Los Angeles Or Bust » Festivals

James Lipton Was Wrong / Archetypes

Aadip — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:00:17 +0000

I’m watching Inside The Actor’s Studio with James Lipton interviewing John
Cusack. JL referred to BEING JOHN MALKOVICH as a “Very high concept film.”
I think he’s dead wrong, since John Cusack had asked WMA for the most unproduceable
script they had and it took 4 years to make. Love the film, but doesn’t sound
like a high concept to me.

A poignant moment of this episode occurred when a student asked if Mr. Cusack
ever got blocked. He answered by saying all actors go through that, but explained
that he learned later in his career about using Jungian archetypes and embracing
your shadow self–the self that embodies the things we want to deny about ourselves.
Personally, I use this method to devise characters, especially my antagonists,
false mentors, etc.

There are four books that specifically address this idea, which I think are
of great benefit to us as writers: Meeting The Shadow (exerpts
from various disciplines regarding the shadow side of our subconscious), The
Power of the Dark Side (using classic archetypes to create new characters,
namely villains), Psychology
for Writers (general psych studies for writers
who haven’t had therapy, j/k) and Archetypes
for Writers (more specific work in archetypes).
You don’t necessarily need all of them, but all are helpful in
tapping the subconscious. We have these for sale on our website.

Oh, the little interview with Heather and me made it to the official AFF website.

Walter Dalton at Cannes

Aadip — Wed, 21 May 2008 23:34:57 +0000

A little birdie told me that past guest, Walter Dalton, is at the Cannes Film
Festival with his lovely wife. The last two films he acting in are being shown
there. I can’t wait to chat with him when he gets back. Soooo coool.

Speaking
of cool. I’m up at a "cabin" near Lake Wenatchee, trying to get my
next feature done. How lucky am I?! If I see Kathy Bates lurking around, I’ll
barricade the door.

WA State Screenplay Competition

Aadip — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:24:48 +0000

I’m pleased to finally announce that the 11th
Annual WA State Screenplay Competition will be co-sponsored and co-run
by the Northwest Film Forum and us,
the NWSG. The good thing is that being a member of either organization does
not, and I repeat, does not prevent you from entering in the competition.

You just have to meet one of the following requirements:
a) Written by a resident of Washington State
b) 50% set in Washington State,
c) Able to be filmed in Washington State.

Finishing a Screenplay Is Fun/Upcoming Screenwriting Competitions

Aadip — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:26:51 +0000

My writing partner and I just finished the fourth (and I hope) final draft
of our screenplay, Happy Accident. We’ve been working on this for a long time,
having lived through our brutal page-one rewrite (our main character’s name
changed!), a significantly revamped third draft, and a polished fourth draft.
It’s out to our proofreaders to make sure we haven’t dangled any participles
or committed gerundic atrocities.

There’s nothing like finishing a screenplay, right?
Whether anybody likes it, options it, produces it, or uses it for toilet paper
(card stock title pages hurt), it’s an accomplishment in its own right. I applaude
anyone who has finished a screenplay, whether it be a short, a TV teleplay,
or feature.

On a related note, now that it’s (nearly) done, we can apply to some upcoming
screenplay competitions, along with the rest of you. Good luck.

Based on the screenplays I’ve read recently from some of our members,
I think those judges will be pleasantly suprised by those scripts coming
from Washington State.

April 1 – BlueCat
April 11/May 1/May 8 – WA State Screenplay Competition
Apr 15 – Scriptapalooza
Mar 15/Apr 15 – PAGE
May 1 – Script PIMP
May 1 – Nicholl Fellowship