This Past Week’s SchechTweets
July 19th, 2010- You remind me of me. #
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The Cover of My Book!
July 12th, 2010
I got a nice surprise from Michael Wiese and Ken Lee of Michael Wiese Productions before the weekend: the cover of my book! Ladies I gentlemen, I present the world premiere of “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story!” Or at least, the cover.
The book will be published in April, 2011. I’m sure I’ll be talking about it alot more when we get closer to that date.
A LOT more!
– Jeffrey Alan Schechter
P.S. And a big shout out to my buddy Alvaro Rodriguez for coming up with the subtitle (which is a bit hard to read in the picture): “Ten Ways To Toughen Up Your Screenplay From Opening Hook To Knockout Punch.”
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Tales From the Script: 5 Things I Learned Interviewing Screenwriters
July 9th, 2010
I just read a fabulous article by author/filmmaker Peter Hanson. It’s posted on The Writers Store website and it condenses down into five points some of the things he learned while interviewing screenwriters for the book he co-edited Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories.
I didn’t read one thing in the article that I disagree with (shocking, I know!) and I think this short article should become required reading for everyone pursuing a career as a screenwriter. It puts the level of commitment, time, and effort required into very practical terms. If this is any indication of the full scope of the book, then it’s a must have. Well done, Mr. Hanson!
CLICK HERE to read the article.
–Jeffrey Alan Schechter
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THE LAST AIRBENDER
July 2nd, 2010
Overall Impression – Relentlessly bad, in every possible way, in every possible filmmaking discipline.
THE FOUR QUESTIONS
Who’s your main character? – Aang.
What’s he trying to accomplish? – Professional: Defeat the Fire Kingdom. Personal: Nothing I can think of. Private: Decide if he’s willing to forego having a family in order to become the Avatar, though he talks about this so much, maybe it’s his personal goal? But it’s an inner conflict, so maybe it’s a private goal? But he keeps talking about it, so maybe it’s…aw hell.
Who’s trying to stop him? – Fire Lord Ozai is the big baddie, but there are really two others going directly against Aang; the whiny Prince Zuko and the oily Commander Zhao.
What happens if he fails? – The Fire Kingdom will suppress the other kingdoms.
THE FOUR ARCHETYPES
Orphan – Aang is discovered in a ball of ice, in which he’s been frozen for 100 years after running away from the monastery where he was being trained to be the Avatar, the only person who can ‘bend’ all four elements: earth, water, air, and fire.
Wanderer – After being discovered by two teen siblings who bring him back to their village, and realizing that he can’t run from his responsibility, he and they set off to find someone who can teach him the first of the skills he lacks, water bending.
Warrior – He never really becomes a warrior. It’s possible that this is because this is the first movie in a planned mult-part story, but if that’s the case, it’s a giant miscalculation.
Martyr – He seems, at the end, to finally be willing to become the Avatar…but that’s practically the very end of the story. Prior to that, it’s the tertiary character Princess Yue who makes the biggest sacrifice.
AND, IN THE END…
Almost from the beginning, THE LAST AIRBENDER dares us NOT to pick it to death like a pack of rabid ducks. Teen siblings Katara and Sokka find a big ball of ice. ”Don’t hit it!” Sokka warns his sister. So she hits it. Inside is a kid and a giant furry creature, both unconscious. Katara looks at him and determines that he’s ‘exhausted.’ Out of all of the possible things a kid in a ball of ice might be, ‘exhausted’ is way down the list, but at that point Aang wasn’t the only one exhausted. And the movie had just started.
Everything about this movie is a misfire, but as this is a blog about story structure I suppose I should focus my comments on its storytelling shortcomings.
Nah.
When someone lobs a ball over the plate, one can be forgiven for swinging at it. Besides, I’m really angry at this movie and will explain why shortly.
THE LAST AIRBENDER was an enormously popular animated series, but it was a series that stretched over three seasons. Shyamalan was saddled with the task of taking the entire first season and turning it into a single 100 minute movie, regardless of whether the plot points and story arc of that season actually conform to a solid movie structure. Which they don’t. As a result, you have a story that meanders and wanders, about a hero who does nothing much beyond getting captured and escaping, getting captured and escaping. He drives no part of the story.
The script is a nightmare of flashbacks, voiceovers, and clumsy exposition. Seems like Shyamalan was absent that day in film school when they taught “show, don’t tell.” The spewing of exposition instead of good dialog gets so bad that eventually Shyalaman — possibly to give his main characters a break from vomiting out every bit of information the audience needs to know — has Prince Zuko call over an anonymous village boy and asks “What do you know about Prince Zuko?” just so AnonyBoy can start HIS OWN voice over and flashback about Prince Zuko. Thanks, AnonyBoy! Now, back to where you came from, never to be seen or heard from again!
The direction does nothing to enhance the script. It’s unimaginative and flat. The acting is almost uniformly one-dimensional and wooden, with deep meaningful tones and proclamations taking the place of actual deep meaning. And what’s with all the white people playing Asians and indigenous peoples? What is this, the 1940’s? I’m all for color-blind casting, but you can’t stick two white kids in an entire village of Eskimos and then try to convince me they share DNA with the tribe.
Cinematically, the entire movie looks dull as dishwater. The colors are muted and the lighting is dark, and everything only gets more muted and more dark through the polarized lenses of the 3D glasses. And now we come to the source of my anger.
THE LAST AIRBENDER was a movie shot in 2D and then, in order to jump on the lucrative 3D wagon (3D tickets are more expensive, in case you haven’t noticed) the movie was reprocessed into 3D. But it’s a 3D experience that means nothing because not one single shot, not one element, was designed to enhance the 3D viewing experience. Actually, that’s not true…the opening and tail credits were designed to look pretty in 3D. Shyamalan’s company logo at the start of the movie is the best 3D effect in the entire film. Seriously. Compare this to the other AVATAR — James Cameron’s — where EVERY shot was designed for 3D and you’ll understand what a blatant, unimaginative, and larcenous ploy this is; get people to pay more for a lousy 3D version of a movie that they could see in the original 2D in the next theater over? I implore you…DO NOT spend the money to see this movie in 3D. You are being scammed. You might as well send your money to that Nigerian banker who contacted you via email and seems to really trust you. I know I’m being harsh, but as soon as Paramount sends me back the difference between the ticket prices I’ll back off.
I can’t remember a movie that has left me this disappointed before, and I surely can’t remember a movie that has made me this angry.
– Jeffrey Alan Schechter
NEW PODCAST: An Interview with author Penny Penniston
June 14th, 2010
We had a great time chatting about David Mamet, status, David Mamet, and why good dialogue is like wine. And David Mamet.
This is the first of a series of podcasts I’m calling “MWP Authors Speak Out.” Interspersed with my other subjects, I’m going to interview authors from the Michael Wiese Productions stable of writers. If you don’t think you know who or what MWP is…well…you’re wrong! You probably own several of their books such as “Save the Cat”, “The Writer’s Journey”, and “Your Screenplay Sucks” among many, many others. MWP is also the publisher of my upcoming book, “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story!”
You can hear my interview with Penny by CLICKING HERE or by searching for the podcast under the name “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story!” on iTunes. Enjoy!
– Jeffrey Alan Schechter
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Better than IRON MAN 2!
May 27th, 2010
Patrick just posted a short video called IRON BABY. In just over one minute he packs in more fun, action, and wonder than IRON MAN 2 did in over 2 hours. CLICK HERE to watch and be amazed. And then if you really want to be inspired, watch the rest of his videos, particularly the ones where he shows you how he does what he does.
Patrick…thanks for showing us what one guy with creative vision, style, talent, and a cute baby can do!
– Jeffrey Alan Schechter
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NEW PODCAST: Alice for the iPad Interview
May 24th, 2010
I had the good fortune today of interviewing the very gracious Chris Stevens, co-founder of Atomic Antelope, the people who have single-handedly ushered in a new era in digital media with the release of the Alice for the iPad book app.
On the podcast, Chris and I chat about finding success as a writer in unexpected ways, satisfying the creative urge, and what it’s like to see Oprah Winfrey interact with something you created just a few weeks ago. You can hear the podcast by CLICKING HERE.
Thanks again, Chris. Sorry about the crack about wanting to milk you…
– Jeffrey Alan Schechter
P.S. As the podcasts are new, if you felt like rating them on iTunes and even saying a few kind words in a review, that would greatly appreciated.
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Starting Small at Thinking Big
May 23rd, 2010
Sure, I like film and television writing as much as the next guy, however the guys over at Atomic Antelope may have just shown us a glimpse of things to come for those of us who love the written word (aka “writers”), media (aka “screenwriters”), and technology (aka “geeks like me.”)
If you haven’t seen the video of the Alice for iPad app, CLICK HERE and check it out. I know it’s an iPad app and not a film or a television show or a YouTube series, but it IS another way for people who are creative to create content and get into the hands of an appreciative audience. And once the audience gets really appreciative, well, who knows where that will lead one’s career?
– Jeffrey Alan Schechter
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MSCBUYS Podcasts, Now on iTunes
May 12th, 2010
My first few attempts at posting My Story Can Beat Up Your Story podcasts are now available on iTunes. You can find them by CLICKING HERE.
At the moment the format for the podcasts is an elaboration of some of the reviews posted here, starting with IRON MAN 2 and KICK-ASS. They’re very similar to the printed review, only with a bit more, uh, me.
Please give them a listen and subscribe. Also, please start posting some reviews and ratings on iTunes. And if you have any suggestions either for how to improve either the quality of the podcast or ideas about content you’d like to hear, don’t be shy about letting me know.
– Jeffrey Alan Schechter
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KICK-ASS
May 10th, 2010
Overall Impression – I’m not sure what liking this movie tells me about myself.
THE FOUR QUESTIONS
Who’s your main character? – Dave.
What’s he trying to accomplish? – Professional: Become a superhero. Personal: Get Katie to love him. Private: Overcome the loss of his mother and the breakdown of his family.
Who’s trying to stop him? – The very, very evil Frank D’Amico.
What happens if he fails? – He and 11 year old Hit Girl will get killed, and the city will be overrun by D’Amico’s evil criminal empire.
THE FOUR ARCHETYPES
Orphan – Dave is a social outcast at school, who claims that his only super-power is being invisible to girls.
Wanderer – He decides that he wants to be a superhero and goes about trying to figure out how to do it and not get himself killed.
Warrior – He becomes an internet sensation, and struggles to keep everything together as he realizes that things are getting out of control. In addition, he meets some real (and really nuts) super heroes, Big Daddy and Hit Girl.
Martyr – Realizing that he can’t hide anymore, he needs to believe in his own hype and risk it all to save Hit Girl and bring down D’Amico.
AND, IN THE END…
CLICK to hear the PODCAST
Yes, everything you’ve heard about the movie is true: there is an 11 year old girl who kills with abandon, get’s the snot kicked out of her by a 40 year old man, and uses worse language than I ever did, and I grew up in Brooklyn. This movie takes your moral compass and spins it like a top.
And yet…and yet…KICK-ASS is overflowing with a sense of fun and irreverence. It dares you not to take it too seriously. But, is that possible, with cute-as-a-button Hit Girl bloodily killing people with the abandon of a heartless abattoir worker?
I’m confident that KICK-ASS wasn’t trying to inspire moral hand-wringing, but it is what it is. And considering that the movie didn’t perform as well as hoped for in spite of the skill and originality behind it, perhaps this is a good example of underestimating what the market will tolerate.
I’m glad I saw the film, and fervently hope that it doesn’t inspire a raft of similar movies. And I’m not sure what that says about me, either.
- Jeffrey Alan Schechter
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