Tip and Quote of the Week: Embrace White Space

Embrace White Space

The biggest thing aspiring writers can do to look professional is to embrace white space.

Keep action and dialogue to 3 lines or less.

Keep it MOVING.

If you put your pedal to the metal from page one and don’t let go, it will go a long way (and sometimes cover up or lessen some of the problems the script might have).

"The way I write is very much without kind of a goal. I have something I'm interested in and then I decide I'm going to explore it. I don't know where the characters are going to go, I don't know what the movie is going to do or what the screenplay is going to do. For me, that's the way to keep it alive."

-Charlie Kaufman

Sources: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/screenplay.html#Qt2XAKBwUuITJCDb.99 and http://www.screenplay.com/default.aspx.

A former Hollywood Lit Manager, Michael Ferris started ScriptAWish.com as a way to help other writers get their foot in the door and has helped several writers sell their scripts (like Travis Beacham of PACIFIC RIM) and set up projects with producers like Academy Award Winner Arnold Kopelson. The mission of ScriptAWish.com is to help aspiring writers get their scripts into shape and then get their foot in the door. His new venture is a collaboration with several professional screenwriters called StudioGhostwriters.com and is intended to help producers get their movie ideas on paper or their drafts polished for production.

"Titanic" 2012 TV Mini-Series Review

"Titanic" movie poster.

"Follows the lives of the ship's passengers, from all walks of life, as they travel on the maiden voyage of the ill-fated Titanic. From the wealthy family of the Earl of Manton, the designers of the ship, to the stokers in the engine room - who will make it onto the lifeboats?" Written by Anonymous (Link below.)

Glen Blackhall (L) and
Jenna-Louise Coleman.

Meant to appear on the anniversary of the fateful ship's sinking (it did show, I just didn't see it until now), produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark (Warriors, The Way We Live Now), written by Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park, Vanity Fair, The Young Victoria), "it sets out to paint a portrait of a whole society, telling the stories of a wide range of characters, both real and imagined, from every social level. Their narratives are developed and gradually interwoven over the first three episodes, each of which ends in a cliffhanger as the ship begins to founder. The fourth and final episode draws all of the different stories together and reveals to the audience who survives." (Link below.)

Maria Doyle Kennedy (L) and Toby Jones.

The cast was pretty amazing: Linus Roache, Geraldine Somerville, Perdita Weeks, Toby Jones, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Peter McDonald, Steven Waddington, Glen Blackhall, Antonio Magro, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Noah Reid, David Calder, Sophie Winkleman, and Dragos Bucur (who has the coolest name ever and appeared nude in a movie so expect that review soon. ;D)

Perdita Weeks -
look at that beautiful hat!

I thought the pacing was good. Each episode ended with a cliffhanger, so you had to keep watching. It was interesting how they showed certain people's perspective. Even though the cast is quite large, it felt like the ship wasn't really that big. There was so much focus on certain people that you forgot how many people were on it, so it was not as dramatic a catastrophe as I think the tragedy actually was. I did cry a lot though, so maybe it is more of a hindsight thing. They could've added more people and made it a longer series. I would've watched the whole thing, it was beautifully done.

Dragos Bucur.

The clothes were very good. I loved the hats and the dresses Perdita Weeks character, Lady Georgiana Gregs, wore. They were beautiful.

I think the person in charge of the music may have had a harder time than most trying not to sound too dramatic because it would definitely have reminded me of the James Cameron flick. Even still, they probably could've made it a bit more rousing and tense.

I can't compare this to other TV series because I don't watch TV, but I might start watching that Downton Abbey and The Borgias. The only thing I have watched to compare this to is the Cameron movie. It isn't as stirring as that movie and it had a claustrophobic feel to it, but it was still good. 

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1869152/plotsummary, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(2012_TV_miniseries), and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1869152/.

Peter McDonald.

"The Phantom of the Opera" at the Royal Albert Hall Review

"The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall" movie poster.

"In 1986, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera arrived on the West End stage at Her Majesty's Theatre. Fast forward 25 years and Phantom has achieved global success, millions of viewers, a film adaptation in 2004 and a musical sequel. Now viewers have the chance to experience this phenomenal show right from their own screens. Filmed at the Royal Albert Hall, this stunning performance brings the show to a bigger stage and celebrates its role as one of the biggest shows in theatre history, with speeches, performances and appearances by the original cast and some of the show's most notable Phantoms, including Anthony Warlow, Peter Joback, John Owen-Jones, Colm Wilkinson, and Michael Crawford. Starring Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, Phantom tells the story of a deformed musical genius who lives in the catacombs of the Paris Opera House. Shunned by society, the Phantom seeks revenge in cruel and often violent acts. The Phantom is in love with chorus girl Christine Daaé and has been secretly training her to replace La Carlotta as the opera's reigning diva. However, when Christine is thrust into the spotlight, she is also reunited with childhood friend Raoul. Passion, obsession and chaos ensue as Christine finds herself torn between her love for Raoul and her strange pull towards the mysterious and dangerous Phantom." Written by LadyN1 (Link below.)

"The Phantom of the Opera
at the Royal Albert Hall" dvd cover.

Sierra Boggess as Christine.

That was a beautifully orchestrated version of the musical. I loved the clothes as well. It definitely reminded me of the first time I saw this on Broadway nearly seven years ago now. It was awesome. I loved the sets and everything. The Phantom I saw in real life, Howard McGillin (site here), is probably still my favorite, but this one, Ramin Karimloo, was great as well, though I thought a bit young for the role, but he had a beautiful voice.

Raoul, played by Hadley Fraser, was handsome as well and was very spirited onstage (he should update his IMDB profile - hint hint). Christine, played by Sierra Boggess, was also beautiful and I thought a better actress than Sarah Brightman.

Scene from "The Phantom of the Opera
at the Royal Albert Hall".

This should definitely appeal to those who didn't like the movie version of this popular musical. While I liked the movie version, many others didn't, most say because they thought the actors in it weren't good enough singers to have participated. There were little bits in it that made it more like the movie version rather than the original onstage musical, but they were practically unnoticeable unless you're obsessed like I once was.

I really appreciated how the makeup artists tried really hard not to make the makeup look overmuch as it usually is in a play. That would've been ghastly.

(L to R) Hadley Fraser, Ramin Kaminloo,
and Sierra Boggess.

The only thing I would say that I didn't like about the production was how technologically advanced they tried to make it. There were LED screens for the backdrops and it was interesting to look at from far away and surely easier for the stage crew as they didn't have to load heavy set pieces onstage. But when you got up real close it became pixelated and really freaking ugly, whereas a real set would probably have only looked cheap up close rather than nonexistent. So that's where I would say I preferred a real set to an LED screen if I was watching a musical or stage play on screen, but if I had been there I don't know if it would have bothered me as much. It probably looked cool.

The libretto is available here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/25668194/Phantom-of-the-Opera-Script-Libretto.

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2077886/fullcredits#cast, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2077886/plotsummary, and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2077886/.

Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom.

Tip and Quote of the Week: Cut Out the Boring Parts

Cut Out The Boring Parts

Why do we never see Batman take a leak between fighting crime?

Because great scripts are real life with all the boring parts cut out.

With both your movie and your scenes, always enter late and leave early.

If a scene, a character’s action, or even a line of dialogue doesn’t move the story forward or add depth to a character, it can be cut.

"When I write a screenplay, and when I direct, I always pull lines out."

-Stanley Tucci

Sources: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/screenplay.html#Qt2XAKBwUuITJCDb.99 and http://www.screenplay.com/default.aspx.

A former Hollywood Lit Manager, Michael Ferris started ScriptAWish.com as a way to help other writers get their foot in the door and has helped several writers sell their scripts (like Travis Beacham of PACIFIC RIM) and set up projects with producers like Academy Award Winner Arnold Kopelson. The mission of ScriptAWish.com is to help aspiring writers get their scripts into shape and then get their foot in the door. His new venture is a collaboration with several professional screenwriters called StudioGhostwriters.com and is intended to help producers get their movie ideas on paper or their drafts polished for production.

Tip and Quote for the Week: Master Writing Great Dialogue

Master Writing Great Dialogue

If you're an aspiring writer trying to break into the industry, great dialogue that pops off the page is the single best way to capture Hollywood's attention.

JUNO had an alright story, but the reason people went crazy over it was the dialogue seemed fresh and new and unique at the time.

In Hollywood, great dialogue is hard to find – master that, and you’re head and shoulders above the competition.

"I've found that good dialogue tells you not only what people are saying or how they're communicating but it tells you a great deal - by dialect and tone, content and circumstance - about the quality of the character."
- E. O. Wilson

Sources: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/screenplay.html#Qt2XAKBwUuITJCDb.99 and http://www.screenplay.com/default.aspx.

A former Hollywood Lit Manager, Michael Ferris started ScriptAWish.com as a way to help other writers get their foot in the door and has helped several writers sell their scripts (like Travis Beacham of PACIFIC RIM) and set up projects with producers like Academy Award Winner Arnold Kopelson. The mission of ScriptAWish.com is to help aspiring writers get their scripts into shape and then get their foot in the door. His new venture is a collaboration with several professional screenwriters called StudioGhostwriters.com and is intended to help producers get their movie ideas on paper or their drafts polished for production.

Get book here.