The List Keeps Growing

STEWIE GRIFFIN: THE UNTOLD STORY - 20th Century Fox Home Ent.
CARLITO'S WAY: RISE TO POWER - Universal Studios Home Ent.
AMERICAN PIE: BAND CAMP - U.S.H.E.
8 SECONDS pt. 2 - New Line Home Ent.
BUTTERFLY EFFECT 2 - New Line H.E.
HOUSE PARTY 5 - New Line H. E.
SINGLE WHITE FEMALE 2: THE PSYCHO - Sony
8MM 2 - Sony
3 BARBIE sequels - Lions Gate Home Ent.
LITTLE EINSTEIN SERIES - Buena Vista Home Ent.
BLUE COLLAR COMEDY TOUR SERIES - Paramount

And not to forget the MTV and NICKELODEON series coming D2DVD.

Fire!

I am watching the news wondering if this end of the country is going up in smoke. I'm fine and the Secret Mountain HQ seems pretty damn impervious. We have a 20' area around the fortress which is a really good firebreak. Plenty of sprinklers around the property and several means of egress.

But looking northwest into the hills we see smoke so ...

We'll be keeping an eye on the tube tonight.

We already have an earthquake / disaster kit down in the Lab. Bags packed with a couple of days worth of comfortable clothes. Canned goods and water at the ready. Hey, we live in earthquake and fire country ya know?

For those of you who have been told to evacuate - get the hell out! Don't think you are mightier than fire, or that you know better than the Fire Department. It's just "stuff" - it's not worth your life. The Firemen are doing one hell of a job, but they can't do it all. You and I have to help. We have to cooperate. We have to lend a hand.

Stay tuned.

Mondays are Always Like This...

Lots of stuff needs to be done and I have sand in my mental gears. Where does one start?

A spec I wrote waaaay back in the day has received some interest from a production company. That has me excited on a couple of levels:

1. I had written it off as a lesson learned.
2. Even if they don't want to option or produce it, they want to see more from me (always nice to hear).
3. This company has a good track record - they get movies made.

I'll file this one under "To Be Continued."
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I'm not overly enthusiastic about this season's TV offerings. The only standout for me has been Prison Break, which continues to schedule my Monday nights for me. The others haven't struck that chord with me that says, "watch me."
The last time I felt that was Battlestar: Galactica, which has gone on hiatus. I have to say they have ended on a high note though, and there are a lot of threads left dangling in the air - the carrot that will get me back in January.

I received a few things in my email box this weekend which have inspired a post. I am working on it in between the paying work.
-------------------------------------------------

I'm planning on travelling to the east coast (South carolina) at the end of October - to see the folks and go to my 20th College Reunion! God, I am old. It will be interesting to see people who knew me back then and always wondered where I would end up. The fact I have a California address is going to freak some of them out, and when I tell them what I do for a living they will give me that quizzical stare, and that polite nod that says, "I have absolutely no frame of reference for this."

Okay, Prison Break is on. Gotta go.

Stay tuned.

Just finished..

ALFRED HITCHCOCK AND THE MAKING OF PSYCHO by Stephen Rebello (Harper Perennial, ISBN 0-06-097366-8)

Wonderful book with an incredible insight into the craft of filmmaking. It should be on your "must read" list. This is my second time reading it, and it's still fresh the second go-round. Rebello does a great job covering all facets of this movie and the players involved.

My Theory of More - A Discussion for the D2DVD Film School

I rewritten five pages of THE SKULL this morning so I'm doing rather well considering I got a late start of it, and I've been skooting around the web for awhile, dropping a few grenades here and there. As I've been rewriting the script, an informal rule seem to be applying itself to the process. Everyone who reads this blog knows of my desire for simplicity in writing, design, characterization, etc... it all falls under the umbrella of "pulp."

But as I've been editing this morning, It's becoming apparent (to me) that it's not about less...
It's about more and how those two things go hand in hand when it comes to low budget filmmaking.

With many of these low budget films you have a (very) limited amount of time and resources (money, crew, cast, locations) to produce the movie. You have less and are expected to produce more. Production value is the term.

But that's wrong isn't it?

The problem with this line of thinking is that More doesn't always equal Better. If you try to pile on MORE but have too few resources to do the job properly, then it's like slapping a glossy coat of paint on a house infested with termites. The holes show through and are even amplified by the paint.

More will equal worse -- Martin Amis

The process then, from script through post, is not to get MORE, but to strengthen what you already have going for you - your core concept. In essence, you not only want the audience to feel satisfied by what they've been given, but to also bring something of themselves into the process. You give them LESS so they access it and are able to bring the MORE. It's very much like impressionism.

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Director Val Lewton is known for his film, CAT PEOPLE where there is not a killing that occurs onscreen. It's all done with mood and shadow, because if he were to actually show the creature then people wouldn't be half as frightened.

*** To learn more about Lewton, read about the new DVD collection here:

http://www.fangoria.com/ghastly_review.php ***

Film Noir lighting came about as a quick means to light sets, and to hide their deficiencies. Shadow became as important as light. Simple sets became places where evil men hide. Anything could happen in the dark, which ratchets up the tension level considerably.

Japanese manga is known for simple "moving" artwork (simple design indicating motion, limited backgrounds) featuring characters that deal with complex, adult issues.

Remember when you were a kid and your church or neighborhood had a potluck dinner? One or two families would set up the tables and get things organized, and everyone else brought their family's specialty dishes to the dinner - roast this, barbeque that, deep fried whatnot (I'm from the South. There's always a lot of deep-fried whatnot) . It allowed for a much richer, tastier experience then if you had laid out only what your family cooks. In fact, you couldn't have fed all those people yourself as it would have been too expensive.

In each of these examples, the audience fills in the blanks and brings their experience to the work, making it interactive. They bring the MORE to the equation.

Our job then, as D2DVD screenwriters is to make the characters and story accessible, show a little not a lot and allow the audience to bring the MORE. We can't afford to do it any other way.

A really good example of this is ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, John Carpenter's remake of RIO BRAVO set in an LA precinct overrun by gangs. That's a great concept isn't it?

A precinct overrun by gangs...

Except there were never that many gang members onscreen! You never saw more than four or five at a time, and yet you felt the characters inside the precinct were completely surrounded at all times. The audience brought the MORE. Carpenter crafted the movie so the audience would buy into the story and think there were dozens of bloodthirsty gang members out there.

In PSYCHO, everyone thinks they see Janet Leigh being stabbed while in the shower. If you look at it closely however, you see that at no time did a knife touch flesh. The audience fills in the blanks.

Something similar happened after SCARECROW. A kid emailed me saying he really liked the scene where the Scarecrow pulled the Sheriff's entrails out and danced around with them at the pool. I didn't have the heart to tell the kid that scene isn't in the movie. How do you break it to a kid there's no entrail dance when clearly he thinks there was one? (There was a sickle to the chest if I remember correctly)

The answer is you don't, because it may not have been in the movie we made, but it was in his movie. The movie he saw in his imagination. The movie that had plenty of MORE with it.

So by design, you can get the same effect in the audience's mind as if you had pulled out the Mac computer and went with full-on CGI. The problem with CGI is that it takes time, and the longer you dwell on it, the more artificial it becomes (not to mention it's expensive!).

Remember: Nothing beats an audience's imagination.

So that's the beginning of my Theory of More. Show (better yet, imply) just enough so that the audience brings their imagination to the table you've set, and then have a good potluck dinner.

After that, leave them wanting more. (which is a whole other post)

The smoking lamp is lit. Let's discuss it.

Rain, rain...

A rainy day today. Good day to catch up on some writing and get something out ahead of schedule.

But, as always something screws with you.

I woke up this morning at 4:30 to the sound of thunder and lightning right outside my window. This is one of the hazzards of living in the secret mountain HQ high above the rest of the city...you're closer to the storms.

Came out and checked around the house. Then went back to sleep at 5:00. It's now 9:30 and I'm 2 hours late on my day.

Wow, the lightning is so close you can almost touch it.

The Critics Weigh In

So, we're all watching the new shows for this fall season and wondering:

"Will this show be on next week?"

To help you answer that question, I'm going to recap what the critics of over eleven newspapers and magazines have to say overall about the fall's new shows that have been seen thus far. This is straight from Variety.

PRISON BREAK - 9 pro. 2 con. [prediction: Hit]
REUNION - 5 pro, 2 con, 4 mixed. [prediction:On the fence but will run 13 episodes]
THE WAR AT HOME - 7 con, 3 mixed, 1 pro. [prediction: Outta here]
BONES - 5 pro, 5 mixed, 1 con. [prediction: On the fence but will run a full season]
SUPERNATURAL - 6 pro, 2 con, 3 mixed. [prediction: Will run a full season]
HEAD CASES - 6 con, 3 pro, 2 mixed. [prediction: Dead in the water]

Anyone have a differing opinion?

Read By Example

So I talked the other day about being a better reader in order to strengthen your writing. Mind you, it's not the only thing you need to do, but it's a start. What got me thinking about all of this was the fact I was purging old files, and I came across some old scripts that I had written before I really knew what a screenplay looked like.

(Sounds of pity echo across the scribosphere)

Yep, the scripts were that bad. So bad in fact I knew I had to get hold of a real one just so I could study it. Next thing you know I was at a comic convention in Columbia, SC and found a guy selling a few scripts. They were copies of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Not the Disney movie, but the Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman TV show). Manna from heaven.

From there it progressed to buying script books and ordering copies via the mail. Now things are a lot simpler. I can log on, download a PDF of a particular script and go from there. All without killing any more trees than necessary.

So since I gave all of you homework for the rest of the year (at least reading homework, we haven't discussed viewing homework), I thought I would tell you what I'm going to be reading for the rest of the year:

FACE OFF by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary. Revision by Wesley Strick
THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT by Shane Black
ALIAS ("Doppelganger") by Daniel Arkin
LA FEMME NIKITA ("Pilot") by Cyrus Nowrasteh
SEVEN DAYS ("Run, Parker, Run") by Alphonse Ruggiero
LAS VEGAS ("Untitled Vegas Project") by Gary Scott Thompson
NOW AND AGAIN ("Origins") by Glenn Gordon Caron

I'm also going to be throwing in:

THE BOURNE IDENTITY
THE BOURNE SUPREMACY
CELLULAR
Any script I can get from 24

and any reference books I can get my hands on regarding real CIA tactics and dirty tricks. I may throw in some more action thrillers to get me "in the mood", but I haven't narrowed it down yet. Any suggestions?

I watched the TV show SPY again last night, and I'm really liking this reality show as it teaches these normal contestants how to be spies. Taking ordinary folks and putting them to work, lying for a living. That has a nice ring to it.

All of this reading is for me to deconstruct what makes these spy shows / thrillers work, and to help me avoid any pitfalls these shows may have fallen into. This is the gasoline that will power my spy thriller engine for the next month or so.

So what's going to be running your engine for the next few months?

More Pulp for Your Pleasure!

I made some additions this morning. These are all sites where you'll get a healthy dose of pulp - the meaty, succulent part of this writing thing we do.

These additions include:

Dead Things on Sticks - Denis McGrath's blog on writing for Canadian TV amongst other things.
Bernie Dexter - because Bernie is Bernie. Nuff said.
Dial B for Blog - This is the fun stuff that infected my brain at an early age.
I Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing - Josh Friedman's hilarious adventures writing movies you can actually see in the theater (though with someone else's name on them).
The Artful Writer - Craig Mazin's blog with a great Q&A format. It answered several of my questions and I'm not even in the union (yet).
Fun Joel - because he has insightful (or is that inciteful?) comments from the perspective of a studio reader and columnist. Besides, he's fun.
John August - Tim Burton's "go to" guy. Writes big movies. Knows the craft. Read and learn.
Screenwriter Bones - Philip Morton is a working writer. Again: read and learn.
Ink Slinger - TV writer and novelist Paul Guyot. Great advice, no bullshit.
Assistant Atlas - you want to get your foot in the door in Hollywood? Be kind to the assistants. Learn what goes on in the office after they request your script.
Alligators in a Copter - perspective from a studio reader. Learn what's wrong with your (and my) scripts, and what we can do to fix them.
Internet Script Database - No excuses now not to read cool scripts. This combined with Bill Martell's script library gives you a wide range of budgeted scripts to learn from. When I reference something, you can go to it, understand it and discuss it.
The Engine - Warren Ellis' forum for discussing the comics that don't involve a mask and a cape. Lots of script and story discussion with pros, semi-pros and Do-it-yourselfers.
Posterwire - the site that dissects movie posters and design both past and present. This will be helpful in the future when we discuss DVD casewrap artwork.
Atomic Pulp - the site for writer Christopher Mills. Loved the name. Like the site even more.

These sites are all deserving of our regular attention, and form a "faculty" of sorts for learning how to get into this business, improve your craft, and stay in this business for the long term.

I will be adding more links as the need arises (for discussions and projects I have boiling in my cranium).

D2DVD Film School pt. 4

This is a simple one pulpsters. So simple that it escapes everyone's notice:

If you want to be a better writer, then be a better reader.

This is your homework assignment for the rest of the year. Read one screenplay every two weeks. That's seven screenplays. They can be anything you want, but they have to have been produced.

But Bill, I don't have the time to read a screenplay!
Gee, then I guess a development executive doesn't either...

Screenwriting is one of those jobs where you always have homework. Always. It means reading and watching and absorbing, all on top of the writing you're already doing.

But I'm stuck here in the middle of (insert name of bumfuck town here). I can't get hold of scripts to read.
I guess you don't want to make a living writing screenplays. I was "stuck" in the small town of Aiken, SC (and this was before the age of the internet) and I managed to do it. You've got all sorts of resources on the web to download and read scripts. Take advantage of it. If you don't, the other guy will. (That would be the guy who's going to sell that script and/or make that film)

Think of all this as career development, the stuff you would be doing anyway if you worked on the line at the local plant. It's required for you to progress to the next pay grade in your job.

Now get back to work.

News You Can Use

Just some facts and tidbits from the pages of DVD Exclusive magazine:

Title: / Box Office: / DVD Revenue:

The Incredibles / $261 M / $315 M
National Treasure/ 173 M / 196 M
Shark Tale / 160 M / 195 M
Meet The Fockers / 280 M / 183 M
Ray / 75 M / 169 M

According to DVDX's Editor-in-Chief, Scott Hettrick (who is both a gentleman and a scholar even though he roots for the Kansas City Royals every season) there is a trend developing amongst the studios to hold big premiere's for D2DVD releases and really push them. He also says the following:

"Consumers spend more than $3 Billion each year on movies premiered exclusively on DVD...and another $3 Billion on TV DVDs. (That's) more than two-thirds what is spent at the box office."
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• Bruce Campbell will be taking his Anchor bay release THE MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN on his cross-country book tour.
• Actor Corbin Bernsen (no stranger to D2DVD movies) is creating a series of DVD premiere pictures aimed at target audiences.
• Marty Bregman has a DVD premiere sequel to CARLITO'S WAY coming from Universal and starring P. Diddy.
• Producer Ken Kragen is pushing his new project 12 DOGS OF CHRISTMAS to Wal-Mart retailers via a presentation to Andersen Merchandising and the SMU marching band. The retailers cheered and commited to $200,000 copies of the family film. The movie is based on a book and a line of plush dog toys.
• Tim Robbins has brought his play EMBEDDED- LIVE to DVD (via netflix and Cinema Libre) . This is Netflix first acquisition and they licensed it to Cinema Libre to take it wider into the market. My good friend, Arik Treston brokered the deal for CL.
• Artisan (the genre DVD arm of Lions Gate) is releasing JACK O'LANTERN, a horror movie that features a pumpkinheaded character with "Wolverine-like" claws.

For more information, go to the Video Business link to your right.

Hear that?

It's the sound of the rent being paid.

I received a confirmation email yesterday that Velvet Steamroller and the Director of THE SOUND liked the way I tied their notes into this last draft, and that a final check is on its way.
It's funny, because I initially fought the note, then sat back, relaxed and thought, "They want this. They really want this, so you got to make it work Bill."

Sometimes, you have to give them what they want to see, fulfill their expectations, and make it work for the story structure you've set forth. If this is a big payoff scene then you have to lead up to it. Do some reversals of expectations. Make it harder for the hero. Make the hero fail only to ultimately fix the problem by putting himself right into the thick of it. Make it personal.

So I printed the script, got my red pen out and went to work:
A cut there. A change here. An addition or five...and voila!

107 pages. Done.

AND the story works. Win / win.

Now onto next month's rent...

Decompressing

It's 4 am here in LA and I woke up an hour ago from all the stuff whirling around in my head. I just made out my writing schedule for the rest of the year - setting some goals and factoring in how I'm going to pay for all those goals as well as accomplish them.

There's no way around it - there's a lot still left on my plate for this year.
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It's officially Sunday, Sept. 11th, 2005.

It was around this time 4 years ago, that I got a phone call from the east coast saying that a plane had hit the tower. I turned on the TV and saw the second one hit. I went into work that morning and turned on the TV. My boss, writer/director/producer/distributor Nico Mastorakis, was scheduled to leave the country that week, and fly back to Greece where he lives most of the year.

It wasn't going to happen.

I think he ended up spending an extra 2 weeks in LA, which at the time was good because he could work on .Com for Murder. I think he spent most of the time shopping.

Life is weird like that...

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It's quiet here at the secret mountain HQ. Nothing brewing down in the Lab. No rumble of traffic from the 2 and 5 freeways. No car headlights angling north or south along the freeway. No "Silent Bob" (our landlord's dog) barking at the squirrels.

I'm going to go turn on the Weather Channel and see if that will put me to sleep...

The Long and Winding Road...

Well, it's been a long one today. After my embolism over this whole Michael Brown affair we find that the administration is removing him from the FEMA office.

Done. Next!

Now we have to make sure that an independent inquiry is done in the whole Katrina fiasco and not a Bush led whitewash. Government should never investigate itself. Leave it to the people who have no stake in the final outcome.

Wrote some for a client this morning. Great stuff coming up with one-liners and factoids for their DVD, which will be out sometime later this year / early next year. I'll let you know the title when it comes out.

Also worked on THE SKULL which is good because I pitched the idea to a director and he wants to read it.

Still waiting on the final word on THE SOUND.

As MSNBC was on in the Secret Mountain HQ this morning, I saw a lot of devastation footage which of course sent me to the notepad to jot down some story ideas. As sick as this is going to sound, I think I have a good horror movie coming out of all this material. Something big that I'm going to have to pitch. I'm still putting it together, but I've come up with a bunch of scenes that I'd like to see, and more keep coming.

A friend called the other day and wants me to dust off an old concept I wrote a treatment for several years ago. I took a look at it and it's my take on a hi-tech espionage thriller TV series. I originally wrote it in 2002, and I can see all its faults now. Amazing thing that hindsight. I'm going to have to polish and retitle it in the light of all the stuff that has come out since then: 24, THE BOURNE IDENTITY / SUPREMACY, GLOBAL FREQUENCY (which I still have not seen) and a lot of historical and technological data I've been ingesting about the origins of today's Intelligence Agency culture. The truth is far stranger than the fiction. I've also started watching a show called SPIES, which takes a group of folks through spy school. Rather insightful.

Tomorrow is a cleaning day here. Still lots of files to go through and the traditional "weeding out of the crap." I also have some letters to write, resume's to send out, and phone calls to make. Also have to get some groceries and haul them up the mountain.

It's Saturday, and the cartoons will be on, but I will be working.

Terrorists couldn't have done any better!

This audience knows I rarely get political on this blog. I usually leave that to better, more eloquent writers than myself. I am the "cheeseburger and fries" writer of the blogosphere. I stick to what I know well and leave the rest for other blogs to dissect.

But --

When I learn of the "behind-the-scenes" garbage that is going on nowadays, post-Katrina, I get really pissed off and have to give the "common man's" point of view. Take a look at this little bit of information below, and answer the question: How did this guy get his job?


http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050909051609990011&ncid=NWS00010000000001

Michael Brown is a poseur, a charlatan. He couldn't have screwed the American people any harder than he has if he were a terrorist mole.

The people who hired him? Fire them.
The people who investigated his background and confirmed him? Fire them.
The people at Homeland Security who dealt with this bozo and said nothing? Fire them too.

When, oh when are people in society going to understand that it is our duty as Americans to yell at the top of our lungs, "The Emperor has no clothes!"
I'm not talking about reporting on your neighbor because he/she likes to get naked and run around their house. I'm not talking about reporting your neighbor because they are a Catholic or Jew, or Muslim, or Libertarian, or Democrat, or Republican or even Communist! I'm not talking about reporting people because they happen to disagree with your point of view.

I'm talking about not being a party to doing the wrong thing. I'm talking about pointing out the flaws so they can be fixed. I'm talking about doing the right thing before someone gets hurt or killed.

People at a variety of levels in our society knew Michael Brown wasn't qualified to be in his position. They knew he lied on his resume'. They knew.

And they did nothing about it.

I'm pissed about Brown getting to his position, but I'm even more enraged at those people who sat back and let it go by. They are the real criminals here. They allowed a man who was not qualified to send a memo the day before Katrina to ask for help from Homeland Security. People and resources should have been on alert and in place four days prior to landfall, and this guy was politely asking for help only a day before.

He was not prepared, not qualified, and yet responsible to the people. He has continued his inept behavior throughout this disaster by witholding resources from companies (Wal-Mart and others), other municipalities (several towns sent equipment to help, but were held back) and churches (again held back from delivering water and canned goods) as well as firefighters from around the world (who in a brilliant bit of solidarity refused to wear their FEMA t-shirts lest they be marked as the 'enemy').

I am looking forward to reading the complete TIME magazine investigation to find out who needs to be removed from office in our next election (or before).

Remember voters, the government is in your employ. Act accordingly.

To Our Friends In The Great White North - Thanks!

From the CBC:

In addition to help from other Louisiana and Alabama departments, a Canadian task force of firefighters and police arrived four days after the storm, St. Bernard Fire Chief Thomas Stone said.
"If you can get a Canadian team here in four days, U.S. teams should be here faster than that," Stone said, referring to Vancouver's Urban Search and Rescue Team, which has been working with the Louisiana state police in the St. Bernard Parish area, about 30 kilometres east of New Orleans.

However, if you read a similar article on AOL.com then the above paragraph will be mysteriously absent...

The Canadian story: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050906/w090656.html

The AOL version: http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050824033709990005&_ccc=1&cid=842

What's going on here?

How come we aren't getting the same news that our good neighbors came to help us out before we got off our own asses and did something on our own? Granted, there are references to the 82nd Airbourne in the AOL draft that I don't see in the CBC draft, but that's a bit different isn't it? I am talking early response.

I, for one want to know how Canadians from Vancouver got to the trouble spot before US rescue teams did. How could this happen? I thank the Canadians for their efforts and for stepping up to do the right thing.

Now for the kicker: The Canadian firefighter paragraph WAS in the AOL story not 20 minutes ago. IT HAS BEEN REMOVED.

Marvel-ous

Marvel is now Marvel Entertainment which reflects its recent influx of $525 Million to finance a slate of (up to) ten films to be distributed by Paramount.

This means that Marvel is becoming a vertically integrated company:

The comics develop the audience and the property.
They create toys and games based on the above.
They have complete creative control over how the films are made.
They reap the benefits of that control.

For the full story:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=5858

BOO!

My friend Anthony Ferrante, who was the SFX supervisor on SCARECROW as well as the 2nd Unit Director, has his first film coming out in October - BOO!

DOG SOLDIERS producer David E. Allen is behind it, in what will hopefully be a line of low-budget horror films under the GRAVEYARD FILMWORKS banner. It also features Dee Wallace Stone who kept me up late at night when I was much younger in films like CUJO, THE HOWLING and "10"
Good Job Anthony!

Below are the specifics on the film:

BOO (2004)
Written/Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante
Producer: David E. Allen, Co-Producer: Brian Patrick O'Toole, Sheri Bryant

Cast: M. Steven Felty, Trish Coren, Rachel Melvin, Nicole Rayburn, Josh Holt, Happy Mahaney, Jilon Ghai, Michael Samluk, Dig Wayne, Dee Wallace Stone

Synopsis: In this atmospheric ghost story, a handful of college student become trapped in an abandoned hospital on Halloween and find themselves in the middle of a battle between two ghosts - a nurse and her psychotic patient.

Edgar Stiles Rocks!

In a very smart programming move, influenced by the upcoming DVD release, A&E Network is broadcasting 24 in a 24-hour marathon broadcast.

So far this season:

1. Fox added a preview to the 3rd season DVD set, setting up the premise for this 4th season.
2. Fox also created additional content (Behind-the-Scenes) for streaming on the 24 website.
3. They broadcast the 4th season on Fox.
4. And instead of rerunning the program on Fox, they license it to A&E who maximize the value of thepurchase by running it as a marathon - the way people who buy the DVD set will be watching it.
5. Next, they will release the season 4 set with more content (commentaries, production diaries, etc...) and a preview of the upcoming season.

This is how DVD has influenced our viewing, and their programming habits.

Stay tuned. More influences will be felt across other media.

D2DVD Film School Pt. 3 - Is It Worth it?

So let's get one thing straight as we undertake this journey toward D2DVD production. It's important to understand because you are taking the steps from (possibly) talented amateur to professional. It's something that many people in this industry kid themselves about, and try to mask under self-important lingo and egotistical artistic illusion (delusion? Yes, delusion).

The most important thing to remember is:

You are doing this for the money.

(Deafening silence ensues...followed by shock, then outrage)

But Bill what about Shakespeare?
He did it for the money.
But what about guys like Robert Towne?
Money. The guy wrote and acted for Roger Corman for chrissakes!
How about...Scorcese, Copolla, Demme, Tarantino, Stone, Woo?
Money. The answer is money.

Professionals get paid for their work. Everyone mentioned above wanted to be paid for their work... And that's what you want too, isn't it?

People pay professionals for their expertise, talent, creativity, work ethic... and that's what you want too isn't it?

Professionals are responsible with the money they get to make a movie, and they are responsible about the money they invest (They don't give. Ever. They expect to be paid back and make a tidy profit besides). That's a reputation you want to have.

You want to be a professional? Then money comes into the equation in a big way.

You aren't shooting on weekends anymore with the school's film society. You aren't looking at the footage in the editing room and saying, "That doesn't look tooooo bad." You aren't looking at the manual as you use a Nagra for the first time. And when something doesn't work out you don't just say, "Oh well, sorry. My bad. " without there being consequences. You can't just let it go. There are no excuses that are acceptable.

Because if you screw up, it doesn't just affect you - it affects other people too.

You are making a film to sell. You are doing it for the money, so that you can make another film and make some money on that one too.

You are doing it so you can do it for a living. You are doing it to build a career. You are doing it so that audiences who look at your work feel they got their money's worth.

Money raises the bar quite a bit doesn't it?

That also means you're going to fail every now and then (and deal with that). It means that you're going to have to suck it up and keep going. It means you have to give it your best every time. Because this is how you make money. This is how you feed your family. This is how you pay the rent...the insurance...the car payment. Just because you are doing something you love, and it's kind of cool to be paid for creating doesn't lessen the pressure.

This is your job. Write, shoot, direct and act accordingly.

Next time: D2DVD Homework (This is school!)