Hey folks. This year has been full of transition. I’ve seen my fair share of film and TV production all over the country. From  pilots to commercials (I spent a day as a stand-in for Bruno Mars on a Khaki commercial, true story) to micro-documentaries, I’ve seen almost 30 states in the last 10 months! If you want to catch-up, I interviewed Academy Award winners, video game producers and designers, and helped build websites for some really cool films.

So what’s the latest and greatest in the world of Merrel?

This week, I’ll be speaking along with Xandy Sussan at the Baltimore Chapter of Women in Film and Video  — this Thursday December 8th, at their annual Christmas extravaganza party. The networking fun starts at 6 pm and the meeting begins at 7 pm. The event will be at CBS affiliate WJZ 13, on TV hill, 3725 Malden ave, Baltimore, Md 21211. Come on out and enjoy what local filmmakers of Baltimore have to offer!

In other news, I’d love to share my new online store Mister Thirty Sixer’s Vintage Curios & Oddities — a store full of  vintage strange, weird and kitsch. We collect interesting items that tell a story in history, from hand painted Russian dolls to vintage camera accessories to hand bound cookbook from upstate New York!

Sometimes these items make it into photoshoots, many of them make their way into our in-development web-series. Along with Xandy, we ferret out the coolest pieces of history and their stories to share with you. Check it out!

Yesterday was the last day of the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival. In a sea of film festivals that take themselves very seriously, it is refreshing to see a group of people and filmmakers that are so comfortable in having a little bit of fun, while still being serious about their crafts. And have fun we did!

I met so many funny and amazing filmmakers, actors, and comedians that it’s actually hard to recount it all. The full list of official selections for 2011 are here.  And, you can read all the winners from last night here. The parties were great, the ceremony was chock full of awesomeness like the appearance of “the most beautiful woman in puppet-land,” Lynne Marie Stewart.

Comedy was in the air even at the Kyoto Grand Hotel, since the “Leather Leadership Conference 2011″ was also going on. I haven’t had this much fun since CES and the Adult Video Awards were in the same hotel in Las Vegas. Though I asked several men in ass-less chaps (seriously)  about the convention,  but apparently it’s a “long and involved 10-minute answer.”

Festival Favorites

One filmmaker, Lorne Hiltser, was sharp and prepared for the showing of his AFI thesis film Karl Mulberry. Karl Mulberry is a sweet, slightly awkward, yet totally endearing story of a boy struggling with the absence of his father. His over-protective tendencies get the best of him as he tries to thwart the local flower shop guy from dating his mom.

I actually missed his screening, and after I met him he whipped out a shrink-wrapped DVD and said “no worries, here’s a copy for you!” Lorne was the only person who was advantageous enough to ensure every one got to see his film at the festival. That’s dedication and preparedness.

Lorne’s diligence paid off. Last night, he received an award for BEST COMEDY STUDENT FILM. As such, he won the coveted horse’s ass. Xandy and I mugged with Lorne and his award (by this point it had been a looong 4 days, can you tell?)

But perhaps the film that was the most sweetly subversive and heart-tuggingly funny was Something Fishy written and directed by Aussie Kristy Best. As far as I know, she was not at festival, and one of the very few filmmakers I didn’t get to chat with about their work.

Meet Maxine, 7-years old. She’s a sweet and twisted, yet always well meaning little girl who marches to the beat of her own drum. Or rather dances, fully clothed, in the sprinkler with goggles on, cause she’s just that darn free-wheelin and in touch with her adventurin’.

Something Fishy taps into the sweetest, most naive part of children and turns it on its head. And does so in a funny, and slightly morbid, but totally bad ass way.

Here Kristy talks about making the film:

Be sure to check out the last 3 days of LA Comedy Shorts coverage

- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3

Wow! The non-stop gravy train that is the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival continued yesterday with some great food, conversation, and networking. I spend lots of time at various conventions, festivals, and of course host Screenwriter Karaoke, so it’s always rewarding when  an event is well orchestrated. (Translation: thanks for having your shit together LA Comedy Shorts!)

Favorites of Saturday Night

Isabel Fay & Lee York’s With or Without U2 – A musical short, it appears to be about a man pining for his lost love. But it turns out as something else entirely. The short was good, but what elevated them above others on Saturday night was the filmmakers’ industriousness outside of the film.

When Isabel Fay began the short, she  the neglected to consider the rights of the U2 song they used. So, though they got into festival, the sound track was not licensed. What would any self respecting, industrious filmmaker do in such a predicament? Well, get the Silver Lake Chorus to perform the song live, acapella in the theatre. It was awesome!

It reminds me that filmmakers often work best when presented specific limitations – they came up with an absolutely inspiring solution that felt just the right bit of funny, old-timey, and performance art. Sadly, given the licensing issues around the short, the filmmakers shared With or Without U2 had its one and only public outing last night.

The other two favorites of the night were also foreign outings; Suiker a story accidental death and sugar and Appy Ever After the delightfully funny romp where a boyfriend uses a green-screen app on his iPhone, so he can drink with his buddies at the pub.

Rooftop Partay!

After the screenings it was onto the gorgeous Japanese Garden space at the Kyoto Grand Hotel.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Day 4 wrap up and don’t forget to read about the first 2 days of the festival here and here!

The feel-good vibe here at the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival keeps on growing. Friday, day two, was awesome! Sadly, I missed the panels in the morning, but was able to catch the evening screenings the Male Pattern Badness block (featuring. Atom.com).

It’s not too late to see what else is going on for the rest of this weekend! Check out the festival schedule.

DAY 2 Favorites:

The FUTURE-ER -  a great, lo-fi, dark, complicated time-travel dick joke from Utah filmmaker P.M. Baird. The short, while I’d say maybe 3 minutes too long, is an excellent lo-fi exploration. It looks great, has the right about of sci-fi ambiance and humor and I love the black and white aesthetic. At the Q&A an audience member asked what was the most difficult part of making the film, Baird’s response: “Convincing my mother to buy me the camera.” Win.

The FUTURE-ER from P.M. Baird on Vimeo.

Mutumbo Golberg – a brisk, faux reality comedy series, featuring grown-ass-black-man Anthony Anderson as a young adopted Jewish boy living in the home of a clueless suburban couple.  The series is absurd with is juxtaposition of race and culture, Jerry Minor plays a OB / GYN roped into pretending he’s an African tribesman on behalf of “Mutumbo”, while Thomas Middleditch’s character (whitey mc-jew town!) waxes poetic about the planes of Tanzania. When “Mutumba” horns on in on Mutumbo’s free living arrangement, Mutumbo puts his foot down when she tries to rip them off. After all their his parents!

Then it was onto the magic school bus, and a short ride over to ESPN ZONE at L.A. Live for the BIG ASS KIDS PARTY! Woo! We got our drink on and played many a free arcade game. It was like 1988 up in this bitch!

Watch out folks, I can stomp my feet in a mechanical motion to the beat of music for the sake of entertainment. Or @CoverMyScript said it better, I’m “goosestepping my way to dance perfection.”

Stay tuned for LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival 2011: Day 3! And be sure to check out LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival 2011: Day 1

It’s exciting to be a sponsor of the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival, the vibe here in downtown Los Angeles is awesome. Over the next couple of days, me (@UncompletedWork) and Xandy (@CoverMyScript) will be tweeting and blogging talking about our experiences and all that fun jazz.

Here is the lovely entrance way of the Kyoto Grand Hotel. On Saturday night LA Comedy Shorts roof top party will be here.

Then it’s off to the Downtown Independent Theatre, to pick up our badges. And slippers. Xandy opted for the pink ones. Perfect fit!

Down at the red carpet, we tried out new battle poses. Watch out!

Hey! It’s a little CoverMyScript.com Signage. Nice!

Then it was into the packed theatre for the opening night screenings!

Last week, I was interviewed by The-Greenlight.com on the importance of branding. Today it came out so take a peek! I touch on the subjects of web presence, putting your best foot forward and taking ownership of what is quintessentially you.

It’s tough as ever to reach the dream. The talent pool grows and grows and at any waking moment in LA there is a cacophony of writers clamoring recognition and livelihood. When I say a screenwriter needs branding, it means they need to effectively set-themselves apart and above of their peers. Good writing is vitally important, not much can be done without a solid foundation, but so much is how you present yourself in the context of your good work.

Speaking of Branding there is even more exciting news in addition to all the goings on earlier this week!

L.A. COMEDY SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL PRIZES

Through CoverMyScript.com, winners of the Movie Magic Screenwriter Screenplay Competition for Best Comedy Feature and winners of the Funny Or Die’s Best-of-Fest Grand Prize Short will receive a Branding and Next Steps Consultation Package.

Over at the HQ of the L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival, the CoverMyScript.com team met with Artistic Director and festival co-founder Gary Anthony Williams (you may remember him from such comedy things as, everything) and Festival Director and co-founder, Jeannie Roshar – we were originally just going to transcribe an interview, but our time with them so lively, it kinda turned into a podcast.

Read the rest of the L.A. Comedy Short Film Festival news: here.

There are so many instructional and scholarly articles out there about the writing and filmmaking processes. Hell, I write some of those too. But, I’m just a dude who loves his craft(s), and has his hand in 15 little fires at any given moment. I’m out to learn from the world. What does it take to keep my engine running? I’m excited to share some of the things I’ve been working on, will be working on, and where you can see me in LA this month:

APRIL 2011

RT Booklovers Convention

HOLLYWOOD: From Page to Screen : Script Consultants Give You the Goods
Date: Wednesday April 6, 2011 01:00 pm – 02:00 pm
Event Type: Writer Industry Workshop
Location: The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, 404 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Phone: 213-624-1000

RT Booklovers convention is hosted by RTBookReview.com and is a focused community of romance writers across several sub-genres. Though I’m not working on the next “Twilight-killer” I do know what makes for good story, and I’m delighted to be joined by fellow panelists and writers Xandy Sussan (imdb), Melinda Snodgrass (imdb) and moderator Vivi Anna.  We’ll sort you out. Romance lovers, hope to see you there.

LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival

CoverMyScript.com will be out at the LA COMEDY SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL:

The L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival and Screenplay Competition is dedicated to introducing the newest and hottest comedic talent to the industry, and helping them make the connections they need to take their careers to the next level.

In fact, the winners of the LA COMEDY SHORTS screenplay competition will also win a gracious CoverMyScript.com BRANDING AND NEXT STEPS CONSULTATION PACKAGE with myself and CoverMyScript.com owner, Xandy Sussan. Check it out, it’s going to be awesome, I mean Gary Anthony Williams people!  He’s very pretty (source: bio.)

Script Frenzy

Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants take on the challenge of writing 100 pages of scripted material in the month of April.

Along with Xandy Sussan over at  CoverMyScript.com, I’ll be co-writing a stoner comedy script, based on an outline we hashed out (pardon the pun) last year. Script Frenzy is an excellent tool to keep yourself accountable. My goals with this draft are simple; get it on the page, beat it up, slap it around. Many other will be pushing themselves to hit the 100 page mark this April too. Follow me on twitter @UncompletedWork and the hash-tag #scriptfrenzy for my progress and others. You can also sign up and track your progress on ScriptFrenzy.org

SCREENWRITER KARAOKE

Screenwriter Karaoke is going through some exciting changes in the coming months to include a NEW VENUE and NEW SPONSORS! Stay tuned for upcoming news about the when and where  and what special conventions and conferences you’ll see Screenwriter Karaoke attend. If you’d like to suggest your favorite karaoke joint in Los Angeles, tweet at @SWKaraoke.

ARTICLES

There are a million topics I’d love to be writing for and about. One of my most obsessive is probably video games. Last year I was able to indulge  with the sound design team on Medal of Honor.  This year,  I’ll be writing more content for other games. I can’t say which games just yet, but they are cool, well known franchises that fans definitely love.   I will also be contributing an occasional article over at Regrifters.com a new site about taking things old and making them new on the cheap.

WEBSITES

As part of the overall branding of individuals, I often do web development and design for my filmmaking clients. This month I finished the site of accomplished special effect make-up person Scott Conner (imdb). His website is EvilgrinFX.com.

If you are thinking about making a website for your film, or as a portfolio of your work as a filmmaker, reach out to Uncompleted at MerrelDavis.com.

2010 was a wild year of personal sacrifice and amazing professional growth. I’ve endeavored to live a life that seems glamorous to the arm-chair filmmakers. (It’s not.) I’ve emerge embattled the last year with the following thoughts and reflections on life in Los Angeles and the entertainment industry at large:

1. Desperation looks ugly on you.
There is nothing more noticeable than the stench of desperation in the room. Los Angeles is the city of  “keeping up appearances” and the way you carry yourself is as important as the message you carry. That’s not news, but be very careful not to confuse candor and aspiration for desperation, or the other way around.

This past year, I took what I thought was a mutual meeting with a peer. But as it turned out, he was “meeting with me.” He showed up,  resume in hand and instead of approaching me like a person, he begged me for a job. I had hoped for a meeting of the minds. I was testing the waters for a new collaborative partner. But his demeanor was so needy, he talked about how little money he had, how his old man cut him off.

I’m no job fairy. Whilst we, collectively, are a woefully underemployed bunch at times, this was most definitely the wrong way to approach anyone. And honestly, if I did have a job to give him, I wouldn’t have. Awkward and desperate when cultivating new work partners = see ya later! Everyone can smell fear. Which brings me to my next point…

2. Shut up and listen if you ask for help.
I recently had lunch with an Emmy award winning fellow who was re-evaluating his “legacy.” After the writers’ strike, work dried up, and he, like most others in Los Angeles, is still looking for a new way to make a living. Teaching workshops, he asked, was it viable? Could he do it?  I was enthusiastic and know people on the filmmaking workshop circuit and offered my help.

Much to my chagrin, he shot me down immediately; he gave me a litany of logistical and personal reasons why the solution, I hadn’t even offered, wasn’t viable. Not all who wax poetic about jump-starting their future are actually interested in getting on the bike. He wasn’t interested in networking to get on the workshop circuit or collecting his knowledge into what could be a publication. His impression: Someone would  descend from the heavens, orchestrate and pay him top dollar for workshops based on his body of work. That’s as solid a plan as I had ever heard. I mean sure, that would be ideal and the least amount of work in man-power and time (and awesome!) it is also the least likely to ever happen in any universe, even Dr. Who.

If you really want options and ideas ask for them. If you’d rather be jaded about your success or lack thereof, check it at the door and keep it to yourself. Good advice is not for deaf ears. It’s for the bright-eyed individual who’s willing to take the tools and do the work.

3. Los Angeles: “Fuck Yo steady paycheck. Seriously.”
The sheen of L.A. is the most fabricated and heralded social ecosystem of the entertainment world. Expectations, “Hollywood Bullshit,” and cost of living exist on different planes.

Chances are you aren’t independently wealthy. I’m not. But if you ask me “Merrel how did you make a living in 2010?” I’d respond: “With every bit of love, sweat and pain I had.”

Living in Los Angeles is exciting and tough. But in this current economic climate, but it’s harder making a living solely on one craft. So you want to know the real deal? You got to pay the bills, with more than said skills.

During the week, I might be working at a production sound shop. At night, I do coverage or development clients.  Early morning, it’s a bit of editing or graphic design work. Lunch time, I polish a magazine article for syndication. The scripts I sold last year were animated overseas,  so yes, I am a “paid screenwriter.” But that’s not what brought the bread. In a game of keeping up appearances, this town is hard work. Check your company-man hat at the door, because the only way you will survive is to synthesize all your strong skills.

4. “Yes” Means “No”, “No” means “No”
So,  you meet a  “big producer” for lunch. Maybe you are looking to compare notes, test the waters, partner with him, pitch to him. You had a wonderful lunch, great conversation. You gave him your card, some materials, everyone smiles, “we’ll be in touch!” he says.

On the surface, that seems like a pretty great interaction. But the reality of the passive-aggressive, hyper-polite “yes” is aggressively aggravating! The producer said “yes” outloud to interest, but  in his view, it’s the least confrontational way to pass on material or you. Xandy over at covermyscript.com calls it “aggressive obsequiousness” or when everyone is so hyper-polite because no one wants to accidentally tell off the next Scorsese.

The passive aggressive “yes” is like a sneak attack, especially if you have East-coast sensibilities. A meeting like that in NYC may have ended with a “thanks, no thanks” hand shake. At least you know where you stand. But, know that “yes” means “no” all the way to the bank. Be receptive and in the back of your mind know, most people will say “yes” but likely mean “no.”

5. Nepotism / Favoritism thy name is the studio system. Don’t take it personally.
In another life, I worked in the Washington D.C. corridor. The amount of inbreeding between government contractors and various agencies there is astounding (and makes for terrible oversight.) Every single person is somebody’s brother or cousin, close family friend. I once worked at a sixty person contractor — where all the team leads and middle management were cousins.  Interns? Forget about it, we’ve got middle management’s children for that.

I asked Xandy if she could elucidate this phenomenon:

When I first moved out here, my uncle (a prominent and important television producer) made a call on my behalf to a production company and “asked” them to hire me. I put the “ask” in quotes, because when you come recommended from someone like my uncle, you fall into the “must hire” category; like being a legacy at a college. So, I went to the prod co for my, what I was lead to believe was  just a perfunctory meeting, prior to an offer, but what I walked into was an ambush. The hiring manager was so annoyed that I was a “must hire” that she made me jump through a series of unnecessary hoops. I played along, knowing my uncle’s reputation was on the line. Over the course of the next six weeks, I was called back in to interview four more times. By our last meeting, I had lost interest in the hiring manager’s games and flat out asked her what the deal was. She laid it out for me. She didn’t like “must-hires” and she would never hire me. But she had to make it look like she was doing her job. She had already staffed the position with someone more qualified. And by “more qualified” of course I mean, her friend from Cornell. Ah the nepotism trump card; nepotism!  The bottom line, being someone’s relative doesn’t always pave the way for your advancement, it usually opens the door for somebody else’s friend.

You  must constantly navigate people. They all have their own motivations, and most people are acting to elevate, not your interest, but their own. Don’t take it personally.

6. The Dunning Kruger effect
I’d always been aware of this principal in sort of a storied sense, but it wasn’t until this past year that someone shared that there is a formal way to categorize “Dumb people are succeeding at an alarming rate, and smart people are languishing.”

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled people make poor decisions and reach erroneous conclusions, but their incompetence denies them the metacognitive ability to realize their mistakes. This leads to the situation in which less competent people rate their own ability higher than more competent people. It also explains why actual competence may weaken self-confidence.^{(Courtesy Wikipedia.com)}

When you see dumb people succeeding, don’t let it get you down. It’s not because they’re better than you, it’s because scientifically, they are so dumb they fail upwards.  Remember this on every production on set, during every pre-production, during development meetings and when you park your car at Target. Trust me.

7. No one has scruples. Protect yourself.
Story time, again: For over a year and a half now, I’ve hosted Screenwriter Karaoke, a fun filmmakers network event that puts people together in a room with just a little bit of booze, a microphone and tambourine. I’m grateful, this past year was a boon for my baby event. It went from small bars in NYC, to regular dives in LA, to two major screenwriting conferences the Great American Pitchfest and the Creative Screenwriting Expo 2010. These were amazing opportunities to reach to a whole new crowd about my mantra of connecting to peers with a bit of song and drink.

So, you’d might imagine my out right anger when a script doctor that was attending one of these conferences, falsely represented himself as part of my organization. He created a slew of false and misleading website postings / pages, all claiming to be a premiere sponsor of my event while never once speaking to me. One page with an “official website” link lead to his own website and services page! All this, while I do have real  premiere sponsors.

Standing up for yourself by protecting your blood and sweat equity from vultures is the only way you’ll set yourself apart. How do you respond to an astroturfer who unabashedly pretends to be part of your hard work? I sought him out, called him at 10:30 on a Sunday morning and laid out just how unacceptable his behavior was. Don’t let random people encroach on your success. Who the hell is he to come in, swoop up all my hard work and pretend he was there from square one in a lame attempt to drive sales in his own business?

I made it very clear who I was, and even introduced myself when I saw him at Screenwriter Karaoke. For the record, he stayed for one song before he bailed. But my mark is made, I protected myself and he will never pull this shit with me again.

8. Don’t write checks your ass can’t cash / Let people assume.
The two sided coin of entertainment work: you must at once not over promise, whilst still leaving an air of wonder in the room. You may have heard the adage “talk the talk, until you walk the walk” and while there is certainly some truth to presenting yourself well, don’t overstate who you are. We’ll know you’re lying. We always do.

People assume lots of things. Let them. There was a time in my early twenties where I felt the need to correct the real or perceived assumptions people made about me or my work. The correction never yielded more work. Usually, I’d just make more of an ass of of myself in the process.

If you talk a big game you better have the goods. For example, if you are pitching scripts, you should probably have it written. Sure, we all know the stories of pitches on napkins for millions, but what happens when you pitch, and they like it? Will you run home and do your vomit pass and hope for the best? That’s what I call a pay-day loan with strings attached versus writing your own checks.

Maybe the perception others have of you will be flattering, and perhaps not factual. People love to fill in the gaps, so let them. And just like a writer and mental spackle, people spackle their assumptions and personal experience over their view of you. If you find this happening, let it flow, people are going to think what they are going to think regardless if you correct them.

9. Being #2 on the list is like being an understudy. You never know when you have your opening night, so be prepared.
Building a support system of friends and peers is a slow process. It begins with letting people know who you are and what your about. There are ways to be well positioned. For example, seek out professionals you admire and cultivate a relationship with them. Exultation or demands for work won’t get you very far, but an earnest interest might.

In my travels this year I met a great fellow with a boutique production company. I made a good impression and we hit it off. We traded emails and then months later I got a call: “So and so dropped out, you were the first person who came to mind.” Ah, yes, music to my ears! I had an opportunity to meet with a great crew and DP on a top TV show in it’s seventh season and teach a workshop. Things lined up. It’s because I wasn’t bashful in letting him know who I am or what I do.

I was prepared and delighted to be able to try my hand at a new gig. The workshop went well, but I really did feel like an understudy. I knew all the lines, I’m just amazed I’d have a chance to recite them.

10. Opportunities aren’t presented, they are created.
Last story, I promise: I was staffed on a NAT GEO TV series. To get on, I contacted the executive producers, through a friend of a friend. The production company told me outright they weren’t hiring, they didn’t know the next series they were doing either. Basically, “go fly a kite, thanks.”

Most people would have stopped there. I was persistent. I landed a different gig in the interim, then called the following month and asked if I could come in to see the production offices. They obliged me, I went in and met the whole team. It was “Thanks for stopping by and seeing our digs!” and they sent me on my way.

By this point, I had made my intentions clear. It was a little discouraging to repeatedly hear “sorry, we got nothing for you.” But I kept in contact. Never overbearing, just a “hey this is what I’m doing now.” When the NAT GEO show came through, I was high on the list, and they staffed me for six months.

Even though I knew somebody personally who had done work for this production company and they referred me, I made this opportunity myself. Getting in front of somebody is the easy part, creating the opportunity for yourself is only way you’ll ever see success.

Hey folks, so much on the horizon this month. My event, Screenwriter Karaoke, has grown so much since I started it back in New York City. I’m happy to announce I’ll be returning to New York City for a special post Thanksgiving appearance. And no worries for LA. we’re still on this Thursday November 18th 2010 at Sardo’s in Burbank.

SCREENWRITER KARAOKE LA
Thursday November 18th @ 8:30 P.M.
Sardo’s Grill and Lounge
259 N. PASS AVE.
Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 846-8127

SCREENWRITER KARAOKE NYC
Monday November 29th @ 8 P.M.
Baby Grand
161 Lafayette Street at Grand
New York, NY 10013
212.219.811

I’m delighted to share with you all that Screenwriter Karaoke will be at the Screenwriting Expo 2010 at the Hilton LAX on October 9th as part of the networking festivities for one of the largest Screenwriting conference in the United States.

Check out my new article “It’s Okay To Say No” that’s up over at screenwriting magazine The Story Department

Hey folks, a quickie, I’ll be here in San Diego all weekend at Comic-Con. Don’t be a stranger.

June is a very exciting month! Screenwriter Karaoke marks its birthday with a bang at The Great American PitchFest.

Screenwriter Karaoke is proudly sponsored by  CoverMyScript.com, Final Draft, Inc, Script Magazine, The Writers Store, L.A. Sings Karaoke, Sardo’s Bar, Coffey Sound, and our friends at #ScriptChat.

More details here.

This weekend I was glad to be a part of the ongoing and ever-growing Script Chat as a guest for their professional reader panel. In the past year, I’ve watched this small twitter chat go from real life colleagues and friends, and then sky rocket into six degrees of Twitter.

Twitter chats aren’t new, just take a look at the long list of Twitter chats about writing compiled by @inkyelbows and you’ll see what I mean. I entered the Twitter chat pool as a participant of #WriteChat but found the discourse was specific to fiction novel writing. I even lazily maintain my own chat #ScreenwritingSaturday. It’s an informal hash tag for causal weekend discussion. (Stop by!)

I have many peers that scoff at the idea of using Twitter. They complain they don’t care what I eat for breakfast.  But to be clear, I’ve staffed projects, met people, and received work through the magic of Twitter. I just smile when someone is excessively pessimistic about such things.

Community is important. I started Screenwriter Karaoke for this very reason. We, collectively, as a new era of filmmakers are carving out the attitudes and business models of tomorrow. It starts in the ground floor of dedicated professionals who are striving to make their work shine. It starts in communities like Script Chat.

My appearance as a panelist on Script Chat culminated with a special announcement — Double Feature: a new joint venture with CoverMyScript.com owner Xandy Sussan. We have harnessed our years of experience to provide simultaneous coverage and development services at a value to our clients. It is only with the support community can we try such enterprising things. So, thanks!

photo credit: leinadsimpson

Screenwriter Karaoke is a monthly filmmaking network event organized by yours truly in two cities (NYC and LA.) It’s been a great vehicle to meet some wonderful, creative people. I encourage you to come out and mingle, sing or drink!

LA:
Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 8:30 PM
Sardo’s Grill and Lounge
259 N. PASS AVE.
BURBANK, CA 91505

Driving directions: Here

NYC:
Since I am now in LA, I’m working with others to help co-organize NYC Screenwriter Karaoke. I anticipate the 3rd week of January for New York Screenwriter Karaoke. Stop by as the date nears for more information.

January TBD 2010 at 8:30 PM
Baby Grand
161 Lafeyette St.
New York, NY 10013