Marvin V. Acuna

As I considered what to share with you this week it occurred to me that there were an overwhelming number of questions that remained in the queue from my most recent teleseminar. For obvious reasons I will be unable to address every question still sitting in the queue, but I was compelled to offer my thoughts to the following which were chosen completely at random. Here we go:

What are recommended ways to establish relationships with the players in LA if you don’t live there?
Personally, I’m a huge believer that the internet is an incredible tool to bridge relationships with people from all industries, in particular entertainment. Thomas Friedman wrote a book entitled “The World Is Flat.” I believe the entertainment industry is flat. There are no boundaries. Christopher Brogan offers his insights on building relationships online in his book “Trust Agents.” I also discuss this subject in more depth in the Art of Connecting from the Secret Weapon Audio Series. The file is located in the member’s area; I encourage you to listen again.

Is attending events like The Great American Pitch Fest and Screenwriting Conference in Los Angeles this June a good idea?
Any opportunity to be in close proximity to industry professionals is a great one, but you must prepare. A few years back a 20/20-like news program followed a few filmmakers as they headed to industry events and captured the difference it made for those who arrived prepared versus the ones who just arrived. I discuss specific strategies in a number of the Power Principles on how to maximize the investment you make to attend industry events. Review them before you attend.

Do you think that a staged reading with professional actors (performing an original screenplay) is a good investment of time, energy and resources?
Opportunities that afford you the privilege to see and hear your work come to life is invaluable to your development as a screenwriter and the material. In fact, Christopher Vogler shared a process he does with Will Smith with me during our live interview back in 2009 which I found to be fascinating and immersive. The replay is in the archives if you missed the live event.

I am not the chatty Kathy type. I write. I am comfortable in my own head making things up. I am not comfortable with people. Is it even possible to get someone to represent me?
Charlie Kaufman comes to mind. However, I would highly encourage you to develop that aspect of yourself. Toastmasters International is a great organization that is available as a resource. Jewerl Ross of Silent R Management addressed this head on during our live event. Frankly, he had some very strong feelings on this subject and offered some great advice.

Is there an age limit for writers?
I bet that Doug Taylor and Antoinette Terry Bryant would both say, “Never.” I sat down with them in Sundance as part of the Sundance Experience: A Screenwriters Perspective Program to discuss their picture “Splice,” arguably one of the hottest films at Sundance. I look forward to sharing that video presentation with you — stay tuned. But, for the “must have more insights now” personality… you can always listen to the late Blake Snyder’s thoughts on the matter which he addresses in our last live event together. You can easily find the transcript and the replay.

How can I get an agent if no one knows me?
I wrote a piece entitled, “Write a Movie Script that’s Good… Write a Query Letter that’s Better!” (http://tinyurl.com/yf5w9u6) which I feel offers insight into one method. Additionally, Allan Loeb, arguably the hottest screenwriter in Hollywood today, whose credits include the upcoming “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps” starring Michael Douglas and Shia LeBouf, “The Baster” starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman, “The Escape from NY” remake, and “Your Cheating Heart” starring Vince Vaughn and Adam Sandler, discusses on the replay how he did it and the “Hail Mary” script that changed his life forever.

Christopher Vogler (CV) and I conducted a wonderful tele-seminar a few weeks ago, it was great fun.

We had a stimulating Q&A session. However, due to the abundance of questions and the limited time we were unable to take and respond to everyone’s questions on the live call.

But, I promised everyone on the call that they would get their specific question answered and emailed to them directly. At this point everyone has received their individual response from CV. Cool, right?

Well, it occurred to me that it may be beneficial to share some of it with you so I have randomly selected and posted a handful of the screenwriter’s questions and CV’s response here. Enjoy part 4 of 4.

My hope is that it serves you.

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Galia Hillhouse-Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
Am I shooting myself in the foot if I write screenplays with a South
African background? Would I stand a better chance writing American
stories?

CV: I think your energy is best spent developing stories set in the
world you know. It is VERY difficult to conceal subtle signs that you
did not grow up on the streets of Los Angeles, and they will not take
you seriously if they detect that you are writing about things that
are distant from your experience.

Pamela Ross-Sacramento, CA
Mr. Vogler, have you ever developed a Western screenplay with Native
American characters? Regardless, what would you look for as your main
critique points in developing?

CV: No, I never had a hand in a Western though I am fond of the
genre. Big influences on me were the Lakota shaman Black Elk and the

poet John G. Neihardt who write about “the twilight of the Sioux”.

Main points: Unusual take on a well-worn genre. An unexpected
setting or a new twist. Something with contemporary relevance, a
story from history that in some sense is still happening today.
Compelling, attractive characters that will make actors want to play
them. A subject that a lot of people will relate to.

Constantine Veroutis-Calgary, Alberta, Canada
What contribution did Chris take part in the developement script of
Lion KIng and Till Eulenspiegel ?

CV: Thanks for asking! On Lion King I have a credit of “Additional
Story Material by” which I share with about twenty other people who
contributed ideas and scenes to the film. My specific assignments

• Michael Jackson’s Last Days: What Really Happened dvdrip

were to draw a comparison between the Lion King and Hamlet, pointing
out the Hero’s Journey of Hamlet and noting some famous quotes which
were turned into jokes and dialogue references by the writers. I
contributed a couple of visual touches – the shaft of light that comes
out of the cloud when Rafiki holds up the infant Simba in the opening
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sequence of the film, and a scene where Scar’s evil influence causes
the waterholes to dry up.

On Till Eulenspiegel, an animated feature produced in Germany with a
multinational crew, I wrote the entire screenplay and lyrics for a
couple of songs. The producer already had a rough story outline when
I came aboard, and I worked from that and from the legends and stories
of Europe’s favorite court jester, Till Eulenspiegel. I modeled my
story on the wonderful Danny Kaye comedies that I remembered from my
childhood, marvelously silly films like THE COURT JESTER and THE
INSPECTOR GENERAL.

Bruce Moore-Spring, Texas
Why do so many wonderful historical subjects get made so different
than what really(supposedly) happened, when the real-life stories are

actually much more dramatic and/or interesting?

CV: Oh man, don’t get me started. I saw this happen right under my
nose when Disney made a picture called “Squanto, a Warrior’s Tale”,
based on research I had done for their story department. The story
was so loosely based on the amazing true story that I wished they had
called it “Standing Water” or something else made up. It wasn’t a bad
story, it just had very little to do with the actual Squanto story
which was much, much better.

I can only GUESS that studios make the mistake of hiring writers who
are just doing a job and never fell in love with history, which as you
point out almost always makes for much better stories than those the
screenwriters make up. People feel they have to “make the story their
own” or maybe they don’t have confidence in the facts of history.

Jesse-San Antonio
How would you go about selling a “High Concept” spec script in today’s market?

CV: This is a very technical matter. You’d have to SOMEHOW hook
yourself into the high-speed world of execs and producers and agents
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who launch elaborate spec sales campaigns every week. Personally, I’d
be looking to make an alliance with a producer who has deals with the
studios and who handles your kind of project. Again, do your
homework.

Brett Moore-Spring, Texas
Michael Ray Brown say’s hello. What is your feeling about having a
professional reader providing coverage?

CV: I don’t think this helps you one bit in terms of convincing
somebody to read it or buy it. It’s not a sincere endorsement because
you paid for it. But it can have great value for YOU – the process of
boiling something down to a synopsis often reveals flaws and
inconsistencies in the story. I ALWAYS do a synopsis of anything I’ve
written or that I have to evaluate seriously. It’s a big help in
diagnosing story problems because it makes you focus on the big
turning points.

Christopher Vogler (CV) and I conducted a wonderful tele-seminar last week, it was great fun.

We had a stimulating Q&A session. However, due to the abundance of questions and the limited time we were unable to take and respond to everyone’s questions on the live call.

But, I promised everyone on the call that they would get their specific question answered and emailed to them directly. At this point everyone has received their individual response from CV.  Cool, right?

Well, it occurred to me that it may be beneficial to share some of it with you so I have randomly selected and posted a handful of the screenwriter’s questions and CV’s response here.  Enjoy part 1 of 4.

My hope is that it serves you.

**********************************************************************************************************

DONNY-SHAWNEE,KS
when writing a potentially action-thriller blockbuster feature,
pitting two massive franchises against eachother like predator vs
aliens, how should i structure it. also, what is the best way to
approach studios with it. should I approach them with a script,
treatment or what, and would I need to aquire rights first since i’m
writing it on spec with something involving a multimillion dollar
franchise like terminator.

CV: This sounds risky, a difficult thing to do even if you were
deeply imbedded in Hollywood.  Sounds like a super-high concept and
those kind of franchises are all highly guarded by lawyers.  It’s like
a citizen trying to convince Canada and Brazil to become one country.
I certainly wouldn’t waste time on developing a script.  The studio
wants to have the fun of deciding what kind of script will be written
from the concept.  Just write up your concept in treatment form.  Yes,
you probably would have to acquire some kind of rights or else you’ll
just get trampled.

Maria-Jackson
How to make a good script great! your famous “formular” for the hero
with 1000 faces elaborated in our time.

CV:  Same as ever.  Put sympathetic but realistically flawed
characters in a situation where they desperately want or need
something and then make it devilishly difficult for them to get it.
Along the way, give them mentors, allies, threshold guardians, and
tests of character that lead them to transformation and deeper
self-understanding. Since so much of modern movie time is taken up with super-heroes and
heroic action, you’d better know something about how the heroic form
operates on the grand scale.  But don’t forget the power of simple,
local, intimate stories, which can be just as heroic.

Mark-Los Osos
I write a lot of horror – can you give a contemporary example of a
horror film that successfully employs the hero’s journey?

CV: The last horror movie I saw was CLOVERFIELD which I quite enjoyed, a
delicious nightmare.  It has a classic hero’s journey quest form.  The
Ordinary World is a young man’s going-away party captured in
convincingly amateur fashion with shaky hand-held cameras.  The Call
to Adventure on the emotional level is his brother urging him to “go
for it” and declare his love for a girl, followed a few seconds later
by a more literal Call to Adventure as a mysterious giant monster
bursts out of the streets of New York and starts slaughtering people.
The hero and his friends go on a classic quest to save his trapped
girlfriend.  The sacrifices and ordeals of a Hero’s Journey are all
played out in timeless fashion except that the heroes are apparently
killed at the end, reinforcing the horror effect.  Too much shaky
camera for my taste, though.

CatherineVetere-London, UK
what is the first and, you consider, the most important element you consider when you first read a script?

CV: If I were just reading in a vacuum, unaffected by the needs of a
client or studio, it would be a compelling story that I’d like to see
as a movie.  That means a great character in an interesting world, in
a situation that produces emotional reactions. But I don’t read in a vacuum, and am almost always reading with some fairly precise and narrow ideas of what my client is looking for.
Often I am looking for a story that will work for a particular star or director, or scanning for a particular genre.  The studio puts out the word that they need a children’s fantasy or an adult thriller, and I start looking for one.

Kristin Fieseler-Paderborn/Germany
Is the Special World’s function eliminating the character’s lack in
the Ordinary World?

CV: That could be one of the functions.  Whether the hero realizes it
or not, that’s why he or she goes there, to find their missing piece.
The Special World has other functions though; providing a sharp
contrast with the Ordinary World, providing a crucible for the hero’s
transformation, offering the audience escapism with an exotic setting
or unusual situation.

Christopher Vogler (CV) and I conducted a wonderful tele-seminar a few weeks ago, it was great fun.

We had a stimulating Q&A session. However, due to the abundance of questions and the limited time we were unable to take and respond to everyone’s questions on the live call.

But, I promised everyone on the call that they would get their specific question answered and emailed to them directly. At this point everyone has received their individual response from CV.  Cool, right?

Well, it occurred to me that it may be beneficial to share some of it with you so I have randomly selected and posted a handful of the screenwriter’s questions and CV’s response here.  Enjoy part 3 of 4.

My hope is that it serves you.

**********************************************************************************************************

Suzanne-Muncie, Indiana
When you have limited funds and you know that you have an exceptional
script, what is the best way to get it into the right hands?

CV:  Do your homework.  Figure out who the critical people would be to
get your project made.  Who’s the ideal director?  Studio to release
it?  Actors to play the leads?  Find out the names and addresses of
their companies from sources like IMDB.com or the invaluable Hollywood
Creative Directory that lists all the major players.  Make your wish
list and send out query letters saying “Would you like to read a
terrific screenplay about X?”

Carmen Cifuentes-N. San Diego
After 11 months of research, writing and rewriting with a professional
coach I finished my script. It is a modern romantic comedy. An
executive at Overture says it’s high concept and wants a ‘dialogue
rewrite’. While concept is my strength, dialogue is my weakness. What
do I do? Dialogue writers are too expensive (thousands of dollars).
Please advice. Thank YOU.

CV:  You’ve been thrown a challenge.  Sounds like you’re going to have
to make a collaboration and find yourself someone at your level who
has the necessary skills.  You kind of have to turn into a producer if
you don’t feel confident growing a new brain as a dialogue expert.
(This could take years of study and practice to make any noticeable
change if it’s not your strong suit.)  You’ve got qualified
encouragement there so it’s worth some effort.  Can you get involved
in a local writer’s group and approach the best dialogue writer in the
group about a collaboration?

Amy-Irvine
In your opinion, what are the three biggest mistakes screenwriters
make? And do you have any recommendations on how to best avoid making
those mistakes? Thank you!

CV:  1.  Beginners sometimes overexplain and spend too much time on
introductions and details of backgrounds and action.  Solution:  Give
your writing a clean shave – go over it one time with one question in
mind: What can I do without?  You’ll be amazed by how much better it
gets when you start throwing stuff out.  It will read faster which is
a great selling point.

2. Beginners sometimes don’t differentiate characters enough.
Everyone sounds the same, and most often they all speak in the voice
of the writer.  Solution:  Make sure each character has a distinct way
of speaking that reflects something about his or her personal history
and attitude towards life.  Some people speak in incomplete sentences,
some people run on and interrupt themselves, some people use a big
vocabulary and colorful expressions while others are blunt and
literal.

3. Some writers fail by losing sight of their main theme, or perhaps
they don’t really know yet what the story is really about.  Solution:
Ask yourself “What is the one word that describes what I’m writing
about?”  It should be some basic human emotion or drive, like Love,
Trust, Betrayal, Loyalty, Friendship, Ambition, Terror, etc.  Make
sure every scene in your script somehow expands our understanding of
that single word, your theme.

Mark-Los Osos
Do you put any stock in scriptwriting software that seems to draw on
your book for inspiration? And If you don’t have an agent or known name, what will get you noticed so that someone will read your script? I have a fantasy rom-com that has been optioned. A known director likes it, but says it isn’t quite “studio ready”. Is this some kind of code? What should I look for and change if I don’t receive notes?

CV:  First, Not personally.  All the software I need is inside my skull.  But
hey, it couldn’t hurt if Vogler-inspired software helps you formulate
a thought.

Second, a truly great script that makes people excited enough to want to
tell somebody else to read it.  There is no other secret.

Lastly, it means he saw some good features in it but can’t see himself
sticking his neck out for it.  Trust your instincts on this one – you
can usually “smell” what it is that shot you down.  Something struck
that director as too corny or far-fetched, too underdeveloped, too
esoteric, or too much like other projects floating around the studios.