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“Laugh more, complain less.  That’s the secret to life folks.” -Jeff Fiorentino

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“…the reason I paint them, however… is precisely because I want to be very intimate and human.  To paint a small picture is to place yourself outside your experience, to look upon an experience as a stereopticon view with a reducing glass… when you paint larger pictures, you are in it…”

-Mark Rothko

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“Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.” –Steven Wright.

Notes on Film

The following are some notes on the film business that I took down from the book Which Lie Die I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman.  Its an awesome book and I highly recommend anyone with an interest in getting an inside scoop into Hollywood to check it out.  Here’s what William Goldman taught me:

• Trust is hard in this business.  People change, and this business changes them faster.
• What 1 person may love about 10 people will hate.
• For most its not a passion thing.  It all comes down to ego, jealousy and in the end money.
• It is a cut-throat business and if you’re not cutting then you’re getting cut.
• Try to make as many acquaintances as you can and fewer friends.
• “What makes a movie a hit is not the star and not the advertising but the word of mouth.  So in the movie business, as in real life, we all need all the help we can get.  And we need it every step of the way.”
• Stars bring history with them and that can be damaging.
• One of the advantages to working with an independent studio is there’s more freedom in casting.
• Sometimes in Hollywood you’re not just dead you are also forgotten–it happens to everyone.
• Dracula is the story of life in Hollywood.
• The 1990’s were the worst decade in the History of Hollywood, as far as the quality of big Studio pictures are concerned.
• Right now is a low-talent time… but that may soon be changing.
• Stanley Kubrick is one of the greatest filmmakers to have ever lived. Period.
• One handful of talented people can change the world.
• Studio Executives are the major problem.  They restrain an artists ability to create the art desired.  And they manipulate thr art so to make sure they get a big paycheck.
• A studio executive is more interested in saving his or her own ass then going out on a limb to make a good film.
• Sequels are whore’s movies.  The original comes from a foundation called Creative.  The sequel’s foundation is called Financial.
• We are all beginners at some point–always remember that.
• True talents will fucking stun the civilized world.
• There are exceptions to every rule.
• Everyone writes or does a flop at some point.
• There are 3 choices one could make as a writer: 1) Adapting someone else’s work.  2) Adapt your own work and 3) The Original.  That’s in order from Easiest to Hardest.
• Faulkner‘s dictum: “In writing you must kill all your darlings.”
• Your passion can always save you, as long as you follow it.
• When you start writing there are no rules.  As you go on you become more and more limited and confound because as you unfold a story you create more and more rules.
• The media deals in bullshit and half-truths.
• Test screenplays help to clear confusion.
• Always introduce your universe to your audience at the beginning.
• When your family and closest friends won’t see your film– That’s a flop.
• Shit always happens.
• If it is easy do it… so long as its safe.
• “No right or wrong storytelling answer exists.  Ever!”
• Writers need their secrets just like normal people need hope.
• Time kills zest, objectivity and creativity.
• Films are fragile.  Even the most successful ones are just a step away from being disasters.
• Never-ever open a film with a courtroom scene.
• Do not ask the screenplay to do what it has trouble doing.
• Information overload is a major trouble-spot in screenwriting.
• The average audience wants solutions to questions not more questions.  The writers like questions more than answers.  How can this be fixed?
• Remember life has plans of its own and they may or may not cooperate with yours.
• When meeting Studio Executives Bullshit politeness and niceness towards them.
• In the film business you should always aim for April Fool’s Day release… its the only day of the year that seems appropriate.
• Its always helpful to expect the unexpected, especially in regards to actors.
• Stars do not now or ever give a shit about Studio Executives and what they think– Stars only care about the material and the deal.
• Typical Hollywood motto: “You do two for me, I’ll do one for you.”
• A hero is a person in real life, stars don’t play heroes they play Gods.  The screenwriter’s job is to genuflect.  Also remember what is genuinely heroic in life will probably not work in a film.  Every piece of narrative needs help along, life is exciting as life but in order to be a film it needs to be taken up a notch.
• Screenwriting cannot be compared to the writings of Shakespeare- Totally different beings.
• Hollywood’s heroes always have mystery.
• By the first day of shooting the fate of a movie is sealed.
• Movie stars must have mystery, but remember stars are very very scared of being seen weak.
• In the film business, as in life, we are all at one another’s mercy.