"Rewriting Secrets for Screenwriters"

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


How to handle the working screenwriters toughest assignment: reworking, rewriting, and revising, from the author of Secrets of Film Writing.

Every screenwriter needs to rewrite-more than once, probably many times-to make the story work and then to make a sale. And then again later on, to please producers, studios or stars. Tom Lazarus -author of Stigmata, among other scripts- is a working screenwriter and instructor at UCLA extension. In this book, he's distilled his own experience and that of other screenwriters into a system. Rewriting Secrets for Screenwriters will teach writers how to:

-Prioritize big scenes.
-Track Transitions.
-Plot Corrections.
-Add new information.
-Pass through for dialogue.
-Do an "on the nose" rewrite.

Hugely valuable for first-time screenwriters and veterans of Hollywood pitch wars alike, Rewriting Secrets for Screenwriters is laced with humor and attitude as well as information. Its anatomy of a screenplay rewrite breaks down the books lessons into their practical application-a must for anyone looking for a break in the film business.

Picked this book up at my local bookstore.

V for Vendetta

Crazy John's review of "V for Vendetta"

V FOR VENDETTA (2006)

director: James McTeigue

Once in awhile, a film comes along that stumps its viewer. V for Vendetta did that to me. There is much to applaud in this film and yet often one is rolling his eyes in disbelief. At the end of the day, we have an ambitious film which I praise despite some poor decisions made along the way.

Based on a ten issue comic book series from the mid-80s by British writer Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd, the comic is first and foremost political. Written during the conservative Margaret Thatcher administration, the comic speculates on a future England where rights have been trampled and power abused. Into this world comes V.(played by Hugo Weaving in the movie), a superhero via Abbie Hoffman, wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and a gift for blowing up symbols of London. He is aided by Evey (Natalie Portman in the film), a young woman whose parents were political radicals murdered by the State. Is V. a terrorist or a revolutionary and is there a difference? Do the ends justify the means? For V.’s creators the answer to this last question is yes. With more dialogue than action, V for Vendetta was not a comic I expected to be adapted into a giant Hollywood motion picture. Yet, via producer Joel Silver (Die Hard) and the writers the Wachowski Brothers (duh, The Matrix), the world now has a movie that is equal parts Batman and George Orwell.

I am surprised that the politics are still present even if it is in a far more simplistic (i.e.- easy) form. There are no shades of grey in the film. The villains are fanatics, rapists, child murderers, and fascists in black boots and uniforms straight out of a post WWII pulp novel. John Hurt who played Winston Smith in the 1980s version of 1984, is here cast as Big Brother and he screams every line of dialogue.

First time director James McTeigue oversells many moments. To show how bad the food is in prison, McTeigue has a rat refusing to eat from the plate! V.’s underground lair is complete with a piano, a TV, a jukebox with 300 songs, impressive artwork, and hundreds of books. Considering this is suppose to be a secret hideout in the abandon subways of London, one wonders how he was able to sneak in a piano or a jukebox. Not since the sixties pop classic Danger: Diabolik has a most wanted criminal had such a spread! The climax of the film involves thousands of Guy Fawkes masks being delivered all over London. This produces some amazing visuals, but it also raises questions of practicality (where were they made? How did V. get them to the post office?).

All of this sounds like complaints, and in most any other film, they would be, but V for Vendetta has unique charms. It boasts a strong visual style with striking set design. It has Hugo Weaving never once showing his face and ideally cast as V. It has Natalie Portman making up for sleepwalking through the Star Wars films. It has Stephen Rea as the detective trying to catch V. while wrestling with his own conscious. It has exciting sequences and even thought. It even has the cleverest Kiss Me Deadly reference since Pulp Fiction. However, the film does walk a line as its Matrix inspired trailer suggests. The film changes the comic to make it more like an action film. There is a climatic showdown with the worst of the villains and in slow motion no less. Despite the ending, action fans may be disappointed by the long middle section where hero and villain fight with words instead of bullets and throwing knives. Science fiction fans may be intrigued by the future presented, a world where the public have traded their freedom for security (any similarity to actual events is NOT purely coincidental!). These two sides of V for Vendetta do not always mix, but I was intrigued. For that reason, I recommend it faults and all.

8th Annual Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival

April 26 - April 30, 2006 Champaign, IL Ebert Fest website and This Year's Festival Lineup.

A Few notables "Ripley's Game" with John Malkovich in attendance and "Bad Santa" with director Terry Zwigoff. Should be another great year.

Breakfast With Sharks

"Breakfast with Sharks" is not a book about the craft of screenwriting. This is a book about the business of managing your screenwriting career, from advice on choosing an agent to tips on juggling three deal-making breakfasts a day. Prescriptive and useful, Breakfast with Sharks is a real guide to navigating the murky waters of the Hollywood system. And check out my past featured books at
Mark's Screenwriting Bookstore.

First Round Finalist

Well, I made the first round finalist in Scr(i)pt Magazine's Open Door Contest with "Peter Seven". Didn't make the top ten, but still not bad for a first time effort. Congrats to the top ten.

Crazy John's best of 2005

send comment and questions to John Dodd at jrd_73@yahoo.com

Various critics have called 2005 a good year for movies. For me, it was a year of needless remakes, double dipping DVD releases, and overrated art films. Mark asked if I would do a 10 best list for 2005, even if it is already February. There were not many contenders for these ten spots.

1 - GRIZZLY MAN (Werner Herzog)

The most fascinating film of the year was this documentary, which was robbed of an Oscar nomination. Timothy Treadwell lived with grizzly bears for thirteen years and then was killed by one. Was he a naive naturalist, an eccentric egotist, or just plain nuts? This is really a portrait of two unique individuals: Treadwell and director Herzog. "I believe the common denominator of the universe is not harmony but chaos, hostility, and murder."

2 - 2046 (Wong Kar-Wai)

His fans thought this was one of Wong’s best. Non-fans were disappointed. The visuals are gorgeous as always. The character of the Lothario who can only find love in a dream is haunting in a way Wong’s last few films were not. The film played most everywhere else in the world in 2004. I saw it in 2004 via an import DVD (and called it one of the best of 2004). Nonetheless, I am placing this on my 10 best list for 2005; if I have to, I’ll put it on the 2006 list as well.

3 - WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

(Steve Box and Nick Park)

"Beware the Moon!"

4 - SIN CITY (Robert Rodriguez

w/ Frank Miller and

Quentin Tarantino)

After 2046, the most visually striking film of the year and one of the most faithful adaptations of a comicbook(s) to date.

5 - SERENITY (Joss Whedon)

Since I had never seen any of the Firefly TV series, expectations were low. I came away with the most entertaining, best realized, piece of space opera in a long time. Serenity kicks the galactic ass of Star Wars Episode Three.

6 - TRILOGY - THE WEEPING MEADOW (Theo Angelopoulos)

Hated by almost everyone else and clearly not up to the controversial auter’s best, this was my favorite true art (with a capital A) film of the year. I will never forget the sight of the herd of sheep hanging from a tree. The tracking shot through a distressed wedding party, making for a living canvas, is another keeper.

7 - THE DEVIL’S REJECTS (Rob Zombie)

The best nihilistic, completely unredeemable, Southern fried horror film since the 1970s ended and Sid Haig deserves an Oscar. "Why don’t you like clowns? Don’t we make you laugh?"

8 - MILLIONS (Danny Boyle)

Who would have thought that Danny Boyle’s best film would have neither zombies nor heroin addicts in it? Instead, the focus is on two British kids who lost a mother and ended up with millions in pounds just weeks before the country’s conversion to the euro. Cheers to Boyle for consistently wrestling with ideas and keeping a dark edge throughout, no matter how whimsical the film becomes.

9 - BROKEN FLOWERS (Jim Jarmusch)

For Bill Murray. . . and the best Vladimir Nabokov reference in some time.

10 - NO DIRECTION HOME - BOB DYLAN (Martin Scorsese)

One of my favorite living directors and one of my favorite musicians meet for an always interesting documentary. Better than either The Last Waltz or Don’t Look Back.

Three art movies, two documentaries, two family oriented movies, a comic book adaptation, an escapist sci-fi fantasy, and a grueling horror film, I will give 2005 credit for its variety of good films. They almost forgive the rest. Here is another list, not the worst films of the year but the most overrated, films that produced indifference (which some might argue is worse than being actively bad).

Crash - Alright, this is a good film.

I liked it. . . but the well-meaning quality was dished up so heavily that I almost choked. John Sayles did it better ten years ago in City of Hope.

Land of the Dead -

It wasn’t bad, but all of us horror fans waited twenty years for that?

Good Night and Good Luck -

David Strathairn captured Murrow and as a history lesson, the film makes its point. So what was with the bizarre decision to have a lengthy secondary plot with the two least interesting characters (Robert Downey Jr. and Patricia Clarkson)?

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride -

A far cry from A Nightmare Before Christmas.

Star Wars - Episode 3 -

It was better than the last two films, but is that saying much?

Jarhead -

It may not have always been set during the first Gulf War, but I have watched this story many times before.

Me, You, and Everyone We Know -

Annoyingly quirky characters meet and fall in love.

The Constant Gardener - A dull love story and a heavy handed political tract masquerading as a thriller.

The New World -

Lots of pretty pictures and absolutely no drama, the whole Eden of unspoiled nature theme seemed kind-of silly. Sort of like Dances with Wolves all over again (that’s not a good thing).

A History of Violence -

The film I was most excited about turned out to be the one of the most tiresome. The futility of violence was shown much more powerfully back in 2003's Mystic River (a film which just missed my 10 best list that year but which would have been #3 had
it been released in ‘05). As dark thrillers go, the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke was far grittier.

Taken as a whole, these overpraised films, combined with the annoying audiences I saw many of them with (a problem getting worse each year), made me just want to stay home. Here is to 2006 being better!

S C R I P T A P A L O O Z A Inc.

S C R I P T A P A L O O Z A Inc.
www.scriptapalooza.com

We are accepting screenplays for the 8th Annual Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition

Supported by the WGA west Registry

First prize is $10,000 and screenwriting software for the top 30 winners from Write Brothers.
Regular deadline is March 3 and FINAL deadline is April 14

Over 70 production companies are reading all the entered scripts!
All thirteen winners will be considered by Scriptapalooza's outstanding participants;
A Band Apart, Samuel Goldwyn Films, HBO, Material, Disney and many more.

http://www.scriptapalooza.com
323.654.5809 office

Syd's Back

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting Revised Edition

A real gem on the craft of screenwriting, this third edition of Syd Field's preeminent book on screenwriting provides easily understood guidelines for writing a screenplay, from concept to finished product. Field makes the art of film writing accessible to novices and helps practiced writers improve their scripts, as he pinpoints stylistic and structural elements such as characterization and plot (and why the first ten pages are crucial).

This masterful book provides tips and techniques on screenplay format; collaborations; adaptations; what to do after your screenplay is written and more. The highly-regarded scripts of Chinatown and Silver Streak are used to illustrate concepts.

"Syd Field is the preeminent analyzer in the study of American screenplays." -- James L. Brooks, Academy Award-winning writer, director, producer.

A few Screenwriting Resources

Hollywood Creative Directory -Producers #56

The Hollywood Creative Directory, known as “the bible of the film and television industry,” has been the authoritative source of information for and about entertainment industry professionals for fifteen years. The comprehensive listings include addresses, phone and fax numbers, emails and Web sites, staff names and titles, and select television and film credits.
The Hollywood Creative Directories, including the flagship publication, PRODUCERS, can be found on the desk of every studio executive, director, producer, writer, and actor in the entertainment industry, as well as in college and university libraries.



Spec Screenplay Sales Directory - 2004 Deluxe Edition Vol. 7

The Spec Screenplay Sales Directory 2004 Deluxe Edition contains more than six years of sales. This one-of-a-kind book, written up in the L.A. Times in August 1997, contains an A-Z listing of screenplays that includes: title, 2-3 sentence logline (storyline), genre, agent, producer, date-of-sale, purchase price, buyer, lawyer and more. Information is cross-referenced six ways for easy access. Discover what Hollywood is buying, which agents and agencies are handling sales (many from first-time writers), contacts at the studios and production companies, how much money to expect from your sale, which lawyers are negotiating deals and lots more.




The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters

Author Karl Iglesias, Hollywood story analyst and development executive, personally interviewed these top contemporary scribes to learn their hints, tips, and advice for making it as a screenwriter. In The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters, you’ll learn how to make the greatest impact with a screenplay, using pacing, dialogue, and character development. You’ll also follow each writer through a typical “day in the life,” sharing eye-opening experiences that will amaze, amuse, and ultimately, inspire you.

Early Batman Poster?

Hopefully a Joker like Alan Moore's "The Killing Joke"?

Well, it's a fan poster. But cool though.

Hostel Captures Box Office

To the the tune of $19.5 million. Not to surprised. Had a huge amount of buzz going for it. And maybe a tad of originality (for Hollywood anyway), a new hook after all the tired horror cliches. I did see one report where the public thought Quentin Tarantino directed it and his name probably helped the buzz a bit. Anyway, congrats Eli.

Hostel

Eli Roth's Evil Excursions talks about the influences on the movie.

Return of the Camaro

Looks sweet. About frickin time.

Titles

I'm running a little experiment. I have a poll off to the side to see which one of my screenplays sounds like a movie, you, the movie audience would be interested in seeing just based on the title.

Thanks for playing along.

Mark

Happy New Year!

Here's hoping all the screenwriting bloggers out there much luck in the new year. The best thing about the new year is getting another start on that project you shelved mid year or starting a completely new story.

It would be nice to keep a running count on the progress we make out here on the net. Again Happy New year and much like to the the screenwriting bloggers out there in the scribe.

Speaking of progress, Eli Roth has his own weblog about the movie "Hostel," one of the most anticipated horror movies in a long time. And with a little help from Quentin Tarantino, it should a big box office draw. The website is something to see in its own right.

Screenwriters Showcase + Discount

We would like to offer your readers a discount admission price of $125 (reg $149) good until Jan 31st for admission to our Scriptwriters Showcase.

For more info on the event, featuring only working screenwriters as panelists, please visit:
http://www.scriptwritersshowcase.com


Scriptwriters Showcase: Learn From Those Who Write

April 7 - 9, 2005

Universal Studios Sheraton

Final Draft and scr(i)pt magazine present a one-of-a-kind scriptwriting and creative development industry conference, marketplace and job fair. Panels featuring A-list screenwriters, agents, managers, producers and development executives will examine the craft and business of scriptwriting for film, television and interactive media. Don’t miss this unprecedented opportunity to learn from the professionals who drive the entertainment industry.

Join us at Universal Studios in the heart of the entertainment community for this gathering of professionals dedicated to promoting the art and business of scriptwriting.

Space is limited! To register: http://www.scriptwritersshowcase.com
Use Discount Code MABL06 to receive your discount.

Crazy John's "King Kong" Review

My friend Crazy John gives his take on KONG.

King Kong (2005)

Review by John Dodd (jrd_73@yahoo.com)

Dir: Peter Jackson

(with notes on two other versions)

Kong and I go way back. When I was a child in the late 1970s/early 80s, I had a King Kong raincoat, part of the 1976 promotion that had been discounted over the years until my parents took advantage of some closeout sale. Being way too young to go to the film when it was released (or even to know it existed), King Kong 76 was not caught until it played network television some years later. I remember grooving to the snake and subway scenes but finding the film too slow and made even slower by the commercial interruptions. A viewer had to wait more than a whole hour to see the ape. What horror!!!!

The 1933 King Kong took longer to view. As a pre-teen, I remember reading film monster books and looking at the photos of Kong fighting the bat, but the film was not available at the local video store. Sad to say, once I got to be a teenager, I would watch an old film only if that was all there was to watch. I had other, gorier fish to fillet besides a fifty-five year-old monster movie. Finally, in the late 90s, I watched the original King Kong.

By comparison, this year’s King Kong was watched on opening day. I took off work just to be able to watch the first showing. Sure I had a few misgivings. The film was three hours, an indulgent running time for a monkey movie. It seemed odd for director Peter Jackson to want to remake his favorite film (I wouldn’t want to remake Dr. Strangelove or Ikiru or The Wild Bunch). Still, if any director could give King Kong 1933 a rival it would be Peter Jackson.

What I watched was a thrilling, well done, if overlong, adventure film. Kong 2005 is a film that wants to please. Instead of Kong fighting one t-rex, he fights three at once. Instead, of the would-be rescuers swimming from a herd of brontosaurs, they are caught in a wild brontosaurus stampede! The boat landing scene has giant waves, a rock wall, and many close calls. Jackson even gives the viewer a variation on the legendary, lost spider sequence from the original King Kong. Jackson is a showman worthy of Carl Denham himself.

Having said that, King Kong 2005 is not a great movie. By having a running time over three hours long, the star does not get his first close-up until well over an hour. Certain scenes (like the romance between Ann Darow and Jack Discoll - Watts/Brody) drag on. Hey, this is a film about a giant ape. The audience does not need relationships between crew members. We are all paying for the big monkey, bring him on.

Running time aside, there was at least one wink wink allusion to the first King Kong which produced a groan ("Faye is shooting a picture at RKO with Cooper"). Also, and there is no getting around this, computer FX cannot rival stop motion for this viewer. Kong moves perfectly, but many of the dinosaur scenes, as good as they are, look like twelve year-old left overs from Jurassic Park.

What Jackson does do brilliantly is the end. The New York of this King Kong is an amazing creation. The Empire State Building sequence provides an amazing view of a recreated 1930s city, a world that seems as real and as tangible as our own. The aerial footage squeezes the viewer’s emotion. We are in the planes circling Kong and feel the rush and the horror of the action. This sequence is amazing. It ends King Kong 2005 on a high note. Yet, this Kong is not the *real* Kong.

Time has not been kind to the 1976 King Kong directed by John Guillermin. I had remembered from my youth liking this Dino De Laurentiis production. Due largely to Jackson’s remake, it is now out on DVD. While I do not think the film is as bad as everyone but Dino says, it certainly can not be called good. Jessica Lange gives either an awful performance or has a very thankless role. The snake now looks like a contender for film history’s fakest looking reptile (and there is quite a competition in that category). Yet, the biggest fault was the decision to use a man-in-a-suit after over a dozen Godzilla movies. This Kong is not even a good man-in-a-suit, not much better than the one in Mighty Peking Man, the cheap-O, Hong Kong ripoff of King Kong 76. The film even highlights its fault with the very unwise line, "Who the hell do you think went through there, some guy in an ape suit?"

The King Kong of 1933 (made by explorers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack) remains the best version of this story because it creates one of the most memorable characters in film. Kong lives, breathes, and dies before our eyes. He dies with a gesture of confusion as if to say how did I get here. We feel the pain of a stranger in a strangeland, the last of a dying breed killed by the modern age (and love). This is not a man-in-a-suit, but a character more real than the ones played by Robert Armstrong and Faye Wray. To his credit Jackson in 2005's King Kong does strive to make a character, but this Kong does not have the life, the style of the Kong of 33. When Kong 33 played with the carcass of the tyrannosaurus, there was genuine curiosity on his face. When Jackson’s Kong does it, the end result feels more like homage. I have met more than one who claims the 1933 King Kong as the best film he/she has ever seen. My grandfather was one of these. If he was still living, I would take him to Jackson’s King Kong. He probably would have liked it, but I’m also sure he would have said, "That’s not King Kong."

Jackson’s greatest achievement for the true King Kong is to help with the release of the DVD. This two-disk set, which among other extras recreates the lost spider scene, is a must buy for all Kong fans. Many will spend $5-10 to watch Jackson’s Kong. It is money well spent, but an even better buy is the $20-25 DVD of the 1933 King Kong.

Happy Birthday to Me

33 years ago today in a galaxy far far away, actually Illinois, but close enough.

Few Contest reminders.

Two Additional Weeks

The AAA Contest deadline has been extended to December 15th.
That's just two weeks away!

To submit your screenplay right now, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/step1.php

Call for Entries!

Breaking into the world of screenwriting is no easy task. Creative Screenwriting magazine is proud to sponsor the AAA Screenplay Contest, a chance for a few talented writers to take the next step in their writing career.

http://horrorscreenplaycompetition.com

Only 7 days left until the Ferryman crosses the river Styx and your
chance of becoming the next big thing in horror dies forever. Don't miss
the boat.

You could miss the chance to win the only screenplay competition solely
dedicated to the horror genre... your genre.

By now, you're probably hard at work tweaking the screams and scares of
your script.

Please remember, all entries must be postmarked by December 9, 2005 to
be eligible.

--
Horror Screenplay Competition
1028 12th Street #8
Santa Monica, CA 90403
http://horrorscreenplaycompetition.com

OPEN DOOR CONTEST

BENDERSPINK SPONSORS OPEN DOOR CONTEST

New Online Entry Now Available!
https://www.scriptmagstore.com/opendoor-order.php

Open Door Contest Deadline: December 1, 2005
scr(i)pt magazine's Open Door Contest sponsored by BENDERSPINK.

The first-place winner of this contest receives $3,000 CASH,
consideration for
literary representation by BENDERSPINK, screenwriting software provided
by
Final Draft, a $200 gift certificate from The Writers Store, a free
class from
ActionCut Seminars, promotions from Inktip.com and
SoYouWannaSellAScript.com,
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Entry Fee: $45

For more information and to enter online visit:
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About the Sponsor: BENDERSPINK is a diversified management/production
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specializing in initiating and managing the careers of screenwriters,
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With a first-look deal at New Line Cinema since July 1999, the company
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GUY WALKS INTO A BAR FIRST-ROUND FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

The first-round finalists for the Thrills & Chills Contest sponsored by
Guy
Walks Into a Bar are in. scr(i)pt magazine and Guy Walks Into a Bar
would like
to thank all who entered and congratulate the second-round finalists
below:

The second-round Finalists are:
(In No Particular Order)
Jeff Wolverton for Sherlock & Jack, a thriller
Deborah Oversen, for Another Side of Evil, a suspense/thriller
Robert Bridge for Sacrificed, a thriller
Patrick Bates for Ichabod, a horror
Michael Hultquist for Victim, a psychological horror
Tyler Jensen for The Wolves of Brighton, a horror/sci-fi
Rachelle Reinhart for Point of Entry, a suspense/thriller
Carolyn Haywood for Tears for The Innocent, a gothic thriller
Stephen Smith for Sleepwalkers, a supernatural/thriller
Eugene James for Lion's Share, a crime/thriller


The top-three finalists will be announced in early December 2005.

For more information visit:
http://www.scriptmag.com/contests/current_contest.php

Writing is hard . . .

Writing is hard and procrastination is easy. If you think about it, I'm sure some of you or may even have friends who talk about writing more than actually doing it. When I'm working on a screenplay, I try and write at least three pages a day. So, after a month, you're roughly around ninety pages. But any writing is better than no writing at all. And most of all writing is fun and do it for yourself.

Have a Great Thanksgiving.

Jarhead

Great Book. Looking forward to seeing the movie.