How Do You Spell That?

Spelling in the blogosphere doesn't seem to be that big of a deal.

But put a misspelling elsewhere, and, well... Everyone and their brother will point it out to you.

Sometimes, misspellings are one of those things that just creep up on you...

Even in major movies. And yes, there even are people who keep track of such things, like the website MovieMistakes.com. According to them, Jurassic Park should have had someone one the spell check. In the scene where actor Nedry is taking the embryos from cold storage, one of the labels is misspelled; "Stegasaurus" should be "Stegosaurus".

Not a huge problem when you put it into perspective. But a little embarrassing nonetheless.

Well, if it can happen in a Spielberg film, then who's immune to spelling errors? Yes, we had some of our own spelling difficulties with on our feature film, Dear J...

And the word that gave us the most trouble?

Well, how do you spell 'Psychologist'?

For us, this proved to be a tricky word. So much so, that we had to have two different name tags for the character Dr. Frolick (played by Allison Lane)... all because the first name tag was spelled incorrectly. It wouldn't have been a problem except that we needed it for an extreme close-up!

Now, watch. Someone's going to find a spelling error that we didn't catch!

{{ photo :: Our costumer Blaze Kelly Coyle putting some finishing touches on Allison Lane's wardrobe. }}

Script Wars: Celtx vs. Final Draft

Know anything about the screenplay format, and you know that it's a pretty structured and rule-oriented beast.

When we first adapted one of our stage-plays for the screen, we turned to the software program Final Draft. It allows you to focus on the story, rather than the rules for how the script should work. We say it's pretty good.

But it's not without its downfalls. The biggest issue is that you can only have it installed on two computers at a time. Problem: Since we're into collaboration, there are usually more than just two of us working on a given script. This can be pretty tiresome when you have to deactivate the program from one computer and reactivate it on another.

Recently, we stumbled upon another scriptwriting program called Celtx. And get this; unlike Final Draft, it's FREE!

So, we decided to give Celtx a try, to see if it holds up to Final Draft.

Well, we've downloaded it, and did a bit of a test run.

It's a tiny bit different from Final Draft, but not so much that you can't get used to it. But the biggest problem it seems to have is that you can't color-code your edits. And since there are several of us working on one script, we color-code the changes we make. (Of course, when the script starts looking like a rainbow, we change everything back to black, and start all over again with the colors).

And you know what! We're not the only ones who were unhappy with this lack of color-coordination.

The other bit that some of us didn't like was the fact that you needed to have an internet connection to turn the script into a PDF file.

So, for now, we'll probably stick with Final Draft. After all, we did pay for it! But if Celtx ever decides to expand their options in the color department, we just might be convinced to go over to them.

Note to aspiring screenwriters: If you want a screenwriting program, and can handle the no-color-option, try Celtx. It's free! All you have to do is download it...

What's in a Name

Ever had to name a baby? That can be a pretty gruelling task... trying to come up with a name that pleases everybody.

We've had to name babies. And we've also had to name characters for our screenplays. It's not always easy to find the right name. Especially if you work as collaborators, as we do.

Take for instance, the name "Paige" in our film Dear J. Someone (of us -- can't really remember who) chose the name as we were first working on the script. Then later, we considered using the name "Ruth" instead. We even made the change and did a read of that version of the script. But something just didn't seem right. The character was Paige, not Ruth!

For our newest screenplay, we have to go with Russian-type names. So, we're using a lot of k's in the spellings... Jakob, Nikolai, Pepchik... to name a few.

Shakespeare may have believed that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; but then again, did he ever try changing the names of his most famous duo, Romeo and Juliet? Maybe he could have used Rocko and Janice? Ralph and Janie? We suspect that even Mr. Shakespeare (for all his talk on roses) wouldn't have been able to stomach those name changes.

Some Advice for the Screenwriter

Ever thought you'd like to write a movie? Then you may be interested in hearing some advice from people who've been there:

"If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on." -- Alfred Hitchcock

"The challenge of screenwriting is to say much in little and then take half of that little out and still preserve an effect of leisure and natural movement."
-- Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep)

"I think part of being a good screenwriter is being as concise as possible." -- Eric Roth (Forrest Gump)

"If the story is constructed properly, then the ending should be inevitable, but not predictable." -- Lawrence Konner (Star Trek VI, Beverly Hillbillies)

But keep your expectations down, folks. Very few screenwriters get to be famous (as can be attested by the fact that you may not recognize all the names in this blog post)...

"Scriptwriting is the toughest part of the whole racket, the least understood and the least noticed." -- Frank Capra

"The honors Hollywood has for the writer are as dubious as tissue-paper cuff links." -- Ben Hecht (Notorious, His Girl Friday)

And remember this...

"It’s an accepted fact that all writers are crazy; even the normal ones are weird." -- William Goldman (The Princess Bride, Butch Cassidy)

Smoking in the Movies

"It's usually the bad guys and their henchmen who smoke [in the movies], because it helps the audience identify them as evil." (from Anybody Got a Light? by Scott Castle)

Hmmm...

Well, here are the results from our recent poll: "Do you think smoking should be portrayed in movies?"

• 3 out of 5 people said, "Yes, if the story really warrants it." (60% of the poll)
• 1 out of 5 thinks, "Maybe, but only in Period Films." (20% of poll)
• 1 out 8 people didn't know what to think. (13% of poll)
• 1 cheeky person out of 15 said "Yes, every film needs at least one heavy chain-smoker." (6% of poll)
• 1 person said "No, never." (6% of poll)

We didn't ask about the "bad guys" smoking, but we suppose that that could fit into the "Yes, if the story really warrants it" choice. So, the question is, do we follow the Hollywood convention and make our "bad guys" light up a few cigarettes?

And what about this? Is it "smoking" if a cigarette is portrayed in an ash tray? Or if someone is just holding the cigarette, but never actually takes a puff?

Something to think about...

Screenplay Improvements

It's always a good idea to improve your craft, right?

For us, part of that means improving our screenplays.

Well, recently, we were visiting some of our compatriots. We were discussing the latest screenplay that we're working on. They had a book sitting there called Writing a Great Movie by Jeff Kitchen.

Hmmm... We want to write a great movie!

So, we borrowed the book. (Don't worry, M & Z, we'll bring it back to you!)

We read it. It inspired us. And now we're making a few changes to our script. But, that's what it's all about, isn't it? What's the point with reading about screenwriting if it never affects your work?

Some other books that have inspired us in the past?

• Screenwriting Tricks of the Trade, by William Froug
• Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, by Robert McKee (long title, but good book)
• Filmmaking: Narrative and Structural Techniques, by Bob Foss

Check them out!

A Larry Norman Concert

You may remember us mentioning that we filmed a concert back in August 2007 of musician Larry Norman (1947-2008)...

Well, we've just finished creating a trailer for the DVD on that concert... which, as it turned out, was his final solo appearance on stage. Take a look...




The DVD of the concert will be coming out soon. It will be released later this year through the official Larry Norman website.


Want us to let you know when the DVD goes on sale? Sign up and we'll send you an email alert...

IMDb and slow submissions

A few people want to know, do we know about IMDb.com? Why haven't we submitted our Dear J movie to IMDb?...

Hmmmm... Let's see. Well, we actually have. But, so it seems, unless you are named Steven Spielberg or George Lucas or... (you get the picture); well, you don't automatically just make it in.

So, we have to wait until they validate our submission.

Waiting.

You know, that word sounds kind of familiar. Like we've heard it before. Deja vu? All over again!

Free Shipping until Father's Day

If you haven't had the chance yet to buy the Dear J DVD, we want you to know that we've extended the offer of free shipping until June 15th.

...Which means you have 2 weeks (14 days)...

June 15th also happens to be Father's Day.

Hey, maybe your dad would rather get a DVD this year instead of a tie?! (We thought about creating a "Dear J" tie as one of those merchandise tie-ins, but that idea never quite got off the ground...)