Why You Should Bother with Screenwriter Contests and Film Festivals

Yup, it's been a while since we last posted anything...  but, I'm ready to get things back on track.  What can I say?  I want to get in touch with more horror screenwriters, filmmakers and festival folks.  I want to give more indie horror projects promotion and help get stuff out there.  I have to keep posting because we have to elevate this little sub-genre!

Anyhow, over the last, I don't know, year or so...  I've decided to make a serious effort to take this whole thing to another level and that's really why I haven't had time to post anything.  We've been working on launching a new website (more on that in the coming weeks), I've submitted some of my scripts to some screenwriting competitions and I've been trying to help produce some films.  The attempt to produce films has really taken a lot of time, but I'll tell you what... it's a huge learning experience.  One thing I've learned, and that I'd like to pass on to you, is that the film festivals and screenwriting contest are more important than you think.  Here's why...

There's a million ways to produce a film, but let's simplify this a bit - on one side, you have the equity financing model and on the other side, you have the debt financing model.  Equity financing means you have the equity - long and short, you've got the money and you're funding it yourself.  If that's your model, have at it.  You can write, direct and produce your project any way you'd like.  Debt financing, on the other hand, means that someone is willing to pay for the final product and you then get someone to lend you money against that promise to pay, so you can go and produce your film.  Most indie films are, at least in part, financed this way.  Yes, there's lots in between and that's a very simplistic view, but I'm making a point here, okay?  Now, how much this person is willing to pay for this unmade project depends on how you've packaged it up.  There's three major components: talent, script and director.  The big thing is talent... who are the actors?  If you're a friend of Brad Pitt's and he's willing to attach himself, boom... you're good to go.  Don't worry about the script.  However, most of us need to convince talent to come on board and we need to convince people that this is a good project.  So, that leaves the writer and director.  I'm going to concentrate on the writer here, as I feel the script is the true foundation of any project, but this is just as pertinent to the director.

You need a good script, where do you get it?  A script by a produced and/or working screenwriter is one thing, they have proven that they can write material that works.  I'm not talking about your micro-budget film that you produced and financed yourself, either.  I'm talking about a script from a working Hollywood screenwriter.  Get a script from one of them, you've got a good base.  However, getting a script from a well known or produced writer can be tough, especially if you're an unproven producer, so you might have to go a little further down the trough... or you might want to use your own material.  If that's the case, you need something that makes that script stand out, something that says, "this is worth taking a chance on".  So, what separates you from the rest of the pile of unproduced and non-working screenwriters?  See where I'm going with this, yet?  It's awards and accolades.  Where do you get those?  From winning film festivals and screenwriting competitions.  I've read bio's on writers that say things like, "quarter finalist in such and such" or "top 20% in this and that"...  and that makes the bio on the writer far more compelling than, "I think I'm a pretty good writer", which is what you're saying if you're unproduced, unpaid and haven't won any awards.  Don't kid yourself, most people won't read the script.  They'll read your bio, the logline and, if you're lucky, your outline.  You want to separate yourself from the pack?  These awards and accolades make a big difference.

So, do yourself a favor, enter the festivals and competitions.  Even if you're just producing and financing your own film - it helps sell it once it's done.  Also, on the writing side, if there's an option to get coverage, take it.  It costs you a bit extra, but you can learn where you can improve and you can learn what these guys want.  Then, you'll know what you need to do when you enter the next festival to get some accolades.  Once you have accolades, you're on your way to being a produced and working writer and/or director.

What do you think?  Got a different opinion?  Let me know!    

Screenwriting Aspirations

There's a pretty good reason why I haven't been posting on here regularly and I'll let you know what it is...

I'm polishing up a script that I'm going to be entering into the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards.  I've been working on this script for a while and, a few weeks ago, I saw that the late deadline for the contest was Monday, April 2nd.  So, I made that my goal.  When I say I've been working on it a while, I mean I've been working on it for a while... like, 2 years.  I wrote my first draft fast, like a month and a bit.  Then, I rewrote it a couple times, I gave it out to a few people to get their advice and feedback, then I sat on it... for about a year.  Not sure what I was doing during that time, probably just drinking and contemplating the shittyness of aspiring to be a screenwriter.  Anyhow, I picked it back up a few months ago and, well, here we are.  So, every spare minute I get, I've got that fucking thing open and I'm tweaking words, phrases and sentences.  I'm cutting lines of description and I'm really working hard to polish this turd up.  At absolute worst, I want to be done with it so I can move on to my next script, for Christ's sake.  

There's only a handful of screenwriting competitions that are worth entering, let's start with that, and PAGE is one of them.  Slamdance's early deadline is in a couple weeks, that one is also worthwhile, especially as they have a horror specific category AND they've developed some of the screenplays.  I'll be entering it, as well.  Here's a link to the PAGE Awards site, as well as Slamdance, if you're interested.  I actually know a couple people that have been judges at PAGE and I've spoken with the festival director before.  I've also spoken with the festival director at Slamdance.  Long and short, I trust them.  For horror, there's also Screamfest and Shriekfest, but I don't know when their deadlines are.  I'm going to look into that.  

The cool thing is that, for an extra $50 or so, both PAGE and Slamdance will give you feedback on your script.  This is really what I'm looking forward to.  Truth is, not that many people have read my work.  Sure, a lot of my friends in the industry have, but they're going to be bias.  Sure, a few friends outside the industry have, but they don't know a good script for a piece of shit.  Sure, my film professors and some script supervisors have read my work, but I was paying them.  This will be industry folks that don't know me at all and have nothing to gain.  I want to know where I stand with them.  Quite frankly, so should you.  If you're an industry outsider and you're an aspiring screenwriter, what kind of options do you have of getting noticed?  Well, I'll tell you what... some sort of accolade from one of these competitions is a good start and if you get the big heave-ho right away, knowing why you suck is just as important.  

Anyhow, I'll let you all know how it goes, every step of the way.  

Stay tuned...      

Interview with Screenwriter Danek S. Kaus

It's been a while since we spoke with Max Perrier, the producer, cinematographer and director of the indie film, "The Ante". We spoke with him in early 2009 and the film actually came out in 2006. It's a great indie film and if you want to read our interview with Perrier, you can click here and if you want to find out more about the film, you can click here to go to its page on IMDB.

Anyhow, not too long ago, I received an email from one of the writers of "The Ante", Danek S. Kaus. Kaus not only wrote that screenplay, but he's a represented writer that's been hired to adapt books into screenplays, he's had scripts optioned and he's been approached by various networks and magazines. Long and short, he's pretty good at this whole screenwriting thing. Now, that's usually enough to warrant us doing an interview, but in this case, there was something else that really piqued our interest. He's currently working on a project called "Swords of the Dead" and, quite frankly, we want to know more. We had the chance to discuss that project and more here... definitely worth the read, folks!

Tell us about the concept behind Swords of the Dead, what’s it all about and where did the idea come from?

I used to do some publicity work for several martial artists. Also studied a little off and on. Learned just enough to be dangerous – to myself.

A couple of years ago, maybe longer, I was brainstorming for screenplay ideas. I wanted something in a genre that already had a good following that was fun to write.

Martial arts and horror usually do well, so I thought about combining them. But then, I had to decide what kind of horror, what kind of monsters would the martial artists have to fight?

Vampires never seem to die and werewolves shed on the carpets, so I decided to use zombies. But zombies are often unarmed, sometimes literally because they tend to lose body parts, so I decided to give them weapons. And so Ninja Zombies were born, uh, un-deaded?

The story is about a guy named Mike Striker who is hired by a beautiful mystery woman to kill Ninja Zombies that have invaded her town. He puts together a crew of misfit martial artists to help him destroy the zombies.

It has good characters and dialogue, humor, romance, lots of marital arts action and, of course, Ninja Zombies. Sorry world, but somebody had to unleash them on you.

What’s your ultimate goal for Swords of the Dead?

My manager in LA, Blair Silver, thinks Swords of the Dead could become a franchise, like Friday the 13th, complete with action figures, graphic novels and trading cards, etc., so that is where I would like to see it go.

What stage are you at with the project now and talk a bit about how you got to this stage.

The script was finished last year. Showed it to an internationally-known martial artist who has done feature films and TV. He loved it. Don't think I should mention his name at this stage.

The graphic novel version of the screenplay is in progress. It's being serialized now on Facebook. People can find it here

I believe that you don't have to belong to Facebook in order to view the page.

Blair and I are shopping the script now.

Readers should know that you’re an accomplished screenwriter. So, tell us, what makes a good horror story?

I think many of the best horror stories touch our primal fears – the dark, things that go bump in the night, the fear of being eaten, childhood fears, creepy-crawly things, Death, with a capital D.

In zombie stories, the Dead are coming after the characters. The fact that the zombies are rotting themselves, reinforces the concept of Death chasing people.

In my own case, I still recall the terror I felt growing up with frequent zombie outbreaks in the neighborhood. Didn't help the property values either.

Psychological terror can be scarier than physical danger. A prime example of that is The Exorcist. In the original version of The Haunting we never see a ghost, but we experience their effects in other, terrifying, ways.

Also, the best horror stories have characters that we care about. We root for them to survive. Too many horror films are just about the body count. The characters are often one-dimensional.

AMC's The Walking Dead has great characters. We really do root for them. It's as much a drama as it is a horror story. Nice job.

The script is being made into a graphic novel. How did that come about and what’s your reasoning behind doing that?

That was Blair's idea. Through the years he had observed the growing trend to make movies from comic books and graphic novels.

Now, tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get in to indie horror and film?

I always loved horror films as a kid. I was responsible as a child, so when my parents would go out to dinner or something, they trusted me to be by myself. I would watch the schlocky horror flics on TV and then be too scared to go to sleep until they got home.

Max Perrier, asked me to do the original script for his award-winning indie film The Ante. I was finishing a book and didn't have time, so he hired another writer.

When the script was finished, Max was unhappy with it. By then, I was freed up. He asked me to do a re-write. I changed about 90% of the original script. It's a story about a man falsely accused of murder. For example, in the original, his wife was loving and supportive. I decided to create more conflict by turning her into a greedy harpy. That set the plot off in a new direction. I created a lot more plot twists and punched up the dialogue, also adding some humor from time to time.

"The Ante" got a great review in Variety and so far has shown in nine film festivals in North America and Europe.

I wrote several more of my own scripts, one of which a producer for Lifetime network was very interested in. But it was a period piece, which made it more expensive, and she was unable to get funding.

A couple of my other scripts have been optioned.

A few months ago, a production company hired me to adapt the true story book "Under the Overpass" for the big screen. It's about two college students who wanted to understand how to better help the homeless by becoming homeless themselves in several U.S. cities. For five months they slept on the streets, panhandled and ate from garbage cans. I've been told that Random house bought the original publisher of the book and is releasing a new edition this month.

The film is in development.

Film school: yes or no?

No. Took a couple workshops, read a several screenwriting books, watched a lot of movies.

Talk about the indie horror scene, where do you think it is now and where do you see it going?

I'm not an expert on the indie horror scene, but I think it is going to continue to get better, especially with production costs coming down because of digital cameras. Shooting with film and the cost of developing it was a big barrier to indies. In addition, the Internet has opened up more avenues for distribution, which has been a problem for indies.

And zombies continue to grow in popularity, which is good for me – and the zombies.

Where can we find out more about you, your projects and, most importantly, "Swords of the Dead"?

One important note about Swords of the Dead fan page. Anyone who becomes a fan has the chance to become a Ninja Zombie in the graphic novel. We're going to pick one person at random for that honor.

My website is called Turn Your Book into a Movie

Facebook fan page

Twitter handle is @swordsofthedead

My email, in case you want to hire me, is dkaus@sbcglobal.net

Are there any other projects in the works?

I was recently hired by two authors to adapt their books. One is a true story and the other is a novel.

I'm also working on some of my own scripts.

Tales From An Aspiring Screenwriter

It was about a year ago, maybe just over a year ago, when I made a public announcement that I was going to make a concerted effort to write one quality, sellable (in my mind) screenplay per year. I came to that conclusion after making a few short films, writing on the blog, working with other filmmakers and trying to figure out just how I was going to attack this whole "career in indie horror" thing. Truth be told, ever since film school, I've enjoyed the screenwriting process the most. That's where you get to puke all your ideas out, that's where you can be the most creative and that's where it all starts. That's where iconic characters and places like Camp Crystal Lake and Elm Street are born. That's the artsy, romantic side. The other side is, it doesn't cost a fucking thing, but time, to write a screenplay. Very economical. Anyhow, if screenwriting is to be my key... how do I open the door? The way I look at it, I've got three options.

The easiest, although costliest, is entering screenwriting contests. I used to be extremely weary of them, but the credible ones do offer a great service to unrepresented, up-and-coming and aspiring screenwriters. I've talked to a few contest winners and some of the people who run the contests and festivals and none of them have anything but good things to say about the process. Some of the contests give coverage and notes, which is invaluable, and I'll get a good idea of how I'd fare against other scripts in similar sub-genres. To navigate this properly, I'm going to have to research the different contests and festivals, then figure out which ones to enter. First off, I'll look at the contest itself. Is it horror specific or does it have a horror section? There's no way that my blood-soaked, serial killer homage to "Taxi Driver" is going to compete against "Gone With The Wind 2" in a generic screenwriting contest... Next thing to consider is, what kind of exposure will it get? No offense, but if I'm choosing between entering Shriekfest out of L.A. or Utah Bob's Horror Screenplay Contest, I'm picking Shriekfest. Granted, if Bob's is free, I might as well enter it, as well. So, what's my goal in this whole option? Well, really, it ain't about the prizes, it's about the exposure. If I can win one of these, chances are I'll have managers or agents calling me... and, not only that, I may get an award to hang my hat on, which may open some doors when dealing with my next option.

If I bomb at the contests or nothing comes out if it, the next logical step would be to attempt to get an agent or manager on my own. How's that going to happen? Two ways, I figure. One, the traditional way... I write up a query letter and I spam it out to every agent in town. I could also use one of those online deals, where you write the query letter and they spam it out to every agent in town. Basically, these guys approach all of the agencies and production companies and get them to say what they're interested in. Then, when you say, I've got a horror film and it's about X, Y and Z, the email goes out to all those who are interested in that sub-genre. Then, they'll request your query letter... then, they'll request a script. It's a good idea and something that I may try. The other way is the blood, sweat and tears way. I carefully read the trades to watch for which agents are representing other screenwriters who are writing similar stuff, then I approach them. The good thing about doing it this way is that I can cater my email or query letter directly to them. The bad thing is, the result, after a lot of hard work, may be the same. There is another option and it's something that I'm definitely going to explore... and that's getting in touch with anyone I know that has an agent and asking them if they could pass my stuff on to them. It's worth a try and is, generally, an easy in... if the guy you're asking likes you.

So, last option... I tank at the contests and no agent wants me. What's next? I guess the last attempt would be to approach independent production companies. Really, I don't think this is that much tougher than writing query letters to agents and managers. I mean, I'm not talking about approaching Warner Bros or Universal... I'm talking about approaching the small, private ones. Almost every actor in town has their own production company set up, I'd approach them. All it would take is a bit of research to find an actor or director that has done similar projects, or is interested in similar projects, then finding out if they have their own little production company. If they do, it won't take that much googling to figure out the address or a contact. Then, I just write up a query letter that's catered right to them and send it off. Then, sit back and grow old waiting for a response.

So, that's where I'm at right now. I'm going to finish up the last tweaks to the script and then I'm going to come up with my game plan. What do you think? Am I missing anything? Do you have any other advice for myself or anyone else who's in the same shoes as me? Let me know... please. In any case, I'll be sure to keep you posted on any news and how it all turns out.

Misconceptions About Hollywood - Getting An Agent

Well, I was planning on having an interview to share today, but... people are taking their time getting back to me. No worries, I've always got something on my mind to share. Today, I wouldn't mind talking about a misconception that most people have about Hollywood.

So, life isn't exactly black and white, but it's so much easier to explain when you break it down to one side versus the other, so I'm going to do just that. Let's look at Hollywood as those who are "IN" and those who are "OUT". People who are "IN" get work from studios, they have agents, managers and can get stuff done. They get meetings, they get paid and people know who they are. People who are "OUT" have day jobs that may or may not be related to what they want to do, but it certainly isn't where they want to be, they'd kill to have an agent or a manager work for them and they don't even care if they get paid for what they create, as long as it gets their name out there. Black and white, right? So, how do you go from the "OUT" to the "IN"? Really, that's what we all want, isn't it? First off, let me just say that the transformation won't happen over night. It can take years, decades, to slowly move from an "OUT" to an "IN". However, I figure once you're an "IN", it's yours to lose. When you're an "OUT", well... you're out. Not to tough to maintain that status. Now, there are lots of ways to get from an "OUT" to an "IN" and most people think the first move is getting an agent or manager to represent them.

Alright, so... I've just finished the first draft of my most recent screenplay. I've sent it off to a few trusted sources, then, after that, what do I do? Well, most screenwriters would write up a query letter to any and all agents that accept query letters and hope that someone gets back to them. Either that, or they'd submit their script to one of those online submission sites... spray and pray. Well, not only have a just finished my script, I'm also continuing to read "The Writer Got Screwed (but didn't have to)" and I just happened to come across an interesting chapter on how to get an agent or manager. In order, this is what they recommend: 1. get a recommendation from someone who knows you. 2. Submit to a screenwriting contest. 3. (and least recommended) submit a query letter to an agent.

I was halfway through my generic query letter to any and all agents when I read that. Then, I thought back... you know, I have had numerous agents and managers read my previous work, granted it was all to no avail, but I did get them to read it. How? Friends, friends of friends and networking. It really is the best way to get your shit read. I had even forgot about some of the people who read my stuff, I'm going to have to go back through some old emails and rediscover them. Really, if you ask anyone that you know who's in the industry, chances are you'll get lucky. "Hey, know any agents? I'd love to get my work in front of someone" Keep asking, it'll work, even if you're asking your Mom's friend, who's cousin works in catering for "The View". The second thing, the screenwriting competitions, is an interesting one. I didn't know it, but if you place in a contest, you'll probably be contacted by some young, aggressive agent. They're always looking for the next big thing and the competitions are a great place for them to search. I've never entered one of those competitions, but I may be with this most recent script.

Anyhow, there's some ideas for fellow members of the "OUT" crowd. Hopefully I'll have an interview ready for you on Friday. If not, I'm sure I can come up with something to blather on about.

Potpourri of Indie Horror Related News

The sun is shining, it's Friday morning and I'm already thinking about happy hour. What to drink tonight (this afternoon)? Mojito? Margarita or two, for sure... Anyhow, if you haven't heard, as far as Hollywood's concerned, Summer starts tonight. Maybe that's why I'm celebrating. "Iron Man 2", the first tent-pole film of the season, opens tonight and it will, unfortunately, absolutely decimate "A Nightmare On Elm Street". It's funny how there are NO other movies opening today, the next biggest release is a documentary from Focus Features called "Babies" and it's on 534 screens. Paltry compared to the 4,380 screens that "IM2" comes out on. That, by the way, is the widest release in history. As for horror, next up is "George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead" on May 28th, which probably won't get that wide of release, and a film that I'm really pumped for, "Splice", which finally hits screens on June 4th. Not much after that... anyhow, I had a lot of interesting stuff come across my inbox this week and I thought I'd share.

First up is a great article from the Raindance Institute called Writing For No Budget Films, by James Burbidge. A lot of what he covers goes without saying, but it's pretty interesting to see it laid out this way. I mean, if you've ever written a script for a film you shot yourself, you'll know this stuff... and you probably learned it the hard way, like most of us did. However, if this is your first crack at writing something that you plan on producing yourself, definitely read this article.

Next, WithoutaBox.com did a spotlight on the 8th Annual SCRIPT P.I.M.P. Screenwriting Competition, where they "search for the best stories by undiscovered writers worldwide". Not only is the competition well organized, they offer some great prizes and they leverage their powerful network of industry professionals to help emerging screenwriters launch successful careers. Even if you don't enter the competition, you should check out their site. They offer some great services to emerging screenwriters and can really get your script out there. We, at Dead Harvey, have used them before and can't complain. Personally, I don't like the name, but PIMP does stand for "pipeline into motion pictures". They could've thought a little harder on that, but whatever...

Remember the interview we did with Mike Schneider about the film "Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated"? Well, I just linked to it there if don't. They sent out a press release and are doing something VERY cool. Their distributor, Wild Eye Releasing, will be "distributing low-end, cheaply packaged versions of Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated to—well, to anyone who wants one." Here's the highlights of the press release: Due to the unpredictable nature of bootlegging, it’s difficult to say with precision where this DVD will surface, but checking sidewalk blankets in big cities and overloaded freebie tables at genre conventions is probably a good place to start. Once fans have their own copy, Wild Eye is encouraging them to upload it to their favorite file-sharing and Torrent sites. And this give-the-people-free-content approach is in perfect keeping with the not-for-profit Creative Commons ethos that launched the NOTLD:R project in the first place. Having said that, if you want to pre-order the authentic version, loaded with extras, click here. Otherwise, search your torrent site of choice!

Lastly, you may remember an interview we did with Belinda Greensmith about a film she was in production on called, "For One Night Only". Well, we are proud to present to you, the official trailer for the film. Enjoy! Have a great weekend everyone!

What Would You Sacrifice For Art?

If you've sent me an email and haven't heard back or are wondering why I haven't posted anything since Monday, it's because it's been a hellacious and stressful week. Now, it's not due to anything that bad. I'm not sick, nor are any family members and I'm not teetering on personal disaster. It's all, as a friend of mine says, 'First World Problems'. Problems that the vast majority of the world would gladly take in trade for their current issues. Anyhow, there's been sleepless nights and lots of over thinking... and in that over thinking, I thought about my career path and how I got to where I am. Much like most of you, I have some friends who border on the poverty line... and I have some friends who live in sprawling mansions. Me? I fall somewhere in between. Every once in a while I think, how did one get to one place and one get to the other? Sure, I know some trust fund guys and people from wealthy families who've never had to worry, but I'll leave them out. They're anomalies. The truth is, when I look at my friends who are on the lower end of the spectrum, they almost always have picked a career that's arts related or is based on following some sort of dream. The other end of the spectrum? Stock brokers, finance guys, accountants, lawyers... and for a lot of them, their careers are a means to an end, when can I retire? Yes, I have friends that love jobs that I would consider menial and yes, I have friends who have earned great success in following their dreams, but they're also anomolies. As for me, as usual, I tried to balance risk and reward and went somewhere in between. So, what's the right thing to do? If you could go back in time, what would you do? What would you tell your kids to do?

You've heard it a thousand times. Find out what you love to do and do it, the money will follow. Well, I got news for you, that doesn't always happen. I knew from a very early age that I loved media, movies in particular. However, as I grew up and learned more, I just fell in love with the whole thing. Movies, TV, Marketing, Advertising, all of it. I love the creative aspects and I love the business aspects. Having said that, when I went to film school, I specialized in screenwriting. I LOVE writing a story. I love creating something, pulling something out of nowhere and making it something tangible. So, I figured that I would stick to media jobs where I could explore all the difference facets of the business, while allowing me the time to write on the side. I could learn the business, while pursuing my passion. Now, on paper, I have a good job and have built up enough of a resume to make me an asset to any media company and I still write on the side. However, I can't help but wonder... what if I had given up one of the two? What if I had said, "Fuck it, I'm taking part time jobs and odd jobs and putting every waking hour into writing..." OR "Fuck it, I'm giving up the writing and I'm going to go balls out on my career"? Then where would I be?

Like I said earlier, it's not that I'm in a bad position. I'm not, I'm doing just fine and don't feel sorry for me. Not by any means. My stress and issues are from problems that a lot of people would long to have. However, in times of stress, my brain starts clicking... especially when I try to sleep. Like any artsy guy, I get over-dramatic, I over-analyze and I think in third person... I'm just wondering if any of this stuff has crossed your mind and what do you think? In any case, I apologize for not having any real new indie-horror related material up over the last few days and I can't promise that I'll get back to regular posting next week, but I'll try.... and only because I love it.

Having An Idea Ripped Off... ever happen to you?

I was thinking about all this, this morning and I was just wondering what you guys thought and wanted to know if there's any horror stories out there...

So, I've been reading "The Writer Got Screwed (but didn't have to)" by Brooke A. Wharton... I just started it, really. The first chapter is called "Why Do My Ideas Always End Up In Someone Elses Script?" - it's all about copyright and protecting yourself. After reading it, it's pretty amazing when you realize the myths that persist around copyright, such as registering your idea with the WGA is an effective copyright (it's not), mailing your script to yourself can prove ownership through the postage dates (it doesn't) or that you can sue someone if they steal your idea (you can't). Truth is, there is absolutely nothing stopping anyone from stealing your idea. This is why you always see movies with similar premises, this is why The Asylum is allowed to make films like "Snakes on a Train", "Pirates of Treasure Island" and "AVH: Alien vs Hunter". You can copyright an original piece of work, but an idea? A premise? A thought? No. There are ways to protect yourself, but an idea is just an idea. Now, having said that...

I was listening to a podcast from The Advertising Show this morning, where they were interviewing a guy named Scott Belsky. He authored a book called "Making Ideas Happen" and founded a company called Behance, which develops products and services for the creative industries. He was talking about how a lot, if not most, of the creative ideas in the world either just die or fizzle out because they're never executed properly. The reason being is that most creative types don't thrive in corporate environments and they hate to actually share their ideas. He says that we need to share, we need to discuss and we need to write these things down and create action steps around them. We need to create an infrastructure that nurtures and develops creativity, not hinders it. So, talk about your ideas, put them out there and find people who want to discuss them. The more you do that, the better your ideas become and the better chance there is that they'll actually be executed.

So, it would seem that these two things are a bit contradictory, right? Well, yeah... one is the left brained, legal thing and the other is the right brained, creative thing. So, what to do? Here's the thing... I've talked with SO many people who won't disclose their ideas and they hold them tight. "This idea is so great, I just can't tell anyone about it". I can't think of the last time that any one of those people actually made anything... The truth is, most people won't steal your idea. The studios only steal successful ideas and if your idea is successful, you're already sipping mai-tai's on the beach, so don't worry about it. However, let's go worst case scenario, you're pitching an idea and you get turned down, only to see your idea on the screen a few years later and the guy you pitched to is involved. Well, there are ways to prevent that from happening (you'll have to read "The Writer Got Screwed"), but it does happen. But, is that a reason to continue to hold your ideas tight? I mean, if you just hold on to all your ideas, they may never get out. If you look at risk vs reward... Personally, I would risk having an idea stolen for the potential reward of furthering my career and having one of my concepts come to fruition. Maybe I haven't been screwed over enough, maybe I think that most people are honest and trustworthy, I don't know. At the end of the day, I'm going to keep throwing my ideas out there in the hopes that one of them catches. If it gets stolen in the meantime, at least I tried.

What do you think? Are there any horror stories out there? Just interested to hear what other think about this...

Screenwriting Resources and My Public Announcement

I'm halfway through writing a screenplay. Well, maybe more like three quarters, I don't know. It's tough to say. The whole thing's written out (except for the second half of the third act, but I know where I'm going there) and I just keep going over it and over it and over it... I've been working on it for a while now, at least six months. Truth be told, if I could do nothing but write all day long, not only would I be done now, I would've been done months ago. Instead, I try to get, on average, an hour a day in. It's not a lot and sometimes that hour accomplishes nothing... and sometimes I don't even get that hour in. Balancing life and a full time job with a passion that I'd like monetize isn't exactly as easy as pie. Then again, I can't make pies. Regardless, the end is near. I started writing this script after I came up with the goal of writing at least one script per year until... something happens. Maybe until one of them sells, there's a big career change in my life or something to that effect. It sounded easy when I came up with it. My main problem is that, usually, I love working on multiple projects at once, but when it comes to writing... I can't do it. It's like trying to make a baby with nine women over one month, as opposed to making a baby with one woman over nine months. Sounds good on paper, but it's not going to work. So, when it comes to writing, I uni-task, no multi-tasking. When other ideas pop in my head, I write them down and put them in a folder on my desktop and forget about them. Then, when I'm done with this one, I'll go through them all, pick another idea and waste a year of my life on that. So, why am I telling you all this? Two reasons. One, I thought I'd share a couple of good resources that I've unearthed and, two, I read somewhere that when you announce your goals publicly, they have a better chance of coming true. There you go, a script a year... I said it.

My new favorite resource for screenwriting is Pilar Alessandra's "On The Page". Pilar is a teacher and lecturer, as well as a consultant. Her students and clients have sold to Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros and Sony and have won lots of prestigious awards. She worked her way up through being a script reader and later a Senior Story Analyst for various studios before getting into the whole teaching game. She started "On The Page" in 2001, started up a writers studio in 2004, created an instructional DVD and presents a weekly podcast. Now, you'd think that with a bio like that, she'd be about as entertaining as an insurance seminar, but she's great. She has guests on all the time and their banter makes you feel like you're in the scene and it makes the whole screenwriting process seem very doable. I highly recommend subscribing to her podcast. Go to her site, OnThePage.tv and read up on her.

The other resource that I recently picked up is a book by Brooke A. Wharton called "The Writer Got Screwed (but didn't have to)". I'm a film school grad, I've taken advanced screenwriting courses and I've read dozens of screenwriting books and countless scripts. However, I've never read a book about the actual business practices of writing for the entertainment industry and that's exactly what this book is. Most books are about HOW to write, this is about what to do AFTER you've written. If you're an aspiring writer, I highly recommend it. Here's a LINK to the books page on Amazon.

So, that's all I have for this week and I'm hoping to actually get a couple of hours of writing in today. I think I have the time. Anyone else out there currently working on a project? Throw something in the comments section. Remember, if you announce it publicly, it has a better chance of coming true. Have a great weekend!

Interview with Gregory Caiafa, the writer and director of "Intruder"

I don't know if you've noticed or not, but we've changed things up a bit. Not much, really, just a slight change of focus. Way back when, when we first started out, we mainly discussed the industry from a macro perspective and were basically writing like a bunch of indie horror fan-boys - not very focused. Then, as we are aspiring and practicing filmmakers and screenwriters ourselves, we decided to focus more on the filmmakers and the indie horror filmmaking process - getting more focused. Now, we've decided that we really should be more like the "resource" that we claim to be. We should be for the indie horror filmmaker and we should ask the questions that you would ask and pass on the news that you want to know. We want to gather the information that you need to get an indie horror film from concept to completion as successfully as possible - a resource for indie filmmakers. So, you may have noticed that slight change in focus in our blog posts, as well as in the questions we ask in our interviews. We want to talk to indie festival directors, to distributors and to those who've made quality films that were successfully taken to market. "Intruder", from Gregory Caiafa, is one of those quality films and he gives us exactly the type of answers we're looking for.

"Intruder" is a slasher film and, for the most part, it follows the classic slasher film rules. Having said that, there are a few things he does that makes his film stand out... most importantly, the film has great characters and it's written extremely well. From the perspective of a fan, the film delivers everything that a slasher film should - a confined space, a psychotic killer, gore and hot girls. From the perspective of a filmmaker, Caiafa delivers a slick looking film that's a great example of what a low-budget slasher film can be. He takes time to develop the characters and the story, while hitting all the marks that the film needs to. We had the pleasure of discussing the film with him and he offers up a great interview, which is right in line with what we're looking for with our renewed focus...

Tell us about your film, “Intruder” and if you don’t mind us asking, what was the budget and how did you secure the financing?

“Intruder” was a “plan b” movie. I had written a tremendous script for a retro-slasher that would have required way more money than the paltry sum I had at the time, so I quickly wrote “Intruder” to exploit the momentum I had created for myself. The budget was in the extremely low five-figures, and was secured through various sources.

One of my favorite aspects of your film was the character of Lila Red. You did a great job of building her character over the course of the film. Did you have her in mind first or the premise in mind first? Maybe you can talk a bit about the writing process.

Lila Red was the spine of the movie. My intention was to create a dark portrait of a disturbed character wrapped in the shell of a slasher film. I’m most pleased with how that aspect landed. Often, the story itself fails to live up to its protagonist, but people tend to find it compelling nonetheless. It’s unconventional for this type of picture, and many fans may be annoyed by it, but it was a conscious choice I made to separate “Intruder” from the plethora of horror flicks released each year.

I also really liked the killer. Very simple, which, for me, made him seem more real. Talk about creating the killer.

The killer was a gimmick character. Killer Clowns tend to sell well on the retail market, so I stuck one in there. I don’t particularly enjoy that detail – though there are parts I like a great deal. The character itself was meant to exemplify the randomness of violence. It’s as disruptive and unfathomable as the afflictions that haunt the main character. He’s the external force of evil in a film where the real enemy is within. I have also found attempts at a back-story for the killer to be fairly pointless in other slasher flicks, so I didn’t bother with one. At the end of the day, the slasher archetype – with very few exceptions – is like a shark: a mindless, brutal force of nature.

You also did a great job in casting. It was well acted and well directed. Talk about casting and your directing style.

I placed an ad in Backstage East and conducted my readings out of a Knights of Columbus in Brooklyn. We read a couple of hundred people before settling on the dozen or so that populate the film. I’m mostly satisfied with my choices, though there is a key role that I feel was miscast. It was the kind of situation where I didn’t have a strong handle on a character and wound up casting someone who was terrible for a part, before replacing them with someone who was only kinda wrong for it.

Intruder represented a crude type of film school for me. My background at the time was in theory, and I felt the only way to get a handle on the craft was to dive right in. I feel I did more wrong than right directorially. Given my druthers I would have rehearsed the actors extensively and been a little more concerned with the feel of a scene as opposed to simply conveying information. My subsequent directing work has been far stronger as a result of the lessons learned throughout “Intruder”.

You had some great gore in the film, too. Which was your favorite effect and how was it done?

Special Effects-wise, my fave is probably the “eye gouge”. Overall, I put more of an emphasis on impact and aftermath than insertion. I think a cerebral approach often works because it forces the audience to fill in the blanks mentally, and it also demands more of you editorially, as you have to make the effect work in the cut. I concede that may be a tough sell for a generation weaned on the excesses of “Hostel” and the whole torture genre.

Tell us a bit about yourself. What are your influences and what got you in to film?

My influences are pretty much everything made in the 1970’s. Lol. I’m drawn more to character-driven material. I couldn’t list all my favorite films on a single webpage! The Godfather Part II, The Godfather, Taxi Driver, M., The Exorcist; the list goes on and on and on…

Film school: yes or no?

I have a BA in Film Theory, and wouldn’t rule anything out in the future education-wise.

When you set out to make “Intruder”, what was the goal? Was it to make money, were you trying to open doors, get into festivals… and did you accomplish what you set out to do?

My professional objective with “Intruder” was pretty straightforward: create a low-budget slasher for the home video market that would get me a grip on the first rung of the film business ladder. To that extent I have succeeded. And I had no conceit coming in as far as criticism or the quality of the film goes. Rip it apart! As long as it gets its day in court, and as long as it isn’t personal. It’s important to note that, regardless of the relative strength or weakness of a piece, if you have some capacity as an artist the right people will recognize it. This helps you get that elusive grip on that slippery rung.

I’m pleased that many seem to enjoy the film, however I’m more encouraged when fellow filmmakers and fans who may dislike the movie take the time to give me kudos for what I did right. It’s part of the birthing process. You come out, make a bunch of bad movies, and then make a brilliant one that gets you famous (fingers crossed… tightly!).

Maybe you could talk a bit about your decision to make a slasher film and what you did to make yours stand out.

I made a slasher because it’s a niche market that never seems to go away. There have been dry spells here and there, but for the most part, the slasher flick has been a staple of the horror genre since the mid-1970’s. My thinking was that the film would enjoy a slightly longer shelf life if I made it in that milieu. On the downside, a niche market is just that: a small sample of the entire fan base. Your appeal is limited. And the audience can often be unforgiving. Many slasher fans have a ridiculously specific idea about what such a film should be and will excoriate anything that deviates from that paradigm. I went on Netflix and Adam Green’s “Hatchet” – arguably the best slasher film of the post-modern era – has an average of only 2.8 stars out of five. I mean seriously!

Talk about the process of finding distribution. If you could pass on one piece of advice to other indie filmmakers on distribution, what would that be?

As far as distribution is concerned, I sent out an extremely rough draft of the film to a bunch of companies, and got a few offers. More importantly though, I got feedback, which enabled me to make a few adjustments/ reshoots before resubmitting it to various sales agents and DVD companies. Most distributors are broke and it’s highly unlikely you’ll get anything resembling an advance, so what you’re looking for is someone with a track record of making profits from similar work. If they book and promote it well the film could turn over some green.

Honestly, though, my advice to other filmmakers would be to self-distribute. I’m extremely pleased that “Intruder” got into most major online retailers and rental services, however if you’re a newbie with no pedigree, even the “pay-to-play” companies are going to drag their asses when it comes to promoting and booking your film. At the end of the process you’re typically exhausted and just want to get it out there, but you’re going to wind up doing most of the leg work anyway, so you might as well hold onto a bigger piece of the wholesale pie. A credible producer advised me to self-distribute in the very beginning and I regret not heeding his words.

Talk about the indie horror scene, where do you think it is now and where do you see it going?

The indie horror scene is a quirky beast. It’s always a crapshoot. Films are cheaper to make now as technology has democratized the art form. But consequently the market is so glutted that it’s virtually impossible to make any kind of real money out of the gate. Financial considerations are paramount, as money equals momentum in the film biz. But the demand for films is down overall since the internet killed the video star. People are watching youtube and checking out films through pirate sites (shame!). As a result, the current generation has been primed for both short attention spans and free entertainment. Not good for the indie filmmaker. Not good at all. As far as artistic issues go, well, there will always be an audience for a truly scary film, and scary films can be made for any amount of money. “Paranormal Activity” made more than any one of the “Saw” films, and the movie’s budget was about half of what a typical Saw trap costs to pull off. Granted, that’s an anomaly, but it still demonstrates that fine work can be done with meager resources. If you add up all those factors, I think that as young filmmakers make more and more films and hone their craft vocationally, we’ll experience a new vogue of truly frightening independent horror movies in the years to come. It may be a vogue driven more by passion than profit; but that’s fine. If need be, I’d be perfectly happy selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door, provided I could still make a movie a year and get it seen by other people.

Where can people find out more about “Intruder” or get their hands on a copy?

“Intruder” can be purchased through Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, most Bakers and Taylor online retailers, and many Mom-n-Pop shops as well. It can also be rented through netflix. Here's a LINK to its Amazon page.

What’s next for you? A sequel? The film IS left open for one…

I don’t think I’ll be making a sequel. I wrote a treatment for one, and assembled a small production to make it happen. However, that was intended more as a device to keep the first film fresh. I was almost a year out from locking picture without a distributor and figured a packaged duo of films would sell better at the film markets. That plan got indefinitely postponed when I settled on the companies that put the film out on DVD and VOD.

The next step is to make another film. I have a script that’s ready to be lensed and anticipate getting the ball rolling now that “Intruder” has been put to bed. Wish me luck!

One Way To Make Sure Your Film Sucks

Screenwriting's been on my mind lately and it's not just because I'm right in the middle of writing a couple of things right now. Well, I'm waiting for feedback on one, right in the middle of writing another, but I digress... Screenwriting's been on my mind because I think that a lot of indie filmmakers don't actually give screenwriting the time it duly requires. If you're writing something to enter into a screenwriting contest or you're planning on trying to sell a script on spec, you better have written something that stands out. Right off the bat, what's the concept? Is it a new twist on an old topic? Is it new all together? Is it interesting? Will people care? Then, wrap a story around the concept... Are the characters interesting? Do they have motivation? What's the goal? What's driving them to that goal? You have to keep asking yourself these questions through every step and every stage. If it fails on any of them, rework it and fix it. If you can't rework it or fix it. Sorry, throw it out and start from scratch. Why? Because if you don't, it'll get thrown out anyhow. You won't win that contest. Your spec script won't sell. Now, you're nodding your head, thinking... yeah, I get it. I'm a screenwriter, I do all that. What's your point? Well, my point isn't necessarily for you. I'm talking to you indie filmmakers that write a script with intent to shoot it yourself. A lot of you guys tend to worry more about the filmmaking process than the screenwriting process and guess what happens when you negate that whole rigorous screenwriting process? Your films sucks.

I'm not going to tell you what makes a good story, how to write a script that will sell or what elements need to be in your screenplay. If I knew the answers to any of those questions, I'd have won a few contests, sold a few screenplays and I'd be drunk, writing this post from the patio of my home in the hills. I'm not there yet, but when I am... I'll be sure to go back and edit this post. Now, what I am telling you is that you need to go through the proper screenwriting process, even if you're making a micro-budget indie in your backyard for pocket change. I've seen way too many indie films where the killer is a cardboard cutout from a thousand other indie films or the characters are dull and lack any originality, there's no twists or turns, there's no sense of why things are even happening or it's just a rehash of some other film. Look, I understand that filmmaking itself is a bitch. Personally, I find it WAY more arduous than the writing process. That's goes without mentioning having to come up with make-up, effects, props and sets... then there's the editing process, which, for the record, I actually really enjoy. My point is, they're all difficult. They all take time. However, all that hard work in post and on set will be lost if you just fluff over your script. You need to write a good script. Otherwise, regardless of how talented you are in the actual filmmaking process, your film is going to blow. So, please, please, please... for the sake of indie horror, really drag yourself over the coals when it comes to the screenwriting process. You need to have that foundation if your film is going to do anything.

Now, the best part about the world we live in today is that information is everywhere. Bless this internet thing... That's not to take away from books, I have lots of books on screenwriting and there's a few that I would definitely recommend: "The Screenwriter's Workbook" by Syd Field and "Screenwriting: The Art, Craft, and Business of Film and Television Writing" by Richard Walter both come to mind as 'must reads'. I just dug up "How Not to Write a Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make" by Denny Martin Flinn and, I've gotta say, it's pretty good. However, that's not my point. My point is, even if you don't want to buy books, there's lots of websites and podcasts that you can listen to that are free. My favorite website is "The Business of Show Institute", sign up for their newsletter and you'll get lots of free advice and all that. Also, even though it hasn't been updated in over a year, there's a podcast called "Sam and Jim Go To Hollywood" and there's lots of good stuff in there.

I know there's lots of information out there and I'm always looking for new sites, books, podcasts, etc... so, if you know of any on the art of screenwriting, please post a comment. Now, gotta get back to writing...

This Time, It's Different... Or is it?

So, Hollywood's in a bit of a financial slump, which is really just a reflection of the monetary woes of the entire nation. Couple that with a war that's lingering in people's minds and you've got a nation in a state of flux. Filmmakers are responding with films based in the harsh truths of war, stories surrounding real people in real scenarios, unsettling looks at city life and stories that reflect the disenfranchisement brought on by the excess of the past twenty odd years. Some of these films will go on to financial success and a lot of them will gain huge critical success, but as for the audience, they head out in droves to see disaster films, blockbusters and horror films. Any of this sound familiar? Am I talking about what's going on right now? I could be, but I'm actually talking about the 70's.

We all know that Hollywood churns out films for a profit, it's just business. It's what they do. However, I don't care what you say, film is an art. There's 'artists' involved in every film you see. Until bean counters can write and lawyers can storyboard, there will always be artists involved in every film. And artists always use their canvas, in some way, as a reflection or interpretation of what's going on in the world. Not only that, what audiences want to see will change with the economic and social climate. There's a reason that films like "The Hurt Locker" are getting critical acclaim today... it's the same reason that "M*A*S*H" did well in 1970. People want to see the harsh truths of war, 80's style action probably wouldn't do well right now. Having said that, people love their fantasy films, as they did in the 70's. Why? Escapism, the idea that there's something else out there, something better - "Star Wars", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Superman"... or was that "Avatar", "Transformers" and "Dark Knight"? Disaster Movies scare the crap out of people because, well... they want something else besides the economy and war to be scared of - 1970's: "The Poseidon Adventure", "Airport" and "Earthquake". 2000's - "2012", "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Knowing". What about our favorite genre? Well, horror becomes less about fantasy and more about true, gory depictions of what humans are capable of. 1970's - "Halloween", "The Hills Have Eyes" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". 2000's - "Halloween", "The Hills Have Eyes" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"...

My point here is that film becomes a reflection of what's going on in society and audiences will respond, based on that. Right now, a decade into the new millennium, we're remarkably similar to where we were in the 70's. We're recently off the 'great recession', there's a war on everyones minds and there's massive movement towards 'green living' and a sustainable lifestyle. Excuse me if that doesn't sounds a lot like oil shocks and stagflation, the Vietnam and Korean wars and the hippy movement. So, if you're wondering where film is going and what you should be writing and making right now, look no further than film history. Sure, just like stocks, past performance can't gauge the future, but... it can give you a good idea of what's going on and maybe it'll give you an idea or two.

So, what does this mean for you, the filmmaker or writer? Well, here's my thoughts... if you're a horror writer, you should be sticking to gritty, realistic films. Think "I Spit On Your Grave", "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" or "Last House on the Left". Of course, if you're into the sci-fi or adventure stuff, you better go way out there and have a high level concept that easily saleable and explained in one sentence. Other thoughts... I think you need to keep your characters down to earth, realistic and somewhat depressed... think early Woody Allen or Travis Bickle. I think there's going to be a rash of gritty crime films coming, too. Like "Godfather" or "Scarface", update those and you may be on to something. Escapism will be a constant theme for sci-fi and blockbusters... and I think there's going to be a rise in monster movies and realistic alien movies. I may be wrong, I may be right, who knows? At absolute worst, I hope I give you something to think about... and maybe an idea or two.

Have a great weekend, see you next week!

Excessive gore, boobie hand grenades and well defined characters. A look at "Samurai Princess"

So, full disclosure on a couple things here... distributors send us films to review and this one, an Asian gore flick called "Samurai Princess", was sent to me from Well Go USA. Two, it's an Asian splatter flick and I f'ing love Asian splatter flicks. You see, usually what happens is, a distributor or filmmaker sends us a film, then we watch it and discuss it with the filmmaker and then you get those interviews that we try to regularly post. However, in the case of Kengo Kaji's "Samurai Princess", that's not going to happen. For starters, he probably lives in Hong Kong and couldn't care less to talk with us... But not only that, I'm just going to assume that there would be a bit of language barrier involved. Anyhow, the film stars a hot Asian girl by the name of Aino Kishi and it's written and directed by the afore mentioned Kengo Kaji, who's the guy who wrote "Tokyo Gore Police". If you're interested, "Tokyo Gore Police" ranks up there with "Machine Girl", as one of the best Asian films of the year... for me, anyhow.

As for "Samurai Princess", it takes place in an alternate version of a feudal Japan where people live together with highly developed mechanical dolls called mecha's... and these mecha's are killing people. Then, after a gang of rapists and murderers, well... rapes and murders a group of girls, a mad scientist goes through the carnage and creates the "Samurai Princess" from all the guts and limbs. He equips her with eleven types of built in weapons, infuses her with the souls of eleven of her fallen sisters and, shortly thereafter, she takes everyone on and kicks some serious ass. Look, the film's awesome... if you're in to excessive, over-the-top gore and can handle crazy Asian plot-lines, you should check it out. Also, I was half drunk while watching it, but it did get me thinking...

I think that it goes without saying that what Asian gore films are doing is world's apart from what North American films are doing, but I was trying to put my finger on defining what that difference is and I think I figured it out... you see, North American films are concept based. By that, I mean, the film sprouts from a generalized idea, like... this is a film based around the fact that the world may end in 2012. This is a film that deals with the gritty underground world of street racing. A hitmans daughter gets kidnapped. There's an alien invasion... this theory, of course, excludes adaptations from books and things like that, but, if you think about it, adapting a book, comic or other intellectual property is, in fact, a "concept" in itself... this film is based on the hit series of "Twilight" books... Regardless, my point is that North American films concentrate on creating a believable world in which characters can exist... and those characters and storylines become secondary. I think the Asians do it the other way... and that 'other way' is worth a look.

If you look at most Asian films, especially the gore films, surprisingly, they're very character based. In "Samurai Princess", for example, she's EXTREMELY well defined as a character... her and her sisters were raped and murdered and she was put back together as a machine, infused with the souls of her sisters, and now she's on a mission to avenge their deaths. Of course, you get the typical flash-backs, etc., as well. Now, the point is that the universe that exists around them is secondary. In fact, at times, it doesn't really make sense... and that's cool. Looking back at some of my favorite Asian films, such as "Ichi the Killer", "Machine Girl", "Tokyo Gore Police", "Suicide Club" and "Old Boy", to name a few... that idea stays true. The characters and how they interact is extremely well defined and that's where the film sprouts from, their surroundings and the world they exist in is secondary... and, sometimes, doesn't make much sense.

I'm not saying that one's better than the other. In fact, I think that a fusion of the two is probably ideal. I love high concept films and films that are based on general ideas, but I think that well defined characters and how they fit in to the plot and sub-plots is extremely important. North American horror and sci-fi filmmakers tend to spend too much time on the concept, whether it be the killer itself, the monster or the world that they're creating, and just throw in a group of teenagers as the characters and create typical storylines around them. So, when you're watching films like "Samurai Princess", enjoy the mutant mecha's, boobie hand grenades and the disgustingly excessive amount of gore... but, while you're watching those blood fountains, take a second to see how well those characters are defined and how they interact with each other, maybe you can take something away.

So, that's all we've got for this week... have a great weekend and we'll see you on Monday!

Red Sox... Yankees... and The American Film Market. Trust me, it's sorta related.

I'm a passionate guy... and I mean that in the way that I get really caught up in what I believe in. When it comes to film, I've been in so many arguments about what's good, what's bad and why, that my more "mainstream" friends were almost afraid to ask my opinion on movies. I'll defend indie horror tooth and nail and I usually talk shit about big-budget, pablum for the masses, Hollywood crap. Really, I can feel adrenaline release when someone talks shit or laughs about the films that I clock so many hours watching. Now, I've come to realize that I need to let these things go and I've been a far more relaxed person of late... I mean, at the end of the day, what you like... you like. What I like... I like and if you don't like it, oh well. However, I'm also a sports fan. This is a tougher thing to be passionate about. In film, one filmmaker versus another filmmaker is totally subjective. However, in sports, one team succeeds at anothers peril. It's just the nature of sport. A winner produces a loser. So, in full disclosure, I'm a baseball fan and loyal member of Red Sox Nation. Everyone that I know, knows that. So, when the Red Sox nemesis and arch-rival, The Yankees, won the World Series a few days ago... I heard about it. A lot. And people didn't hold back. It's been a couple days and I'm finally settling down, but I'm still replying to scathing emails and posts on my Facebook wall... however, I'm going to drop it now and look forward to next season... and I do still have an NFL season to worry about in the meantime.

Anyhow, my spare time over the last few days have been dedicated to replying to friends and family that are Yankees fans. (My parents live right outside of New York) I just replied to someone a few moments ago and thought, that's it. It's over. I'm not going to retort anymore... Then, I stared at this blank post. Before just closing it up and forgetting about it, I decided to peruse some sites that I frequent and I realized that AFM is coming up. It got my mind off baseball and got me thinking. Now, for those of you that don't know about AFM, I'll cut and paste some information that I made up last year:

The American Film Market, or AFM as they like to call it, is coming up this November 4 - 11 (those are updated, 2009 dates) in Santa Monica and I thought I'd just tell you about it. It's an annual event that attracts over 8,000 industry people for eight days. Participants from over 70 countries converge in Santa Monica to buy and sell distribution rights for completed films or to gain financing for projects in various stages of production. It's not a festival, it's more like a massive tradeshow. If you attend, you'll be in the company of acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, festival directors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, press and an array of other people who provide services to the industry. Long and short, unbelievable networking and a wicked opportunity... however, that, of course, comes with a cost. A one day pass costs $275, a pass for the full eight days costs $895. That's a lot of money. Personally, I'd go down to Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel and/or the Le Merigot Beach Hotel, where it's all held, and hang out in nearby bars and restaurants... probably bars. You're sure to get people coming in for a beer or lunch. Save the $275 and spend it on drinking. It's a no-lose proposition.

When it comes to The Red Sox, I'm always reading books, going through websites and keeping up on all the current events. (Twitter is awesome when deadlines approach, by the way) Look, I'm a fanatic. Now, I do the same thing with indie horror because, well... not only do I aspire to be a professional, I'm also a fanatic. Not only do I read up on the indie horror sites, read books on the industry and watch as much as I can, I also look forward to Monday, when I look through all the new releases that are coming out that week... I also look forward to seeing what's screening at festivals, as well as seeing what people are trying to sell. And so should you. If you're even mildly interested in screenwriting or filmmaking, you need to keep an eye on what other people are doing and what's selling. Now, what's cool about AFM is, you can look through all the films that are on the market, as well as what's screening, and read about their status. Here's a link to their online film catalogue. So, go through the AFM site and look through that catalogue, it'll give you great insight into what the market's like and what other people are up to. It's great research.

So, there you go, enjoy... and have a great weekend. We'll be back on Monday. Go Packers!

What I Learned From "ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction"

Well, I thought I was going to have an interview for you today... I sent out a whole bunch of them a couple days ago and I thought I'd get at least one back to share. Nope. But that's cool... because I got an email from the After Dark Film Festival, announcing that they've picked up their fourth film for Horrorfest 4, "ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction". I guess the film would be best described as a political zomedy and it's probably the first entry into that very specific sub-genre. However, at the end of the day, it's a zombie movie. Probably the oldest and most tired horror genre out there, right? Before we judge, let's check out the plot... ZMD is about a conservative island community that's under attack by the living dead and the rag-tag band of rebels, led by Frida, an Iranian college student, suspected of being an Iraqi terrorist, and Tom, a gay businessman who has returned to town with his partner to come out to his mother, that try to turn the tide and push the invading hoards of the undead back. Hmmm... interesting characters. Could make for a good story. Now, I'm intrigued...

You see, when I read the title of the press release, "After Dark Films Eats Up The New Horror Comedy, "ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction", I thought... Man alive, when's the zombie genre going to slow down? Isn't this getting a little old? But, when you watch the trailer and read about the characters, you realize that the movie is fresh. From a political and social perspective, it's extremely fresh. So, really, here's a formula for you: tired genre + fresh story = something new and exciting. Now, I want to juxtapose that with a film that I watched yesterday, which will remain nameless... we'll call it "Film X". The logline and premise for "Film X" were both exciting. It seemed very new, it was a great idea and extremely intriguing. Long and short, I was pumped to check it out. However, a few minutes into the film, I realized that they just wrapped that idea around a very tired and old storyline. The characters were basic cardboard cutouts and I've seen them a million times. So, in this case: fresh genre + tired story = something old and boring.

I don't know why, but I think this is a concept that a lot of filmmakers forget. I don't care how new your core idea is... I don't even care if you've created a new genre. Your characters need to interact, they need to have a story and they can't just be a rehash of something that we've seen before. If it is, your audience is going to lose interest in a hurry. Think about it, why have there been new entries into the zombie genre, year after year, that continue to entertain? The backdrop never changes! The dead come back to life to eat the living... I got news for you, that's not fresh! However, the storylines are. The genre and/or concept will always be the backdrop and the characters and story needs to be equally, if not more intriguing. A lot of films have such great core ideas, but they flop like a dead carp when it comes to the actual plotline and characters. So, please, if you've got a good idea, put as much time and effort into creating interesting characters and plotlines as you put into that backdrop. At the end of the day, the concept is just that - the backdrop. The characters, and how they interact, need to drive the story.

Anyhow, here's the trailer for "ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction". Check it out and see what I mean.

A Dash of Perspective, Sprinkled with Procrastination

Right now, I'm on a farm... in the middle of nowhere. I'm not going to get in to why I'm in the middle of nowhere on a farm, but I'm here all week, back home on Sunday. During the day out here, it's just me... and the horse, the goats, the chickens, hens, dogs and, what appears to be a mild gopher problem. Now, if you're wondering, I'm not originally from farm country, so I'm not visiting my parents or anything like that. This is very foreign to me. I'm a city guy and my parents are city people. Regardless, here I am, alone... in a 100 year old farm house. My plan is to get a lot of work done while I'm down here, plus get caught up on some indie horror... Another goal is to get started on a new screenplay, as I've got the time and I can only procrastinate out here for so long. So, I'm laying the groundwork, drafting some character sketches and working on a treatment... but being out here got me thinking.

Now, I'm not really in the middle of nowhere, I'm around 45 minutes to an hour South of Portland. So, it's not like I needed to be choppered in here or anything. The GPS in my car found it without any issue and I'm 20 minutes from a Target. Really, this is what the bulk of the country is like - mass, sprawling suburbia. Land of strip malls. What I find really interesting about out here is, they really only consume mass media... if it's not on a major network TV or playing at the local movie theater, it's independent, 'out there' or niche. So, you can imagine the looks on people's faces here when I talk about micro-cinema horror. They laugh... and I mean, they laugh and point, like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears.

For a lot of us, who cares? If you're making a small, micro-cinema horror film, you're not catering to these people. Success may be getting in to an indie horror festival, selling a few DVD's, breaking into the indie scene and making enough money to make another film. For most indie filmmakers, that's the case and all you need to do is to reach a small sub-sect of a big market. Don't cater to the masses, make the film you want. However, what if you're a screenwriter? Truth is, as a screenwriter, technically, what you create is not a finished product. You're coming up with an idea and trying to sell that idea to someone, someone who will either buy it and make it, or give you the money to make it... or something in between. Long and short, when you're writing, you're trying to sell someone on an idea.

The way I look at it, in life, you're always selling, really. You're selling yourself to an employer, you're selling a product, you're selling your script, you're selling an idea, you're selling your movie, whatever... we're always selling, whether you know it or not. In sales, they say that the most important trait to have is empathy... and it's something that doesn't come easy to most people, but should come easy to filmmakers and writers. What's empathy? Empathy, which literally translates as 'in feeling', is the capability to share and understand another's emotions and feelings. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes". Why's that important? Well, think about it, if you're making a film for just you and your buddies to watch, great. Make something that just you guys like. However, if you're trying to reach a bigger audience, you need to think about what they'd like. What they'd ALL like. As they say, people don't like to be sold, but they do like to buy. So, create something that they like and they'll buy it... and you need empathy to create something that they'll like.

Anyhow, those are the thoughts that are swirling in my head, as I sit here in this 100 year old farmhouse, flushing out my ideas. Do I go balls out and write some fucked up story that only a small group of people will actually enjoy or do I write something that caters to the masses? Chances are, now, I'll go somewhere in between... I'd like it to be something that would have some sort of mass appeal, but I can't do PG-13 Hollywood pablum for the masses, it's just not my style. What to do? I don't know, maybe I'll just sit back and catch up on some indie horror and think about it some more... who says it's tough to procrastinate out here?

Setting Goals and Getting Shit Done... and Slamdance

If you've tried to reach out to me or sent me an email over the last few weeks, you may not have heard back... and, quite frankly, it's because I'm swamped. I'll get to it, I promise. I'm heading out of town next week and I anticipate a lot of time to catch up on shit, but that's beside the point. Lately, my 'day job' has been insane and, as far as Dead Harvey is concerned, we've been working on a few projects, plus I want to make sure that I at least attempt to keep the site fresh... One of our projects, as some of you may know, was born from our "Dead Harvey TV" idea. It's moving along, but its transformed into something completely different than what we had originally conceived. That's not to say it's bad, I really like where it's going and hopefully something comes of it. I know we're pretty excited about it. On top of that, Brad is finishing up a wicked looking documentary right now I'm starting work on a new feature script. Me, I'm really into the ideas and concepts, producing and writing and I've had a few ideas rolling around in my head, but then this one just really solidified for me and now I want to get it out there. My goal for this one will be to enter it into the screenwriting festivals and competitions and see how it does... and, of course, that will give me a deadline to work towards.

Now, I want to write about this because it's really the only thing that works for me and, well, if it helps bring one other indie project to fruition, it's worth writing about. Quite frankly, if I don't have a goal or deadline, I'm not getting it done. Ideas will never get past the 'notes' phase. However, if I set a goal and create a deadline, then work my way backwards, giving myself milestones to reach, I tend to get things done. For me, the goal can't be just "write a screenplay", it has to be something like "write a screenplay to enter into Slamdance's screenwriting competition". Then, I have a date to work towards and I can say, "well, let's pump out an outline by this point, a treatment by here, let's break out scenes next, then let's have a rough draft by February". It's the same as school. If a professor or teacher said, "You have to write two papers this year, but I'll give you a choice - I'll either give you specific deadlines OR you just have to hand them to me at the end of the semester". Guess what? If you picked the latter, you'd do a way shittier job and, possibly, not even get them done. Don't believe me? They did a study on it... it's outlined in the book, "Predictably Irrational". I hate to break it to you, but at the end of the day, we work better and more efficiently when we set goals and deadlines.

So, what about those goals and deadlines? I guess you could just draw a line in the sand and say, "this is when my film will be done by". However, it's probably a lot easier to just pick an existing goal. Lucky for you, there's a shit-ton out there. They're called film festivals and they all proudly display their deadlines. Your first step should be to research the festivals and competitions. Read about the past winners and finalists... watch the films that did well or read about the scripts that were finalists. Pick a festival or competition that suits you, then find out their deadlines and work out a plan to have your film or screenplay ready for that deadline. You want to research them? We have a list of screenwriting competitions and film festivals made up, it's all on the left there. It hasn't been updated in a while, but the links still work... and I'll get to that updating soon, really.

Now, just to throw something out there, as far as objectives and goals go, there's no better than Slamdance. I mention it because the deadline for this years festival, which takes place in January, is rapidly approaching. Next years screenwriting competition is going to be my goal. I figure a year is plenty of time to take a screenplay from concept to polished completion. Anyhow, Slamdance is the King of the indies and it's helped many films find distribution, including this years success story, "Paranormal Activity". If you need some motivation, check out the interview that we did with the Executive Director of Slamdance, Drea Clark. It's from a year ago, but it was a great interview and it's well worth the read. You can find it here.

Have a great weekend and we'll talk to you next week!

Preparation + Opportunity = Luck ...and how it worked out for Jeff Palmer's "The Sleeping Deep"

As we've mentioned before, there's no real magic formula to success in this business. I mean, that's as far as we know... but that's easily said by a couple of hard working idiots who are on the outside, looking in. If there is some secret formula and it's NOT found at the bottom of a chilled can of Budweiser, please shoot us an email: ted@deadharvey.com and brad@deadharvey.com. We'll keep it to ourselves, we swear.

Mystery methods aside, there are definitely things that you can do that will ensure a better chance of getting lucky. But you have to remember that, as they say, luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. So, you better be prepared and you better put yourself in a position to find opportunities. How do you do that? Well, read, listen and watch as many blogs, books, podcasts, radio shows, TV shows and films on the industry as you can. Always be learning and always, always, always ask questions when you find yourself in a position to ask questions. That will put you on the path to being prepared, knowledge is everything. Opportunities? They're far and few between, especially for those on the outside of the industry, looking in... which is most of us. Chances are, you're not going to run into too many studio executives, managers or agents in your daily life and if you do, how would you know who they are? Not only that, they don't really want to talk to you, anyhow. So, where are those opportunities? Well, the low hanging fruit is in the festivals and conferences.

I recently received an email about Jeff Palmer's "The Sleeping Deep" and I'd like to share it with you. They say this goes live tomorrow, so I'm not sure if I'm breaking news here or not, but whatever... Do you remember Jeff Palmer? Click here and check out the interview that we did with him almost a year ago. He had just won the top prize at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival for his script, "The Sleeping Deep". It's a great interview on the writing process: how he entered the festival and what happened after the fact. Since we interviewed him, it looks like the script went on to get produced. I'm not exactly sure how or who the players are and I may reach out and try to do a follow up interview, but the point is - he put himself in a position to get an opportunity. He entered, attended and won the festival. Then, that presented him with more opportunities and that's how this all works. Keep putting yourself in those kinds of positions and build and leverage each one to find more and more opportunities and make sure you're prepared to jump on them when they come your way.

So, what are you doing to put yourself in a position to get new opportunities? Are you doing all you can? Check out the trailer for the film and remember that this was just an idea in a fledgling screenwriters head not too long ago...

The Sleeping Deep - Official Promotional Teaser from FlickerPictures on Vimeo.