Advice — expert series

Sometimes I like to see a movie twice; once to watch the movie, and once to watch the audience. You can learn a lot from watching the audience, how involved they are, how restless, how they breathe, when they lean over to talk to each other, when they don't understand something.I saw 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' once early in the movie's run, in a packed house, and concentrated on watching the movie. Watching movies is an uneasy process for me, since I am observing with a lot of agendas most movie-goers don't have. I...

What's happening with screenwriters around the world? How are they being trained? What are they writing about? What are their concerns? In 1988, I began giving seminars abroad, first in Australia and New Zealand, then Rome and England and Moscow and Spain, and, since then, in 18 countries, including such fascinating places as Egypt and Bulgaria. Since about 1990, I began consulting internationally, working on scripts from over 20 countries, including Singapore, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina and Casablanca. International screenwriters have a kind of love-hate relationship with Hollywood. Actually, I think many American screenwriters feel the same way. On the one...

There is little doubt that your ability to communicate your inner world as a form of creative expression will be greatly enhanced by a strong sense of self -- a self which comes from an ability to discern who you are and who (for the sake of others) you try to be. First and foremost, your knowledge of who you are inspires your goals in life. Your dreams --your hopes and desires -- are what will give you the ability to manage the harsh anxieties and assimilate complex feelings as you mature and grow. What you want out of life...

by Michael Hauge The opportunities in Hollywood for 20-minute pitch meetings are fairly rare, especially for newer screenwriters. But as soon as you complete your first screenplay, you'll repeatedly face the challenge of having less than 60 seconds to convince the people in power to read it. Every time you phone an agent or production company to discuss your story or script, you must be prepared to answer the question, 'What's your movie about?' Your response will often make the difference between getting rejected and getting your material read. The recent advent of pitch marts has further increased both the...

If you're an emerging novelist or screenwriter, it's likely that you've attended or are thinking of attending a writers conference. Where else can you take classes to help you hone your craft, listen to panels of experts giving advice, or meet with an agent, editor or executive to pitch your latest book or script - all in one day or one weekend? From Boston to Maui, from Miami to Toronto and in nearly every metropolis in-between, there are hundreds of writing conferences going on throughout the year. But if you're a 'newbie' heeding your first 'conference call', the very thought...