Clearing Hurdles with Aplomb

ot only did I flip through a few screenplays and index the range of terms that I encountered, but I've gotten a better feel for the software, Final Draft, and today I adapted more than half of the first chapter of ACYW.

I've stopped, momentarily, as I've hit a small wall - one that I saw coming and which I believe, with some thought, can be hurdled with aplomb. Throughout ACYW I go into detail about Detroit, Dearborn, Michigan, the local, state and national economies, and then later as we experience the fall of 2008, the stock market. The wall is, how do I present these important figures? Chances are, my characters are not going to have memorized obscure, but important, statistics nor will they be able to recall the level of the Dow on specific dates.

This wall gives me an opportunity to present the information in creative and indirect ways. It can come from a radio in the background. It could be grazed from the covers of newspapers read by people in the background of a scene. Those are a couple simple ways to do it, but I'll need to give this more thought.

Can you run through those cheeses again?

n the 1983 John Hughes comedy Mr. Mom, Michael Keaton loses his auto job and has to take care of the kids while his wife starts a career in advertising. With his new responsibilities come new decisions to make along with a slew of new choices to choose from. At the supermarket, he asks for cheese. The woman behind the counter quickly runs through about seven different varieties. Overwhelmed, he hems and haws before asking her to go through them again. The line of prepared moms groans behind him.

I received Final Draft, the screenwriting software, the other day. Today I sat down with ACYW and opened up the software. Before me lay a blank canvas. Problem is, despite reading a handful of screenplays, my screenwriting lingo is sparse. I don't know what cheese to order, never mind how much. Fortunately, no one's groaning but me.

I did a quick Internet search for screenwriting vocabulary, but didn't find anything comprehensive. What I'll do now is quickly flip through the five screenplays I have and jot down and index of terms. Then I'll tape them up on my wall for reference.

When it comes to formatting, I want to play by the rules. When it comes to story, I can have more fun.

How to throw a screenplay

fter finishing the screenplay to Slumdog Millionaire, I'm on to The Shawshank Redemption. I have found there is little to no poetry in screenplays, which saddens me. I'll have to find other outlets for that - probably song. The dialogue is great. It's rich and it runs. The side notes, at times, could be construed as pitches made by the screenwriter to the studio - hyperbole seems to be the norm. At other times, though, they seem like brainstorming sessions between buddies. The best example of this that I've read so far comes from Shawshank as the screenwriter, Frank Darabont, introduces Tommy, the young Presley-like inmate, that Andy Dufresne works with towards his GED:

"DOLLYING Tommy as he struts along, combing his ducktail, cigarette behind his ear. (We definitely need The Coasters or Del Vikings on the soundtrack here. Maybe Jerry Lee Lewis.)"

That thinking out loud, that's fun. I'm glad it's kosher as ACYW has its own soundtrack and I look forward to throwing out tunes to accompany the action.

Industry Standard

n my own I can accomplish so much. With the help of others, some more. And now, apparently, it seems that software (along with luck) can round out the percentages. After a catch-up lunch with old friend Philip Buiser of Two Penguins Productions, I learned that Final Draft, a screenwriting software application, can make sure that my submissions are properly formatted. While I will continue to read screenplays to get a feel for them, working with an industry approved app should smooth out the process of adapting ACYW and writing future work.

Screenplays Galore

aving only read one and half screen plays, it's hard to come to conclusions about what makes one. Fortunately, a friend has lent me three more. I should finish "Life Is Beautiful" Wednesday morning before starting the next four: "The Shawshank Redemption", "Slumdog Millionaire", "Thank You For Smoking" and "The Hurt Locker". I'm particularly interested in reading the last which I've never seen. The rest I can visualize because I've seen the films. "The Hurt Locker" will test that and really force me to think about how blank a canvas a screenplay is.

Strand-ed

he Strand, an institution of a used books store in NYC, is home to 18 miles of books. Of that 18 miles, I'd say screenplays make up about six feet. Though I was able to snag copies of The Shawshank Redemption and Life Is Beautiful, the pickings were slim. While I would expect bookstores in Los Angeles to have more screenplays, you'd think NYC wouldn't be a slouch in this department.

Perhaps there are other spots that have more. Perhaps the Strand's four shelves' worth was their bone thrown to screenwriters. Or maybe, just maybe, people just don't read screenplays. Zeus knows I'm reading my first at 33. Dunno. That being said, the beauty of screenplays is you don't depend on their sales to survive. You just have to sell one.

Of Idioms and Brooklyn

ust a quick update. I finished reading The Stories Behind 100 Chinese Idioms. Some favorites:

1) Tyranny is fiercer than a tiger.
2) All that is needed is an east wind.
3) Like a crane standing among chickens.

I've now moved on to John Patrick Shanley's screenplay of Moonstruck, a favorite movie, which does a nice job of bringing together the stories of several characters akin to what I try to do. I may try to hit the Strand to see what screenplays they have as the NYPL, for once, doesn't seem to have many (at least not circulating).