The Messengers was another first for lil ol’ Toddly.
With “Jason X” I got the job because I was the writer on staff at Cunningham Productions. It sounds easy but I paid my dues writing whatever I was told to write for three years. The movie was shot, my contract with Cunningham ended and the movie went into a can for over a year.
Unemployed, I wrote a spec. Got an agent. Sold the spec. Another first. After the spec sell I made the rounds meeting dozens of producers and executives. One of those was Derek Dauchy, an exec at Revolution Studios. Nice guy, bald like me.
February 3, 2007
The Birth of THE MESSENGERS
May 11, 2004
Dean Reisner 1918 – 2002
Written by Dean Riesner
Forward by Todd Farmer
Following are the words of “Dinky” Dean Reisner. He was born in 1918 (as he’ll mention in a moment) and he passed away in his sleep at his house in Encino on August 18 of 2002. Dean was a hero. He wrote real movies. “Dirty Harry”, “High Plains Drifter” and as a writer he took me under his wing. He sent me the following which he’d banged out on his old Royal typewriter — where he’d written all of his old flicks — and wanted my opinion because he was thinking about either writing a novel or script of his life. I thought his story was fascinating and maybe you will too.
May 11, 2004
How to Make Stuff Blow Up Real Good
Think back to High School. Remember that big kid who hung out in the smoking area? The one who loved shop class a little too much? He lurked around with that blindingly white coin slot always visible from the rear? Did you know he also liked to blow things up? Growing up on his block was not unlike growing up near Sid, that nasty little kid from Toy Story. Well, that was high school. Sid’s all grown up now and he’s working in Hollywood in the area of pyrotechnic effects-basically he makes stuff blow up real good.
The writer has a lot in common with Sid. We both make stuff blow up. Sid is very good at his job. It’s a dangerous job. If Sid screws up, people get hurt. If the writer screws up, people just get bored.
May 3, 2004
How A Beer Can Lead To Credit
I can’t remember when I first decided that I wanted to be a writer, but I was a storyteller and proficient liar as far back as I can remember. Whether it was making up a spur of the moment ghost story around the campfire or telling a tall tale to keep out of trouble or becoming High School Newspaper Editor or embellishing a true story in order to give it a little punch — I loved to spin a yarn. I suppose the desire grew out of some form of raw creative talent. And for that I must credit my grandma because every trip to her house resulted in some kind of creative challenge. Her house was always filled with construction paper, glue, glitter, yarn, etc. I remember her writing the alphabet for me then telling me to hide each letter by drawing pictures around it.
May 2, 2004
The Screenplay Basics
So, you want to write screenplays. Cool. There really are no rules to the process, but there are lots of theories. And there are certainly elements readers will be looking for and when I say readers I mean anyone who has the power to toss your script in the can — script readers, producers, executives, directors, agents, actors, etc. I’ll share a few of tidbits I’ve collected and used, but I’m no guru. This is simply what I did to get my foot in the door. If you’ve had some success, ignore this. It’ll bore you. But if you’re just getting started, if you’re considering the long road of tackling a screenplay, then maybe this will be helpful.
Syd Field has written some excellent books on the basics. You can pick them up at any local bookstore or a quick stop at Amazon.com. There are also some great workshops out there. Robert McKee teaches a great class on Story Structure. I’ve gone to a couple of two-day workshops with David Freeman. And there are others. If you’re just getting started you should check them out. I did and I wouldn’t be recommending them if I hadn’t walked away with some piece of the puzzle.
And understanding the world of the screenplay is a bit like putting a puzzle together. Everyone’s puzzle is different and you never know where you’re going to find that next piece.