Feminist Script Doctoring via #Twitter @femscriptintros

The Jane Test – #Feminist Script Doctoring via #Twitter @femscriptintros

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When I started writing screenplays, one of the first rules I learned about was the Bechdel test. It’s not something you have to follow if your screenplay is going to work, structurally speaking, but if you have any interest in making your female characters as strong and compelling as everyone else, it should be taken into account. Basically, it’s framed around these two questions:

Are there at least two female characters in your script?

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Do at least two of them have at least one conversation that isn’t about a man?

If the answer to both of those is yes, you’re golden. Sometimes it’s not applicable, your film might only have 4 characters and they might all be male, say because it’s set in a prison and never leaves the confines of a single cell, but in many cases there’s no excusing it. It can be applied to mediums other than film, but film tends to receive the most scrutiny for poorly formed gender politics. You’d be surprised how many films don’t pass, even in this day and age. The latest Coen brothers film,Hail, Caesar!, for instance, does not pass, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, despite having a female protagonist, only just scraped through.

Is it essential to make sure all fiction has equal representation? No. Is it important to break out of old, outdated patterns? Yes. Which is why the Bechdel test has a new sibling – the Jane test, and for this one, Twitter is the proving ground. It’s hard to say how many screenwriters actually apply the Bechdel test on their work, but through the @femscriptintros Twitter, writers are being encouraged to apply the Jane test during the drafting process, and it’s catching on big time.

It works like this – take a female character’s intro sequence and compare it against the ones that are posted on @femscriptintros. All the ones they post are from real screenplays, all the names are changed to Jane and each intro is metered out in 140 character chunks. It’s run by producer Ross Putman, who obviously has access to a huge litany of scripts. The results are rather alarming – they are nearly always appearance focused and within the 20-30 age range. What this reflects, above and beyond all else, is that a lot of scripts are written with either casting, sex appeal or both at the forefront of the consideration, consciously or otherwise. That is not OK.

The page has caught the attention of a number of Hollywood screenwriters, some of whom have pledged to rethink the way they write women and girls as a result, having been through their old scripts and realised that they weren’t up to snuff. Gary Whitta, for instance, was critical of his character writing for The Book of Eli and After Earth, but optimistic about his more recent work, which bodes well for Rogue One, the Star Wars spinoff he’s currently working on.

Reading through the feed, the most important thing to take away is this: character traits are the thing writers should be establishing early on. With film, what they look like might not necessarily truly come into play until later, during casting and development, unless it’s an adaptation, in which case you already know, so there’s no need to lean on it. For male characters, this is often a given, so there’s no reason it shouldn’t be the same story when there’s no Y chromosome involved.

This isn’t the first time a social media page has been used to highlight the prejudices in modern cinema. Last year, Welcome to Nightvale‘s Dylan Marron started a YouTube and Tumblr channel devoted to editing down Hollywood films so that the only dialogue left was spoken by people of colour. The results were shocking, Titanic clocks in at 54 seconds, American Hustle lasts 42, Midnight in Paris goes for 10 seconds and Noah and Into the Woods shoot straight from title to end credits.

Should people be cast purely based on increasing diversity? No, but the general standard of casting in Hollywood in particular is unfairly weighted toward white men (and white women, so long as they’re pretty). Somebody has to do something to buck that trend, and the best way to gain momentum is to make these criticisms public.

DON’T WRITE A SCREENPLAY IN GHANA.

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If you don’t mind living with your parents and siblings in one house, fighting with other passengers for trotro seats, borrowing from friends and never being able to pay back, having very little or nothing in your bank account, then being a screenwriter in Ghana is one of the many jobs for you.

I know how great every aspiring screenwriter thinks it will feel to have viewers queued up at the cinemas, tickets sold out, red carpets laid with celebrities walking in to sit through a movie he or she wrote.

And I know how frustrating it is the day after the premiere. Waking up to nothing in your name with respect to the movie. Having nothing to show for it, being paid very little close to nothing because you remember the producer bargained with tears, sweat and blood making you believe it was a low budget film and it just hits you as a screenwriter that you’ve been abused. Relax, there’s nothing you can do, there are hundreds of screenwriters like you out there who will sell a tooth to get a producer to work on their script. To them, it feels like the producer is doing them a favor and most producers believe so too. And a producer will gladly grab their scripts when you demand to be paid what you deserve, and the cycle continues. Putting this paragraph in a sentence; “someone will gladly jump at 2cedis for a 100cedis work”.

I wrote this blog immediately I ended a call with one producer who offered to pay 2000cedis for a script, and he acted like I just read a Bible in Mosque unannounced when I turned it down. In his mind, that is good money for a screenwriter who isn’t big and probably thought of the number of things I could be doing with 2000cedis – the truth is there are no much big screenwriters in Ghana as it stands. I can only mention about five of which most double as Directors. I have had instances where I just have to laugh out when some producers mention an offer they have for me. I laugh not because it’s funny but to keep me from getting angry. It’s quite disrespectful but they don’t think so. And just when you think it’s a bad joke, they hit you up again with the same proposal hoping the few hundreds of cedis they added will make the joke funny. And just last year, one proposed to pay me 500cedis for a script which I felt was a bad joke until a friend of mine called to help him bargain. I am a screenwriter. That isn’t what I do full time but I pray and hope for a day I can fully depend on the money I make from screenwriting. A day my friends who are Lawyers, Doctors and Engineers wouldn’t think Screenwriter is a beautiful word coined by writers for unemployment.

Screenwriting is arguably the most important part of filmmaking and it also is the most overlooked part of filmmaking; in Ghana. The script is the backbone of every film without which there can’t be any. Only a few movie producers in this country understand this and before the rest wake from this slumber of ignorance, they will repeatedly pay directors to yell; “camera rolling, sound, light, action” shooting nothing.

It is pretty depressing being a screenwriter in a country where producers don’t include screenwriters in their budgets. Most producers will shamelessly tell you they are paying you from their own account and I’m sure they feel it’s award winning – No writer cares where the money is coming from.

Basically what producers are offering to pay a screenwriter doesn’t even cut to be on their budget. And those with budgets are quick to tell you; “it’s a low budget production and I have no sponsors”. No screenwriter should fall for this excuse. What these producers refuse to acknowledge is that; a screenwriter shouldn’t be affected no matter how big or small a producer’s budget is. Screenwriters should be paid for their work’s worth. If your production is low budget, you should get a “low budget” writer who will meet your standard if there is any.

Mostly when people think of movies, the only people who come to mind are the actors and producers. They walk down the red carpet at movie premieres with all the glitz and glamour, forcing smiles for the cameras. No one cares about when the movie was just a blank page. I’m not saying screenwriters should be recognized on the red carpets at premieres and other events. All I am asking is for screenwriters to be paid well. If it comes with the fame, the better.

I had a chat with one movie producer in Ghana and the only thing I remember after three hours of sitting in an expensive restaurant over overly priced cocktail was; “There are no screenwriters in Ghana”. I almost choked on whatever I was sipping and interpreted her sentence to; “I have no reason to pay a screenwriter. It’s just writing”.  

It is either you write for free or get paid your work’s worth. There’s no in between in this field. You are not expensive, it’s either they can’t afford you or don’t think you deserve what you priced. Just like in every field, you can only get your money’s worth of service or value. You get what you pay for.

Never forget; THEY CAN’T DO WITHOUT YOU. THEY NEED YOU.

Martial Law Screenwriter Found Dead With Wife and 5-year-old Daughter

FEMA Camp, Martial Law Screenwriter Found Dead With Wife and 5-year-old Daughter in Apparent “Murder-Suicide

The screenwriter for a movie about the totalitarian takeover of our nation, 29-year old Army veteran David Crowley, along with his wife and 5-year-old daughter were found dead this past Sunday morning in their Minnesota home in an apparent murder-suicide.

The film, which has yet to be finished, was called Gray State and featured controversial topics such asFEMA camps, martial law and RFID chips.

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Here’s one story the mainstream media would want you to forget…

Currently looking at the case is the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office are the Apple Valley Police Department with the investigation.

Investigators have confirmed that they are treating the deaths as ‘suspicious’.

Twin Cities director and filmmaker Paul von Stoetzel stated of  David Crowley “He’s been one of my best friends since high school.” Von Stoetzel also stated that the couple had a “great marriage.”

One of the actors in a trailer for Gray State, Charles Hubbell, described Crowley as level-headed and destined to succeed.

“He seemed more grounded and focused than would lend itself to anything chaotic,” Hubbell said. “The entire time I worked with him there was nothing aggressive or chaotic or strange or abnormal. He was one of the ones I was hanging my hat on, one who was going to succeed.”

Would this man, a well-respected and seemingly grounded person with a great marriage who had been working on a film for years to expose the incoming communist regime really suddenly snap and kill his family and himself?

Conspiracy theorists would certainly say no. And, if they are right, it is likely that Crowley was not only silenced for his attempt to warn others on the impending  totalitarian takeover of our nation, but he was also made an example out of by the psychopaths bringing in this brutal oppression who would seem to want to say “Mess with us and we will take out your entire family.”

There are plenty of others just like Crowley out there, if we start to see more suspicious deaths, that message may become loud and clear.

 

Screenwriter John McNamara on his Oscar-nominated film

Why ‘Trumbo’ is actually a thriller: Screenwriter John McNamara on his Oscar-nominated film and Hollywood history

 

Bryan Cranston plays blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in “Trumbo.”HILARY BRONWYN GAYLE

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Of all the movies nominated for an Oscar this year, the one that best fits our show at Musso & Frank for lunch with martinis and vichyssoise is “Trumbo,” starring Bryan Cranston as the blacklisted screenwriter. He’s been nominated for an Oscar for best actor; his words are by John McNamara, who also produced the film.

McNamara has also been a writer and producer on TV shows including “Aquarius,” “The Fugitive” and “Lois and Clark” — as well as “Revenge of the Nerd” on the CBS Afternoon Playhouse in 1983.

ON DALTON TRUMBO’S HISTORY AT MUSSO & FRANK

I think there’s credible documentation that he did [dine here]. He lived not that far away — several times in his career he was within shouting or cabbing distance. And he was a raconteur, a bon vivant, a boulevardier, so he liked all the places. He liked Ciro’s, and he liked Perino’s. He was known to like to have a cocktail or two.

ON SHARING A CORNER BOOTH IN A PLACE WHERE TRUMBO ONCE WORKED

I started coming here, I think, the very first week I moved to Los Angeles, which was 1984. And I remember just enjoying the ambiance then — you can just sort of feel in the walls, the booths and the waiters. In fact, a friend of mine later said, “the nice thing about Musso and Frank is the waiters who are rude to you were rude to F. Scott Fitzgerald.”

ON WHETHER “TRUMBO” IS A BIOPIC

I don’t think it really is, because it really begins and ends with this battle. I think a biopic sort of starts with a crying baby in a hospital and it has a kind of a “David Copperfield” sort of sweep of childhood to teen years. It’ll take you through the whole of someone’s life who may have done one or two interesting things.

I mean, I sort of structured it more like a thriller, even though it may not have ultimately ended up that way on screen. The structuring and laying out of the plot at the early stages of writing it, I thought, “I can’t really begin the story until the antagonist appears,” and of course the antagonist is HUAC (the House Un-American Activities Committee). So they appear very early in the movie, and by the time they’re disassembled more or less, the movie is over.

ON RESEARCHING THE SCRIPT AND THE VALUE OF TALKING WITH DALTON TRUMBO’S SURVIVING RELATIVES

All the detail of his moods, his language, his behavior, his habits — like the fact that he wrote in the bathtub later in his career because he had a bad back. I never knew why he wrote in the bathtub, and it was because of this terrible pain he was having from years of writing. Which I could very much understand, having developed a sort of bad back myself.

The fact that you think he chain smoked this much, but he really chain smoked more than you could possibly imagine.

He was such a lover of freedom, of dissent and of debate and discord, but not in his home. He did not like the idea that his oldest daughter, who is the most like him, stood up to him. And it was her memories that really formed the core of that relationship with Elle Fanning and Bryan Cranston in that movie.

ON WHETHER ACADEMY MEMBERS KNEW TRUMBO WAS THE REAL AUTHOR BEHIND HIS OSCAR-WINNING SCREENPLAYS

I think it was a kind of process of whispers. I think that they had no idea that Ian Hunter wrote “Roman Holiday,” and he was the first Oscar winner to use his name only. But by the time you get to Robert Rich, a huge portion of the voting Academy knew and were sending a message — that this is ridiculous. I think it’s a very good movie, and it was deserving of the award, but I think there was also a political message behind it by the left.

Jeremy Lin has a new movie coming out this week.

Jeremy Lin has a new movie coming out this week.

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But don’t get too excited, basketball fans. The film isn’t about Linsanity, nor does it have to do anything with the Houston Rockets star. Instead, a 17-year-old Hong Kong student, who shares the NBA player’s name, has turned his own screenplay into a movie, produced by a film studio in Los Angeles.

“Senior Project” is a teen comedy based on a story that could take place in any high school. It begins with five high school students who don’t get along with one another but have to work together to finish a senior project in order to graduate. Not too surprisingly, the kids don’t do anything until the last few days, and the movie focuses on how they cram the year-long project into a single weekend.

Mr. Lin finished the script in February 2013, at the age of 16. With the help of Fabienne Wen, an L.A.-based producer and screenwriter who happened to visit his school in Hong Kong, he raised more than $250,000 in a Kickstarter crowd-fundraising campaign to go towards the cost of making the film. It makes its premiere Friday at a charity event in Hong Kong, and will be released online Saturday.

The teen scriptwriter recently spoke with the Journal about making the movie, sharing a name with Jeremy Lin, and how he persuaded a Cantopop star to become his executive producer. Edited excerpts:

How did your script get made into a movie?

I met my producer Fabienne Wen in November 2012, and I got a lot of encouragement and help from her and my film teacher and my peers. Through that, the script improved a little bit over time. It got to a point where my producer got really, really excited: “OK, I’m sure someone is gonna make this into movie.” So she went out, and I don’t know what she did and now it’s like a co-production.

Jeremy Lin: ‘I didn’t expect anything out of it. I just did it.’

Joyu Wang/The Wall Street Journal

How did you and your producer meet?

At my old school, she was my film teacher’s friend. So she came in to workshop a script she already had—she wanted to have a younger audience’s input on it because we were film students. My film teacher thought it was a good idea for us to experience [this] and to help her. And I’m pretty sure we didn’t do anything productive to help her, but it gave me a chance to meet her.

What was your first movie-production experience like?

After writing the script, I had more involvement with the pre-production because it was before school started. So I was in [Los Angeles] and looked around while they worked.

Casting is so much fun. It was my biggest involvement. One of [the actors] is Kyle Massey and he plays Andy in the movie. He was on the Disney Channel for a long time. That was my childhood. So I was like, “Get him. He’s perfect for the part.” And then they got him and that was my suggestion. I was so happy.

Veteran Cantopop singer Alan Tam was involved in the movie, too.

He’s my executive producer. I was having dinner at the Jockey Club [in Hong Kong], and I overheard someone say Alan Tam was down there at the gym. And I was like, “Oh my God. I know him.” Through the window, you can look at the gym and I sent my brother down to check on him. Apparently he was coming up, so I just kind of waited while my brother did all the work. He showed up at a table nearby.

Once he sat down, he got comfortable, he had all of his food, nice and quiet. I ran over there and bothered him about what he thought of my script.

What was his reaction?

He was just very excited for me. He thought it was great that [I] had enthusiasm and was so young. He said if I hadn’t approached him like that he probably wouldn’t have bothered to talk to me. He is a really, really nice guy but he said because of this I got his attention. He has been able to help me a lot.

The movie begins with five high school students who don’t get along with one another but have to work together to finish a senior project in order to graduate.

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What’s your next plan?

I have no idea. That’s like my biggest fear, is people asking me—I have no idea what I’m gonna do in my life.

I have a couple of script ideas and I started one. I’ll need a deadline and feel the heat, and I’ll do it. Hopefully I can keep writing because l feel like [you need] to have more experience to be able to do anything.

What’s it been like sharing a name with the Houston Rockets star?

I kind of owe him everything. Like, my producer, after I first emailed her, she didn’t remember me at all. Why should she? When she saw my name, Jeremy Lin, she thought it was the basketball player. She read the email and turned out I wasn’t him – it was just a completely disappointment, like, “Who is this asshole?” I’m very grateful to share a name with that basketball guy.

What does it take to make things happen, in your view?

Lack of shame. No, for real.

After I spoke to Alan Tam, I didn’t expect anything out of it. I just did it. Even though a few things fail, I literally lost nothing. One person I approached was an actor, I don’t wanna say who he is. I talked to him about [the movie], and he seemed a little bit excited but wasn’t as enthusiastic about helping out. That was it.

I asked. Nothing was lost. That’s kind of what kept this going.

Writing A Nice Premise For A Screenplay

Techniques To Bear In Mind When Writing A Nice Premise For A Screenplay

 

Prior to us beginning the primary methods to account for when you’re writing a premise specifically for your screenplay, we should right away know what a premise of a screenplay is and precisely why it’s very important to compose one. A premise of a screenplay is clearly the primary idea that drives every part of your respective story. It does not have to be too long, incredibly short and basic. It is typically like an incredibly shorter story and it will be the basics towards the creation of the story structure of the screenplay. Thus, these are what you may need to into note once creating the premise of your respective screenplay.

Fiction or non – fiction
The primary thing one must take into account is whether or not your story is a fiction or nonfiction. When the story you happen to be telling is typically based on any true life occurrences then it is nonfiction but when it really is based upon one’s own creative imagination or visualization, it certainly is a fiction.

Genre
A genre is a sort of group or kinds of story. Genres typically have their own technique and story structure, and of course there are numerous major kinds. Films could be a mixture related to a couple of not the same genres. The following are some type of some of genres; Action, comedy, Romantic comedy, drama, thriller, horror, Science fiction, Musical and so forth.

Format
Stories could possibly be told in number of diverse formats, each of which is designed for a very different objective. Your desired objective of writing will help choose format. These are generally example of the formats; Animation, Commercial, Feature film, Short film, Documentary, Music video and many others.

Plot type
It’s vital to be practically conscious of the simple plot structure that will actually develop into the primary makeup of the story when it comes time to begin crafting your screenplay.

Here are a few many common;

• Surpassing the adversary. The hero must find strategies to deal with virtually any hazard presented by another person, nation, nature, him- or herself as well, a supernatural strength, technology, or religion.

 

• The search. The protagonist undergoes a search to have something, a certain person, or perhaps even hint. The primary dangers your hero experiences as well as perhaps the hero fulfills his objective usually are all in your hands.

 

• The journey and basically benefit. You hero undergoes an operation from their house and occurrences creates an amendments in c character towards the end.

 

• Comedy. Incidents right into the story keep your characters separate, particularly for fantastic reunification at the conclusion.

 

• Tragedy. Incidents inside of the tale produce the passing away of a character. These frequently downhearted conclusions typically are not often seen in films.

 

• Resurrection. The hero is oppressed up to the time when occasion inside the story completely free him.

 

• Rags to riches. The life of a character evolves out of a life of nothingness to one of bounty, whether it is family, wealth, or fame.

 

Some plot types can be bonded for a diverse and certainly creative determination.

Hollywood Needs Black Superheroe Screenplays

‘Black Panther’ Screenwriter Says Hollywood Needs Black Superheroes, Lack of Diversity Is Just an ‘Excuse’

 

Earlier this month, Black Pantherscreenwriter Joe Robert Cole sat down with Mother Jones to talk about working on the upcoming Marvel feature film.

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This film, scheduled for release in 2018, stars Chadwick Boseman and will be directed by rising star Ryan Coogler. It will be the first Black-majority film Marvel Studios has produced and the first Black superhero film released in nearly 15 years. Cole will write the script, which will hopefully do the Black Panther character justice.

According to Cole:

“I write characters focusing on them as human beings, and then you wrap them within a culture. So I think I can connect with him as a person with brown skin who’s viewed differently by the world. In terms of his culture, we’re thinking about where we are locating Wakanda within the continent, and what the people and history of that region are like.

“It’s a process of investigation to help inform the story at this point. But we are going to be engaged with consultants who are experts on the continent and on African history and politics.”

Cole has been part of Marvel’s internal writing program for the past two years and has also written for the current hit series American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson. However, his career began in 2006 when he wrote the script for ATL right after graduating college.

Like many people working in Hollywood, the questions about diversity in the industry continue to flood in after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Cole’s position on the matter is simple: diversity makes money. When asked about the excuses Hollywood big-wigs give for the lack of diversity in TV shows and films, Cole responds:

“Well, TV does a better job. In film, the justification has been that movies focused on stories or featuring people of color don’t make money. But with the success of Straight Outta Compton and Creed, and shows like “Empire“ and “How to Get Away With Murder,” I think that’s becoming a harder argument for companies and studios to make — to the point where it is viewed more of an excuse than reality at times.”

Cole and Coogler are committed to continuing the success of films like Creed and Straight Outta Compton. The way to make that possible is to know the character and the world he lives in. He also realizes the value of the Black hero.

“When I was a kid, I would change superheroes’ names,” he told Mother Jones. “Instead of James Bond, I was James Black. Instead of Batman, I was Blackman. My son will be five when Black Panther comes out. That puts it all into perspective for me.”

This April, Marvel will be releasing a new Black Panther book with Ta-Nehisi Coates as the main creative force behind the title. For fans who can’t wait for 2018, the new series may reintroduce you to the world of Wakanda. It would not be surprising if Cole takes some inspiration from the new series as well.

Advice and Tips On How To Begin a Screenplay

How to Write a Screenplay For The Novice – Advice and Tips On How To Begin

Writing a screenplay can be quite daunting for beginners. You probably have a lot of concerns on your mind: “What’s the best way to express my ideas?,” “Is there a specific format I should follow?” And more importantly, “How do I begin?”

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Having a clever concept is essential, but getting something done is equally important. A lot of novices quit too soon, abandoning their script for trivial reasons – such as, not being able to communicate what they’ve imagined, getting stuck on visual cues, or not knowing the proper format. So many potentially great screenplays never see the light of day simply because their writers accept defeat right away.

If you’re a novice screenplay writer yourself, here’s an easy guide to help you get started.

A Beginner’s Guide to Writing a Screenplay

1. Use The Proper Script Format

It’s very important to write your screenplay in the standard presentation. While you can get creative in scene ideas, free-styling on the script format is a big no-no. This is because you’ll have to present your script to an agent, and no agent will take the time to decipher a confusing layout. Anything in an unusual format will end up getting rejected.

Keep this basic rule in mind: the text in a script has to be centered. All character names, place names and the time of day have to be in block letters. Action text needs to be parenthesized and placed before the dialogue. That’s the way it has always been, and it’s wise not to deviate from it.

2. Create Compelling Characters

One of the most common reasons a script is declined is because the characters aren’t engaging enough. A main character has to make a significant impression, because he or she will serve as your story’s focal point.

Always come up with remarkable characters that will keep your audience fascinated. Think of unique traits that will can evoke reactions from viewers. Flesh out their personalities with important details consistent with their nature – how they talk or dress, how they would react to situations, and so on. Conceptualize back stories for your characters to make them more believable.

3. Have a Three-Act Structure

Most successful scripts have a three-act structure:

– The setup. The beginning, where your present your main character and introduce his or her situation.

– The confrontation. The middle part, where most of the action occurs and builds up to a climax.

– The resolution. The ending, where you show how the climax affects the characters.

Each part supports the other to make a coherent whole – the end of the first act should culminate into the beginning of the second, and so on. Create “plot points”, or a series of events that put your story in motion and keep it interesting.

4. Keep The Dialogue Relevant

Any exchange between characters should be pertinent to the story. Each statement should intentionally lead up to the next and facilitate the turn of events.

Be careful not to write any unnecessary lines. After writing your first draft, go through your script again and delete as much dialogue as you can. Film allows you to communicate with images and sound, so there’s no need to use words to explain things.

Learning how to write a screenplay can be challenging, but it’s definitely rewarding – especially when you get to the point of filming. If you’d like to pursue screen writing seriously (or if you’re hoping for a career in the industry), it would benefit you to enlist in a screen writing course that will impart professional methods and equip you with valuable training.

Dave Trottier has sold or optioned ten screenplays

Dave Trottier has sold or optioned ten screenplays — three produced — and helped hundreds of writers break into the writing business. He is an award-winning teacher, in-demand script consultant, and friendly host of keepwriting.com.

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Most will recognize him as the author of The Screenwriter’s Bible, one of the most popular, authoritative, and useful books on screenwriting. A standard by which other screenwriting books are measured, it has sold over 200,000 copies in its twenty-year life.

We’re thrilled to announce that the ScreenCraft Screenwriting Forum will be hosting aFree Exclusive Live Q/A Event with Dave Trottier on Wednesday, February 24th from 7PM-8PM (PST) where anyone on the forum can ask him questions about screenwriting, the film/television industry, The Screenwriter’s Bible, etc. So please, mark your calendars, register at the forum if you haven’t already, and be online to chat with Dave in what should be a fun filled and informative discussion with someone that has decades of knowledge and experience to share.

In the meantime, enjoy the following discussion we had with Dave recently about all things screenwriting!

ScreenCraft: How, when, and where did your storytelling roots begin?

Dave Trottier: I wrote silly stories in high school and made a lot of Super 8 films during my college years. One of them won a local film competition.

ScreenCraft: What was your first big break as a screenwriter?

Dave Trottier: Although I had contributed a few lines to Zorro, the Gay Blade, my first solo script was The Secret of Question Mark Cave. It found me an agent who got it to Disney. Four producers wanted to produce it, but the top producer passed. Instead, he produced Pretty Woman. Imagine that! But that script became my sample and about five deals resulted from it.

ScreenCraft: Great story. So what IS “the secret of question mark cave?”

Dave Trottier: “You have a power all your own.” In other words, you don’t need outside material things to give you “power.” It sounds heavy, but it’s a children’s story.

ScreenCraft: How and why has screenwriting changed since the boom of the 80s and 90s?

Dave Trottier: In the 80s, most everything was done by mail and phone calls. Now we have social media, pitchfests, email pitches, Internet searches, pitch packets, and on and on. In terms of the script itself, the trend has always been to a more readable script — that is, avoiding camera directions and other intrusions, and writing in a more entertaining style. Also, producers want shorter scripts. No one wants to read in this town.

ScreenCraft: What’s easier and what’s more difficult about screenwriting these days, compared to the 80s and 90s?

Dave Trottier: Easier — finding potential producers for your script. You can find out almost anything about anybody. Also, writing the script is a bit easier because there is more guidance available. The Screenwriter’s Bible was first published in 1994 and it was only the second book published on screenwriting. Syd Field’s book was the first.

Harder — getting read, especially by agents. That’s because the competition is much greater now. The large number of screenwriting books and script consultants like me is evidence of the huge increase in budding screenwriters.

ScreenCraft: Can you take us through the development of The Screenwriter’s Bible?

Dave Trottier: After I had sold some scripts, I started teaching at universities and conducting seminars across the country. To my shock, nearly half the questions I’d get in a class or seminar had to do with formatting. To hush those questions, I wrote a 36-page formatting guide which was a big success. That evolved into one of the five books that comprise The Screenwriter’s Bible.

ScreenCraft: What do you think has been the secret to the success of the book’s staying power over the years?

Dave Trottier: I wrote the book based on screenwriting questions that I’ve been asked by students and clients, and on the answers I gave that seemed to be the most helpful in moving forward careers and helping writers break in. The book communicates clearly and presents information so that it is usable. Also, it’s five books in one, covering every area of screenwriting. And finally, it is apparently encouraging and even inspiring. I was not trying for that when I wrote it, so I was surprised when I kept getting comments back that the book was inspiring.

ScreenCraft: Are you still writing and trying to sell scripts of your own?

Dave Trottier: It’s so hard to find time because my script consulting and teaching took over. I didn’t expect that to happen, but honestly, I love teaching. I think that is what I do best. I sold a script about six years ago, and have only written one since then. And, naturally, I have some wonderful ideas.

ScreenCraft: What’s the lasting screenwriting advice over the years for all screenwriters?

Dave Trottier: Relax and have fun; you cannot write when you’re uptight. Screenwriting is a profession; most professions take years of preparation, so be patient with your progress and be steady with your efforts. Your first script should be based on the idea you have the most passion for, regardless of market suitability. Thereafter, concept is important.

In terms of selling, think small. Everyone’s trying to write a blockbuster. Maybe break in with something less grandiose. The single key to writing and selling success is to set weekly goals and follow-through.

ScreenCraft: What’s one of your favorite Hollywood anecdotes that you experienced early in your career, and what did you learn from it?

Dave Trottier: I’m pulling this from the chapter “How I Became Dr. Format” in my book Dr. Format Tells All.

“After The Secret of Question Mark Cave rejection, Disney gave me a shot at a development deal for the sequel to Honey I Shrunk the Kids. When the title was first mentioned, I responded with unbridled enthusiasm, “Honey, I Faxed the Kids!!” They liked the idea, but I said, “Nah, it’s not visual enough. You’re going to have to blow them up.” And then they mentioned the Muppets.

“So I prepared a 20-minute pitch and treatment for a Muppet hockey story. They loved it. Jim Henson, who was in New York, approved it. A few days later Mr. Henson died, and so did the deal (since there was nothing in writing yet). In fact, his death effectively dissolved the relationship between Disney and Henson. A huge abyss between the two companies formed and I fell headlong into it.”

It’s a favorite experience because it’s painful, but I learned to be resilient and to keep writing. Good things followed. So… keep writing!

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We’d like to thank Dave Trottier for the wonderful discussion. The Screenwriter’s Bibleis the must-have screenwriting book for all screenwriters, focusing on the general guidelines and expectations of the film and television industry so well. Please take the time to join Dave for ScreenCraft’s Free Exclusive Live Q/A Event with him on Wednesday, February 24th from 7PM-8PM (PST). And come prepared with some fun questions!

totalitarianism depicted in dystopian film

Let me be abundantly clear: I agree that the totalitarianism depicted in dystopian film is disturbing, to say the least. George Orwell put it best when he envisioned dystopia as the oppressive boot of authority continually stamping down on the human face—forever. I would, however, question the notion that liberal democracy should be the ultimate negation of this dystopian future.

While liberal democracies are portrayed as a utopian end, in reality they are far from it. This is especially true in the aftermath of 9/11 and the “war on terror,” when security practices that were once regarded as exceptional—expanded presidential autonomy, heightened surveillance, detention and torture in black sites, the use of private military corporations, an increasingly militarized local police force—have largely become the norm.

In political theorist Sheldon Wolin’s Democracy Incorporated, we find the clearest expression of the implications of these developments for liberal democracy in the United States.[4] Wolin asserts that political institutions have transformed according to a unique type of power—what he calls an “inverted” form of totalitarianism—which severs citizens from the policymaking process and effectively makes the leadership unaccountable to the demands of the people.

In contrast to traditional totalitarian states, like the ones often depicted in dystopian film—whose populations are mobilized by charismatic leaders to take command of the government, armed forces, and national economy through coercion—Wolin explains that governance in liberal democracy is only partly state-centric. Instead of pure absolutism, inverted totalitarianism is also marked by extensive corporate interests and military power. Only in combination with these elites have executive officials successfully demobilized the citizenry and abandoned democracy.

From this view, it is not simply dictatorship that plagues the dystopia of our world; it is something much more alarming. Governments have become unmoored from constitutional limits and the principles of democratic accountability. Even the formal freedoms of traditional liberalism have been eroded in the effort to eliminate all existential security threats.

“The result,” Wolin laments, “is an unprecedented combination of powers distinguished by their totalizing tendencies, powers that not only challenge established boundaries—political, moral, intellectual, and economic—but whose very nature it is to challenge those boundaries continually.”[5] We no longer have a genuine democratic system in which the citizenry delegates powers to representatives and holds these leaders accountable to their political will; we have a democracy in name only—one in which the citizenry is actively managed and their political will is intimately connected with that of the state.

The genius of such an arrangement is that state power is not exercised through the brute coercion of dictatorship, as we see in dystopian film, but rather through methods that ensure the tranquility of the masses—“the depoliticization of the citizenry,” as Wolin put it—while appearing to defend and uphold liberal democracy.[6]

Accordingly, the representation of liberal democracy in dystopian film is not only misleading. But much more problematic is that it actively sets limits to viewers’ critical awareness of these real, historical transformations in state power, and to their imagination and willingness, their autonomy, to transform it. Dystopia, in short, undermines our ability to think of an alternative to traditional liberal democracy, let alone bring it about through political action.

 

the impact of dystopian film

the impact of dystopian film

the impact of dystopian film

the impact of dystopian film