Success has many parents; failure is an orphan.

(Bernie Brillstein -2008).

The next Lot of Scripts

Here's the next few ones I read.

57 SUNSET BOULEVARD 58 Duck Soup 59 Wanted 60 Shakespeare in Love61 A FEW GOOD MEN 62 The Graduate 63 Mr Smith Goes to Washington 64 Born on the fourth of July 65 ALMOST FAMOUS 66 The English Patient 67 LA confidential.68 NORTH BY NORTHWEST .69 Thelma and Louise 70 STEP MOM 71 GOOD WILL HUNTING 72 The Maltese Falcon 73 Memento 74 forrest gump 75 Fargo 76 Rush Hour 77 Dead Poet's Society 78 EDWARD SCISSORHANDS 79 Airplane 80 Philedelphia...

Only twenty to go! YAY!

Scripts I've Read

I thought i'd put a tally of the scripts I've read so far up. The ones in capitals are those that I found, of all of them, to be the most exceptional (and unmissable) reads. When I intially select a script, I select either ones I've never seen, or ones I have seen and liked.

1 ALL ABOUT EVE,2 Annie Hall,3 Amadeus,4 Basic Instinct, 5 Adaptation, 6. 6th sense, 7.40 y.o virgin, 8.CLERKS9. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH(esoteric), 10.Jurassic Park,11. Dances with wolves, 12.THE MATRIX, 13.the Truman show, 14.COLLATERAL (action), 15.Kramer Vs Kramer, 16.Chinatown, 17.CITIZEN KANE 18.American Beauty (esoteric),19.2001 - a space odyssey, 20.MILLION DOLLAR BABY 21. The usual suspects, 22.Ace Ventura- Pet Detective, 23.African queen, 24.The Crying Game, 25.An affair to remember,26. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 27.The last boy scout 28When a stranger calls, 29 The Lion King, 30 Alien, 31 Aliens, 32 AS GOOD AS IT GETS ,33 Bridges of madison county, 34 CASABLANCA35 MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING36 Scream 37 DEER HUNTER38 Raging Bull 39 The shawshank redemption. 40. Office space 41. Lock, stock and two smoking barrels 42. THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS 43.THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY 44. Die Hard 45 Go 46 Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind 47 PEARL HARBOUR 48 Little miss sunshine 49 Pleasantville; 50Scarface; 51A Mighty Heart;52 Monster's Ball; 53Ghost; 54JERRY MAGUIRE ; 55MR AND MRS SMITH, 56 Dr Strangelove....

Software

After careful consideration, I chose Movie Magic over Final Draft. To be honest, the trial version of Final Draft was a hell of alot better than Movie Magic's . But... Movie Magic seems to be less likely to have glitches, and I can't afford to lose any more drafts...

The horror that is celtx

Alas, Celtx, for some unknown reason, destroyed and lost the script I had half finished and had been hoping to enter the Nichol's with.

I now have to buy a new screen writing software- it's out of Final draft and Movie Magic screenwriter.

decisions, decisions...

The Miracle that is Celtx

To write a screenplay, sure, you can use Microsoft Word if you can format it correctly. But it's much easier to use a screen writing program. Most people tell you that you "need" Movie Magic or Final Draft, but really, Celtx, a program that can be downloaded from the net, is probably all you really need. It can convert your screenplays into PDFs, it formats and it's free.

The Stages of Being a Novice Screenwriter

1. Read a few screen writing books. Basically, they all promote the idea that anyone can write the next amazing new screenplay. It all sounds extremely easy - almost ludicrously so. They may mention it's easier to win the lottery than sell a screenplay, but you think, that's them; this is me.

2.Write the first 30 pages of a screenplay.

3. Instead of going beyond page thirty, you re-edit those 30 pages like your life depends on it.

4. You tell your non writer friends about it - they all smile and nod. Because most of them think you're a lunatic.

5. You tell your writer friends about it - they all smile and nod. Because they know you are a lunatic.

6. Instead of finishing your screenplay, you lurk and troll online screen writers' forums & chat rooms. Subconsciously searching for a quick fix solution.

7. You reread those screen writing books - they claim to have answers. So, they give temporary comfort. A quick fix that doesn't solve the real problem - you are either too lazy or didn't think the concept through thoroughly enough.

8.Finally, you bite the bullet. You write . And you finish. Hindered only by the nagging desire to rewrite.

9. You finish the first draft. Relief.

10. The day later, you read it, and it's good. Nichols Fellowship good. Oscar good. Like you are looking at your newborn baby. Beautiful and perfect in your arms.

The problem is, you can stay on phase 10 for a long time. I was there for about 6 months. Who knows how long some other writers stay there.

And then ....

You find out that your beautiful baby is actually an extra from "Planet of the Apes". Strangers gape and stare. You make excuses. You say "It will always be beautiful to me". But really, you are starting to see it for what it really is. And you realize you just called the baby "it".

11a. A friend reads it. And they give you an honest opinion.
11b.A month or longer later, YOU reread it. Find it's crap. You need a long period of time to give it an objective reading.

OR

The road less traveled by- you read real screenplays. Not crappy examples on MovieBytes.com. A sold screenplay. An Oscar winner.

I think it's only when you realize that what you wrote is absolute and utter crap can you really make a breakthrough with your writing.

For me atleast, it was only at that point that I realized what I needed to do.

I needed to read. Not just the crap that I was looking through due to my misplaced curiosity or "I-can-do-better-than-that" ego, but to give a sincere attempt to learn from others. Successful others. Learn how they ensnare, enrapture and entertain an audience. Learn how to use words with a fire and vigor that makes them catapult off the page.

To accept that my words may be clumsy now, but they will one day be more than words.

They'll be a screenplay.