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Thor's Hammer
Liger
Joined: 01 Dec 2010
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Location: Ft Lauderdale, FL
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Mike Rinaldi
Battle Cat
Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Posts: 3881
Location: California
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 Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 10:29 pm Post subject: |
 #38701 |
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| A very detailed beat sheet-- more detailed than I've ever written-- was submitted this evening. While I wait for the producers' notes, I'm refining the theme to a phrase so I will be able to explain how that theme is reflected in every scene.
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Mike Rinaldi
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Joined: 19 Nov 2007
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Location: California
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| Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 11:01 pm Post subject: |
#38705 |
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Here's a timeline to help you keep track of how much happened in how little time.
Saturday night: Contacted by producer; first pitch for Story A.
Sunday: Rewrote the entire pitch (and most of the story), repitched to producers.
Monday: Contacted Music Guy.
Tuesday morning: Pitched Music Guy, got him on board, planned and schemed.
Tuesday night: Further refined pitch for Story A, met with producer, Story A dismissed. Brainstormed the beginning of Story B with producer.
Wednesday: Further brainstormed and developed Story B.
Thursday: Emailed the new beat sheet to producers. Updated my entertainment lawyer (whose next child is due in a few days).
Thursday night: The longest night ever! Waiting... waiting....
Whew!
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Rachel T.
Ocelot
Joined: 15 Jan 2008
Posts: 1909
Location: Michigan
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Bryan Reeves
Laza-tiger
Joined: 23 Feb 2010
Posts: 1126
Location: Central Illinois
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| Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 4:06 pm Post subject: |
#38723 |
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| Mike Rinaldi wrote: |
Thursday night: The longest night ever! Waiting... waiting....
Whew! |
Because of the difference in time zones, I'm a couple hours ahead of you. So what should I know now that my work day is done? And you're getting news?
Hmm? Hmm?
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"The standard doesn't change."-Mike Tomlin
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Mike Rinaldi
Battle Cat
Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Posts: 3881
Location: California
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Mike Rinaldi
Battle Cat
Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Posts: 3881
Location: California
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| Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 4:52 pm Post subject: |
#38728 |
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| Rachel T. wrote: | | All I can say - and I may be strange here - but dang, that sounds like fun!! |
It's intensely nerve wracking (especially when your lawyer is MIA). It's like a roller coaster that looks fun while you're in line but once you get on and start moving, you say, "Umm... it didn't look this high from the ground."
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writingmama
Huggy Cat
Joined: 13 Aug 2008
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writingmama
Huggy Cat
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Mike Rinaldi
Battle Cat
Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Posts: 3881
Location: California
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| Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 8:14 pm Post subject: |
#38737 |
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| When writing a family story, always make sure there's a cute kid and a dog.
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quade
Liger
Joined: 12 Jun 2009
Posts: 1760
Location: South of the 605
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Mike Rinaldi
Battle Cat
Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Posts: 3881
Location: California
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| Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:43 am Post subject: |
#38739 |
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I'm not solely responsible for the title. In fact, producers often change the title during development or even right before distribution. But it's a selling point if I come up with a great title. So I'm kicking around some possibilities.
And that's one of the many things I do while I wait for the development notes on the beat sheet. Never sit and wait. Always be doing something. It's good to look busy and it's good to actually be busy so as soon as you're ready to move forward, the momentum is already going.
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Bryan Reeves
Laza-tiger
Joined: 23 Feb 2010
Posts: 1126
Location: Central Illinois
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| Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 1:27 pm Post subject: |
#38740 |
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| Mike Rinaldi wrote: | | Never sit and wait. Always be doing something. It's good to look busy and it's good to actually be busy so as soon as you're ready to move forward, the momentum is already going. |
Mike drops another pearl of wisdom.
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Thor's Hammer
Liger
Joined: 01 Dec 2010
Posts: 674
Location: Ft Lauderdale, FL
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| Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:33 pm Post subject: |
#38741 |
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| Mike Rinaldi wrote: | | When writing a family story, always make sure there's a cute kid and a dog. |
Check and Check. Although my dog is cuter than the kid, and ends up rescuing her emotionally in the end.
And your 'never sit and wait' advice is very well stated.
Break a leg, Mike. And thanks for keeping us posted.
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Mike Rinaldi
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| Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2012 12:24 am Post subject: |
#38742 |
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| Bryan Reeves wrote: | | Mike Rinaldi wrote: | | Never sit and wait. Always be doing something. It's good to look busy and it's good to actually be busy so as soon as you're ready to move forward, the momentum is already going. |
Mike drops another pearl of wisdom. |
Multiple reasons for this.
Deadlines, especially rewrites when production is scheduled, can be very tight. This isn't a rewrite but the time window is short. Once officially hired, I may have only a couple weeks to turn in a brand new screenplay. You don't want to sit around between the pitch and the contract if you think there's a reasonable chance you've got the job. I need to be as prepared as possible. I'm honing my logline, seeking a more perfect theme, writing character profiles, brainstorming various lists and my 40 cards. When I get hired, there won't be time to get prepared. I must all ready be prepared.
As long as I'm being considered for hire, I must be always working on the project. I've received an email at 3 am and an unplanned phone call at 10 pm and bumped into a producer in a coffee shop (a couple hours away from Hollywood, a few states away from his Dallas office, and half a country away from his film currently shooting in Indiana). You never know where or when they'll ask you details about your story. I'm even programming myself to dream about the story so I'm ready if they wake me up with a question. Nothing's worse than fidgeting for five minutes on the phone while you try to remember the character motivation or plot point they're asking about.
Momentum is a great psychological advantage to hitting your screenplay running.
"Looking busy" might have been misleading. I didn't mean that as an alternative to being busy. A better way to state it is being visually busy. In an age of Facebook and screenwriting forums where the producers could theoretically read my play-by-play recap of how the job is going, they might prefer to hire someone they know is working on their story over another writer who merely has a good story idea.
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Hope you get it!
I have to assume this means his wife is in labor and I may have to handle the negotiating myself. Exactly the position I didn't want to be in.