It’s All About The Collaboration, Stupid!

INT. DARKENED ROOM – NIGHT

A FIGURE sits cross legged on the grimy floor, hunched over a keyboard. Hands peck at the keys with two-fingered urgency. A constant stream of indecipherable babble accompanies the keystrokes
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Around the figure are strewn the remnants of screenwriting manuals – McKee, Field, Snyder, Goldman – they’re all there. Along with pile upon pile of dog-eared screenplays.

Thousands upon thousand of words that will never see the light of day…

The door shatters and in burst Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, guns drawn. They survey the mess and take stock of this John Doe, this pitiful screenwriter who hasn’t even moved as he cackles at his own literary genius…

Okay, so not all screenwriters are crazy people who hide in darkened rooms creating their masterpieces. Some of us occasionally write outdoors.

My point is this, until that door bursts open and someone else enters the scene, notably a producer and a director, your words are going nowhere real fast.

And the moment that happens there is one essential truth you must understand and embrace – THOSE WORDS WILL CHANGE.

They have to. Otherwise they will end up like the hundreds of notebooks in John Doe’s apartment in Se7en – morbid curiosities and keepsakes. 

Yes, I’m talking about collaboration, the essential component of being a screenwriter. There really is no room for ego – okay, that’s not true, we all have egos and we fight for our stories tooth and nail when someone wants to hurt one of our babies. I’m talking about the “this is the best thing since [insert best thing ever of choice] and you cannot change a single word or I’ll [insert description of imagined physical acts of violence]” kind of ego that only limits your script.

Thing is, if you’re lucky, you get to work with really smart people who will help make your words better.

LET THEM!

Sure, you’ll have battles, the odd argument, and knock down drag down slanging matches occasionally but the goal MUST ALWAYS BE to make the project the best it can be. If that’s not your end point; if your ego can’t handle that, than what the hell are you doing being a screenwriter?

Which brings me to the short script I’ve written which is now listed as “Sixth Draft, Fourth Revision” and commences shooting this Friday some 11 months after its inception.

Inception is actually a pretty apt word because this entire project has been an exercise in collaboration from the get go:

The story evolved from two, unrelated improvised scenes from actors at a youth film school.

Once I worked out the link between those two scenes, one of which clearly suggested a back story and a possible climax/resolution, the structure quickly fell into place. Three drafts were written then I stopped because I knew there was no point continuing to make changes until a director was attached.

When a director came on board the inevitable happened – he had a different idea for the ending and wanted to take out two characters.

The first I was a little leery of because it changed the tone of the story but we talked it through and I incorporated the idea into subsequent drafts. Removing the two male characters? I had tried to service as many roles as I thought the story could hold given the rationale for the entire process was to provide opportunities for the youth film school actors. But being a well known ‘serial killer’ those two characters swiftly felt the sting of my backspace bar.

Most of all, none of these changes affected the STRUCTURE. That would have been something I’d have dug my heels in to protect so we were fine. By the sixth draft the story was all there and working well. Now came the fine detail. Or, as the writer might put it, the pedantic whims of the director; or as the director might put it, tidying up of the writer’s excesses! Yes, there was plenty of banter back and forth as we argued over individual beats, lines of dialogue and occasionally even specific words! 

Hence the revision numbers. If there are major changes to a script I will use a new draft number. If it is minor alterations or a polish I call it a revision of the current draft number.

It’s a continuing evolution though:

I sat in on the auditions for the four female roles. Watched as the director played around with scenes and slight changes came out of that process.

Then a read through/workshop with the selected cast just before Christmas where again revelations were made as the material was worked by the actors and director.

Finally, two rehearsal sessions in the last week where the entire script was put through its paces with some rudimentary blocking and tweaks to dialogue.

It’s amazing what you discover when you are reading your own big print and you can hear the repetitive use of certain words; an overuse of adverbs and stumble over inelegant phrasing.

The actors also help point out dialogue that isn’t sitting well or clunky parts that may have been lost in the early revisions as we stripped lines out only to go back and tinker with additions later.

While I can clearly see the entire film in my head (hurry the day when they can plug a digital projector into a screenwriter's brain stem!), observing the physicality of the performances helps with the 'geography' within a scene and refining the order of beats. Especially in this script where the climax is quite long and has many moving parts that all have to hit home in the right order to work effectively.  

This is all very useful to me as the writer. Again, the only goal is to make the project as good as it can be. For example, you swallow your ego when an actor voices a concern about whether a line you have written may come across as “corny” and let them explore other ways of saying it. No skin off my nose if it helps make the scene play better.

Now I wait to hear if I can change the Title Page to those magic two words: Shooting Script.

Even then, with a 5 day shoot scheduled commencing this Friday, I know there will still be changes to be made dictated by a variety of factors from locations to things that nobody can possibly foresee at the moment. The unpredictably of filmmaking!

Thank you to all the people over the last 11 months who have made this such a pleasurable experience. My work is largely done so now I let the actors and crew do their thing and make the words we have toiled so hard over come to life. I very much look forward to seeing the result. 

Transition and Challenges, Part 2

First up, I must apologise to those of you taken in by my April Fool’s Day prank. A dash of truth goes a long way to embellishing a little deception – yes, I was in Canberra earlier in the year; yes, Toby Ziegler is my favourite character in The West Wing; yes, I would love to earn a living as a speech writer; but no, I have not been offered a job as such.

Sorry about that Chief!

However, it IS true that I am in a time of transition. I was made involuntarily redundant back at the end of August 2010 from a company I had worked at over two stints for 21 years. This was unexpected and, at the time, traumatic.

Then came the silver lining. A payout which, while not huge by any stretch of the imagination, was enough to see me pay off my car loan, all my debts and allow me to write, augmented by a grant and some other bits and pieces, for 19 months without having to worry about things like responsibility and working to someone else’s schedule.

The downside to this is that I put off thinking about the long term future. Didn’t want to; couldn’t; haven’t… until the last few weeks as the money started running out and the inevitable conclusion, that I knew but had banished, dawned. I needed to get a “real job”.

So now I’m updating my corporate resume; contacting referees from over east; and I’ve finally overcome a huge mental block and contacted Centrelink. I really didn’t want to go to the local branch for a follow-up interview (pride, ego, fear of humiliation etc) but it went well as I can be quite gregarious when I want to be. Same with the job placement firm.

I know I can survive and thrive in the corporate world – I have a pretty damn good resume – but my fear is I get sucked back into that mindset and the creative side of me dies a little… or all together.

Will certainly make for interesting times. Hopefully I find something palatable (that is preferably writing related) so that my misadventures can continue!


With then Telstra CEO, Ziggy Switkowski back in my office-bound heyday.

Transition and New Opportunities

Here we are at the end of the month and I suddenly realise I am about to break a streak of 28 consecutive months of posting on this blog. Please accept this token effort as a last ditch effort to continue the streak… though I suspect most of you won’t get to read it until tomorrow.

Why transition?

Well, after 583 days since I was involuntarily made redundant, the money has almost gone. Yes, sports fans, it’s time to rejoin the world of the living dead employed. Some of you know how unsettled this has made me but there’s no getting around it. People continue to insist on payment for things like rent, electricity, food and stuff.

But before we get to good news – terrific news actually – on that front, let’s recap where the screenwriting misadventures are at:

The short film “Coffee To Go” has been shot but I’m yet to see a rough cut. When I ask, everyone says it LOOKS terrific. Funny though about a writer’s perspective as I keep replying, “yes, but does the story work?”

The second short for Filmbites goes into production in a couple of weeks with rehearsals scheduled for tomorrow. I’m hoping there is no significance to this also being April Fool’s Day!

Of the three shorts I was hawking online, one has been submitted for Link funding with an excellent creative team and some good news on the casting front though I’m not at liberty to discuss that.

Another has been sent to South Australia, hopefully to be selected by, what I believe, is a TAFE style college.

The third has been incinerated with the ashes buried in the back garden and covered over with concrete and a pergola.

As for features, I haven’t heard back from the producers of The Red Bride; I haven’t finished the low budget thriller yet; and the true life political script appears to have fallen over due to recent events. Some times real life is far more interesting… and harder to structure!

But to the good news. Some of you know I travelled to Canberra earlier this year to spend time with my sister, nephew and niece. Also to do some research for the now defunct political script… and to pursue a long shot that I wasn’t able to mention at the time.

Any of you who know me well understand that The West Wing is my all time favourite show with Toby Ziegler my favourite character – the "prickly, mumbly Communications Director."

I need a job. I can write a little. Well, what about speechwriting? So after a speculative query got me a meeting in Canberra then jumping through quite a few hoops including submitting a mock speech, I was told yesterday that I have the gig! Okay, not THE gig – not quite Toby yet… but on the writing staff of a politician who is generally considered to have a ”communication problem.”

I have a meeting next week to confirm all the details but I must confess to being, oh, just a little excited! More information as I get it… and if I’m allowed to discuss.

Fancy that, instead of putting words in the mouths of fictional characters, I get to do it for a living, breathing person. Though I guess the level of acting and fiction is arguably comparable!

The Art of Letting Go, Part 2 – Writer on Set

On Sunday a short film I had written commenced shooting. In somewhat of a rarity for me I was on location for a few hours until having to leave for a personal commitment. It reminded me of one of my favourite exchanges from The West Wing:

JOSH (paraphrased): Everyone’s running around, working. Me, I’ve got nothing to do. I’m like a writer on a movie set.
DONNA: Have you ever been on a movie set?
JOSH: No, but I hear stories.

An actor/performer I mentioned to that I was on set replied:

Haha that's the trouble with having the writer on set. They always get super frustrated.

Well, I don’t know about being frustrated but it certainly is an experience for a writer. A fact the producer raised during a lull between set-ups. And this is the reason:

The definitive version of the movie is in my head. I’ve seen it, lived it, breathed it for months before it gets anywhere near a set. In full 3D digital with perfect picture quality and awesome sound.

Only problem is, unless someone invents the Precog technology from The Minority Report, that’s where it will stay with an audience of one.

So a raft of people (okay, a smallish raft in this instance given it’s a no budget short) have to breathe life into the architectural document known as the script. That’s when the changes start, through different interpretations, altered circumstances, problem solving, a variety of reasons.

Most you kind of shrug at – a scene is moved from an external to an internal setting due to the constraints of the location or to what may be more visually appealing. The scene plays exactly the same (well, almost) so I’m not going to lose any sleep over things like that.

They couldn't obtain the location I visualised (and wrote the script in) during the drafting process so there were always going to be changes in the how the scenes played out spatially. Fair enough. It was a funky little location in the heart of the city.

But suddenly there are extras and some of these extras are talking and saying things that aren’t scripted (raised eyebrow)! Then there are lines being improvised by actors at the end of scenes some of which grate a little. You spend a lot of time refining the script (and with this one workshopping it with the actors) for lines to be made up on the spot without perhaps the same level of attention or forethought.

I pretty much sat in the corner and stayed out of the way. Indeed, I wrote a fair few scenes longhand for a new feature script. I was only asked directly to alter the script once as a prop was not available but that was an easy fix. Otherwise, I quietly raised a couple of points, particularly regarding a line of improvised dialogue that simply didn't ring true. Minor things but there’s that imaginary perfect film that keeps nagging at me.

Of course, it depends entirely on the director – I’ve worked with directors who will ask me to talk through scenes and character motivations with actors before the camera rolls; others where I haven’t been invited on set at all; and occasions like Sunday where I sit and absorb what I referred to as “frantic inactivity” where crew scurry to set up the technical requirements for a scene which can seem to take forever.

Ultimately, all you can do is trust that it will all work out in the end and there will be a perfectly good facsimile of that movie playing in your head. I hardly saw anything through the monitor and no rushes as yet but the director seems happy with Day One of the two day shoot. The proof will no doubt be in the edit where the next phase of storytelling occurs. Whether I have any input into that we shall see…

It’s all fascinating for a writer but in the end you realise the script is only a blueprint and that can take some getting used to. I enjoyed the day and, despite some early teething problems as the crew settled into a rhythm, everyone was enthusiastic and very positive.

Me, I was like a writer on a movie set with nothing to do… :-)

The Joy of Having Friends Who Are Actors and Performers

I was moved last week to write the following status update on Facebook:

One of the great joys of having so many friends who are performers/actors is watching them strut their stuff live, like tonight, and seeing a completely different side - it's some awesome form of magic and alchemy. 

The passion, the joy, the talent - the creation/inhabitation of "someone else" up there. It's Grace dancing in front of a big crowd, it's Rhoda belting out "911! Emergency" so that the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, it's watching Luc ad libbing his socks off in a play he had to stand in as lead at insanely short notice...

It's many and varied moments - in professional shows, amateur theatre, it doesn't matter - that just make me nod and smile. It really is kind of special...

This all started Sunday week ago when an actress I met all the way back in 2005 in a PAC1 workshop performed (as a dancer) in the city for the Chinese New Year’s Concert including a ballet piece. She was terrific in front of a big crowd - poised, elegant and danced so well. It could only but make me smile on a balmy summer’s night.

That was the beginning of a week of events including a script reading on Wednesday that was far and away the best I have heard at Script Lab to date; and attendance at three different Fringe Festival shows, Thursday through Saturday.

Again, wonderful discoveries – an actor I never knew could sing excelling in a musical; an actress I only know through Facebook who wrote and directed that show stealing proceedings with an hilarious number re being a vegetarian in charge of the meat section of a supermarket; getting a text afterwards from another actress asking if I had been in the audience because they recognised my laughter; the power of one person shows – the first with direct interaction with the audience; the second through amazing transformations playing five separate characters.

I always try and get along to support friends where I can. Amateur shows at bowling clubs, old church halls and established co-op companies through to professional undertakings. Recently, I’ve also seen 1940s America recreated at Christmas time with the Andrews Sisters; and a fiercely intelligent young actress play a ditzy chef in her first major production. All magic in their own ways.

I come away from these productions vowing to write for the stage – and indeed there is a first draft adaptation of one of my feature scripts somewhere and the beginnings of another piece. So, who knows… one day, maybe.

There is plenty of energy in Perth right now as the Fringe festival is in full swing with great venues and a diverse range of shows. Unfortunately, I simply can’t afford to go to everything but rest assured, it is a great thrill and privilege to see actors you know give full voice to their talent in front of an appreciative audience.

Long may it continue!

The Art of Letting Go

There comes a time when you have to let your children go. In the case of scripts this usually involves locking them in a drawer, not giving them the keys to the car!

As with children (so I’ve heard), it’s some times hard to do this. But continuing to work on ‘dead’ scripts is unproductive and is time that could be spent on new projects.

It’s a realistic assessment of the merits of a project versus the cons of persisting. So in that spirit I have had to, regrettably, euthanise a few of my ‘children’. 

So Vale:

The short script Immortal which I still love but whose Memento style structural conceits make you a hard sell.

The feature script Don’t Come Monday, a ten page excerpt of which could not find a place in the recently announced 13 screenplays selected for a local workshop. What chance then the big, bad world?

The feature script The Tangled Web which has been optioned twice (and nearly a third time) but lucked out on development funding recently. Your time has come and passed.

I shall bury you all in the metaphorical backyard of my mind, in a fragrant plot next to the childhood embarrassments and ill-advised romantic entanglements.

But wait?

Does a script truly ever die?

A 15 page excerpt of The Tangled Web has been entered into a competition as a last gasp act of attention seeking.

The full draft of Don’t Come Monday has been sent to a producer who had expressed some interest in the ten pager just as the shovel was digging its final resting place.

Old scripts resurface like the short The Fifth Quarter which hadn’t seen the light of day for over 3 years but now has a very strong director attached and, as of today, a new draft.

Any completed script, yes even the ‘vomit draft’ (or rough draft as I prefer) is an entity that has some intrinsic value.

Perhaps ‘hibernate’ is a better word than ‘euthanise’.

They all remain my children, even the ugly, temperamental ones. Some just won’t get played with as much for a while…

2011 - A Year in Rear View

Well, what a year 2011 turned out to be on the writing front.

It started with a bang when The Red Bride successfully picked up a Feature Navigator grant from ScreenWest. I confess I was somewhat pleased to receive that call. Dancing may have been involved.

Since then there have been, I’m going to say, three to four drafts and many script meetings, discussions, existential crises, false starts, bouts of inspiration, moments of teeth gritting agony… in what is generally known as feature development. It was also an opportunity to work with a top notch script consultant from L.A. in Michael Hauge. Thank goodness for Skype!

There is a full line-by-line script session scheduled with the producers a few days after Christmas which will lock off the script… or 2011’s iteration leastways. It remains the best thing I have written and hopefully next year will see serious market interest.

Speaking of script consultants, 2011 was a year where I was exposed to several other top notch practitioners – from Karel Segers’ seminar on The Hero’s Journey to Paul Chitlik’s intensive five day treatment workshop to Simon van der Borgh’s entertaining (as always) exploration of genre. I love this level of hands on interaction with people who really know their screenwriting lore.

Not only does it keep you sharp on craft skills it actually generates content – there is a 28 page treatment from Paul’s workshop for a feature project that currently has a pitch document sitting with an eastern states production company; and a one page synopsis from Simon’s ‘invitation’ to come up with, over lunch no less, a feature film idea. There is a local producer interested in the subsequent one page synopsis but I simply haven’t had time to do anything further with it… yet. That’s on 2012’s To Do List.

I also had the opportunity to listen to writers such as Andrew Bovell (Lantana, Edge of Darkness), Ron Osborn (The West Wing, Moonlighting) and David Stevens (Oscar nominated for Breaker Morant) share their experiences and insights. Many thanks to the WA Branch of the Australian Writers’ Guild, ScreenWest and the Perth Actors Collective for organising such events.  

My focus throughout the year has been predominantly on developing feature projects but I was delighted to be asked to participate in the Professional Partnership Program run by the Filmbites Youth Film School. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience which now sees two short film scripts I’ve written about to go into production next month.

Feature development can be a hard slog so the opportunity to work with a talented group of young actors and the genuinely supportive staff has been a revelation. The next few days will see a workshop of one script and a table read of the other. It looks like I will also be invited to rehearsals and the shoots so from that perspective it’s as much a learning experience for me as the ‘students’.

It may have been a contributing factor to me shopping three of my short scripts once a producer released two of them recently. I have had some very interesting people respond and will be meeting with a director after the workshop tomorrow to discuss one of those screenplays. Another director is checking their eligibility for the funding round I have in mind and I’m waiting to hear back from others who have requested scripts. 

The end of the year has been incredibly busy. Suddenly I seem to be in demand as people seek me out to work with on a variety of different projects. Of the two directors attached to the Filmbites’ scripts, one has asked me to co-write his feature and the other had already approached me about writing a short that could subsequently be developed into a feature. The former will technically be an adaptation as it’s based on a real life Australian political event but it’s up to others to make announcements about the specifics. Suffice to say there is plenty of reading and research ahead of me over the summer.

I continue to enjoy reading other people’s scripts and offering feedback. I apologise that sometimes it takes me longer than I would like but it is dependent on how swamped I am with writing commitments. I have read some very interesting stories this year from a genre piece set on an oil rig in the North Sea to the debut effort of an actor turned writer to a funky web series aimed at young adults. I find the passion of other writers quite invigorating and discussing scripts is always fun.

One thing I have learnt during the year is that sometimes projects stall despite the best intentions of all involved. Directors withdraw due to unavoidable personal circumstances; priorities may change for producers; projects may simply be past their shelf life; funding bodies may not share your vision. I am always striving to better handle those sorts of disappointments.

Finally, thank you to all my major collaborators and supporters throughout the year – David Revill & Jocelyn Quioc at Tin Can Films (formerly Forgeworks); directors Chris Richards-Scully & Tim Dean; Hallie Mckeig and all the gang at Filmbites; producer Michael Facey; true hyphenate Anna Bennetts; Rikki Lea Bestall at ScreenWest; and all the recent additions to my circle of talented colleagues.

Have a great Christmas and see you all in 2012!