Marvin V. Acuna

On route to the Sting concert I began scanning the news feed on Facebook, the following headline caught my attention:

The Contest — NOT a promotion on my video this time.

I clicked on it to read further and it led me to this blog

http://kearyespeer.wordpress.com/

FULL DISCLOSURE: I DON’T PERSONALLY KNOW THE BLOGGER. I HAVE NOT WATCHED ANY CONTEST PITCH VIDEOS AND WILL NOT UNTIL THE DESIGNATED TIME AND UNDER THE SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE BOSI CONTEST.

For clarity, there are a numerous reasons as to why we specifically chose to to utilize social media as an important and necessary tool for this contest. To inspire you to step outside your comfort zone was definitively one of them.

Chet Holmes, considered America’s #1 Sales and Marketing Executive, believes that the best version of ourselves lies just outside our comfort zone.

Now whether Keary wins the BOSI contest or not in not relevant because she’s already won something much more valuable and, in my humble opinion, profound. For as Bertrand Russell so eloquently said, “To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”

I enjoyed the post so much that I was compelled to share it here with you. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen meet Keary Speer.

This blog may come off as rather negative, but if I can’t vent on my own blog then what good is it?

As long as I am doing it though, I will keep promoting it, facing my fears and learning about what is to come. I am sure this is not even close to the end of shell breaking and you know, I really hope that’s true.

One of my favorite types of films to watch is big ensemble movies. There’s something magical about a cast coming together and all lending their talents to create something great. Perhaps it’s because ensemble films are all about character and that’s a big part of what I respond to when I watch movies and TV shows. However the ensemble is one of my least favorite genres to read unless done really well. So this week, I thought I would bring you some of the keys to writing strong ensemble pieces.

Different genres lend themselves better to ensembles than others. Historical films (“JFK,” “Tombstone,” “Nixon,” “Bobby,”), war films (“Full Metal Jacket,” “Black Hawn Down,”) family comedies (that is, comedies about an extended family), teen movies, disaster films, mysteries (because the more characters you have, the more red herrings and suspicions you can create), and smaller indie character pieces (“The Amateurs,” “Just Add Water”) all tend to work with an ensemble. Sometimes getting a bunch of great well-known actors is what helps sell a small indie film to a broad audience (and just as importantly, a distributor).

Interestingly enough, romantic comedies never used to work as big ensemble pieces because it’s supposed to be about the love between two people and whatever the obstacle comes between them. The biggest task in a romcom was building a believable chemistry and bringing two actors together that we want to wind up together. But with “Love Actually,” that all changed. And after recent hits “He’s Just Not That Into You” and “Valentine’s Day,” which each had more than a dozen huge name stars above the title, and a sequel for Valentine’s Day already planned around a different holiday, the ensemble romantic comedy is one of the most sought after genres out there.

Films with largely minority casts like Tyler Perry movies are often ensemble pieces. While no one has come out and admitted it, I believe the reason for this is so that certain characters can be drawn more or less “urban” than others so that different trailers can be created to highlight characters that will play better in different markets and hopefully attract a broader audience. While this is probably true of many ensemble films, it’s all the more poignant in movies where the characters are all (or mostly) minorities.

There are a few different types of ensemble story templates. See if your story falls under one of these;

There are stories where you have a group of characters all together in one basic location for most of the script (whether forced or by choice) and their issues all come to a head in some fashion. This type is often used in projects that revolve around family, an event or a holiday. Examples of this would include “Home for the Holidays,” “Anniversary Party,” “Breakfast Club,” “Big Chill,” and the recent “Death at a Funeral.”

There are ensemble pieces where there are many different storylines in different locations — with usually 2-4 characters in each storyline — that come together or intersect in some way by the end. This style is often used in thrillers or romantic comedies. “Love Actually,” “Go,” “Short Cuts,” “Crash,” “Traffic,” and “Pulp Fiction” are examples.

Then there are projects where there are one or two main characters and all the other supporting parts are just great cameos that only appear in a couple of scenes and can be cast incredibly. For example, “Call of the Wild,” “Natural Born Killers,” and “True Romance.” Projects with cameos are popular because you can pay an actor for one or two days of work and get a hell of a bang for your buck.

Sometimes there are a group of people (strangers or not) forced together in a specific situation who need to rely on each other — or suspect each other of wrongdoing. This set up is used quite often in mysteries, thrillers, and action/disaster movies. “Daylight,” “Poseidon,” “Armageddon,” “The Usual Suspects,” “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Clue” are a few examples.

And while in the current market, teen movies have become a bit less about the ensemble and more about a specific relationship, don’t forget that the Brat Pack movies were the very definition of an ensemble piece and they basically created the teen movie genre.

Some directors specialize in ensemble films and they can often launch careers. Robert Altman, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Oliver Stone, Christopher Guest, Garry Marshall, Steven Soderbergh, Michael Mann, etc. have all made their names directing ensemble pieces. Directors love doing these projects because directing an ensemble piece shows that one has incredible storytelling skills and can also handle many moveable parts and many inflated egos. And it’s a great opportunity to create relationships that directors can use in the future. Most directors who helm ensemble pieces go on to use the same actors in later works.

The term ensemble is actually misleading because it connotes that everyone is equal, but that’s not quite the case. Yes, we spend time with different characters and there isn’t ONE character in every single scene, but your ensemble piece still needs a protagonist and an antagonist. There still needs to be a central character(s) around which all the other characters, plot points, and action, circle. Without that central character — that nucleus of your ensemble — your story will run wild and likely get away from you. And when that happens, your script is in trouble.

Let’s look at some of my favorite ensembles — “Home for the Holidays,” “True Romance,” “Heat,” “Nixon,” “Any Given Sunday,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “Boogie Nights” — which all have a central character around whom everyone else revolves or reacts. Someone that keeps the story progressing and connects everyone in some way.

Character is key in an ensemble. When there are more then four characters, personality becomes paramount. Each character needs to have a different voice to make them stand out. Film is a visual medium, but executives have to be able to understand what they’re reading so they can picture it playing out on screen. So making sure each character is very different from the others — with not only their own personalities, but also issues, quirks, arcs, motivations, etc — will greatly help a reader keep everything clear. Yes, it will be obvious who is who on screen when we can match characters with actors faces we know, but on the page, it has to read just as clear.

A small rule that is especially true when writing ensembles is do not give all your characters names that start with the same letter or ones that rhyme. If you have eight characters and five of their names start with “J”, it’s going to be really hard keeping them straight on the page.

The other key to ensembles is the casting, which of course you don’t have any control over. But most ensembles only come together when big name stars are willing to put aside their egos, their quotes, and their preferential treatment, and agree to be part of a team. And I think that’s why ensemble films are often so successful — audiences love to see as many of their favorite stars together as possible as long as there’s a good reason.

However there have been quite a few big ensemble projects that have bombed horribly, including “Ready to Wear,” “The Road to Wellville,” “Mars Attacks,” “The Women,” “Southland Tales,” “Eulogy,” and “I Heart Huckabees.” Why did they fail? Well, some were bad ideas to start with, some were bad scripts, for some the distributor didn’t (or couldn’t) put up enough money for P&A for a proper theatrical release, and some had bad press.

If you are writing an ensemble piece, then once you have finished your first draft, you should go through and track how many pages/scenes each character is in and make sure that all of them are necessary. Don’t jam characters in there that you don’t need or that don’t help bring out your theme and main storyline because it will just make your script feel cluttered and unsatisfying. And you will run the risk of not devoting enough time to the few characters we LOVE because you’re focusing on characters we don’t.

Your concept may be the core of your story, but your characters are what bring them to life. For me, watching an ensemble film or TV show is just more fun. And you know what they say — two’s company, three’s a crowd, eight is enough, but the more the merrier.

About Daniel Manus:
Daniel Manus is the Director of Development for Clifford Werber Productions (Cinderella Story, Sydney White). CWP recently set up a family fantasy/adventure project at United Artists which Daniel is attached to co-produce. He is also attached to produce several projects independently including “Dreams of an Aspiring Romantic,” starring Emily Osment and “Strange Fruit,” written by J.S. Cardone (Prom Night).

Daniel recently started his own script consulting company – No BullScript Consulting, which can be found at www.nobullscript.net. He has been a freelance script consultant for years, working for companies such as ScriptShark and Script Coach and teaches courses to writers at conferences around the country.

Daniel was previously Director of Development for Sandstorm Films, which had a first look deal at Sony Screen Gems and a development deal with Top Cow Comics. Raised on Long Island, NY, he holds a BS degree in Television with a concentration in Screenwriting from the Ithaca College Park School of Communications.

Question:
“I read an article in a small town newspaper and felt it would make a great movie. It was about a true story that occurred one weekend to some guys on a trip. It is the kind of story you might tell some friends at dinner. It is not a story the writer spent weeks researching. He heard the funny story and wrote about it.

“Also, it is the concept that I believe would make a good story. I do not plan to write the actual story that took place or claim that it is “based on a true story”. However, the basic premise would be the same. Do I need to buy the rights to this story’s premise from the newspaper or writer or people that experienced the event? Or all of them? Since I do not plan to write their actual story, do I need to buy any rights at all? At what point does writing about an event requiring buying the rights?”

Answer:
Basing your screenplay on true events, as reported in a newspaper or any other media outlet requires a careful analysis of what rights are held, and by whom.

First, the rights of the persons depicted in the story must be cleared. If the persons to whom the events occured, or anybody they know, will be able to identify them from the story told in your screenplay, you need their rights. In practice, when the story centers around one person, the producers of a film will obtain THAT person’s rights, and require them to assist in obtaining any other rights that the producers’ lawyers deem necessary. (the conservative position of most lawyers is to obtain rights from all involved)

Since you’re planning to use the events you read about as a mere jumping off point, you MIGHT get away without clearing the rights, but ultimately, you will have to indemnify the buyer/producer of any film based on your script against claims brought by those you’ve depicted…You’ll also have to disclose the fact that your story is (however loosely) based on real people when you make the sale of your script… So, you may as well secure their cooperation early.

If you’re using any material that was reported by the newspaper, and which might have been uncovered by the reporter’s investigation, etc., you will likely need to get a license from the publication and/or journalist. However, if the story you’re telling is coming directly from those who experienced the events, then you probably do not need a separate license.

So, when do you get the rights? Best practice is to do so before you begin writing. Otherwise, you risk laboring on the script in vain, if the rights holder refuses to grant you a license or permission to use the underlying material. Many writers ignore this, relying on the eventual buyer of the script to clear the rights. Doing this, however, risks embarrassment if that buyer is unable to clear those rights. (in which case the writer would probably have to refund any payments received, etc.) One approach might be to put together a treatment and “pitch” the project to producers with the resources to secure the rights, and to pay you to write the script.

As always, the best advice I can offer is that you consult a lawyer who can explore the full details of the situation, and give you some specifically tailored advice.

Thinking of producing it yourself? Subscribe to the FREE e-course “6 Ways to Finance a Feature Film” by visiting http://firemark.com/minicourse.

Have a legal question? Email them to: legalquestions@thebusinessofshowinstitute.com

The foregoing is intended as general information only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship with Mr. Firemark. This information is not a substitute for a private, independent consultation with an attorney selected to advise you after a full investigation of the facts and law relevant to your matter. Neither Mr. Firemark nor The Business of Show Institute will be responsible for readers’ detrimental reliance upon the information appearing in this column.

About Gordon P. Firemark:
Gordon Firemark is an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles. For almost 20 years, he’s helped creative and business people in the fields of film, television, theatre, music and new media achieve their professional and artistic goals. His practice focuses on negotiating and drafting entertainment contracts and business deals, film and theatre financing, corporate startups/operations, and intellectual property protection and licensing. Get more information at http://firemark.com/.

Author’s Note

News arrived this weekend — a friend’s film, over a decade in the making — would finally hit theaters in June.

Thrilled by the news, I dropped congratulatory messages on his Facebook wall, and I remembered… remembered the story he’d once relayed to me about being two weeks away from production, when all of the money simply disappeared. Vanished into the ether. Or rather — vanished into the ether of “whoops, the main financier was just convicted of money laundering and mail fraud.”

Back then, my friend said he’d sat in a director’s chair — alone, on the empty set — watching tumbleweeds roll through the ghost town that was once his dream. (A dream – that had already taken seven years of his life to build). And he’d told himself:

It just — wasn’t time. I still believe… I’ll keep trying.

I imagined him, arriving on the night of his premiere, smiling into flashbulbs and holding up a bottle of champagne.

And I thought…

Count the thousands of days of this man’s life — that it took him to reach — just one…

Hurry Up and Wait

The call came at 3am.

“Get your ass to Baltimore,” they barked. “Pronto.”

My brother shook himself awake, threw on his clothes, stumbled into the darkness, and began the two-hour drive to some mysterious, Maryland, army locale.

Hours later, while I was eating cereal, easing into a lazy Saturday, the phone rang.

“F$*()_k these f%*(ng a^&*()holes,” my brother grunted. “I’ve been standing in line for five f^&*ng hours!”

There it was again — the painful part (or at least, one of them) of military life. The one that he and his buddies griped about over pitchers and buffalo wings. That accursed, chronic demand: Hurry up, they’d command you. Hurry up and wait.

Years later-
—as a lowly PA on the Universal Lot, a million miles from my dreams of writing and performing, and halfway into my 3rd hour of collecting dirty cigarette butts rotting in clumps around our trailers, I had a vague recollection of my brother’s trip to Baltimore.

At the end of that 15 hour day — after everyone else was headed home for a better night’s sleep than us, the raggedy PA’s covered in garbage bags and breaking down tents — my brother’s words, and gripes, came back to me loud and clear. The military, it seemed, had a lot in common with the entertainment industry.

There was the same rigid hierarchy. The lines you do not cross. Especially while on set. In this comparison, I was a private. Or, even – just a recruit. The bottom of the barrel. The grunt. And this was my bootcamp. (No wonder my friend made up that nursery song… “I’m just-a PA – shit on me! — shit on me! — shit on me!)

And there was that same, steep ascent to the top of the mountain. The same prestige and respect for more stars, bars, stripes and feathers — which, in the case of Hollywood, means more gold statues, stars on walks, and agents with bigger names (not to mention: more “gross profit participation:).

And, which — never happens ‘overnight.’ No matter what the tabloids say.

Indeed…
…that day, the mythical phrase: “overnight success” — was erased from my mind — and replaced by a much better, more fitting expression:

Hurry up — and wait.

Hurry up and get to LA. Hurry up and slam out those treatments, specs and pilots. Hurry up and get to the mixers, the panels, the BBQ on someone’s boat who you hardly know, but who extended a hand to you and asked you to join several “industry” friends on a sail through the marina. Hurry up and read those trades, front to back, every morning when you can. Hurry up and ask that producer to coffee, take that exec for a glass of wine, use the very last ounce of strength in your body to re-read that Oscar-winning screenplay / example of an effective way to write — at least one more time.

And then…

wait.

Wait for something. Anything. A sign. A word. A door. A chance.

How strange, I’ve often thought to myself, to be waiting so long and yet, moving so fast.

How important, I’ve thought even more frequently
— to believe —
as you watch time pass.

by word & by deed,
- mc foley

About mc foley:
Melinda Corazon Foley was born in Cebu, Philippines, raised in Virginia and currently resides in West Hollywood, CA. In 2005, MC Foley was named East West Players’ James Irvine Foundation Mentee affording her the privilege to craft a new original stage play, the result: “Down and Out.” It debuted at the Union Center for the Arts. Foley was then awarded the Asian American Writers Workshop Scholarship, which she utilized to re-imagine the aforementioned play into a web based series incorporating verse, motion graphics and comic book illustrations. Recently Ms. Foley completed work on a debut YA novel, The Ice Hotel. The novel is a fantasy adventure written especially for readers experiencing the profound pain of loss. In the book, a family, reeling from their eldest son’s death, escapes to the Ice Hotel, where an age-old, arctic magic connects this world to the next. The Ice Hotel is now available at Amazon. Order your copy here: http://tinyurl.com/ya2edzh

Andrea Jung is one of America’s iconic business leaders. She is Chairman of the Board and CEO of Avon Products, Inc. She’s been named one of the most powerful women in America. She firmly believes that self-awareness is crucial to success.

She practices what she refers to as 360 degree feedback. Meaning she chooses ten people each year to tell her the good, the bad, and the ugly. Anything can be said. She includes her children in this process to get an honest appraisal of her actions. Jung believes that you can get a huge dose of reality by seeing yourself through your children’s eyes.

Seek frank feedback.

Ask the people around you to give you an honest appraisal of your actions, not just your screenplays.

Fine tuning your craft as a screenwriter is necessary, but fine tuning your salesmanship, networking, and public speaking skills are not only relevant, but crucial. It’s a new age. The screenwriter has evolved.

Are you part of a screenwriting forum that is sharing business information and/or relationships? Are you part of a business networking group? Are you investing time in public speaking to become a more confident presenter of your ideas?

Are you capturing market intelligence so that you can speak in the industry as an informed professional and/or so that you may determine the type of material that is attracting the attention of agents, managers, producers, and executives… in essence, do you know what is selling, being sold, being developed, being made? Are you developing your salesmanship?

Are you working on your business or solely in your business (there is a significant difference)? Are you utilizing social media to its fullest potential (ie http://tinyurl.com/l8qyqk)? Are you being innovative and inventive or are you simply doing the same thing you have always done?

Are you clearly defining your goals? Do you have written goals? Are you reviewing your actions to determine if they are working or not working? Do the people you know and trust know your goals?

Ask your trusted friends to answer the questions above for you.

Listen, some aspiring screenwriters are satisfied with simply having the dream. Meaning the dream is enough. It doesn’t actually need to be attained. And that’s ok. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.

However, if you truly want to realize the dream… action is paramount.