John August

Big Fish

Writing an album in two weeks

Big Fish, Writing Process

In an interview with Billboard, producer Patrick Leonard talks about [writing “Like a Prayer” with Madonna](http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/5944767/madonna-producer-patrick-leonard-talks-like-a-prayer-at-25).

> I like to start really early in the day. She would come in about 11 and I would have the musical idea on whatever piece of gear I was using. I think it was just a Yamaha sequencer or something at the time. […]

> I would just put the track, the chord changes, some kind of drum beat, bass line — something simple — and say, “here’s the idea, here’s what I have for the day.” She would listen, then we would talk a little bit. Oftentimes I’d say, “here’s the verse, and here’s the chorus,” and she’d say, “no, it’s the other way around, switch ’em.” So I’d switch ’em. This thing is an hour old, it’s not etched in stone.

> Then she would just start writing. She’d start writing lyrics and oftentimes there was an implied melody. She would start with that and deviate from it. Or if there was nothing but a chord change, she’d make up a melody. But, a lot of the time in my writing there’s a melody implied or I even have something in mind. But she certainly doesn’t need that.

> She would write the lyrics in an hour, the same amount of time it took me to write the music (laughs). And then she’d sing it. We’d do some harmonies, she’d sing some harmony parts, and usually by three or four in the afternoon, she was gone.

> That’s how “Like a Prayer” was written, and then the next day we wrote “Cherish,” and then the next day we wrote “Dear Jessie.” And that’s how it was. We wrote the album in less than two weeks.

This recap demonstrates something I’ve often found to be true: a large part of making art is showing up to work.

As a writer, yes, sometimes you get flashes of inspiration and genius, but if you sit around waiting for them, you’re unlikely to get much accomplished. Most screenplays are written a scene at a time.

One of the great things about writing with a partner is the ability to hold each other accountable. When working with Andrew Lippa on Big Fish, we had limited days — sometimes hours — to get stuff accomplished. So we buckled down and tackled items one-at-a-time. This song. This moment. This transition.

That’s how you finish things.

Old Projects

Big Fish, Dead Projects, Go, Projects, Television

Maybe I’m hyper-aware because yesterday was the 15th anniversary of Go, but I’m encountering all sorts of references to past projects this week.

In THR’s interview with Susanne Daniels, she cites my first series:

There was this very good pilot that Dick Wolf did for me when I was at WB, which was called D.C. I distinctly remember he called me after he had sent me the pilot and asked me what I thought of it. The very first thing I said was, “Why didn’t you shoot this one particular scene that was in the script that I loved?”

Fourteen years later, my heart still flutters to learn she thought it was very good!

People and projects circle back into your life. I’m not crazy about the idea of power rankings, but The Wire’s recap on the cast of Go illustrates just how special that group continues to be. I keep up with a surprising number of those actors, and write them into everything I possibly can.

Yesterday in the halls at Disney, I bumped into Ricky Strauss, who was integral to getting both Go and Big Fish happening at Columbia. He told a colleague, “John wrote Fantasy Island for us.”

Wait, of everything I wrote, you single out Fantasy Island?

In every screenwriter’s career, there are so many scripts that never become part of your filmography. But they still matter. People remember them.

And some projects never die. A few weeks ago, I got a call about a rewrite on a project. As I spoke with the executive, I dug through my hard drive to find my notes from the last time I pitched on the movie.

My notes were dated October 6, 1996.

They are still trying to make the movie.

Big Fish, Jimmy Buffet, and seeing shows on a budget

Big Fish, Broadway, Follow Up

Let’s start with the **TL;DR version**:

The producers have agreed to restore my SCRIPT discount code for Big Fish on Broadway, but only through December 22nd — and they might pull the offer at any time. Tickets are $85/$67 (versus $150/$85) at the box office, or on [Ticketmaster](http://www.ticketmaster.com/Big-Fish-a-New-Broadway-Musical-tickets/artist/1859083) for the same price plus a service charge.

Longer version:

Jimmy Buffett is one of the producers of Big Fish. He has legions of [Parrothead](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrothead) followers, but since they’re not the classic audience for a Broadway musical, he asked for a discount code (JIMMY) he could send his fans as an extra incentive.

I love Jimmy. I love this idea.

But I too have followers I want to come see the show, especially students and over-educated/under-employed aspiring writers. My people came in surprisingly large numbers during previews, and I have a hunch many of them may be headed to the East Coast for the holidays. So I asked for my SCRIPT code back and got it.

It’s not quite the deal it was during the [first weeks of previews](http://johnaugust.com/2013/big-fish-broadway-unlock), but it’s almost certainly the lowest price you’re going to find for a guaranteed seat.

###It’s not a competition but yeah sort of it is

Every week, we get a report on the discount codes used, and it would honestly kind of thrill me to out-earn Jimmy Buffett.

And it’s a game you can play, too, because just like booking flights and hotels, you can manipulate the system to get a much better seat than you’d expect.

Big Fish sells out most performances, but here are some suggestions for getting a great seat. Most of these apply to any Broadway show:

1. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights generally have the best availability.
2. The first five rows of the mezzanine are terrific — arguably the best seats in the house. In the Neil Simon, the front mezzanine is better than rear orchestra.
3. Split up. You’re more likely to find two amazing single seats.
4. Talk to Louie or Eric at the box office. Use the code. Drop my name. These guys are awesome, and want you to have a good seat.
5. In the hours — sometimes the minutes — before a show, a great seat may become available because the producers release tickets they were holding back for media. So even if Ticketmaster says there are no tickets, it’s worth a visit to the box office.

For some performances, we sell tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square. These are almost always seats at the back of the mezzanine, and availability is constantly changing. TKTS is great, but you’ll get a better seat by coming to the theater itself.

###Seeing shows for less

There are two ways to see a Broadway show for less than list price, but both of them involve some trade-offs.

**Student Rush.** If you’re a college student with more time than money, it may be worth waiting in line for student rush. First check out the [Rush Report](http://www.broadwayspotted.com/rush-report-october-27-2013/) to gauge when you’d need to be there and how likely you are to get a ticket. Big Fish is one of the more difficult shows to rush:

> Weekdays: 15 people in line by 9:20 AM. 26 tickets available. Weekends: 37 people in line by 9:15 AM. 1st person in line at 6:30 AM. 26 tickets available.

Student rush tickets are $27. These seats are generally at the edges of the orchestra, and are sometimes partially obstructed. But you’ll often be very close to the action, and if you’re a theater student, you may learn something extra just from seeing it so close-up. I’ve talked to some college students who’ve already seen Big Fish three times because of student rush.

**Standing Room Only.** At the back of the orchestra, there’s a railing with numbered standing room only spaces. At performances where absolutely every seat is sold, the theater will sell those spots. I’m not even sure of the price, but it’s more than student rush.

This is where I stand to watch the show most nights. I love it — but I work at a standing desk, so your mileage may vary.

There’s no guarantee you’re going to be able to get SRO tickets on any given night. That’s why I strongly recommend that if you want to see Big Fish, you use the SCRIPT code either at the box office or Ticketmaster as soon as you can. Heading into the holidays, supply will get constrained. I really want you to see Big Fish, and I want you to have a good seat.

The challenge of filming inside a theater

Big Fish, Broadway

The [new 30-second spot](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k6mdCcYpcQ&feature=youtu.be) for Big Fish features a lot of footage from the show. Filming it was much more complicated than I would have guessed, so I thought a rundown of the process would be interesting for both film and theater folk.

Because I know my way around cameras and film sets, one might assume I had my hands all over this commercial. I didn’t. I was strictly an observer.

The production team, led by David Kane, shot footage for the spot from 1pm to 4pm on Friday, September 13th, in lieu of normal rehearsal. (We had a show that night at 8pm.)

Actors wore their normal costumes, but no microphones — we didn’t want to see those little dots on foreheads, or microphone packs. The editors would be using separately-recorded audio anyway, and cutting is so quick that lip-sync isn’t a high priority.

Theater always plays in a wide shot. Video needs closeups, which means you have to rethink some things.

First, theatrical makeup is more extreme than movie makeup. Everything needed to be notched back.

Second, close-ups often require different lighting. Fortunately, modern theatrical lighting is amazing. On demand, the lighting team could bring up or dial down lights on any section of the stage. Between that and color correction, the team was able to create something that felt better than most Broadway production footage you see.

Broadway theaters are not camera-friendly. The stage is too high and too far away, plus all those rows of seats get in the way. So a huge help was the jib arm, the giant swooping apparatus the team constructed on a platform in the middle of the auditorium. With it, you can sell the feeling of meeting Karl the Giant (at :04) and keep the camera moving during ensemble dance numbers. (You can see a lot more of it in the [longer video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIdOx3xJBU8&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLNQf8FoGA4_LOB-UQNMZBoLNErx51rfb-) that plays out front of the Neil Simon Theatre.)

In the end, shooting a commercial for a Broadway show feels like a weird hybrid of theater and film. You’re trying to capture and edit something that by its very nature wants to be live and raw. But you also want audiences to come see your show, and commercials are a key way to do that.