Alex Ellerman

that - looks - awesome. talk about trailer moments!

Mike - i think finding book representation is easier than film representation. Only NY and LA matter... don't waste your time with anywhere else. I mean, there is the odd agent in DC or perhaps Boston or the like, but really, LA/ NY is where the publishing world resides. and for film, it's mainly LA. all the talent is in LA, all the big studios are in LA, etc. if your agent has never sold a book, then you don't want them repping you. Get the Guide to Literary Agents from Rachel Vater... other than that, some agents specialize, in Gen X writing, women's issues, fiction, non fiction, but again, they specialize in great work. more specifically, work that sells and they can make a commission on. of course, worry about the book first, and the repping later. submission rules aren't hard and fast. it used to be that you couldn't multi-submit, but that is fine now. i recommend 3 of your best chapters, and a cover letter, get the agent to request more. email or hard copy. again, six degrees of separation is the best route, find someone who knows an agent. Biopics are HOT now, by the time you finish, who knows? you can't time the market anyways. Best, ae

What is the point of dissecting our comments? Elvworks can take what he needs and discard the points he doesn't need... that is a good format, otherwise things get mired in the muck... I never intended my notes as a "version," as Mark called it, but as possibilities, as thought provoking comments/questions to push him along further, not a version of his material. When we engage in some competition as to who wrote a better version, or why something is valid/invalid, we are choking off the creative process. There's no need to defend his writing. I think Cap'n has pushed this into a discussion on goals, which is great, b/c i think the piece lacks interior/exterior goals (conscious/subconscious) goals, meaning you could find them now, but i don't think you sat down and wrote them out before writing the piece ? Even if these never get explained in dialogue (which is good, show don't tell) they will add reality to the piece. example: interior goal - wants to break free from boring life exterior goal - get away from robber this is for illustrative purposes... but the exterior goal is in opposition to the interior goal, creating conflict, drama. He wants to get away from the robber, that is obvious, conscious, etc., but deep down inside, in his mind, he loves this feeling on the run, it's exhiliarating, away from his mom, the rules of life, etc. if you imbue your writing and characters with these types of goals, it will strengthen the work. also, you want to create escalating conflict, and b/c you have created this great problem, you don't want to just solve it easily, it's not satisfying to the audience. it must be solved creatively and intelligently.

Rick - good stuff. take what comments you like, discard the rest. -Try to be more evocative in an economical kind of way... A diesel Gremlin with a 'My Kid is an Honors Student' bumper sticker pulls up to the bank -Intro the characters with more individuality: A KID with matted blonde hair and a learners permit puts the car into park and turns off the engine. He does it by the book. His PASSENGER, a blonde woman in her forties, a form fitting blouse, freshens her lipstick in the visor mirror. -the dialogue could crackle more... PASSENGER No loud music while I'm inside, Brat. BRAT Look, there's an ATM. the pin is our phone number, gimme the card, I can even- PASSENGER I said no- etc. etc. etc. - withdrawal is one word unless you're trying to capture a patois? which I wouldn't recommend. - drop the wrylies (annoyed). use them sparingly if at all. let the dialogue convey the emotion. - now when the burly man gets in, you have the opportunity for more drama, b/c the driver only has a learner's permit. let's introduce it earlier for drama, rather than later for a laugh. BLACK MASK Drive! Brat points to learner's permit on dashboard. BLACK MASK DRIVE! BRAT It's not legal. Black Mask reaches across and keys the ignition - VROOM - BLACK MASK Drive or die! Brat adjusts mirrors - a shrill alarm sounds from the bank - belts himself in - starts the car -security guards are gesturing to the car - gestures to other seatbelt and Black Mask pulls it across his body - checks his blind spot... - we're just building tension from the robbery... force yourself to be more descriptive than 'slowly pulls away.' He could possibly his mom in the rearview mirror b/c he's checking his mirrors like they teach you in Driver's Ed? The Robber appears mean and looks around at his surroundings, still wearing his mask. Brat is driving nervously, weaving side to side. - this is a great paragraph to dissect... what does 'appears mean' actually mean? show don't tell. looks at his surroundings... very plain writing. Driving nervously? skip the adverbs always, go for interesting verbs, like the one you chose weaving. Wouldn't it be also interesting if he drove perfectly? BLACK MASK You're a good bag man. BRAT Thanks. my mom says I'm a bad driver. BLACK MASK Your mom is wrong. - what if they were buddies? an uneasy friendship? -dialogue like that is more interesting to me than the standard (expected) dialogue that you have, in terms of arguing about the learner's permit. -turning the car off at the light strains belief for me a bit. by now, mom could call on cell phone and they could have an argument (i can't pick you up right now, etc.) things like that give the world a realistic feel. I don't believe that this could would go by the name Brat, either. that would suck for a kid of 16 trying to be cool. - ah, then you bring up the mom (i'm giving comments as i read). but you tell, not show about her. the phone call i suggested would be more of a show, still somewhat of a tell... a cut to her at the bank would be a show. - is the cigarette pull over believable? this is a masked man with a gun? he got Brat to leave his mom at the bank, but he pulls over for a cigarette? it's not consistent. it's kind of standard fare... i'd rather the masked man gave him a G ($1k) as he walks away, then cut to Brat pulling up to pick up his mom like a madman, like a bagman, giving him an arc, from a bothered little kid to a worldly bagman... if Brat was going through some career day stuff at school, picking a college, PSAT's, etc., and then he runs into this guy, it might play differently. but i would push myself to make this edgier, unpredictable. Best, ae

Audiris - I wrote the first draft of a novel that got me repped in 4 mths... i'm handing in what i believe to be the final draft 4 yrs. later! I'm putting together the final touches on a low budget indie that i wrote the first draft of many, many years ago... that i'm going to really push this summer. i'm a much better writer now, and i had to sharpen those projects. But if you outline, step outline, you can really cut down the rewriting process. TSM - if writing is your path (and i'm not sure it is? are you interested in camera? directing? writing?), you will eventually get to the point where you write every day, most likely. i think that was the dividing line for me... writing on weekends, or writing every night... Best, ae

i stand by my "if the script is awesome, nothing else matters," quote. it's quintessential hollywood truth. drop it on the freeway, and it will be found. I hate voiceover, but if a script is good enough, i'll put up with it. Best to include an email address as well... and NEVER pay anyone to read your work. Ever. Non-negotiable. Anyone who asks for money is a SCAM. the other thing is, and i only bring this up b/c elvworks was kind enough to give you detailed instructions... a lot of big places DO NOT accept unsolicited submissions.... by big places, i'm talking about the big (CAA, ICM, UTA, WM), the next level (Gersh, Paradigm), the boutiques (Broder Webb), etc. very few accept unsolicited material. they say that they throw it away without reading it, but who really knows? so if you're submitting this as a school project, or to a friend, or a director, that's one thing. a prodco, that's another thing. an agent is yet another. if you're submitting to an agent, you may want to work on writing a kickass query. which is an entirely different beast. Short. punchy. intriguing. Go to www.twoadverbs.com and read up on queries and loglines from Christopher Lockhart. he's awesome. it can be done. i did it. so be encouraged. but the easiest way to do it, is figure out who you know - who knows someone - who knows someone - who is in the film business or is an agent. 6 degrees. Good luck! Best, ae

http://www.writersstore.com/products.php?categories_id=130 Don't put anything on the title page is what most people say, but I think you can get away with the title of the script in small print, and contact info, lower left corner... i usually put title/info on the first page inside, and use 2 manilla type thicker pages as the title and last page. no fancy colors. no crazy plastics. no photos. no bribes. it used to be two #5 acco brads i think, but some people use three now, and some people use locking brads/washers... but really, if the script is awesome, none of this will matter. Best of luck, ae

This just gets better and worse... "it's only birdshot" right?

oh, so you're saying it's perfectly normal to shoot someone in an bright orange vest? It's not a big deal b/c it's birdshot? it's the victim's fault? give special privilege b/c he's the VP? any thing that shoots a projectile over one hundred feet per second can kill you, even a BB gun if the circumstances are right. I'm saying if I'm ostensibly supposed to trust you (the VP) to protect human life and uphold the law, then I expect you to value human life and obey the law as well... he showed glaring lack in both regards. you're speaking about quail hunting etiquette, and i'm talking about the responsibilities given the enormity of the job and the US place in the world, and how this (minor) incident is indicative of his personal standards.

Tag on this... cheney just shot a guy, and didn't have a hunting stamp at the time... so he has disregard for human life and can't follow the law? doesn't this nicely mirror his asking congress for permission to torture people (human life) and his illegal wiretaps (unlawful?) I'm just saying... micro and macro... Cheney Apparently Breaks Key Hunting Rule

dude - freaking congratulations!!! ae

tag on that question... since you're travelling for a lot of shoots... what's included? room, board, travel, anything else? for $1-10 million pic like you mentioned. thank you. ae

You guys feeding Landon these ideas about people being jealous of him are not doing him any favors, because I sincerely do NOT believe any of the working people on this forum want to trade places with him, for whatever reason... fact of the matter is, Landon called himself the 'future of filmmaking,' which is a bit premature, as he hasn't made any films, and that kind of posturing draws a lot of attention. if Landon wants people to drop this, then he should drop it as well. Now, people could be a little nicer to landon, but you have to take the aggregate of his posting on this site to understand why some people are a little harsher on him, not just this single thread. People get a little miffed when he doles out advice on subjects over his head - in essence, devaluing the craft they have taken time and care to learn, and perhaps sending another just as important youngster down the wrong path. ae

i just watched the commercial for Firewall and the Chrysler 300... this is like the BMW concept, except it's a commercial masquerading as a movie trailer, rather than a hip way of "obviously" selling cars, in my opinion. I don't have an axe to grind with them, but I'm interested in the future of studio movies and what this means. This is a link on the Firewall movie site, PARTNERS listing the partners for the film. Interesting. Is this how studios will further fund their big movies, thus lessening their exposure. Of course they are already doing this, but this seems a more overt attempt, and not a necessary PP (*except Symantec), but one that was probably put up for sale to a couple of different companies... I think it's great if it helps get films made, and unfortunate if its just another way to bombard us with marketing... any other thoughts? would love to know how this impacts the industry... ae oh, and the movie trailer feels very predictable. i enjoy seeing harrison ford "display cocky excellence in the face of insurmountable odds" as much as the next guy, but this looks like a retread combo of Mel Gibson's Ransom / and Travolta's Triggerfish...

Richard - have you seen what they're doing in the UK with surveillance cameras and linking them up? from bridges, to gas stations, etc... that's coming here eventually. gives me the chills.

wow, david. that is a harsh and helpful lesson in the reality of dealing with actors and their reps! Thank you. ae

The following was sent to me in an email newsletter from Fletcher Chicago... Feature Films Shot or Released in 2005 (Partially or completely shot electronically) Title Director Director of Photography Recording Format(s) "Miami Vice? Michael Mann Dion Beebe ASC, ACS 35mm, s.two, HDCAM SR (4:2:2) "Superman Returns" Bryan Singer Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC HDCAM SR (4:4:4-RGB) "Click"' Frank Coraci Dean Semler ASC, ACS HDCAM SR (4:4:4-RGB) "Apocalypto" Mel Gibson Dean Semler, ACS, ASC HDCAM SR (4:4:4-RGB) "Flyboys" Tony Bill Henry Braham, BSC HDCAM SR (4:4:4-RGB) "Prairie Home Companion" Robert Altman Ed Lachman, ASC HDCAM SR (4:2:2) ?Ultraviolet" Kurt Wimmer Arthur & Jimmy Wong HDCAM SR "The Cave" Bruce Hunt Ross Emery, ASC Wes Skiles (Underwater) 35mm, HDCAM SR ?Domino? Tony Scott Daniel Mindel 35mm, HDCAM SR "Sin City" Robert Rodriguez Robert Rodriguez HDCAM SR (4:4:4-RGB) "Revenge of the Sith" George Lucas David Tattersall, BSC HDCAM SR (4:4:4-RGB) ?The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3-D? Robert Rodriguez Robert Rodriguez HDCAM SR (4:4:4-RGB) ?Bubble" Steven Soderbergh Steven Soderbergh HDCAM SR ?Mission Impossible 3? J.J. Abrams Dan Mindel 35mm, HDCAM SR "Chronicles" David Fincher Harris Savides, ASC s.two (4:4:4-RGB) "Silence Becomes You" Stephanie Sinclaire Arturo Smith s.two (4:4:4-RGB) "La Maison Du Bonheur" Dany Boon Jean-Marie Dreujou, AFC HDCAM SR (4:4:4-RGB) "Scary Movie 4" David Zucker Thomas E. Ackerman, ASC HDCAM SR (4:4:4-RGB) "Le Poulain" Olivier Ringer Jean-Paul de Zaetijd s.two "Highlander: The Source" Brett Leonard Steve Arnold ASC s.two "Oliver Twist" Roman Polanski Pawel Edelman PSC 35mm, s.two 2005 HD Acquisition Television Show Productions Network Show Camera/Recording Format CBS Still Standing F900 - HDCAM CBS Yes Dear F900 - HDCAM CBS Lazy Town Viper - CineRam ABC Night Stalker Genesis - HDCAM SR ABC According to Jim F900 - HDCAM ABC Rodney F900 - HDCAM ABC George Lopez F900 - HDCAM ABC Hope and Faith F900 - HDCAM ABC Hot Properties F900 - HDCAM ABC What About Brian Genesis - HDCAM SR (4:2:2) NBC The Office F900 - HDCAM NBC Joey F900 - HDCAM NBC Conviction Genesis - HDCAM SR (4:2:2) FOX Arrested Development F900 - HDCAM FOX American Idol F950 - HDCAM SR VariCam (Behind the Scenes) FOX The War At Home F900 - HDCAM FOX The Loop F900 - HDCAM FOX The Bernie Mac Show F900 - HDCAM Discovery American Chopper VariCam WB Network Just Legal F900 - HDCAM WB Network Related F900 - HDCAM WB Network What I Like About You F900 - HDCAM WB Network Twins F900 - HDCAM WB Network Reba F900 - HDCAM WB Network Living with Fran F900 - HDCAM Sci Fi Channel Stargate F900 - HDCAM Sci Fi Channel Andromeda F900 - HDCAM Sci Fi Channel Battle Star Gallactica F900 - HDCAM FX Rescue Me F900 - HDCAM Showtime The Fat Actress F900 - HDCAM Showtime Huff F900 - HDCAM Showtime The L Word F900 - HDCAM PBC Nova VariCam UPN Network All of Us F900 - HDCAM UPN Network Girlfriends F900 - HDCAM UPN Network Half and Half F900 - HDCAM UPN Network Eve F900 - HDCAM UPN Network Cuts F900 - HDCAM UPN Network Love Inc. F900 - HDCAM UPN Network One on One F900 - HDCAM UPN Network Everybody Hates Chris Viper - HDCAM S

quick blurb from Wired magazine article... I thought others might want to get a look at his trailer, and see what it takes to get William Morris and Sundance interested in a DV film... (i wonder what this kid thinks of Hitchcock? lol! best, ae

Per Holmes is mos definitely Per Holmes. I belong to the forum he runs at Hollywoodcamerawork... there's threads on this site where you can read about his product. Personally, I asked some questions about it, and then bought it, and i love it. Per runs a tight ship, is a genuinely helpful guy in the mold of a David Mullen, and the product is really good. Check the demos on the site. Best, ae

good advice here.... also, there are some genre differences... comedies are generally a bit shorter, dramas/period pieces longer... but if your script is less than 80 pgs. properly formatted, entertain the possiblity that the concept of the script and/or the characters have not been fully executed or developed. best, ae

excerpted from thinksecret.com

J-Ro- I had a college teacher say the same thing, if someone asks you if you have a flaw, say "i'm a bit of a perfectionist sometimes..." Then I watched Trainspotting, and in the interview scene, I think it was Spud who basically says the very phrase... and i decided that the word was out on that little clever tip... Best, ae

Thanks for the reply David, you are always one to be counted on... if anyone else has any input, specifically on how their interviews were conducted, i would appreciate it... Best, ae

I found this in a faq on Kubrick and thought others may enjoy. Best, ae Non-submersible units are fundamental story pieces, the irreducible core of a narrative when all the non essential "padding" has been stripped away. According to Brian Aldiss, Kubrick's collaborator on the scipt for AI, "One of the many sensible and perceptive comments he made over the years was that a movie consists of, at most, say 60 scenes, whereas a book can have countless scenes. So, he said, it's very difficult to boil down a novel to make a film, as he found with The Shining. Much easier to take a short story and turn that into a major movie. 'All you need is six non-submersible units. Forget about the connections for the moment [...] once you've heard this, you see how 2001 was constructed." Following on from Aldiss' last remark, here is a breakdown of 2001 into its 7 non-submersible parts. 1/ The monolith visits humankind in its infancy 2/ An early man discovers technology (Moon Watcher smashes the bones) 3/ The monolith is excavated on the moon by astronauts and sends a message to Jupiter 4/ Humankind send a manned mission to Jupiter to investigate 5/ Advanced technology (Hal) endangers the mission crew 6/ Technology is defeated and the surviving cremember rendezvous with the aliens 7/ The Starchild is born

i understand what you're saying... and pushing the 3 act structure to a formula, ie end act one on page 17, rather than a form (beginning middle end) is possibly where 3 act advocates go wrong. but in many ways, just as audiences have been programmed to accept a 24 fps aesthetic in the states, they have been programmed to expect a 3 act structure, eg if something big doesn't happen 20 min. into a movie, people start to feel anxious. i think you can play with these conventions and thwart them, either way, it's good to know them. best ae