I’ve been meaning to talk about The Dry Land screening, and here it is, one week later. America Ferrera stars and executive produces this gritty story about soldiers returning from war in Iraq (or was it Iran?).  I went to the web site but they negelected to offer press materials or a synapsis for me to steal from, so it’s a little tougher to bang this out.  Maya Entertainment might want to hire a PR rep to consult them on this stuff..

Anyway, the premise is the soldier comes back home to El Paso, Texas, to his wife, dog, family, and the dilemna of picking up where he left off. He takes an awful job at a slaughter house, where my vegan friends will be thrilled to hear they do such a good job at showing the reality that I considered for a few moments if I could ever put meat in my mouth again. (I could.)

Anyway it turns out our hero has Post Tramatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)  In the discussion that followed our screening with Film Independent LA (FIND) we heard from the cast one of the stats that more soldiers have returned and committed suicide then have died in the war.  Something needs to be done, and hopefully this film will spark more discussions about helping our military re-adjust to civilian lives.

The story touched me, as my own father fought in Vietnam and ended up not only with PTSD but with sinus cancer from Agent Orange, which might have helped exacerbate the issue. He’s in remission now, but for a time I had to avoid going out in public with him altogether, because our family didn’t understand why my father would lose his shit for the tiniest reasons, like if a young hostess at a restaurant showed us to a table rather than a booth.  Overreacting was his MO all through our lives.  It was easier to just stay home.

Now that the VA has helped diagnose him, albeit late in life, I can try to keep a sense of humor and explain his crazy behavior to others in a way, that I hope, both justifies his behavior and perhaps earns him some respect as a solider who once served our country. I just tell them, don’t pay attention to him, he’s “Crazy Neil” and he has PTSD, and thanks to films like The Dry Land, more and more people understand, at least a little bit.

Max Adams Teaches Pitching your Screenplay

I attended The Hollywood Filmmaking and Screenings Meetup at the Neon Venus Art Theater on Melrose last night. Max Adams presented “Pitching a movie script.” Max is the author of The Screenwriter’s Survival Guide and has worked with Hollywood Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Universal, Tri-Star and Columbia Pictures. Her produced works include Excess Baggage [credited] and The Ladykillers [uncredited].

Max gave a standing room only group of about 70 people a refresher on the basics with a few great tips. She says establishing genre is the most important thing you can do when you start your meeting.  You need to give the suits “permission” to laugh.  Then establish a verbal 3 paragraph essay – this is what I am going to tell you, then tell them your story and conclude with, this is what I just told you. Also tell them who is the protagonist.

Max also shared some good advice for a new independent film maker – shoot the money scene first – even if it isn’t convenient, so that you can pacify the executive producers immediately. Otherwise, if you show them basic early footage, they’ll wonder what you are doing with their money.

Never give anyone in your meetings your notes, which can sometimes lead to issues with stealing ideas and worse. She has seen an increase in visual aids, especially story boards and video presentations. If you are calling agents or executives, try after 6pm when their assistants have gone home for the day.  Don’t tell them you are a new writer looking for an agent, even if that’s the case: just tell them you have something you want them to read.

All in all, Max gave an entertaining presentation and her book is supposedly pretty helpful. She says the only outdated information is the “screenwriter’s uniform,” and showed us her blazer. She said for women to try not to look girly or they would assume you are an actress, not a writer.

Max has online workshops at The Academy of Film Writing if you are interested in learning more, visit http://newacademy.us/classes.htm.

Abby Jensen (Debby Ryan) and her BFF Jay (Jean-Luc Bilodeau) introduce themselves before gym class. 16 Wishes is premiering on Disney Channel Friday, June 25th 8:00 pm ET/PT.

We shot this video at Frosted CupCakery in Hollywood, CA for a web site we created for the film, 16 Wishes.

16 Wishes is premiering on Disney Channel Friday, June 25th 8:00 pm ET/PT.  This comedy, starring Debby Ryan (Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life on Deck”) and Jean-Luc Bilodeau (ABC Family’s “Kyle XY”), tells the story of Abby, a girl who’s been eager to reach her 16th birthday and has kept a secret wish list since she was a little girl. But, when the big day actually arrives, she makes a wish that changes everything.

Get to know Abby and her friends on her blog–check out the exclusive video, pictures, and latest information on exciting new contests!

Someone had to take home the extra cupcakes, yum!

We attended the Border Film Festival at Tempe Center for the Arts this past weekend. Thank you to filmmaker and ASU professor Paul Espinoza who showed 5 powerful films relating to the Mexican/U.S. border’s history all of which were his own productions. The first film, The Lemon Grove Incident, was filmed 25 years ago. It was a combination of documentary and traditional storytelling via feature film. It recounted the story of the Mexican American community’s response to a 1930 school board attempt to create a segregated school for their children leading to America’s first successful legal desegregation case. The Mexican parents hired an attorney and actually sued the local PTA. One of the local ten-year-old boys was the plaintiff. A post-film discussion facilitated by Dr. Luis Alvarez, of the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Alvarez was not only a visiting historian– he turned out to be the grandson of Dr. Robert Alvarez, the ten-year-old boy the case had centered around.

It was amazing to see how closely the story paralleled a twelve year old Jewish boy’s school experiences in our project, An Unbroken Chain: My Journey through the Nazi Holocaust. (We have optioned this book and are currently fundraising for the feature film, as you may know.) The logic of the PTA and their weak arguments about Americanization, English, and overcrowded schools immediately reminded one of Nazi Germany’s Nuremburg Laws.

In one of the memorable courtroom scenes, the plaintiff’s attorney demonstrates that the school board had never researched nor had no real grasp of what language the Mexican kids actually spoke. They were planning to send Mexican kids to the Mexican school “to learn English.” The lawyer helps the courtroom learn that not only were 95% of them United State citizens but that some of them grew up speaking English and didn’t even understand Spanish!

The second film was a documentary of the history of the Mexican American War. It was a good reminder that in fact, California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, were, of course, part of Mexico before we, the U.S., stole the land away in that war.

Thank you to Paul and the Arizona Humanities Council for a terrific and timely event!

Well, I did it. I was invited to interview Ken Rotcop for the Scottsdale Screenwriting Conference coming up May 15 and 16 at the Scottsdale Hilton, so I offered to use myself as a model for learning.

Learn from my mistakes (and successes?), attend the conference, and get your script into the biz.

We are fortunate to have an option on a great film project called Border Patrol. Our friend, an undercover narcotics officer, headed up one of the largest drug busts in the Southwestern United States and helped shut down a major Cartel.