LIVE - SCREENWRITING AMA: “Why Are You So Nice?”
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Been thinking about this since someone asked it during a livestream a couple of weeks ago. I realized that while it seems like a personal question, it actually gets to the absolute core of my writing and teaching philosophy.
So this episode will be some thoughts on why I’m so nice.
I’ll refer to these videos - please do check them out!
Contest vs Library - • How We Understand Art ...
Screenwriting “Rules" - • Screenwriting "Rules"
I also talk about two low-budget indie films I wrote and directed - “DISFIGURED” (which is rent-buyable through Apple or Amazon) - and "LIKE.SHARE.FOLLOW" which is hard to find but IS on TH-cam, the full movie, and since the distributors are NOT letting you rent it...sure, watch it that way!
I also refer to the movie “ADAPTATION” written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze, which I strongly recommend!
WE ALSO TALK ABOUT:
- Why are screenwriting teaches so obsessed with SAVE THE CAT?
- Have I ever written something and then rewritten it into a different genre (yes!)
- Do I have any advice for how to handle writing something that is deeply personal and painful?
- Is it better to write a biopic of a real political figure or to fictionalize it?
- If one sucks at writing dialogue, is it better to just outline the story and then work with actors to improvise?
AND MORE...
In these ASK ME (ALMOST) ANYTHING livestreams. I try to tell you what I know, learned about the art, craft & biz during a 25-year career writing for movies & TV.
Want to ask a question but not watching live??
ASK IT RIGHT, in the COMMENTS SECTION of this video!
or use the “contact me” tabs at: writingforscreens.com
Listening to you talk about writing always inspires me even though I'm still struggling with writers block. I love how you said being empathetic is important as a writer. I am very empathetic and people have told me I am too sensitive a lot...so it's good to know that's a good quality to have as a writer. You are a very lovely person. Thank you and keep being you! :)
Thank you so much - with this kind of encouragement and support, I am highly motivated to keep being me :) Sometimes writer's block means you need a break, or to try something different. Don't give up. Take small steps. Experiment, explore, do things because they're fun or interesting or impossible. Ask questions. Steer toward things you like or love, with low expectations and an open mind. It's all about small steps over time.
Oh, and about being "too sensitive" - I try to think of that as not being about having feelings (we don't control whether we have feelings!) it's about recognizing the places and people and moments that have room for our feelings, and the ones that don't. If there's no room, try to put them somewhere personal, maybe make notes for yourself or find some private time to express them in private ways. Being real about what others can give (or take) is often helpful, even if it's not what you want or expect. Look for ways to deal with your feelings that you can own, that don't require anyone else's permission or approval...often if you know you have a place to let your feelings out, then they are less urgent in the rest of your life. It's all about balance, never about right-or-wrong.
Thanks Glenn!
You're welcome!!
About those ratings given to movies at places like Rotten Tomatoes, I think they say a lot more about the viewers than they do the film. I just saw an amazing thriller-horror movie called "Seeing Evil" (2019), which has a user rating of 3.3 at IMdB. Apparently, a lot of the audience just didn't get it, especially the ending of the film--which was the really amazing part. That low rating doesn't mean the film isn't great because it is and it is also unique.
Definitely. Everyone's experience of art is different, and unless you know what the "rater" was looking for, what's the value of the rating?
Great video as always!
I'd like to ask a question that I haven't seen many answers to.
I'm currently working on a screenplay for an art-house genre story. For reference, I'm particularly inspired by directors like Tarkovsky and Bresson. The way I envision my movie, a lot of the scenes will be deliberately slow and poetic-focused rather than driving the narrative or dialogue. I would ideally like to shop my screenplay around for funding to direct it myself.
My question is, for these kind of scenes, how much should I be writing with the expectation of trying to wow the reader? For example, if I was aiming for that, I'd be spending a lot of lines describing in flowery language exactly what each scene would look like. But if the aim of the screenplay is more practical, then I don't see why I'd bother with that since it's a lot more meaningful use of my energy to just write a one line bare-boned description of what's happening -- after all, the real "work" on those scenes would really be done in storyboarding and production design and such -- any added flowery language would really only be for the reader/producer/funder's benefit and not any practical purpose.
I know what mainstream Hollywood would expect since they require a lot more pair of eyes before anyone will fork over millions of dollars -- I'm just curious, what the expectation is in the more underground and low-budget end of the industry.
Not really a "right or wrong" answer to this. In general, I think large amounts of words are not looked kindly upon by script readers. But that doesn't mean you can't describe things, nor that you can't write things that are silent, slow or poetic. I personally would just try to find a poetic screenwriting language - something spare, using paragraph breaks and white space to create time and pace on the page. Experiment with it.
Also: really think about ways to lower the budget, so that you don't need anyone to give you millions of dollars. You NEVER get millions of dollars without compromise and commercial "input." If you want to control the style and pace, and/or if you want to direct: DIY and ultra-low-budge are pretty much the only way. Once you've done a few of those, you may be able to use them to get those millions.
That's more than a great lecture about screenwriting.. It's philosophy of life. Great work, Glenn ！
Thank you so much!!
Missed it live but watched it all after. Loved it Glenn. Think I’ll start work on a new script tomorrow.
That is the BEST thing I could possibly hear in response to my work here. Thank you!
@@writingforscreens 3 pages done at breakfast. We’re off. Now gonna rewatch dramatic action video again. Thanks Glenn.