STANDING OVATION IS THE GOAL

First things first; gratz to all the nominees!

oscar.go.com/nominations/nominees

Extremely happy with all of this.

I am a little surprised by a couple of nomination in a couple of categories, but won't begrudge any.  Some of these are going to be extremely difficult to predict winners.

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 Static scenes. Ugh - the big “tell” that indicates to any producer that you are a rank amateur. What causes them? How do you fix them? A few simple techniques can make all the difference.

 The preponderance of scenes that take place at a sit-down restaurant that I see in student scripts is amazing. The inexperienced writer rarely grasps that putting two people at a table and having them talk is probably the most static, unimaginative setting you can put on paper (unless you write it like the orgasm scene in “When Harry Met Sally”.)

 How to make those scenes less static using several techniques is simple.

 Superheroes = Role Models

The Logline Formula

Last night one of my clients e-mailed me asking what a logline should look like.  I replied with Jule Selbo's formula.  It's from her book Gardner's Guide to Screenplay From Idea to Successful Script.  

I've taught from her book at the college for 3 years (hurry up and write a book, Mark!).  Jule is a great mentor and friend.  She's written for Lucas, Romero, and Disney so I think her formula is pretty legit.  

BLOG 4

F*@&!

I really want to cuss up a storm, but I think swearing is largely unattractive, so F*@&!  it is.

Why Begins With W

www.TimeCapsuleMurders.com 

Check out our new book, rapidly climbing the Amazon hit parade, both domestically and internationally. A scintillating satire on murder, mystery and the mayhem of being a teenager.

I was certainly predisposed to want to like "Human Target," Fox's latest brain-candy entry. I have been a fan of the lead actor, Mark Valley, since he headed up the superb and under-appreciated, quickly canceled "Keen Eddie" which also stared a funny and terminally-cute Sienna Miller.

Valley has massive comedic chops (and a marvelous deadpan delivery) and was and is physically able to deliver on any action moment the "Keen Eddie" producers threw at him. These talents are in ample display in "Human Target" the adventures of a private bodyguard who appears to be just that much better than everyone else in the business. We know this because his first client won't take "no" for an

 Let me tell the story about this guy I met back in film school.  I remember sitting in the hallway of the film department waiting to talk to one of my professors.  There was a cute girl sitting in the hall waiting for a professor as well.  I already had a girlfriend at the time so I paid her no attention and continued drawing in my sketchbook.  Suddenly this guy comes into the hallway. 

He must have been single since he struck up conversation with the cute girl almost immediately.  His voice became loud, trying really hard to impress her,  so I overheard him say his dream was to work at Marvel Productions.  Something clicked inside my mind.

Today I received another rejection slip. Yes, one more to add to the ever-growing putrid compost heap that is my writing career. But do I let this get me down? Do I let this rejection trample on what is left of what little self-esteem I have left? Do I let this insult by some rat-faced scrote who wouldn’t know magnificent word prowess if it walked up and introduced itself get me down? You’re damn right I do! It sucks! Big time!

But then I am kidding?

Spoiler alert:  I don't do spoiler alerts.

Yes, it's a somewhat tired story and yes, it's puerile in spots, and yes, it's also an amazing, astoundingly gorgeous film with so much visual detail that it made me tired just watching it. Wow and yawn. How does one filmmaker make me do both on such a regular basis?

The 3D? Meh - I can't do 3D properly because of a childhood cataract and lens removal when I was in my 20's - but even so, there were indeed a few floating objects and once I ducked because a flying ember came at me. I can only imagine what it must be like to the "normal-eyed" person.

The aliens were serviceable enough both culturally and story-wise - the female "lead" was terrific and believable - the rest less so. Lots of "types" in this film, character-wise. Stereotypes, unfortunately, not archetypes. The corrupt company man, the corrupt ex-Marine colonel, the hard-bitten scientist with the soft marshmallow interior...just one right after the other peeled off a stack of film types. But perhaps the worst of the lot was the male lead.