John August

Archives for 2009

The Visitor

Los Angeles, Meta, Projects, The Nines, Video

On Wednesday morning, we came into the kitchen to find an orange slice on the stove and a tomato that seemed to have exploded. This was obviously troubling.

My initial thought was that one of us had sleepwalked, and acted out some rage issue against fruit. I realize this is a strange explanation to reach for first — maybe I’m the culprit! — but it may explain why I’m a screenwriter.

The much more reasonable instinct would be to assume we had some sort of visitor. A mouse, a rat, a squirrel. Or possibly a raccoon — our housesitter had mentioned seeing one over the holiday. We set a peanut butter-baited mousetrap on the counter, and sure enough, at 4:50 a.m. Thursday I heard it snap. There was no critter under the bar, however.

I know through friends that a raccoon has to be handled differently than a mere mouse or rat, so I was determined to figure out which kind of varmint we had. I set my MacBook’s built-in camera to shoot one frame of video per second, and left the lights dimmed in the kitchen. I also re-baited the trap, this time with hummus.

This morning, I came downstairs and saw with disappointment that the trap hadn’t popped. But scrubbing through the video, I got my answer.
rat

Fans of The Nines may recognize the kitchen, and the accuracy of Margaret’s “they live in the palm trees” line.

**UPDATE:** Conventional rat trap worked. It snapped four minutes after leaving the room. Cleanup was bloodless, but still more unsettling than I anticipated. Rat Guy comes Monday to figure out how it got in.

**FURTHER UPDATE:** [Here](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2009/the-rat-is-dead).

WEHT Sophocles?

Hive Mind, Screenwriting Software

A reader from Belgium writes:

questionmarkI am a dedicated user of Sophocles. Indeed, my new film, its breakdown, call sheets, budget and whatnot have been generated with that software, which I find the best, most complete, film-minded and reliable that I have ever used (and I used or tried about everything that is out there since I started working with computers, which is way back in 1981). The only drawback for a Belgian writing in Dutch or French is that it has no foreign language spelling checkers, but that is a minor hindrance compared to its many well thought out features.

However, some weeks ago, after an annoying crash, I needed to do a major overhaul of my PC on which the software is installed and suddenly the Sophocles version that I use (which is the most recent Beta version) turned out to be “non activated” – meaning that one can do everything except print whatever one needs. Activating the software presents no problem usually: you contact the maker, and a special code is mailed to you instantly, which you have then to type into a “script” page.

Then disaster struck: every trace of the Sophocles home page (www.sophocles.net) had disappeared from the surface of the Internet. And if a few days ago there were still some urls in that direction mentioned on search engines like Google (even if they delivered only web page not found error messages), now even those remnants have vanished. In semi-desperation (semi, because my producer-partner’s copy is still in perfect running order on his pc, so it’s not a matter of a Beta version being discontinued), I tried first to mail to the software support address where the messages came back as undeliverable. Then I tried to contact the maker himself, Tim Seehan, whose mail address I happen to have. There the messages were not returned, but not answered either. However, judging there are no posts as yet about this almost science-fiction like disappearance, and the recent remnants on the Net, this vanishing act must be quite recent.

Now my question: do you or one of your readers perhaps have any idea of what is going on? I would be most grateful to know this, because the software is truly a pleasure to use – on all levels of filmmaking.

— Harry Kümel

I poked around and found a [few](http://cdeemer2007.blogspot.com/2008/04/sophocles-again.html) [discussions](http://messageboard.donedealpro.com/boards/showthread.php?t=39349&page=7), but no definitive answers. Anyone out there know the scoop?

Sophocles is/was a screenwriting program for the PC that had additional features some users loved. (I tried it out using BootCamp for the Mac, but never found a need for it.) There are alternatives, but it’s always distressing when a program you rely on goes AWOL.

It’s also a good argument for open file formats.

The Remnants, in full

Projects, Remnants, Video, Web series

I showed a snippet [back in October](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2008/the-remnants), but here is the full web pilot I shot during the strike. If you [click through to Vimeo](http://www.vimeo.com/2755105), you can see it in full-screen HD. ((Click the zoom-out arrows in the bottom right corner. It’s only HD if you’re watching it on Vimeo, not the embedded version.))

For the past few months, the pilot has been shopped around to advertisers and other possible sponsors, but given the economy and my schedule, it’s looking unlikely that a confluence of money and time will lead us to shoot more. So I wanted to let people see it, particularly because it features some actors who should be on more lists. Including [Ze Frank](http://zefrank.com), who is now an Angeleno.

The web series business model has proved tough for everyone to figure out. Yes, Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible was fantastic, but even that couldn’t get the ad sponsors it should have. Selling through iTunes is an option for someone with Whedon’s name brand, but I don’t see it working for The Remnants, even given the recognizability of some of the cast members.

I retained rights to do other things with The Remnants, so I certainly may come back to it at some point in some other form.

The proposed Seth Rogan/Jay Baruchel comedy [Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehNFPShWTsg) seems kind of similar, but the What Actually Happened is a lot different. Had Chas and Norman successfully gotten their Wii hooked up and powered, they would have realized many of their assumptions about the end of civilization were wrong.

Why is joining the WGA mandatory?

Film Industry, QandA, WGA

questionmarkWhy is it mandatory that you have to join the WGA when you sell a script? Why can’t you just go on about doing your own thing?

— Ethan Gentzsch

Because if it weren’t mandatory, studios would pressure writers not to join.

That seems like too simple of an answer, but it makes sense if you think it through. Let’s say a studio reads a script it wants to buy. The writer isn’t a member of the WGA. If the writer weren’t required to join the union, the studio could save a lot of money and hassle.

* It could pay less than minimums.
* It wouldn’t have to pay into the health plan.
* It wouldn’t have to pay into the pension plan.
* It wouldn’t have to pay residuals.
* It could decide which name would be listed for “written by.”

Given these advantages, a studio would certainly prefer if the writer weren’t WGA, and could make purchase of the script contingent on the writer agreeing not to join the WGA. ((I’m certain this is illegal under labor law, but we’re playing hypotheticals here.))

If it were optional, the studio would make sure you didn’t take that option. So making it mandatory protects incoming writers as much as established writers.

[Ted Elliott](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254645/) and [Craig Mazin](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563301/) are always the guys with the most thorough answers regarding anything involving entertainment guild law, so I won’t be surprised if they answer this same question better over at [Artful Writer](http://artfulwriter.com). But I’m here and handy, so I can least talk you through the exceptions.

There are some studios and production companies that are not signatories to the WGA. They can only hire non-WGA writers. I know some fledgling writers who’ve written entire scripts for $5,000 — which might be okay given their needs and goals. Likewise, feature animation is not typically covered by the guild, including the animated projects I’ve written (Titan A.E. and Corpse Bride). As a WGA writer, I’m allowed to work on them, but I don’t get any of the benefits of the guild, such as residuals.

While you can’t choose whether to join the WGA, a screenwriter can choose to effectively quit the guild by going fi-core. “Financial Core” status means you’re freed of most of the obligations of membership, but also lose your vote, and frankly the goodwill of many fellow writers. It’s very rare someone chooses to go fi-core, and usually involves hyphenates (writer-directors, writer-producers) who chafe against rules or decisions.

As far as “doing your own thing,” it’s important to understand that writers can choose to work completely outside the system. Many of the films at Sundance are written by writers with no connection to Hollywood or the WGA. The Guild has indie contracts that can offer some protections, but they’re optional. Likewise, international productions are largely outside the auspices of guilds and unions. But in my experience, when I meet international screenwriters they’re always wishing they could have an organization with the clout of the WGA. It’s very hard for a single screenwriter to achieve meaningful leverage with employers.