1) Contests. what are they good for? Well, it is one way to get a door or two open into Hollywood. There is never a guarantee when it comes to this craft. The only guarantee is we all start with a blank page. And it's up to each individual to fill that page in with your inspiration, vision and voice. A few of the major, more well known contests are the following. Nicholl, PAGE, BlueCat, not blue btw, Final Draft, Austin, Sundance screenwriter's lab, Scriptapalooza. To name a few. Now with all of these and every other one I know or have heard of is this, they cost money. Usually somewhere from $35-70 depending on when you submit as most offer early-late registrations options. That fee covers your entry and that's about it. You won't be getting any feedback just a lot of anticipation and anxiety. I've had limited success in some of these. ranging from early exit to Semi Finals which usually is the top 5% of submissions. And the number of submissions can range from 500 people to 6, 7, even 8 thousand. And for all of these there is usually a slew of prizes awarded to the top writers. Some being $$$, some being invitations to have lunch with agents or managers. Either way, like all of this business it's a crapshoot. The way I look at it, is the people reading our scripts are often just like you. Aspiring writers with the luxury of living in Los Angeles, interning for minimum wage, if they're lucky, and spending not enough time on their writing. A lot of them are miserable because their superiors, who often were once in their shoes, are miserable because they spend all day chasing down someone else who's miserable. Anyway, these people for one reason or another often will pass or react poorly to a script for anything. I mean anything, spelling errors, structural imperfections, clunky dialogue, a parking ticket they got earlier. If you accept that, then it might make the decision to enter the contest easier. It's a level field, we all have the same chance of getting that second read. I don't endorse any of these contests nor do I object to any of them. The only suggestion I can offer is take the time to learn basic structure, watch a lot of movies, listen to how people really talk, the cadences, get a grasp/ear for dialogue and read a lot of scripts, both bad and good. (IMSDB, simplyscripts, drew's scriptorama are a few good ones) Once you're armed with some of that knowledge you exponentially increase your chances of getting another read. I do not recommend writing a script for the hell of it and then submitting it to the festival circuit. That money would be so better spent on a pack of Menthols and a quarter keg of Natural Ice. Get the picture? Both are a big waste of money in my opinion. But once you've conquered a few of basic steps of screenwriting, then submit your great idea. Because I promise 70-80% of the scripts people submit lack the time deserved.
2) Film School. What is it good for? Much like contests, Film school is a crap shoot. There are maybe 5-10 programs in the country and probably none of them are worth the amount of debt you're going to accrue over the 2-3 years you spend there. AFI, USC, UCLA, UT- Austin, NYU are the big hitters. Saying that, it's totally up to you. I'm getting my MFA at UCLA. I'm more nervous about the money than anything else. The work doesn't frighten me one bit. Sure, 4 scripts is a lot on top of 30 page papers, lectures, 3 hour classes, 30 minute drive, among other things it's the reality of federal interest that gets me. But the fact that I get to spend so much time on something that I love is a heavy weight that levels the balance. There's no write way to get into this business other than having the last name Spielberg or a few other household names. One of the biggest rewards to the film school process is the relationships you can foster. In a town where everyone knows someone it's important to remember to be nice to each and everyone. Doesn't mean you have to be their friend but at the very least be polite and civil. If you're okay with building a bundle of IOU's then Film school might be the answer. Or if you plan on doing something greater than your art, such as teaching, and haring your experience and knowledge then Film School could be a must. The only advice O can give on this is, be realistic. Don't look at your life down the road but approach it as now. If you can list both the positives and negatives of attending school and the positives outweigh the negatives then you should give it a shot. You obviously have more to gain. I guess what I'm getting at is there's no write/right way into this place. You have to be true to yourself and put in the work. Every day. And if it's meant to happen and the stars are aligned, it will. If it's not, then you can realize you did your part, you can say I spent my time doing something I love and so many people don't ever get to say that. They forgot what they loved, a long, long time ago.
3)Close your eyes and picture yourself a little over a half decade ago. Where you were, what you were doing, who you were with? Envision a specific event. The day. The time. The weather. The faces around you. How you felt. How you interacted with these other people, in front of you, around you. Now open your eyes. In that short visit to the past millions of people posted a picture, a link, a status update, liked something or sent you another damning request for a buggy on Farmville. Facebook’s not all bad. It’s great at creating events so people you don’t necessarily want to see can find you in person. Then when they show up you get to pretend how exciting it is and why you don’t do it more often. Then there’s the creeper that sohws up that makes you just have to leave after five minutes. If it wasn’t for other than bad luck, you definitely could avoid them.
What I’m getting at is the real experiences that you were
involved in are no longer in front of you, per se’, instead they are inside a
computer screen or a mobile phone staring back at you. And you sit and stare
back, waiting for a reply, a poke, a comment. Who knows how much time people
waste on the internet or more specifically how much time people waste on
Facebook. Facebook has been one of the longest lasting fads to ever share human
time and space. It’s a device that traps its users in an endless continuum of
instant gratification. Its users chronically refresh theirs feeds and hope for
that next comment or poke. I’ve been a member of Facebook since early 2008. I
was also a member of the early Facebook, MySpace, and the earlier version of
that, Friendster. I installed the device on my phone as soon as I spent the
exorbitant amount of money for something that was FB friendly. Then it began,
every hour, sometimes 10, sometimes fifteen, I’d open the app and see what I’ve
missed. I found having all these updates to people, some who I’d only had met
once or twice to be so exciting. Over time it began to be too much. I’d read
updates like, off to Paris, drinking with Kanye, courtside seats at the Lakers
and in some strange way it became a source of inadequacy. By nature I began
checking more, getting more and more upset and saddened by how much fun
everyone else was having. So much so that I began to stop having fun myself
because it seemed I could never quite equal or come close to some of my
“friends” updates. Then I started thinking, I wonder if anyone else feels like
me? I mean not everyone could be having such a rock and roll existence, could
they? But yet it seemed they did. Everyone was either going on a vacation, or
meeting up for an annual bbq, and Christ everyone was in a relationship or now
single or someone was always starting a save the ferrets foundation and lets
not get started with the photo’s of the mom’s and their kids. If I was born on
Facebook, twenty years from now when I finally deleted all the pics posted by
mama I’d definitely take the time to back pack through Croatia and forget to
write. That is if Croatia is not part of the new USSR. What I’m getting at is
don’t forget about life before Facebook. If you were lucky enough to be born
before the internet you’d start to realize that there is so much more than
what’s on that screen staring back at you. And most of that stuff is good. And
there’s not gonna be someone there to comment on every single time you decide
to update your boss’s shirt color or that dude at the gym who doesn’t shower.
We relate, sure, but the irony isn’t in repeating, it’s in the experience of living
it. And if you spend too much time on Facebook I can guarantee you might not
miss it all but you will miss some of it and that some of it may be the stuff
memories are made of. Maybe memories you revisit a half decade or so down the
road and say, wow, I’m sure glad I was there, and not on Facebook.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading and write on, and on, and on....
