Benjamin Ray's Screenwriting Blog

Pitch now, HOLLYWOOD SHUTS DOWN IN DECEMBER

Phoenix Pictures --Great Company To Pitch To...

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This is one visionary production company that's going places.

They heard my pitch over the phone for my screenplay "Marcus and Faith".

Phoenix Pictures, founded by Mike Medavoy and Arnold Messer with partners including Sony Pictures Entertainment, Onex , FremantleMedia and Showtime...

www.phoenixpictures.com

This is how the pitch started off......

"I wanted to write an intensely estrogenic and testosteronic dark gritty dramatic/romantic thriller that will be remembered like Romeo and Juliet...
...the landscape of cinema is changing..."

Now it's your turn...PITCH THEM IN NOVEMBER, NOT DECEMBER!!

Call, email, mail...NOW!

Cheers!
__________________
Benjamin Ray
Screen/Graphic Novel writer
brscreenwriter@gmail.com
writer4graphicnovel@gmail.com
www.hollywoodtoronto.com

Nov 24, 2008 8:57 AM | Link | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Report Content

Worst Coverage,Best Coverage you paid for!!!!!

Hi,

What's the worst and best coverage you ever paid for?

Please provide some quotes.

Here's one from my script "Marcus and Faith".

BEST QUOTE FROM A COVERAGE --
"I really enjoyed reading the opening scene, grabs you by the throat..Marcus Anderson, has the potential to be an amazing character. An all time character like Travis Bickle or Ratso Rizzo. There's lots of depth to him lurking below the surface..."

WORST QUOTE FROM A COVERAGE --
"...you're laughable and obnoxious...buy a shovel and bury this script...trying too hard to ape Guy Ritchie"

What's your best and worst. I know this might be painful. But, we should grow Rhino skin....and maybe fight back...

Cheers!
Benjamin Ray
www.hollywoodtoronto.com

Nov 23, 2008 8:49 AM | Link | Comments (0) | Add Comment | Report Content

Screenwriters, Now Is The Time, Network With Film Directors

Attn: Screenwriters

One of the toughest jobs is being a film director? I don't call them directors actually - they are the new entrepreneurs of Hollywood.

Network with them, they could make your script "happen".

For example, the LA film festival is a great place to meet upcoming and established film directors.

Attend the parties. Bring a savvy business card.

No excuse. Lots of time to prepare. Your New Year resolution is just around the corner.

LET'S GET BUSY.

http://www.lafilmfest.com

Cheers.
Benjamin Ray
brscreenwriter@gmail.com
www.hollywoodtoronto.com

Nov 21, 2008 7:54 AM | Link | Comments (0) | Add Comment | Report Content

Method Screenwriting and the art of jumping and walking in your characters shoes!

Improving your screenplay.

One of the most amazing things to watch during a writing workshop -- seeing a screenwriter and a few actors attempt to write and test dialogues on the fly as they jump in and out of character. This performance can be demanding and revealing.

But when life's personal deadlines get in the way -- juggling such a workshop with a tight budget and time restraint, can give you a mild case of schizoid-cidic fever. In fact, it is exactly this kind of stress that is needed to write better dialogues.

Let's take an example, for one of my screenplay "Marcus and Faith". As lead creative, I found that in order for the actors and myself to go into character, I must have background music, rediscover my bachelor life, eliminate parenthood, get rid of all the bosses breathing down my neck, pay all my bills and my rent/mortgage in advance. And not to forget the weekly meetings with my private psychiatrist who's losing money taking on my file. Now only if all of this was possible.

Exactly. By learning to appreciate the joy of stress, without distress, we escape life temporarily and go into character - which you, the screenwriter, must control as a servant to your imagination.

One last crucial point here, before you get started, create a BIO for each of your character, to serve as rules to follow and to get psyched up. The actors will love you for this.

Here is an example of the BIO for my script "Marcus and Faith"--

BIO:

FAITH: Trapped in a shady underworld, exploited for her beauty but has dreams of escaping this world to become a dancer on Broadway. Faith becomes hardened and damaged by her oppressive lifestyle. Carefree and playing the role she's been forced into - that of a promiscuous, flirtatious girl whose job it is to please men. As her relationship with Marcus blossoms, these perversions of her true self fall away and she can be herself with him, as she slowly learns that there is more to life than sexual and emotional oppression and exploitation. Like Marcus' kindred spirit , she also has a deep center of good beneath her wild and free-spirited exterior.

MARCUS: Abused as a child, grew up in dire straits but, deep down, remains a strong-willed man with a positive kernal of goodness beneath his cheeky, nonchalant façade. Addicted to prescription drugs, Marcus Anderson is a stand-up shock-comedian. Bold despite his weaknesses and, when fighting for something he truly cares about, he is relentless, fearless, and persistent. Considering Marcus' life and situation, he is an empathetic guy; keeping afloat in a sea of filth, ultimately striving for a brighter future.

ADAM: The cruel and sadistic owner of Kama-Sin, a mogul of black market industries (prostitution, sex slave trafficking, and more). He is Faith's father. He promises that he will make her dreams of becoming a dancer a reality - one day. But his promise of a better future is empty, only allowing him to fully exploit Faith for his own purposes. An evil businessman at his core, innovating in the underground adult entertainment world, willing to do anything to please his clients - including giving up his own daughter.

FERNANDO: Marcus' friend since high school, provides a safe haven for Marcus and Faith. He suppressed his gang lifestyle to become a family man, struggling against the odds to give his wife and daughter a brighter future. He is a strong ally to Marcus, going beyond the call of duty to help him.

SYLVIA: Fernando's wife, kindhearted but hates Marcus and his lifestyle, concerned about his negative influence on her husband and daughter.

DELMAR: Bully to Marcus in high school, now a successful "businessman"; a loan shark to whom Marcus is in debt.

JOSEPHINE: Employee of Kama-Sin who remains in the job for the good money to support her child. She's Faith's best friend and helps her along the way.

OSCAR and JAMES: Adam's tough-as-nails thugs who roll with a "good cop/bad cop" dynamic except they're never good and always bad, assigned to track down the runaway Faith.

SADAK: An equally-sadistic corrupt cop whose position of authority allows him to sell his integrity to the highest bidder - which, of course, is Adam.

Nov 18, 2008 7:23 PM | Link | Comments (1) | Add Comment | Report Content

PITCHING SAMPLES -- DON'T KILL YOURSELF

When pitching your script for the first time, the trick is to eliminate stress and anxiety.

One way to do that is to tackle the pitch on two levels.

STEP1 - ON A PERSONAL LEVEL

Right off the bat, talk about why you wrote the script on a personal level as opposed to a business level.

STEP 2 - CONCISE AND SUSPENSEFUL LOGLINE

Make sure your logline is simple and direct with just a small dose of passion and then conclude with some form of suspense.

Step 1 and Step 2 are good ice-breakers which makes for a relaxed and productive meeting. Bottom line - if the producer you're pitching to likes the idea, the table will be turned around and you'll have a producer who will extrapolate on your pitch with his or her passionate take of your logline.

Don't kill yourself with endless notes and business-like marketing pitch techniques.

Here is an example of a recent pitch of mine using STEP1 and STEP2. I did not memorize the details but used key points as a guide during the pitch. The script is called "Marcus and Faith".

EXAMPLE OF STEP 1 - ON A PERSONAL LEVEL

During my college and single lifestyle in Toronto and New York, I became friends with some aspiring performers - dancers, musicians, singers and stand-up comedians. What I learned and experienced during that formative time led me to write the screenplay Marcus and Faith, which reflects my observations of good people enduring and struggling against substance abuse, domestic violence and psychological torture. But somehow they managed to pull through and subsist, fighting just to pay the rent, in the hopes of one day achieving their desires - not only to find fame, but also true romance and love. For them, survival is dependent upon having the right partner as a windbreak, preventing each other from falling into the abyss of self-destruction. Sadly, relationships don't always work out and can worsen the lives of individuals, leading to desperate times - poverty, hard drugs, alcohol, prostitution and pornography while others struggle with becoming a servant to their lover's drug-infested lifestyle. So is there light at the end of this tunnel? Is this hellish path worth following to become a true artist-performer? These are the concepts and issues addressed in Marcus and Faith.

With this script, I wanted to provide a prescription for survival on a cinematic level, to express a truth that encourages viewers not to escape from life but to find it, and ultimately to touch the heart of the new generation as it comes into its own.

EXAMPLE OF STEP 2 - CONCISE AND SUSPENSEFUL LOGLINE

The story follows the jagged and disjointed lives of Marcus, a stand-up comedian, and Faith, an aspiring Broadway dancer. He's addicted to painkillers and she's hiding a dirty family secret. Like two runaway trains, racing into the past as they try to save each other from themselves. Will they survive the ride? Will they jump off before they pass the point of no return? Or are they just awaiting the inevitable fiery crash that lies ahead?

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Benjamin Ray
brscreenwriter@gmail.com
www.hollywoodtoronto.com

Oct 26, 2008 7:40 AM | Link | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Report Content