Screen Fighting 101 … in Black Belt magazine
Posted on | December 29, 2008 | No Comments
Hope everyone had a festive holiday season and wish you all the best in 2009!
Though this post isn’t about screenwriting per se, it is related to the movie industry and writing: Please check out Black Belt magazine’s February 2009 issue, which contains my feature article called “Screen Fighting 101.”
My story deals with how to break into the movie industry as a fighter and martial artist. I also interview fight choreographer John Kreng, talk about his book Fight Choreography, and interview several other pros, including James Lew and Will Leong.
Please check it out and let me know what you think!
Tags: Black Belt > fight choreography > journalism > screen fighting > stunt fighter > stunts
Online Classes for Foreign Screenwriters?
Posted on | December 19, 2008 | No Comments
I recently had one of my blog readers write in asking about online screenwriting classes. She’s from Belgium and English is her second language (Dutch being the first). She wanted to know what classes to take so she could write screenplays for the U.K., U.S. or Australian markets.
Here’s my response (it’s a tad long — sorry!):
For bilingual writers in other countries, it’s a smart idea to try to get into the English-language screenwriting market in England, Australia, Canada and the United States to open up even more opportunities. But what you have to be aware of is that your English writing skills will have to be excellent and near flawless, perhaps even more so than mine. Why?
Because there are thousands of aspiring screenwriters in North America who can’t sell a script — and their first language is English! For writers who learned English as a second (or third or even fourth language in many European cases), the chances of selling an English-language script to producers in Hollywood, Canada or England are even slimmer. Producers will be able to tell that you’re “not from around here” if your narrative isn’t perfect and your characters’ dialogue isn’t natural sounding.
So here are some tips:
MASTER ENGLISH
The first step for any writer whose first language is not English would be to become a written-English expert. Or at least become proficient at writing English to the point where readers won’t realize you’re not a native English speaker. It’s key to have taken English classes up to high-school level (which is completing courses up through the 12th Grade). This is highly recommended — whether that means hiring a tutor, taking nighttime English classes, or majoring in English at a university.ATTEND COLLEGE
Next, the best course of action to learn screenwriting would be to attend a bachelor’s program majoring in film studies or screenwriting at a North American school. UCLA and USC, both in Los Angeles, first come to mind when I think college’s with great film programs. In Canada, it’s the Vancouver Film School or more traditional campuses like Ryerson University in Toronto. I’m sure the United Kingdom and Australia have comparable schools, as well.ATTEND COLLEGE … ONLINE
If moving to another country for full English screenwriting immersion is out of the question, then your best alternative will be an online screenwriting course. Some universities (including UCLA) have what’s called an extension writer’s program, or online courses that allow you to take screenwriting classes over the Internet. This is great for out-of-state or out-of-country students!ATTEND CLASSES … ONLINE
If you don’t have the time commitment to finish an extension writer’s program and prefer something that’s shorter, you can try out a variety of online programs. Famed screenwriting coach Syd Field has an online one-on-one course. Gotham Writer’s Workshop has a 10-week web class as well.There are many more out there, you just have to do a web search and some basic research.BRUSHING UP
Once you’ve completed a screenwriting program, you should also periodically improve your talents by taking shorter but more specific classes, such as those offered at ScriptForSale.com. This website offers specialized classes on such topics as advanced dialogue, revealing subtext, and comedy writing. I’ve personally taken one of these classes and found it very helpful.But above all else, just remember that screenwriting is a tough industry to crack; it’ll be even harder if producers perceive you as a non-native English speaker. So practice and then keep writing and rewriting!
Tags: Film school > Foreign screenwriters > online courses > screenwriting classes
Oldboy New Again?
Posted on | November 21, 2008 | No Comments
I just got news that one of my favorite movies — let alone one of my favorite foreign movies — called Oldboy is going to be remade by Will Smith and Steven Spielberg. And I’m not sure how to take it.
Bloggers and online movie “journalists” around the world are screaming bloody murder and demanding that 1. any adaptation be halted and 2. any adaptation not be handled by these two (the world’s biggest box office draw and the world’s most famous director).
Why?
To watch the original movie is to know their reasoning (which I don’t necessarily agree with).
Oldboy is a 2003 thriller from South Korea about a man who’s kidnapped for 15 years and then suddenly let go, released by unknown forces so he can find out who destroyed his life.
Aside from the great premise, this Chan-wook Park opus is perhaps one of the most stylistic, gritty and thought-provoking movies I’ve seen in recent years. It’s a thinking man’s revenge thriller, with intelligence mixed in with the brutal violence. It has a 2-minute-long uncut fight scene that, while not technically proficient, is viserally real and unique. But then there’s plenty of emotion and drama, plus a strange romance, that defies the movie’s genre. And, it has a devastating surprise ending that wrenches your insides and makes The Sixth Sense twist seem like child’s play.
So do I think Smith and Spielberg can do Oldboy justice?
That’s kinda like asking if the L.A. Lakers of the 1980s could beat the Boston Celtics of the 1950s. Nobody knows, but I hope Smith and Spielberg can pull it off, for all of our sakes. I like them both and though I think their movies are flawed, they are pretty skilled and talented when they aren’t making Wild Wild West or AI. The reason why people are protesting is because Oldboy is not a glossy popcorn entertainment, which is what Smith and Spielberg are known for.
I’m reserving my judgment until I see something concrete.
Until then, check out a clip of the original and decide for yourself if you think Will and Steven could do a similarly ground-breaking job.
Tags: Movies > Oldboy > Screenwriting > Steven Spielberg > Will Smith
Quantum of What?
Posted on | November 18, 2008 | No Comments
The new movie Quantum of Solace is not only the second movie with Daniel Craig in the James Bond role, it’s the first film in franchise history to be a direct sequel.
Sadly, that doesn’t necessarily mean double the fun. Mostly because of the script — surprising, considering it’s the same three writers who wrote the last Bond flick (the Neal Purvis-Robert Wade tandem and Paul Haggis).
Craig’s debut as 007 in 2006’s Casino Royale was bloody good fun. It wasn’t perfect and felt clunky in some parts, but overall, it was a great reboot of the franchise. Craig as Bond was flawed, not terribly efficient, and a bit of an emotional whirlwind. A nice change-up from the suave if cold-hearted sex robot that Bond had become over the decades. Perhaps the biggest plus of Casino Royale was that there was an tragic love story hidden underneath the conquer-the-world plotline that helped to explain why Bond transformed into the agent we’ve come to know and love.
But Quantum of Solace lacked those subtleties.
It’s replaces the subtle romance and origin story with a revenge subplot intertwined with the main tale about Bond trying to stop an “environmentalist” from taking over Bolivia’s water supply. Gasp! What grand dastardly plans! Seriously. This is a Bond movie and that’s the best that they could come up with? C’mon!
Aside from its rather bland premise, the screenplay is relatively predictable. There aren’t too many surprises, and most of the excitement by way of the gun blasting, foot chasing and fist pounding — all of which come at a very generous clip.
On a related note, Marc Forster’s direction is a bit pedestrian, especially when the fighting kicks up. Known for independent dramas, it’s clear he’s out of his element with Quantum of Solace. He imitates the (unfortunate) trend of using shaky close-ups, rapid-fire editing to create a sense of visual confusion. You can’t see who’s punching, where the bullets are flying, or where the cars are speeding off to.
Still, Quantum of Solace is an entertaining movie … but not any more than any other mindless big blockbuster action flick.
Tags: Daniel Craig > James Bond > Marc Forster > Movies > Screenwriting
Who Watches the Watchmen? I will!
Posted on | November 15, 2008 | No Comments
What serves as inspiration for my writing?
Many things. It could be anything from a tragic newspaper article or video game, to a mundane incident or a random scent. But every once in a while a movie comes along that gives me chills, that taps into something so primal, so innate in me that I say to myself, “I must watch that!” just so I can gain a little motivation for my own screenwriting and filmmaking.
It happened to me when I saw the trailer for Terminator 2. It happened with The Phantom Menace. This year it was The Dark Knight. And now it’s happened again. With the second trailer for The Watchmen.
If you’ve never heard of this movie adaptation of the Alan Moore comic mini series (yes, it’s a comic book — don’t believe the crap you hear about it being based on the hit “graphic novel,” that’s just PR-speak for a comic book), just know that it’s one of the most critically and commercially acclaimed comic book series of all time. And probably the most storied, sophisticated and influential story in modern comics history.
In Watchmen, Moore writes about a 1980s of a different time line, one in which costumed heroes have been outlawed and the USA is one step away from a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. While the world is threatened with a nuclear holocaust, two retired heroes (Rorschach and Nite Owl) discover that one of their former allies (The Comedian) has been murdered.
Is there a conspiracy to pick off former heroes one by one? Is it the work of the Soviets? The US government? A former archenemy?
From what I can see, director Zach Snyder (300) has done a pretty amazing job of capturing the essence of Moore’s comic. Now, “watch” the trailer below yourself and see if you get a sudden jolt of inspiration.