From the Hollywood to English Dictionary:
Take Out, v. To introduce a pitch or spec script to potential buyers (aka The Town).
In the real world "take out" is used in reference to Chinese food. And garbage.
In the not real world you "take out" the pitch or script with the goal of it being "picked up". Which, yeah, sounds pretty much like the garbage analogy. Just without the curb.
Forget I said anything.
Showing posts with label the business of screenwriting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the business of screenwriting. Show all posts
Monday, March 24, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
More Lingo
From the Hollywood to English dictionary:
The Town, n. 1. Los Angeles. 2. Except not all of Los Angeles. 3. Really just the film and television business. 4. Which thinks its all of Los Angeles.
People who work in the industry like to refer to the industry as The Town. Which, I guess means The Town refers to the town as The Town.
The Town is a collective. The Town speaks with one voice. Right now, I'm being told that The Town hasn't indicated whether it's business as usual yet following the writers' strike. The Town is waiting to see how the actors' contract shakes out. The Town can be coy.
The Town is also emotional. During the writers strike, the town was clinically depressed. The town didn't shower for a month. The town subsisted on Cherry Garcia and Cheetos and a tivoed Dog Whisperer marathon.
One day The Town decided that all meetings would come with the option of cold or room temperature water. Except the town didn't actually offer room temperature water -- the Town asked if "you wanted it room?" Because the town doesn't have time for superfluous four syllable words like "temperature".
Just like when you phone someone and they're not in (i.e. not in for you), the Town asks if the person you're calling can "return". The town is much too busy for the words "your call". The Town is an ergonomic ballet with no wasted movement.
"Hi, Dave Wells calling for The Town."
"She's in a meeting. Can she return?"
My feeling is - of course - she can return. She has every right to return. Why couldn't she return?
Unless The Town has banished her from the town.
The Town, n. 1. Los Angeles. 2. Except not all of Los Angeles. 3. Really just the film and television business. 4. Which thinks its all of Los Angeles.
People who work in the industry like to refer to the industry as The Town. Which, I guess means The Town refers to the town as The Town.
The Town is a collective. The Town speaks with one voice. Right now, I'm being told that The Town hasn't indicated whether it's business as usual yet following the writers' strike. The Town is waiting to see how the actors' contract shakes out. The Town can be coy.
The Town is also emotional. During the writers strike, the town was clinically depressed. The town didn't shower for a month. The town subsisted on Cherry Garcia and Cheetos and a tivoed Dog Whisperer marathon.
One day The Town decided that all meetings would come with the option of cold or room temperature water. Except the town didn't actually offer room temperature water -- the Town asked if "you wanted it room?" Because the town doesn't have time for superfluous four syllable words like "temperature".
Just like when you phone someone and they're not in (i.e. not in for you), the Town asks if the person you're calling can "return". The town is much too busy for the words "your call". The Town is an ergonomic ballet with no wasted movement.
"Hi, Dave Wells calling for The Town."
"She's in a meeting. Can she return?"
My feeling is - of course - she can return. She has every right to return. Why couldn't she return?
Unless The Town has banished her from the town.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
stuck on you
As promised/threatened, here's the beginning of what I think will be a recurring thread -- industry information for the aspiring screenwriter.
I'm not talking about the process of writing a screenplay, but the business of being a screenwriter. And part of that is learning the foreign language of Hollywood. Let's start with...
attached, adj. In the real world it means 'joined, connected, bound'.
In Hollywood it means that someone of value has verbally agreed to have their name associated with a "project", with the goal of that valuable name giving the project "momentum" or causing it to be "set up" at a studio.
For instance, we have a Comedian/Actor attached to one of my scripts. How did he get attached? His wife read the script and told him he was doing it.
How long will he be attached? Until he's not.
So now I'm doing a revision based on meetings with The Manager, The Producer, and The Comedian/Actor's people. Then The Producer will "take out" the new script to "the town" with the "attachment".
See, it's just that simple.
I'm not talking about the process of writing a screenplay, but the business of being a screenwriter. And part of that is learning the foreign language of Hollywood. Let's start with...
attached, adj. In the real world it means 'joined, connected, bound'.
In Hollywood it means that someone of value has verbally agreed to have their name associated with a "project", with the goal of that valuable name giving the project "momentum" or causing it to be "set up" at a studio.
For instance, we have a Comedian/Actor attached to one of my scripts. How did he get attached? His wife read the script and told him he was doing it.
How long will he be attached? Until he's not.
So now I'm doing a revision based on meetings with The Manager, The Producer, and The Comedian/Actor's people. Then The Producer will "take out" the new script to "the town" with the "attachment".
See, it's just that simple.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
You Can't Get There From Here
Now that the strike is over, I was putting together a post to explain the two main projects I'm working on, and that explanation included noting that we have a Big Time Actor/Comedian attached to one of the projects and...
I started thinking about prosthetic limbs.
And trailer hitches.
And leeches.
And press-on nails.
And I seriously don't even know if they make press-on nails anymore, but the point is that all of the above get "attached".
The word "attached" is a Hollywood term. Because Hollywood feels the need to have its own language.
And this got me thinking that -- hang on, I'm getting to the important part -- if you're an aspiring screenwriter you need to understand the act of screenwriting, but you also need to understand the business of being a screenwriter.
You don't need me to talk about the act of screenwriting, because there are plenty of far more eloquent blogs doing just that. There are enough books on screenwriting to fill your library. And you can read screenplays until your eyes bleed at sites like drew's script-o-rama.
Twenty years ago you probably needed a secret handshake and a map to get some insight into the act and physical process of screenwriting. Twenty years ago, unless you could find a xeroxed copy of a script, the documents themselves probably seemed like extended haikus written in morse code -- strange, other worldly seeming glowing fish in black waters because they were so specialized and industry specific. Twenty years ago, all you probably had in terms of books was Syd Field (not sure about that and too lazy to fact check, but you get the idea).
But that's all changed.
Today there is no mystery to what scripts look like and how they're written. But there is still mystery as to what goes on in the room. And "the room" is another term (hint: you want to be "good" in there).
So this is where I'm going to focus: shining a light on the business of screenwriting. Because outside of possibly USC and UCLA, I don't know of any other sources for inside instruction on the business of being a screenwriter.
More to come...
I started thinking about prosthetic limbs.
And trailer hitches.
And leeches.
And press-on nails.
And I seriously don't even know if they make press-on nails anymore, but the point is that all of the above get "attached".
The word "attached" is a Hollywood term. Because Hollywood feels the need to have its own language.
And this got me thinking that -- hang on, I'm getting to the important part -- if you're an aspiring screenwriter you need to understand the act of screenwriting, but you also need to understand the business of being a screenwriter.
You don't need me to talk about the act of screenwriting, because there are plenty of far more eloquent blogs doing just that. There are enough books on screenwriting to fill your library. And you can read screenplays until your eyes bleed at sites like drew's script-o-rama.
Twenty years ago you probably needed a secret handshake and a map to get some insight into the act and physical process of screenwriting. Twenty years ago, unless you could find a xeroxed copy of a script, the documents themselves probably seemed like extended haikus written in morse code -- strange, other worldly seeming glowing fish in black waters because they were so specialized and industry specific. Twenty years ago, all you probably had in terms of books was Syd Field (not sure about that and too lazy to fact check, but you get the idea).
But that's all changed.
Today there is no mystery to what scripts look like and how they're written. But there is still mystery as to what goes on in the room. And "the room" is another term (hint: you want to be "good" in there).
So this is where I'm going to focus: shining a light on the business of screenwriting. Because outside of possibly USC and UCLA, I don't know of any other sources for inside instruction on the business of being a screenwriter.
More to come...
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