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12/01/05

Part 2: Absolute All-Time Favorite Movies
by Damian Lanfranchi

I'm back with the second half of My Top 5
Absolute All-Time Favorite Movies. 

Here's a quick recap for you…

5.  Monty Python and The Holy Grail

4.  JFK

3.  Braveheart

2.  Rocky

Have you had a chance to see any of these,
or even better yet, read the screenplays
that made these spectacular films? 

I hope you have – it's one of the best
learning tools for screenwriters of any skill level.

Now, without further adieu, my
Absolute All-Time Favorite Movie is…

1.  The Manchurian Candidate

ALERT – I'm talking about the 1963 classic,
NOT the ridiculous 2004 Denzel remake. 

I'd like to share a little something with you. 

This may actual change your opinion of me,
but I want to be honest.  I don't like old black and white movies.  Maybe it's the lack of color, but most of the put me to sleep.

In fact, a majory of the classics that
academics insist you have to watch and love
if you're a movie-person, I don't particularly like. 

I saw Citizen Kane. 

Sure, it was brilliant and a monumental achievement in the history of film. 

But to be perfectly truthful, I saw it about 7 years ago and have never been provoked to watch it a second time. 

I won't name names, but I find a lot of the acting and storytelling in old-time movies to be stiff, wooden and sometimes unintentionally funny. 

That said, The Manchurian Candidate is in a league of its own. 

Not only is it flawlessly crafted and thematically compelling, but what makes it my absolute #1 favorite is that it succeeds on every single level of a story can succeed. 

It has an incredible mystery…

Not one, but two great love stories…

Terrific action and suspense…

And it's funny too! 

Don't be scared off because Frank Sinatra is one of the leading actors, this movie is TOPS!  Old Blue Eyes actually gives a killer performance.

In fact, I'll go as far as to say that I'll give you my personal guarantee that you'll truly enjoy this movie. Not only that, but the craftsmanship of the writing will knock your socks off.

If you've seen the new version, try to forget you ever did and get ready to embrace the original.

There you have it, for the first time ever,
my Top 5 Absolute All-Time Favorite Movies. 

There's two words of encouragement I want to offer before I give you a priceless piece of screenwriting wisdom. 

Here's a homework assignment from me to you -

First, make your own Top 5 list! 

You're a screenwriter and movie-lover, take the time to really examine what your favorite movies are and why. 

It not only make for great conversation and debate, but it'll help your writing. 

Secondly, if you haven't experienced all these movies – please do!  For the ones you've already seen, try reading the screenplay instead.  Or read the screenplay
while you watch the movie.  This is a tremendously effective learning tool. 

For the movies you haven't seen, you may want to even try reading the script before you watch the movie. 

You'll have the advantage of understanding why these movies were so great on the page even before they hit the screen.

Now for the golden nugget…

I want you to think about the script you're working on or thinking of starting. 

Could your screenplay become somebody's favorite movie? 

Most poignantly, if they made your script, would it become your favorite movie? 

Now, don't just answer ‘yes', because it's your movie. 

Really take the time to consider whether your story would become one of the favorite stories you've ever heard. 

Compare your story to your list of Top 5 Favorites.

Does your comedy contain the brilliant wit and humor of The Holy Grail?

Does your story unravel just as compellingly as JFK?

Is your entire cast of characters as interesting and fascinating as the cast of Braveheart?

Will your screenplay pump someone up just by remembering it like Rocky?

Does your movie succeed as a social commentary, love story, action movie and mystery all at the same time like the Manchurican Candidate?

I know this is a high bar to hold your script up to, but it's not without good reason. 

In order for a producer, agent or manager to sign off, take a risk on your screenplay and invest a tremendous amount of time and money on your story, they have to
really like it that much. 

You're not going to sell a script to somebody who just thinks, ‘This is a good story, I wouldn't really like to see it, but maybe someone else will.' 

They have to read your script and say,
‘Wow, where has this story been all my life.  This is going to be my new favorite movie!' 

Not only that, you, as the writer, need to write stories that you love. 

The story starts with you. 

If you're not in love with your story, if your
screenplay isn't the blueprint for one of your future
Top 5 Absolute All-Time Favorite Movies, then why are you writing it?

And don't answer - because you want to sell a script. You won't.

Your passion or lack thereof, shows on the page.

If your newest screenplay isn't one of your future favorite movies, then why do you think it'll be anyone else's? 

Writing a screenplay is a massive investment of your time, energy and emotion.  Take the time to really consider the project you're working on and set your sights on writing your own new favorite movie. 

It's a fresh approach that while scary at first,
will free you to really do some fascinating writing - rather than just trying to create what you think will ‘sell'. 

Your love and passion for your story will come out on the page, and that my friends, is what gets Hollywood talking.

I hope you enjoyed my list of Top 5 and found this issue helpful.

Till next time -

Here's to you and your screenwriting success,

Damian

___________________________________________________________________________________

12/01/05

Film, Reality and the Space in Between

by Jacob Sanders

Where is the line that defies the separation from film and reality? First off, I must let the readers know right away that this topic can be argued from many different vantage points. For example, we anxiously await the new releases to enter theaters so that we may sit and have a couple hours of enjoyment. We're sucked into the 35mm world of the directors, writers and actors, as we watch in wonder on the big screen. Their occupations allow us to experience an alter reality, if only to escape for 120 minutes.

What makes the issue so touchy, is the fact that even though we realize that we are just going into see a movie, and we are aware that it is fiction, somehow we get so into what we are witnessing that we find ourselves actually believing and reacting to what we see. Does this action show that their may not be that big of a difference between what is real and what is fantasy? If a film really impacts our lives, or inspires us to do something different with our abilities, then who's to say that it is only fiction?

Everything we see and everything we do, was inspired by something, or will inspire others.

All these great filmmakers, these wonderful actors and the deepest of writers, all entertain us merely by their imaginations. So, this really brings the question to the table, is imagination reality? Yes... in my humble opinion...it can be. It is real to those who make it, and to those of us who enjoy it. Not that they, or we are crazy- well, perhaps some of us are, but it is actually a product of suggestion, a power some people posses. Suppose we lived in a world without cinema, and everyone still had all these ideas for great stories, but no outlet to show them to the world. Next thing you'd know, many of our idols and inspirations would probably be committed in the nearest psychiatric ward, rambling on about superheroes, invading aliens, or the diabolic killer that turns the sin against the sinner.

It is good that we live in the world we do, and are able to express ourselves through so many spectrums. Otherwise, we would get bored very easily. Then, God knows what the hell we would be doing with our time. I know that I, for one, would most likely be working at some crappy job behind a counter selling those little packs of cancer to the population at $5 a pop. But, luckily, I...we...have this artform to keep us busy and entertained. And it's a safe way to deliver our beliefs to the public without fear of hurting them, physically, that is. It is also, one of the best mind exercises we have to date.

Now it is your turn. I'd love to hear some readers opinions, those with the gall enough to express them. Come on (Jacob draws a line in the sand with foot), I dare ya! What industry topics bother you? What aspects have showed you that we're a different breed? Inspirations? Why hold back?!

You won't go unheard!

Jacob Sanders
jacob@imageiconent.com