Writer's Guild problems

     Staying on the subject of story and good writing, I'd like to look at the writer's strike that happened in 2008.  What it was, was that the WGA (Writer's Guild of America) felt that they were not receiving the proper dues for their works...mainly on online platforms.  Studios and distributors ignored their concerns, and so...the writers struck.  After a long and grueling time, the strike was resolved.  However, that's not without damage.
     The strike severely affected TV production.  Movie studios were fine, as they keep scripts on the back burner for events such as that.  However, as mentioned, TV suffered.  Many of the shows' writers were involved in the strike and the "need it now" flow of television production had to find a quick fix...which was not ideal.  A lot of shows suffered in their stories, and some even were cancelled due to it.
     The strike was eventually resolved and both parties came to an agreement.  The studios and distributors gave the writers a percentage they were happy with.  But like I said, the damage was already done.  Audiences lost faith in some studios, studios realized they could not control everything, and writers weren't working for that strike.  I read an article asking "who really won the strike?"  They discuss that neither party really won.  Both lost something in the fight.  Yes the writers won, but the strike caused the studios to take a step back and really look at the necessity to fund these giant pilot episodes for new shows, as had always been done.  This has hence changed, causing the writers to really step back and only write shows out that they think the studios will actually air...not just be interested in.
     This brings me back to what I've always been saying...make it good from the start, and you won't have that problem.  Writers are worried now because they have to really make sure what they write out is good enough for the studios to buy.  This should've been the case from the beginning.  If we get bombarded with crap after crap, we're eventually going to stop caring.  And I think we were close to that breaking point.
    This also showed the studios how important writers are.  Without a story...you've got nothing.  If it really was as bad as the WGA was saying, and they really were THAT unappreciated...then man, that's a terrible thing!  Like I said, story and writers are the bare bones of the film industry.  Without a story, you've got nothing.
   

TED talk: Story

     So this post is going a little different of a route than usual.  We were assigned in my EBMS (Entertainment Business Masters) class to find a TED talk presentation that related to us and our industry.  Mine obviously being film, I searched a good bit to find a presenter with a speech on film.  What I realized, however, was that I shouldn't be looking for a speech to inspire me or move me about film...I love film!  But story, I'm such an avid believer in story.  I was taught, and still believe to this day, that your first point is a good story.  If you don't have a good story, you cannot move from there.  Once the story is finished and good, you can begin production.
     Many films, however, don't follow this simple rule.  Putting it blatantly, if it's shit, don't shoot it.  But for some reason we are bombarded with films that have lackluster character development, worse dialogue, and an underwhelming story arch.  If films simply took the time to make sure their stories were solid, they'd save themselves a lot of money.
   The TED talk I found was given by writer/director Andrew Stanton (Toy Story, Wall-E) whom I've actually had the pleasure in knowing.  He discussed different aspects of story telling and why we love stories.  He first mentioned how we as humans love stories because that is how we connect.  We tell our stories to people and we listen to theirs.  Storytelling is engaging.  It's a wonderful thing, and that is why I get so disappointed with stories, when they forget that.  The character development is poop.  When they don't properly develop the characters, we have no one to care about, and no one to follow.  making the movie...boring.
     The next major point Mr. Stanton made was that as people, we have an "itch that can't be scratched."  It's our nature to always want something, a goal worth living towards.  Science has even shown that a body with no motivation, dies quicker.  He referred to many of the characters in his films. That Woody always wanted to please his child, Marlin always wanted to protect his son.  A character needs to have a driving itch that can never be satisfied, even when the goal is met.  It's our natural tick, we all have one.  Mine is the incessant need to protect everyone...even if they don't deserve it.  It's just the inner calling I have.  And a character needs this, it's so imperative!  When a character lacks a drive, we are watching nothing.  The story isn't engaging, and it becomes incredibly disappointing.
     As mentioned before, story is a beautiful thing.  Stories connect us, they teach us, they inspire us, and they engage us.  It is how we learn about each other.  It's amazing that these simple rules, are often forgotten, and great opportunities (for a great movie) are missed.  That is my hope, however, that I can bring a change, of some sort.  Take it back to basics and focus on the important aspects of filmmaking: story, frame, and art.

     So I know I'm a little late on the subject, but hey!  I feel I should talk about this momentous landmark in film history.  Disney has bought Lucasfilm ltd. for about 4.05 Billion dollars.  Not only that, but George Lucas has sold all subsidiary companies as well, including ILM and Skywalker Sound.
     I've seen a lot of griping and whining online about this, but honestly...I'm stoked.  I'm so excited that this has happened.  George Lucas gave us one of the greatest franchises ever, but then singlehandedly ruined it as well.  His original trilogy is something of a classic.  But with the release of his prequel trilogy, he seemed to water down the story for the sake of merchandising profit.  Now, a lot of fans hold a huge grudge against him for this...me being one of them.  So the fact that Disney has bought Star Wars gives us a great opportunity to finally see a new Star Wars film, in the hands of someone else...someone maybe better suited for the job than ol' Georgey.
     On this topic, some more news has arisen!  Disney has signed on a screenwriter for Star Wars Episode VII.  Disney has chosen Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine) to pen out the new Star Wars Film.  It's said that Arndt's script will be looked at and treated by several big name directors, including Brad Bird, J. J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg.  It's also been reported that some of the original actors from the first trilogy have stated interest in reprising their roles.
     I'm definitely excited to see the new Star Wars films.  Especially ones that have the possibility of being directed by some of the great directors mentioned above.  I think this is a great thing to happen to one of the greatest franchises out there.

Lets get it right the first time!

     So, anyone else get really frustrated when a movie is made on something that has such potential to be amazing, but turns out to be complete and utter crap?  'Cause I sure as hell do.  Anyone who's ever seen "The Last Airbender," knows that the movie had such great source material to be a great movie.  Yet it wasn't?  Why is that?  Why can't Hollywood seem to get it right?  It's really not that hard.  I don't know if it's a lack of creativity, or the wrong people being in charge-but it's a problem.
     I come from the strong belief that if the story is shit, don't shoot it.  If you don't have a good story, you can't move on from there.  If you get the story right from the beginning, you're half way there.  If you just get it right from the beginning, you'll not only save your audiences feelings, but you'll save money.  When movies aren't made correctly and have to go through re-shoots, everyone loses.  The studios lose so much money.  For example, the new G.I. Joe sequel, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," was shot, edited, and about to be released.  It failed so badly with test audiences, that the studio was forced to go back and reshoot nearly the entire movie.  They just made one movie for the price of two...not smart.
     The same thing happened with the movie adaptation of the book, "World War Z;" a story about the zombie apocalypse, told through character testimonies.  Now, a movie going through reshoots is a common thing, but they usually last no longer than a week or two.  World War Z is going through 7 weeks of reshoots, nearly crippling the production and blowing the budget out of proportion.
     I've said before, and I'll say it again...if you make it right from the beginning, you won't find yourself in troubled water.  I'm waiting for Hollywood to figure this out.  Maybe they can't.  Maybe it's going to take new upcoming filmmakers to take control and bring the film industry back to it's glory days.  We shall definitely see.

     So who likes Post apocalyptic shows?  I for sure know I do.  But how come it's that none of them do very well?  Hmm?  I've thought this out, and researched it...and I've found that it comes down to one thing..."hope."
     I've been developing a narrative TV show, set in the post apocalypse.  In my research for it all, I've been looking at What works and what doesn't work.  And like I said, it all boils down to hope.
     Shows start to get old real fast when there is no hope.  The audience doesn't like seeing, week after week, death and desolation over and over again.  We, naturally, are a hopefully people.  We like happy endings.
    A shows like AMC's "The Walking Dead," is going to run into that problem.  Week after week, the characters fight off zombies or evil humans.  They've even established that there is an utter hopelessness , with everyone being infected.  This will eventually get old, and the audience will die out.
   On the other hand, a post apocalyptic show with way too much hope just comes off cheesey.  NBC's new show, "Revolution," is a post apocalyptic show with no apocalypse.  No mass terror or mass death.  All that happened is that electricity stopped working.  Not only that, but they established that someone in this world has the ability to bring electricity back; killing any hopeless feeling the show needed.
     Now, I know you're reading this going, "David, I thought hope was a good thing?"  And it is...but we've all heard the old adage, "too much of a good thing kills."  And this is evidently true.  A post apocalyptic show needs a perfect balance of hopelessness and desolation.  But at the same time, needs hope that it will eventually get better.
     Yes, this is more of a personal rant, because I truly love the whole post apocalyptic setting.  As mentioned before, I'm even developing a TV show I'm trying to pitch based on a few short films I shot. But back to point, what I'm trying to get across is quality.  If things are done correctly, and if they're thought out...you're going to have a great thing on your hands.

Hello All!

Hello Internet world, and welcome to my new Blog.  My main goal with this blog is to profile and seek out creativity, originality and new film news.  Which brings me to the main point of this introductory post!  Originality, originality in Hollywood is dead.  Now that was a bold statement!  But it's true!  What happened to all the new, original ideas!?  Lately it seems everything has either been a reboot, sequel or adaptations.  Slashfilm.com posted a great infographic, showing how in the past few years, the creativity in Hollywood has been waning.  In 2011 there were no original Hollywood movies!!! This is insane!!!  Vesna Sunrider talks about how the reason Hollywood has been so quick to reboot or adapt is because the development process is difficult.  This gets so frustrating for them that they come to the conclusion that it's "good enough."  What a travesty!!!  I have a theory that Hollywood goes through an evolution of it's own.  It grows and grows, making new, and original movies; for example, the time of Spielberg and Cameron.  However, it gets to the point where creativity dies out and the old must leave, to make room for the new.  Hopefully this process will happen soon, and at a critical time for new filmmakers such as myself!  For now, we'll have to just mind the remakes and reboots.  I encourage you though; watch the few originals that come out.  Support them, and we'll start seeing more and more of them!

-DAZ