State of the Script (022)

"... a very difficult sale"

That is a quote being passed along to me from some agencies, production companies and networks in reference to SP1. Everyone claims to love the script, the concept, the writing, but they find it to be a tough sale. I feared that "a very difficult sale" was just a nicer way of saying "fuck off, loser." My manager assures me that isn't completely true. SP1 is mostly a difficult sale because WriterGal and I would retain the coveted "created by" credit. This makes established showrunners less likely to get involved and companies aren't as inclined to take a chance on newbies likes us. Execs at smaller companies, like the ones that have been interested in SP1, like to take a script like this and throw it at few walls and see if anything sticks. If it doesn't immediately stick, then they move on to the next thing. Luckily the young producer and my manager aren't afraid of a couple passes. They insist they only see it as more motivation to find the right home for our show.

If you recall, WriterGal and I had given our take on two projects to a production company (see entry #17). The development exec claims she loves our idea for the first project, a romantic comedy, but an established writer came in with an idea that blew them away and they are going with him. The exec also says she "truly" loves our take on the second project, a TV series, but at the moment they are fighting with a network to get the rights to the project back. Once that happens, which could be months from now, she will come back to us.

They love me... they love me, not?

Not much else to report on the state of my completed scripts. In the meantime, I am still working on the RC script and the PT script. RC script still in outlining stages. PT script around page 45 of a rough draft.

Ten Favorite Films of the 1940s (021)

This will probably be the most difficult decade to narrow down to ten films. I wouldn’t be surprised if half of my all time favorite films came from this decade. The list is predominantly Hollywood movies made during the Hays Code era. I have a thing for Hays Code films and would love to experiment sometime by writing a screenplay with the censorship guidelines enforced by the code. Anyhow, here are the films in chronological order:

1. The Philadelphia Story (1940) - George Cukor
2. The Great Dictator (1940) - Charlie Chaplin
3. To Be Or Not To Be (1942) - Ernst Lubitsch
4. Casablanca (1942) - Michael Curtiz
5. The Palm Beach Story (1942)- Preston Sturges
6. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) - Frank Capra


7. Double Indemnity (1944) - Billy Wilder
8. The Big Sleep (1946) - Howard Hawks
9. The Bicycle Thief (1948) - Vittorio De Sica
10. The Third Man (1949) - Carol Reed

If it wasn't for my rule that directors can only appear once per list, then these two films may have been in the top ten:

His Girl Friday (1940) – Howard Hawks
The Lady Eve (1941) - Preston Sturges

Writing Schedule Revised (020)

The two most important things in writing (or so I’ve been told):

#1 – Make a writing schedule
#2 – Stick to that writing schedule

Easier said than done. Making a writing schedule is a talent in and of itself. The schedule needs to be practical. According to my previous schedule I was to have the second draft of my PT script completed by September 23rd… not practical. I am on page 43 of a very rough draft. The writing schedule also needs to be ambitious. I’d rather be a week behind my ambitious writing schedule and working hard to keep up than a week ahead and feel like I have time to explore the backlog of my DVR. Finding the fine line between practical and ambitious can be rather difficult.

I will admit that my latest writing schedule is more ambitious than it is practical. I don’t feel I have much choice. Without a full time job, I will most likely be out of money by New Year’s Day. This is my last chance to write full time before having to succumb to the workforce. I’m not saying I will stop writing in the new year, I’m just saying I will have less time to be a productive writer. A glimmer of hope does exist in that I was asked to do some paid edits on a friend’s book. If that works out, I might be able to extend my schedule before getting a dreaded non-writing job.

How ambitious is my new writing schedule? Along with finishing my PT script, I intend to start and complete a feature romantic comedy (RC) with WriterGal. Writing a script in two months is particularly ambitious, at least for me. Our manager has requested that we base the script on WriterGal’s one-woman show. We have decided to also loosely base it on our own relationship. I’m just now realizing that writing a relationship comedy about your own relationship with the person you are in a relationship with might be a problematic. Oh well.

Revised Writing Schedule
PT script – December 25th 2009
RC script – December 25th 2009

Of course, I will have checkpoint deadlines along the way, but I haven’t actually figured out the finer details just yet. No time for a proper conclusion. Back to writing…

Ten Favorite Films of the 1930s (019)

I realize you didn’t ask, but I figured I’d tell you. This should give you an idea of the films that have influenced me as a writer. The list factors in nostalgia. There might be films with superior creative merit left off the list, but these are some of the films that meant the most to me. I reserve the right to change my list at anytime. Eventually I will try to come up with a list for every decade and maybe even go back to the ‘20s.

In order to narrow down the list, I installed the rule that directors are only allowed to appear on the list once. Also, even though different people directed Marx Brothers films, I could only use one. By the way, Groucho and I share the same birthday (the day, not the year).


Here is the list in chronological order with the director included:

1. M (1931) - Fritz Lang
2. City Lights (1931) - Charlie Chaplin
3. The Thin Man (1934) - W.S. Van Dyke
4. A Night At The Opera (1935) – Sam Wood
5. The 39 Steps (1935) - Alfred Hitchcock
6. My Man Godfrey (1936) - Gregory La Clava
7. Bringing Up Baby (1938) - Howard Hawks
8. Holiday (1938) - George Cukor
9. Ninotchka (1939) - Ernst Lubitsch
10. The Rules of The Game (1939) - Jean Renoir

What am I forgetting?

It Happened One Night (1934) is a close runner up, but I could only choose one George Cukor film and it had to be Holiday.

I'm suddenly feeling compelled to condemn the frivolity of top ten lists. I will resist.

Rejected ! (018)

I was recently rejected from an Adler Weiner focus group. As a writer, I am rejected on a daily basis. I have multiple scripts floating around in the film world, so every day that my scripts aren't sold is a day I am rejected. I should be used to it by now, but I'm not going lie, getting rejected by Adler Weiner kind of hurt.


I had my heart set on that cushy hour long focus group. The job would have paid a whopping $100. That would have been the highest hourly wage I ever made. The criteria was simple: Own a Hyundai Elantra or any of the other ten cars from their list. I passed that test and was immediately put through to the official phone interview. My interviewer was very excited as I answered each and every question promptly and correctly. She even offered the occasional overly-impressed, "VERY GOOD," like one might say upon discovering their toddler completed a puzzle recommendation for older children. I have to admit, the questions weren’t very difficult. Samples: How old are you? What is your profession? What are your hobbies? Apparently a writer that plays basketball and drives a Hyundai Elantra was exactly what Adler Weiner was looking for. WriterGuy and Adler Weiner seemed to be a match made in heaven. I even made a workplace appropriate joke about Los Angeles and electric cars that resulted in belly laughs on both ends of the telephone.

Then came the final question. My interviewer asked that I take the following and rank them in order of importance when buying a new car:

Price, MPG, User Recommendations, Safety, Quality, Style.

I assumed my answer wouldn't really matter considering how close we had become over the past ten minutes. Still, I might as well take a moment to give Adler Weiner the thoughtful answer they deserved. I ranked them like this:

Quality, Safety, Price, MPG, User Recommendations, Style

Ms. Adler Weiner quickly responded, "Mmmm. I see. Well, you're not right for this but thanks for your time." CLICK.

What?! What did I do? What did I say? What could the right answer have been? I was totally going to put "MPG" before "Price" but I switched it at the last minute. That must have been my error. I was filled with rage and confusion. I had opened up to my interviewer. I told her about myself and my economic status. By ranking what I look for in a car, I told her what I value. I even told her a joke. She strung me along, making me feel like she was genuinely interested in me. Then she hung up with a feeble apology and no explanation. I felt cheap, used and a little dirty.

You know what, even if I knew the correct answer, I wouldn't have changed my ranking. I stand by my belief in quality over style. If Adler Weiner doesn't want my unprofessional opinion for auto industry market research, then they don't deserve it. Ok, that's a lie. I would have changed my answer for $25, nevermind $100. I rue the day you came into my life Adler Weiner! ... whomever you are.

Writers Audition Too (017)

The writing schedule for the PT script is officially defunct. Wednesday was meant to be the deadline for the 2nd draft. Unfortunately, I only have a first draft of the first act complete. It isn’t for lack of writing. In fact, WriterGal and I have been very busy of late. In my previous entry, I mentioned that we would be meeting with a company as a writing team. That meeting led to a very busy (albeit unpaid) week of writing.

We’d had meetings about our pilot(SP1) before, but those were very specific, having to do with that particular project. This meeting was to be more of a “meet and greet.” The company we met with has some projects in development and they are looking for writers for those projects. Our pilot impressed them enough to want to meet us and see if we were possibly right for one of their projects.

The offices of this production company are in a historic, art deco building in the heart of Hollywood, a block away from the famous Capitol Records building. The lobby alone may have been a bit intimidating if we had time to stop and take it in. We were on the verge of being late, so we signed in and sprinted to the elevator. In the offices, the receptionist offered us water, which we accepted. Moments later, the director of development greeted us and brought us into an open office space featuring picture windows that looked down on all of Hollywood.

Our interview as a writing team went as well as can be expected. The director of development praised the pilot that we wrote and asked a bit more about our process. Having never actually sat down and written a script together, I think we did a pretty good job convincing her that we are a well oiled writing machine. She told us about a couple of projects they had and were looking to find writers for. Two in particular she thought might be up our alley. She pitched us these projects and asked if we would be interested in giving our “take” on the projects. We said we certainly would.

Our "take” may sound simple, but it is in fact, our “audition” for the writing job. This company isn’t going to pay a writing team without a reputation, (just like a film isn’t going to cast an unknown actress) unless we can prove to them that they will get their money’s worth. So, our "take” translated to a detailed treatment of the film we would write if given the opportunity. We spent all of last week coming up with our concept for the film and turning it into a concise and entertaining ten-page document. We submitted that document on Friday and hope to hear back soon. This week we will do the same thing for the second project.

Writing as a team presented some challenges. I’ve been writing alone for a long time now and I have a way of doing things that isn’t always conducive to collaboration. We hit certain roadblocks in the process that made me seriously question whether or not we would be able to pull it off. Thankfully, we addressed our problems as they arose and powered through our frustrations. In the end, I found that a writing partner made me work harder and faster. I was forced to defend my decisions and I was able to more quickly let go of my bad ideas. WriterGal and I are happy with the results and are looking forward to the next project.

Writing Team (016)

I’ve always wanted to have a writing partner. Setting out to write a new script is daunting, so the idea of having someone else doing half the work is appealing. I want that partner to bounce ideas off, to tweak dialog with and to push me forward when I think I’ve hit a wall. And in the end, if the script sucks, at least I would have someone else to blame.


Seriously though, I think I would make a good writing partner. I’d give equal to what I take, I’d be willing to compromise and I would not be afraid to take a stand. A writing team is a relationship. I’ve always been a relationship guy (three relationships totaling ten years), so I’m surprised that it has taken me this long to find a writing partner.

I wasn’t looking for a writing partner. In fact, I didn’t realize I had a writing partner until my manager scheduled an interview for my writing partner and me. You see, I wrote a TV pilot based on my girlfriend’s one-woman show. This TV pilot impressed a development executive at a production company. This executive has a project that requires a strong female voice and she likes our project enough for an interview. Suddenly, my girlfriend (henceforth known as WriterGal) and I are going out for an interview as a writing team.

This development has left me both excited and nervous. Is it really wise to add the stresses of a work relationship to the stresses of a romantic relationship? Many people warn against mixing business with pleasure. Others, however, find comfort in working with the person they love. My inclination is that the experience will be both trying and rewarding. I might need to exercise my patience to a new extreme, but if we can transfer our compatibility as a couple to our work, then we will be in pretty good shape. Our shared sense of humor, coupled with WriterGal's training as a comedian and my training as a screenwriter, could potentially yield some highly satisfactory results.