tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post117193953507801089..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Beware of this manBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50301272365403954192010-02-09T22:56:05.623-08:002010-02-09T22:56:05.623-08:00Hmm Well I was just searching on Google for some T...Hmm Well I was just searching on Google for some Tarot readings of some Tarot reader <br />and just came across your blog, generally I just only visit blogs and retrieve my required <br />information but this time the useful information that you posted in this post compelled me<br />to reply here and appreciate your good work. I just bookmarked your blogTarot cardshttp://www.tarotcards.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62792598364793313922007-09-20T11:45:00.000-07:002007-09-20T11:45:00.000-07:00You're a moron.You're a moron.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01311730304127225862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29334067956044489242007-03-17T14:08:00.000-07:002007-03-17T14:08:00.000-07:00Robert McKee is one of the biggest idiots on earth...Robert McKee is one of the biggest idiots on earth .he said he's against voice over(also in adaptation had that remark)but hes favorite movie is casablanca which opens with a voice over .ha ha ha what a hack.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-86403490408647142512007-03-08T13:48:00.000-08:002007-03-08T13:48:00.000-08:00I recommend reading scripts -- both shooting and f...I recommend reading scripts -- both shooting and first drafts -- to see how it really works. You're bound to find some great writer who shares your style and emulate them.<BR/>Good luck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39636315736374390142007-03-08T13:46:00.000-08:002007-03-08T13:46:00.000-08:00I take screenwriting classes at UCLA, and, when we...I take screenwriting classes at UCLA, and, when we workshop, newbie screenwriters are constantly trying to get other writers to fit into the McKee box, even when it doesn't make sense.<BR/><BR/>This guy's started a cult. Thanks for valuable insight on him. I'm glad someone's brave enough to do it!<BR/><BR/>Now I'll send the link to your blog to all my classmates!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79061318040564899202007-03-08T09:27:00.000-08:002007-03-08T09:27:00.000-08:00Dear Ken, are you familiar with another screenwrit...Dear Ken, are you familiar with another screenwriting guru called Yves Lavandier? Besides being a screenwriter/director (same as you), he wrote a screenwriting book entitled WRITING DRAMA. It seems to me he is much less formulaic than Robert McKee and his US colleagues. Check out his definition of the three acts. Should we beware of Yves Lavandier?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32035139769839540852007-03-07T20:18:00.000-08:002007-03-07T20:18:00.000-08:00More thoughts on 2001, A Space Odessey:If the mono...More thoughts on 2001, A Space Odessey:<BR/><BR/>If the monoliths are the act breaks, (think they are) then you still have four acts - three breaks.Dave O'Harahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12864832646760885873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1173315358717766172007-03-07T16:55:00.000-08:002007-03-07T16:55:00.000-08:00tcinla,Don't think you can leave out the ape seque...tcinla,<BR/><BR/>Don't think you can leave out the ape sequence. The monolith gives the apes the idea of using tools/weapons. It was planted there to do just that. As it was planted on the moon to direct us on to our next step in evolution - if we got that far. It is absolutely integeral to the story.<BR/><BR/>Even if it 'only' made the story better - that would make it integeral (for quality)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1173314951465331112007-03-07T16:49:00.000-08:002007-03-07T16:49:00.000-08:00tcinla,Don't think you can leave out the ape seque...tcinla,<BR/><BR/>Don't think you can leave out the ape sequence. The monolith gives the apes the idea of using tools/weapons. It was planted there to do just that. As it was planted on the moon to direct us on to our next step in evolution - if we got that far. It is absolutely integeral to the story.<BR/><BR/>Even if it 'only' made the story better - that would make it integeral (for quality)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1173306422078268772007-03-07T14:27:00.000-08:002007-03-07T14:27:00.000-08:00great thread.somebody asked about other books.I'm ...great thread.<BR/>somebody asked about other books.<BR/>I'm very fond of Blake Snyder's "Save the Cat" and Vicki King's "How to Write a Screenplay in 21 Days" (which is sometimes very easy to find in the Library)<BR/><BR/>now, these are both the sorts of books KL warns against. me, I guess I'm the sort of guy who likes to cook but never would have without a cookbook. I love knowing that I CAN cook if I add two cups of this and a bag of that. I guess that's why I hang onto those screenwriting books.<BR/><BR/>but.. I'm glad I read this because the Nichol's Fellowship is coming up and maybe I'll just wing it for a change. what have I got to lose?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1173151376501816292007-03-05T19:22:00.000-08:002007-03-05T19:22:00.000-08:00Dave:In 2001, the ape sequence isn't an act - it's...Dave:<BR/><BR/>In 2001, the ape sequence isn't an act - it's a stand-alone piece. You could do the movie entirely without it, (it wouldn't be as good, but you could) which is the proof it's not an act that is integral to the other three. To me a good wayto define an act is to ask, could the movie exist without that? I think Goldman also confuses acts because he's talking about the break-in as an act. Again, it's good to have it but you could start the movie without it and only know what Woodward and Bernstein know, and stick with their POV throughout the movie. At the moment, I am writing amovie that has a "first act" in which what might be that "first act" of 2001/President's Men only it's embedded, cutting scene-by-scene with the "real" first act, which could be done without it but wouldn't be as interesting (in my not-so-humble opinion).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1173057282866870242007-03-04T17:14:00.000-08:002007-03-04T17:14:00.000-08:00Anonymous,(Don't know which one. Does this anonym...Anonymous,<BR/><BR/>(Don't know which one. Does this anonymous thing have anything to do with the courage of one's convicitons?)<BR/><BR/>Why is this dicussion so hard to follow? <BR/><BR/>Nodbody has said to toss out all the 'norms' (rules) of this art form.<BR/><BR/>What was said, the rules should not negate everything outside of the 'rules-of-the-moment.'<BR/><BR/>You been in music for a long time? How many of the great composer bent or completely did away with the 'rules-of-the-moment'? How many were slammed by their critics for breaking 'rules-of-the-moment'? Where are those critics. <BR/><BR/>If you listen to a piece that grabs you - do you not like it because some 'rules-of-the-moment' were broken. <BR/><BR/>Hell, these 'rules-of-the-moment" change to accomodate something new that won't go away - IF IT WORKS.<BR/><BR/>I have a friend, a music transcriber, who writes the music for musicians who can't write music. A lot of them don't know the 'rules-of-the-moment' - they hear what works for them - he writes it.<BR/><BR/>I repeat again - the problem with the 'rules-of-the-moment' mentality is when they are used to discard something that does work but doesn't quite fit the 'rules-of-the-moment'. <BR/><BR/>The clingers to 'rules-of-the-moment' are hoping the rules will guide them when they don't have the imagination or talent to know see a good story.Dave O'Harahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12864832646760885873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1173053207327849172007-03-04T16:06:00.000-08:002007-03-04T16:06:00.000-08:00tcinla,William Goldman says his "ALL THE PRESIDENT...tcinla,<BR/><BR/>William Goldman says his "ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN has FOUR ACTS, not the requisite three.<BR/><BR/>I think 2001, A SPACE ODESSEY has four also. The Ape sequence, the trip to the moon, the trip to Jupiter and the climax. Of course, 2001 hardly qualifies as a classic. <BR/><BR/>I think FULL METAL JACKET is two movies.<BR/><BR/>If you want to see the FORMULA in all its glory - catch some wonderful Chuck Norris or Jean Claude Van Dam movies.<BR/><BR/>In all honesty, Dreamgirls could have benifitted from the three act formula. I think it got sidetracted in the middle.Dave O'Harahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12864832646760885873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1173049566072083762007-03-04T15:06:00.000-08:002007-03-04T15:06:00.000-08:00Ken,"When I read a screenplay I want to hear YOUR ...Ken,<BR/><BR/>"When I read a screenplay I want to hear YOUR voice, not Robert McKee's, or the Epstein brothers (even if they did write CASABLANCA)."<BR/><BR/>I may never sell a screenplay, (I've optioned a few) but I write movies I want to see. The Development Execs. who actually read my stuff, usually ask for more. After the first one, most can tell who wrote the others without looking at the title page.. <BR/><BR/>My latest one, Tarot 911, is going around now. It has gotten a CONSIDER (two reads or maybe a read and a skim) at more than 70% of the companies it was sent to. <BR/><BR/>Got it into over twenty legitimate companies (all have major Studio Deals) WITHOUT AN AGENT. <BR/><BR/>That's probably more than an agent would have done. <BR/><BR/>My philosophy about agents is similar to Grucho Mark's about country clubs. "I wouldn't join any who would have me."<BR/><BR/>(Actually, I might...)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1173048159061428282007-03-04T14:42:00.000-08:002007-03-04T14:42:00.000-08:00tcinla,I'm curious as to who you are too. Email m...tcinla,<BR/><BR/>I'm curious as to who you are too. Email me. <BR/><BR/>KenBy Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1173047886943867182007-03-04T14:38:00.000-08:002007-03-04T14:38:00.000-08:00Hey, tcinlawould love to talk,you can get me at da...Hey, tcinla<BR/><BR/>would love to talk,<BR/><BR/>you can get me at dave@marquisdesod.com or dave@peabodynevada.com.<BR/><BR/>any friend of Victoria is a friend of mine.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1172991761423477622007-03-03T23:02:00.000-08:002007-03-03T23:02:00.000-08:00David O'Hara:You are indeed fortunate to know my v...David O'Hara:<BR/><BR/>You are indeed fortunate to know my very good friend Victoria Lucas, who is the gold standard of "readers." Her read of my Vietnam script 20 years ago gave my career the minimal "push" it's ever received that keeps me working to this day from the momentum she gave me. She's third generation Hollywood, grand-daughter of the woman who wrote the screenplay of the first (silent) "Ben Hur."<BR/><BR/>For all of you, Torie once gave me a very good view of the wall you have to climb with a script: the reader (most likely a "she") has 50 scripts to read from Friday night to Sunday evening, and it takes two hours to read one right. 100 hours of reading in less than 48? Simmple: be stupid in the first 10 pages and end up in the "round file". Be one of the five or six that get read to "fade to black"??? Leave the reader at the bottom of page 10 wanting to read Page 11. And then keep it up. And a good way to not get read even as far as page 10 is to fail to know how to write in English.<BR/><BR/>You score 100 points in my book, David, that you know Torie. Leave an e-mail - let's talk.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1172991128282072692007-03-03T22:52:00.000-08:002007-03-03T22:52:00.000-08:00Surprising progress:"Can anyone offer a few exampl...Surprising progress:<BR/><BR/>"Can anyone offer a few examples of screenplays that ignored or transcended a formulaic approach, either McKee's or others? "<BR/><BR/>William Goldman: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" ("They run away? Heroes in Westerns don't run away!")<BR/><BR/>"The Wild Bunch" - the "good guys" are the "bad guys," the "bad guys" are the "good guys".<BR/><BR/>"The Bridges At Toko-Ri" - the heroes get killed. Probably the third most honest war movie ever done after "The Big Parade" and "Twelve O'Clock High". (Interestingly, all three are based on true stories, and in two - "Big Parade" and "Twelve O'Clock High" - the screenwriters were combat veterans of the events on-screen, which probably had a big effect, and the third was based on a book written by James Michener after he spent four months on a carrier off Korea)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1172967344091189292007-03-03T16:15:00.000-08:002007-03-03T16:15:00.000-08:00One more book as yet unmentioned here- Mamet's Thr...One more book as yet unmentioned here- Mamet's Three Uses of the Knife. Simple, direct, proufound, and anything but formulaic. I keep a copy on my nightstand.Campbell Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10546645174312992852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1172918001515446432007-03-03T02:33:00.000-08:002007-03-03T02:33:00.000-08:00Bravo, Ken, from your mouth to God's ear! If anyon...Bravo, Ken, from your mouth to God's ear! If anyone wants a book on writing, read William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade but most importantly, just write, write, write! Then write some more. Find your voice; listen to your voice; use your voice... and pray for a prevailing wind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1172902002351348252007-03-02T22:06:00.000-08:002007-03-02T22:06:00.000-08:00Never been to a McKee seminar, but I saw the one i...Never been to a McKee seminar, but I saw the one in "Adaptation". And I do have a copy of his book, which I enjoyed and viewed as very useful tips and guidelines in structure, but nothing strictly authoritative.dogganshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18181787629720233183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1172899382162569072007-03-02T21:23:00.000-08:002007-03-02T21:23:00.000-08:00Sorry about posting anonymously earlier, Ken. I'm ...Sorry about posting anonymously earlier, Ken. I'm the guy who suggested buying a used copy of the McKee book. <BR/><BR/>To the person who asked about alternative books, I would also suggest reading scripts from movies you've seen (both good and bad). There are now a number of sources on the net for scripts (feature film scripts, anyway). I try to read the writer's original version where possible.Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688301329863871296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1172898924297916842007-03-02T21:15:00.000-08:002007-03-02T21:15:00.000-08:00Ehhh....interesting little known fact there, Anony...Ehhh....interesting little known fact there, Anonymous 12, is that Dancing with the Stars was originated by the ancient Mesopotamians in about 100 B.C...But it was known as Dancing under the Stars, And then network executives changed it to "with" in 23 BC, as a means of getting cheap programming on the air....<BR/><BR/>I now have a reason to watch Dancing with the stars...Cliffie! <BR/>I believe Carla's about to puke!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1172898452423128972007-03-02T21:07:00.000-08:002007-03-02T21:07:00.000-08:00Did former reader skim my earlier post? I did not...Did former reader skim my earlier post? <BR/><BR/>I did not call all readers assholes - only the ones trying to cram every story into a ridgid formula. Or skim scripts and write their coverage based on what they thought would happen in the screenplay. <BR/><BR/>Had coverage where the reader brought up the marriage of the two lead characters. News to me. they never talked about marriage, weren't engaged... and never married. Knew another 'reader' who boasted they could read a 120 page screenplay in 15 minutes and not miss a thing. <BR/><BR/>I bounce my all work off a former reader/devleopment exec. and currently producer, Victoria Lucas.<BR/>She read all the words of every screenplay she covered. Including lousy ones. She spot checks readers that work for her. Fired some. <BR/><BR/>She has the upmost respect for what it takes to write a good story and for writers. She makes my work better.<BR/><BR/>This Lady is no asshole. <BR/><BR/>(I've shown her coverage of some of my stuff. She's quite good at estimating the age of the reader and whether or not they went to film school...and whether or not they actually READ the script.)<BR/><BR/>Sometimes coverage says more about the coverer than the coveree.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1172880736821492702007-03-02T16:12:00.000-08:002007-03-02T16:12:00.000-08:00On another subject:Cliff Claven set to appear on D...On another subject:<BR/>Cliff Claven set to appear on Dancing With The Stars? <BR/>Holy Crap!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com