Coverage is Forever

How long will a company hold onto the coverage for your script?  Forever.  Cue the orchestra, get Shirley Bassey, set it to music - Coverage Is Forever.  No kidding.

When your manager thinks it's a good idea to change the title of your screenplay and resubmit it to the agency as a clever way to get around that crappy reader who just didn't get you -- Stop.  Fire your manager.  He or she has not one clue as to how agencies manage the material that's sent to them.

That snot nosed reader who said your action flick put them to sleep will wind up getting your renamed script because they already have a sense of your style.  Guess who looks like the asshole when the reader reports back that this script is exactly the same as the last one, save one difference - the new title?  You will.  Not your manager.

Imagine a scenario where your manager requests a different reader.  It happens.  Or the original snot nosed kid isn't available (Spring break in Cabo, y'all).  Guess what happens now?  When the hand over the script to the new reader, they also include copies of previous coverage.

The point I'm trying to make is, it's not good enough to have family, friends or even fellow screenwriters (especially if they're not produced) do a read through of your latest and greatest.  You've got to get real insight.  This will almost assuredly result in notes that urge you to do a rewrite before going forward.  This will mean you have to go back to work before it gets sent off to CAA or WME... ICM should be ok once they work out their issues over there...

Paying someone a couple hundred bucks and taking an extra couple weeks to polish your script will be worth it in the end.  Because the weak drafts you turn in now will haunt you for the rest of your days, because...

(cue the orchestra)
...Coverage is Forever!

You Want Craft Services? I Got Your Craft Services Right Here...

My mother likes to say that an Irish army moves on its stomach. What this means is that the troops will work hard if the food is plentiful. With a little luck, it's also good. The same can be said of running a happy film set. In the movie biz this component of keeping the army of technicians and artists happy has a special name -- it's called craft services. This where folks go to get snacks to keep their blood sugar and morale up during the grueling work on some pretty strange locations. The usual fare includes stuff like pretzels, fresh fruit, odd beverages and big-ass buckets of Twizzlers. You know, the kind from Costco. Beef jerky is also bizarrely popular. Don't ask me why.

Recently, I was lucky enough to work on a small shoot with some great people from DGL Entertainment. I've worked on a number of shoots but I have to say, I think this was by far one of the most pleasant crews I've ever had the pleasure to know. Cross your fingers that the project goes through -- mama needs a new pair of shoes!

We were putting something together that didn't require an army per se, but craft services were still part of the deal. The producer, Kevin Roberts, kept things relaxed and even allowed me to interview him on the craft services that were available. Although none of us knows the fate of the show, we had a good time. It's nice to work with professionals who know how to take care of their people (and have a sense of humor.)

Thanks, K-Rob (aka Kevin Roberts), for being such a great sport! You give the term "working for peanuts" a whole new meaning.

Passive vs Active Protagonist

One of the things I come across when I do coverage is the passive protagonist.  I think that most of the time, we want so much for our main characters to be likeable that we give all the challenging work and decisions to the supporting characters.  Soon, we'll care more about the supporting characters than the central figure.  Think Han Solo vs Luke Skywalker.  There's more to why we like Han so much -- he shoots first and maybe he asks questions later.  Maybe.

Does your protagonist ask a lot of questions?  Take Sherlock Holmes.  He's a detective who investigates gruesome crime scenes.  Yet take a moment to notice something... It's not Sherlock who's asking all the questions.  More often than not, it's Watson.  Through answering the questions, Sherlock's genius is revealed.  When we're talking about Robert Downey, Jr.'s Sherlock, when in doubt - he dons a disguise and chases down the info he seeks.  That's an active protagonist.

Go back and look at your script and find the places where your hero is asking questions.  What is it you want your audience to know about that question and that answer?  Maybe you'll decide the best choice is to go with the interrogation -- we wouldn't have "You can't handle the truth!" scene without questions but I challenge you to count how many questions Kaffee actually asks.  It's far fewer than you might imagine.  He makes statements and challenges his witnesses.  He's not necessarily in control, but he's trying and than makes him an active protagonist.

See for yourself.  Count how many questions Kaffee asks Jessup from the point where the Judge tells Jessup to "And the witness will address this Court as Judge or Your Honor. I'm quite certain I've earned it. Take your seat, Colonel." through to "You're goddamned right I did!" [I'm looking for the # of question marks used in Kaffee's dialogue only.]