Halloween comes to the Upper West Side

Happy Halloween!

Jeff Goldstein responds to my notes during Thursday's Finish Your Script class.

Which movie monster would you be?

One way to gain a sharp insight into your characters is to assign them a Halloween role, specifically that of a monster who would be their alter ego. Many times, the best way to learn something about your characters is to ask yourself a question, and then "ask them."

For example, my assistant said he would be the Wolfman because he loves the night, is only a monster once in a blue moon, and always has easy access to food.

Then he said I would be The Wicked Witch of The West. I was offended until he explained it was because I "like to look into that metaphoric crystal ball and see what others are doing." I'm not really sure that's better.

Anyway, take a moment to decide who you would be and why, and who the main character of your story would choose to be. You might be "scared" to discover just how much you learn about yourself and your character with this Halloween exercise.

Good Luck and Happy Writing!

Knock the Vote

My great friend Adam Nadler had a wonderful piece entitled "Knock the Vote" published by VanityFair.com. Please take a moment to read it and share with your friends.

It can be found here.

Writing the Treatment

One of my favorite seminars to teach is "Writing the Treatment" because this rarely taught skill is invaluable for the creation of new material, to analyze and improve current scripts and a compelling way of getting your ideas read. Many times, the treatment can be more difficult than writing the script, so it's important to learn a foolproof method for writing a strong treatment every time.

If you feel you're at a point where a treatment will be helpful, I recommend picking up a copy of Ken Atchity's Writing Treatments That Sell: How to Create and Market Your Story Ideas to the Motion Picture and TV Industry.

Horror-witz!

I didn't want to post this link too soon but when I saw the Christmas decorations already up in the store, I thought I better get a move on.

Pumpkinize Yourself!

My only question is:

Marilyn O'Lantern or Jack O'Horowitz?

Send me your own and I'll post my faves.

Happy Halloween!

3rd Annual WIFV Screenwriters Conference

I have the pleasure of once again presenting at the WIFV Screenwriters Conference. I hope all of you will consider attending this wonderful event.

WIFV 3^rd Annual Screenwriters Conference
October 17 – 19, 2008
George Washington University, Washington, DC.

Begins with screening of Under the Same Moon and Q&A with screenwriter Ligiah Villalobos on October 17. A full day of workshops on Saturday will hone your craft and build your skills. The Conference culminates in full day of script critiques and pitches to producers on Sunday.

SATURDAY

Final Draft screenwriting software demo.

Marilyn Horowitz will present How to Write a Screenplay in 10 Weeks and How to Write a Logline.

Laura Scheer, Media Consultant will present Master Your Pitch and How to Pitch for Feature Films and Reality.

Ligiah Villalobos featured Screenwriter/Producer of UNDER THE SAME MOON will present The Structure of the Television Script and Keeping Your Eye on the Ball.

James Grady novelist/screenwriter (Three Days of the Condor) will present

How to Write a Thriller.

Carole Dean, From the Heart Productions, will moderate Financing Alternatives.

SUNDAY

A panel of invited producers will discuss their experiences and responsibilities they have to their writer's material, director, crew and financial partners.

They will be taking pitches and critiquing the first five pages of screenplays on a first come first serve basis.

Carole Dean will present a day long workshop How to Finance Your Film

Sponsors include The Documentary Center at GWU, Producers Jean Beallor, Diane English, Nikki Allyn Grosso, Actress Elizabeth Perkins, and the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. In-kind support from Final Draft.

$200 for WIFV Members; $275 general public

Sponsorships available!

Schedules and registration form available at www.wifv.org and upcoming WIFV events.

Email membership@wifv.org or call 202-429-9438 for more info.

Lioness at NYWIFT

I wrote about the wonderful film Lioness in an earlier post. If you didn't have a chance to see it then, I recommend you take advantage of two events being offered by NYWIFT (an organization I love) this month:

Screening: Thursday, October 16th @ 6:30PM
Price: $10 for NYWIFT members, $20 for non-members

Discussion: Wednesday, October 22 @6:30PM (includes refreshments)
Price: Free for NYWIFT members, $10 for non-members

Both events will take place at the Eastman Kodak Company, 360 West 31st Street, 2nd Floor.

RSVP here.

Hope to see you all there.