TLLjournal is happy to announce that Relativity Media is now on-board to read our finalists’ loglines!  http://www.relativitymediallc.com/ #screenwriting #film #story
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TLLjournal is happy to announce that Relativity Media is now on-board to read our finalists’ loglines! 

http://www.relativitymediallc.com/

#screenwriting #film #story

Snatch (2000) source: @TheScriptLab #screenwriting #film #story “Screenplay Genre: Crime / Thriller Movie Time: 103 minutes INCITING INCIDENT Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) heists an 84 carat diamond that sparks the interest of diamond sellers Avi (Dennis Farina) and Doug the Head (Mike Reid) during the time unlicensed boxing promoter Turkish (Jason Statham) and his partner Tommy (Stephen Graham) reach a deal for their fighter Gorgeous George (Adam Fogerty) with malicious boxing kingpin Brick Top (Alan Ford). (00:11:44) LOCK IN (End of Act One) Acting on a tip, Boris the Blade (Rade Sherbedgia) commissions two-bit thugs Sol (Lennie James) and Vince (Robbie Gee) to take down a bookie and steal a briefcase from a man with four fingers. They hire Tyrone (Ade) who fusses over Vince’s dog, to be their getaway driver.  Meanwhile, Tommy puts Gorgeous George in a bare-knuckle fight against the gypsy Mickey (Brad Pitt), but Mickey breaks Gorgeous George’s jaw, knocking him out of Brick Top’s fight.  Turkish and Tommy have no choice but to get Mickey to replace Gorgeous George and fight for them. (00:29:50) FIRST CULMINATION (Midpoint) Sol and Vince botch the robbery and learn they held up one of Brick Top’s bookies. They discover the briefcase contains the massive diamond and want in, but Boris has other plans and Avi is on his way to get his diamond.  Brick Top assures the betters that Mickey will go down in the fourth round, but Mickey knocks his opponent out with one punch, landing Turkish and Tommy in Brick Top’s debt. Turkish and Tommy need to make Mickey fight again, but he won’t do it unless they buy his mom a new camper. (1:02:19) MAIN CULMINATION (End of Act Two) Brick Top smashes up Turkish and Tommy’s casino and burns down Mickey’s mom’s camper, with her still inside, in order to make Mickey fight. After the wake, Mickey goes on a wild bender and is stone drunk minutes before the fight. Brick Top warns Mickey that his gypsy camp is fucked if he doesn’t cooperate this time. In the city, Avi and his…..”
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Snatch (2000)

source: @TheScriptLab

#screenwriting #film #story

“Screenplay Genre: Crime / Thriller

Movie Time: 103 minutes

INCITING INCIDENT

Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) heists an 84 carat diamond that sparks the interest of diamond sellers Avi (Dennis Farina) and Doug the Head (Mike Reid) during the time unlicensed boxing promoter Turkish (Jason Statham) and his partner Tommy (Stephen Graham) reach a deal for their fighter Gorgeous George (Adam Fogerty) with malicious boxing kingpin Brick Top (Alan Ford). (00:11:44)

LOCK IN (End of Act One)

Acting on a tip, Boris the Blade (Rade Sherbedgia) commissions two-bit thugs Sol (Lennie James) and Vince (Robbie Gee) to take down a bookie and steal a briefcase from a man with four fingers. They hire Tyrone (Ade) who fusses over Vince’s dog, to be their getaway driver.  Meanwhile, Tommy puts Gorgeous George in a bare-knuckle fight against the gypsy Mickey (Brad Pitt), but Mickey breaks Gorgeous George’s jaw, knocking him out of Brick Top’s fight.  Turkish and Tommy have no choice but to get Mickey to replace Gorgeous George and fight for them. (00:29:50)

FIRST CULMINATION (Midpoint)

Sol and Vince botch the robbery and learn they held up one of Brick Top’s bookies. They discover the briefcase contains the massive diamond and want in, but Boris has other plans and Avi is on his way to get his diamond.  Brick Top assures the betters that Mickey will go down in the fourth round, but Mickey knocks his opponent out with one punch, landing Turkish and Tommy in Brick Top’s debt. Turkish and Tommy need to make Mickey fight again, but he won’t do it unless they buy his mom a new camper. (1:02:19)

MAIN CULMINATION (End of Act Two)

Brick Top smashes up Turkish and Tommy’s casino and burns down Mickey’s mom’s camper, with her still inside, in order to make Mickey fight. After the wake, Mickey goes on a wild bender and is stone drunk minutes before the fight. Brick Top warns Mickey that his gypsy camp is fucked if he doesn’t cooperate this time. In the city, Avi and his…..”

John Ostrander: Freelancers Live Without A Net source: @TVWriterCom #screenwriting #film #story “As the comics world knows, writer Peter David recently had a stroke. I’ve known Peter for a long time and I both respect and often envy his talent, skill and the breadth of his work. Peter has health insurance but there are plenty of bills that just won’t get covered and, as pointed out here on ComicMix, fans who want to show financial support can do so by purchasing his work at Crazy 8 Press. That’s incredibly easy; not only do your help Peter and his family but will probably get a damn fine read out of it at the same time. Like I said, Peter is a very talented writer. Peter’s better prepared (as far as anyone can be prepared for something like this) than many in the field; he has health insurance and most other freelancers – including myself – don’t. It’s hard to get, and harder to afford, health insurance when you’re a freelancer. By it’s very nature, a freelancer’s life is precarious. Take for example, job security. There isn’t any. Beyond your current contract (ifyou have one), there’s no guarantee you’ll have a job when it ends. You may be on a title for a long time, but that always ends. I had a “continuity contract” at one time with DC which guaranteed me so much work (and health insurance) within a given time frame, but that is long since gone. I don’t know if it’s offered any more. It was difficult for me to get a mortgage back when I bought my house (which I no longer own) and I dare say it’s tougher now if you’re a freelancer. When you’re a freelancer, you only get paid for the work you actually do. There’s no sick pay, there’s no paid holidays, there’s no paid vacation. You sometimes get royalties ( or “participation” or whatever term a given company chooses to call it) and that’s nice. Amanda Waller’s “participation” in the Green Lantern movie sent me some nice bucks that were sorely needed at the time but that’s like finding an extra twenty in your jeans that you forgot you had. You never know when it’s coming and you can’t rely on…”
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John Ostrander: Freelancers Live Without A Net

source: @TVWriterCom

#screenwriting #film #story

“As the comics world knows, writer Peter David recently had a stroke. I’ve known Peter for a long time and I both respect and often envy his talent, skill and the breadth of his work. Peter has health insurance but there are plenty of bills that just won’t get covered and, as pointed out here on ComicMix, fans who want to show financial support can do so by purchasing his work at Crazy 8 Press. That’s incredibly easy; not only do your help Peter and his family but will probably get a damn fine read out of it at the same time. Like I said, Peter is a very talented writer.

Peter’s better prepared (as far as anyone can be prepared for something like this) than many in the field; he has health insurance and most other freelancers – including myself – don’t. It’s hard to get, and harder to afford, health insurance when you’re a freelancer. By it’s very nature, a freelancer’s life is precarious.

Take for example, job security. There isn’t any. Beyond your current contract (ifyou have one), there’s no guarantee you’ll have a job when it ends. You may be on a title for a long time, but that always ends. I had a “continuity contract” at one time with DC which guaranteed me so much work (and health insurance) within a given time frame, but that is long since gone. I don’t know if it’s offered any more. It was difficult for me to get a mortgage back when I bought my house (which I no longer own) and I dare say it’s tougher now if you’re a freelancer.

When you’re a freelancer, you only get paid for the work you actually do. There’s no sick pay, there’s no paid holidays, there’s no paid vacation. You sometimes get royalties ( or “participation” or whatever term a given company chooses to call it) and that’s nice. Amanda Waller’s “participation” in the Green Lantern movie sent me some nice bucks that were sorely needed at the time but that’s like finding an extra twenty in your jeans that you forgot you had. You never know when it’s coming and you can’t rely on…”

Balls of Steel: Do You Write for You or for Fame? source: @scriptmag #screenwriting #film #story “By now, most of you know I’m not 25, living in L.A. and full of Botox, but in case you don’t, let me assure you, I’m none of those things. I have teenagers, live in New York, and all my wrinkles have been earned… by working my fingers to the bones at all hours of the day and night in pursuit of my dreams. The other night, I sat in my living room, trying to steal quality time with my almost-off-to-college teen, and the TV remote landed on one of the spin offs of Real Housewives. I don’t remember the name, but it was the one with a gaggle of gorgeous young waiters and waitresses in hot pursuit of careers in entertainment (yes, these are things a mother watches for the sake of teen time). At varying moments during the show, each one declared, “I just want to be famous!” Really? It wasn’t simply the declaration of their sole goal being fame that shocked me, it was the way in which they said it. Their eyes sparkled at the thought of getting all dressed up, walking the red carpet with cameras blinding them. One even said she’d know she finally arrived when the paparazzi ran her off the road. I may be old enough to be their mama, but I cannot imagine having fame be the motivating factor of what career I pursued, especially this one! I apologize in advance if this post turns into a rant, but this is a subject I feel very strongly about because, in my opinion, your attitude and priorities will make or break your odds of success. Pursuing a writing career is going to take every ounce of your energy. Every. Single. Ounce. You will lose friends. You might even lose your spouse – it’s extremely difficult to find someone to share your life with who understands the drive of an artist. And I’m not talking about the drive of fame. A real writer will stop at nothing to create. Writing becomes their main focus and is as important as air. Whether they had time to write in a given day affects their mood, their ability to focus, and their concentration. If a “writer” is only looking for fame, s/he will fail. Miserably. Why? Because the narcissist who only wants fame won’t…..”
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Balls of Steel: Do You Write for You or for Fame?

source: @scriptmag

#screenwriting #film #story

“By now, most of you know I’m not 25, living in L.A. and full of Botox, but in case you don’t, let me assure you, I’m none of those things. I have teenagers, live in New York, and all my wrinkles have been earned… by working my fingers to the bones at all hours of the day and night in pursuit of my dreams.

The other night, I sat in my living room, trying to steal quality time with my almost-off-to-college teen, and the TV remote landed on one of the spin offs of Real Housewives. I don’t remember the name, but it was the one with a gaggle of gorgeous young waiters and waitresses in hot pursuit of careers in entertainment (yes, these are things a mother watches for the sake of teen time). At varying moments during the show, each one declared, “I just want to be famous!”

Really?

It wasn’t simply the declaration of their sole goal being fame that shocked me, it was the way in which they said it. Their eyes sparkled at the thought of getting all dressed up, walking the red carpet with cameras blinding them. One even said she’d know she finally arrived when the paparazzi ran her off the road.

I may be old enough to be their mama, but I cannot imagine having fame be the motivating factor of what career I pursued, especially this one!

I apologize in advance if this post turns into a rant, but this is a subject I feel very strongly about because, in my opinion, your attitude and priorities will make or break your odds of success.

Pursuing a writing career is going to take every ounce of your energy. Every. Single. Ounce. You will lose friends. You might even lose your spouse – it’s extremely difficult to find someone to share your life with who understands the drive of an artist.

And I’m not talking about the drive of fame.

A real writer will stop at nothing to create. Writing becomes their main focus and is as important as air. Whether they had time to write in a given day affects their mood, their ability to focus, and their concentration.

If a “writer” is only looking for fame, s/he will fail. Miserably.

Why?

Because the narcissist who only wants fame won’t…..”

Syd Fields Three Act Structure Paradigm

source: @gerryhannan

#screenwriting #film #story

“…..Syd Field’s ‘three-act-structure’ model is a perfectly natural device; not one that can be avoided by screenwriters. It is no more than a variation on the ‘start, middle and end’ model of all narratives. Using two films, Network (Lumet, 1976) and Magnolia (Anderson, 1999)it can be demonstrated that Field’s three-act structure; set-up, confrontation and resolution, is unavoidable and inevitable regardless of screenwriting and filmmaking techniques.

Network and the vast majority of Hollywood output are films with a classic linear story structure; send hero to battle, fire missiles at him, get him home dead or alive; it is a simple model, logical, chronological and embraced by the majority of film makers. The beginning, middle and end is the trusted template which defines American cinema. However, “a distinctly nonlinear structure has crept into Hollywood’s cinematic repertoire.” (Smith, 1999/2000) The emergence of films such as Pulp Fiction, Lone Star, English Patient and Magnolia do not use linear structure. But the question remains can the three-act formula be avoided?

Screenwriting expert Professor Robert McKee once described a story as a human being living a life that is more or less in balance; then comes the “inciting incident. The protagonist reacts, his life falls out of balance, and he now has had aroused in him a conscious or unconscious desire for whatever it is that will restore balance; “launching him on a quest for his object of desire against the forces of antagonism.” (Parker, 2003) McKee nailed the concept of the three-act structure that was the basis of debate initiated by Syd Field, an American writer and popular screenwriting guru.

Syd Field argues “The nature of the screenplay is as it has always been; a story told with pictures, dialogue and description, and placed within the context of dramatic structure” (Field, 2005). Field’s popular paradigm of three-act structure consists of set up…..”