Director for hire

What started out as a fantasy about working in the movies has now come to a point where I feel comfortable offering my services and charging for the as not only a writer but a director too.

It was way back in 2008 when I decided to "go for it" in terms of making screenwriting a career and while I do still love the writing element of what I do, I find myself more and more in love with directing and shooting the movies that I write. With a simple post on Facebook today I have officially announced that I am now a gun Director for hire.

What a journey it has been to get to that post. I started as a shy writer who thought he knew everything and grew into someone who continues to learn and pursue knowledge about writing and movies on a daily basis. I wrote a few shorts, directed three of them, got nominated for a fancy sounding award for one of them. I've written numerous features that people have acclaimed as such things as "the freshest voice in years", "the funniest script I've read in years"and "not very good"!

I've always loved movies and to now be working in that space, to have my name amongst the greats and the heroes I worship is an amazing thing. I'm not saying that I'm a Scorsese or a Spielberg but I'm out there doing the same work. I'm a director and so are they, some will say that that is where the similarities end but I don't care, I'm doing it!

And so it's with great pleasure today that I have officially announced that I'm available to hire. I'll direct your movie for a reasonable fee, I'll even cut it and package it if you want me to.

When I look back at the day that I decided to try screenwriting I thank my lucky stars that I did and that I'm not wondering what may have been, instead I'm dreaming about the future and the possibilities that lie ahead.

So whoever you are, whatever you are doing, don't wait. Five years ago I didn't wait and now I'm here as a writer/director/gun for hire.

Rock on

Dave

How to stop remakes and reboots getting made... easy version

Not a day goes by where I don't get asked the question "Why do Hollywood keep making rebooks and remakes, do they not have original material?" I always respond with "Do you go see these movies?" and the answer is usually "Yes."

Here's the thing, if people simply stopped going to see these movies then they would not get made anymore.

Just let that sink in... Think about it, why do studios make movies? Is it to entertain you? No. Is it to teach you something? No. Is it so that we have something to do on date night? No. Movies are about making money, at least on the studio level they are, and reboot and remakes are pretty much guaranteed to make a lot of money. Do they care that you or I post on facebook or twitter that we're sick of remakes and would like some original fare? No, because you keep giving them your money for the thing you don't want.

I'm not suggesting that everyone stops watching movies, I'm suggesting that you consider what you watch and if you want good, entertaining stories that are original and fresh and star great actors and actresses who care about it being a great movie then simply  check out the independent movie section on Netflix or iTunes, or wherever you get your movies.

The reason I'm suggesting this is that thats where all the stuff you're saying you want is, fresh, original content by people who care what  you think. Every line of dialogue is carefully considered, not mangled by too many people trying to get a residuals check.

Indie movies, true indie movies are usually made on very tight budgets, these people cannot afford to make silly choices so everything in the movie is carefully considered and thought out. The films are usually made with more passion than money, the actors are doing their own make up, the director is also the DP, the sound guy has a million other jobs, someones mom and dad made the sandwiches that were eaten on set. It's small time but the end result is almost always miles better than the trash you see coming from Hollywood.

Now don't get me wrong, Hollywood has made some great movies and given the chance I'd jump into directing a movie for the studios tomorrow if an offer came. I just feel that people should split their movie going/watching time between the big boys and the little guys.

So one week watch Fast and the Furious 310 but when you're cruising Netflix a few days later watch The Giant Mechanical Man or Nobody Walks or anything that you like the look of. You'll still find some "famous" actors, but more importantly you'll find great stories and artists, people who are really trying to entertain and impress you. People who simply give a damn and people whose day you can make by simply watching their movie.

And why not take it a step further? Check out Kickstarter or Indiegogo and help someone make a movie, you'd be surprised how much a $5 donation can mean, especially if it's the only donation that person gets that day. If everyone of my facebook fans (just an example) was to give a $5 donation to an indie movie every Friday then the movie would  get about $2,500. That's a big difference to an indie filmmaker, so even if you give $5 you are making a huge difference to someone and becoming a part of a film. How cool is that?

Obviously the more you give a project the more you get back but it is entirely possible to build a credible career as an "associate producer" by simply donating money to a film on one of the crowdfunding sites. And even better, you know that you're doing something to help people avoid another god damn remake of something from the 80s.

Personally I love indie films, I rarely actually visit the cinema anymore and instead would rather watch something small budget and fun instead of coming out of a movie disappointed and bored (I'm looking at you Broken City!!). I'm lucky in that I know a lot of indie filmmakers personally, I know actors who are making great movies, I know some really awesome writers (and a lot of bad ones!) and we are all focusing on creating awesome, fun, entertaining stories that make original, fresh and entertaining movies. All you have to do as an audience member is give indie film a chance and watch the good stuff.

It's kind of like eating at McDonalds when you have a nice piece of steak ready to eat.

So I encourage you to give indie film a chance, I can guarantee that you'll find some great movies that you'll want to share with everyone.

See you at the Premiere!

Dave

Pain and Suffering... how to make a movie

Nightmare shoot behind us we set out to recast the movie, which we did with actors that we were simply amazed by. Long story short, one of the new guys pulled out just TWO DAYS before the new shoot... but this time one of the other actors had a contact that was willing and able to step into the role... times are good... if only I'd get that email I'm waiting on!

I can't say too much right now but this movie we're making is going to be a hit, we have a BIG NAME band involved, we have a great cast, we even have a way that people can make money from it just by sharing it on facebook or by tweeting about it!!

The new shoot is taking place this weekend and if all goes well it'll be out in time for Halloween... You'll be the first to know!

I gotta go make history now, keep up the dreams!

Write On!

Dave The Screenwriter/Director

Nightmare shoot

I never thought it would or could happen. I really thought that no matter what happened in my life that I would always want to make movies and write movies and anything else I can do that related to movies but on Saturday 30th June 2012 I was done, finished, retired.

At that stage my movie career had included exactly 10 screeplays, three short films, one film festival, one award nomination, one trip to LA where I visited three movie studios and the final nail in the coffin, the most shattering movie shoot of all time.

Some of the story I can't tell just yet because it isn't over but here's what I can say. For six months my brother and I have been working on making a low budget movie, we've worked day and night to make sure that we had everything arranged to make our three scene movie in one night. Yes, a full movie in one night. I know that it's crazy but I knew it could be done so we worked and worked and worked. We did auditions, cast actors, got a famous band to license a song for the movie, booked a venue and arranged the shoot.

Finally after months of work Friday the 29th June arrived and we were ready to go, but then the first actor arrived.. "Dave, I don't know all of my lines." he said with a look of fear in his eye. I was still setting up the set and didn't think it would be a big deal, after all we'd only be shooting five pages at a time and then taking a break which should be long enough to get a hold of the next five... or so I thought.

Next actor arrived and said "Dave, I don't know all of my lines." I thought it was a joke, it wasn't. The third actor arrived, the most inexperienced of the five that were needed "I don't know my lines, but I'll get through it." he said. I was fuming, anger was beginning to get to me, I wished that I hadn't quit smoking all those years ago so that I could light one up and blow off some steam.

The other two actors who came along knew their lines, sadly those people only had a few lines. I love those people, they're the best.

So we struggled through the shoot, stumbling from page to page, taking (this is not a joke) ten minutes to get the line "Oh look, a lovely two of clubs." Ten minutes!!!!!

When the shoot was done, and trust me I had done everything I could to get the best performance out of these no line learning "actors, I was done, never wanted to see the footage, never wanted to shoot another second of footage and never wanted anything to do with the film world again.

My brother and I loaded up the car and drove home, not a word was spoken and the radio was off. Silence.

We unpacked the car and started to tell the story to family and friends about how bad the shoot had gone, nobody could understand why these people would turn up under prepared. As time went on and a fried breakfast was eaten I could feel myself slipping into a deep sleep. I went to bed and cried myself to sleep, emotionally I was drained, empty.

I'd waited my whole life to direct a feature, I'd worked incredibly hard and it had been ruined by people who just didn't bother to learn their lines... life wasn't fair, the movie business was stupid, I could be successful in something else by now, I'm never going to make another film again... SLEEP.

The next couple of days I couldn't bring myself to even look at the computer, but on Monday my brother and I sat down and reviewed our footage and came to the conclusion "If the actors knew their lines this could be a great movie." So we made a list of what we needed to change to reshoot, we made a list of actors to change (three names on that list!) and we felt positive.

By Wednesday I was only positive, the script is good, everyone loves it. The cameras are awesome (Canon 550D with 50mm lense) and the cinematography is very good. AND above all, I was right, we can shoot a full length movie within one day/night and at a pretty low cost... Suddenly the possibilities for this film were huge again, suddenly I was going to direct a great movie again, suddenly I was in love with film and writing and the film business again.

Today, as I reflected on the experience and the lows it made me feel I know that the worst thing I could have done would have been to quit. I have to stand up and be counted, I have to come back stronger and make a kick ass movie.

So I learned that I'll never give up on the film business, that I'm right with my approach to movie making, that you should never trust an actor, that there's always positives to take from a negative and I learned that you can work as hard as you like and someone else can ruin it for you.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY I learned that nothing could tear me away from following my dreams.. I hope you guys feel the same.

Never let a set back stop you.

Write on.

Dave

"If you're serious about the industry just move to L.A" -- A manager at a  pretty big agency told me that recently, he was about the tenth person that week to tell me a version of that very same sentence. Now I know that it makes sense, right? Just hop on a plane, land in L.A and the rest is easy. Well heres the thing, I'd love to, I can't though. It's not a case of I can't because I'd be so far away from home or I can't because I have to mow the lawn or anything stupid like that, I can't get a working visa for the USA and so my stays to the US are limited to how many days I can afford. 

Just in case there's someone reading this that hasn't figured it out yet, I'm European, I come from the little island to the west of Europe, the one with the leprechauns. Sure I can get a 90 day visa waiver type deal where I can visit the US, can't work though. Can't technically take meetings or pitch a script or movie idea, can't go busking for a few hours to make some pocket money. Sadly I'm one of those people who needs to work so that he gets paid and can use that pay to buy food, pay rent and generally exist in other ways like socially. 

So when people say "Why don't you just move to L.A?" It angers me. It angers  me because if I could I would, I'd mow lawns, clean pools, sweep roads, polish toilet bowls, cook food, walk dogs, wash windows, clean cars, take part in medical trials or any other low paid job that I could get just to live in L.A and really chase my dream, like everyone thinks is so easy.

I've wanted to work in Hollywood my entire grown up life, I've now got a handle on what it is I want to do when I get there (write and direct please) and I only have one obstacle in the way of achieving that goal... red tape.

There have been many proposals for new Irish only visas that would enable someone like me to visit the US for 12 months and work during that time, they have all failed. A new one is being held up again right now and all the people like me can do is sigh and hope that someone in a prod co picks up our script, loves it and manages to persuade the decision makers in their company to part with at least $70,000 for the script, that way we'd be people of special talent and we'd get in no problem.

But for now, all we can do is keep working and working and hoping that today will be the day that I connect with the person who can make it all come true for me, safe in the knowledge that if I lived in Hollywood I would make my dreams come true... but I live in Wexford and dreams remain dreams, for now.

Write On!

Keep up the good work

Today is, just like everyday that has ever been and everyday that will follow a day that someone had their dreams come true. Someday it'll be my day and that's the whole reason I continue to work and work and work.

I woke up this morning with a great idea "Go to www.fiverr.com and offer to write a script on assignment for just $5 with complete obedience guaranteed and satisfaction assured. I worked on wording for my add, thought about how I'd spread the word and get my fellow writers and non writers interested in my offer, then I remembered that I was giving away free copies of my ebook on amazon all this past weekend and all I got was 150 downloads. Now don't get me wrong, 150 people reading my book is awesome (and scary) but it falls a little short of the 5 million I had imagined as I wrote the book!

So my plan was made and by the end of the day I would send a ripple of awe through Hollywood and the film world but I would be noticed, I'd be semi famous, I'd be hired as a screenwriter and paid for the work. I was all ready to sell out for $5 when I thought to myself "Why is nobody else doing it? Why hasn't it been done before? What am I missing?" I was driving into my local town when it hit me, Screenwriters dream of millions, at very least 100's of 1000's so why would they offer to work for such a small fee? Why would I work for such a fee?

The answer is this, the film world is hard to break into, very hard. You have to do whatever it takes to stand out, even if you're the best of the best. With my new knowledge I resolved to think about it some more and to wait before I post my ad, I bet someone beats me to it!

This afternoon though, completely by chance I found an opportunity for my webshow to expand into real show, we're going to work on it and then cross our fingers, I'll let you know what happens but until then I'll make you this promise: I'll write anything for $5

Write On!

Dave The Screenwriter!

fakers and phonies

One of the things that really angers me about the screenwriting world is the number of people who pretend to be somebody. I come across them nearly everyday, people who present themselves as an expert, people who will tell you what you need to do with your script, people who will argue that they are right and you are wrong even though they don't really know. Most importantly the people I'm talking about are con artists who disgust me to my core.

Now, I'm all for someone making a quick buck, go ahead and resell someone elses book on how to win at gambling or something but don't present yourself as an expert in a field that you know relatively nothing about. The problem as I see it comes from people dreaming about THE RICHES you get when you become a screenwriter but they don't want to work as hard as they need to so they give up and throw out useless advice instead.

I've seen people who give out the kind of advice that any decent writer would laugh at try to sell a "training program" for screenwriting for upwards of $50. What makes me angry is that they sell a few copies. I've seen people pose as someone connected to various actors and or directors and sell "web classes" or "video tutorials" that simply make no sense and make thousands of Dollars doing so.

Don't get me wrong there are plenty of reputable people selling classes and programs and those people are worth investing your money with, but do some research first, make sure that they have a good background in what they are trying to teach. There's no point in buying a book about selling your script to a major studio from a guy who never finished writing his own script.

The sad truth is that 90% of screenwriters are only in it for the money (or what they think the money is!), of the 10% left about half of those couldn't tell a good story if they were in one and the top 5% have to struggle to be seen for all the shit clogging the way.

To round out this post I want to say that some classes I've taken have truly changed my screenwriting career and I've attended seminars that have made me a better filmmaker. I'm not against classes or seminars or webinars or in being an entrepreneur, what I am against is scammers stealing money from hard working writers who deserve better than that.

My book and online video course on how to build your own rocketship and fly to the moon is available now priced just $3.5 Million, get it now!

Write On!

Dave The Screenwriter

Scary pitching time

Hello fellow writers and readers,

Many of you will know that my time writing is mostly spent in that beautiful program that we call Final Draft, it is my choice of screenwriting software and to my mind the very best and most essential piece of equipment that a screenwriter can have.

Today I finally got around to pitching a script I wrote last year, for those of you not following I took pretty much all of 2011 to concentrate on writing and banned myself from pitching until I had a sufficient library of work... now I have six brand new screenplays that I feel are awesome.

Well a few weeks ago I declared that I was counting down the hours to pitching again but really, really deep down inside I was very scared about pitching again. I didn't want anyone to hate my pitch, tell me that my concept was dull or that my life was being wasted on dreams of being a writer.

Today, February 28 2012 I stepped past the fear and actually pitched again for the first time in over a year and... it felt good! I have a solid script (coverage told me that it was extremely funny) and I have done my research on those pitched, I'll let you know what kind of responses I get but for now I just wanted to let everyone know that I am officially back on the horse!

Write on

D The screenwriter

Hurry up and do it already

Touching distance

Dear reader,

I know that I whet your appetite from time to time by claiming that I'm working on the most amazing script ever or that I have a film in the works or lately it's been that I'm writing a book. All of that is always true but tonight I'm closer than ever and all other projects have been put to one side until at least Monday.

It all began at the end of September when I, out of boredom was thinking about filming a short and found my way to www.rte.ie (I live in Ireland and they are the biggest broadcaster on the Emerald Isle) where I found a page about a show, not just any show though. This show had a prime time slot that it has held for 23 years now, that's about all I can say apart from the fact that on this webpage I discovered that they like hearing from writers who are interested in working on the show... I was interested!

I submitted my best script and waited, obviously when I say I waited I don't mean that I folded my arms and concentrated on the phone. No I got about my work, wrote a script or two and quickly gave up on the idea of shooting another short. It was a couple of weeks later when I was invited to a meeting in RTE  at the beginning of October, I was to say the least ecstatic to just be able to say that I had a meeting as a writer. While I'm bound by confidentiality agreements I think it's okay to say that they said that in January they'd be sending out scenes to hopefuls and from then we'd go through a sort of audition process and anyone who made it through would become a writer on the show.

Again, I can't say too much about what was said, or what show it is, or who anyone on the show is or how the scenes work or how many scenes there are in a show or anything at all really. This is just one big fucking tease in fairness. But what I can say is that I have a deadline at 6pm GMT tomorrow (that's 9am sunday for my LA residing buddies) and by that deadline I have to submit 4 scenes for the show from the information I've been sent (apologies but I cannot tell you any of those details so stop asking!) which makes tomorrow a very important day in my screenwriting career.

It's strange, I really, really, really want to work on this show. I've been interviewing myself all week as I drove to my crumby job about what it's like to be a writer on this show, I've imagined myself talking to a group of screenwriters (for some reason this talking is taking place in Universal Studios LA!). I'm ready for this opportunity and to be honest, last year I probably wasn't. I would have flown in to "Dave The Screenwriter" mode (TM) and written the scenes in my voice, my style, hell they'd probably get a final draft written version sent as a pdf ...(all I can say is that that is not what they want!) But now, right now at this moment in time I'm ready to write the scenes in the style of the show. I'm ready to be the writer that they need me to be.

I may be ready but I am scared. Tomorrow I write scenes that could lead to a job as a writer on a show that regularly gains 25% of the television watching population of this little country of ours, and while I'm grateful and happy I'm also nervous. As I sit here at 1.39am, listening to "Walk" by Foo Fighters and typing this blog entry I know that the next thing I type after it will be scenes for a television show. My show.

The time is nigh, I can feel it. It's been a long road to get an opportunity like this and I don't intend to let it slip. I'm ready, I'm good enough, I'm confident and friendly. I have what it takes but more importantly I believe in myself.

I'll do my best to keep you up to date on the process despite the confidentiality which prevents me from spilling all of the beans but until then just know this: Tomorrow I take my first step into writing a tv show for real, as a job and that first step is 4 scenes.

Write on and Wish Me Luck!

Dave The Screenwriter

Seeing the future

Greetings and salutations my friends,

Today I feel I should talk a little about the life of an overly ambitious person and I'll clarify that by explaining that my current goals include finishing the following:

1, I've started writing a book and I want to finish, publish and sell a few copies of it.

2, I have a 24 hour movie shoot planned and want to have the movie edited, marketed and for sale too.

3, I have 2 scripts that I want to do quick little fixes on and then start to market (rewrites are done but not put in on Final Draft yet... I'm a pen and paper kinda guy!).

4, I want to plan the biggest party of my life for April (when I turn 30).

Now it would seem like these are pretty modest goals, nothing special there you say. Yeah, these are my goals for January... I'll just let that sink in for a second.

Why would I take on such a load in just the first month of the year? Well the answer to that is really in my BIG goal for the year 2012, I want to be a professional writer and that to me means that I do not have a job that doesn't involve writing. The way I see it is that if I work hard I can totally make enough money from my writing/film career to fund my bills and car payments and rent and still have enough money to look presentable and buy some fancy blu ray special editions of my favorite movies.

I've been writing for a few years now but if I'm honest I've always held back a little, I always allowed myself to fail... not fail just not succeed because I always had the excuse that I had a job that I had to go to, I have to do this or that or the other thing, I'm helping someone do something else. Well, from now on I take no more crap, from now on I work for me and me alone and that means that I work hard and I work all the time.

If you've read this far I want to share something very important with you, I love writing and I'll always write for as long as I am able but there are people out there who write because they see it as a lottery, a quick cash scheme. I don't know how those people do it. If you don't love writing then please, don't be a writer. Be a singer or a guitarist or an actor or a mime or a magician or whatever it is that you DO love, just don't take up the place that a passionate, valuable and talented writer could of had if you truly don't love it.

Now I leave you with this... I have 30 days to finish a book and publish it AND make a movie and release it... you better read that again because one of us is crazy!

Write On!

Dave The Screenwriter

Happy new beer

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to post a little thank you to you guys and to wish you all the best for the year ahead. Personally my biggest goal is to make writing my sole source of income and by that I mean that I really hope that this time next year I don't have a crappy "real" job like I do now.

Whatever your goals for the year ahead and however you try to make them happen please bare in mind that you have to work hard and keep going no matter what, that is how you get there.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Write on

Dave The Screenwriter

Making it in the year 2012

Hi guys,

Thanks for coming to read my end of year blog spectacular. I have missed my blogging activities this year, mostly I just didn't have time (see the story of my six scripts in a year below) but now I'm back and not only that but I'm inspired to blog like a mofo. Basically if you do anything like a mofo then that's good, I think.

It has come to that time of the year where I take stock of the time that has passed and of course make plans and goals for the next 12 months. Some are personal, some are professional, some are desires more than goals, what I'm about to share are my film/writing and sporting goals for 2012, I hope you enjoy this glimpse into my mind at this particular time in my life.

WRITING GOALS
Writing is the biggest part of my life, it's not a job, a chore or a pain in the ass, it's also not a hobby. I love writing and the goal is to make it my career, to make cash from writing, just a little cash, enough to survive and live on... and drink beer with my friends with. Here are my 2012 writing goals.

I want to land a manager at very least in 2012, my writing is up to a very good level right now and I think I can be a valuable client to a manager, not least because I want to work more than anything else, so I'll churn out the projects (and collect lots of pay checks!).

Goal number 2: I have a crazy idea that I'm going to write a book that sell a million copies ... but if I make selling a million copies my goal then I'd be disappointed with 100,000 sales so my target is 1,000 book sales in 2012. The book isn't written yet so I am targeting a release in February (I know, I'm fucking crazy. Heard it all before dudes).

Goal 3: The oblig I'm going to write X amount of scripts this year goal. Last year I set my goal at three and wrote six, this year I have a book to write too and movies to make and a desire to travel more than I have this year, so with that being said my goal for the number of scripts (spec) I will write this year is THREE. THATS RIGHT MOFO, THREE. I am also open to 45 writing assignments!

Goal 4: Kinda crazy and totally out of my control in many ways BUT I'm going to make winning an award a goal for 2012. Now I'll be an author in 2012 as well as a screenwriter so that opens me up to lots of awards. Obviously I'd love to win the PAGE awards or something pretty big like that but any old award will do ... as long as it comes with a statue and a lot of hot chicks.

Goal 5: Purely from writing, various kinds of writing I'm going to make a financial goal for the first time ever... that goal is $10,000 US ... I've never made a financial goal going into a new year before, but the times they are a changing!

That's all, 5 little tiny goals that could change my life in more ways than seven. If in 365 days I have met all of these goals then it'll be a pretty good year... but I'm not done yet.

GOALS THAT DON'T HAVE NOTHIN' TO DO WITH WRITING
Couple of fun ones for the kids out there.

I want to meet at least one of my heroes in 2012... I could type a list of those who would qualify but I would be here all day. Lot's of movie people, lots of sporting people, lots of amazing people ... If I met Martin Scorcese I'd be happy!

Fun Goal number 2 (more of these later)
I want to own a double neck guitar.... I really really really want to own one.

BEFORE I TURN 30 GOALS
Yes, that's not a typo, I'm going to be 30 on April 25 2012 *insert frowny face*. I'm looking on it as a reason to do all the crazy shit that I've always wanted to do but always chicken out of... lets do these things.

THE TAT
Since I was 18 I've been saying that I wanted a tattoo and I think I'm ready to get it done, I want a Gibson Les Paul on my right forearm with Rn F'n R (Rock n Fuckin' Roll) scrawled underneath it (probably in courier new 12pt!). No more being a wimp, just do it.

THE MARATHON
HOLY SHIT I'M GOING TO BE 30 and it feels kinda right that I run a marathon, I"ve never run more than ten miles in my life and even that was a long time ago... however I plan to win a marathon before I turn 30.

RECORD BREAKER.
FUCK THIS, I always wanted to be in the guinness book of records and I've never broken a world record (They don't count most awesome dude in the world)... so by APRIL 25 I will break a world record ... suggestions on which record will be happily laughed at.

UNEMPLOYED!
No, I have no desire to be unemployed, what I do have a desire for is not to work in a shitty job anymore. I want to write for a living, and make movies for a living and if possible to be a full time model of sexiness ... shouldn't be too hard... I have 4 months to make this happen ... this is the most important goal of 2012.

BACK TO THE MOVIES
In January I'm going to make a movie, it's a cheap movie that we are going to shoot in just one day ... a week later the final cut will be finished and a month later you'll be able to buy it on AMAZON and on a special film specific website... I'm serious, this is less of a goal and more of a this is going to happen so get your fucking money ready, it'll cost you $19.99 on Amazon OR JUST $14.99 ON MY WEBSITE!!
All sales will help the making of a new movie.

TOTAL MOVIE MAKING GOAL
Self funded indie specials, I WANT TO MAKE THREE MOVIES, each paying for the next. I have a plan that is top secret but my brother knows it.

INDIE FILM STUDIOS
Yeah, studios. I never understood why it cost so much to make a movie, I never agreed that it was an elite business and I'm hoping to start a studio type business where people can come to our locations, make their movies and we'll be able to help with distrib and marketing etc... also use our equipment and expertise... the only expenses people will have for this is to pay 50% of the budget of their movie... be that $5,000 or $50,000.. This is my big dream goal, the profit from my writing sales and movie sales will go into making this happen.

Thats pretty much it, except for the personal goals which include learning to play some kickass songs on guitar, buying a new car, extending my blu ray collection, extending my guitar collection, getting some drums and meeting my wife ...

Whatever happens I'm just going to have a fucking great year as best as I can and I hope that you guys do too!

If I can just give you a couple of tips for the year ahead then these will be them:
1, No matter what happens, always look on the bright side of life.
2, Never give up on yourself or your dreams, just work hard.
3, Surround yourself with people who make you smile.
4, Every now and then imagine you have everything you ever wanted and enjoy the feeling.
5, No matter what happens, do whatever it takes to enjoy yourself.

Write on and on and on

Dave The Screenwriter

The year is 2011

This year began, like others before it on January 1st but for me at least this was probably the only thing about 2011 that would be the same as all of the years that preceded it. The following flow of words will describe the highs and lows and even the in betweens of the year for me, Dave the Screenwriter and optimistic dreamer.

If you've gotten this far then you must be interested in how an "aspiring" screenwriter spends his 12 months and so I will try to enlighten you and entertain a little as we go but I must warn you at this point that there may be many many swear words, tasteless jokes, lots of bitching and some self appreciation along the way. Also the word aspiring is stupid, you either are a screenwriter or you aren't as my hero Kevin Smith was once told by his sister "stop aspiring to be a writer and just be a fucking writer".

The start of the story that is 2011 actually begins in November 2010, I was fortunate enough to be at a pro series event in Hollywood where along with 20 other writers I was brought to Warner Bros, Universal and Paramount to listen to producers, writers, directors and waitresses who all work in the Hollywood system. At the end of the trip we all got to pitch ONE script that we had been prepping for months ... I went instead with an outline for a page 1 rewrite and gave it my best shot. The great thing about not having 100 pages written at that point where I was pitching producers was that I could change my pitch mid sentence to engage the producers, I could make my script fit them because it wasn't written yet (they didn't know that but one producer did say to me that he knew I was still only 90% finished the script!).

At the event I had my script requested four times, which was a great result and thought me that I'm good at pitching, and that having an Irish accent can help you pitch to LA producers who love Irish people! The greatest breakthrough I had though on the whole trip was in my hotel room while speaking to my roommate Gary. We spoke about what kind of scripts we wanted to write and what kind of writers we are, while I was telling Gary that I like dark humor but I'm more of a thriller writer who laces scenes with a light layer of humor a voice in my head started screaming at me "YOU"RE A FRICKIN' COMEDY WRITER ASSHOLE" and so the choice was made, I would be a comedy writer forevermore.

When I got home to Ireland I let December pass me by, I decided that I was going to be a comedy writer and the first comedy script I'd write would be the dark comedy Hit-man script that I had pitched in LA, but I wouldn't write it until I got a copy of Final Draft (that's write I was writing on CeltX up until then, something I regret now that I'm an FD stalwart). Final Draft did arrive shortly after the turn of the year, so did a brand new notebook and a shiny new pen... time to be the writer I was born to be.

So I set about writing and completed the script within a week, read it, liked it, sent it to friends who also liked it for the most part and only suggested minor changes (all of which were made because they were brilliant suggestions *Gardner Grout's in particular had been on my mind before he said anything) Then I sent out the requested copies, pitched some more people and got some more requests... I was certain that this was going to be my year.

As happens with any script you submit in this business it was quite a while before I heard back from anyone but when the comments came back they were pretty much all the same (mostly from managers) they read "This is a great script, really funny at parts with great dialogue, great character and evidence of a very talented writer, BUT the story is too dark for us but please come back to us again with anything else that you have" and there was the problem, I didn't really have ANYTHING else. Sure I had some scripts but they were not what I wanted to send out, they were practices! So I made a decision that I wouldn't pitch for the remainder of the year and for that year I would write like a  mofo and round out the year with three new comedy scripts that I could present whenever any said "so, what else you got?" So I began to write what would become a mountainous library of 2011 work (slight exaggeration!).

The first script I decided to write (which was the second I wrote in the year, keep up will you) was an American Pie inspired comedy which I'll describe like this: The three hottest girls in school decide to make a fortune selling their dates to the prom, they get the three nerdiest guys in school to set up an auction site to sell their dates but don't expect the guys to set up their own site selling access to hidden cameras in the girl's rooms. I loved writing that script because I had such a blast writing funny scenes between two polar opposite groups: Hot popular girls and nerdy loser guys. I loved developing the romance between the lead girl and the lead guy and how the fallout of their relationship ruined both plans and how I got to use writing this movie as a excuse to watch REVENGE OF THE NERDS 1&2 as "research". And there it was, I had begun to be the comedy writer that the world needed me to be but although I was happy with the script, really happy with it in fact I was barred from pitching it to anyone until Jan 1st 2012 so I better keep writing.

Next up came a short film, I'd already made two (NEEDS & FATE) and really enjoyed them, I loved working with the actors and I needed to do it again, so I wrote what I felt was a short homage to Reservoir Dogs, called it "Honor Of Thieves" and it was a pretty good shoot but I was not completely happy with the final product so I did not send it out, maybe I'll pst it on YouTube someday.

After that distraction I had to get back to writing and I was still in love with filming, so I bought a camera, a good camera, it cost me $1,000 it better be frickin' good! I spoke with my brother about making a movie, not a short, not a half our special a full length movie film. We decided to give it a shot and I decided that I had just the story to tell, the script is called WALK ON and is about John, a soccer obsessed dude who loves his team more than his girlfriend until she makes him choose. The script is pretty good, I sent it to my actors, I even auditioned some new people I cast some people I was ready to go and then the person I cast in my lead actress role pulled out just days before the shoot was to begin ... best advice I can give is NEVER WORK WITH YOUR FRIENDS. That collapse of the shoot set me back a small amount of cash and a lot of time, but like I learned in LA, "go with the flow" and you'll be fine.

So I got right into a new script, one that I'd been thinking about for a while, one that I knew there would be a lot of me in, one that I thought was going to be AMAZING. I called it THE WINNER and it's about a writer who is obsessed with Slash from guns n roses and has been working on a biography of the axe man for years (Stop laughing, it's pure coincidence that I'm a huge Slash fan, honest, okay maybe I wrote that part of the character just so that I could meet Slash when he does his cameo at the end!), Anyway Simon (the writer) gets ditched by his girlfriend as he proposes and the next day wins the lottery. Simon is upset but his friend Eddie drives him to forget the bitch by hiring a hot assistant, who he does indeed fall in love with... Clare tries to win him back but he now knows what true love is and there's also a whole thing about a store called Guitars and Strippers which is pretty funny! I did get coverage on this from a few sources, my favorite quote from the coverage was "The Winner is a very funny script, if it was just about being funny then this script would be really successful..." I've ready that quote a million times since I got that coverage back and I've been rewriting that script for a while to the point where I know that in January that it will be the one script I lead with because it's a very funny read apparently and the "characters are great, the dialogue is great and the writing is very very good" (that's another quote! and yes I'm showing it off because I can!)

Sometime around the writing of THE WINNER the Page awards were handing out condolences to losers but I got myself a birth into the second round for THE HIT-MAN which was so cool because I have only ever entered 2 contests, The Nichols fellowship a couple years ago and this years Page awards, I was so happy to make the second round that I started planning what I would do with the prize money, but I didn't make the next cut ... However making the second round was AWESOME!

I should also say at this point that I had taken THE HIT-MAN and submitted it to Amazon Studios early in the year, it was not a comedy script (kinda dark comedy but it appears to be too dark for anyone in Hollywood to take on) and that meant that it is there's until 2013, anyway only about seven people have read it and most have said nice things about it, check it out if you like. http://studios.amazon.com/scripts/8013

After THE WINNER came back with such good reviews I tried to get WALK ON back up and running but again I was halted by people not being available or not wanting to do it anymore and stuff of that nature. So I wrote another script (if you've been counting then you should be on FIVE for the year so far) This one is called MY TWO INTERNET GIRLFRIENDS and is pretty much what you think it is, a guy from Dublin has two girls online that think he's a wealthy doctor who is going to be their knight in shining armour. Of course he isn't a wealthy doctor at all, he's a loser who works in a video store (not that all people who work video store's are losers, just this guy!) His world is thrown in to turmoil when both of his online honeys come to Dublin for a weekend, the same weekend ... he learns the difference between love and lust and how being yourself is better than pretending to be something that you're not.

Good coverage on that script too and the great thing about it is that it could be made on a small budget or a big one, so I have though about us making it ourselves, I have a list of potential actors and actresses who could play the part and all I need is about $100,000 ...

I had been discovering lots of cool film stuff throughout the year and the most interesting to me was the idea of shooting a real time movie, ie the whole thing takes place in one location for an hour and a half and you shoot one big long take, maybe two takes if you want to be fancy! So I thought about it and came up with an idea for a 24 hour shoot, a movie about a guy and a girl who are one a date watching movies at his house when she chokes on a peanut M&M and dies but rather than call an ambulance the guy calls his friend, who convinces him that they have to dispose of the body or spend the rest of their lives in prison. A night of crazy goings on follows and the script is fun, if a little gross out - I'm planning to get everyone together in early Jan 2012 and shoot it, we'll also sell the crap out of it online in order to raise funds for a really good attempt at making MY TWO INTERNET GIRLFRIENDS.

So that was my writing year, more or less. It contained SIX new scripts that did not exist on Jan 1st, it contained TWO failed attempts at making a movie, it contained one short film and a lot of notebooks, it was a great year and now it's almost over my thoughts have turned to the future.

2012 will start with submitting scripts again, calling producers again with my heart beating out of my chest again hoping that I have just what they're looking for at that particular moment. I can't wait! Undoubtably 2012 will bring new scripts into my life, new characters and witty dialogue, maybe even a nude scene or two but whatever it does bring, I'm ready. My year of writing and not submitting is finally nearly over, I've proved to myself that I am the comedy writer I was always fighting against being and I am a good writer, now I just need to find my manager and a producer who wants to work with a good writer. It'll happen in 2012, I 'll have movies out in 2012, I'll write better than ever in 2012, I'll sell in 2012, I'll be ready everyday of 2012, I'll be proactive in my career in 2012 but most importantly in 2012 I'll be turning 30... scary!

Write on and happy holidays guys

Men CAN multi task

As I'm getting to a crucial point in my screenplay I will make this a short post but one that I think will be important for many.

As I lay in bed this morning plotting the paths of my two central characters through the midpoint I got to thinking about how much more work I could churn out, then I realized that it's still only half way through March and I've already done more this year that some will in the entire 12 months. Now I'm not being arrogant or vein or anything like that, I just get a lot done in a short amount of time. Since January 1st (4th really due to celebrations of the new year) I have written a full feature length project, written/directed/edited and submitted a short film, outlined two feature length documentaries (which will be shot over the summer), outlined and am currently writing a second feature length spec (which I will shoot over the next 3-4 months) ... and I have a whole social life thing going on too!

I'm one of those people that always has to be doing something, I don't really watch mind numbing TV, I only watch a few shows (Boardwalk Empire, Curb your enthusiasm and Dexter) and sports! I listen to music while I write, I read one or two scripts a day, and several blogs. I keep active on several internet sites, I have friends around the world that I communicate with everyday and I have a couple of businesses that I help run. Oh and a job, I have a job too.

So how do I get all the film work I get done done? Simple, I never stop working, right now as I type this I'm thinking about the scenes I'm writing straight after this post is complete, I'm thinking about how by the end of the day I should be entering the third act and I'm listening to an itunes mix that includes Velvet Revolver, James Brown, John Lee Hooker, Rory Gallagher, Bon Jovi, Foo fighters and Guns N Roses.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that multi tasking is essential to getting the work done, and don't tell me that men can't multi task, look at all the stuff I'm doing!! I haven't even mentioned that I'm always planning the next step, the project that will happen once the current one ends. 

So I say to you dear reader of my blog, don't write a script - write a script, a tv pilot, a radio show, a play, a book, a comic, a graphic novel, a song, an advert, a speech... anything at all just keep your mind occupied. Soon you'll find that everything you do will become revolved around writing and you'll be a better writer because your focus will be writing that one script that will make this a career and not just a dream.

I hope that made as much sense to you as it made to me !

Write On!

Dave TheScreenwriter

I'm Back!

Hello dear reader,

Apologies for the long gap since my last post, I have in actual fact been hugely busy and I had to let something slip, that something was my blog. In the couple of weeks I have been away I have learned many things and I will pass some of them onto you right now.

First thing I learned was that if you don't ask then you don't get. I remember my dad telling me that years ago when I was just a shy little boy, turns out he was right. This past week I contacted one of the biggest sporting organizations in the world and asked them if I could possibly have access to their stadium and offices for the purpose of shooting a couple of scenes for my impending debut feature film. The response I got was positive and they were engaging, they wanted to know more and asked what they could do to help, they still have not said yes but I'm hoping that they will in the next week or two.

So I got the "lets ask everything I can ask for" bug. So the people I'm buying my camera from have been asked for a hefty discount, every company I have every heard off have now been asked for a donation to www.indiegogo.com/3projects1year ... I'm asking and when you ask you'll find that very few people will say a straight out no, most will ask what else they can do to help.

I've also been reaching out to the film community at large, I got a great opportunity to write a Guest Post for the brilliant Film Courage with Karen Worden and David Branin, which is a site that I habve loved and respected for a while now... ever since fellow PSA Jeanne Bowerman was a guest on the show (I always support fellow PSA appearances and events, they're usually open me up to something very cool!) http://filmcourage.com/content/cheapskate-one-man-crew is where you can find my slightly rushed post but I think it has some merits.

I've been writing a lot too, I got the script for my feature off to a flying start with 36 pages rolling in over 2 days ... I had done a lot of prep before that but still 36 in 2 days is impressive even for me! I've also been writing concepts, I've had a glut of good concept ideas and they simply had to be written out and developed... right now if I was idle I'd have six features ready to go, I could start writing them now if I so chose!

And finally the last thing I want to say for today is that I learned that people want to work with talented hard working people, I've had requests from people to keep them in mind when I have projects rolling and I was blown away by that more than anything else.

Ok I have to get back to writing now but I leave you with this very obvious but also somewhat profound statement: The more you work the more you will achieve!

Write On!

Dave The Screenwriter.

PS don't forget that you can always email me about anything at all ... dthescreenwriter@aol.com

FOCUS

This morning as I hit the treadmill for a jog and listened to a mixture of rock tracks I noticed that I was doing something that I should blog about, no not exercising, that sucks I recommend it to nobody! I was planning, and what I was planning was my film (which I have not written yet, simply outlined) being screened at Sundance! Why Sundance? Well all of my favorite directors have a history with Sundance and I want to be part of that list, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Smith, Dave TheScreenwriter... that list sounds good to me.

Now before any says "oh, you were daydreaming", I wasn't I was actually planning the shoot, organizing the timing of the post, trying to figure out who will play the sexy journalist and where I'll shoot the break up scene. When I had finished with the treadmill I hit the net to find out the late deadline for submissions to Sundance(Sept 26th) and then figured out that due to my current geographical difficulties I would have to finish the final cut by September 10th... which is 7 months away.

So 7 months to write, cast, rehearse, film and cut a feature length movie? Crazy? Watch me do it! You see you may have noticed that I'm kinda driven, focused, determined, obsessed or whatever you want to call it... If I can shoot an eight minute short in one day just nine days after it was written then I can pull of the Sundance miracle! BUT I need help, funding is the problem with getting these things done fast look to the side of this page and you will get more info on my funding proposal or just click on this link http://www.indiegogo.com/3projects1year?a=88034&i=addr .

I know that I'll be standing in Park city come Sundance next year, (submission accepted or not I'll be there!) and I know I'll be in Cannes this year (yeah I made the decision) and I'll be standing at both of these festivals with my head held high, knowing that I belong. The reason I know I'll be there and belong is that for a long time it has been my focus, my goal to make myself a valuable part of the movie industry and now that focus and drive is paying off.

So fix yourself a goal, focus on it, drive towards it, become obsessed and stride to where you truly belong. A big factor in being a film professional is focus, it has to be the one thing you have to do and everything you do should be for the end goal... focus, focus, focus.

Don't forget that you can email me for any reason especially if you want to ask for a certain topic to be covered in a blog post.

Write On!

Dave The Screenwriter

Screenwriting... activate!

Are you waiting for something to happen or are you MAKING it happen? People have said to me in the past that it's not as easy as making your mind up and suddenly it's done. Well that may be true but does anyone really think that simply calling yourself a screenwriter is all it takes to have a successful screenwriting career?

Personally I work on many projects at a time, I call people, attend evens, write a blog, connect with groups via Facebook, twitter and email. If you are simply writing then you're only doing half the job. As I write this I'm contemplating bringing my latest short film to the Cannes Film Festival and finalizing the edit of that film and trying to promote http://www.indiegogo.com/3projects1year ... to  me that feels like three full time jobs, did you notice that I didn't mention writing in that?

Writing is something that I simply do, I couldn't live without it and without it I wouldn't be doing any of the other things I'm doing. Oh and just to let in in on a secret, I have a "real" job too! I've told you before about how I extended my waking hours to include more writing time but now I find that my writing time has become "Film project time" that could be writing, editing, contacting, pitching or learning (Yes, even the great Dave the screenwriter still tries to learn something new EVERYDAY).

And so the point of this mini blog entry: Screenwriting is just the start, the beginning of something much bigger that includes much more work. Of course you can disregard that if you never want anyone to read your scripts! I love the work, I love the industry, I love the people I know within the industry. I dream about the big room at Paramount, the Jack Wolf building at Universal, the large Bugs Bunny outside the Warner Bros. If you don't like the work, the people, the industry or the way it all fits together then maybe you are not a writer... maybe you're a producer!!

Write on!

Dave The Screenwriter

Oh and please check this out and help us if you can http://www.indiegogo.com/3projects1year thanks!
And another thing ... email me about anything dthescreenwriter@aol.com

Which one will be for you?

There are literally millions of ways to approach a film career, but first you need to know what you really want to be. Ok so you want to be a writer? What kind? For who? Are you happy writing for a low budget company that will keep coming back to you or are all of your scripts "tent-pole events"?

I know this touches on branding a little bit but it is important to know your exact goal. Don't worry you can change your goal at any time, but if you don't have one other than "I want to sell a script" then something is wrong. So what's so wrong with wanting to sell a script? Nothing, its a great idea but once you've done that what happens? I'll give you an example: A soccer player signs for Barcelona, he's always wanted to play for Barcelona but is that the en of his goal? No, he wants to score goals, win cups, break records etc etc etc. So what about you, do you have more goals that just making that one deal?

I've spoken to a lot of writers who say that they want that first deal and when I ask "then what?" they just say "I'll do it again" or "and then see what happens". Now personally I've just changed my goals, the path my career is on is about to take a huge change in direction but the ideas I've had have always been along the lines of: Sell a script - work with the producers to make a great movie - write on assignment - write newer and better scripts - get a manager and agent - make the manager's/agent's work EASY by being professional and easy to work with - get a higher level producer on board - make a better movie - become a respected pro - keep climbing the industry ladder -  write for a tv show - create a tv show - direct a movie - become a studio's go to guy - get a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. At any point in my plan can you see a mention of money, buying a big house or a fancy sports car? No, and the reason is because my job is to write... nothing else!

So that's today's blog, and the advice is to be yourself, find your own way and do it you own way. For the sake of yourself make a plan, you don't have to follow it and you can change it whenever you like but simply "do it all again" is not enough.

Remember if you fail to plan you plan to fail - crap I'm starting to sound like my Dad!

Write On!

Dave The Screenwriter

Make it happen

Let me ask you this simple question... who has the key to Hollywood for you? Is it Christopher Nolan? If you could only get your script to Natalie Portman would you be straight on the A list? Do you also believe in the tooth fairy? Bottom line, you are the only person who can make your dreams come true.

Easy to say right? The biggest problem I see with "aspiring" writers is that they expect that Hollywood will hunt them out, will knock on the door and hand them a check, simply not gonna happen bub! Being a screenwriter is NOT a get rich quick scheme, it's not a lottery ticket but so many people think that it is.

Last week I was handed a story by a guy I would call a very casual acquaintance, he told me that I was going to love it and that it was amazing. He later went on to tell me how we were going to make this film and distribute it worldwide all by ourselves and make 100's of millions of Dollars, alarm bells were ringing in my head. So I took the story, more out of courtesy than anything else and despite it looking like a twelve year olds homework I read it. I read a page and I was already struggling, there was no story it was as if he'd sneezed every idea he had onto a page and handed it to me in the hopes that I'd make his movie career.

And so a few days later I bumped into this "writer" again, he asked me what I thought of his story and as I told him that it wasn't ready to be a movie, that he needed to work on it for more than five minutes. His smile changed to a frown right in front of my eyes, I thought he was going to cry but instead he went on a rant about how I don't know a good thing when I see it and that he'd sue me if I ever made a film from the story that he wrote.

As I tried to encourage him and tell him that if he wants to be a writer that I would teach him the basics but that he would have to commit to it and work very very hard. He told me to "get lost" but in less nice terms and then proceeded to tell me that he really thought that I would have told him that it was great and that we'd go into production and make millions!

So the point of this blog? I see something like this nearly every week, people who see the film business as a route to fame and fortune within a very quick timeframe. Well it just isn't like that, this is a business and in order to make the big money and have the big profile you need to work hard, work hard and work hard. As the great A.C Lyles told me at Paramount recently "To make it in this business you need to be three things, obsessed, obsessed, obsessed!"

So please, don't think that this is a get rich quick scheme, it's a business and like any business the harder you work the more you'll get out of it.

Write On!

Dave The Screenwriter

OH and BTW on the right you'll see an ad for my crowd funding project, if you have a couple of spare bucks then check it out and become part of independent film history!

Good Luck.