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When a movie is
nominated for awards, you have certain expectations when you go see that
movie. So there were certain
things I expected when I went to see “No Country For Old Men.”
This movie fulfilled my expectation of “not seeing the usual”
(blood splattering aside).
Ask yourself the
question, “When can you go see a great movie that doesn’t have a
soundtrack?” I kept waiting
for a flute, horn, piano, drums, a few seconds of melody from an
orchestra. What do you get
instead? The howling wind,
the rumbling clouds, river splashes, and more wind that mirror the
landscape of the western parts of Texas.
You do get a musical break by a Mariachi band.
That’s all the music you’ll get.
This means, the acting
cannot hide behind the soundtrack or isn’t glossed over with music, and
thus, the acting has to be right on target or it won’t work, and all the
actors shine for all of their pure, quality, acting skills.
Tommy Lee Jones and his
final words at the end of the movie, “I woke up,” sum up what the
title is all about. The times have gone beyond his capabilities as sheriff and
his friend tells him staying on as sheriff will only be out of vanity, no
longer out of any real purpose. That
is, the criminals, Bardiem’s character, have outmatched him.
Great details—The
sheriff and the psychopath killer drink from the same bottle of milk and
look at their reflection on the TV. The
coin toss—to think whether we live or die is based on this—wife,
however, rejects it and says she knows, consciously, her fate—she
doesn’t need a coin toss. If only she'd known that the coin toss
is how Bardiem's character measures his "moral being." He
has been reduced or lives at this level.
The
fact she rejects the coin toss and thus forces him to act
based on his conscience, gives the audience hope. Unfortunately, as in the last scene with Bardiem, his
presence (as in the movie, or like in wars, or like in tragedies that the
sheriff reads about in the newspaper), it seems, cannot be killed. Possibly, the movie may also be saying we should all “woke
up” to this reality.
While the strong
presence of Bardiem’s character is prominent in the movie, for some
reason, audiences can take this kind of message.
Why? Because this is not the only power in this world.
In our “woke up” state, we also see plenty of evidence of this.
This movie is fresh in
a “tragic” way, a great change of pace and to think you can enjoy it
without a soundtrack!
Finally, in support for
writers, this movie was based on a novel and was adapted into a
screenplay. The original idea
came from a writer and this idea was then written in movie script format
by the screenwriters.
Without the original
idea from the writer, and without the work of the screenwriter to adapt it
for the screen, there would have been no movie.
This is not to diminish
the work of the director, actors, crew, costume and set designers.
Without them there would be no movie also.
But these, no matter
how many revisions, cannot even start without the original idea or adapted
work of the writer.
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Go see a movie (started by the writer's script) based on nominations:
Golden
Globes Results
Academy
Awards Nominations
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Real
Time With Bill Maher is back on the air on HBO.
See how he has adjusted his format because of the Writer’s
Strike. When something is
gone, such as the “New Rules” segment, you realize how much you
appreciated that segment when it was included in the show.
Now, you’ll instead hear the panelists’ reply to the viewers’
questions that were posted online.
So with shows that are
missing parts where Writer’s used to contribute, this is a good reminder
to appreciate what you have or did have.
In any relationship,
when one party is made to feel that they are being taken for granted, that
party either grins and bears it, such as the case with UK writers as
suggested by the article, “London Calling?” below, or they fight back,
such as the Writer’s Strike, as written about in “A Newcomer Joins
Strikers At The Fox Rally” below.
Both articles are from Creative
Screenwriting Magazine,
January/February 2008.
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“London Calling?
A U.K. Writer Finds Scant Evidence That Jobs Are Crossing The
Pond” by Phil Gladwin.
“Phil Gladwin is
a London-based writer who has written or edited scripts for many genres of
TV drama during the past decade. Visit
his website at www.screenwriting-goldmine.com.”
“As of this writing,
rumors persist that struck U.S. production companies are making secret
approaches to British writers to fill their hiring gaps.
That may or may not be true. Certainly,
the writers I asked denied knowledge of any such attempts.
I’d like to think that our instant and massive solidarity with
the American strikers has meant it wasn’t even worth making the
approach.”
“After all, Brits
know all about strikes. When
the miners walked out in 1973, we passed a winter by candlelight.
Strikes rippled on for the rest of the decade until our dead were
left unburied by picketing gravediggers during the 1979 Winter of
Discontent. The way unions
were broken in the 1980s still seems a tragedy to many—but not among the
management.”
“Many of the mid- to
high-ranking drama producers or executives I spoke with were vague on any
concrete implications of the strike and would speak only on condition of
anonymity.”
“‘C4 (one of our
big terrestrial channels) will struggle because a significant chunk of its
drama output is American, said one executive.’”
“‘It’s actually
going to help us because we can place more of our game shows over there in
the vacuum,’ said another.”
“‘We’re not going
to be able to sell any of our drama formats while this goes on,’ said
one.”
“‘I guess there are
implications, I just can’t think what they will be,’ commented an
executive.”
“These comments are
typical. This lack of detailed awareness chimes well with modern
Britain.”
“Apart from
anti-globalization demonstrations, political activism here seems at best
chaotic, at worst nonexistent.”
“One site that’s
being forwarded among working writers with some delight is www.tvscriptwriter.blogspot.com.
It’s a new, must-visit take on the vulnerability of the British
TV writer. It has an
uncannily accurate and darkly comic insider’s eye for the abusive way
some producers and execs treat writers. It focuses and distills many current grievances.
If only it were to comment on contract details, it would be all the
more essential.”
“It’s clear we U.K.
writers need to get organized. If
all the writers on one of our high-volume shows were to simultaneously
down tools, you can bet they would be heard.”
“Our problem would be
knowing precisely what to ask for. We
are so far away from having a united voice.
Sadly, we turn away from all organization, limiting ourselves to
anonymous comment, crying over our beer or, more feebly, leaving the
industry completely. Surprise, surprise—our situations only gets worse.”
“Is it possible we
British writers envy your strike?”
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“A Newcomer Joins
Strikers At The Fox Rally” by Stacey Collins.
“Stacey Collins is
an aspiring screenwriter, published freelance journalist and Harvard
graduate who left a job at the university to pursue a screenwriting career
in Los Angeles. Though
she’s not yet a member of the WGA, she joined the picketers at the Nov.
9 rally at Fox Plaza. Here is
her report on that day.”
“How bold of me to
think that others might want to know the thoughts on the WGA strike of an
aspiring writer in Los Angeles. I’m
not in the guild, but I plan to be some day.
I went to the massive rally at Fox Plaza on day five of the first
week. Even sooner, I had
thought about going to support the writers but felt shy about it.
Was I being silly? Was
I daydreaming that I belonged there?
I come from a working-class background, so of course I belong
there. I simply wanted to
show support. A friend who
belongs to SAG called me late the night before and urged me to go with
her. And boy, am I glad I
did.”
“It had been an
interesting week for me. From
the privacy of my bedroom, I forwarded e-mails I received about the
strike. My former boss,
screenwriter Peter Rader, helped shoot and spread the word about video
coverage of the first few days at unitedhollywood.com and YouTube.
I alerted writer friends to Marshall Herskovitz’s timely Op-Ed
piece in The Los Angeles Times.
I signed an online petition. I
was a silent unseen soldier of the strike—and part-time at that.
All my picketing was virtual.”
“But the state of
affairs had given me something to think about.
A neighbor asked what the writers strike had to do with me.
I told him that I was still an unemployed screenwriter, only now I
had a valid reason. I never
thought of myself as one of those dreamer types who arrives in Tinseltown
and romanticizes that she’s going to hit it big.
I’ve always thought the journey would be a series of small breaks
that would eventually lead to success.
But when the strike became a reality, and I learned that the 1988
strike lasted five months, it occurred to me that deep down I harbored
some belief that my luck could change on dime.
Indeed, it happens all the time in this town.”
“For me, the strike
brought the epiphany moment that I’d need to implement my plan B,
effective immediately. But I hadn’t come to L.A. with a plan B.
To my mind, this was not an irresponsible approach, but more of a
steely mindset—Hollywood or bust. Well,
Hollywood went bust, at least temporarily.”
“By the time I went
to the Fox rally, I was feeling a bit conflicted.
Would I be welcomed? Should
I invest my time in this or use the morning to focus on my freelance
journalism gigs? As it turns out, the electric energy of the strike is such
that it would have been hard to have been there and not have had a good
time. I don’t underestimate
the seriousness of what is at stake here, but the vigor and liveliness of
the strikers became contagious. Cynics
may point out that it’s only the beginning, but there wasn’t an ounce
of uncertainty in any face, in any conversation, in any outlook.
I expected to see anxiety; instead I saw hope.”
“A woman offered me a
Payday candy bar, and it made me laugh.
A handsome playwright invited me to his play opening in Hollywood,
and it made me smile. When
Seth McFarlane spoke, it inspired me.
It gave me a deeper level of understanding about what is really at
work. The big guns aren’t
taking the writers seriously. At
all.”
“Maybe this recurring
phenomenon happens because writers, as artists, aren’t naturally
inclined to crave power the way executives do.
Let them be kings. Artists are benign sovereigns – when treated fairly.
But give them the property they are due.”
“At the rally the
curtain was pulled back a bit, and I got a glimpse of Oz.
WGA President Patric Verrone became more than a name in the
headlines. And when else can you stand in the middle of Santa Monica
Blvd. and not get run over by a car?”
“Beneath the sleek
glass Fox tower (you’ve seen it in Die Hard), the street was
buzzing with excitement. All the elements stimulated the senses: the sight of the massive pile of picket signs, the scent of
freshly baked churros, the chanting, the sea of red jerseys.
Seeing all those writers out in the sunshine made it all so real.
It wasn’t a pipe dream for me after all – here were actual
people just like me.”
“Writers are almost
always behind the scenes. You
learn a lot from established writers without ever meeting them by studying
their words. In an odd kind of way it felt empowering to see the faces of
so many writers, such a diverse bunch, but all with something to say.
After a week in the shadows, it felt great to be a part of it, even
as a friend.”
“I can’t help but
point out some of the strangeness in all of this.
As I said to a friend who is a television writer, it’s usually
you guys who are writing the drama. Now
this world has been tipped on its head – you folks are the drama.
And this is a conflict in which the Internet is both a cause of the
battle and a weapon being used to fight it.
The YouTube coverage, the “Speechless” videos, the online
petitions, the flurry of e-mails that precedes a rally.
Isn’t there a story in all of this?”
“I’m hoping for a
fair and swift resolution, but if the strike continues, you can count on
me to back the writers. With
any luck, it’ll be my future guild I’m supporting.
In the meantime, I’ll dust off that play I’ve been trying to
work on. Who knows, when
things turn around, I might even develop it into a television pilot
pitch.”
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Go
to the Writer’s Guild Website for more strike information
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