Screenwriting Expo Review - Days 1 + 2

Each Fall in Los Angeles, Creative Screenwriting magazine sponsors a 4 day Screenwriting Expo. This is my fifth year attending and already I've found the Australian men. That's a windy personal story, and a post for another day.

Today, though, as a seasoned Expo-goer, I thought it might be useful to post reviews and summaries of the Expo and the sessions I've been attending so that anyone out there who's been on the fence about attending can check out my experience and see if the Expo is right for them.

Please note that, since I've been to many Expos, I've already been to a number of the types of sessions before. So I've tried to gear this year's Expo sessions to what I'm currently trying to focus my attention on - TV writing and pitching. In past years it's been dialogue, character development and feature film writing. If anyone desires my take on those sessions from years past, please post a comment and I'll be happy to write a post just on those.

This year's expo is being held at a new venue, The Wilshire Grand Hotel in Downtown LA. The first few years I attended were at the LA Convention Center and, after moving to the cramped and rushed hustle between a bunch of hotels near LAX, I'm happy to say the Expo organizers heeded advice and brought the convention back downtown.

I've lived in LA for over 7 years (well collectively, if you don't count my "quit my day job and move back in with Mom" writing sabbaticals. Anyway, as someone who's been here this long, the Expo is sadly one of the only reasons I've ever had to come downtown.

So...I'm glad to be back downtown.

That said, Day One of the expo was a short day. I knew it would be. Just registration, a couple of pitching workshops and the Expo Awards + Welcome Ceremony. But, upon showing up to attend one of said pitching workshops, I was told that the Gold Pass did not guarantee you getting in. Rather than wait around for seven hours for the ceremony, I headed home sans parking fees. NOT A GOOD START PEEPS!

I was not the only person who didn't have the information when they drove downtown and paid to park. So, sorry Expo, that's IRK #1 for this time around.

Day Two (Friday 10/16) got off to a much better start. Check in was easy. All of my stuff was in order and my NAME WAS SPELLED CORRECTLY! Thank you, Expo! That's Praise #1.

The first session I attended was "TV Writing: Making it funny from the ground up," with speaker Evan Smith. Mr. Smith was a fairly engaging speaker, plugged his book a little more than I'd have liked but not to the point of overkill. He had some good pointers about Premise-Driven Comedies, Escalating Series' of Predicaments, Character Profiles, and Comedy Styles. My only annoyance with this seminar was that he several times deviated with examples from Features, not TV, and from Dramas, not comedies.

It could've been more specific toward TV writing, but I wouldn't say it was a waste. His discussion was all outlined on overhead projections, so note taking was easy but took your attention off of him. It was just a more broad discussion that I'd hoped for. Overall: 3 of 5 stars.

The second session was "Pitching to Sell with Karl Iglesias." Karl's one of my FAVORITE speakers from Expos past. The only thing I used to dislike with his sessions from Expos past was the speed at which he blew through info. So I was very pleased when this session allowed me to keep up with note taking and listening. Karl tends to read from his power point presentations VERBATIM, so you don't necessarily have to listen so hard. But the information was good. He gave some great logline templates and lists of tips for pitches. It's rudimentary stuff, so was probably most helpful for someone who's never pitched a script before.

It's worth sharing, though.

KARL IGLESIAS'S COMPELLING LOGLINE TEMPLATE
(TITLE) is a (GENRE) about a (DESCRIPTION OF HERO/INE) who, after (INCITING EVENT), wants to (OUTER GOAL) by (PLAN OF ACTION). This becomes increasingly difficult because (OBSTACLES and COMPLICATIONS).

For Action films, here's another template he offered.
(TITLE) is a (GENRE) about a (DESCRIPTION OF HERO/INE) who must (OUTER GOAL) or else (SOMETHING DIRE WILL HAPPEN).

KARL IGLESIAS' PITCHING TIPS
* Give the title
* Identify the genre
* Pitch your logline
* Narrate the basic story (which must answer)
- Who it's about
- Where's the hero at the beginning (physically + emotionally / describing his/her ordinary world)
- What happens to hero (Inciting Event)
- What the hero does (I think this was supposed to be specific to hero's goal)
- What's at stake
- What conflicts (internal + external) the hero faces
- Where does the hero end up?
- Hero's crisis decision
- How does hero change in a significant way.

KARL'S OTHER USEFUL PITCHING TIPS
- Have a pitch buddy and try pitching each other's scripts instead of your own.
- Save your favorite executive for last (when you're pitching to a bunch in a row - allows you to get warmed up)
- Before starting, find out what they're looking for and tailor your pitch
- Listen to key words they say when talking about what they're looking for and use them in your pitch.
- Don't tell too much about yourself
- Be brief
- Be enthusiastic and confident
- Don't worry about being nervous
- Don't read from notes
- If they don't grasp your story, use two successful and recent films that are similar
- Don't waste their time, be polite and leave when it's time to leave.
- Don't tell the story
and, his one tip that I don't completely agree with...
- Don't explain how you came to write the story. I disagree if you can do it in a line or two and it's RELEVANT to setting up the comedy of your pitch. I have better luck pitching my zombie comedy when I tell the story of how I got the idea.

Overall, I'll give him 4 of 5 stars for this session.

To pull a Jane Espenson, lunch today was an egg salad sandwich and Southern Blend Iced Tea from Coffee Bean.

---

As the day progressed, I began to discover that the Expo had really done a lot to curb one of my biggest pet peeves of expos past...speakers plugging their books or consulting businesses.

One of the afternoon speakers, in fact, mentioned they were only allowed one plug. Not all the speakers stuck to this, which was a little irritating when considering they'd been TOLD not to keep going back to their plugs. But, overall, there was much less of this than in years past.

DAY TWO AFTERNOON SESSIONS

"Creating and Pitching Series Ideas for TV" w/ Erik Bork

Didn't really get to the "pitching" part of the conversation, but in his book... (yeah)

Here's a summary of the useful info gleaned:

Biggest Mistake when approaching creating a TV Series - Not vetting the concept enough

How to avoid this -
Consider
1) Who are the characters and what do they want - it should be ongoing and have endless episodes deriving from this.
2) What's the story engine? It needs to be a template you can fill every week

4 Elements of a Good Idea
CURE
C - Must be COMPELLING
U - UNIQUE
R - REAL - Characters must be believable
E - and... they must be ENTERTAINING

Types of Stories for TV
1) Most scenes about someone trying to convince someone else to do something they don't want to do.
2) Hero trying to save someone (24)
3) Someone trying to fulfill ego desires (ie: Sitcoms/Soaps)

Common Mistakes in Spec Pilots
1) Wrong Format - not applying the best format (1/2 hour or hour) to your idea.
2) Contrived/Fantastic Situations - ("Mumbo Jumbo") Combining too much into your story that it becomes convoluted

Overall, Mr. Bork was a fair speaker.


The next session I attended was "Career Guidance" with Jen Grissanti

I really liked this session. The best part was that Ms. Grissanti gave everyone a PACKET with all the notes she was going over so that you could actually LISTEN! However, this means my notes were mostly personal ideas for my own writing. And, I'm not going to retype the entire packet. One tip I did write down was: "Keep a journal of what writing you like and make note of the writer." I highly recommend Ms. Grissanti as an Expo speaker. Well done.


My final session of the day was "8 Passes You Must Take Before You're Done," a rewriting class with Paul Chitlik

I thought this was a fairly useful class and stayed on topic. Here are the 8 types of "passes" Chitlik says you must take when rewriting a script.

1) Structure - in the largest sense. Must stick to structure - (my best book recommendation for structure - The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler)

2) Conflict - Every scene has to have conflict. If not, take it out.
Even Flashbacks must ahve conflict.

3) Description
-Cut out any words you can.
-Shorten descriptions
-Avoid inner thoughts
-Use indicatives (ie: "chews" instead of "is chewing")
-Avoid passive expressions
-Stay terse
-Take out screen directions (ie: CUT TO:, "we see...")
-Don't use VO to tell the story.

4) Dialogue
-Consider the following for your characters: Education, Place in family, occupation, hometown, ract, social register, status
-Exercise for dialogue: Print out your script and x out all but a character's dialogue. Make sure it's consistent and all in the same voice. Do it again for each character.

5) Protagonist's Dialogue
-Needs to have a defining line - the character must say, "I, me, or mine."
(In Tootsie, Michael says, "I'm a better man as a woman than I was as a man."
-Cut out words you don't need.
-Condense and abbreviate dialogue

6) Supporting Characters' Dialogue
-They should all support the premise

7) Cuts Pass
-Make sure the scene needs to be there and that it advances the story and has conflict.
-Cut heads and tails off of scenes. Come in at the latest possible point and get out quickly. (You can cut out the ending by showing the result)

8) PUNCTUATION, GRAMMAR, + SPELLING
My biggest pet peeve. Not just because I was in the National Spelling Bee, but because it's LAZY WRITING. Do a friggin' spell check! Let a friend who you trust their grammar and spelling take a look and give you notes.

Recently, I had a producer ask me to try to get a script he's very passionate about to a particular actress I know. He gave me a draft and it failed not only #8, but many of the problems with #3. The writer lost track of the names of her characters at one point and directed the actors with dialogue written in vernacular and too many parentheticals. So he had her "fix" these and gave it back to me to read again. Still caught spelling errors. Chances are you won't get a second read. Sadly, he's not getting a third. And there's no way I'm giving a script that has such visible problems my seal of approval, no matter how "important" the story may be to tell. You still have to tell it well.

My rant over. This was a useful session, and ended the day well.

I had a gold pass, so I attended the networking party afterward and was not impressed. The food was okay, but we were given tiny little plates that you couldn't really fit the type of food they served on. BOO! Not only that, but there weren't nearly enough places to sit, so you had to hold your tiny little plate standing up. Not cool. BOO!! I stayed 5 minutes and left.

More reviews of Days 3 and 4 later.

Mission: Accomplished

I did it. I finished the first draft of my TV pilot, Obnoxious Older Sister's Know-it-All Guide To Your Teens. It's a first draft, so it'll need some work, but I'm proud of it. I don't feel embarrassed to send it out to my trusted network for notes.

And the energy bar now has charged a level. I wouldn't say I'm "excited" to go back to LA, but I'm not dreading it. An accomplishment was made here.

I still have a week and a half left. That's time for notes, a little bit of work on other projects, and some job stuff.

It's interesting how we measure our accomplishments by landmarks, but not by the day-to-day markers. Looking at the bigger picture of that concept and how it applies to life in general, not just writing, maybe I need to be thinking of life that way. Trying not to only let myself feel proud of the landmark accomplishments, but the day-to-day steps toward them.

Time Management

As I sit on the couch at 2:46 a.m. starting a blog post, I've realized my major problem is time management. I've never been great at balancing. Anything.

My checkbook? HA! I'm a whiz with numbers. But can I tabulate them in the simplest, yet most essential place I need to? Of course not?

Balancing work? I'm always writing...and checking emails every five minutes.

Or life? You mean there's something outside of work and checking emails?

Okay, so clearly this won't be a blog to come to looking for relationship advice. Perhaps down the road there'll be a dating don't or two, but let's focus on today's topic of choice - BLATANT DISREGARD FOR MANAGING TIME.

Let's start by examining how I spent my day.

10 a.m. - late start. I blame it on still recuperating from this crappy flu. No way it's my lazy streak rearing it's ugly head.

11:20 a.m. - hit the gym with my Mom. This was an anomaly. Normally, I forgo exercise because I get anxious I haven't spent enough time writing or that, if I work out, I'll cut into my ambitious time when I could be writing.

12:15 p.m. - Lunch + shower. Cheddar bay biscuits are not good reheated. Bumblebee soup is.

12:45-1:45 p.m. - devoured in the vortex of the space/time continuum

1:45-7 p.m. "writing" time. All in all, about 3 or 4 total hours of work with 5 pages written. Actually one of the most productive days back in MI yet.

7-8 p.m. - Dinner

8-10 p.m. - CRAPPY ASS MOVIE, "A Simple Twist of Fate" - written by Steve Martin. Dude. I loved Shopgirl. But DAMN! Thank GOD you're Steve Martin or you would definitely not have gotten to make another film after that.

10-11 p.m - New TV show research - "The Forgotten". SponComGirl says: Not awful, but it'll be a mid-season cancellation and be replaced with something else.

Now here's where it gets interesting

11 p.m. - I get a bug in my ass to make a pot of coffe, get online and do an online video pitch for Pitchq.com because I found a craigslist ad with a promo code to do one for free.

So I go to the site, start to fill in all the info and then realize my pitch is okay, but I need to work on the synopsis. So I spend 2 hours working on the synopsis (which actually made some huge improvements), put on makeup and recorded the pitch, and tried to upload it to the site.

Of course, I had upload issues, so I gave up...

...and started a blog post.

So bodes the question:

Would the better use of my time have been to go to bed at a decent hour, get up early, do all that stuff in the morning during my allotted "writing time"? Or is it better to allow oneself to work in a way that comes more naturally?

I have to discipline myself with the daytime business because I need to be working during the day on things. But in the mornings and at night, my brain can focus. I can sit down and write for a four hour stint without checking emails.

So do I give in to the beast? Or do I try to tame it? Try to make it work a schedule?

Time is so precious. I get so worked up about not having enough of it that I'm skipping important steps like making sure I've gotten a really solid treatment (yeah, cause I actually write those, yeah...umm) and outline before I start writing.

Especially now when I'm in the position to have time to write. It won't always be like this, and I'm starting to feel the urgent pull to figure some pressing life questions out. Do I try to whip the beast into submission? Or let it come purring to me when it decides?

I'll continue to let you know what works for me.

WEEK ONE: Oh Crap!

Today marks week one of my time in Michigan to "write." I've discovered a couple of things.

1) My legs are pastier than most Michiganders
2) There are secondary and tertiary levels of anxiety
and
3) It's quite possible I've hit irreparable burn-out



Maybe I'm not being patient enough. For some reason, I thought the wide open spaces, the cusp of autumn, the arson fire-free air would all serve to instantly ignite the flame and the writing would take off.

Instead, I think someone forgot to pay the gas bill. I'm out of fuel. I still want to write. I'm just burnt. Spent. It was such an ordeal just to escape how miserable I was before, I've forgotten how to just be.

Even here, there's so much pressure to figure it out. To achieve in this month of "freedom". To figure out where I'm going after this. To have a game plan. And it's not just an implied pressure I'm putting on myself. It's a real pressure. I have so much less money than I thought I did. Barely enough for a security deposit and to get started were I fortunate enough to find a job within a week of deciding I was going to go back to LA.

It sucks to be in this place, but it'll be interesting to see how I come through it - whether there's a point at which adrenaline kicks in, the anxiety wears off, hope shines through or I just let go and let the Goddess.

I'll let you know.

I QUIT MY JOB! (now what?)

I did it. I made up my mind to quit my job and I did it. It was instant and utter relief. And, a testament to the awesomeness of the women I've worked with for the last two years, work has been very supportive of my decision and have really made the process quite painless.

That may be, in part, because I gave them over a month's notice, which may seem a lot, but this next month is certain to be the most stressful of my life. Deciding to quit, though a huge relief, was only temporary. I still need to do the actual quitting, and to be prepared so that I don't blow this opportunity I'm giving myself.

I'm still not decided on where I'll be a month from now, I'm going to have to move again (if not twice), I've got to find and train my replacement while creating SOPs for all the work I do that no one in the office knows but me, and (an added zinger bomb dropped on me Friday) need to fix end of year financials for the company from 2008. Oh, and to try and find time to work on my pilot that the new manager is eagerly awaiting. That's all. Oh, and I need a new car. And to complete physical therapy. But I digress.

I'm still not decided between the options two and three of whether to stay in LA and try to implement my writing full-time plan, or whether I'll skirt back to Michigan for a few months. Still leaning toward the latter, but we'll see what the next month brings.

I have a few simple goals to get me started this weekend of prepping for my new life:

1) To get my apartment picked up. A cluttered home breeds a cluttered mind.
2) To get some bit of exercise. I need to make sure I'm breathing.
and
3) To start making my lists of To Dos.

Onward Ho!

Options

I recently got my first project optioned. A web series. And only for a dollar. But I'm attached to direct some of the episodes and get a percentage if it gets financed. And I've had some legitimate interest from some producers and managers in my writing. They love my samples, but don't think anything's salable. So they're waiting for the next thing I do.

Which is why I've made the commitment to quitting my job. But it leaves me to ponder another kind of "option." I made the list of breaking down three different possibilities.

Option One involves taking a job I'm up for in Baltimore teaching screenwriting at a university. Pros - A new adventure, teaching and inspiring students of a subject I'm passionate about, and a paycheck. Cons - It's not likely to give me any more time to write than I already have, I don't know anyone in Baltimore, I'd feel like a hack for teaching something I still haven't broken into in any real way myself, and if an opportunity arose for me to direct the web series I'm attached to, or to take an actual paid writing job, I wouldn't be able to do it.

Option Two was to stay in LA and focus on my writing. Pros are obvious - it's LA! Sunshine, finally a chance to be here and be writing exclusively, access to networking and taking meetings, having friends around, and being available to jump at opportunities at a moment's notice. Cons - I have to be truthful with myself...part of me is burned out on the city of unfulfillment. I don't trust myself entirely to not get off task and wind up still too unfocused. And it's expensive as hell. I couldn't borrow enough to do it for very long and I'd likely be spending most of that time trying to write, but feeling the clock ticking of when I have to start looking for another job.

So it's looking like Option Three might be the best temporary solution. This means getting my stuff into a storage unit and pulling a SponComGirl move circa 2006. Mom's already said I could spend some time at home and she'd help me out. Pros - being back around the people and places that inspired me to be a filmmaker in the first place, and which generated one of my best scripts the last time I moved home; there'd be just Mom and me, so distractions wouldn't be as prevalent; She's got to have surgery in the fall, so she'd need a hand around the house anyway; I wouldn't be as big of a financial burden there as I would in LA; I'd have the space and time to decompress; and it could be for just as long as I need or want it to be - time enough to finish my TV pilot and a spec, or more - LA would be a quick flight away, and I'd be available to return easily enough should the web series I wrote and am attached to direct get financing from the production company that optioned it.

Cons - it's Michigan. In the Autumn. And my blood has thinned.

Even Maya Angelou had to move home with her family once in her adult life. For me it'll be twice. But I'm hoping my creative soul will finally get some nurturing, some time devoted to it's recovery, and a rebirth to hope.

Things have finally started seeming to break for me in my career. I can't wait to recharge and be ready when they take off.

Re-direct

Today I decided to quit my job. I'm 32. I drive a crappy ass truck that needs replaced. I don't have any money saved. And I live in one of the most expensive places in the country. And we're in recession. California has an 11% unemployment rate. So what the hell am I thinking?

I'm a writer. And for 7 years I've been trying to actualize a writing career, but never able to have it be my "day job." I've put the rest of my life on hold all this time to pursue a dream that seems, finally, within reach...if only I had time to devote to climbing that last hump.

I've had plenty of people - writers, managers, my Mom - say I'm talented. And I believe in myself. So what am I scared of? What's the worst that could happen? I quit my day job, which isn't even in my field, to finally give 100% to believing in myself and the beauty and validity in my dreams? I won't regret it. Not ever. Not even if I wind up having to move home again.

I can do it. I'm scared - nervous - defying the rational, responsible side of myself. But if I don't believe in myself, how could I ever expect anyone else to. I'm ready. I'm open. Bring it on.

The Seven Best iPhone Applications for Writers/Directors

I like to joke that my iPhone is my new boyfriend. He sleeps in bed with me, but we're strictly platonic. But he can do things that absolutely THRILL me!

Here's my list of the seven must have FREE iPhone applications for writers and directors (7 because I'm still learning about these).

(in no particular order)

As a writer, I'm always looking for music to write to or for music my characters would listen to. It's fine to make your own playlist, but often you're limited by the constraints of what's in your iTunes library. I can find that I sometimes get distracted by music I know too well. So I've picked the first two applications because both open a world of new music.

1) SHAZAM
Shazam is that amazing app we've all seen on the iPhone commercials where someone hears a song and holds up their iPhone and it figures out the name of the song and the artist. Brilliant. It doesn't always work - especially if I'm driving around in Ernie the Bitch Ass Truck listening to KCRW. (I pull over first...really!) But overall, this application works more than not, and has identified some tunes I'll definitely be rocking for the next script.

2) PANDORA
The coolest internet radio application ever! You just put in the name of an artist you like and Pandora will make a playlist for you of music by that artist and others it thinks you may enjoy. As you listen and give thumbs up to things you do or don't like, it gets smarter and plays more of what you do like. My only beef with it is that its a bit sexist. Every time I've put in an artist, the only songs it comes back to me with in their playlist are 95% by artists of the same gender. To be fair, I almost always like the artists it selects, but I would appreciate some variety. Nevertheless, whether listening to Pandora while writing (or shot designing, I'd imagine) or to find songs for a future writing playlist, Pandora's the bomb.

3) YOUTUBE
I've been using YouTube to watch webisodes for research the last few weeks. And Flight of the Conchords videos. I keep checking out their Sugalumps.

4) VARIETY
If you're like me, you have a day job outside the industry and can't afford to subscribe to the trades. With the iPhone's Variety application, you can read the headlines from the industry trade magazine and stay up on what reality shows are going to be exploiting people with no jobs in our sucky economy, or see reviews of this week's releases, or watch trailers. There are still a few bugs with the application, and it's annoying it often crashes on me. But it's free, so...

5) PHONEFLIX
The iPhone version of Netflix. You can find new films and update your queue. Pretty simple. Now to find out who hacked your phone to put Gigli in your queue. ('Cause you'd never be researching the works of Jennifer Lopez...umm...no!)

6) THE URBAN SPOON
This may seem an odd choice but, for the chronically indecisive like me, The Urban Spoon can be a savior. Say you've got a lunch meeting with a producer, agent, manager, psycho Facebook stalker who wants to meet up with you. They ask where you'd like to meet. With The Urban Spoon, you can select your city, select the type of cuisine (even coffee), how much you want to spend and then you "shake". It'll come back to you with a suggestion. You can then get all the information on it, including how many reviewers liked it. You can read reviews and even link to the map of the location. The only thing that irritates me about it is, once you click on the map to, say, see if it's walkable distance - there's no link back into the program without relaunching it. It's not a 100% life saver, but can help when you're stumped for ideas.

7) BUMP
Bump is a cool app for sharing contact information with other people. You simply launch the program and (holding your iPhone) lightly bump hands with the other iPhone owner's hand. (NOTE: You don't have to bump iPhones together). The drawback to this application - obviously, the other person has to have an iPhone and, frankly, not everyone is that cool.

Runner Up...

8) FLIXSTER
Frankly, the only reason Flixster made the list is because I've yet to discover a cooler app to replace it. Flixster shows you what's out at theatres, what's opening this week, top box office, the percentage of positive responses, etc. It can help you find showtimes and even let you see the trailers. My big beef with it is that the trailer quality sucks worse than the ability of studios to come up with inventive titles for their sequels. (Fast and Furious? Really? That's the best you can do?!)

Worth mentioning...

I've also discovered there's a colored index card program called SUPER INDEX CARDS for $4.99. I don't need it enough to buy it, but it might be worth checking out for those of you who don't carry a notebook or laptop with you wherever you go.

Also, iFILMMAKER PRO is a $4.99 program that's a research and quiz program about editing, directing, screenwriting, acting and cinematography. Doesn't look super promising from the screen captures.

They really need...

An IMDB application

A director's viewfinder

Final Draft or Movie Magic Screenwriter.

A girl can dream.

Only moments after posting this, I discovered that someone had already compiled a list of Filmmaking apps for the iPhone. Theirs are much better targeted at actual production tools. So, I've left my post in tact, because I think there's still some validity to my critique of the apps I mentioned, but for a more comprehensive list of actual "filmmaking" iPhone applications, check out these two blog posts at

http://www.selfreliantfilm.com/?p=339
http://www.thedeltree.org/blog/2008/08/20/iphone-20-apps-for-filmmakers/

Newton's Law of Motion

"An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force."

It's a fairly simple concept, but one that becomes especially relevant when considering one's goals. Spontaneously Combustible Girl has just escaped the funk that was her last six months and is noticing the reversal of motion that's changed her life of late.

Which brings SCG to the purposes of rekindling her blog.

First, and foremost, she is a writer. When not writing, she is not being a writer or moving with the motion that will keep her a writer and heading her toward her goal of becoming a writer full-time.

Second, it's hard to escape a funk. Having successfully defeated her funk, SponComGirl knows its important to have help - an unbalanced force that can act upon the funk direction and divert her and her allies back toward reaching their filmmaking goals. So, she's committing her blog to being that unbalanced force (she is spontaneously combustible after all) for herself and for others on the same path.

This blog will hopefully be a tool for all aspiring screenwriters and directors to use for ideas, inspiration and tools to keep them funk-free, nurturing their delusions of grandeur, and moving toward their goals.

"Whatever you are, be a good one" - Abraham Lincoln