"First Step In Writing A Screenplay," Richard Walter

Richard Walter is an author, educator, screenwriter, commentator, consultant and chairman of the University of California, Los Angeles graduate program in screenwriting.

He has written numerous feature assignments for the major studios and has sold material to all three networks. He has also written many informational, educational, and corporate films. Walter lectures on screenwriting throughout the world, and has toured The People’s Republic of China, the Middle East, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico, Spain, Hong Kong, Vancouver and Toronto. He also lectures all over the United States.

Here he is talking about where ideas come from.



First posted: 10 February 2013

What's that gun?

If they get caught in an argument about which actor starred in what film, most people go to IMDb, the Internet Movie Database.

But if they get caught in an argument about which gun was used in what movie, where should they go? The answer, as I learned recently, is the Internet Movie Firearms Database (IMFDb).

The first film I looked up was Jackie Brown, with Samuel L. Jackson playing Ordell Robbie, the gun dealer with the problem of repatriating his $500,000 in cash.

Australians, generally, don't own guns. I've never owned one. Apart from firing a .22 on a farm way back when I was a kid, I only ever handled firearms when I was working as a civilian for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in the late 1990s. Which is part of the appeal of Jackie Brown for me.

Chick Cindy presents a Steyr AUG on video in Jackie Brown,
as Sammy Jackson explains his gun business to Robert De Niro.

The ADF uses a modified version of the Steyr AUG, called the F88 Austeyr. I found it light, easy to use and remarkably accurate (considering I'm blind as a bat without glasses). The built-in telescopic sight helped.

The only other weapon I fired that day was a Browning 9mm handgun, the Mark III, which is the general issue pistol for the ADF. The commercial version of that gun appears in dozens of movies, most notably The Usual Suspects, where almost everyone takes a turn at firing one.

In a memorable moment in The Usual Suspects, Stephen Baldwin fires two Browning Mark IIIs.

I don't want to own a gun, but that day at the RAAF firing range at Edinburgh Air Force Base, I discovered they can be fun. Many Australians crticise Americans for their failure to ban guns, as Australia did after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, but Australia has never had a gun culture. Our equivalent problem is alcohol. Just watch those same people squirm if someone tries to extend the system of prohibition already in place in the Northern Territory.

First posted:  6 February 2013

Tricks of the Trade, by Nick Kazan

Nick Kazan has had thirty years experience in the business of screenwriting. He wrote Frances, At Close Range, Patty Hearst, Reversal of Fortune, Mobsters, among others, and adapted the Roald Dahl classic, Matilda, with his wife. 

In this video he offers insight into how he started as a screenwriter, his particular approach to the craft, and what it takes to develop screenwriting muscles.

First posted: 3 February 2013

The Truth About Independent Filmmaking

One thing I don't hear a lot of in the world of filmmaking is... the truth. The blunt truth. 

I hear a lot of sugar-coating, evasion, half-truth, prevarication, equivocation, and polite misrepresentation. I've largely despaired of giving feedback on screenplays. It's rare that a writer wants to hear what I truly think. They expect me to be their mother and tell them they're wonderful. Usually the worse the screenplay, the higher the unreal expectations. The more the loud protestation that they want to hear the truth, the greater the injury when it arrives. So I was delighted to read the following simple list published last year by Elliot Grove of Raindance: 10 Dirty Secrets of Independent Film. 

It put me in mind of the comment made by Kris Young, at UCLA, about teaching wannabe screenwriters:

Teaching newcomers to screenwriting, I try not to dwell too much on the negative aspects. I guess it’s like telling new soldiers, “You’re all gonna get killed.”   

There's nothing new here, nothing that Elliot hasn't already said in a bunch of other places, but it did me good to hear it again. So, make sure you've added Raindance to your list of blogs, get yourself a cup of coffee, and luxuriate in a short sharp dose of the truth. 

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1. There is no such thing as independent film

The film industry is all run by the conglomerates and studios who hatch small boutique companies to trade on the name ‘independent’. These production companies are run by the same moguls as their bigger budget Hollywood counterparts. In this corporate realm, moguls offer actors scale work on the promise that the cool films and directors they work with will enhance their careers. The producers of these lower budget films are offered elusive back end deals based on the success of the distribution process. Of course any profit is gobbled up by expenses.

2. It’s who you know, not what you know.

A good political mind is a far better asset to a budding filmmaker than anything else. Get really good at building relationships with the people that will matter to your career; distributors, sales agents and journalists. While you are at it, find out who the hot new PR’s are, and budget their fees into your monthly budget.

3. Casting counts.

Forget talent. Low budget films are bought and sold depending on the cast. Develop your relationships with new and established talent. Prove to them that you are the ‘Next Hot Thing.’ Demonstrate your skills working with actors by taking gigs in fringe theatre and by directing award winning short films. 
    If pursuing talent is not your game, remember that you can always play the genre card and make either a horror or science fiction movie, where the concepts are generally so strong you won’t need cast.

4. Originality is shunned.

The film industry is very conservative. Remember that your original idea might just terrify a studio executive at a production or distribution company. Find the basic message of your movie and learn how to tone it down so the suits can swallow it. If you want to slip in some controversy, great, but don’t flag this during the pitch or you won’t get through the front door.

5. Want to get into a film festival? 

All festivals get thousands of submissions. And who are you? You are unknown, untried and untested. The major festivals rely on a handful of their trusted advisers to recommend the films that will make them look good and guarantee good press and box office. It is these people you need to get to know and schmooze. It’s a fact of life. It’s the way it is. Develop a strategy for dealing with it.

6. Awards are meaningless.

We’ve had filmmakers in the past say they have won an award at Raindance. When confronted with the reality of the fact they didn’t win an award at Raindance, they say things like ‘But you sent me an invoice for the submission fees. I thought that was an award.’ Still, an award with the olive branches on the poster for your film give it pedigree.

7. No one cares about orphans.

Until you get a mentor or champion for your film, no one is going to care about you or your film. Until you get such a person, your film is an orphan. Despite what they say, no one in the industry gives a toss about orphans. There are so many of them. Don’t you be one.

8. Looks count.

The trick is to give your film a look, a style and presence that makes it stand out from all the other newbies clamouring for attention.

9. The industry loves new talent.

Oh no they don’t. The industry is petrified by new talent. Everyone inside the film industry is worried that someone smarter, brighter, more capable, younger (and cheaper!) will come along and snatch their job. The film industry shuns new talent.

10. The Truth.

There is no such thing as the film industry. It is a total misnomer to describe a collective of a dozen or more industries loosely linked by film. There are the camera manufacturers, the equipment rental houses, the labs and post-production suites, the unions and guilds, the lawyers and accountants, the distributors and exhibitors (both on and off line) and, of course, the film festivals. None of these sub industries trust or even like each other. And they all pretty much hate filmmakers. 

Everyone in the film industry lies. They lie about what they really think about your work. They lie about when they are going to pay you. They lie about you to their friends and colleagues. It is a pretty unpleasant and nasty business. 

How do you survive? By being honourable and truthful. Everyone, even the crusty owner of a lab, will respect that. And respect gets you an awful long way in the film industry.

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Everything I've learnt about making films - Nigel Cole

I first became aware of Nigel Cole when I saw Saving Grace (2000). My wife, who has never touched dope in her life, loves that movie. I don't know why. During my misspent youth, I encountered more than my share of green cigarettes, though I —naturally—have never inhaled.

Next up was Calendar Girls (2003), another oddly appealing movie, which has lingered on our Favourites list ever since. The hard-working director followed that with a series of films, including Made in Dagenham (2010).

Then he capped it all last year, with this, on Twitter.

And, as good as his word, he did. Here is the substance of those tweets, in order.

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1. The script is everything. You can ruin it, but no amount of great acting, clever camera work or editing will make it better than the script.

2. Watching a film is like being hypnotised into a dream like state. Everything fake or false in the film shouts wake up! at the audience.

3. There are 2 parts to a film. The ending and everything else. Beginnings are easy. Any scene is a great opening scene. The ending is hard.

4. If you cast the wrong actor there is very little you can do. If you can’t find the right actor rewrite the part for an actor you love.

5. Every scene needs to move the story along in some way. If it doesn’t you’ll cut it after the first preview.

6. Shooting a film is all about compromise. Knowing where you can’t compromise is what makes you different from other directors.

7. Most actors want to be great. So they try and do great acting. Tell them to stop it.

8. A hundred minutes is a long time to keep audiences interested. The second act really needs to get interesting.

9. The small parts make a big difference. Give them character—there is no such thing as a receptionist or policeman. They are people.

10. Don’t get stuck on an approach to a scene. There’s little point in doing 27 takes of the same thing. If it isn’t working change something.

11. Characters don’t have to be nice to be likeable. Nice is boring. But they do have to be entertaining.

12. Never ask the actors to improvise sex scenes. It’s very embarrassing for them. You need to tell them what to do. Move by move.

13. Try to give an actor just one note at a time. It’s impossible to lose yourself in a scene if you are trying to remember a dozen notes.

14. Never have a character talk to themselves. Always looks fake. Find an action that reveals the character’s thought process.

15. It’s tempting to do lots of angles of the scenes you love and skimp on the duller ones. Wrong. It’s the dodgy scenes that need options.

16. All storytelling is a balance between subtlety and clarity. How do you be clear without being obvious? Solve that and you’re on your way.

17. You can start a story with a chance event or coincidence but by act 2 it all has to be driven by the choices the characters are making.

18. Movement is the forgotten art of film. Move your actors in a way that illuminates the scene rather than placing them to suit the camera.

19. Pace is the hardest thing to judge on set. But in the cutting room it’s almost always too slow. Make sure you do a quicker take.

20. Don’t just shoot the dialogue. Ask yourself what the characters are seeing, show the audience the world through your character’s eyes.

21. Storyboards are useful for action and SFX. Useless for everything else. Watch the scene with an open mind—then decide how to shoot it.

22. Continuity is over rated. It’s only a problem five percent of the time. The trouble is knowing which five percent.

23. Get out from behind the monitor on set. It’s an easy place to hide but go and watch the scene with your own eyes. The actors will love it.

24. Rushes are hard to watch—a time consuming, demoralising, insomnia producing, backwards looking nightmare. But you’ve got to do it.

25. Be specific. Don’t be vague. Make your mind up, say something, make choices. Decide specifically what you are saying at each moment.

26. Rehearsals before the shoot starts are a chance to get all the talking done. There’s so little time on set.

27. No one ever noticed the shoes a character is wearing in a film. But the actors and wardrobe people care very much about shoes.

28. On set, shoot the rehearsal. Everyone will complain but it will probably be the best performance and minor technical issues won’t matter.

29. All film is horrible until you put music on it. Most directors watch rushes with music in b.g and slap it all over the cut from day one.

30. Stay away from the snack table (in the USA known as craft services). Directing a film is bad enough for your health as it is.

31. Finished films are never as good as the rushes and never as bad as the first assembly.

32. Never do a joke on top of another joke. One joke at a time.

33. Crossing the line is an easy concept to grasp (google it) but I’ve seen cameramen with thirty years experience get confused by it.

34. However long the shoot you’ll wish you had more time. Cut the script before you start. Try not to shoot scenes you didn’t need.

35. Practice telling your story on friends, strangers—everybody. Only when people tell you that you have a great story will you be ready.

36. Some actors get better the more takes they have and some get worse. When planning coverage shoot the ones that get worse first.

37. Just because the crew are laughing doesn’t mean it’s funny.

38. In script meetings most people’s notes are about logic. I don’t believe this character would do that. I don’t believe that would happen.

39. You are going to be with your editor 18 hours a day for several months, crammed together in a small room. Choose someone you like.

40. To get a job a director must persuade the producer that they will do a better job than their previous work suggests they will.

41. Most actors are good at saying the lines as if for the first time. Looking as if you are hearing lines for the first time is harder.

42. Test screenings are vital, watching with an audience tells you what’s wrong with the cut. But ignore focus groups, they will confuse you.

43. You are going to hate the poster. But there’s nothing you can do about it.

44. The best moments happen by accident. Create an atmosphere where they will happen. Here’s an example from Brando. youtu.be/dHtJUWO7yeA

45. Story is mystery. Withholding information is more important than giving it. Make the audience ask questions. Create suspense.

46. Ask yourself what the purpose of the scene is. Why haven’t you cut it? Make sure that is what you shoot.

47. Extras get a lot of stick. But they can bring a scene alive for the actors if you motivate them properly.

48. Crews work harder when there is naked actor on set. Everyone gets busy so they are not caught looking.

49. A prop that looks fake can kill a scene. Suitcases must look heavy for fucks sake.

50. Have something to say.

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First posted: 1 February 2013

Screenwriting lesson from Ted Griffin

Ted Griffin is an L.A.-based screenwriter who wrote Ocean's Eleven, Matchstick Men, Rumour Has It..., Killers, and Tower Heist.

He broke into Hollywood in the late 1990s, selling a series of spec scripts that have so far gone unproduced, including Mobile in 1997, and Solace and Beached in 1998. These landed him an early rewrite assignment for a comedy called Domestic Partners, which has also gone unproduced.

Here he is, talking about his career.

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First posted: 27 January 2013

Coming your way...

A few movie posters from Cannes 2017.