Excited for tomorrow’s workshop.

I was a relatively good boy, only dropping some quid on the scripts for
Freaks and Geeks Vol. 1 and 2, a new copy of the Juno shooting script, a replacement
copy of Writing the Romantic Comedy, and a DVD on career development. The guys
who work that know their stuff and are really helpful. I wish we had one of
these in Seattle. Thank goodness their delivery business for those of us far
removed from HW. Definitely stop in if you’re in town.

Just grabbed coffee with Blake
Snyder in his hood, Beverly
Hills. He was feeling under the weather, fighting off a cold from one of his
many recent travels across the globe. As usual, Blake’s positivity and openness
are like a breath of fresh air in a world full of cynicism and self-doubt.
His encouragement of my own career and the future of the Guild was energizing,
as well as his sincere goal to help all the other aspiring screenwriters have
the success that he has had. His continued advice and support have been one
of the biggest perks of being President of the Guild. 

Walking back to the Eclipse after meeting with Blake, I came upon this great
store called Doggie
Styles.
The proprietor, Mike (and his wife Eva, who was not there), was an ex ad-guy
(perhaps a Mad Man), who came out from NYC on a job and never left.  He
stayed in LA and as his retirement gig, opened up this store.

Suffering from
Brando withdrawal syndrome (BWS), I played with his two dogs, HEMI and BUTTONS,
eventually purchasing a Burberry style necktie and a Captain
America Camouflage T-Shirt. Pretty cool shit. Funny thing–he asked
me what I did and thought it was great what we’re doing up in the NW for screenwriters.  He
followed that up with, "Did you go to Comic-Con?" Only in LA would
someone who owns a store where they sell high-quality leashes, collars, and
everything else for spoile dogs know about important industry conventions.
Of course, he was off to Pet Fashion Week in NYC. Now that sounds fun.

After coming home and checking
out the website, I realized that J LO and Jessica Alba shop there, among other
celebs.

Had lunch in Santa Monica with ex-Board Member and good writing buddy, Danny
Walter and my childhood friend, Jeff. The proprietor
of the place kept giving me the could shoulder about sitting us. He wanted
our whole party there, so I guess 2 out of 3 doesn’t count. Jeff,
although from Sacramento, sets his watch to island time. I’ve known this
forever, so I just told the guy he was parking. After seating us and 45 minutes
later the dude is in my face about it. Of course, we ordered an appetizer
and several beers, so what’s the big to do, Anyway, we had a lovely 2+ hour
lunch amid the beautiful people. I have this theory– anybody who is a somebody
seems to be in their late 30s to early 50s. This ageism is strange because
the people perpetuating are about to "age out" or have already. I don’t get
it. I hope a few more of these lawsuits come through and age has no bearing
on employment in the business. That’d be great for all of us, no.

Just had drinks with Sanjay Shah. Sanjay just got back from Cancun (with his family),
so he was slamming bitters and soda water. Montezuma’s Revenge. I was having a Tanqueray Tonic. Gotta fight off Malaria every chance I get.
We had a quick chat about writing, surfing, traveling with Gujarati parents, and what I should work on with my own writing. I heard some more horror stories and then he showed me around the KING OF THE HILL office. All delusions of grandeur faded from my mind. It looked like any old office, except the invidual writers’ offices were pretty spare, dirty, and well, looked like writers lived there. I got to see the board of the seasons’ episodes and who wrote what. Pretty exciting. I met another writer on the show who is from Greenwood, my hood. Small world.

Just got back from a lovely dinner and stroll through Hancock Park with former
guest and my good friend, Marilyn Atlas.
We hit up the old El Coyote, where Hollywood hipsters, rockers, writers, and
actors carouse and imbibe. Although Marilyn doesn’t like Mexican food,
she obliged me, since this time I was the guest. Funny how that is.

After a very filling meal, she took me on a late night walk through her neighborhood,
showing me all the old mansions, each with their own unique flare. There were
also several mansions that had been converted to multiple 1,500-2,000+ square
foot apartments. Very cool.  After returning to my car and saying my goodbyes,
I hopped in the Eclipse and burned it back home.

Since the show I’m speccing is impossible to get, it was imperative that they
have a copy for me to check the formatting and structure. Luckily, they had
the pilot and four produced teleplays. So after reading through a couple really
fast, taking notes on the formatting, I got a call. Had to meet past guest
and friend, Michael McGahey over in Burbank. I’ll be BACK.

So I jetted off to
McCormick and Schmicks (NW Company, eh?) and had a lovely lunch with him and
Leah Hoyer (originally from Lake Forest Park), both are at Disney these days.
We talked about the state of affairs at Disney, Starbucks, driving in LA, the
development of the Guild, and enticed Leah to come up.

While waiting for the valet to bring my car, I had my one and only celeb sighting
on my trip—CESAR MILLAN, the DOG WHISPERER. Laura thought I should’ve brandished
my Brando tattoo (Brando the Maltese, not Marlon Brando), but I didn’t want
to scare the poor man. The last time I was in LA I saw Paris Hilton. I was
way more excited about this one.

I had some time to kill before coming home for a family dinner, so I went
over to Melrose (my favorite place to shop in LA), parked the car and WALKED,
yes, walked up and down the street. It’s almost like a pilgramage for me, since
I never find threads that I like in Seattle. I usually get all my clothes in
Vancouver BC. It was a hot day, so most of the women were half clothed, which
is very surprising compared to the covered up ladies of Seattle. Not that
I was looking. Laura doesn’t care anyway, as long as they’re cute. I got
two pairs of shoes, two shirts, a pair of pants, and a ridiculous gorilla toy

at Munky King, an anime store. Not bad for me. I usually go crazy after saving
up my money. After a few hours, mostly people watching and chatting with the
shopkeepers. Many of them were complaining about the high costs of things,
some are even closing down due to exorbitant rents. All in all, people are
very nice on Melrose.

Pineapple Express:

After a nice sit-down dinner at my uncle’s pad, my cousin and I saw Pineapple Express.
It starts out funny (great inside stoner comedy), with a scene-stealing James Franko.
Thin on plot and characterization, it devolves into the most ridiculous fight sequence I’ve ever seen. We prayed for it to end, and it kept going. Worth seeing, on DVD, at home, where you can smoke your ass off.

Cut To: Manhattan Beach. A slightly overweight, blind-as-a-bat-without-his-contact
lenses, Indian guy with no tan, paddling a board into the horizon, waiting
for a wave to come. Unfortunately, the waves were pretty scarce, but I rock
at sitting on my board, losing balance, and rolling over into the ocean. Also,
got very good at making fun of Kevin Chang with the other guys, all in the
biz. Hey, it’s LA. I popped up on three, count ‘em, three tiny waves, and then
drowned myself due to lack of balance and naturally non-athletic skill set.
But, I love surfing and now I’m officially addicted to all things board-related,
SNOWBOARDING, SURFING, and BOARD MEETINGS. OK, not addicted to Board Meetings,
but I do love them. Have you met the Board of NWSG. Nice folks.

Later than night, after a luxurious meal at the mall, I grabbed a nap, a shower,
and we were off to the Groundlings. Mind you, I’m sitting between my uncle
and dad, both Urologists. Weird eh? One of the first skits made
fun of wannabe screenwriters in the form of a peer group keeping an actor and
two screenwriters on task. A later skit, made fun of urologists in the form
of a skit about a scrotum doctor on the Sirius radio network. What are the
odds? It was a really good show, despite it being a small cast.  I
always catch these guys when I visit LA.

I’m excited to report that although we lost Abby Ex (from Hey
Day Films), we found a sub in Jake Kirily, an exec whose company, Mosaic, has
worked on a couple of little films–BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT. Of course, we’re still bringing up Dan Nguyen from Donners’ Company.
So if you were thinking of bailing on this weekend’s activities, at least come in
and check out the interview portion on Friday. For those with screenplays ready
to pitch, Saturday will be an excellent opporunity to get in front of two huge
companies.

We are so lucky to have someone of her caliber conduct one
of her workshops for an extremely affordable fee. For those of you who are
vacillating about attending the workshop, don’t. Pilar is a very highly sought
after screenplay consultant (with a big waiting list) and screenwriting instructor
(sold out shows everywhere she goes).

This amazing workshop will change the
way you develop concepts and write screenplays from here on out. She’s one
of those people in LA who other filmmakers (screenwriters, showrunners, directors,
producers) come to for help with their concepts and their craft. Check out
her podcast at iTunes to cram before she gets here.

James Keblas at the Mayor’s Office included us in their newsletter today for
the first time ever!

Let’s show her that
Seattle is serious about screenwriting.

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.

Story, set in 1958, begins after Castro seized control of Cuba, with Fernandez as a young girl naive to the fact that the bearded cigar smoker who secretly visits her mother and the man she sees on TV are one and the same.

Fernandez, who fled Cuba disguised as a Spanish tourist in 1993, published her life story, “Castro’s Daughter: An Exile’s Memoir of Cuba,” will consult on the pic. Plot will also interweave other historical perspectives.

Austin-based ARG is headed by producers John Martinez and Noel Tristan, development financing was provided by The Lamy Group.

On
the way to the hotel, Marilyn and I had so much to talk about, from stereotypical
roles for actors of color and our mutual Law and Order addiction to hot rapper/actor/producer-types
(Ludacris, Ice Cube) and the types of concepts coming out of
film schools (Oh no, not another heist or vampire movie).

After barely surviving Friday traffic in Seattle, a few Board Members had
a great time at Taste of India with Marilyn, hearing some old war stories
(Marilyn’s trip to Uzbekistan) and getting our guest sufficiently full of rich
curry, wild salmon, and bottomless chai infused with cardamom.

At the meeting, Marilyn and I had a great conversation/interview about
writing scripts that will attract actors–actors being the folks that really
get projects made–the dreaded or lauded “attachment” thing. Marilyn loved
the questions from the audience, which I thought were excellent.  Marilyn
was an absolute gem, extremely forthcoming, and honest. I learned so much.
I’ll have to get someone’s notes!

I just got back from our workshop at the NW Film Forum (we lost our usual
room for today) and I learned even more. The first thing–the Sorrento Hotel
loans their guests the world’s most dangerous umbrella.
 

We’ve yet to have someone speak from the actors’ or actors’
representatives’ perspective. I think it was instrumental in driving home how
important character development is. We get structure crammed down our throats
till kingdom come, but structure doesn’t sell screenplays–it’s character,
dialogue, and of course, concept. I guess actors don’t look at a script and
say, “Wow,
I love how the writer created that false victory at the midpoint” or
“Man, that catalyst is something I can really sink my teeth
into.” They
want to see that there is a character that a) lets them stretch/leaves them
room to create, b) is compelling/non-stereotypical, and c) they have
an emotional connection with. She confirmed that the worthwhile screenplay
competitions are the Nicholl, Austin, Big Break, and Sundance.

She made it clear that our first ten pages must be stellar
and to view each scene in the film as if it’s the first scene–memorable, meaningful,
and pushes the story forward.

She went around the room and asked everyone to
name two memorable tv/film characters and why they were memorable. The characters
we discussed were: Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs),
Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver), Madeleine White (Jodie Foster
in Inside Man), Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises), Michael Dorsey
/ Dorothy Michaels (Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie), Erin Brockovitch (Julia Roberts
in Erin Brockovitch, duh), Edward Scissorhands (Johnny Depp in ES), Darth Vadar
(Star Wars), Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis in Trading Places), Indiana
Jones (Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones), James Bond (a bunch of dudes in a bunch
of flick), Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen in Galaxy Quest), Ana Garcia (America
Ferrera in Real Women Have Curves), Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer
in Blade Runner), Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint (Kevin Spacey in Usual Suspects), Roy
Neary (Richard Dreyfus in Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind), and many more.

Marilyn also discussed how dialogue, subtext, and description reveal
character–very illuminating.  We reviewed scenes and sides from Habla
Con Ella, School of Rock, Mystic River, The Departed, Three Kings, and Devil
Wears Prada. She also reiterated that we all see Wedding Banquet (Ang Lee).
I think I speak for all in attendance that we definitely got our time and money’s
worth. I’ve never been to a workshop like that before. Did I mention that
Marilyn is just a helluvalot of fun to be around?  She’s
a firecracker. 

Then I gave Marilyn her newly acquired pedometer so she can get all her steps
in (rehabbing her leg). Tom procured some popcorn and shared it with the masses.
Who doesn’t love popcorn?  On the way back to the hotel, Marilyn and I
had a nice romp through Rite Aid–nothing like boding over toiletries,
gossip magazines, and eye drops. 

Tomorrow will be
full of pitching at the Sorrento, which Marilyn is anticipating greatly. She
was unable to hide her excitement about Seattle and the members
of the NWSG. Apparently we’re very insightful. Yay us!  Hey, while those
L.A. screenwriters are at the beach or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, we’re avoiding
the rain by penning that next great movie, right? I prefer the beach/writing
combo, but I always get too much sand in my MacBook, and Brando gets sunburned.
His poor pink belly.

Oh, I found this
old Seattle PI article from Thursday, April 20, 2006 about how everyone wants
to be a screenwriter instead of being a novelist. We made the list of some local
resources for aspiring screenwriters, including "Best Local Support System
and Best One-Stop Rundown of Script Contests." Yay us again. It is again
if it happened two years ago?  Whatever.

Laura and I are about to sit down and watch The Mark of Cain, a documentary
on russian criminal tattoos. It’s probably cause of all that talk about Eastern
Promises today. I love that movie.

On Saturday, they heard 30 pitches, yep, 30,
from our Compendium Members. All the while my dog, Brando, was running around
like a crazy pup. Funny enough, the execs requested his presence at the pitches.
I think he helped calm a lot of people down, too. I hope.

Matt and Kevin felt that our pitches were “a cut above” what they usually get down in LA. Pretty cool.
Finally, I’m happy to report that the execs requested contact info for eleven Guild writers so far. Way to go NWSG!

Lastly, we’re pleased and excited to start promoting our next event, April
11-12 with Catherine Ann Jones. She will be presenting her much-lauded Way
of Story workshop. Did I mention she’s got an NEA Award, Fullbright, and several
others? This one will sell out.

Way of Story may appear as a deceptively simple memoir/manual, but it is not.
Catherine rockets you into the essentials of craft, as well as urging you to
dig deep into yourself and transmit your emotions to the page, and the story.
Few books simultaneously pay equal attention to both the architecture AND the
soul of the story.  Finally, I think the book offers gems to both novice
and experienced writers, including advice and a bounty of challenging exercises
to get the ideas out of your head and onto the page. I wish I’d had this book
when I started!