FADE IN: blog

The Strike Is Over

2008-02-14T10:40:00.003-05:00

With a giant thank you to SAG. Without their support the strike would not be over now or be as successful.

Many people think the deal was bad. Many people think the deal was good. It must've been equitable to both sends.

Someday soon I hope to benefit from the gains made in this contract and from the sacrifice made by Hollywood writers.

Thank you.

Nominations for the 80th Annual Academy Awards

2008-01-22T20:54:00.000-05:00

Performance by an actor in a leading role

George Clooney in “Michael Clayton”
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood”
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah”
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild”
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton”

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Julie Christie in “Away from Her”
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose”
Laura Linney in “The Savages”
Ellen Page in “Juno"

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There”
Ruby Dee in “American Gangster”
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement”
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton”

Best animated feature

“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
“Surf's Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction

“American Gangster”
Art Direction: Arthur Max
Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement”
Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass”
Art Direction: Dennis Gassner
Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti
Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood”
Art Direction: Jack Fisk
Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography

“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” Roger Deakins
“Atonement” Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design

“Across the Universe” Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” Julian Schnabel
“Juno” Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature

“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Representational Pictures Production
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group)
A Documentary Group Production
Richard E. Robbins
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company)
A Dog Eat Dog Films Production
Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm)
An X-Ray Production
Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
“War/Dance” (THINKFilm)
A Shine Global and Fine Films Production
Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short

“Freeheld”
A Lieutenant Films Production
Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
“La Corona (The Crown)”
A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production
Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
“Salim Baba”
A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production
Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
“Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild)
A Daylight Factory Production
James Longley

Achievement in film editing

“The Bourne Ultimatum” Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film

“Beaufort” A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production
Israel
“The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production
Austria
“Katyń” An Akson Studio Production
Poland
“Mongol” A Eurasia Film Production
Kazakhstan
“12” A Three T Production
Russia

Achievement in makeup

“La Vie en Rose” Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
“Norbit” Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in visual effects

“The Golden Compass”Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
“Transformers” Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Original score

“Atonement” Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma” Marco Beltrami

Original song

“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
Nominees to be determined
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Achievement in sound editing

“The Bourne Ultimatum” Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
“No Country for Old Men”Skip Lievsay
“Ratatouille” Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
“There Will Be Blood” Matthew Wood
“Transformers” Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing

“The Bourne Ultimatum” Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
“No Country for Old Men” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
“Ratatouille” Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
“3:10 to Yuma” Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
“Transformers” Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Best animated short

“I Met the Walrus”
A Kids & Explosions Production
Josh Raskin
“Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada)
A National Film Board of Canada Production
Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films)
A BUF Compagnie Production
Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia)
A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production
Alexander Petrov
“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films)
A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production
Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live-action short

“At Night”
A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production
Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia)
A Frame by Frame Italia Production
Andrea Jublin
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” (Premium Films)
A Karé Production
Philippe Pollet-Villard
“Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films)
An Another Dimension of an Idea Production
Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
“The Tonto Woman”
A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production
Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Best adapted screenplay

“Atonement” Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” Written by Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
“No Country for Old Men” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Best original screenplay

“Juno” Written by Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” Written by Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” Written by Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” Screenplay by Brad Bird
Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” Written by Tamara Jenkins

Motion picture of the year

“Atonement” (Focus Features)
A Working Title Production|
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
"Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production
Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
A Clayton Productions, LLC Production
Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production
JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best wishes to all of the nominees!

Huckabee Will Cross Picket Line to Appear on Leno

2008-01-02T16:14:00.000-05:00

I don't know where you stand in the political spectrum, but this is more than enough reason to avoid this particular Republican candidate.

Unaware that he'd be crossing picket lines? Thought the union worked out a special deal with the show? I can understand that Huckabee isn't into the day-to-day minutiae of the WGA strike, but he, and especially his handlers, know the difference between Jay Leno and David Letterman.

This is an incredibly dumb mistake in a campaign that is fueled only by his professed love of God and his resentment for Mit Romney.

The Brotherhood of Evil Studio Executives

2007-12-20T09:23:00.001-05:00

Jane Espenson

2007-12-13T09:59:00.000-05:00

While public opinion is still very much in favor of the WGA, there are always dissenting voices. Some reasonable. Some concerned. And some unconcerned and making anti-labor statements that suggest the little rich kids (writers) should get back to work for the big rich kids (AMPTP) and shut up. Everyone is, of course, entitled to their opinion. They should, however, base those opinions on fact and not hearsay and conjecture.

As for the idea that the writers hit the lines with ease or without care for others collaterally affected by their actions, it is even more callous than the actions it claims to criticize in the first place. A look at any of the blogs listed to the right show the WGA to be filled with conscientious professionals who not only value the work they do but also the toll this strike is exacting in all communities.

Jane Espenson writes the following in her excellent Jane in Progress blog:

But know that we're not dancing as lightly as we seem to be. We're cold. We're tired. Our feet hurt. We're concerned about the future -- the future of our shows, the future of our careers, the future of the business, the future of the whole darn American middle-class, and the future of any personal sense of security we might have built up. We're concerned about our relationship with executives whom we like, who aren't really part of the mogularchy. And we're greatly concerned about those people who find themselves affected by the strike although they never even got a vote in this action. We may look like we're laughing, but we're serious.

If you support the WGA then you probably already know these words to be true. If you don't or are sitting on the fence, then read these words and understand the sincerity with which they were written.

Thanks, Jane.

Why is the WGA Negotiating with the AMPTP?

2007-12-07T09:43:00.000-05:00

In The Huffington Post, Robert J. Elisberg wrote a great article:Writers Guild Strike Primer: Part 8, The Big Question.

In it he asks, "Why is it the AMPTP who is negotiating with the Writers Guild of America???" This isn't an idle question. It gets right to the heart of the matter and one of the biggest problems in the entertainment industry today: media consolidation. It is not good for what we read, hear, and watch. And, in this case, it is downright illegal.

Illegal? How so? One word: collusions. The AMPTP represents around 350 member film companies that are normally competitors with each other. They compete for stars. They compete for scripts. They compete for box office. They compete for everything. And yet, every three years they come together as business partners and give the AMPTP the authority to negotiate contracts with the WGA, SAG, the DGA, the Teamsters, IATSE, and every other union that represents entertainment workers.

Here is an excellent scenario from the article:

Imagine the auto industry for a moment.

The AMPTP is like if General Motors, Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, Toyota, Honda and Nissan all got together, decided the terms they would offer employees, and then negotiated as a single body against one isolated division of U.S. auto workers at a time. Divide and conquer. Take it or leave it.

It's not that it would be massively illegal. It's that it would be unconscionable. No one in the aghast free world would stand for it.

No one would stand for it is right. But yet we stand for it in the entertainment industry. Entertainment workers might not produce hard goods like cars and steel, but they deserve the simple protections that anti-trust laws give to those working in such industries.

Disney, Sony, General Electric, Time-Warner, and News Corp. are not only negotiating in bad faith. They are negotiating illegally, and it must stop. Perhaps a call to your local Congress Critter will help.

Speechless

2007-12-03T12:50:00.000-05:00

These have been running for a couple of weeks and I look forward to each new episode.

Check out the entire series from Speechless Hollywood on YouTube.

United Hollywood: Pencils2MediaMoguls

2007-11-21T09:39:00.000-05:00

You've probably already seen it, but in case you haven't, please stop by the United Hollywood blog and check out Pencils2MediaMoguls.

It's a great idea for a great cause: to show the conglomerates how much support there is for the writers. As of yesterday over 200,000 pencils had been sent.

From the Mouths of Babes ... or Ruthless Robber Barons

2007-11-13T09:17:00.000-05:00

Another great video that sums up what the strike is all about ...

The best is the trumpeting Les Moonves saying "we will get paid no matter what." I hope Les is right. And if he is, shouldn't the writers be able to say the same thing? Shouldn't they get paid no matter? Les? Rupert? Bueller? Anyone?

This is a BIG Deal

2007-11-08T09:43:00.000-05:00

Screenwriter Howard Michael Gould makes the case for how huge the Internet residual is for members of the WGA.

He is sensible, calm, and understands that this issue cannot be a point concession. There must be no compromise. The producers have already started to monetize their Internet distribution of shows and movies. It is clearly their wish to reap rewards from it without sharing with those who created the content in the first place. It is unconscionable to exclude writers from that pie.

The $.04 rate for DVDs was a criminal concession 20 years ago. Giving ground now and getting NOTHING for Internet distribution would make that mistake look like sunshine and happiness.

Hollywood writers rush to finish scripts - Yahoo! News

2007-10-30T13:28:00.000-04:00

Every three years the press goes crazy with these types of stories. I imagine every writer in Hollywood, working or not, feverishly staring at their Macs wondering "What the hell do I do now? The deadline is tomorrow!" Maybe TV writers, but certainly not everyone. It does make good filler or the entertainment beat reporter though.

In other news, Craig Mazin of The Artful Writer, reports that if there is a writer's strike, the Teamsters Local 399 will honor (sort of) the picket lines. They can't hit the streets themselves, since they still have an active contract, but as individuals they have the freedom support the WGA.

The Cinematic Geography of Los Angeles

2007-09-18T14:28:00.000-04:00

Movie geeks and Angelinos (including former ones like me) will love this.

How many movies could you guess when the locations came up? Obviously there could be 1000's of other locations, but this was pretty good.

Here's a CNN piece on its creator Blair Erickson.

johnaugust.com » The big Fox deal

2007-08-16T13:31:00.000-04:00

Several A-list screenwriters have made a big and potentially lucrative deal with Fox. In exchange for first-look rights to their next original screenplays the studio is offering a reduced upfront payment against their full quote plus first-dollar gross participation. Additionally, the writers will also be producers who will get a stake in creative decisions such as cast and director.

At first glance, this is a sweetheart deal. Congratulations!

But I question why the studio is expanding the writer's participation in the filmmaking process after so many years of nearly shutting them out. I think it's because they will use this and similar deals as a way to get out of being held to the MBA in current and future negotiations with the WGA.

Despite my misgivings, congratulations, again! Slainte!

The Artful Writer: The Economics of Screenwriting

2007-07-27T12:40:00.000-04:00

Craig Mazin of The Artful Writer put together just about the best explanation of how screenwriters get paid that I've read. It sheds light on a lot of grey areas with practical examples and real scenarios. Check it out.

Studios call for study of writer residuals system - Los Angeles Times

2007-07-12T10:39:00.000-04:00

And as in any good campaign to stall progress (think Iraq progress reports) they want to have a study to determine whether and how they will screw writers!

Hollywood Executives Call for End to Residual Payments - New York Times

2007-07-12T10:20:00.000-04:00

Their greed exceeds even their own grasp!

As if getting paid for work - think free rewrites - isn't hard enough, producers and studios want to remove residual payments from writers. Of course, this is not the first time that they've expressed remorse at having to actually pay people other than themselves, but broaching this particular subject this far away from the start date of negotiations (Oct. 31) shows that they are ready to play hardball. Strike or no strike.

Their position is a way to head off discussions for extending residual pay for writers into online and interactive markets - a key position for the WGA this year. So to head off discussion producers are saying, "Not only are we NOT going to pay residuals for online markets, we are NOT going to pay residuals on any other markets either."

Every year the entertainment industry rakes in billions of dollars. Every year the entertainment industry cries poverty and looks for ways to screw writers out of their well-deserved compensation.

This New York Times article requires a free registration.

10 Screenwriters to Watch

2007-06-25T10:47:00.000-04:00

This is an interesting series of articles that Variety is running on 10 screenwriters to watch for at your local cineplex. They are good stories full of anecdotes and thoughts on "making it."

Read them and know that it was only hard work and clicking keyboards that got these writers into this feature series.

A Working Writer's View of the Upcoming Negotiations

2007-05-25T22:50:00.000-04:00

I highly recommend Julie's blog (see right column) to anyone just starting out in the business. Great thoughts. Great wit.

This post gives her perspective as a neophyte tyro trying to finish her current project and be sure there is one waiting in the wings, all from the female perspective - something sorely lacking in this biz. Check out the link.

Writers focus on Web pay issues

2007-05-21T13:12:00.000-04:00

As expected Web rights and residuals are the biggest issues in upcoming labor talks between writers and producers.

Also as expected, the studios and producers are claiming poverty in the face of writers demanding their fair share of profits generated from their labors.

Frankly, the entire work-for-hire scenario in Hollywood needs to be scrapped and writers paid properly for their work, especially on spec work. They should be able to keep their copyrights, just like novel and short story writers, and make money off of their words for as long as their is an audience.

For assignments, up front fees should be smaller, fewer writers should be used on any given project, and credited writers should be able to participate in gross revenues just like producers, directors and A-list talent.

Today's system is nothing more than serfdom. But until the higher paid writers stand up for everyone in the WGA, nothing will happen. And with the obvious "I got mine. You get your's" mentally that may be a while.

Whose Stories Are We Telling?

2007-05-15T22:34:00.000-04:00

The WGA West has released its annual report on hiring trends in Hollywood. And there's good news for you older writers out there. Writers ag 41-50 are getting paid more than other age groups. Woot!

No More Vomit Drafts!

2007-05-10T22:55:00.000-04:00

David Anaxagoras has lengthy post talking about problematic first drafts. What he calls vomit drafts. You know the draft you create by sitting down at the keyboard and literally vomitting it out without regard for quality. The purpose is just to get it out so that you can fix the inevitable structure and story problems in drafts 2, 3, etc.

David says he has abandoned the vomit draft in favor a lengthy process that starts with a logline and ends with, what he proposes, a higher quality first draft. Along the way you go through a 2-pager, outlines, and possibly a scriptment.

I applaud the tought, but I think that reduces the act of writing to nothing more than technical proficiency, while leaving little room for inspiration and whimsy. I know that David would disagree. I'm sure he has no desire to remove creativity for the process, but I think that that is exactly what could happen with his process.

I believe in a strong outline to do battle with that blank screen. And I'm not sure you need much more than that to get started. If your first draft is so bad that you can't stand to face the painful revision process, then I'm not sure adding steps and intermediate forms will do much to reduce the stench.

Some writers research so much they never getting around to writing anything. It seems that some screenwriters run the risk of writing everything but screenplays.

NPR : On the Set with Garry Shandling

2007-05-07T22:37:00.000-04:00

This is a great interview that I hear on NPR today. I've always been a big, big fan of Garry's. If you're not; you should be. Watching It's Garry Shandling's Show or Larry Sanders will give you a crash course in how to write TV comedy.

The interview talks about Garry's career, from its beginning write specs for Sanford & Son (3 of which were actually aired!) to his latest project Not Just the Best of "The Larry Sanders Show". The bits with Alec Baldwin are very insightful in regards to the late unpleasantness.

Anyway, check it out.

Mel Shavelson Misses Being Young

2007-05-01T17:24:00.000-04:00

The L.A. Times Big Picture segment has a great piece on writer/director Mel Shavelson. It's full of great advice and inside info on some of the biggest stars in Hollywood history like Carey Grant, Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, and Paul Newman. Here's Mel's thoughts on working with actors:

"There's a difference between being the performer and being outside, watching the performer do the performance. It just makes it easier for you to judge what's going on. It's not that you're trying to control the actor. You're just trying to do what you can to help get the best performance."

There's no school like the old school!

Producers prepare for possible strike

2007-05-01T14:41:00.000-04:00

Hollywood producers are seeking to make their shows strike-proof. From the L.A. Times.

Unlike 2001, there doesn't seem to be a huge stockpiling going on, but producers and executives are using such talk in attempt to scare the WGA into a better bargaining positions as both sides prepare for contract negotiations beginning in July.

A True Master Has Gone

2006-09-21T14:47:00.000-04:00

Sven Nykvist, 83, a Master of Light in Films, Dies - New York Times (free registration required)

Having started out as a cinematographer at AFI, Sven was a hero to me. He, James Wong Howe, Greg Toland, Vilmos Zsigmond, Michael Ballhaus, and Gordon Willis made up my cannon of painters of light.

Sven's elegance, I think, is what set him apart from others. Every frame portrayed an almost Dutch Master-like quality, giving the actors an elegance and dignity that surely made their performances more believable.

In so many of his films, you could just grab a random frame and hang it on your wall as art. There's an understated majestic quality that elevates everything that his lens captued. It's no wonder that he was a favorite of everyone from Bergman to Allen to Jewison. All directors who clearly understand the visual elments to story telling.

Wherever he is now, I'm sure the light is just right.