A Fantastic Movie!

     What do you think are some of the best movies ever made? That’s a tough question to answer isn’t it? What I’ve found is that it is not only difficult to answer because we have to think back through all the movies that we’ve seen in our lives, but also because of the biases we carry when watching movies. For example, I am a HUGE Star Wars fan. So when I am asked about which movies are the best ever made, I feel a strong obligation to remain loyal to the Star Wars films. I can’t tell you how hard it was for me when the Lord of the Rings trilogy came out for me to finally admit that I liked them better than Star Wars. Even as I write those words I feel like a traitor for admitting that.

     Lilly and I just watched a movie tonight that I hadn’t seen for years. It was the film Amadeus that was released in 1984. I had forgotten what an amazing movie it is! After it was over I turned to my lovely wife and said, “You know, if I removed all my biases about movies and was able to take a purely objective stance, I would have to admit that Amadeus is one of the best movies ever made!” Apparently I’m not alone in thinking it’s a good flick. The movie won 8 Oscars including best picture, best director, best screenplay, and best leading actor, and was nominated for another five. It’s just funny that when people name the best movies ever made you don’t often here people mention Amadeus. Yet, that film has it all: fantastic character development with tremendous depth, amazing acting, an astounding sound track, and a story that turns what could have been your typical historical biography into an intriguing tale of conniving envy, betrayal, and tragedy. But perhaps what is most astonishing about the movie is that it was made in 1984 and plays as if it was released this year. Very few films can accomplish that!

     So, if you haven’t seen Amadeus, go see it! And if you have seen it, treat yourself to a second viewing. It’s well worth the time!

Where to begin?

     First of all, I’d like to say a big “Thank You!” to everybody for your overwhelming response to this blog. In the first week I’ve had over 60 visitors. Not a bad start! And your kind emails and comments have been a real encouragement. Many of you expressed the desire to see some clips of my old home movies on here. Don’t fret…they’re coming! (And Andy, the transfer is still in the works…hang tight buddy!)

     One of the big questions about screenwriting is where on earth does one begin? I think solid characters are the foundation of any good movie. In fact, some movies are completely character driven. This certainly is the case with comedies like Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre and The Breakfast Club and also in dramas like The Big Chill, Driving Miss Daisy, and As Good as it gets. Having solid believable characters that the audience can relate to is crucial. I have seen several movies that had tremendous potential dive bomb simply over the lack of character development. That certainly was the case of the summer movie G.I. Joe. (Okay, it had major story and pacing issues too. What a disappointment! I laughed, I cried, I kissed ten bucks good bye!) So, because of the powerful role solid characters play in a movie, I like to begin the screenwriting process by developing my characters.

    This is the phase I’m in now with the screenplay I’m writing. I’m giving my characters a personality. The way I do this is I write down the names of my main characters. Sometimes coming up with a suitable name is a task in its self. Even though Shakespeare wrote that “a rose by any other name is still a rose” I tend to disagree when it comes to screenplays. Somehow I don’t think Darth Vader would have seemed quite as foreboding if his name was Jack Wilson. I can hear him speaking in his deep James Earl Jones Voice saying his memorable line to Obi Wan, “When I left you I was about to learn now I am the master!” To which Obi Wan responds, “Only a master of evil Jack.” For some reason it just doesn’t work for me. So names are important. The internet and baby books are great places to find suitable names. When I wrote 1987 in ninth grade I broke out the phone book. It’s a great source for last names.

     After I list the names of my main characters I begin to describe their personalities. I do this by asking my self questions about each character like: what is he/she afraid of? What does he/she desire most? What political views does he/she have? What kind of music does he/she listen to? What successes has he/she had in life? Failures? What kind of car does he/she drive? What kind of car does he/she really want to drive? Then I write the history or back-story of the character up to the point where the story begins. I use the answers to the questions I asked about each character to determine what kind of physical attributes and mannerisms he/she has. For example, a guy that was in a car accident as a kid may have a fear of driving and through out the movie he may always refuse to sit in the front seat. But here’s the real trick to successful characters; when these attributes are plugged into the screenplay, I don’t go spilling the beans about everything right away. That makes for poor character development. How many people do you know with quirks that just come out and say, “I do this because of that…” the moment you meet them? So when characters do that in movies its just plain weak! Watch G.I. Joe for tons of examples of this screenwriting flaw.  The trick is to just let the characters do what they do and let your audience be curious. People will be intrigued. And some mannerisms may never be explained…but that only adds to the reality of the character.

 Theater exit question: What movies have you seen that have excellent character development?

Taking The Plunge

     As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "I have a dream!"  Only my dream is not nearly as noble as his.  My dream is to write screenplays and see them actually become movies.  I've carried this dream for a long time.  Ever since first grade I've loved the art of entertaining people through storytelling.  I used to break out my parents' tape recorder and set it near my record player (remember those things?) and play music as I would begin to perform different voices while recording my own radio dramas.  I remember when I got a small portable tape recorder for my ninth birthday, I thought I was really moving up the world!  I was able to “take my show on the road” and capture the live sounds of the great outdoors while telling adventure stories of explorers wandering through the deep dark jungles of Brazil or capture the sounds of World War I pilots fighting in the skies over Germany.  (I did that by sticking small pieces of cardboard into an electric fan to create the "buzz" sound of the airplanes’ propellers.)  Then, in seventh grade my story telling capabilities rose to new heights.  It was then that my parents gave me my first video camera.  My uncle sold them his old black and white camera and they gave it to me for Christmas.  Little did my parents realize the monster they would create.  

     I became absolutely obsessed with making movies.  In fact, the very day I got the camera I sat down and wrote my first movie; a sci-fi called Mofiss.  The very next day, my friend Andy (who would be the best-man in my wedding nine years later) came over and we shot our first movie.  It was corny and cheesy as can be, but we did it!  Andy became my number one actor and movie-making buddy.  And why not?  He had already been my number one tape recording buddy.  It was about time he was promoted into the new technology that was now readily available.  Mofiss was such a smashing success (okay, at least the two of us liked it) that we went on to make two sequels.  But we didn't stop there.  I wrote more scripts that we made into movies.  More Sci-Fi’s like 1985 and its confusing sequel 1987, cop movies, like John Book, The King of the Beat, and Biff Man Harry, adventure movies, like Johnny Tarheel, and Mississippi Smith, scary movies like, Beach Front Property House and In The Fog, and historical flicks, like Dark Horse: The Story of James K. Polk; would all find there way from my pen to the TV screen.  My cast of actors also grew.  Now additional names like James, Jason, Paul, Jennifer (my cousin), David, Ryan, Josh, Nathan, Mickey, Jon, and Sarah (James sister), would all be associated with my "amazing" movies.  In fact, screenwriting became such an obsession that I failed math in seventh grade because I spent all my time writing movies rather than doing my homework!  (A month spent in summer school fixed that problem.)

     But soon I went off to college and got my first job at a TV station.  When I met my wife, Lilly, I discovered she shared my love for movies.  She would listen intently to all my movie ideas as we took walks together along the beach or through the woods.  (Some of the joys of living in Eureka, California.)  But as often happens in life, through the rough and tumble of earning a living and making our way through this world, screenwriting took a back-seat.  Soon screenwriting was almost completely forgotten.   I became another one of those grown-ups that looks upon their biggest dreams as the foolish wishful musings of their youth.  Now it's time to face reality and live in the real world!

     The real world: you know, that place where you live, but never quite fully?  Where everything is gray and the beat of your heart no longer goes "THUMP! THUMP!"  Now it goes, "ho, hum."  The place where you justify your mediocrity as maturity and your apathy as adulthood.

     But you know, the dreams that are in us are the real world!  They're what make us alive, what makes us tick, what brings color into our lives.  Dreams are what make us real!  

     Well, recently something in me woke up.  I decided it is time to be who God made me to be.  I turned around and looked at the dream that I had flung into the back-seat and picked it up once again.  I've begun to write my first screenplay in seventeen years.  I've written some commercials, training videos, and award winning documentaries over the last several years, but movies, my real passion, went by the way-side.  I am simply thrilled beyond words to once again pick up my dream and begin to pursue it. 

     This blog is my journal of my reawakening to my passion for movies.  I’ll record my writing progress, share my thoughts about screenwriting and movies in general, document my successes and failures on this journey as well as review movies just for the fun of it.  I hope you’ll come along for the ride with me.  I’d love to hear your thoughts along the way.