Advice — advice

When Dorothy Fadiman agreed to be a poll watcher in the U.S. presidential elections of 2004, she thought she was only volunteering to work on Election Day. She had no idea that what she saw would trigger the idea of making a movie about U.S. elections. Her documentary, Stealing America: Vote by Vote, has consumed three years of her life and many thousands of dollars. It will soon go into national theatrical release. Whether you are writing a book or making a movie, choosing the right idea for your project is crucial. Only an idea that truly inspires you will...

When you write your first screenplay, the path to glory seems clear: find an agent who will get you a six-figure deal. A hundred and fifty query letters later, you're languishing at Hollywood's front gate. You've received a lot of encouragement, but, as Pauline Kael put it, "Hollywood's the only town where you can die of encouragement." Maybe it's time to try the back door. In the film marketing business, if you lack resources but have a winner, you platform that winner by showing it to one or two markets at a time and letting it accumulate positive reviews. In...

"Whether he likes it or not (and as a rule he does not like it much), the man who wants to express himself on celluloid is part of a group. If individual and personal self-expression is what he wants, he is in the wrong business." -Alexander Mackendrick The Auteur Theory - proposed by French New Wave directors of the late 1950s - notwithstanding, Mackendrick's reflection is sensible, egalitarian and true. It should come as no surprise that the politique des auteurs (author's policy), which became known as the auteur theory in the United States, is the fancy of film critics...

This year I began a mentorship program through my website. After a few years of building up students who knew my methods and can speak my language, there's finally a tiny community of like-minded souls that believe in the way I learned to do things at USC and want to follow in my and my fellow graduates footsteps. Ever since I started a website, I've received the odd email from writers asking me to help and give guidance in the script they're writing this year, or to read their work, and this year, with the WGA strike the time had...

What is it that lures people over to the Dark Side? Your audience wants to find out how people and things go bad, so in your story, be sure to reveal some of how the characters become the way they are -- not to excuse their behavior but to get us engaged with them. In this excerpt from my book, The Power of the Dark Side, we'll explore triggers and processes that turn people bad and some of the ways things all go to heck in a hand basket. Sleeping with the enemy Since Adam took a bite from the...