I would like to add something I forgot to put in yesterday and that is when you are writing your scenes for your script it is always best to picture the scene in your mind. Play it out, if you will. With that being said you are going to have to think of people namely actors and actresses.
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO DO THIS.
OK, now on to part two:
Now that you have written your screenplay it is now time, that is if you feel comfortable with it to send it to a studio to see if they might like it. Another thing you might want to do and I strongly recommend it, is have either friends of family read your screenplay first. If anything, they might tell you if you even have a story that is worth sending to a studio.
If your friends or family think you have a story and you feel confident enough to send it to a Major studio, the next step is to wait. It is going to be a process. One of two things is going to happen. One: A studio liked the script and they want to meet with you to talk details about going to the next step.
Second: They may read it and tell you they don't like it and there fore you could try another studio or convince your self you do not have what it takes to be a screen writer. The job is not an easy one.
Lets say in this case a studio does like your script and they meet you, talk over details and they end up saying the magic word all screen writer's want to hear: Green light.
It means basically the same thing as a traffic signal: Your script is a go.
Once you have you have the go ahead, it is time to start talking.
Money: Just how much they think your script is worth to buy it from you.
Actors and actress's.: The people you think would be good for these characters.
Now, don't be afraid to speak your mind about this. EVERY screenwriter who has had their script green lighted has been asked the same thing.
Reason why, is because you may be a bit embarrassed to say a famous actors name, thinking you're not worthy to have them read it. It doesn't matter how big the name is, there is nothing, and I will repeat this nothing wrong with at least saying the actors name.
Only thing wrong would be the studio executive telling you you cant get the actor because he/ she cost too much.
It's a fact.
I have heard story's that regardless of how much an actor may be worth or how much they may want, if they believe in the project, they would be more than will to take less.
What I did with 'Bring On The Dancing Horses' is, yes, I will admit, I thought big name actors, but at the same time I also thought little known actors and actresses, because alot of the times you could be watching a movie or a TV show and be thinking to your self, that guy or girl is really good. I wonder what their names are. They can really act.
If you recall from yesterdays blog on screenwriting, I mentioned two character's one of which was named JP (short for Jean-Pierre)
(pronounced 'John') I am not going to give away the actors name, but I will say this much: He is an actor who is not widely known yet and had a bit part in one of last summer's most anticipated films. Very talented young man.
If you have followed along you noticed that I said the "M" word. Money will play a huge part in what happens to your script from this point on.
Like I said: How much the studio thinks your script is worth. More than anything, it will be up in the millions.
I would like to talk about that. If you are thinking, 'yeah, I want to get rich, that is the only reason why I am doing this'. Stop Right here and don't quit your day job, because if you do it just for the money, you're doing it for the wrong reason's
A writer of any kind has to love what they do. Doesn't matter what they are writing. For instance a song writer who thinks, 'yeah this is going to be a hit, I'll be rolling in the green' The writer best be prepared for hard news. Their get rich quick scheme may not make it past the demo stage.
You have to have a passion for writing itself. If you don't, there is reason to continue
David R. Meier
Next lesson: Directors.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Film Making 1: Screen Writing
Disclaimer: The next week and a half will be about the technique of film Making. If you are not interested in how a film is made or the painstaking hours it takes to make one, you might want to stop reading now. This, I think it is safe to say, might bore you.
With that being said, who ever else is still here, welcome. It is my prayer that you Will be able to get insight on a fascinating medium.
Recently I was watching a documentary on a film called 'Animal House' The classic 1978 John Belushi comedy that set the standard for the genre known as 'frat house comedy's'. In it, one of the screen writer's Harold Ramis was making reference to being at the premiere of the movie and being told he was not important because he was just one of the writer's.
The screenwriter is the most important ingredient to a movie. Now, granted, their are documentary film makers who don't work by a script and I might cover that with in the next week, but for now, I do want to cover screen writing.
Basically, with out the screenplay, you have no movie. The screenplay IS THE MOVIE. All of the action from what the character is doing to what they are saying, down to lets say for example walking down a side walk. The screen writer is creating all of that by his or her own imagination.
Even though the screen writer is one the most important people in film making, they are some times never treated that way.
I'll give you and example:
Screen Writer's name: Steve Kloves
Now, with out cheating, by staying off of goggle, wikipedia and other search engines, what scripts for major motion pictures has he written
Is It:
A:Jaws (1975)
B:Most of the Harry Potter series
C: Bring On The Dancing Horses (2012-13?)
If you know the answer than you are on the right track and you know a little or alot of what I am talking about
I'll give you one hint, and one hint only.
It is not C
I will say (write) it again. THE SCREENPLAY IS THE MOVIE
One more example
excerpt from the 2012-13 release, Bring On The Dancing Horses
(initial scene)
The Radcliffe House 8
BRANDON, a black twenty something college student is in the kitchen of his parents making jokes to wards his younger brother, JP
Brandon:
Yeah, mom and dad paid for your adoption so technically they own you.
BRANDON pauses and looks right to Barbara (Brandon's and JP's mother)
Brandon (continues)
The roles have been reveresed. We own you, white....
Barbara interrupts BRANDON by smacking him on the arm
Barbara:
Knock it off!
There as you have just read is both the direction and the dialog that the character make. It is also what you see in the movie. So, the screen writer is basically creating just about or if not EVERYTHING in just about any scripted movie you, my dear reader's have seen
I hope I do not have to repeat my self.
Now, included with that comes alot of rewriting. Alot of the time a 2nd or even in some cases a third draft of a script is needed. The reason for that is, simply your first draft is all your ideas written down. Second draft is a more polished version, with either scenes left out written differently.
I can only speak for my self and my experience with writing my screenplay, which is entitled "Bring On The Dancing Horses" and the things I personally went through when writing it.
First of all, the story
To make it brief it is loosely based on my freshmen and sophomore years in high school. It is by no means a true story, because to have a true story you have to get all of the names right, or at least some of them. When writing a true story you can create character's that can be a real person, to protect any one that may not feel comfortable with having their name in a movie.
Second:
Once you have the out line for your story, you than start thinking of Character names. As I hope you have just read, you noticed a character by the name of JP. JP is a freshmen/sophomore cross country/track runner who is the adopted white son of a black woman.
The idea for JP came to me when I remembered 2 people I used to go to school with one. One of them was a cross country/track runner named Dan
Another character, I refer to him as being the central character is named Micheal. To a degree, Micheal is me, but with a little bit of other people I remember knowing while I was growing up sort of make the character.
Another important thing to remember is if your screenplay is a period piece ie set in the past, you MUST always stick with the time that your script is set in. For instance, a script set in lets say 1985/86 can not use anything that may have invented after that time. Example, the dvd player didn't exist in '85 or '86 so it is VERY important you stick with things from that time.
Now, there have have been excuses, if you will for that topic. The 1985 classic film "Back To The Future", where a scene set in the 1950's where Marty Mcfly makes reference to seeing an episode of The Honeymooner's forgetting for a second that he has been transported to the decade and his meeting his Grandparents and aunts & uncles. It worked only because it was written that way as a teen who travels back in time by mistake.
One more thing I think I would like to add is when you are writing a script you can also choose what music you want. But, once again if you are writing a period piece, keep to the music of the time. There is nothing too much wrong with a song that has been covered by a current artist, but it is not the artist that did the song in what ever year you have set your time period.
D....out.
Thursday's lesson: The Green Light.
With that being said, who ever else is still here, welcome. It is my prayer that you Will be able to get insight on a fascinating medium.
Recently I was watching a documentary on a film called 'Animal House' The classic 1978 John Belushi comedy that set the standard for the genre known as 'frat house comedy's'. In it, one of the screen writer's Harold Ramis was making reference to being at the premiere of the movie and being told he was not important because he was just one of the writer's.
The screenwriter is the most important ingredient to a movie. Now, granted, their are documentary film makers who don't work by a script and I might cover that with in the next week, but for now, I do want to cover screen writing.
Basically, with out the screenplay, you have no movie. The screenplay IS THE MOVIE. All of the action from what the character is doing to what they are saying, down to lets say for example walking down a side walk. The screen writer is creating all of that by his or her own imagination.
Even though the screen writer is one the most important people in film making, they are some times never treated that way.
I'll give you and example:
Screen Writer's name: Steve Kloves
Now, with out cheating, by staying off of goggle, wikipedia and other search engines, what scripts for major motion pictures has he written
Is It:
A:Jaws (1975)
B:Most of the Harry Potter series
C: Bring On The Dancing Horses (2012-13?)
If you know the answer than you are on the right track and you know a little or alot of what I am talking about
I'll give you one hint, and one hint only.
It is not C
I will say (write) it again. THE SCREENPLAY IS THE MOVIE
One more example
excerpt from the 2012-13 release, Bring On The Dancing Horses
(initial scene)
The Radcliffe House 8
BRANDON, a black twenty something college student is in the kitchen of his parents making jokes to wards his younger brother, JP
Brandon:
Yeah, mom and dad paid for your adoption so technically they own you.
BRANDON pauses and looks right to Barbara (Brandon's and JP's mother)
Brandon (continues)
The roles have been reveresed. We own you, white....
Barbara interrupts BRANDON by smacking him on the arm
Barbara:
Knock it off!
There as you have just read is both the direction and the dialog that the character make. It is also what you see in the movie. So, the screen writer is basically creating just about or if not EVERYTHING in just about any scripted movie you, my dear reader's have seen
I hope I do not have to repeat my self.
Now, included with that comes alot of rewriting. Alot of the time a 2nd or even in some cases a third draft of a script is needed. The reason for that is, simply your first draft is all your ideas written down. Second draft is a more polished version, with either scenes left out written differently.
I can only speak for my self and my experience with writing my screenplay, which is entitled "Bring On The Dancing Horses" and the things I personally went through when writing it.
First of all, the story
To make it brief it is loosely based on my freshmen and sophomore years in high school. It is by no means a true story, because to have a true story you have to get all of the names right, or at least some of them. When writing a true story you can create character's that can be a real person, to protect any one that may not feel comfortable with having their name in a movie.
Second:
Once you have the out line for your story, you than start thinking of Character names. As I hope you have just read, you noticed a character by the name of JP. JP is a freshmen/sophomore cross country/track runner who is the adopted white son of a black woman.
The idea for JP came to me when I remembered 2 people I used to go to school with one. One of them was a cross country/track runner named Dan
Another character, I refer to him as being the central character is named Micheal. To a degree, Micheal is me, but with a little bit of other people I remember knowing while I was growing up sort of make the character.
Another important thing to remember is if your screenplay is a period piece ie set in the past, you MUST always stick with the time that your script is set in. For instance, a script set in lets say 1985/86 can not use anything that may have invented after that time. Example, the dvd player didn't exist in '85 or '86 so it is VERY important you stick with things from that time.
Now, there have have been excuses, if you will for that topic. The 1985 classic film "Back To The Future", where a scene set in the 1950's where Marty Mcfly makes reference to seeing an episode of The Honeymooner's forgetting for a second that he has been transported to the decade and his meeting his Grandparents and aunts & uncles. It worked only because it was written that way as a teen who travels back in time by mistake.
One more thing I think I would like to add is when you are writing a script you can also choose what music you want. But, once again if you are writing a period piece, keep to the music of the time. There is nothing too much wrong with a song that has been covered by a current artist, but it is not the artist that did the song in what ever year you have set your time period.
D....out.
Thursday's lesson: The Green Light.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Film Making- An Introduction
OK, my reader's as promised the conversation for this blog will return to film's. As I have stated before and one of the reasons for creating this blog and calling it 'From Paper To Film' was because I love movies. I love watching them, I like the technical side of them, just about everything.
In the next coming week starting on Wednesday (12/15/'10) and following until the 23rd of December each day will consist of information on how, just not watch a film but also how to make a film. It will all culminate on Christmas eve with the return of the "IF's where you, my reader's can ask questions and I will do my best to answer them. For the 'IF's', I will be taking a bit of creative license from a friend and it will be more or less a Q&A session where on Christmas day I will answer your questions. I must admit, I am really looking forward to that.
I am looking forward to the whole writing process, really, but I am hoping your questions will be good ones.
Now I mentioned earlier in this blog, I will give you information on how to watch a film. You are probably thinking, 'this guys crazy. What does he mean, watch a movie'?
You will be informed by all the techniques you will learn that will help you watch one.
So, sit back and get ready for a fun filled education on a great adventure called motion pictures.
Your first entry and the most important:Screen writing.
David
In the next coming week starting on Wednesday (12/15/'10) and following until the 23rd of December each day will consist of information on how, just not watch a film but also how to make a film. It will all culminate on Christmas eve with the return of the "IF's where you, my reader's can ask questions and I will do my best to answer them. For the 'IF's', I will be taking a bit of creative license from a friend and it will be more or less a Q&A session where on Christmas day I will answer your questions. I must admit, I am really looking forward to that.
I am looking forward to the whole writing process, really, but I am hoping your questions will be good ones.
Now I mentioned earlier in this blog, I will give you information on how to watch a film. You are probably thinking, 'this guys crazy. What does he mean, watch a movie'?
You will be informed by all the techniques you will learn that will help you watch one.
So, sit back and get ready for a fun filled education on a great adventure called motion pictures.
Your first entry and the most important:Screen writing.
David
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Public Transportation
I would like to write one more blog before off the subject of film for right now. If you don't agree,tough! Its my blog,ha ha ha!!!!!!
Public transportation can be good and bad at the same time. The good part about it is you are conserving fuel for what ever vehicle you might own, and it is also, to some extent a good way to see parts of the city you live in or the city you are visiting.
Bad part about public transportation is it takes you hours to get some where so you really have to plan ahead to get the right connection that you need.
The other thing wrong with public transportation is the people.
I can tell you story upon story about either being on a city bus or even on a coach bus like greyhound and encountering the strangest of people. No joke.
Being on a greyhound (for those that may not know, it is a bus line that goes through the United States and Canada) is an adventure in itself, and not necessarily a good one. You get all kinds. From toddler's who wanna scream the Barney theme song as loud as they can or some psycho who wants to stand in the middle of the isle and stare out the windshield.
All though I must admit, if I am going to travel and not drive my self and I don't need a plane, I take a train. Not a bad ride and the people are some what decent.
In San Diego, California they have what they call the San Diego Trolley. Basically a commuter train sort of on the order of a subway. Also not a bad ride. Kinda fun, actually if you are a first time visitor to the city and want to look around, the trolley can take you places a car can not.
All though, just like a bus, the San Diego trolley does get its fair share of, shall I say interesting people.
It was the summer of 2004 and at the time I was in San Diego about 8:00 am and we had just got into the downtown area of the county when this elderly gentle man, if I had to guess (and I guess I do) of about 60 or so gets on the trolley and decides he is going to sit by me. Not a problem.
The problem was sitting across from me was this woman with her feet propped up on my seat sleeping. he man See's the woman and instead of asking her to please move he grabs her feet and shoves them off of the seat.
The woman got up and started hitting the old man, so much that he nearly landed into me. Scary, if I may say.
Both of them were wrong, obviously. The man was wrong for pushing the lady down and the lady was in the wrong for hitting to old man.
Once again, scary.
I do have one memorable bus ride story as a child. I am on a bus with my mother. I think we were coming back from visiting aunts and uncles and I don't recall the bus driver taking any freeways. All I remember is him stopping at every bus stop and a young David (guess who)complaining it was taking too long.
D out
Tomorrow and for at least the next week in a half: Film Techniques.
Public transportation can be good and bad at the same time. The good part about it is you are conserving fuel for what ever vehicle you might own, and it is also, to some extent a good way to see parts of the city you live in or the city you are visiting.
Bad part about public transportation is it takes you hours to get some where so you really have to plan ahead to get the right connection that you need.
The other thing wrong with public transportation is the people.
I can tell you story upon story about either being on a city bus or even on a coach bus like greyhound and encountering the strangest of people. No joke.
Being on a greyhound (for those that may not know, it is a bus line that goes through the United States and Canada) is an adventure in itself, and not necessarily a good one. You get all kinds. From toddler's who wanna scream the Barney theme song as loud as they can or some psycho who wants to stand in the middle of the isle and stare out the windshield.
All though I must admit, if I am going to travel and not drive my self and I don't need a plane, I take a train. Not a bad ride and the people are some what decent.
In San Diego, California they have what they call the San Diego Trolley. Basically a commuter train sort of on the order of a subway. Also not a bad ride. Kinda fun, actually if you are a first time visitor to the city and want to look around, the trolley can take you places a car can not.
All though, just like a bus, the San Diego trolley does get its fair share of, shall I say interesting people.
It was the summer of 2004 and at the time I was in San Diego about 8:00 am and we had just got into the downtown area of the county when this elderly gentle man, if I had to guess (and I guess I do) of about 60 or so gets on the trolley and decides he is going to sit by me. Not a problem.
The problem was sitting across from me was this woman with her feet propped up on my seat sleeping. he man See's the woman and instead of asking her to please move he grabs her feet and shoves them off of the seat.
The woman got up and started hitting the old man, so much that he nearly landed into me. Scary, if I may say.
Both of them were wrong, obviously. The man was wrong for pushing the lady down and the lady was in the wrong for hitting to old man.
Once again, scary.
I do have one memorable bus ride story as a child. I am on a bus with my mother. I think we were coming back from visiting aunts and uncles and I don't recall the bus driver taking any freeways. All I remember is him stopping at every bus stop and a young David (guess who)complaining it was taking too long.
D out
Tomorrow and for at least the next week in a half: Film Techniques.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
In My Next Life I want To Be.....
Happy Saturday, my reader's. It's late in the evening (early hours of the morning,actually) and I only have time for this so, lets get it going
Very recently I had heard from a person who she wanted to be when she came back in her next life and it got me to thinking...
The term doesn't exist.
And here is why....
For starter's having another life after you die would throw confusion on the concept of God and the existence of Heaven. Granted we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and no one is perfect, coming back in another life would mean that God is not the loving and caring God that He is. Lets face it, if we kept getting life after life till we supposedly got it right we never would get into heaven, because each life would be as sinful as the first, if not more.
The hypothesis of Heaven as this great place to be after you die would be to some degree a farce because we would never get there
I have heard story's from people that have claimed to have a memory of a previous life. These people can make up the best story they can about being someone famous, being someones animal, etc, only problem is they can't prove it.
Real simple. One again, it would make God a Being known all over the world by believer's and non- believer's alike as being, well, dare I say a liar.
And that is something I and billions of other people can not believe.
I am not trying to tell you I have all the answers because I am no where close to it
It has been said by countless pastors that when we get to Heaven we won't have time for questions because we would be filled of joy and the excitement of seeing Jesus Christ face to face.
So, with that said why would a loving and just God send us back to earth time and time again and fill our minds with story's of a place we would never get to?
I am a Christian and I believe that there is a Heaven and one day I will be going there.
In the Book of John, chapter 11 verse 25 and 26, Jesus states while conversing with the sister of Lazarus, " I am the Resurrection and the life. He who believes in me shall live a new life"
In Heaven.
Not several times on earth till the Almighty thinks we got it right.
God Bless,
drmeier
Very recently I had heard from a person who she wanted to be when she came back in her next life and it got me to thinking...
The term doesn't exist.
And here is why....
For starter's having another life after you die would throw confusion on the concept of God and the existence of Heaven. Granted we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and no one is perfect, coming back in another life would mean that God is not the loving and caring God that He is. Lets face it, if we kept getting life after life till we supposedly got it right we never would get into heaven, because each life would be as sinful as the first, if not more.
The hypothesis of Heaven as this great place to be after you die would be to some degree a farce because we would never get there
I have heard story's from people that have claimed to have a memory of a previous life. These people can make up the best story they can about being someone famous, being someones animal, etc, only problem is they can't prove it.
Real simple. One again, it would make God a Being known all over the world by believer's and non- believer's alike as being, well, dare I say a liar.
And that is something I and billions of other people can not believe.
I am not trying to tell you I have all the answers because I am no where close to it
It has been said by countless pastors that when we get to Heaven we won't have time for questions because we would be filled of joy and the excitement of seeing Jesus Christ face to face.
So, with that said why would a loving and just God send us back to earth time and time again and fill our minds with story's of a place we would never get to?
I am a Christian and I believe that there is a Heaven and one day I will be going there.
In the Book of John, chapter 11 verse 25 and 26, Jesus states while conversing with the sister of Lazarus, " I am the Resurrection and the life. He who believes in me shall live a new life"
In Heaven.
Not several times on earth till the Almighty thinks we got it right.
God Bless,
drmeier
Friday, December 10, 2010
True Hollywood Story
All,right, my reader's, I think I have a good topic today. Hope all is well with everyone who reads this.
There is a cable channel called E! Basically its a station that covers all genre's of entertainment. Now, before I go any further, I wanna start by saying, I am not writing this to critique. I have seem some of the shows this station has and it's not all bad.
But, how ever, there is one show they have that I must admit, isn't keeping up with it's title.
It's called "E! True Hollywood Story", now, even though they cover a specific crime in just about every story, not every story comes out of Hollywood, California.
For instance, last year or maybe 2 years ago there was this story of a woman who as a child was kidnapped and held hostage for about 17 years.Even though it was not a Hollywood kidnapping, think it did happen in California, but i don't know where and quite frankly I am not here to glamorize it.
That is what I think this show is doing. It's glamorizing crime's.
And no crime should be glamorized by anyone.
But, so goes the world. Alot of people are fascinated by crimes, especially infamous ones.
I'll give you two examples:
there is a musician in his own Rock band named, and I am not kidding you if you should be reading this and not now of this person, but his stage name is Marilyn Manson. For this blog, I will call him Brian Warner, because that is the name his parents gave him. Warner's reasoning if you can call it that was to shock people. He took the name of the famous Actress Marilyn Monroe and the other from mass murderer Charles Manson.
Anyone who would do that, automatically turns me off of their music.
When I heard his brand of music, I was also turned off by it. Not my cup of tea, sort of speak.
It just seems to me that if you're going to have a TV show that's called "True Hollywood story", keep it based there. Don't go searching the whole world for crimes that didn't happen in Hollywood.
There have been alot of films based on crimes. Some are good, while other's are just plain horrible and you have to ask your self why you paid hard earned money to watch them
In a 2002 motion picture entitled 'blow' Johnny Depp plays a career criminal who made his fortune by selling drugs, the lavish lifestyle this guy had and his numerous arrest as payment for his career choice. For it's technical side, its a good film. The screen writer wrote an effective story of this guy. Its based on a true story and was directed by the late Ted Demme, nephew of film director Jonathon Demme who himself directed the Oscar winning "Silence of the lambs".
But, technical stuff aside, to some extent it did glamorize the guy's life style.
Not the way you want to earn a living, regardless of how it might make you rich. You're going to get caught eventually
So, maybe it's just me, but I don't think you should go and make a television show that isn't about what the topic is.
In closing, I would like to add that during the course of next week I will be getting back to the topic of why this blog is called 'from paper to film.' Each day, I will take an area of film making and write about it.
Now, I understand that this may bore alot of people, because they don't have an interest in how a movie is made and that's fine. I just hope you find it enjoyable reading.
Until than, the balcony is closed.
Drm
There is a cable channel called E! Basically its a station that covers all genre's of entertainment. Now, before I go any further, I wanna start by saying, I am not writing this to critique. I have seem some of the shows this station has and it's not all bad.
But, how ever, there is one show they have that I must admit, isn't keeping up with it's title.
It's called "E! True Hollywood Story", now, even though they cover a specific crime in just about every story, not every story comes out of Hollywood, California.
For instance, last year or maybe 2 years ago there was this story of a woman who as a child was kidnapped and held hostage for about 17 years.Even though it was not a Hollywood kidnapping, think it did happen in California, but i don't know where and quite frankly I am not here to glamorize it.
That is what I think this show is doing. It's glamorizing crime's.
And no crime should be glamorized by anyone.
But, so goes the world. Alot of people are fascinated by crimes, especially infamous ones.
I'll give you two examples:
there is a musician in his own Rock band named, and I am not kidding you if you should be reading this and not now of this person, but his stage name is Marilyn Manson. For this blog, I will call him Brian Warner, because that is the name his parents gave him. Warner's reasoning if you can call it that was to shock people. He took the name of the famous Actress Marilyn Monroe and the other from mass murderer Charles Manson.
Anyone who would do that, automatically turns me off of their music.
When I heard his brand of music, I was also turned off by it. Not my cup of tea, sort of speak.
It just seems to me that if you're going to have a TV show that's called "True Hollywood story", keep it based there. Don't go searching the whole world for crimes that didn't happen in Hollywood.
There have been alot of films based on crimes. Some are good, while other's are just plain horrible and you have to ask your self why you paid hard earned money to watch them
In a 2002 motion picture entitled 'blow' Johnny Depp plays a career criminal who made his fortune by selling drugs, the lavish lifestyle this guy had and his numerous arrest as payment for his career choice. For it's technical side, its a good film. The screen writer wrote an effective story of this guy. Its based on a true story and was directed by the late Ted Demme, nephew of film director Jonathon Demme who himself directed the Oscar winning "Silence of the lambs".
But, technical stuff aside, to some extent it did glamorize the guy's life style.
Not the way you want to earn a living, regardless of how it might make you rich. You're going to get caught eventually
So, maybe it's just me, but I don't think you should go and make a television show that isn't about what the topic is.
In closing, I would like to add that during the course of next week I will be getting back to the topic of why this blog is called 'from paper to film.' Each day, I will take an area of film making and write about it.
Now, I understand that this may bore alot of people, because they don't have an interest in how a movie is made and that's fine. I just hope you find it enjoyable reading.
Until than, the balcony is closed.
Drm
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
So Long, Little People
OK, my reader's, here is the news you have been waiting for months to hear (er... read) I have a new computer!!!!! Yes, that means more frequent blog's!!!! Clap Clap, Clap, Go David, Go David!!
OK, time to get to it.
Monday night was a bittersweet moment in Television history. It was the end of a five year run for a beloved series about a beloved family. The Kardashian's? No. The Tweed- Simmons? This writer can only pray for that day, but sadly no.
The Roloff's.
If you have never heard of them they are a family of Little People or I dare say, midget's, even though that is a phrase frowned upon if you are a little person.
The Roloff's are a family of six living on a thirty-plus acre farm in the state of Oregon. The husband & wife of Matt and Amy and their four children, two of them twins and the other two average height.
One of the twins, Jeremy, is average height while his twin brother, Zachary, is little.
If you can call it a reality show, it doesn't have the look of one. It shows average parents raising their kids while going through the everyday struggles of life
I guess one of the things that drew me to the show was the dad, Matthew. He has overcame alot of obstacles to get where he is today.
In the late 1990's he wrote a best selling book called "Against Tall Odds". It has to be one the most intriguing and inspiring books I have ever read
About two years ago the Roloff's were guest on the Oprah Winfrey show and one of the questions asked was how long would their show, "Little People, Big World" last. I think it was the wife, Amy who said that they really didn't know. If anybody in her family, including her self said 'ok, that's it', it was over.
Who ever made the decision, doesn't really matter. All good things must come to an end at some point. God Bless You, Matt, Amy, Jeremy,Zach, Molly and Jacob.
May God bless your future endeavor's
A LPBW fan
OK, time to get to it.
Monday night was a bittersweet moment in Television history. It was the end of a five year run for a beloved series about a beloved family. The Kardashian's? No. The Tweed- Simmons? This writer can only pray for that day, but sadly no.
The Roloff's.
If you have never heard of them they are a family of Little People or I dare say, midget's, even though that is a phrase frowned upon if you are a little person.
The Roloff's are a family of six living on a thirty-plus acre farm in the state of Oregon. The husband & wife of Matt and Amy and their four children, two of them twins and the other two average height.
One of the twins, Jeremy, is average height while his twin brother, Zachary, is little.
If you can call it a reality show, it doesn't have the look of one. It shows average parents raising their kids while going through the everyday struggles of life
I guess one of the things that drew me to the show was the dad, Matthew. He has overcame alot of obstacles to get where he is today.
In the late 1990's he wrote a best selling book called "Against Tall Odds". It has to be one the most intriguing and inspiring books I have ever read
About two years ago the Roloff's were guest on the Oprah Winfrey show and one of the questions asked was how long would their show, "Little People, Big World" last. I think it was the wife, Amy who said that they really didn't know. If anybody in her family, including her self said 'ok, that's it', it was over.
Who ever made the decision, doesn't really matter. All good things must come to an end at some point. God Bless You, Matt, Amy, Jeremy,Zach, Molly and Jacob.
May God bless your future endeavor's
A LPBW fan
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