Author Archives: Eric Ian Steele

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About Eric Ian Steele

Screenwriter, author, comic book and film aficionado, and zombie poet.

“Old Hollywood” v “New Hollywood”

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What’s the difference?

New Hollywood is run by business and media graduates on the fast track. Mostly under 30, these high-achievers accomplish more by the time they’re 21 than most people do in a lifetime.

And yet…

That generates an ugly problem in Hollywood. Ageism.

I recently heard an agent say that anyone trying to break into this business who’s over 40 is dead in the water. Is that true?

If so, anyone who has had another career, raised a family, or gone out and got the very life-experiences that make up most great writers (Jack London, Ernest Hemmingway, to name a few) may find themselves redundant. Unless they work in television.

Sad but true, experience is seen as being cheap.

Maybe that’s why so many “New Hollywood” movies are, well… unfulfilling. They are starting to look more and more like video games. I’m afraid one day I’ll go into a movie theatre and see a first-person shoot-em-up. Oh, wait, they already did that.

And yet a strange thing happened when I compared the two…

So here for your amusement are the top-grossing films of 1940s v the top-grossing films of the 2000s. List provided courtesy of listall.com.

See what you think.

Top Grossing Movies of 1940s

9. Golden Earrings

10. Easter Parade

9. Golden Earrings

8. Meet Me in St Louis

7. Sergeant York

6. The Bells of St Mary’s

5. Samson and Delilah

4. Song of the South

3. Pinnochio

2. Fantasia

1. Bambi

Top grossing movies of the 2000s:

10. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

9. Passion of the Christ

8. Spider-Man 2

7. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

6. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

5. Transformers 3

4. Spider-Man (2002)

3. Pirates of the Carribbean 2

2. Shrek

1.Dark Knight

So what can we take away from this?

Religion sells. Samson and Delilah? Passion of the Christ? Phew!

Secondly, there’s always one. You know the kind of movie I’m talking about. So dumb it tries to make out with the water cooler at parties. Proof that hype will sometimes sell a movie.

Thirdly, family movies can make big money. Look at how many people went to see Bambi and Shrek.

And finally, stars. In the 1940s many of the more obscure films were made famous in their day by their stars: Gary Cooper, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Bing Crosby, Victor Mature, Ingrid Bergman. Yet in today’s techno-driven age, the only “star” who really pulls an audience is Johnny Depp.

So maybe the golden age of cinema is dead. Maybe there are little or no “stars” whose faces illuminate the little people sat there in the dark. But the family movie is alive and well. And at least HALF of the top movies of the last 10 years came from properties created back in the 1960s and beyond. Also, the biggest grossing film is the very dark, dramatic and philosophical Dark Knight.

Maybe audiences aren’t as dumb as we think we are.

Food for thought, Hollywood. Food for thought.

 

American spelling and grammar

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Let’s get one thing straight. I hate editing and proofreading. Hate it. With a passion.

Nor do I claim to have any expertise in the area of grammar, spelling, or punctuation. Or any skill, for that amtter. matter.

But I thought that all you budding British screenwriters who want to make it in the States might want to know some commonly misused phrases, together with some insights about American English, that I have learned on my journey so far.

First of all. Toward, or is it towards? And forward, or is it forwards?

Well, actually, it’s both. And yet…

American authors and editors seem to prefer “forward” and “towards”. As in, “to run towards” or “to go forward”. Maybe it has something to do with “forwards” being one of the dreaded adverbs.

Also, I’ve noticed some differences in punctuation.

In English English (if there is such a thing), we like to drop the final comma in a list. For example: “blue, yellow, red and green”. Not so in American English. Our cousins across the Atlantic like their commas. So in American English this would tend to be written as : “blue, yellow, red, and green”.

If I’m wrong about that, I’m sure someone will correct me.

Finally, some terms.

In America they don’t have rubbish. It’s either trash or garbage. It’s not a rubbish bin either. It’s a trash can or garbage pale (or dumpster if you’re hiding a body).

Nor do they go looking in the dark with torches. Torches in America are the burning staves you go chasing after Frankenstein’s monster with. Take a flashlight instead.

Other differences can include:

“-our” endings becomes “or” endings, e.g. “colour” (British) as opposed to “color” (American).

Ending that have “-ise” e.g. “organise” in British become “-ize” e.g. “organize” in American. Similarly with “organisation” (UK) v “organization” (USA).

Other favorite confusions include:

“aluminium” (UK) v “aluminum” (USA)

“tonne” (UK) v “metric ton” (USA)

“mummy” or “mum” (UK) v “mommy” or “mom” (USA)

An excellent article on the subject can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

So these are just a few of the ways you can confuse or distract an American reader. I’m saying all this because that’s the last thing you want to do. You want the reader to feel comfortable that you know what you’re talking about (even if you don’t).

I’m sure there are many more of these. If I come across them I’ll let you know.

No commas were harmed in the writing of this post.

To Plan Or Not To Plan

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Ah, planning. That bugbear of the novice writer. Why should I plan out my story? Did Hemmingway or Dickens plan out theirs?

Here are some thoughts.

Planning can be a necessity. For example, if you’re writing to an assignment. In that case, you may have no choice but to show your producer an outline of some kind. It may be in your contract/option/deal. Sometimes it may simply assuage their fears that you aren’t actually doing anything.

Sometimes a plan can be tremendous help. If you have a complex plot, mapping out the story can help keep track of the various elements. Sometimes a plan can help you with the structure of the story itself. It’s easy to get lost.

HOWEVER…

Some of the best work I’ve done has been done WITHOUT a plan of any kind. And I’m not alone. Guillermo Arriaga (Babel/Amores Perros etc.) never plans his stories out beyond a general idea. I can’t pretend to speak for him, of course, but in my own humble opinion, here’s why I think it works…

SURPRISE!

Yes, actual story surprises. Readers love them. Audiences love them even more.

Lack of a plan gives you the freedom to go anywhere, to do anything to your main characters, to employ any crazy twist, even to add someting new to the genre.

BUT

At some point I always go back and rewrite at least once (usually more then once) for structure, taking care to FORESHADOW all those great plot twists. Otherwise you get a “What the hell?” moment from the reader (or something like that).

WHICH IS BEST?

I can’t say. But I would always advocate doing what works for you. If you’re a novice writer, you may want to plan a few scripts before trying this out. If not, and you’re up for the challenge, maybe you should assemble your characters and strike out for parts unknown. Who knows where they will lead you…

 

Pouring some salt on Sluglines

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So. Sluglines.

Okay, we all know what sluglines are (and if not, Google the term and find out!), but are we comfortable with using them? If you’re like me, probably not. But here are some things I’ve noticed.

In a lot of amateur scripts, sluglines are annoying things that you have to write to get to the good stuff (the action!). But sluglines can also be your friend.

Sluglines can be used to save time and energy describing things. For instance:

“INT. OFFICE – DAY

An office. Pens and pencils lie everywhere. Papers litter every surface. Overturned chairs clutter the floor. Smashed coffee cups decorate the desks… did I mention this was an office?”

Or you could just write:

“INT.  A VERY UNTIDY OFFICE – DAY”

Another way to save white space on the page (thereby writing less words and making your script more attractive to time-starved executives and producers) is to omit “DAY/NIGHT” after you’ve introduced an interior for the first time.

For example:

“INT. OFFICE BUILDING – DAY”

And then when you switch to another part of the building:

“INT. OFFICE BUILDING – CUBICLE”

And then for the next part of the same interior:

“BOSS’S OFFICE”

Although sometimes you might want to inform the reader that this is a slugline by inserting “INT.” at the start, depending on the number of sluglines you employ.

Putting all this together:

“INT. OFFICE BUILDING – DAY

A busy accountancy firm in full swing. Staccato chattering of TYPEWRITERS. Harried OFFICE WORKERS constantly trip over mounds of files scattered across the floor.

INT. BOSS’S OFFICE

MARTY, an office junior, quails before his red-faced BOSS. His boss’s tirade over, Marty turns tail and runs out through the

MAIN OFFICE

And into the

BATHROOM.”

Hardly Shakespeare. But you get the idea.

The main thing to remember is that nothing is set in stone. Although you could fill a library with everything that has been written on screenplay format, as long as you adhere to the basic principles concering the main elements (line spacing, indentation, capitals, etc) then I’m sure most experts would agree you’ll be fine. To make it easier, programs like Final Daft format these elements automatically. And if you’re not using screenwriting software by now, you should be. It will increase your productivity tenfold. The most important thing is that you do not present the reader with something they (a) struggle to read, and (b) are not familiar with in terms of style.

Hope this helps. As always, feel free to disagree!

Ten New Year’s Resolutions for Hollywood.

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Making movies is hard. Making good movies is near on impossible. Making great movies happens almost by accident. But having taken a look at 2012 in review, I thought I would suggest some New Year Resolutions for Hollywood, as I’m sure the folks there could use the advice of little old me… followed by some good movies of 2012!

1) No more board game adaptations.

A pretty obvious one, especially after a certain movie sank without a trace this year.

2) No more stunt casting.

While we’re on the subject, pop princess Rhianna as a grizzled marine vet? No, I don’t think so either.

3) No more bloated SFX.

I had to ask myself if there was really a difference between the endings of two action blockbusters this year, the visual designs of the bad guy boss monster were so similar. I’m thinking of a certain flying mechanized dragon. Maybe the IT people were using cut and paste too much that day.

4) No more non-scary horror films.

Tired of eerily effective, thrill-laden iconic horror movies? Simply fill them with 30 minutes of bland cookie-cutter teens before inserting as many decapitations, screaming and computer-generated stuff as possible. And if it’s a remake that’s a plus, which leads to my next point…

5) Leave my classic movies alone!

Less uncalled-for remakes, please! The best way to destroy my precious childhood memories is to declare a remake, remove all the charm of the original film, insert as much ridiculous CGI as possible, and remove any iconic music whatsoever. And please don’t remake “The Birds”… unless you’re Alfred Hitchcock.

6) No more “reboots”!

The sneakier way to rip off an existing idea and remake a film that’s barely out of its diapers. This usually happens when actors in lucrative franchises get too old or run afoul of politics, but the results are rarely impressive. Let’s hope “Man of Steel” fares better than its predecessor. Super-babies anyone?

7) Fewer sequels and prequels!

Let’s face it, Hollywood loves sequels, and sometimes they can good. Superman II and Star Trek II being rare examples of sequels being better than the originals. But note that these are “rare” examples. Still sequels churn out of the celluloid mincing machine. There are 75 remakes, reboots and sequels in the works according to Den of Geek.com (http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/450292/75_movie_remakes_and_reboots_currently_in_the_works.html). Surely not every good story has been told!

8) More character actors!

This year we saw the sad demise of actor Charles Durning. One of the best character actors in the business, he graced small and big screens alike with his ability to make even the most unlikeable bad guys sympathetic. But who will take his place? Seems like every TV cop these days looks like they just stepped out of the salon. Where are all the fat, old people? Too many movies come from a parallel world where nobody is over 35 and everyone looks like they just came off the Atkins diet? Give me real-looking people.

9) Less misery!

On the other hand, you can have too much of a good thing. Too many “dark” movies this year made Dostoyevsky look positively frivolous by comparison. Why do thrillers have to be depressing? Lighten up, already!

10) And finally… A New Hope?

Feel free to ignore all of the above, if it makes a better movie. “The Hobbit” shows us that prequels can be great too. “The Avengers” proves that enormous levels of CGI can work if the action is fast-paced enough to keep us from thinking too deeply. “Amour” is the exception to the rule that reveals how films can deal with dark subjects without becoming depressing. Character actors turn up in “The Master”, starring two of the finest ones in modern American cinema: Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. While my top scary movie of 2012 is undoubtedly the fresh and unsettling “The Innkeepers”, directed by rising star Ti West.

So maybe Hollywood is doing some things right. Maybe there are fine movies out there. For every mind-numbing CGI-fest there are heartfelt, personal or just plain exciting movies out there too. But remember it is you and I, the movie-going public, which ultimately decide what Hollywood produces. They are in the business of entertaining us, so vote with your feet. As for 2013, well, we’ll have to wait and see…

 

Why I love The Hobbit (despite the critics)

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Yesterday I saw Peter Jackson & Co’s much-anticipated movie. I have to confess I didn’t want to go. Having seen so many negative reviews in print, on the Internet, and on TV, I was convinced it would be a let down, especially after the previous trilogy set new standards in blockbuster fare.

I was astonished and delighted by what I saw. Here were three hours of solid entertainment, not padding. The special effects were even better than the Lord of the Rings. Some critics had described it as unconvincing. I’d love to know what they were comparing it to. The live action, visual effects, and make-up blended seamlessly. The action set-pieces were among the best I’d ever seen. What was described as a “bloated mess” of a movie was anything but. I defy even the most die-hard action enthusiast not to be impressed by the chase through the goblin kingdom.

But what set this film apart from the LOTR, for me anyway, was the comedy. The script was very funny, with plenty of one-liners that made the audience laugh out loud. Martin Freeman showed the same genius comic timing that helped make The Office such a hit. But plenty of the other characters contributed to the humour (the scene with the Trolls being particulary funny), making The Hobbit a much warmer and friendlier film than expected. Many times the audience laughed out loud, while at other times the theater was unusually quiet. Not even the rustling of a crisp packet could be heard in the serious talking parts. The filmmakers succeeded in doing the impossible – holding the rapt attention of a theatre half-full of children for three hours!

In case this is starting to sound like a review, I should say why I think so many critics disliked the film. Maybe it’s the dirth of misery-inducing dramas recently. Films that deal with contagious diseases, hideous crimes, sadistic torture and the like have dominated our screens for so long. Sometimes I wonder whether unpleasant thrillers, tasteless shocks, humourless assassins, and bizarre human behaviour have become so ingrained in our culture that some people can no longer recognize a great piece of fantasy and adventure.

Alfred Hitchcock once noted that a man who comes home from work to find his wife washing dishes does not want to go to the movies to see a man coming from home from work and finding his wife washing dishes. Although the expression is dated, the idea remains true. It is no coincidence that the Golden Age of cinema occurred in the 1930s and 1940s, a time when ordinary people longed for an escape from the hardship of everyday life. These times of great recession demand inspiraton and escapism from movies, not more misery.

The Hobbit is a masterpiece. Although not perfect (I spotted a few gaping plot holes), the film was anything but long. The warm tone of the film and the action set-pieces that did not involve graphic violence, sex, gross toilet humour, or tastelessness, reminded me if anything of the heyday of action movies in the early 1980s.

The Hobbit deserves to be on the same par with movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Superman II. It is full of iconic scenes (Bilbo and Gollum swapping riddles), memorable characters (Radaghast the brown), fantastic action sequences, and gentle humour.

Go see it, and be surprised.

The Black List and Plato

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Well, the 2012 Black List is out, and I for one am surprised by the number of low-concept movies in there.

Maybe it’s because many of those writers are already established in Hollywood and feel they have no need to create “hi-concept” pitches. Maybe it’s because so many of them are based on true stories. I dunno.

Other trends I have noticed is the lack of horror, the prevalance of Mexican crime stories, and the use of “soft” sci-fi like time travel. On the whole there’s nothing in there that makes me go “Wow!  What a great story!”, unlike the last couple of Black Lists.

On the other hand, maybe this is a welcome change from some of the sillier “high-concept” movies of the past few years.

On a side note, have you noticed how “hi-concept” works much better for comedy than for other genres? Probably because it produces so many absurd composite ideas.

Anyway, 2012’s list makes me think there is hope for us all, if we can find the right story.

My final note to this somewhat rambling post concerns Plato.  I will tie this in to the black list, I promise.

Plato believed that every form had an “everyday” form and an “ideal” form. The ideal form is the ultimate natural expression of whatever thing we are thinking about.

It made me think about screenwriting. Isn’t that we do? We find a great idea and then try to unlock the ideal expression of that idea.

The trick is in unlocking the various levels of the idea. Sure, we can find the perfect logline, but can we translate the logline into the perfect structure? Can we fill it with the perfect turning points to do justice to that logline? And then can we find the perfect scenes to express the turning points? And so on.

So perhaps we too can end up with the likes of the Black List writers (and beyond) if we find a great idea, and then tell it how it wants to be told.

 

 

 

 

Check it out for yourself at http://www.blcklst.com

 

 

 

Ten books I dare Hollywood to make into movies

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Hello, True Believers!

Today I thought I woud share a list of ten books that should be made into movies. Okay, so some of them are actually comic books. But these are the properties I think would reinvigorate the motion picture industry.

Some background first. Hollywood is in dire need of franchise material. Jack Reacher and The Hobbit just won’t cut it. Where are the iconic films for the Y2K generation? Where are the Indiana Joneses, the Dirty Harries and the Star Warses (How do you pluralize “Star Wars” anyway?)

What we need is a new approach, something more daring and edgy than conventional blockbuster fare with its cookie cutter plots and bloated CGI (remember Green Lantern?)

Here are my choices for breathing fresh life into the film industry:

1. THE ELFSTONES OF SHANNARA

Terry Brooks’ finest book. This epic fantasy has enough originality to give the Lord of the Rings a run for its money. But it’s a much more human story, with an unforgettable twist ending.2. BATTLE OF THE PLANETS

Based on the 1970s Japanese cartoon and the father of modern anime. Superpowered teens in a cool ship do battle with giant monsters from outer space. I’m not seeing the downside. Just don’t let Jerry Bruckheimer near it!3. THE WITCHING HOUR

Anne Rice is best known for her Vampire Chorincles, but this multi-generational tale of witchcraft in New Orleans ranks among her best work. Very dark and gothic, with a rich sense of history. This is the “Gone With the Wind” of horror stories. Neil Jordan to direct please!4. STRONTIUM DOG

Mutant bounty-hunters from the future hop across planets to collect bounties from the humans who despise them. If it sounds like X-Men in space, it isn’t. More like some insane Speghetti Western. Created by 200A.D. writer John Wagner (“A History of Violence”) and artist Carlos Ezquerra, mutant “Strontium Dog” Johnny Aplha has a host of cool gadgets and ways to kill you. Backed up by some truly wonderful supporting characters like Norse bounty-hunter Wulf Sternhammer and lumpy-headed Middenface McNulty.5. THE RATS

A Canadian company attempted this once and came badly unstuck. But with modern SFX this horror classic is screaming to be made into a major motion picture. It has two sequels, the third of which takes place after a nuclear holocaust! “The Walking Dead”‘s Andrew Lincoln would be perfect for the lead!6. THE CALL OF CTHULHU

This is the project Guillermo Del Toror should have tackled after Hellboy. HP Lovecraft’s cosmic tale of a conspiracy to revive an immortal extradimensional demon from his ages-old slumber in a buried city under the Pacific Ocean. Comes with its own built-in fanboy audience!7. MIKE HAMMER

Mickey Spillance wrote numerous Mike Hammer books, many of which have been filmed, with the most memorable being “Kiss Me Deadly” with Ralph Meeker. Hammer is the uber-detective. A World War II veteran transplanted into post-1940s America, he is politically incorrect (he promises to murder his friends murderer), mysoginistic (he pimps out his secretary to solve a case), but with a sense of purpose that is at times terrifying, Hammer is Dirty Harry on steroids. The only problem could be getting someone who is gritty and believable enough to play him. Imagine Kirk Douglas fused with Clint Eastwood and you’re about halfway there.8. EON

Intelligent and epic sci-fi novel from Greg Bear. A team of astronauts investigate a hollow asteroid orbiting Earth and find… well, you’ll have to read the book. But it has a vision of the future of humanity that’s slowly coming true. Could be the next Stargate. One for director Alex Proyas, perhaps, who filmed the excellent “Dark City”.9. NORSTRILIA

A bewilderingly exotic sci-fi, so rich and strange that it outrivals even Frank Herbert’s “Dune”. Cordwainer Smith’s stories of the far, far future include the anti-ageing drug “Stroon”, uplifted animals that carry out slave labour, a humanity so interwoven with technology that it has forgotten happiness, and the weirdest planetary defence system known to man. Together with his short stories, Smith’s sci-fi is almost poetic in beauty and would present moviegoers with images never before seen on film. But who could direct such divine madness? Kubrick perhaps, were he still alive, or maybe David Lynch. But nowadays my money would be on “Tron Legacy” director Joseph Kosinski.10. ALAN MOORE’S SWAMP THING.

Comics legend Moore managed to revive this flagging minor  DC book and turn it into one the greatest works of comic art in the 1980s. Swamp Thing is a kind of existential Everyman. Rather than perform the usual superheroics, the eonymous hero explores the nature of good and evil, travels from Heaven to Hell, and meets a young John Constantine.  In a fantastic series of stories titled “American Gothic”, Moore reinvents horror staples such as vampires, werewolves, ghosts and zombies,  giving them fresh social relevance and deaing with issues such as racism, gun laws, family ties, veganism, and feminism! Never one to offer us easy answers, Moore leaves many of these debates open-ended. This resulted in some fierce debates with readers and fans at the time. Forget Green Lantern, give us Swamp Thing!

Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings from The Hard Way

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Hi All,

Seasons Greetings to everyone out there, whatever your creed may be.

Yesterday on TV I noticed there were seven different versions of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” showing. The best in my opinion starred the immortal Alistair Sims as Scrooge. But other Scrooges included Albert Finney, Patrick Stewart, Jim Carey, Bill Murray, Michael Caine, and Simon Callow. On even had Nicholas Cage as Marley’s ghost.

Not bad for a one hundred plus year-old literary story about an old man’s spiritual redemption.

Happy holidays.