Joe Ripple, our director, announced this week that the page is up. You can find the link here. I guess that means I’m officially a produced screenwriter. Yay!

It’s also great to now formally be listed as a film editor and cinematographer. We all wear a lot of hats.

There are still more credits that need to be added, plus a lot more detail about the film, but it’ll get there. Plus I’m hoping we get promotion going in 2011.

imdb, filmmaking, screenwriting

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Craig Mazin, a working screenwriter, had some interesting comments about paying for a screenwriting consultant, or buying a book written by one of the so-called screenwriting gurus. He makes some good points, and I think his heart is in the right place. But not every reader agrees. There’s a heated discussion in the comments section. Whether you agree with him or with one of the readers, that post is well worth checking out.

Personally, I’ve read quite a few screenwriting books, and I believe there is some value in them, but you can’t expect to read books and become a career screenwriter. And Mazin is definitely right when he says,

“You’re far better off reading screenplays (lots of places on the internet to do that) and watching movies.”

But I do like to read books, and as Terry Rossio put it in comment #22, 

“You might have overlooked one of the main reason why many people buy screenwriting books, from authors who don’t actually write screenplays.

Procrastination.”

Read the post here.

screenwriting

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http://www.bachelorsdegree.org has posted links to some great screenwriting and filmmaking sites. Check it out here.

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I’ve been following the Celtx software for some time. I currently use Final Draft for screenwriting, but I have a soft spot for free/open source projects.

Celtx has now released their version 1.0, which usually means it’s ready for prime time. I can’t say for certain that is true, but they have tweaked a lot of their features and added some new ones. I’m personally interested in the production tools: call sheets, prop lists, storyboard organization, etc.  I plan to try out the production features on our upcoming project. I’ll post my results.

Last weekend was Horrorfind Weekend.

As always, Timewarp Films had a table and we were hawking our films. It was nice to actually have a new one to offer. We weren’t able to get copies of Dead Hunt for last August’s show.

We shared space with our sister organization, Scares that Care (also run by Joe Ripple, our director). It really stole the show. We raffled off Ichabod, a creepy looking head on a stick, and conducted a silent auction–all for charity. It was a great success! We took in over $2000.

I spent most of the weekend hiding behind my laptop. I was updating a script for submission to the Bluecat Screenplay Competition. But I did pop my head up every once in a while to chat with fellow filmmakers, fans of Don Dohler and Timewarp Films (always a pleasure to speak with people that like your stuff), and, of course, the other Timewarpers helping out: Stewie, Rob (pictured; right), Zig, Colleen, Leanna (pictured; center), Eric, and the man himself, Joe Ripple.

Overall it was great fun. Unfortunately, the turnout wasn’t what they hoped for. But this was the first time in a new location, and March doesn’t bring out the fans like August does.

One highlight for me was getting to meet George Romero (pictured below). As a low-budget filmmaker, getting to meet a legend in the field is a real treat. He was taller than I expected, and a great guy to talk to. We shared our opinions on filmmaking, and he told me his favorite of his own films is Martin, a film I’ve wanted to see since watching Document of the Dead. Needless to say, I jumped on Amazon when I got home and ordered a copy.

Here’s a pic of the table. The barely visible Zig is behind the TV, Stewie is filming Rob taking the picture — exciting footage, it must be — and that’s me in the center, face buried.

Colleen, Leanna, and Eric pose to promote Dead Hunt.

And finally, a bunch of us went to the local Outback on Saturday to celebrate my wife’s birthday.

A very busy and tiring weekend, but a fun one.

Thanks to Rob and Stewie for the pictures.

This has to be the best strike video yet. Some of the best actors on TV, from Law & Order and Homicide, try and figure out what happened to a dead woman in a library–but they don’t have a script. It’s hilarious! Big thumbs up to the famous faces that are standing by the writers.

Two out of three ain’t bad.

I was elated when I heard I placed in Red Inkworks. It takes a lot of work to write a feature-length screenplay, and I can’t think of a better way to gage one’s writing ability than becoming a finalist in a contest (other than an option deal, I guess). Plus, the feedback they offered was excellent.

And today Screenplay Festival announced their semi-finalists, and there I was in the Horror/Thriller category. Boy, that felt good. Of course there are about fifty screenplays in each genre, so the competition is pretty stiff, but I’m hopeful.

My plan is to enter one more contest with this script before possibly starting to query production companies and/or agents. Placing in two out of three contests has given me some confidence, and I feel the changes I’ve been making to the script have greatly improved it. So it seems the time is approaching (after the strike, of course) when I need to get out there and build some interest. I do, however, plan to research the dos and don’ts of querying before navigating those treacherous waters.

By the way, the final contest I plan to enter is the Bluecat Screenplay Competition. Its early deadline is Jan 1, and I should be finished tweaking by then. Bluecat is not only high profile, it offers coverage to all entrants, and a hefty cash prize.

Three out of four would be awesome!

WGA horror writers chime in with a genre-themed video about the strike. It’s cute, and you get to see who wrote some of your favorite horror flicks.

Here’s another great video about the WGA strike. This one was created by writers of the Daily Show. It’s hilarious! And there’s a special guest near the end.

I have no stake in the outcome of the WGA strike, other than as a viewer of course. But this video does make a strong case for the writers.