studios who so generously posted scripts for download on their sites have made them all unavailable.

Please contact me if you do.

[imdb Into The Wild] [imdb The Darjeeling Limited]

Update: Got The Darjeeling Limited PDF from Paul and Into The Wild from Gil. Thanks again guys.

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John August breaks down the short script.

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PDF available online for download. Related: How to make your screenplay “read like the movie.”

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Earlier I reported that my screenplay Dyre Avenue got into the upper ten percent of this year’s BlueCat Screenplay Competition run by Gordy Hoffman. This is the second time I’ve submitted to this competition. Well, I didn’t win but I look at it this way, I paid $45 for coverage on my screenplay, if I place in any of the upper slots, great! Bonus!

I just got my screenplay analysis back from the judges but I won’t bore you with the details. Unless you have actually read the screenplay it’s not really relevant but it does end on this note:

A great script like this really deserves the polish.

In the immortal words of Carl Spackler, “So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.”

I better get to work.

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One of my recent favorite stops on the interweb has been Mystery Man On Film. I like the fresh perspective that he brings to the table. A self-proclaimed student of screenwriting, Mystery Man is a forward thinker, looking for a better understanding of storytelling without drowning in the sea of books on the subject. Even though he does reference the works of Robert McKee and others he recognizes that story is about seeing a bigger picture. He makes a statement in this meme that I think sums up what film bloggers have probably subconsciously known for a while:

I believe that aspiring screenwriters could learn more from film scholars (aka “film bloggers”) then they would from most screenwriting gurus.

Analysis, reviews, food for thought and the invaluable script breakdowns via Miriam, this site recognizes the importance of balancing a well-rounded, fully developed screenplay with a good understanding of visual storytelling. It represents why I think the blogosphere serves a filmmaker’s need to explore the multi-disciplined craft of filmmaking but at the same time doesn’t just drink the Kool-Aid served up by the “gurus.”

Thanks Mystery Man, whoever you are.

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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 [↩]

For $175 iScript will professionally record a mp3 version of your screenplay. [via Complications Ensue]

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