Just Effing Entertain Me

Slumdog of Sundance: Part II

Wow, I will probably irritate quite a few people with this but — I have still not seen a film yet. It’s not that I don’t want to. I really, really do, it’s just that I’m a young writer trying to meet people and when opportunities arise I feel I have to take them. So maybe this blog is more about networking then anything.

Yesterday we went to several parties. Two were at Hollywoodlife for premiere after-parties. One for a film Denise Richards was in, I’m not sure the other. Paris Hilton was there with her many assistants. She of course was upstairs in the blocked off section, but it’s not like meeting her is going to help a screenwriter’s career anyway, right? Or maybe it would?

I met tons of publicists. I guess that makes sense. It’s just funny that they would take an interest in a writer. I guess everyone needs publicity these days, though. They are great people to meet at parties because they introduce you to people right there on the spot. I met several people that way.

I met one of the producers of Harry Potter – she was very sweet and her husband was so nice. We talked to him quite a bit actually. She just did a documentary called The Cove that was at Slamdance I believe. We were at the after-party for it when we met her.

I’m loving Sundance. I’ve probably made over 10 valuable connections through it and already have meetings for next week when I get back to LA. And a name actor who recognized my director from the New York Film Festival told him he’s interested in one of the roles for our movie!!

Monday was again more parties; however, Park City seems to be winding down. We went to Rock Band Lounge for the premiere after-party of Once More With Feeling. It’s in Sundance noncompetition but it’s nearly sold out for the entire week! Awesome because I have mutual friends with the filmmakers and I love when little films get some buzz!

I really want to go to the Slamdance happy hour. Some of the greatest people I’ve met both this year and last year have actually been at Slamdance events, not Sundance.

I promised myself I will see a movie if it’s the last thing I do. How can I not?

DJ Halferty has written in the independent world writing paid assignments. He’s optioned a script and recently signed a purchase agreement for teen comedy Aunt Sylvia’s List, which he’s currently doing rewrites on. It’s in development/pre-production to be shot in Salt Lake City, Utah later this year.

Put Your TiVo to Work

So earlier today while nursing a slight cold and doing Very Useful Things, I noticed that my TiVo didn’t have my favorite channels listed. Despite the fact that I actually don’t watch much in the way of TV other than Seinfeld reruns and the occasional – OKAY FINE – Dancing With the Stars, I chose a handful of faves. Then began flipping through them idly (wow cold medicine makes you feel all fluffy inside) when I noticed a plethora of movies that I either haven’t seen or I loved. Check out this fun list:

JOHNNY BELINDA: Ahhhhh….never saw it? Has Jane Wyman? Good enough for me.

A DRY WHITE SEASON: Ohhhh I remember when that came out. I remember the trailer which may be why I have a vague sense I’ve seen this when I’m pretty sure I have not. (Does that happen to anybody else?)

BATS: Wait, didn’t a friend tell me recently this is a HILARIOUSLY bad movie? Always TiVo the Funny-Badness.

NEPTUNE’S DAUGHTER: Esther Williams, technicolor, synchronized swimming. Thank you. You’re welcome.

CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY: That is definitely a movie I think I thought I saw. Either that or the Long Term Movie Memory disk is offloading information. Anyway, South Africa, politics, tragedy, based on a book…Must seem serious and learned at parties concerning such.

HELLBOY: Have not seen that. And really should have. Whooo – just saved three bucks at the video store!

NINOTCHKA: Have not seen this. Oh Greta. I’m never as lonely as when I’m with you.

IT WAITS: This looks like a tragi-comically bad movie. Must TiVo the Funny-Badness. Always.

THE PETRIFIED FOREST: Horrified to admit I have not seen this. But – should I be? Ohhhh okay, Bette Davis and Leslie Howard. Done.

MARTY: I just gotta know why that line in QUIZ SHOW was so significant. Plus, two words: Paddy Chayefsky.

I WANT TO LIVE!: I am 95% sure I have seen this sort of goofy Susan Hayward tear-jerker. But what the hell. Live dangerously.

THE ITALIAN JOB: Haven’t seen it. Might like it. Not that invested.

FIERCE PEOPLE: What’s this?! Diane Lane movie I haven’t seen?

SHAMPOO: Due to an intense aversion to Warren Beatty when I was a child (god I despised the whole overtan, tight white pantsed, hairy chest, gold necklace thing in the ’70s, among so many other things) I have not seen this. And I should.

Are you making the most of your TiVo? Check out the future listings today and see if there are any movies on your Hall of Shame or What the Hell lists. It’s fun, it’s free and Wavers know how aspiring screenwriters with a dearth of film viewing hours particularly when it comes to seminal and classic movies gives me an EYE TWITCH. Do it for mama, guys. Watch more movies.

The Slumdog of Sundance

I was meaning to blog each day for at least the first weekend since that’s when most things go on, but we decided to take an already busy schedule and throw in a 24 hour film competition. So friday I wrote a 3 page script in roughly 20 minutes, went to meet up with some people that manage the main hotels for the week (Hotel Park City, The Yarrow, etc) to see about getting into certain events, then shot some scenes, and then went back to Park City. For friday night we weren’t on any lists so we just figured we’d show up and see what we can do. We did talk to some publicists, via our friend April, about possibilities for us later on this week. We’ll see…

Like I said, Sundance is about the parties. celebrities, money, etc. Not that I care about those things very much, but those are the things that get films made. Specifically, and hopefully, my films. So we went up to some place on Main Street (If you’ve never been, most of Sundance takes place on this street.) This place had a huge line. We slip up to the front and the doorman is telling everyone how it’s at capacity. No one can be let in. Even on a list. Riight. I think they just say that. And my theory held true because the guy turns away all these people, but looks at my friend and I and says, “You two can go on in.” Random? Yes.

After the party we went to go shoot another scene for this 24 hour contest. Part of the competition was they give you a prop you have to use. Haha, Therefore, I was dressed in a match costume, lol, and couldn’t even move! I’m at the top of the stairs with no eye holes, hoping to God I don’t trip and plummet down the steps.

We were up until 9:30 am shooting, but had to be at some SAG panel at 10:30. Haha…needless to say, we missed the panel. (A friend took notes for us, though.) Apparently an increasing number of projects are starting to be shot in Utah. Not just indie or LDS films either. (Nothing against either of those — great films are great films regardless) But some major productions are deciding to shoot here as well. Anybody out there with any Utah contacts might want to consider this.

So we didn’t make it to any screenings today (but we do know some volunteers who can hook us up — another important thing to consider — be a volunteer at Sundance. A lot of times you can even get a place to stay up in Park City for free.)

Instead, we met up with other friends to catch up and talk about projects. I met a few possibly good contacts at random places (waiting in lines while avoiding the cold, at a couple parties) who are looking for writers. Again, we’ll see…

A lot of the celebs we’re out to play today. I heard about tons of them, but only saw Ashley Judd, Brett Ratner, Alan Cummings, Kevin Bacon. I’ve noticed how much friendlier they are than what you would see on TMZ. Pretty sure it was Kim Bassinger today walking in front of me. Some girls pointed and screamed how much they love her. She smiled back and said she loved them even more. Easy enough, but still polite and kind.

What am I forgetting? Oh yeah went to an Ed Hardy show (and we might be heading to an Ed hardy party here pretty soon, but we’re exhausted and our contact for it hasn’t texted us back yet.)

Tomorrow I’ve got a meeting and I’m determined to finally go see one of the films. I’m hearing a lot about the 500 days of summer one. I love how people will ask each other “is this a good one?” “what have you heard?” “Yeah, it’s supposed to be good.” “No, I have no idea what it’s about.”

Just like last year, Sundance isn’t changing my life, but it’s fun and you can definitely meet people. So far I’m enjoying it despite the lack of sleep and cold philangees.

The Slumdog of Sundance

Have you ever wanted to go to the Sundance Film Festival? I’m torn. The friends I have who have gone complain of the bitter cold, the scene-y atmosphere and the lack of quality films. But sure, I’d go just once to say I did. I might do it next year. But for this year, The Rouge Wave has a mole at Sundance. My friend DJ has made his way out there as of yesterday and will be sending Rouge Wavers blog reports of his experiences. Armed with the list of the hottest screenings and parties to talk his way into, he’s mostly winging it so we’ll take what we can get.

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So here’s our first message from Sundance:

So I just got into Utah. Cold! Nothing really happened today. I think this is partly due to the festival being cut back so much this year and most people just getting in or coming in Friday. It sure does seem scaled back. Way fewer parties from what I’ve been hearing.

So tonight I just walked around with my Utah filmmaker friends Colton Tran and April Frampton. (I won’t bore you but they’re amazingly talented. Colton’s directing Aunt Sylvia’s List, April does PR/pretty much everything.) We talked to some other people and just put together our game plan for the week. We saw Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue! April was joking and called out to a guy she thought looked like him. Turns out it was him. He said all of hi.

So tomorrow (16th) is when things really start going. So far what I have planned is a couple meetings, some screenings, a couple fashion shows, some parties of course. Sundance is all about the parties.

And yes, I promise I’ll mention any celebrities I see. Last year I remember seeing Jimmy Fallon EVERY SINGLE DAY I was there. It’s like he was omnipresent. I know as writers we don’t care about celebrities…but let’s be honest. You know you do.

DJ Halferty has written in the independent world writing paid assignments. He’s optioned a script and recently signed a purchase agreement for teen comedy Aunt Sylvia’s List, which he’s currently doing rewrites on. It’s in development/pre-production to be shot in Salt Lake City, Utah later this year.

New Speak: It’s JUST for Texting!

So how many Rouge Wavers text their family and friends? I do it a lot now. Texting has become part of my life. I was never one of those self-described Luddites. I can upload, download and update many things. Nevertheless, texting as far as I was concerned initially was a sort of last ditch thing for confirmation, etc., but now I text friends and colleagues about any number of things. When I first started texting I would text something like this: Hey, my flight is late. See you at the gate. I’m wearing a red coat which took me 3 minutes to text and gets a reply like: C U thr. So now I am down with the texting lingo: U R cmg @ 8? It was a brief learning curve but I can now text with the best of ‘em.

As a sidenote, I’m fairly certain my Blackberry’s “smart type” has some kind of content editor because no, I am not texting the work “duck” or “ducking” – ever.

Texting and IMing using a truncated new speak is not new. We’re all familiar with brb, lol, omg, cya, kk and my funny newest – zomg! But one pitfall of new speak, whether it’s in texting, IM or message boards is that we become lazy. It’s fine to say “your gng 2 B lte!” – the operative word there being “your” instead of “you’re”. I have noticed that spelling in scripts I read has gotten worse and worse. And this is the truly horrible part – I have to catch myself more and more too.

Not that you’re going to catch me writing: 2 B or nt 2 B anytime soon in a script or anywhere else, but it is a challenge when your brain shifts back and forth from proper spelling to new speak. Proper spelling and grammar is slowly eroding. On the one hand, that is the way of things. We no longer speak the way Shakespeare wrote – iffin that was the way Joe Average spoke at that time, or anywhere close. We no longer speak the way we did in the 1950s for that matter: Say, you are looking very nice today, Jody! Today that would be: Girl, you’re hot!

Language is an organic thing and we have plenty of evidence to prove that. But make sure that you do check yourself when working on scripts or anything else that will be publicly consumed. Watch your “your” versus “you’re,” “to” versus “too” and duck versus…well – you get my point.

The hilarious thing is that your script will be read by people who are probably texting while reading it: Ths scrpt kicks ass! brb! Mtng! – but they’ll still slam you if your script has spelling errors or language usage problems. Because the way we speak in some mediums is not the way we speak in others. Scripts are still expected to be written properly. I am not referring to the fact that you may have a character who uses slang, but particularly in your action lines – get it right.

So even if you are a texting aficionado, but sure to flip that switch when you write. It matters. No j/k.

How Many Movies Were Released in 2008?

573 titles. Isn’t that amazing?! It’s a huge number. Now, many of these films were quite small (see the note below about what qualifies a movie to be on this list) and many were clearly a pretty bad investment. Go to Box Office Mojo to find out how each performed. Nonetheless, I do find this total number encouraging. Sure, sure, it might be less than in 2007 (I actually don’t have stats on that, but this is what I am told) but let’s not be negative, this is the Rouge Wave after all.

573 movies were released in 2008. Let’s get your movie on the list for 2009, shall we? And not up for Razzie consideration! Which is the provenance of this list, by the way. I don’t keep a notepad of stuff like this. I’d have to be freakishly organized. No, I rely on the hard work of OTHER people when providing nifty lists on The Rouge Wave. Thank you, Other People.

Enjoy skimming through this lavish list and coming upon titles and thinking, hey wait – whatever happened to that movie? TOWELHEAD had that affect on me. Right, right, that Allan Ball movie. Kerplunk.

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COMPLETE LIST of ALL 2008 RELEASES

January 1st through December 31st: 573 Titles

NOTES: To appear on this list, a film must have played at least a one-week/regular admission engagement in either Los Angeles or New York (Manhattan) commencing during calendar year 2008, thus qualifying it for both Golden Raspberry and Academy Award consideration.

KEY:

a = Animated

d = Documentary

f = Foreign Film

R = REMAKE

S = SEQUEL

21

27 DRESSES

88 MINUTES

$9.99

1968: TUNNEL RATS

10,000 B.C. / R

Able Danger

Adam Resurrected

The Air That I Breathe

Alexandra

Alice’s House

Alice Neel / d

All in This Tea / f

Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert / d

The Alphabet Killer

The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela

America the Beautiful

AMERICAN CAROL / R

American Teen

American Zombie

Amusement

Anamorph

The Animation Show #4 / a

Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer

Antarctica

Appaloosa

Ashes of Time Redux / f

Asian Stories (Book 3)

August

August Evening

Australia

B.O.H.I.C.A.

Bab Aziz (The Prince Who Contemplates His Soul) / f

Baby Mama

Babylon A.D.

The Babysitters

Baghead

Ballast

BANG COCK? DANGEROUS! / R

The Bank Job

Battle in Seattle

Be Kind, Rewind

Beautiful Losers

The Beautiful Truth

BEDTIME STORIES

BEER FOR MY HORSES

Beaufort / f

Beauty in Trouble / f

Before the Rains

Ben X / f

Beverly Hills Chihuhua

Beyond the Call / d

Bigger, Stronger, Faster / d

Billy

Billy the Kid / d

The Black Balloon

Blind Mountain

Blindness

Blindsight

Bloodline

Boarding Gate

Body of Lies

Body of War / d

Bolt / a

Bomb It! / d

Bonneville

Bottle Shock

Boy A

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Bra Boys / d

Breakfast With Scott

Brick Lane

Brideshead Revisited / R

The Brothers Bloom

Burn After Reading

The Business of Being Born

Bustin’ Down the Door / d

CSNY/Deja Vu

Cadillac Redords

Call + Response

Captain Abu Raed / f

Caramel / f

Cassandra’s Dream

Changeling

Chaos Theory

Chapter 27

Charlie Bartlett

Che / R

Chicago 10

Children of Huang Shi

Choose Connor

Chop Shop

Chris & Don: A Love Story / d

A Christmas Tale / f

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian / S

Ciao!

CJ7 / f

Circulation

City of Ember

City of Men

The Class / f

Cloverfield

College

Constantine’s Sword / d

The Cool School / d

The Counterfeiters / f

College Road Trip

Cover

Crossing Over

Cthulha / f

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Dare Not Walk Alone / d

The Dark Knight / S

Dark Matter

Dark Streets

THE DAY THE EARTH BLOWED UP REAL GOOD / R

Days and Clouds

DEAL

Dear Zachary

DEATH RACE / R

Deception

Defiance

Definitely, Maybe

Delgo / a

The Dhamma Brothers / d

Diary of the Dead

Dimished Capacity

DISASTER MOVIE

Doomsday

The Doorman

DR. SUESS’ HORTON HIRES a HO / a, R

Dostana / f

Doubt

Dragon Hunters

Drillbit Taylor

The Duchess

The Duchess of Langleals / f

The Dukes

Dying to Live

Eagle Eye

Eden

The Edge of Heaven

Eight Miles High

Elegy

The Elephant King

Elsa and Fred

Encounters at the End of the World

The Exiles

Expelled / d

Expired

The Express

THE EYE / R

Faded Memories

The Fall

Fall of Hyperion

The Favor

Fears of the Dark

Felon

Filth and Wisdom

Fighting for Life / d

Finding Amanda

The First Basket

First Saturday in May / d

FIREPROOF

FIRST SUNDAY

Flash of Genius

Flash Point

Flawless

Flight of the Red Balloon / f

FLY ME TO THE MOON / a

The Flyboys

Flow / d

FOOL’S GOLD

The Foot Fist Way

Forbidden Kingdom

Forever / d

Forever Strong

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

FOUR CHRISTMASES

A Four Letter Word

Four Minutes / f

Fraude: Mexico 2006 / d – f

Freebird

Frost/Nixon

Frozen River

Fugitive Pieces

Funny Games

The Garden / d

Garden Party

Gardens of the Night

GET SMART / R

Ghost Town

A Girl Cut in Two /f

Girls Rock!

The Go-Getter

God and Gays: BRidging the Gap / d

God Bless This Couple / f

Gomorrah / f

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson / d

Good

A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy

Good Dick

Gran Torino

The Grand

The Grocer’s Son / f

Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot / d

Hamlet 2 / S

The Hammer

HANCOCK

Hania

Hank and Mike

Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert / d

M. Night Shyamalan’s THE HAPPENING

Happy-Go-Lucky

Harold

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay / S

Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29 / d

Hats Off / d

THE HAUNTING OF MOLLY HARTLEY

Heavy Metal in Baghdad / d

Hell Ride

Hellboy II: The Golden Army / S

Henty Poole Is Here

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR / S

Holding Trevor

Hollywood Chinese / d

THE HOTTIE & THE NOTTIE

Hounddog

House

The House Bunny

House of Adam

House of the Sleeping Beauties / f

The House of Usher / R

How About You

How She Move

How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

Hunger

I Can’t Think Straight / f

I.O.U.S.A. / d

I Served the King of England

Ice Blues

IGOR / a

Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust / d

In Bruges

In Search of a Midnight Kiss

The Incredible Hulk / R

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull / S

IN THE NAME OF THE KING: A DUNGEON SIEGE TALE

Irina Palm

Iron Man

I’ve Loved You So Long

J.C.V.D.

Jack & Jill vs. the World

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer

Jellyfish

A Jihad for Love / d

Johnny Got His Gun / R

Journey to the Center of the Earth / R

JUMPER

Just Add Water

Just Buried

Kabluey

Kenny

Kicking It / d

The Killing of John Lennon

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss the Bride

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

Kung Fu Panda / a

Lake City

Lakeview Terrace

Last Chance Harvey

The Last Mistress / f

Last Stop for Paul

Leatherheads

Let’s Get Lost / d

Let the Right One In

Liberty Kid

The Life Before Her Eyes

Little Big Top

Little Chenier: A Cajun Story

The Little Red Truck / d

Live and Become

Loins of Pujab Presents

Lord, Save Us from Your Followers / d

The Longshots

The Lost

Lost in Beijing / f

Love & Honor

Lou Reed’s Berlin / d

Love Comes Lately

THE LOVE GURU

Love Songs (Les Chansons D’Amour) / f

Lower Learning

The Lucky Ones

MAD MONEY

Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa / a – S

MADE OF HONOR

Mamma Mia!

A Man Named Pearl / d

Man on Wire

Marley & Me

Married Life

The Matador / d

Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux Universe

MAX PAYNE

Meet Bill

MEET DAVE

The Memory Thief

MEET THE SPARTANS

The Midnight Meat Train

Military Intelligence and You!

Milk

Miracle at St. Anna

MIRRORS / R

Miss Conception

Miss Pettigre Lives for a Day

Mister Foe

Mister Lonely

Momma’s Man

Mongol / f

Morning Light

The Mother of Tears

Moving Midway

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR / S

Murder.com

MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL

My Blueberry Nights

My Brother Is an Only Child

My Father, My Lord

My Name is Albert Ayler / d

My Name is Bruce

My Winnipeg

Nana

Nanking / f

National Lampoon’s Homo Erectus

NEVER BACK DOWN

Never Forever

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Nights in Rodanthe

Nim’s Island

NOBEL SON

Noise

No Regret

Noah’s Ark: Jumping the Broom

Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 / d

Nothing But the Truth

Nothing Like the Holidays

Obscene

On the Other Hand, Murder

On the Rumba River / f

One Day You’ll Understand

ONE MISSED CALL / R

Opa!

The Order of Myths / d

Orthodox Stance / d

OSS-117: Cairo, Nest of Spies

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL

Otto, or Up with Dead People

OVER HER DEAD BODY

P.J.

Paranoid Park

Partition

Passing Poston / d

Pathology

Patti SMith: Dream of Life / d

Penelope

Pineapple Express

Ping Pong Playa

The Pink Conspiracy

The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything / a

Planet B-Boy / d

A Plumm Summer

The Poet

Poisoned by Polonium: The Litvenenko File / d

Polar Opposites

Uwe Boll’s POSTAL

Poultrygeist

Pray the Devil Back to Hell / d

Praying with Lior / d

A Previous Engagement

Priceless / f

Pride and Glory

PROM NIGHT / R

The Promotion

Proud American

THE PUNISHER: WAR ZONE / S

Quantum of Solace / S

QUARANTINE / R

Quid Pro Quo

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi / f

Rachel Getting Married

RAMBO / S

The Reader

Red

Red Roses and Petrol

Redbelt

Refusenik / d

Religulous / d

Remember the Daze

REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA

Reprise

Retrieval / f

Revolutionary Road

RIGHTEOUS KILL

The Rocker

Rock-n-Rolla

Role Models

Roman de Gare / f

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired / d

Romulus, My Father

THE RUINS

Run, Fatboy, Run

Running with Arnold / d

Santouri the Music Man / f

Sangre de Mi Sangre (Blood of My Blood) / f

Savage Grace

Save Me

Saving Marriage / d

SAW V / S

Secrecy / d

A Secret / f

The Secret Life of Bees

The Secrets / f

SEMI-PRO

SEVEN POUNDS

Sex and Death 101

Sex and the City: The Movie / R

Sex Drive

Shelter

Shine a Light / d

Shoot Down

Shoot on Sight

Short Order

Shotgun Stories

Shrooms

SHUTTER / R

The Signal

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 / S

Sixty-Six

Sleepwalking

Slumdog Millionaire

Smart People

Smother

Snow Angels

Solar Flare

Son of Rambow

Soul Men

SPACE CHIMPS / a

Special

SPEED RACER / R

The Spiderwick Chronicles

THE SPIRIT

Splinter

Standard Operatng Procedure / d

STAR WARS: CLONE WARS / a – S

Stealing America: Vote by Vote / d

STEP BROTHERS

Step Up 2: The Streets / S

The Stone Angel

Stop-Loss

Stranded

STRANGE WILDERNESS

THE STRANGERS

Street Kings

Stuck

Sukiyaki Western Django

Summer Love / f

Summer Palace / f

Sunflower / f

SUPERHERO MOVIE

Super High Me

Surfer, Dude

Surfwise

Swimming in Auschwitz / d

SWING VOTE

Synecdoche, New York

Take

Takeout

Talento de Barrio / f

The Tale of Despereaux / a

Taxi to the Dark Side / d

Teeth

Tell No One / f

Ten Nights of Dreams

Tennessee

Then She Found Me

Thoda Payar, Thoda Magic / f

A Thousand years of Good Prayers

Time and Winds

Timecrimes / f

Tinkerbell Movie / a – S

Tired of Kissing Frogs

‘Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris / d

Toots / d

Towards Darkness / f

Towelhead

The Tracey Fragments

Trailer Park Boys: The Movie

Traitor

Transpoter 3 / S

Transsiberian

Tre

Tropic Thunder

Trouble the Water / d

Try Loved

Trumbo

Tyring to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon / d

Turn the River

Tuya’s Marriage / f

TWILIGHT

Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns

Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys

Under the Same Moon / f

Undoing

The Unforseen / d

The Universe of Keith Haring / d

The Unknown Woman

Unsettled / d

Untraceable

Up the Yangtze / d

U2 3-D / d

VALKYRIE / R

Vantage Point

A Very British Gangster

Vice

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show / d

The Visitor

Vivere / f

The Violin / f

W.

The Wackness

Waiting in Bejing

A Walk into the Sea / d

A Walk to Beautiful

Wall E / a

Waltz with Bashir / a – f

WANTED

War Eage, Arkansas

WAR, INC.

Water / d

Water Lillies

Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins

Wendy and Lucy

Were the World Mine

Wetlands Preserved: The Story of an Activist Rock Club / d

What Doesn’t Kill You

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS

What Just Happened

What We Do Is Secret

When Did You Last See Your Father?

Where God Left His Shoes

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? / d

While She Was Out

Without the King / d

WITLESS PROTECTION

THE WOMEN / R

Wonders Are Many: The Making of Doctor Atomic / d

The World Unseen

The Wrestler

X-FILES: I WANNA BE LEAVING… / S

XXYY

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

The Yellow Handkerchief

YES MAN

YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN

Young and Restless in China / d

Young @ Heart / d

Young Yakuza / d – f

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Zombie Strippers

2008 Black List

Okay guys – this came out yesterday and shot around Hollywood with lightning speed. I can do no better to explain what this list is and means than to quote the cover page that comes along with it:

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THE BLACK LIST was compiled from the suggestions of over 250 film executives, each of whom contributed the names of up to ten of their favorite scripts that were written in, or are somehow uniquely associated with, 2008 and will not be released in theaters during this calendar year.

This year, scripts had to receive at least four mentions to be included on THE BLACK LIST.

All reasonable effort has been made to confirm the information contained herein. THE BLACK LIST apologizes for all misspellings, misattributions, incorrect representation identification, and questionable “2008” affiliations.

It has been said many times, but it’s worth repeating:

THE BLACK LIST is not a “best of” list. It is, at best, a “most liked” list.

THE BLACK LIST salutes all those who spend their days attacking the blank page.

****

Now: each script is preceded by the number of votes it received. I have heard ugly rumors in the past that the black list is political, and that various managers, etc., lobby to get their clients listed. Is this true? I’m not sure. Let’s say there’s some degree of truth to it. In any event, I am happy to see Script Department client Ryan Condal is on the list for GALAHAD and that my friend Josh Zetumer is on for the second year in a row with his latest, MAN OF CLOTH. I also see a fellow Writer’s Boot Camp alum on the list, Javier Rodriguez.

What does it mean to be on the Black List? It’s good. It’s very good. It means you have fans in the industry and it means that you will get more attention now.

Some stats that my lovely and capable assistant Chaia compiled: of the 107 scripts on this list, only 17 female writers showed up*. There are 19 partnered scripts and one three-way writing partnership.

*this is a pretty fair reflection of the general ratio of male to female screenwriters.

So take a look at this list, Wavers. What do you think of the titles? There are some really provocative, clever ones. Take a look at the loglines. Are you working on something similar? Might have to walk away from it then. Have a gander and start working toward showing up on this list yourself next year.

2008 BLACK LIST

[67 votes]

THE BEAVER by Kyle Killen
“A depressed man finds hope in a beaver puppet that he wears on his hand.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Cliff Roberts
MANAGER Anonymous Content –Keith Redmon
AVAILABLE. Anonymous Content producing.

[61 votes]

THE ORANGES by Jay Reiss & Ian Helfer
“A man has a romantic relationship with the daughter of a family friend, which turns their lives upside down.”
AGENT Reiss: Creative Artists Agency -Spencer Baumgarten, Greg McKnight, Jessica Matthews
Helfer: The Gersh Agency -Sandra Lucchesi, Eric Garfinkel,
Frank Wuliger
MANAGER Reiss:Mosaic Media Group –Paul Nelson, Jimmy Miller, Ilan Breil Helfer: Principal Entertainment –Danny Sherman
UNAVAILABLE. Media Rights Capital. A Likely Story producing.

[44 votes]

BUTTER by Jason Micallef
“A small town becomes a center for controversy and jealousy as its annual butter carving contest begins.”
AGENT Endeavor –Phil D’amecourt, Rich Cook
MANAGER Washington Square Arts -Josh McGuire
AVAILABLE. Michael De Luca Productions producing.

[42 votes]

BIG HOLE by Michael Gilio
“An old cowboy goes on a mission to recover his money after a million dollar sweepstakes scam cleans out his entire bank account.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Julien Thuan
MANAGER Industry Entertainment –Eryn Brown
AVAILABLE. Aversano Films producing.

[40 votes]

THE LOW DWELLER by Brad Ingelsby
“A man trying to assimilate into society after being released from jail discovers that someone from his past is out to settle a score.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Mike Esola, Rob Carlson
MANAGER Energy Entertainment -Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall
UNAVAILABLE. Relativity. Scott Free Productions, Energy Entertainment, Appian Way Productions producing.

[39 votes]

FUCKBUDDIES by Liz Meriwether
“A guy and a girl struggle to have an exclusively sexual relationship as they both come to realize they want much more.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Cliff Roberts
AVAILABLE. Montecito Picture Company producing.

[34 votes]

WINTER’S DISCONTENT by Paul Fruchbom
“When Herb Winter’s wife of fifty years dies, the faithful but sexually frustrated widower moves into a retirement community to start living the swinging single life.”
AGENT United Talent Agency -Jon Huddle, David Kramer, Adam Weinstein
MANAGER Circle of Confusion -Kemper Donovan
UNAVAILABLE. Sony. Atlas Entertainment producing.

[29 votes]

BROKEN CITY by Brian Tucker
“A New York private investigator gets sucked into a shady mayoral election.”
AGENT Endeavor -Sarah Lemkin
UNAVAILABLE. Mandate. Mr. Muddproducing.

[24 votes]

I’M WITH CANCER by Will Reiser
“A autobiographical comic account of one man’s struggle to beat cancer.”
AGENT United Talent Agency -Blair Kohan
MANAGER Thruline Entertainment -Jodi Lieberman, Willie Mercer
UNAVAILABLE. Mandate. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin producing.

[22 votes]

OUR BRAND IS CRISIS by Peter Straughan
“Based on the eponymous documentary. James Carville and a team of U.S. political consultants travel to South America to help Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (aka ‘Goni’) become President of Bolivia.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Brian Siberell
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Smoke House producing.

[21 votes]

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS by Quentin Tarantino
“American soldiers, French peasants, French resistance, and Nazis collide in Hitler occupied France.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Mike Simpson
UNAVAILABLE. Universal Pictures, The Weinstein Company. Lawrence Bender Productions producing.

[20 votes]

UNTITLED VANESSA TAYLOR PROJECT by Vanessa Taylor
“After thirty years of marriage, a middle-aged couple attends an intense counseling weekend to decide the fate of their marriage.”
AGENT United Talent Agency -Doug Johnson, Adam Weinstein
MANAGER Management 360 -Guymon Casady, Darin Friedman
AVAILABLE. Escape Artists, Management 360 producing.

[16]

GALAHAD by `Ryan Condal
“A revisionist twist on the King Arthur legend from the knight Galahad’s perspective.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Aaron Hart
MANAGER Energy Entertainment -Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall
UNAVAILABLE. The Film Department. Energy Entertainment producing.

THE WEST IS DEAD by Andrew Baldwin
“During the Great Depression, a group of semi-outlaws go on the run from the law when forced to vacate a town as the Hoover dam is constructed.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Jay Baker, Josh Krauss
MANAGER Anonymous Content -Bard Dorros, David Kanter
AVAILABLE.

[15 votes]

MANUSCRIPT by Paul Grellong
“A contemporary thriller about three bright, young New Yorkers with boundless literary ambition who will stop at nothing to get what they want.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Chris Till
MANAGER59 Entertainment -Marti Blumenthal
UNAVAILABLE. The Film Department. Donna Gigliotti producing.

THE TUTOR by Matthew Fogel
“A twenty three year old recent graduate decides, at his mother’s insistence, to tutor his ex-girlfriend’s younger sister for the SATs. When they begin a romantic relationship, his ex-girlfriend moves back home for the summer and begins to fall back in love with our anti-hero as well.”
AGENT United Talent Agency -Jason Burns, Adam Weinstein
AVAILABLE. Principato/Young Management producing.

[14 votes]

THE DESCENDANTS by Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“A newly widowed father -also one of the richest men in Oahu, Hawaii -takes off with his two rebellious daughters to track down his dead wife’s ex-lover on the island of Kauai.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Jay Baker, Brian Kend
MANAGERPrincipato/Young Management -Brian Dobbins, Paul Young
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Searchlight. Ad Hominem Enterprises producing.

SUNFLOWER by Misha Green
“Two young women struggle to escape from and exact revenge on the deranged college professor who holds them hostage.”
AGENT Endeavor -Susan Solomon
MANAGERN iadManagement -Jennifer Graff
UNAVAILABLE. Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. Vincent Newman producing.

GOING THE DISTANCE by Geoff LaTulippe
“A couple tries to maintain a long-distance relationship.”
AGENT The GershAgency -Sarah Self
MANAGER Mosaic Media Group -Michael Lasker
UNAVAILABLE. New Line. Offspring Entertainment producing.

[13 votes]

THE AMERICAN WAY by Brian Kistler
“Two brothers are affected by their parents’murder, leading one to the FBI and the other to a life of crime.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Alan Gasmer, Kimberly Bialek
UNAVAILABLE. The Film Department. Steve Golin producing.

NOWHERE BOY by Matt Greenhalgh
“The story of John Lennon’s rise from lonely, Liverpool teenager to iconic rock star.”
AGENT Endeavor -Chris Donnelly, Elia Infascelli-Smith
UNAVAILABLE. Film Four. Ecosse Films producing.

RAINDROPS ALL AROUND ME by Reed Agnew & Eli Jorne
“A socially awkward high school teacher learns to ‘dumb it down’in order to fit in with those around him.”
AGENT International Creative Management -Harley Copen
MANAGER Underground Films and Management -Oly Obst
UNAVAILABLE. Universal. Red Hour Films producing.

SEQUELS, REMAKES & ADAPTATIONS by Sam Esmail
“The outlandish journey of a young man in search of love and what he’s meant to do with his life.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Mike Esola
MANAGER Energy Entertainment -Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall
AVAILABLE. WAM Films producing.

[12 votes]

A COUPLE OF DICKS by Mark Cullen & Robb Cullen
“Two veteran LAPD detectives attempt to track down a stolen, mint-condition, 1952 baseball card that one of the detectives hopes to sell in order to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Cliff Roberts
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Marc Platt Productions producing.

GAY DUDE by Alan Yang
“A comedy about the friendship of two high school seniors that’s torn apart after one comes out of the closet.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Mike Esola
AVAILABLE.

THE MANY DEATHS OF BARNABY JAMES by Brian Nathanson
“A teenage apprentice in a macabre circus for the dead yearns to bring his true love back to life, but not before encountering the many dangerous and mysterious gothic characters that stand in his way.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Jay Baker, Jessica Matthews
MANAGER Benderspink-Jill McElroy, Langley Perer
AVAILABLE.

UNDERAGE by Scott Neustadter & Michael Weber
“A seventeen-year-old seduces a twentysomething man and then blackmails him into being her boyfriend in order to exact revenge on her high school aged ex.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency -Bill Zotti, Jessica Matthews
MANAGER Kaplan/PerroneEntertainment -Aaron Kaplan, Justin Killion, Sean Perrone
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. Montecito Picture Company producing.

[11 votes]

CODE NAME VEIL by Matt Billingsley
“Based on actual events. A young CIA agent struggles to maintain his morality while navigating dangerous and absurd conditions in 1980s Beirut.”
AGENT United Talent Agency -Charlie Ferraro, Adam Weinstein
Industry Entertainment -Eryn Brown, Jess Rosenthal
AVAILABLE. Stacy Cohen, Kristin Harms producing.

EVERYTHING MUST GO by Dan Rush
“A relapsed alcoholic loses his job and his wife and decides to live on his front lawn while selling all of his belongings in a yard sale.”
AGENT International Creative Management -Todd Hoffman, David Unger
MANAGER Management 360 -Guymon Casady
AVAILABLE. Temple Hill Productions producing.

THE FOURTH KIND by Olatunde Osunsanmi
“A woman investigates an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances from one small town in Alaska.”
AGENT Endeavor -Sarah Lemkin, Phil Raskind
MANAGER Caliber Media -Dallas Sonnier
UNAVAILABLE. Gold Circle Films.

FOXCATCHER by E Max Frye & Dan Futterman
“Based on the true story of John du Pont, a paranoid schizophrenic who was heir to the du Pont fortune. After building a wrestling training facility named Team Foxcatcher on his Pennsylvania estate, Du Pont shot and killed Olympic gold medal-winning grappler David Schulz.”
AGENT Frye: Endeavor -Tom Strickler
Futterman: Endeavor -Tom Strickler, Adriana Alberghetti
MANAGER Futterman: Principal Entertainment -Larry Taube
UNAVAILABLE. Media Rights Capital. Grandview Pictures, Bennett Miller producing.

THE PHANTOM LIMB by Kevin Koehler
“A troubled private detective uncovers a blackmail scam involvinga gangster who runs a brothel that caters to amputee fetishes (and other taboo sexual interests) and the doctor who performs the body modifications.”
AGENT Endeavor -Rich Cook, David Karp
MANAGERMosaic Media Group -Brent Lilley
AVAILABLE. John Cameron producing.

[10 votes]

THE APOSTLES OF INFINITE LOVE by Victoria Strouse
“When an upper class dysfunctional New York family learn their youngest daughter has joined a cult in the midwest, they recruit a cult deprogrammer and go on the road to save her while both parents and siblings confront their issues with one another.”
AGENT Endeavor -Adam Levine, Bryan Besser
MANAGER Anonymous Content -Michael Sugar
AVAILABLE. Red Hour Films producing.

THE F-WORD by Elan Mastai
“Two best friends struggle with falling in love without ruining the bond between them.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency -Frank Wuliger, Greg Pedicin
MANAGER Principato/Young Management -Paul Young, Dave Rosenthal
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Searchlight. Mark Stevenson, Ford Oelman, Mark Costa producing.

UP IN THE AIR by Jason Reitman
“A ruthless human resources executive, whose job is to fire people, looks forward to the only joy he has in life, his millionth frequent flyer mile, a goal he pursues with zeal as the rest of his life falls apart around him because he is constantly on the road.”
AGENT William Morris Agency -Jeff Gorin, David Lonner
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. Montecito Picture Company, Hard C Productions producing.

[9 votes]

BACHELORETTE by Leslye Headland
“Ten years out of high school, three unhappy single friends come together as bridesmaids at a classmate’s wedding, get drunk, get high, and trash the wedding dress while romancing new and old loves and settling old business.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Rebecca Ewing, Yuli Masinovsky
MANAGER Caliber Media –Max Roman, Dallas Sonnier
AVAILABLE. Mark Gordon producing.

JONNY QUEST by Dan Mazeau
“Young Jonny Quest travels the world with his scientist father, adopted brother from India, Bandit the bulldog, and a government agent assigned to protect them while they investigate scientific mysteries.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency –David Kopple
MANAGER Circle of Confusion –David Alpert, Ashley Berns
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Lin Pictures, Adrian Askarieh, Daniel Alter producing.

THE KARMA COALITION by Shawn Christensen
“A professor embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind his wife’s death before the world ends.”
AGENT Endeavor –Bryan Besser
MANAGER Caliber Media –Dallas Sonnier
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Lin Pictures producing.

KEIKO by Elizabeth Wright Shapiro
“A white teenage girl, who was adopted and raised in Japan by Japanese parents, travels to America to find her long lost father, comedian Dana Carvey.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Tobin Babst, Blair Kohan
MANAGER Industry Entertainment –Jess Rosenthal
AVAILABLE.

KNIGHTS by Nick Confalone & Neal Dusedau
“A kickass British adventure where knighted celebrities (an entrepreneur, a soccer player, a musician, and an actor) are called upon to defend their country.”
MANAGER 3 Arts Entertainment –Greg Walter
AVAILABLE.

TWENTY TIMES A LADY by Gabrielle Allan & Jennifer Crittenden
“Based on the book by Karyn Bosnak. After realizing that she has had twice as many sexual partners as the national average, Ally swears off new guys and decides to go back and visit the previous twenty guys and find out if she overlooked anyone.”
AGENT Allen: United Talent Agency –Rebecca Ewing, Blair Kohan
Crittenden: Creative Artists Agency –Bill Zotti, Jeff Jacobs
UNAVAILABLE. Sony. Contrafilmproducing.

[8 votes]

CLEAR WINTER NOON by John Kolvenbach
“A hit man released from jail in his seventies tries to make amends for the innocent life he took.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Shana Eddy, Yuli Masinovsky, Jason Burns
MANAGER 3 Arts Entertainment –Tom Lassally
UNAVAILABLE. 2929 Productions. 2929 Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment producing.

FIERCE INVALIDS HOME FROM HOT CLIMATES by Eric Aronson
“Based on the novel by Tom Robbins. An irascible, world-weary CIA operative is duped by his boss into helping re-place a listening device back in Russian hands that is vital to spying on them.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Greg McKnight, Billy Hawkins
MANAGER Management 360 –Guymon Casady, Darin Friedman
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Infinitum Nihil, GK Films producing.

ROUNDTABLE by Brian K Vaughan
“In modern day, Merlin attempts to assemble a bunch of knights to battle an ancient evil.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Martin Spencer
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. Parkes/MacDonald Productions producing.

[7 votes]

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF THE MONOGAMOUS DUCK by Neeraj Katyal
“A writer struggling with drugs and his girlfriend’s death leaves New York for Los Angeles where he falls in love with a teacher and straightens out his life.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Barbara Dreyfus, Rebecca Ewing, Julien Thuan
AVAILABLE. Color Force producing.

THE GARY COLEMAN –EMMANUEL LEWIS PROJECT by Dan Fogelman
“Emmanuel Lewis and Gary Coleman save the world from an evil madman.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Danny Greenberg
MANAGER Industry Entertainment –Eryn Brown
AVAILABLE. Platinum Dunes producing.

THE LAYMAN’S TERMS by Jeremy Bailey
“In the midst of the Great Depression, a prodigal son returns home to face his demons and resurrect the dust bowl town he left behind. But the arrival of a mysterious woman soon threatens his way of life when he discovers she is being hunted by the very same Chicago gangsters he used to run with.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Charlie Ferraro, Adam Weinstein
MANAGER Magnet Management –Bob Sobhani
AVAILABLE.

THE MALLUSIONIST by Robbie Pickering & Jace Ricci
“A wannabe illusionist travels cross country with his young son to compete against his archnemesis in a Vegas magic show.”
AGENT Endeavor –Dawn Saltzman, Bill Weinstein
MANAGER Pickering: Benderspink–Charlie Gogolak
Ricci: Leverage Management –Gina Marcheschi
AVAILABLE. Red Hour Films producing.

PLAN B by Kate Angelo
“A woman sets out to be artificially inseminated and falls in love.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Jason Burns, Adam Weinstein
UNAVAILABLE. CBS Films. Escape Artists producing.

WHAT IS LIFE WORTH? By Max Borenstein
“Based on the memoir of Kenneth Feinberg, a dramatization of his involvement in the 9/11 victims compensation fund.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Alan Gasmer
MANAGERAnonymous Content –Bard Dorros, Adam Kossack
AVAILABLE. Michael De Luca Productions producing.

[6 votes]

ACOD: ADULT CHILDREN OF DIVORCE by Ben Karlin & Stu Zicherman
“A grown man finds himself still caught in the crossfire of his parents’ divorce.”
AGENT Karlin: United Talent Agency –Blair Kohan
Zicherman: William Morris Agency –David Lubliner
MANAGERKarlin:3 Arts Entertainment –David Miner
UNAVAILABLE. Miramax. Cohen Films, Ben Karlin producing.

BAD TEACHER by Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky
“After being dumped by her boyfriend, a foul-mouthed, gold-digging seventh-grade teacher sets her sights on a colleague who is dating the school’s model teacher.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Jeff Gorin, Aaron Hart
MANAGER Mosaic Media Group –Michael Lasker, Jimmy Miller
UNAVAILABLE. Sony. The Miller Company producing.

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY by Charles Randolph
“The true story of former Assistant United States attorney Stanley Alpert’s kidnapping by petty thieves and how he bonded with them in a Queens, NY apartment in 1998.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Rowena Arguelles, Risa Gertner
MANAGER Brillstein Entertainment Partners –Margaret Riley
AVAILABLE. Paula Wagner producing.

CHILD 44 by Richard Price
“Based on the novel by Tom Rob Smith. An officer in Stalinist Russia’s secret police is framed by a colleague for treason. While on the run with his wife, he stumbles upon a series of child murders and launches his own rogue investigation.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Bob Bookman
UNAVAILABLE. Fox 2000. Scott Free Productions producing.

EASY A by Bert Royal
“A good-natured high school student uses the rumor mill to personal advantage by pretending to be the school slut.”
AGENT Paradigm –Trevor Astbury, Valarie Phillips
MANAGER Dana Jackson
UNAVAILABLE. Screen Gems. Olive Bridge Entertainment producing.

GIANTS by Eric Nazarian
“A teenager with Marfan Syndrome comes to terms with his estranged father, his overworked mother, and the possibility that he very well might die during his upcoming procedure.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Alex Lerner, Stuart Manashil
MANAGER The Arlook Group –Jon Wolff
AVAILABLE. Lynette Ramirez producing.

GRAND THEFT AUTO by Jason Dean Hall
“Facing foreclosure on his repo yard, a young ex-con resumes a life of crime only to get blamed when his uncle’s coke deal gets hijacked. Caught in double crosses between Russian mafia, Yakuza, and the ATF, the young ex-con kidnaps a crime boss’s daughter and steals car after car on a Vegas bound suicide mission to retrieve the stolen drugs.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Jay Baker, Greg McKnight
MANAGER Management 360 –Darin Friedman
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Atomic. Stuart Parr, Roger Corman, Paul Rosenberg producing.

HELP ME SPREAD GOODNESS by Mark Friedman
“When an email predator dupes a man out of his son’s college fund, the man travels to Nigeria to confront those who ripped him off.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Charlie Ferraro, Rio Hernandez
MANAGER Chad Snopek Management –Chad Snopek
AVAILABLE. Participant Productions producing.

INFERNO: A LINDA LOVELACE STORY by Matt Wilder
“The story of Linda Lovelace, the first mainstream porn star who eventually overcame her past, found happiness in suburbia and led a crusade to stop pornography.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Brian Kend, Jay Baker
MANAGER Brillstein Entertainment Partners –Missy Malkin
AVAILABLE.

LONDON BOULEVARD by William Monahan
“Based on the book by Ken Fruen. Fresh out of prison, Mitchell lands a legitimate job as a handyman for a rich actress who’s eager to reward him with cash, cars, and sex. But Mitchell can never truly escape his violent past or the dangerous world of loan sharks, drug addicts and other bottom feeders.”
AGENT Endeavor –Chris Donnelly
AVAILABLE. Quentin Curtis, William Monahan producing.

MEMOIRS by Will Fetters
“Two college students who’ve experienced recent loss fall in love and heal their fractured families.”
AGENT Endeavor –Elia Infascelli-Smith, Sarah Lemkin
MANAGER Underground Films and Management –Trevor Engelson, Nick Osborne, Oly Obst
AVAILABLE. Underground Films and Management producing.

SHRAPNEL by Evan Daugherty
“Two mortal enemies square off on a hunting trip to the death.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Tobin Babst, Rio Hernandez
MANAGER Energy Entertainment –Brooklyn Weaver, Jake Wagner
AVAILABLE.

YOUR DREAMS SUCK by Kat Dennings & Geoffrey Litwak
“An awkward teen with no self esteem regains his self-confidence after joining a Dance Dance Revolution team.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Jessica Matthews
MANAGER Management 360 –Nicole King
AVAILABLE. DiNoviPictures producing.

[5 votes]

AFTER HAILEY by Scott Frank
“Based on the novel by Jonathan Tropper. After a twentysomething man’s older wife dies, he remains in suburbia and struggles to raise her teenage son from a previous marriage.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Beth Swofford, Maha Dakhil, Bob Bookman
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. Michaels Goldwyn producing.

THE BLADE ITSELF by Aaron Stockard
“Based on the novel by Marcus Sakey. Two former childhood friends, who made their reputation committing petty crimes, are reunited years later, forcing one of them to decide how far he will go to protect his past.”
AGENT Endeavor –Elia Infascelli-Smith
UNAVAILABLE. Miramax. Idealogy, Inc. producing.

BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE by Adam Cozad
“Two orphans, raised by a CIA operative to be assassins, become targets themselves.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Jeff Gorin, Aaron Hart
MANAGER The Gotham Group –Jeremy Bell
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Thunder Road producing.

FRESHLY POPPED by Megan Parsons
“A teenage girl who works at a movie theater tries to decide to whom she wants to lose her virginity.”
AGENT Paradigm –Scott Henderson, Lucy Stille
MANAGER Kaplan/PerroneEntertainment –Justin Killion
UNAVAILABLE. Overture. Escape Artists producing.

GAZA by Frank Deasy
“A British woman goes to Gaza to recover the body of her dead daughter and comes to understand her daughter’s political ideals.”
AGENT Endeavor –Tom Strickler
UNAVAILABLE. BBC Films. Andy Harries producing.

GREETINGS FROM JERRY by John Killoran
“Jerry seems to have it all -money, women, and a ridiculously easy job as a greeting card writer -until a tiny mistake at work unravels his life. Having lost everything he had -but never earned -he’s forced to confront who he really is and start again from scratch.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Jessica Matthews
AVAILABLE. Rick Yorn, Terra Firma Films producing.

GROWN MAN BUSINESS by Justin Britt-Gibson
“An older man who was a gangster in his youth returns to his neighborhood after a long absence to find the boys who murdered the son he abandoned years previous.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency –Sean Barclay
MANAGER Media Talent Group –Chris Davey
AVAILABLE. Winkler Films producing.

THE HERETIC by Javier Rodriguez
“The Roman Catholic Church asks a former inquisitor to assassinate rebel monk Martin Luther.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency –David Kopple, Greg Pedicin
MANAGER Mad Hatter Entertainment –Michael Connolly
AVAILABLE. Phoenix Pictures producing.

HOW TO BE GOOD by Cindy Chupack
“Based on the novel by Nick Hornby. A woman having second thoughts about her husband is pleased when he begins following a guru, but when her husband invites the guru to live with them, her point of view changes entirely.”
AGENT Endeavor –Adriana Alberghetti
UNAVAILABLE. Miramax. Laura Ziskin Productions producing.

IRON JACK by Johnny Rosenthal
“A renowned novelist’s comic quest for hidden treasure in the 1930s.”
AGENT Paradigm –Mark Ross
MANAGER Principato/Young Management –George Heller
UNAVAILABLE. Sony. Broken Road Productions producing.

MAN OF CLOTH by Josh Zetumer
“When an English minister’s family (wife and youngest son) are unjustly punished and sent off to a prison colony in Australia, the minister and his oldest son travel to Australia to re-unite the family. Upon arrival though, the minister is informed of their death, and quickly vengeance is the only thing that can quiet his hurt.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Jason Burns
MANAGER Management 360 –Guymon Casady, Darin Friedman
AVAILABLE. Management 360 producing.

SLEEPING BEAUTY by Julia Leigh
“A haunting erotic fairy tale about Lucy, a student who drifts into prostitution and finds her niche as a woman who sleeps, drugged, in a ‘Sleeping Beauty chamber’while men do to her what she can‘t remember the next morning.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –BecSmith, Kassie Evashevski, JulienThuan
AVAILABLE.

THE SPELLMAN FILES by Bobby Florsheim & Josh Stolberg
“A family of private investigators use their gumshoe skills to crack cases and pry into one another’s personal lives.”
AGENT Florsheim: Endeavor –Adriana Alberghetti
Stolberg: United Talent Agency –Julien Thuan
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. Laura Ziskin Productions producing.

STOP HUNTINGDON ANIMAL CRUELTY by Adam Sachs
“A lonely journalist finds love and inspiration in a quirky, unlikely manner –covering the misadventures of a young boy’s ‘protest’of an animal rights movement.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Mike Esola
MANAGER Energy Entertainment –Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall
UNAVAILABLE. Lionsgate. Energy Entertainment, Broken Road Productions producing.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Beau Willimon
“Based on the novel by Charles Dickens. Set in Paris and London during the French Revolution, English aristocrat Sydney Carton sacrifices his own life for his unrequited love Lucie Manette and Frenchman Charles Darnay.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Chris Till, Bob Bookman
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Spring Creek Productions, Appian Way Productions producing.

UNLOCKED by Peter O’Brien
“A female CIA interrogator is duped into getting a terrorist to provide key information to the wrong side, thrusting her into the middle of a plot to plan a devastating biological attack in London.”
AGENT Original Artists –Jordan Bayer
MANAGER Brillstein Entertainment Partners –Margaret Riley
AVAILABLE. Rainmaker Films (Georgina Townsley, Paul Goldin), Di Bonaventura Pictures producing.

WHAT WOULD KENNY DO? by Chris Baldi
“A seventeen-year-old high school kid meets a ‘hologram’of himself at thirty-seven-years-old and benefits from their friendship.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Mike Esola, Ava Greenfield
MANAGER Abstract Entertainment –Josh Adler, Michael Goldberg
UNAVAILABLE. United Artists. Winkler Films producing.

THE ZERO by Stephen Chin
“Based on the novel by Jess Walter. After a New York City policeman shoots himself in the head following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he is assigned to work for a shadowy agency at ‘Ground Zero’and quickly finds himself drawn into a sinister government plot.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Michael Eisner, Carolyn Sivitz, Cliff Roberts
MANAGER Industry Entertainment –Rosalie Swedlin, Jess Rosenthal
AVAILABLE. John Wells, Blumhouseproducing.

[4 votes]

47 RONIN by Chris Morgan
“Forty-seven samurai seek vengeance upon a regional lord who is responsible for the death of their master.”
AGENT International Creative Management –Emile Gladstone
UNAVAILABLE. Universal. Stuber Productions, Walter Hamada producing.

BALLAD OF THE WHISKEY ROBBER by Rich Wilkes
“Based on the book by Julian Rubinstein.”
AGENT Endeavor –Tom Strickler
MANAGER Management 360 –Daniel Rappaport
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Infinitum Nihil producing.

THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED by Hanna Weg
“The tumultuous and doomed love affair of Jazz Age icons F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Shana Eddy, Keya Khayatian
UNAVAILABLE. The Film Department. FarFalla Films, Sandbar Pictures producing.

A BITTERSWEET LIFE by Mark L Smith
“A crime boss asks his trusted lieutenant to determine if his young mistress is having an affair (and to kill her and her lover if she is.) The lieutenant confirms the affair but, entranced by the girl, chooses to let them live. Discovering this, the crime boss orders the lieutenant killed, only he escapes and seeks vengeance.”
AGENT International Creative Management –Harley Copen
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Atomic. Shady Films producing.

BOBBIE SUE by Russell Sharman, Owen Egerton, & Chris Mass
“A hard charging female ambulance chaser becomes the face of a prestigious law firm when an important client is sued for sexual discrimination.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Jason Burns
MANAGER Untitled Entertainment –Jennifer Levine
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. De Line Pictures producing.

BOBISM by Ben Wexler
“A shy college student discovers that life in one thousand years will be based on his blog–and he has to stop aliens from the future who want him dead.”
AGENT Endeavor –Bryan Besser
UNAVAILABLE. MGM. Contrafilm producing.

DEADLINE by Soo Hugh
“A discredited journalist navigates dangerous politics to find a missing aid worker.”
AGENT Endeavor –Dawn Saltzman, David Karp
MANAGER Energy Entertainment –Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall
AVAILABLE.

THE DEBT by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn
“Based on the Israeli film HaHov. Three Israeli Mossad agents discover that a war criminal is still alive and set out to pursue him.”
AGENT Goldman: Aitken Alexander Associates (UK)
Vaughn: Endeavor –Phil Raskind
MANAGER Vaughn: Brillstein Entertainment Partners –Naren Desai, Cynthia Pett-Dante
UNAVAILABLE. Miramax. MARV Films producing.

THE ENDS OF THE EARTH by Chris Terrio
“Based on a true story. The controversial love affair between an oil baron and his adopted daughter destroys the empire they built together.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Rowena Arguelles
AVAILABLE. Escape Artists producing.

HEARTSTOPPER by Dan Antoniazzi & Ben Shiffrin
“A romantic comedy, with a serial killer.”
AVAILABLE.

THE HOW-TO GUIDE FOR SAVING THE WORLD by Ben David Grabinski
“A loser discovers a book on how to stop an alien invasion and is thrust into action to stop a real one.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Aaron Hart, Cliff Roberts, Danny Greenberg
MANAGER Kaplan/PerroneEntertainment –Justin Killion, Sean Perrone
AVAILABLE. Barry Sonnenfeld producing.

I KILLED BUDDY CLOY by Nick Garrison & Chase Pletts
“When a terrible act of violence shatters Ray’s hum-drum existence, his sociopath uncle lures him down an absurd, vengeful path.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Aaron Hart, Ben Rowe, Jeff Gorin
AVAILABLE.

JAR CITY by Michael Ross
“Based on the film by Baltasar Kormakur. A police detective’s investigation of a murder leads to the uncovering of secrets in a small town.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency –David Kopple
UNAVAILABLE. Overture. Baltasar Kormakur producing.

A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY by Susan Walter
“A female clothing designer struggles to find love and success after turning thirty.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Michael Eisner, Ava Greenfield
MANAGER Untitled Entertainment –Jennifer Levine
AVAILABLE. Anonymous Content, Jennifer Levine producing.

THE MOST ANNOYING MAN IN THE WORLD by Kevin Kopelow & Heath Seifert
“A man travels across the country with his annoying brother in order to get to his own wedding.”
AGENT Endeavor –Bill Weinstein, David Karp
UNAVAILABLE. Walt Disney. Oops Doughnuts Productions producing.

MOTORCADE by Billy Ray
“The President of the United States and his motorcade are attacked during a visit to Los Angeles.”
AGENT International Creative Management –Bruce Kaufman
MANAGER Management 360 –Guymon Casady
UNAVAILABLE. Dreamworks. Parkes/MacDonald Productions producing.

THE MURDERER AMONG US by Lori Gambino
“Based on true events. Legendary filmmaker Fritz Lang contends with a mounting police investigation into the death of his first wife, the growing threat of the Third Reich, and a caustic relationship with his female collaborator; all leading to the production of the film M.”
MANAGER Luber-Roklin Entertainment –Stephen Crawford
AVAILABLE.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HELL by Brian McGreevy & Lee Shipman
“A gritty, contemporary retelling of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO set in the underworld of the Hell’s Kitchen Irish mob.”
AGENT Paradigm –Valarie Phillips, Trevor Astbury
MANAGER Mad Hatter Entertainment –Michael Connolly
AVAILABLE. Mad Hatter Entertainment producing.

SAMURAI by Fernley Phillips
“Set in Japan during the 150 Year War, a ronin out for justice teams up with a ninja and a green-eyed English boy to rid Japan of an evil Lord. Their partnership becomes the stuff of myth.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Jay Baker
MANAGER Energy Entertainment –Brooklyn Weaver
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Atomic. State Street Pictures producing.

THE SCAVENGERS by Nate Edelman
“Based on the play Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge. A ne’er-do-well Irish twentysomethingbecomes infamous when he commits a haphazard murder and catchesthe fancy of a brazen barmaid who, bored with her small town existence, sees him as the
rebel he always wanted to be and follows him on the run.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Rio Hernandez, Shana Eddy
MANAGERManage-ment–Dan Halstead
AVAILABLE.

SERIAL KILLER DAYS by Mark Carter
“A dark comedy blending stories of teen love and municipal corruption set against the backdrop of a town plagued by a serial killer that decides to profit the only way it can -by creating a festival and economy around the fact that they have a serial killer.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Rio Hernandez, Keya Khayatian
MANAGER New Wave Entertainment –Brad Mendelsohn
AVAILABLE. Hard C Productions producing.

SHERLOCK HOLMES by Tony Peckham
“A dark, sophisticated take on Sherlock Holmes and his trusted number two, Dr. Watson.”
AGENT William Morris Agency –Cliff Roberts
MANAGEMENT Anonymous Content –Michael Sugar, Bard Dorros
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Silver Pictures, Wigram Productions, Lin Pictures producing.

SWINGLES by Jeff Roda
“After their best friends get engaged, a dedicated bachelor and a high-strung lawyer team up to help each other get dates by giving revealing insights into the opposite sex (thus inventing ‘swingling’) but complications ensue when they fall for each other.”
AGENT Endeavor –Lis Rowinski, Adriana Alberghetti
UNAVAILABLE. Paramount. MisherFilms producing.

‘TIL BETH DO US PART by Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg
“The friendship of two twentysomething men is put to the test when one of them becomes engaged.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency –Todd Feldman, Greg McKnight
MANAGER Principato/Young Management –Dave Rosenthal, Paul Young
UNAVAILABLE. Warner Brothers. Principato/Young Management producing.

UNTITLED CHANNING TATUM PROJECT by Doug Jung
“A Los Angeles cop escorts a Korean gang leader back to South Korea. When the gang leader escapes, killing the cop’s partner in the process, he teams with a young Korean gangster in a bloody pursuit of revenge that takes them through the dangerous and exotic underworld of Seoul.”
AGENT United Talent Agency –Charlie Ferraro, Barbara Dreyfus
MANAGER New Wave Entertainment –Brad Mendelsohn
UNAVAILABLE. Fox Atomic. Vertigo, Management 360 producing

Point and Counterpoint: Is Story Dead?

Yesterday, I excerpted an article from the Sunday New York Times magazine, about the ascendance of “visual literacy.” Today on Arts & Letters Daily (please be careful, this website is like crack. I’m serious. Don’t even look.) there was an article by Sam Leith of the Telegraph with interesting and very complimentary take on the same subject:

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“Tell me a story.” It’s a plea that echoes through the ages: not only the ages of human civilisation, but the ages of man. As a child, tucked up and ready for bed.

As an adult, settling deep into a popcorn-scented cinema seat as the house lights go down. In old age, becalmed, combing your memories. Telling stories is as old a game as language itself.

So it’s odd – not to say alarming – to read reports that some people seem to think we’re on the verge of running out of narrative. A group of academics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in cahoots with some Hollywood moguls, have announced the opening of a “Center for Future Storytelling”.

Click HERE to read the rest…

In The Beginning Was the Word

An excerpt from an article entitled “Becoming Screen Literate” by Kevin Kelly, which appeared in the New York Times Sunday Magazine on November 23rd:

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Once, long ago, culture revolved around the spoken word. The oral skills of memorization, recitation and rhetoric instilled in societies a reverence for the past, the ambiguous, the ornate and the subjective. Then, about 500 years ago, orality was overthrown by technology. Gutenberg’s invention of metallic movable type elevated writing into a central position in the culture. By the means of cheap and perfect copies, text became the engine of change the foundation of stability. From printing came journalism, science and the mathematics of libraries and law. The distribution-and-display device that we call printing instilled in society a reverence for precision (of black ink on white paper), an appreciation for linear logic (in a sentence), a passion for objectivity (of printed fact), and an allegiance to authority (via authors), whose truth was as fixed and final as a book.

Now invention is again overthrowing the dominant media. A new distribution-and-display technology is nudging the book aside and catapulting images, and especially moving images, to the center of the culture. We are becoming people of the screen. The fluid and fleeting symbols on a screen pull us away from the classical notions of monumental authors and authority. On the screen, the subjective again trumps the objective. The past is a rush of data streams cut and rearranged into a new mashup, while truth is something you can assemble yourself on your own screen as you jump from link to link. We are now in the middle of a second Gutenberg shift – from book fluency to screen fluency, from literacy to visuality.

The intensely collaborative work needed to coddle chemically treated film and paste together its strips into movies meant that it was vastly easier to watch a movie than to make one. A Hollywood blockbuster can take a million person-hours to produce and only two hours to consume. But now, cheap and universal tools of creation (megapixel phone cameras, Photoshop, iMovie) are quickly reducing the effort needed to create moving images. To the utter bafflement of the experts who confidently claimed that viewers would never rise from their reclining passivity, tens of millions of people hav in recent years spent uncountable hours making movies of their own design. Having a ready and reachable audience of potential millions helps, as does the choice of multiple modes in which to create. Because of new consumer gadgets, community training, peer encouragement and fiendishly clever software, the ease of making video now approaches the ease of writing.

This not how Hollywood makes films, of course. A blockbuster film is a gigantic creature custom-built by hand. Like a Siberian tiger, it demands our attention – but is also very rare. In 2007, 600 feature films were released in the United States, or about 1,200 hours of moving images. As a percentage of the hundreds of millions of hours of moving images produced annually today, 1,200 hours is tiny. It is a rounding error.

We tend to think the tiger represents the animal kingdom, but in truth, a grasshopper is a truer statistical example of an animal. The handcrafted Hollywood film won’t go away, but if we want to see the future of motion pictures, we need to study the swarming food chain below – the YouTube, indie films, TV serials and insect-scale lip-synch mashups – and not just the tiny apex of tigers. The bottom is where the action is, and where screen literacy originates.

***

Fascinating, no? And the article goes on for several more pages in which the writer posits quite convincingly that the moving image has replaced the written word and that anybody can make a movie. Certainly he is convincing on many points but what he doesn’t really address is the human need for STORY – in whatever form – preferring to focus instead on literacy. Yes, YouTube had 10 billion video views in September,2008, but it’s not tough to hold someone’s attention for 3 minutes, is it? What does it really mean at the end of the day? Is this type of video enduring? Does it create the same depth of emotional connection and catharsis that a story told on the big screen over two hours does? I doubt it.

Nobody really knows the answers – I mean, Hollywood wasn’t sure talkies were going to catch on and couldn’t possibly have imagined the THX surround sound some people have in their very living rooms today. One thing is for sure – humans are continuing to evolve and we do take in information more visually now than ever.

But does this mean that the authors of visual entertainment need not have a facility with the written word in order to create and contribute to the visual medium? That would be nice, wouldn’t it? But I don’t think so. In the beginning was the word. And the word was good. One must take ideas out of the ether and commit them to the page before they can be translated unto a visual image. Unless you plan to make videos of funny stuff your dog does, or clever edited mashups of bits and snatches of movies for a living. Not sure who’s going to pay you for that but hey if you get 1 million views of how funny your kitty is wearing sunglasses, go nuts.

Carry on.

Should You Rush a GREAT Idea?

I was having dinner the other night with three talented writers who are all close friends of mine when one of them, two margaritas in, reminded me of a script idea that he’d partially worked out a couple of years ago but set aside in favor of a newer project. As he described the logline, we all went nuts – it is BRILLIANT. It is high concept, it is zeitgeisty as hell and it is completely original – for now. Unanimously, we urged this writer to drop everything and complete this script as quickly as possible. Because somebody else is definitely going to come up with this idea. In fact, in the two years between writing a rough draft of the script and having moved on, my friend did find out that there is a comic book coming out with the same basic idea. Normally, I am not one to be super secretive about loglines but this is one of those loglines that you DO NOT tell many people because it is just so fantastic.

How do you know if you have a money idea? Well, that’s one of those things that is helped quite a lot by living in LA and being around a lot of industry people so you can research whether it’s been done before or worse – is being done right now.

But you don’t necessarily have to live in LA for that advice. It’s not so hard to find out if the idea has been done before. You can do an IMDB keyword search and go to a trusted industry connection and ask them to help you out. Is this idea floating around Hollywood right now? That’s harder to find out. That’s the kind of thing I turn to my colleagues for, since I know so many people who are preternaturally plugged in to what’s going on in Hollywood.This is when having paid it forward will be enormously helpful. I have so many people (and you know who you are) who were former clients, became friends and do me little favors all the time. And I return those favors whenever I can. And the same is true for me – I have paid it forward and I have many colleagues that I turn to as well. On my own behalf and on yours.

I know a writer who had what felt like a GREAT idea for an episode of an existing show and was so excited – until he talked to someone who just happened to have seen literally every episode and…yep, it had been done. What a buzz kill that was. Better to find out in advance than shop around a spec with something that has already been done and look foolish.

Say you have an idea like my friend does. Fresh, totally original and yet totally obvious, thematically familiar and yet fundamentally different. Is it a rush or a race? Unfortunately, yes. A very strange thing happens with writers – and it doesn’t matter where you live – but we seem to share the same thinking. It is a common occurrence that script ideas come in clusters. Without going all metaphysical on your behinds, I have no explanation for this. Ideas swim around in the ether and writers are always looking for them. We are all exposed to the same media and group-think and national and international zeitgeist so it’s like being in a petrie dish; sooner or later connections will be made from one news item to another and new ideas will begin to form from single cells to wriggling flagellum.

So your totally brilliant, one-of-a-kind idea is, in all likelihood, not so original. So now the race is on. Who is going to not only get their wonderful idea DONE first, but who is going to execute it the best? You cannot sacrifice speed for quality if you are an unproven writer. Yes, established writers – known quantities – can sell the idea alone. Or the treatment. But new, unproven writers really can’t. Because the idea might be great, but why should someone trust you, a new writer, to execute that on the page in a way that services this great idea beautifully, when they can either steal your idea and get it to a writer they KNOW is great, or wait for that to occur naturally. Because it will. And yes, idea theft does happen.

If you are a semi-experienced screenwriter, meaning you’ve written at least four or five scripts and done well in a competition or any other venue, you should be able to outline and write a first draft of your brilliant idea within six weeks. Or less. I know, that sounds insane, but so often we writers actually drag out the process much more than we need to. If you are that excited about your brilliant idea, you better burn the midnight oil and get it done. I give that about six weeks because after that you’re going to need another two weeks to get notes and rewrite the draft. And maybe even another set and another rewrite. If you turn in a slipshod, rushed draft, this golden idea just turned into brass. Game over for you.

I generally like to practice what I preach – be present, enjoy the process, write for the joy of it. But once in awhile, when I hear an idea as good as the one I am referring to, then I preach Getting Thy Ass in Motion. Now. Because if you don’t – someone else will. It happens all the time. Enlist your friends – get notes and guidance. You have one shot and you don’t have much time. So do it right.

What if you knock yourself out to get a draft out there of an idea and then you read in the trades that another script is making the rounds with the same idea? Well, if the other draft out there is by a novice screenwriter, and you have rep, there’s still some chance you’ll be able to get your draft out there was well. All may not be lost. But – it’s not a great situation. If the other draft floating around is by an experienced writer, it’s time to go put your fist through a wall because it’s all over for the shouting.

A couple of years ago, my former writing partner and I had a GREAT idea to adapt a cheesy 70s book (and television movie) into a feature film. It was a slam-dunk. Until we found out, very early on in our conversations that Scott Rudin has already set it up at Paramount. What a huge let down that was. But there you go. Glad we didn’t waste our time, tell ya that.

So you have an amazing idea. The first thing you need to ascertain is if it really is that amazing. Then you need to make sure it truly has not been done before. Then you need to find out if it’s floating around Hollywood right now. Then you need to buy three cases of Red Bull and outline and outline and outline and get ON writing the draft.

That is all. Now get back to work.