Saw the following on the site of screenwriter John August (Go, Corpse Bride, and others). I’m a regular practitioner of index cards/post-its when breaking a story, and he makes some good points.
Keep it short. Maximum seven words per card.
A card represents a story point, be it a scene or a sequence. You don’t need a card for every little thing.
Keep cards general enough that they can be rearranged. (“Battle in swamp” rather than “Final showdown”)
Horizontal (a table or counter) often works better than a vertical (a corkboard).
Post-It notes make good alternative index cards.
Consider a letter code for which characters are featured in the sequence. Helpful for figuring out who’s missing.
Most movies can be summarized in less than 50 cards.
Cards are cheap. Don’t hesitate to rework them.
Consider a second color for action sequences. Helps show the pacing.
Write big. You want to be able to read them from a distance.
The Academy Award nominations came out today. Oddly enough, not much excites or infuriates me. Surprised that films like Nine, Invictus, and - my god - The Blind Side scored noms, considering the critical beatings they all suffered. Pleased that District 9, A Serious Man, and Fantastic Mr. Fox got nods. Oh, yes, and thrilled that Up was nominated both for Best Picture and Best Animated Feature.
I suppose it’s worth acknowledging the the number of nominations for science fiction films. Just guessing, but I suspect it’s the most ever. Can’t say I’m rooting for Avatar in anything other than visual effects - for which its victory is a given. I despised Star Trek - and its nomination for Best Makeup has me puzzled - but glad to see it represented with its genre companions.
Will likely watch the show for the first time in a couple years.
Very pleased that AMC has officially greenlit the pilot for The Walking Dead. Here’s the news from Variety:
“The Walking Dead” is based on the graphic novel series about survivors of a zombie apocalypse by Robert Kirkman. Frank Darabont penned the adaptation and is onboard to direct. Gale Anne Hurd of Valhalla Motion Pictures and David Alpert of Circle of Confusion will exec produce with Darabont.
“The Walking Dead” revolves around a group of survivors, led by a police officer, who travel the country in search of a safe home.
Working with people like Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd is the right way in for us to deliver a project of distinction in this genre,” AMC prexy Charlie Collier said.
I’ve been an avid reader of this series for quite some time. Its strength resides in the human characters, their interactions, and how an undead apocalypse really might affect “normal” people. And with the deep pool of talent that is Frank Darabont at the helm, this should be a fantastic series.
Beginning February 1st, I shall be teaching Writing for Comics at the Academy of Art University here in San Francisco. I’ve subbed for the course a couple times in the past, so this should be a blast. Really looking forward to inspiring and terrifying young minds.
The still-as-yet-untitled 2010 Anthology is coming together nicely. I’m on track to have it all assembled and off to the printer by the end of the month. Plus, my Wondercon table has been confirmed for that first weekend of April. Can’t recall the table number. Will post it later.
I have a lead on a production company that is in the market for a screenplay on a very specific subject matter, one that I actually wrote a couple years back. I’ll be contacting them later today and we’ll see. Either way, I’ll post what I find out.
The Writers’ Guild of America announced its nominees for 2009, and some of it is just plain out there. Nevermind that certain films - Inglourious Basterds and Up among them - were ineligible, owing to strict WGA rules. Avatar for Original Screenplay? The dialogue is alternately flat and ham-fisted, while the plot itself is mocked in all circles as a retread of everything from Dances With Wolves to Pocahontas. At least they had the decency to call Star Trek an Adapted Screenplay - “based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry”. Wait…. Star Trek? Yep. Got the nom. Even the people that like the film freely admit that the dialogue and many of the ideas - Red Matter? Really? - amount to shite. What about District 9, whose smart storytelling made it a sleeper hit? Yeah, it’s one of those ineligible titles. All of that said, I applaud most of the other nominees…. (500) Days of Summer, Up in the Air, The Hangover, and A Serious Man were among the best films of the year. I have yet to see some of the other nominees - The Hurt Locker and Crazy Heart are on my short list.
I believe this made it on my list of favorite films. Love Actually is one of those movies that just clicks with me, despite the seeming contradictions associated with a guy who writes about zombies, crooked cops, and the end of the world. I was just in a deli wherein the radio was playing “Wherever You Will Go” - a song that I would otherwise castrate as a sub-par Matchbox 20 ditty (the band is apparently called The Calling) - and I immediately recollected its inclusion in the film. If I should ever find myself back in the position of writing an ensemble rom-com, Love Actually will certainly be my template. Additionally, as I’ve said before, each of the storylines included in the picture could’ve been individual films in their own right. Ergo, if I don’t go the ensemble route, perhaps I’ll just steal one of those.
As much as I might wish to have some sort of year/decade ten-best list(s) to add to the gaggles of others around the net, something nice and neat just isn’t boiling to the surface. Most folks that I’ve spoken with or whose posts I’ve read seem to have held 2009 in disdain, many of them for very valid reasons. Some, I’m happy to report, faired better than others, welcoming family additions, finding love, and/or simply solidifying their place in the universe, if you’ll permit a bit of hyperbole on this occasion. My own feelings on the year/decade are decidedly mixed.
Ten years ago today, I hunkered down with my then closest friends and spent December 31, 1999 in a rather lavish bed-and-breakfast guest house on a farm in Northern California. We did this partly for fun, but also partly out of fear - that the Y2K concerns were valid and justified. Looking back, it might all seem a bit silly. Such is the power of hindsight. At the time, there wasn’t so much a sense of concern amongst us as there was a great breath of relief - when midnight struck in the timezones before us and all was right with the world.
Here today I sit and - for a moment - look back on the intervening ten years. Those friends? We don’t speak anymore. I’ve loved and lost on four distinct occasions, though the first was a hold-over from the ’90’s. (Does that really have to count?) I’ve built dozens more friendships, mostly with artists of every medium. I wrote, directed, and produced two feature-length films. I wrote around a half-dozen screenplays. I signed the contract for - and then wrote - the 90+ page Wavelength graphic novel. I discovered meditation and magic. I entered my own personal comic book renaissance, courtesy of one Chris DeJong. I lost my last grandparent - grandmother on my mother’s side. I lost my father just over three years ago.
The aughts were a tough decade. The best and worst years of my life are thus far found therein. And while I don’t rush to burn the calendar of 2009, I can’t say I’m overly sorry to see the decade go. As with the onset of the year 2000, the decade that begins with 2010 fills me with a sense of hope and wonder. Many things will come and go. There will be joy and sadness. It’s up to us to rush in and claim them all. We’re all shepherds.
I’ve been a bit dark and under the radar on here for a few weeks. I’d apologize - if not for the fact that I’ve been neck deep in actual writing. The big accomplishment? The Wavelength script is complete and gone to mein editor.
Additionally, I’ve seen some of the early art coming in for next spring’s still untitled anthology - and it all looks outstanding. These guys are all doing top-notch work in a variety of styles. I’ll post some of it in a couple weeks.
There are also a couple of announcements on the horizon. Expect to hear me chime in about those soon.
Working on the final two-thirds of Wavelength. Enjoying both the process and the product. Check with me in a couple weeks and see if I feel the same.
Saw the first rough pages for one of the stories to be included in the still untitled 2010 comic anthology. Made me laugh out loud – and that’s a great thing. Trust me. When you see this particular tale, you’ll never look at cows the same way again.
Have a meeting tomorrow to discuss the possibility of yet another project. No, my plate is never full.
Oh, and of course there’s even another possibility out there that I can’t talk about as yet. Let’s just say that if it comes to fruition, it will be an on-going gig with a captive audience.
Arguably the greatest children’s cartoon to come along in a long time. Also, serves as an excellent primer to all things Lovecraft. Feast your eyes and be damned….
...is the writer and director of the feature length films Fools of the Game and Medium Gray, which screened in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival.
...has written in nearly every genre: Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Western, etc.
...is currently writing five screenplays - four horror and one fantasy adventure - and a one-shot comic anthology.
