Visit the Dracula The Un-Dead website.
Attention Screenwriters, Storytellers, and Writers
“My approach was to find good writers that didn’t necessarily have the most commercial instincts and marry them to my commercial instinct by giving them ideas and working together with them on scripts.”—Neil Moritz, Produced By
It was delightful to run across this quote from producer Neil Moritz (“Cruel Intentions,” “Fast & Furious,” “Made of Honor”), which reinforces the approach we’ve been focusing on at AEI. It’s as frustrating to us as managers as it is to our storytelling clients that good-to-excellent stories have such a hard time making their way into the marketplace. When we can convince our writers to take the marketplace seriously, we hook them up with concepts we know are low-resistance to buyers. At the very worst, this approach gets our clients’ work in front of the buyers so they can appreciate excellent writing and storytelling ability. At best, it leads to sales and financing progress.
Whether you’re a client of ours or not, think high concept. Think how you can make a buyer look at your project out of all the others that are raining down on the desk every day. One way we highly recommend: find a classic that is in public domain (so there are no rights issues). ADAPT it to today. On your title page, put, “Based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky,” or “Based on the short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne.” It’s hard for editors and creative execs to resist a story that retells a classic. It’s what they call
a “pre-sold” concept.
If you’re a screenwriter with a fantastic script, consider writing it as a novel, then sell it to a publisher. It then becomes an “underlying right,” which gives the studio exec the incentive and security needed to acquire it.
Think outside the box!
Guest Post: AEI ASSOCIATE MIRANDA KWOK PREMIERS iMURDERS MARCH 14 ONBOARD QUEEN MARY
My latest film iMURDERS is having a red carpet premiere held aboard the historical Queen Mary in Long Beach.
I am playing one of the leads in an ensemble cast. Most of my scenes are with Charles Durning who received the 2008 SAG Life Achievement Award.
The film is screening Saturday, March 14th at 6:00pm at the first annual Paranoia Fest.
Tickets can be purchased at the door or online.
iMURDERS
Saturday, March 14th
6:00pm
The Queen Mary
1126 Queens Hwy
Long Beach, CA 90802
View the iMURDERS Trailer
**iMURDERS won the Audience Choice Award at the The Down Beach Film Festival**
Hope to see there!
Miranda
miranda kwok . shadowdance pictures
mirandakwok@shadowdancepictures.com
www.mirandakwok.com . 310.383.5563
Click on images to bring up larger in a new window
PUBLICIZING YOUR BOOK Suggestions for Success: Part 5
Continued from part 4
Now that you have finished your book, and it is ready to be shopped around to publishers (or has already been bought by a publisher!) it’s time to think about what you can do to help promote your book.
Read Rick Frishman's 50 page resource directory:
Author 101™ Million-Dollar Rolodex
MISC. ADVICE
Top 10 Telephone Tips to Make Your Radio Talk Show Pay Off
by Joe Sabah
1. Have a glass of water handy (room temperature). When your throat is lubricated it's easier to talk. Plus the water serves as a "cough button" if needed.
2. Stand while speaking. Pretend you're presenting a seminar. Your voice will carry further. And you'll sound more animated.
3. Have a copy of their state map on your wall. Refer to cities in the radio station's surrounding area. This helps make you feel like you are "one of them." I once made the mistake of referring to South Bend as "South Bend, Indiana." The host reminded me that I was talking on a radio station in South Bend, Wisconsin. Oops!
4. Listen to their weather and traffic report. This allows you to personalize your presentation.
For example: When I was being interviewed on WHIO in Dayton, Ohio I noticed during the breaks they were referring to their metro area as "the Miami Valley." So it became a natural for me to say "I believe we can help some folks in "the Miami Valley" get their perfect job this afternoon." What a difference the right words make.
5. Get your listeners involved. For example, before the last commercial break I ask them to get pencil and paper to write down the three tips I guarantee will turn every job interview into a job offer. Then they have pencil and paper ready when I later give out my 800 number.
6. For those who are driving around without writing tools handy, ask your host if the listeners can call the station for the 800 number. As soon as you're off the air, you call the station's receptionist and give her or him your 800 number plus the title of your book.
7. Give the host some quotes from your book to use as segues. I offer quotes like: "Are You Singing The Song You Came To Sing?" And "If You Do What You've Always Done, You'll Get What You've Always Gotten. Is That Enough?"
8. After the host uses these Inspirational Postcard Quotes on the air, I also offer them to listeners who order my book. Another bonus to increase orders.
9. Always thank both the host and the producer for the good job they are doing. After the show, also send each of them a handwritten note of thanks and an offer "Let's do it again."
10. You may also want to record your show by using a device available at most phone center stores, that will record both sides of the interview. Then listen to your show to see how you can improve the next one. Keep on learning.
Read PUBLICIZING YOUR BOOK Suggestions for Success from the beginning.
Now that you have finished your book, and it is ready to be shopped around to publishers (or has already been bought by a publisher!) it’s time to think about what you can do to help promote your book.
Read Rick Frishman's 50 page resource directory:
Author 101™ Million-Dollar Rolodex
MISC. ADVICE
Top 10 Telephone Tips to Make Your Radio Talk Show Pay Off
by Joe Sabah
1. Have a glass of water handy (room temperature). When your throat is lubricated it's easier to talk. Plus the water serves as a "cough button" if needed.
2. Stand while speaking. Pretend you're presenting a seminar. Your voice will carry further. And you'll sound more animated.
3. Have a copy of their state map on your wall. Refer to cities in the radio station's surrounding area. This helps make you feel like you are "one of them." I once made the mistake of referring to South Bend as "South Bend, Indiana." The host reminded me that I was talking on a radio station in South Bend, Wisconsin. Oops!
4. Listen to their weather and traffic report. This allows you to personalize your presentation.
For example: When I was being interviewed on WHIO in Dayton, Ohio I noticed during the breaks they were referring to their metro area as "the Miami Valley." So it became a natural for me to say "I believe we can help some folks in "the Miami Valley" get their perfect job this afternoon." What a difference the right words make.
5. Get your listeners involved. For example, before the last commercial break I ask them to get pencil and paper to write down the three tips I guarantee will turn every job interview into a job offer. Then they have pencil and paper ready when I later give out my 800 number.
6. For those who are driving around without writing tools handy, ask your host if the listeners can call the station for the 800 number. As soon as you're off the air, you call the station's receptionist and give her or him your 800 number plus the title of your book.
7. Give the host some quotes from your book to use as segues. I offer quotes like: "Are You Singing The Song You Came To Sing?" And "If You Do What You've Always Done, You'll Get What You've Always Gotten. Is That Enough?"
8. After the host uses these Inspirational Postcard Quotes on the air, I also offer them to listeners who order my book. Another bonus to increase orders.
9. Always thank both the host and the producer for the good job they are doing. After the show, also send each of them a handwritten note of thanks and an offer "Let's do it again."
10. You may also want to record your show by using a device available at most phone center stores, that will record both sides of the interview. Then listen to your show to see how you can improve the next one. Keep on learning.
Read PUBLICIZING YOUR BOOK Suggestions for Success from the beginning.
INTRODUCING AEI'S FINISH LINE BRAND LAUNCH PROGRAM AT MEGA BOOK MARKETING AT LAX WESTIN HOTEL
The exciting thing about the announcement, for me, was that fourteen brand aspirants came forward in the next twelve hours to discuss working with us to organize, focus, and launch their brand ideas. Of course only a handful of them showed the global potential we're looking for--but it was another definite sign that we're onto something exciting with Finish Line.
EXCITING NEW COVER OF ALAYA JOHNSON’S RACING THE DARK
Racing the Dark
Alaya Dawn Johnson. Agate Bolden (PGW, dist.), $24 (352p) ISBN 978-1-932841-28-2
From Publishers Weekly: In Johnson's bold debut, a young woman faces sweeping changes to the ancient traditions and culture of her tiny island home. When 13-year-old Lana recovers a rare sacred jewel from a dying mandagah fish on her first solo dive, she hides it rather than accept the responsibility of becoming a mystic. Within six months, the mandagah are dying due to changing water conditions, destabilizing the island's economy, which depends on the fish and their jewels. To pay for her family's passage to the city-island of Essel, Lana becomes an apprentice to the sorceress Akua. When Lana learns Akua gets her powers from blood sacrifice, she's appalled, but soon she must strike her own terrible bargain to save her mother's life. Johnson's story is reminiscent of Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea books.. As Johnson…gets a better handle on her island culture, economy and magic system in future books, this proposed series could be a stand-out. (Oct.)
Buy Racing the Dark on Amazon
AEI FINISH LINE CLIENT NIK HALIK --THE THRILLIONAIRE—REVEALS THE TEENAGE LIST THAT GOT HIM STARTED TOWARD ‘BEYOND THE SKY IS THE LIMIT’
Here’s the outline of the screenplay of my life I set down when I was a teenager:
1. TO SET FOOT ON THE LUNAR SURFACE OF THE MOON
2. TO ROCKET TO OUTER SPACE AND RESIDE ON A SPACE STATION
3. TO BECOME AN ASTRONAUT
4. TO OWN EXOTIC PRIVATE HOMES AROUND THE WORLD
5. TO EXPLORE AND TRAVEL TO OVER 100 COUNTRIES
6. TO BECOME A DEEP SEA EXPLORER AND HAVE LUNCH ON THE TITANIC
7. TO BECOME A MOUNTAIN CLIMBER AND SUMMIT THE HIGHEST PEAKS IN THE WORLD
8. TO RUN WITH THE BULLS IN PAMPLONA, SPAIN
9. TO BECOME A MILLIONAIRE
10. TO BECOME A ROCKSTAR MUSICIAN
GREEN = COMPLETED
RED = IMPATIENTLY WAITING
Visit The Thrillionaires website: thethrillionaires.com
1. TO SET FOOT ON THE LUNAR SURFACE OF THE MOON
2. TO ROCKET TO OUTER SPACE AND RESIDE ON A SPACE STATION
3. TO BECOME AN ASTRONAUT
4. TO OWN EXOTIC PRIVATE HOMES AROUND THE WORLD
5. TO EXPLORE AND TRAVEL TO OVER 100 COUNTRIES
6. TO BECOME A DEEP SEA EXPLORER AND HAVE LUNCH ON THE TITANIC
7. TO BECOME A MOUNTAIN CLIMBER AND SUMMIT THE HIGHEST PEAKS IN THE WORLD
8. TO RUN WITH THE BULLS IN PAMPLONA, SPAIN
9. TO BECOME A MILLIONAIRE
10. TO BECOME A ROCKSTAR MUSICIAN
GREEN = COMPLETED
RED = IMPATIENTLY WAITING
Visit The Thrillionaires website: thethrillionaires.com
Guest Post: Scribblers’ Retreat Writers’ Conference 2009
Scribblers’ Retreat Writers’ Conference 2009
Literacy is our purpose.
Fulfilling dreams is our goal.
http://scribblersretreatwritersconference.com/
@ Sea Palms Resort, St. Simons Island, Georgia
Literacy is our purpose.
Fulfilling dreams is our goal.
http://scribblersretreatwritersconference.com/
@ Sea Palms Resort, St. Simons Island, Georgia
May 14-17, 2009 “How To…”
Dickie Anderson (F), Ed Ginn, Dr. Ervin Williams, Holly McClure, Cappy Rearick, Harlan Hambright, Constance Daley, Bud Hearn, Mary Wagner, Dr.William Rawlings
August 13-16, 2009 “SciFi, Fantasy, Mystery, Inspirational- This World and Beyond”
Linda Armstrong, Charlotte Babb, Maggie Carter d’Vries, Jack McDevitt, Tom Dent/Andy Lamon, Jaclyn Weldon-White, Daniel Black, Victor DiGenti
November 12-15, 2009 “Novels, Short Stories, Etc.”
Chris Rumble, Lois Ruby, Len d’Eon, Jackie Cooper, Julie Grimm, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Patricia Patterson, Stephen Doster
Scribblers’ Retreat is a non-profit organization established with the goal of reaching writers of all ages; to inspire and promote their hidden gifts and talents.
By involving the local community, authors, publishers, editors, journalists and all forms of the literary world, we are opening their minds and bringing hope where there was doubt.
Scribblers’ Retreat is not the typical classroom setting. It was designed to bring world-class authors, literature professors, editors, journalists, and publishers one-on-one with young and old alike. It is the opportunity of a lifetime for someone who has had a manuscript in a desk drawer for 40 years or who has an outstanding poem that simply must be read.
Scribblers' Retreat Writers' Conference
“Where “can’t” is not in our vocabulary.”
Jeanie Pantelakis
Secretary/Treasurer
Scribblers' Retreat Writers' Conference
620 Sea Island Road, Suite 329
St. Simon's Island, GA 31522
1-800-996-2904
912-230-2207
jeanie@scribblersretreatwritersconference.com
http://scribblersretreatwritersconference.com/
Guest Post: AEI CLIENT MARILYN HOROWITZ TELLS CHARACTERS TO FIND PAST
A great way to challenge yourself to be more creative is by asking yourself what if your hero or heroine could go back into their past, define and then change one thing that has prevented them from achieving their dream? How would your story change? You might find an amazing twist or an unexpected ending, like the one in the film, Back To The Future. In which Marty McFly hates his life because he is tarred with the same brush as his "loser" father George, who in the present is still being bullied by Biff, the same person who did so when his father was a school child. Marty blames his father George for his own failure as a musician. What happens to get the story started is that Marty has the chance to rearrange his future by getting sent back to the past.
While in the past, in order to make sure his parents to fall in love so that he can be conceived, Marty succeeds by getting his father to stand up against Biff. Because Marty has actually changed history, from having a father who's a wimp, to one who is a hero, when he returns to the present, Marty discovers that his father has become the successful and confident man Marty always wanted him to be. Marty is then able to realize his own dream of playing his guitar at the prom. By allowing your character to actually change their history, it naturally changes their present and future.
I'm not suggesting that you actually use the idea of going back to the past in your script. Instead, take the idea as a game of the imagination where you borrow this concept as a process to help you improve and deepen your own original conception of your main character.
Here's the simple 2-step technique:
I teach writers to borrow a basic principle from Actor's Craft, which is to think of ourselves as the primary character in their story. Stanislavski, the great acting teacher tells us "Behavior is character." If we understand what we would do in such a situation, we can then know what our characters would do.
Step 1. Ask yourself to think about the one major thing in your life that you would have like to have changed because you feel it has interfered with you achieving your goals in life. This could be a sports injury, a love affair, or something closer to Marty's problem with his dad. If this hadn't happened, where would you be today? How would your life be better or worse, the same or different?
Step 2. Now, set a timer for 15 minutes and writing as your character, create a monologue about what you, as the character, would have altered if you could have gone "Back To The Future." Write out what actions you would have taken to change the past and then write about how your life (as the character) changed as a result. For example, if your character were Marty, you might have written, " If only I could have changed my dad. So I went back to the past and found a way to change my father' s life by getting him to fight the bully. As a result, my father has become more confident and successful and so have I." It is helpful to go into a little more depth when you're writing than I have in this example, but you get the idea.
By imagining how your main character wants to change his or her past, you will add depth to your character and improve your script.
Good luck and happy writing,
Marilyn Horowitz
www.marilynhorowitz.com
While in the past, in order to make sure his parents to fall in love so that he can be conceived, Marty succeeds by getting his father to stand up against Biff. Because Marty has actually changed history, from having a father who's a wimp, to one who is a hero, when he returns to the present, Marty discovers that his father has become the successful and confident man Marty always wanted him to be. Marty is then able to realize his own dream of playing his guitar at the prom. By allowing your character to actually change their history, it naturally changes their present and future.
I'm not suggesting that you actually use the idea of going back to the past in your script. Instead, take the idea as a game of the imagination where you borrow this concept as a process to help you improve and deepen your own original conception of your main character.
Here's the simple 2-step technique:
I teach writers to borrow a basic principle from Actor's Craft, which is to think of ourselves as the primary character in their story. Stanislavski, the great acting teacher tells us "Behavior is character." If we understand what we would do in such a situation, we can then know what our characters would do.
Step 1. Ask yourself to think about the one major thing in your life that you would have like to have changed because you feel it has interfered with you achieving your goals in life. This could be a sports injury, a love affair, or something closer to Marty's problem with his dad. If this hadn't happened, where would you be today? How would your life be better or worse, the same or different?
Step 2. Now, set a timer for 15 minutes and writing as your character, create a monologue about what you, as the character, would have altered if you could have gone "Back To The Future." Write out what actions you would have taken to change the past and then write about how your life (as the character) changed as a result. For example, if your character were Marty, you might have written, " If only I could have changed my dad. So I went back to the past and found a way to change my father' s life by getting him to fight the bully. As a result, my father has become more confident and successful and so have I." It is helpful to go into a little more depth when you're writing than I have in this example, but you get the idea.
By imagining how your main character wants to change his or her past, you will add depth to your character and improve your script.
Good luck and happy writing,
Marilyn Horowitz
www.marilynhorowitz.com
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