get your own damn blog
February 26, 2011
It has —
Gotten kind of schizophrenic around here between the personal stuff and the writing stuff so I finally kicked AFW out the door. Now CelluloidBlonde gets to be my own personal blog and doesn’t have to play double duty with the AFW stuff and AFW has its own spanky new blog where I can just post stuff about writing and classes. Yay!
Go see it. It is pretty new and prob still needs a few kinds worked out but I like it:
Also if you are crazy strapped for time and do the feed thing there is a feed:
25 damn things
February 21, 2011
Yep. You guessed it. Tagged on FB. And I have been neglecting the blog — though you could scroll down to the bottom and catch some of the links from that other blog. Ahem. But —
Blog neglect! Ahhh! So —
In no particular order and sans the help of alcohol because I am sick, damn it, here are 25
randomdamn things.1. I snore. Really loud. Ungentlemanly persons to remain unnamed have recorded this just to prove it. I will still deny it.
2. I am continually trapped between the demands I behave “professionally” and just enjoying the fuck out of what I do. There, I hope that is professional enough.
3. I mistrust overly friendly men. This may be related to leaping out of a moving car at a young age when the driver was overly “friendly” and wouldn’t stop the car.
4. I still think removing your pants while driving and without an invitation to do so is “too friendly.”
5. I curse. A lot. Deal with it.
6. I like cursing. If I were in Bridgette Jones’s Diary, I would be the journlist who likes to say “fuck.” A lot.
7. All the martial arts training in the world won’t save you if someone sneaks up behind you and hits you in the head with a two-by-four.
8. The above may explain why I generally sit with my back to the wall.
9. Shoes. They are not just for breakfast anymore. Yay!
10. I spell much better in German than I do in English. This is because German instructors mark you down just as hard for one misplaced letter as they do for a total conjugation mash up.
11. Everyone on my mother’s side of the family is fa – er, overweight. Except one cousin who I suspect owes her slim frame to entertaining substances. No one knows why I am not fat.
12. My father is a descendent not only of presidents but of the Richfield Oil Estate. Somehow he managed to blow through it all and leave me nothing but a few legal bills to remember him by.
13. The only parts of my body I haven’t managed to injure are my left elbow and right ribs. For someone with a background in dance who is generally considered pretty graceful this doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
14. I am allergic to novacaine.
15. No cracks about the “generally pretty graceful” comment.
16. Friends won’t allow me to buy a bicycle – something about accident prone and what happens when cars and humans on bicycles collide.
17. A martial arts instructor once accepted me based solely on the fact he’d never met a civilian who’d been in as many physical combat situations as I had.
18. Chocolate is good. More chocolate is better.
19. I have no tonsils.
20. Small children, animals, and the mothers of sons I am dating love me.
21. Sons I am dating tend to be more problematic.
22. I have been known to floss.
23. I drink Diet Coke because my dentist makes me. She’d probably prefer I drink no Coke at all. But has to content herself with just getting rid of the sugar quotient.
24. My dentist is a half foot shorter than I am and can still boss me around.
25. I have to poof the hair to hit 5’6”.
I don’t tag people in memes as a general rule — outside of whatever foolhardy and nefarious souls tagged me, revenge! — but if this looks like fun to you go for it and tag me back.
some gotham love for max
February 19, 2011
This is fun, Gotham did a write up on me yay!
Profile: Max Adams
~By Britt Gambino
Gotham teacher Max Adams has only one hard and fast rule for great screenwriting: don’t be boring. That and always use 12-point Courier font (and even that rule, she says, can be broken). If you were to follow Max’s example, you would learn another lesson about the screenwriting trade—be bold.
Originally, Max had planned to become a novelist but, by happy accident, she decided to take a screenwriting class and fell in love with the medium. She then burst onto the scene by winning first place in two of the most prestigious screenplay competitions—the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting and the Austin Film Festival’s feature screenwriting award.
Max now serves as a judge for the Nicholl Fellowships. She notes that over the years the scripts have gotten better and the competition stronger. However, it seems that one bothersome trend has not altered visibly; specifically, women still aren’t writing as many screenplays as men. According to Max, the submissions to the Nicholl are about 3 to 1, male to female. “I don’t know what that says,” Max offers. “Maybe it’s a more masculine desire. Then again, you have an industry that’s skewed toward a masculine perspective.” But Max makes a clear case for the need for female filmmakers—women are also consumers of film. In simple terms, behold the power of audiences for movies like Sex and the City or Twilight.
The Nicholl fellows have created “a family of sorts, a community.” They meet regularly for lunch. Max says, “We talk about working, agents, jobs we’re doing, jobs we’re considering doing, people we’re working for, releases that are coming out, that sort of thing.”
Being industry savvy is something Max knows a thing or two about. This year marks the ten-year anniversary of the publication of her book, The Screenwriter’s Survival Guide: Or, Guerilla Meeting Tactics and Other Acts of War. The book focuses on the business aspects of screenwriting, including such tidbits as what to wear to a meeting. The traditional “screenwriter’s uniform,” Max says, “is a t-shirt, jeans, and a casual jacket thrown on top.” She adds, “The illusion is that you are working at the computer, then throw on a jacket and head out the door to a meeting. I say illusion because writers are not actually that put together in front of the computer.”
Max claims that new technology is an ally to the bold new screenwriter. “Editing and filming have become cheaper,” Max says. “You can shoot stuff digitally and not spend an exorbitant amount of money on film.” (As opposed to spending $1,000 per minute on film some ten to twenty years ago.) Technology has also enabled screenwriters to learn by doing. “Things may work on paper that don’t work on film,” Max says. “It’s a lesson you don’t learn unless you go out there with a camera.”
Max tries to impart what she’s learned to her students. She makes them aware of what they’re up against, but she’s also encouraging. “People break the gates everyday…break the mold, break new ground.”
Most of all, Max advises confidence, saying, “Write like a pro if you want to be a pro.”
*max is a faculty member of :::gotham writers’ workshop::: and :::the university of utah::: and is the founder of :::the academy of film writing:::
where that article comes from :
that is from gotham writers’ workshop
back
February 17, 2011
Okay, that took a little longer than the weekend. Oops. Mainly because I was struck down by some nefarious stomach flu right after the birthday. The irony of which is not lost on me since Sunday I should have been suffering a serious hangover and wasn’t. But Monday, when I got pole axed by the stomach flu, ow ow ow.
The party was great though. Yay!
Meanwhile, I am a lot better these days at keeping up the news and things o’ interest page at the AFW site so if you are jonesing for news and things o’ interest, stop by there :::news and things o’ interest:::
Also, I am registering March classes Character Writing and High Concept Writing. Both start March 15 and those seats are filling right now so if you are interested, drop me a line now at :::contact::: and more info on the classes is also available at :::classes:::
That is the news for now. Back to recovering from the flu.
maxmas!
February 10, 2011
Closed for —
Birthday festivities.
Yay! Yay! Yay!
Back on Valentine’s Day.
[Maybe.]
Till then I will be engaged in questionable activities.
Love and Kisses,
Your Blonde Assassin
Birthday Motto 2011 is “Get me drunk, get me naked, and save the wolves!” Drunk and naked are questionable — okay not really — but hit this for the wolves and if you cannot donate, no big, write a letter for the wolves, it would be a great present to me: :::save the wolves:::
where the art work comes from :
that is from chaovsky
[chaovsky moved his gallery btw
he kept getting grief from flickr]
and the winner is….
February 9, 2011
You guys have been on pins and needles waiting for this announcement right?
The winning tweet in the great ::Tweet This::: experiment in social media AND the winner of a spanky new $15 iTunes care is —
Yay! Yay! Yay!
Congratulations @forgingthefutur. Contact me with a mailing address and the iTunes card is yours.
2011 schedule of online classes
February 5, 2011
Upcoming 2011 —
Online Master Classes in Screenwriting
Taught by yours truly Max Adams:
March:
Character Writing, 03.15.11
High Concept Writing, 03.15.11May:
Non-Static Writing, 05.17.11
Structural Writing, 05.17.11July:
Character Writing, 07.19.11
Visual Writing, 07.19.11September:
High Concept Writing, 09.13.11
The Art of the Pitch, 09.13.11November:
Structural Writing, 11.15.11
Non-Static Writing, 11.15.11
•For more info on upcoming classes, visit :::afw courses:::
•For registration info contact Max via :::afw contact:::
•As of January 2011 AFW online courses are accepted accredited University of Utah courses. For info on course credit, contact Paula Lee in the Film & Media Arts Department via paula.lee @ utah.edu
my own private egypt
February 3, 2011
Watching Egypt and —
Hearing the Egyptian people’s grievances, it is difficult not to draw comparisons between the Egyptians’ situation and the situation U.S. citizens find themselves in today.
It seems to be commonly accepted elections in Egypt have been fraudulent, with numerous persons detained and/or blocked from voting and others paid to stuff ballot boxes, pre-empting any actual vote “by the people” with a predetermined outcome that keeps the prevailing “elected” president in power.
This doesn’t sound all that different from here, where everyone appears pretty cognizant of the fact electronic voting boxes are rigged and at least two elections have been fraudulent — but no one seems to be doing anything about it or — gasp! — removing electronic voting boxes.
In Egypt, when Murabak took power, he immediately put “emergency law” into effect.
Emergency law basically gives the executive office complete power to do things like arrest people and hold them without charging them or trial or representation, to kill someone if you feel like it, to label anyone a “terrorist” just because you feel like it, to torture, and to spy on citizens indiscriminately without proof, justification, a warrant or cause.
Sound like The Patriot Act to you? It does to me. Obama just extended the Patriot Act, by the way. Again.
[Something, btw, he promised not to do when he was "Candidate Obama." That Candidate Obama Guy sort of has not worked out. Sigh.]
The Egyptian government has the power to [warning, this next link is a youtube clip don't hit it unless you are youtube good] shut down the internet, at its discretion, or blacklist certain websites or information streams — and exercised that power during protests. Disrupting and eliminating communication in and out of the country and within the country for Egyptian citizens. It shut down cell phone operation too.
Interestingly, something like this is on the books in the U.S. right now. COICA gives the U.S. government the same power. I am sure they have it already, call me cynical, but this would make exercising that power “legal.” Because the government decided to give itself that power. It’s called COICA. It was supposed to be dead at the tail end of last year. Now it’s back.
In Egypt, opposing political parties and troublesome political organizations are labeled criminal by the regime –– excuse me — “administration” in Egypt, and shut down. Labeled illegal and/or criminal and put out of business/snuffed out.
Anyone remember ACORN? ACORN’s been cleared of all wrongdoing but hey, it’s still disenfranchised, defunded, and out of business. And will never register voters again.
Police in Egypt are violently disrupting protests, attacking peaceful protesters and firing on them with tear gas and rubber bullets and arresting people simply for protesting.
This is happening in the U.S. as well. Veterans protesting the war were recently arrested outside the White House and the G20 protests were pretty exciting, the police did not just use tear gas and batons on G20 protesters [and innocent bystanders and students foolish enough to be on the street], they used sonic cannons previously only used on Somali pirates and Iraqi insurgents — but hey, if it is good enough for insurgents and pirates, I guess it is good enough for U.S. college students and protesters.
[No wonder Joe Biden smugly announced “Egypt doesn't have control of its people the way we do here." --- Joe Biden, MSNBC, Jan 31. Doy, Joe. Egypt doesn't have sonic cannons. ]
Police in Egypt have gone further than just firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd. They’ve opened fire with live rounds into crowds of peaceful protesters with the intent to kill. Not perhaps surprising considering power players in Egypt have been all good with shooting protesters for quite some time now, Amnesty International objections not withstanding.
Plain clothes police are also infiltrating crowds posing as pro Mubarak “protesters” [I am not sure being paid to show up and stab people counts legitimately as being a protester] throwing Molotov cocktails at peaceful demonstrators and stabbing them with knives. Oh, and also running them down with camels. [WTF?]
The questions is, are we far away from this?
There are reports every day about U.S. police killing civilians –– often tasering, i.e. electrocuting, people to death. Network news doesn’t talk about this too much. The news stations these days seem much more excited about the latest episode of American Idol. But the news is out there. It’s on the internet. Maybe you should do a search. Not just of the internet. Of your heart and political affiliations. Because we in the U.S. are not in a situation too different from the Egyptians. And if things keep going the way they are? We will find ourselves exactly in the same position of the Egyptians.
where the art work comes from :
that is a getty image go visit
stay strong egypt
February 2, 2011
ooh la la a guest
February 2, 2011
In Praise of —
Visual Writing
~ by Patrick A. Horton
I recently found myself in an unexpected conversation with an accomplished colleague about some of the things most writers are taught and not taught that can make difference between subsequent success and failure in their work and careers. The colleague was the one and only Max Adams, whose own very able and largely unique contribution to teaching, discussing, and creating story with an emphasis on what she calls visual writing reminded me the importance of these issues and of a script I did a number of years ago that broke many of the so-called rules and prevailing wisdoms that still prevail today and doom others to creative and commercial failure.
The script, Crossover, literally prompted ‘thank-you’ notes from production company and studio readers and got on a brief fast track for possible back door pilot for series development (bypassing accepting an offer to sell it as a feature). It also prompted two separate friends to call some time later to tell me they had spent considerable time and duress trying to remember where they had ‘seen’ this little movie that materially existed only on the pages they had read. In truth, we all need those who read our scripts as gate keepers and buyers and all those who then translate them to ‘see’ and feel the story we are telling. Unfortunately, the way most people are taught screenwriting neglects how to write in this way at best and often tells students and clients they cannot and should not write this way at worst. The result is unneeded impairment to outright failure of what often could have been great material and soul-fulfilling and career-making writing.
What were the primary prevailing rules or shared wisdoms that were broken? That you cannot write anything ‘internal’ in a screenplay (thoughts and feelings of the character) and more especially that you cannot use valuable script page space writing any kind of substantial scene or action description. Both of these rules or pseudo wisdoms are true if you do them badly. They both are horrifyingly false when you provide internal or visual information well. It can make the difference between a script that reads relatively well to one that jumps off the page and vividly plays out in the mind of a succession of readers, creative collaborators, and decision makers on its way to the screen.
On the polar extremes, this includes many readers and many more development execs who really do not know how to read a script to begin with and have very little ready imagination for painting the images not expressed or suggested. On the other extreme are directors and others who genuinely do not want too much information or instruction, but who you most definitely want you to give them both a fast read and clear impression of what you are offering up. There is a whole string of people in between who will not look at large blocks of black ink (and stupidly are given encouragement and permission not to bother), but who realistically need to be quickly oriented to the setting and tone of any scene in an instant, and who need help seeing the movie that so far just lives on the page if it lives at all. A script that is too detailed and dense will slow them down and stop them just as a script that conveys too little will lose them.
Now, in some ways, Max the teacher and consultant is the best of all possible worlds for addressing the issues and needs above. In addition to her success as an award winning screenwriter and author of the book, “The Screenwriter’s Survival Guide,” she is an unusually articulate and dedicated teacher who draws on all of her training and experience to help writers discover how to give voice to their voice. Fortunately this include her formal training in directing and strong understanding of the many artistic visual and auditory elements that must converge to make a scene work to engage the audience in a complete and clear experience. Most importantly, she understands the importance of conveying a quick initial vision of each scene along the way to orient the reader to where they are and keeps them oriented along with ‘seeing’ what it ‘looks’ and just as importantly feels like. She knows how to capture and convey the feel and tone of what is really going on emotionally that we want the audience experience and feel in the ride – first on the page and then on the screen.
As a quick double examples she uses herself, we can take a quick peek at the simple handling of conveying a kitchen setting as we enter a scene which, again must orient the reader, make the scene play visually in their mind, and convey a great deal more.
INT. KITCHEN – DAY
The kitchen is ugly, small, cramped beyond thought, one small bare bulb overhead tries to illuminate the dirty linoleum floor and old Formica table without any help from windows.
OR
INT. KITCHEN – DAYThe kitchen is huge, spacious, whoever lives here has more money than God. More than modern refrigerators with glass doors going on forever line the wall, frosty interiors illuminated by harsh artificial light….
Unfortunately, most of you having read this piece will encounter the advice over and over again not to attend to what the above suggests is not only important to attend to but crucial. To that I simply repeat my oft given warning to keep in mind that a great deal of what you are told by many so-called experts (and/or are guilty of telling others yourself) may not only be partially to completely wrong, but the costly and unneeded cause of limiting, maiming, and/or completely killing what otherwise could have been great writing and successful storytelling could have left the reader engaged, moved, and changed.
For more information on Max Adam’s classes on visual writing, consulting services, book, or work as a writer, visit http://newacademy.us
where this article comes from :
that is from screenplay.com
where the art work comes from :
that is from jonathan safran
© patrick a. horton
republished with permission
tweet this!
February 1, 2011
Tweet This :
Online Master Screenwriting Classes http://ow.ly/3NYPz #newacademy
And win a $15 iTunes card.
Yay!
Hey do not scoff that is three episodes of Supernatural. Woohoo!
I will be collecting tweets on that hashtag #newacademy and a week from today on Feb 8 will draw a winner. And if that winner is your tweet, you win a $15 iTunes card yay!
Did I mention that is three episodes of Supernatural? Or, you know, if you are less discerning, three episodes of whatever you choose to pick up.
Get tweeting. You have three episodes of Supernatural on the line here. Jeez!
Love and Kisses,
Your Tweet This Adams Girl
*the rules: you can tweet as much as you like as often as you like
*food for thought: you could follow @celluloidblonde on twitter while you are at it but she is all political and stuff maybe not your cup o’ tea
where the art work comes from :
that is twitter wall art from zoice
