John August

QandA

9/11 – the movie

QandA

Do you foresee a market for some kind of human interest
story with September 11 as a backdrop, or will this "day of infamy" be
completely off limits?

–Robert Baker

As many people have pointed out, both Pearl Harbor and the Titanic were real-life
tragedies before they became blockbusters, so never say never. But I’d be surprised
if any major movie deals directly with the World Trade Center attack, at least
in the near future.

The biggest difference between what happened in New York and what happened
in Pearl Harbor or on the Titanic is that every American actually saw the planes
smashing into the towers. Because of television, we all watched as the buildings
fell, and knew we were watching thousands of people die in front of us. We’re
all traumatized witnesses. Personally, I can’t imagine trying to re-create
that horror, since it’s so indelibly marked on all of us.

You’re more likely to see movies that deal with the perimeter of the event:
either inspirational stories about people coping with loss, or dramas focusing
on the hijackers’ lives within the U.S. I’m certain there are interesting and
worthy movies to make that involve some of the events of September 11. The
challenge is to find compelling stories that don’t simply milk the tragedy.

Using copyrighted material in a short

QandA, Rights and Copyright

I’m a screenwriting student at The University of Texas. Several
classmates of mine have obtained representation, and gone on to sell scripts,
by writing
shorts that other classmates made and showed at festivals and special alumni
screenings. I’ve written and made one of my own, but it includes a total of
twenty seconds of copyrighted footage taken from three major motion pictures.
I don’t have permission to use any of the footage, but I don’t want to cut
it unless I have absolutely no other choice. If I have no intention to sell
my short, or win money at festivals, and only intend it to get someone to look
at my other work, do I have to cut the 20 seconds?

–Scott

First off, I’m a big believer in copyright, without which the American film
industry could never exist. Copyright law allows companies to feel secure investing
millions of dollars in movies, knowing that if someone tries to steal the finished
product, the U.S. and other governments will step in.

That said, just do it. Especially with a short film, the consequences for
trampling someone else’s copyright are not that dire. Since you’re a student,
and probably broke, it’s not like 20th Century Fox is going to sue you for
your life’s savings.

A friend of mine wrote the short film ERNEST
AND BERTRAM, which was a very
funny version of THE CHILDREN’S HOUR, featuring Ernie and Bert from Sesame
Street. Children’s Television Workshop (CTW), the makers of Sesame Street,
went ballistic, largely because it portrayed Ernie and Bert as closeted gay
lovers.

Long story short, the film played at a bunch of film festivals, and got good
notice for the filmmakers, who eventually had to sign something with CTW that
promised the movie would never be publicly exhibited again. Which is a shame,
because it’s very good. But everyone knew going in that there was a risk, and
it was definitely worth it.

Copyright-wise, that’s pretty much the worst-case scenario for a short film.
So I say try it. Just make the best short you can.

Is film school necessary?

Education, QandA

Is it necessary to have a film-related degree/course in order
to break into screenwriting?

–A. Plange

No. The truth is, no great screenplay has ever sat unsold because the writer
didn’t go through an acclaimed program. No writer has ever been denied the
Oscar because he didn’t finish his master’s thesis.

Frankly, a film degree isn’t a prerequisite for any job in Hollywood, from
actor to gaffer to studio chief. The Industry is one of the last bastions of
apprenticeship, perseverence and pure dumb luck. All that really matters is
whether you can do the job.

That said, I personally went through USC Film School. And before I get dropped
from the alumni rolls, let me retrench a bit and give two reasons why film
school might be right for some people, and why it was right for me.

First, there’s a hell of lot to learn about filmmaking, and while you can
learn the specifics of any trade on-the-job, film school can give you a broader
perpective. In making GO, I was surprised to find myself dealing with budgets,
lenses, preview screenings and TV spots. It went way beyond my "writer" function,
but the breadth of my education in film school paid off.

Second, film school is a place to make contact with peers, experts and people
who can ultimately hire you. I got my first job, my first agent, and my first
paid writing assignment all with the help of friends I made in film school.
To this day I work with many of them. This isn’t cheesy, gross let’s-swap-business-cards "networking," but
simple reality. You tend to help people you like, and people with whom you
share a common experience. The "boot camp" aspect of film school
can be important.

Is film school right for you? It depends on your circumstances. If you’re
still an undergrad, by all means switch to film. Follow your bliss. If you’re
recently out of college, a two-or-three-year grad program could be great. Pretend
it’s an MBA or law school. Beyond that, the benefits are harder to calculate.
Because the truth is, it’s not an MBA or law school. There’s no guarantee you’re
going to make any money. You might be better off learning film along the way.
Take a course or two, read a lot of books, go to seminars when you can.

And most of all, if you want to write, just write. One hundred and twenty
pages of quality screenplay are worth more than one page of diploma.

Similar plotlines

QandA, Story and Plot

I’m a great fan of movies.
After so many years of watching films I decided to write something. One day
I conceived a subject. I developed it in my mind until I decided to write
it down. But, unfortunately or fortunately, I saw VANILLA
SKY. My main story
and character is very much like that film. Even some details are exactly
the same. What would you do if you watched a movie that is very close to
the
story you’re writing?

–Anonymous

A philosopher who’s studied up on
the nascent field of memetics might argue that people don’t actually think of
ideas. The ideas are already out there, competing with each other to get people
to think them.

In the case of your movie, there was an idea floating out there about a guy
who was experiencing life strangely because, it turned out, he was already
dead and dreaming. This idea came to you. Unfortunately, it also came to Cameron
Crowe, in the form of the Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar’s movie ABRE
LOS OJOS.

Back in college, I kept thinking about doing a movie or TV series about an
asteroid headed for Earth. I wasn’t the first person to come across this idea.
I opened the trades one day to find that ARMAGEDDON and DEEP
IMPACT were suddenly
racing into production. I was a little bummed, but reassured to think that
at least I was capable of a commercial idea.

If you’re halfway through a script and you see a movie that is almost exactly
your story, then you have fair reason to moan and cry and tear your hair out.
In general, though, writers who abandon one of their projects because "it
was too much like" whatever, were just looking for an easy excuse to stop
writing it.