One "Oh Shit" Too Many

Good reason why I haven't written here in the last week...

drum roll...

I've been busy.

So Tuesday night in my writing class, I turned in the first 8 pages of my HOUSE script. We'll come back to that in a later post.
When I got home later that night--it's an hour drive from my home in CT to where the class is held on W. 91st st. in the city (New York being the only place in America that earns the right to be called "the city")--it was already 11:00.

Wednesday morning, got up and packed. After work, I flew out to L.A.--another major city, but not THE city--where I'm attending the 6th annual Screenwriting Expo. It's a great opportunity to sample the gurus (the Syd Fields, the Robert McKees, the Michael Hauges, etc); hear speakers ranging from Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List, American Gangster), William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Marathon Man, Princess Bride), to Stuart Beattie (Collateral, 30 Days of Night).

The Gurus: despite having written little of note themselves, most are great instructors and well-versed in story-crafting. Honestly, there's that part of me that's skeptical about their words when I view their credentials; there's another part of me that recognizes the truths hidden in their TM'ed and (R)'ed jargon. If you don't follow it blindly, it's less likely to hurt you, and can be incredibly helpful.

More importantly, since so many execs out here shuttle through the gurus' classes so they can better understand what it is they're buying/not buying, it becomes like a self-fulfilling spiral. Studio exec sees Syd Field class; studio exec expects scripts to follow Syd Field model. Studio exec wary of scripts that don't follow that model--until they become that surprise breakaway hit. Studio exec buys scripts that follow that model. Often, they're successful enough that studio exec gets to keep his job another day.

Anyhoo, in addition to the gurus at this conference, they have great writers speak on the work. It's the only venue I know of where writers are treated like rock stars. Today, Seth Rogen and his writing partner, Evan Goldberg ended the day. Very funny. Makes me wish I had a best friend whose coattails I could latch onto.

Tomorrow, Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, the guys responsible for PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN--the good one, the mediocre one and the 'what the f*** was that?' one--will be speaking. Ditto for Bill Lawrence, creator of SCRUBS, and Danny Cannon, of CSI.

I'll also be pitching two of my scripts at this speed-dating style pitch session. If anyone's reading this, I'll keep you posted. Tonight, though, I'm meeting my friend Rachel, her boyfriend, and others at THE LODGE, some super-trendy steak house. I like steak as much as this kid like amphibians:


More tomorrow: Right now, Ive got to prep for my pitches tomorrow, work on my HOUSE script and get my sleep on.

OVERHEARD: a quote from a seminar: "Every script should have five 'Oh shit!' moments and one 'Oh my God!"