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!

Back in 2009, Screenwriter Xandy Sussan and I did a head to head break down of the of the film Shaun of The Dead. In honor of Halloween, let’s take a look at the blast from the past, and how story structure, style, and character elevates a film like Shaun of the Dead.

Shaun of the Dead: How do you Pegg it, when you Wright?

The zombie movie is as pervasive in our cinematic culture as popcorn at the concession stand, but what Shaun of the Dead brings us is a new take on a staid and challenging genre by seamlessly incorporating fresh comedic and romantic details into the traditional George A. Romero style zombie film. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg figured out how to take a genre and twist it around, all the while, never sacrificing the key elements that make it what it is: a true zombie flick.

How do you tell a standard story in a way that is so fresh, so new, that while the pacing and character arcs are familiar, the offering is unique and special? How do you avoid being cliché, when there are only so many stories to tell and so many ways in which to tell them? The answer: Change the details. Could it really be that simple? Indeed, the Devil is in the details and the details are what makes a standard, typical, pat plot, fresh and inventive. That is exactly what Wright and Pegg did with Shaun of the Dead.

Shaun of the Dead changed the details in several key ways. In most zombie films, we open with a mysterious outbreak of a virus or some government experiment gone awry. The citizens get infected and then finally, a reluctant hero emerges, with a sawed-off shot gun to save the day… of the dead. But he winds up tragically only saving himself. Wright and Pegg take those elements and redefined them when they created Shaun.

CHARACTER

Xandy Sussan: Shaun, as a character, is archetypal, relatable, and understandable. He has a girlfriend he loves but he can’t get his act together. He works a dead end job, because he can’t get his act together. He has a Hamlet-esque relationship with his sainted mother, and childishly hates his step-father, because he can’t get his act together. Shaun is your basic everyman. The twist? Shaun is, while healthy, a zombie merely plodding through his own life. It takes the confrontation with the real zombies to knock him out of his stupor , to seize life, and to regain his love.

Both as a character and a visual metaphor, Shaun is what makes this movie such a gem and it is the literalness of the metaphor that makes it so clever. While the concept of the man sleep-walking through life is a well established premise, showing a man literally walking through life like a zombie, until such time as he has to fight actual zombies is a fresh and inventive take on that basic idea. The script wove pedestrian character dilemmas in to the fabric of the story so seamlessly. It used action counterpoint so masterfully, to articulate the problems that it felt there were two films (a romantic comedy and a zombie flick) running side by side, in harmonious, parallel perfection.

Merrel Davis: It is Shaun’s day-to-day minutiae, which establishes his character as someone we know, but that is only half of the character equation. Every Lone Ranger needs his Tonto, and for Shaun, it is the daft and selfish, best friend Ed. Ed appears only as comic relief in the first act, a bumbling fool who is so self-involved that while everyone is running from zombies, it is he who pauses for a silly photo-op or takes a call from a mate looking to score some weed. Others, including Shaun, feel that it is exactly this behavior that is holding Shaun back. Ed’s actions, serve to highlight the duality of Shaun: the man-child and the emerging hero. It is these two discordant characteristics, which illuminate Shaun’s inability to marry his old life with his new.

When Shaun finally decides that he must grow up, that he must be responsible for more than just himself, it is Ed’s ridiculous and selfish behavior that forces Shaun into a moment of clarity and responsibility. At the height of being surrounded by hundreds of zombies in front of the locked pub, “The Winchester,” Shaun can no longer ignore what he hates about his friend, what he hates about himself.

Like a good “Tonto” always did, when backed in a corner, Ed displays a triumphant act of heroism and sacrifice. When the zombies are closing in on the cellar and it seems as though all is lost, Ed redeems himself and shows Shaun that while you can still be a child at heart, you can also be a man.

Visual Style

Turning an eye to the visual look of Shaun of the Dead, we discover frenetic and fast paced cuts ala Requiem for a Dream for the most mundane of tasks such as brushing teeth. It is this visual reinvention of pedestrian activities which creates a feverish yet controlled environment that enhances the pacing of the plot. It is this filmmaking style, married with intuitive use of tracking shots and visual call backs that makes this movie.

MD: The first scene is a brilliant piece of filmmaking and editing that immediately pulls the audience in, while exposing several layers of backstory through a series of cut-aways and reveals. The scene begins tight on Shaun. It appears as if he is alone at the bar. Then, as we pull back, Liz is revealed. It now seems as though they are alone having a relationship chat. But then, we go wide again to reveal Ed, as he plays a fruit machine, mere steps away from the quarreling lovers. Then we ratchet back in tight to Shaun and Liz, until the line “It’s not like I don’t like David and Di” where we reveal yet again, there are more players in the room. We cut to a medium wide of David and Dianne as they sit right next to Liz; a hilarious reveal.

This style of editing and shot construction opens up the scene to five players, in a clever way that later echoes the interpersonal relationships and struggles the characters must confront. It also allows for us to go back in tight between two characters and then go wide again, without feeling too jostled.

XS: I love the entire “You’ve got red on you” sequence and multiple call backs. From the moment it begins, we find a foreboding, yet hilarious rake joke foreshadowing what’s to come. A simple pen stain on a white shirt really means so much more. It establishes character: a schnook of a man whose pen breaks open, ruining his work shirt. We suddenly know all we need to about that guy, and it’s all conveyed through one tiny detail: a small red stain on a white work shirt.

The red ink establishing the bloodshed to come is both a simple and elegant. It is a perfect visual clue to let us know what is just around the corner. When both Ed and Shaun’s Mother subsequently deliver the line “You’ve got red on you,” the meaning and intention is overtly clear. It is a quite clever touch, really.

STORY

The story is as basic as they come. Boy gets girl, boy looses girl, boy gets girl back by slaying zombies. What Wright and Pegg did was take a standard by-the-numbers plot and make it dazzling, simply by adjusting the details and changing up the visual way in which they were presented. They did so without sacrificing originality and staying true to their genre.

XS: The story, on the whole, is satisfying on a number of levels. There’s the romance between Shaun and Liz: their easily relatable problems, their commonplace if not charming arguments, their friends who can’t help but interfere with their own agendas. It’s your standard three act romantic comedy but it delivers with clever, fresh dialogue and a breezy pace.

MD: Then there is the zombie element, the action, and the adventure. All of which takes us down a path of thrilling edge-of-your-seat entertainment.

As the zombies spill to the streets there are moments that evoke Resident Evil 2, a survival horror video game. These are moments of intense desperation and fear, not only just of the known (zombies) but the overarching fear of the unknown (government conspiracy?)

Shaun embarks on a treasure hunt of sorts, he must go from location to location, saving person by person, until he leads them to relative safety. And, as though the filmmakers knew the audience was getting a little antsy for some gunplay, they deliver in the form of a pump-action shot gun!

XS: And of course there is the comedy to give us a much needed respite from all of the harrowing gore. There’s always room for a joke and Wright and Penn know the proper moment to deliver one, especially in the most dire of circumstances. Whether is be an off-color fart joke (“Shaun, I’m sorry. No, I’m really sorry”) or the more subtle joke (“No, what does ‘exacerbate’ mean?”) there is always an instance, which enhances the story or gives us a momentary break from the non-stop action.

MD: I especially liked the choreographed attack of the elderly zombie backed by the soundtrack of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now. It was new, different and gave the audience a catchy tune to bounce around to, while violence was erupting all around us.

A zombie flick is several things: it is a visual story, it is an emotional, and oft times painful journey, it is a bloody catharsis, which by the end, leads us to be reborn, satisfied movie goers. Shaun of the Dead is a perfect example of a film whose details made all the difference between lazing down the path of least resistance and charging down the avenue of newly conceived, exciting peril.

It is with Shaun of the Dead that we rediscover our love of romance, adventure and are thrilled by an equal amount of gory, yet hilarious, zombie slaying. The audience leaves with two lessons: Pay attention to your life, because it’s over before you know it. And that any story is new again when you simply change the details. The details are what will make your script and subsequent film stand out from the lackluster trite projects that consistently glut the marketplace. Shaun of the Dead should inspire you, as it did us, to employ standard structure and stay true to our chosen genre, but be intrepid when crafting original and creative, stand-out details.

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

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.

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.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World was unleashed last weekend. The $60 million, Edgar Wright directed video game romp is a strange foray into nostalgia, contemporary manga style fiction and stylistic filmmaking, so, when I went to see Pilgrim at the Arclight opening night, I had only an expectation: the film would be fun. Why then, did this collision of my beloved interests: manga, anime and video games feel slightly off mark?

It’s weird to see the very things I cherished in my youth being synthesized into a major studio releases. I was born in 1980′s and now my generation is now a prime target for 80′s nostalgia. From “pre-worn” graphic t-shirts to the resurgence of 2D side-scrolling platform games and 80′s action and ski flicks, us 20-something guys (and gals!) are getting it from every side.

Pilgrim shines with every  lovingly hand-crafted sound effect and video game call-out. It’s as though Edgar Wright kidnapped video game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Hironobu Sakaguchi and forced them to work in a bunker deep under Los Angeles for Xbox Live points. Elements of every genre are present, just take a look at “Every Video Game Reference in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World” Pilgrim takes all my fun quirky, formerly niche interests and synthesizes them, and surprisingly for me, the sum is not as great as its parts.

Story with Character?

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, adapted from an award-winning comic by Bryan Lee O’Malley, takes some tenants of video gaming to heart. But perhaps not the right ones. In seeking to emulate a video game style, many of the characters seemed flat, literally one-note “non-player characters” (NPC’s) in a light-on-story fighting game. It felt more like I had been playing an hour or 2 of Tekken than watching a proper story.

What happens between the awesome over-the-top fighting? Sadly, it’s where things really fall apart. Many geeky movie goers may be willing to forgo the flicks apparent lack of motivation or depth (more on that in a second.) For what it’s worth, this is a beat-em-up style movie, it has a story as deep and transparent as beat-em-up games like Streets of Rage II.

In fighting games, the story serves the gameplay, it (often clumsily) sets up the next chance encounter and then you fight!  That’s a tough trick to pull off seven times in a 112 minute feature. But as exciting as each battle was, the fun was ephemeral, the enjoyment fleeting. Like a ride at a theme park, we’re “on rails” until it’s over.

The love story between Scott Pilgrim and Romona Flowers runs on auto pilot. Love stories have to be authentic, to keep me invested, even in silly or fun movies. The “on-to-the-next-one” mentality of Scott, where his friends and loved ones are concerned, makes it difficult to reconcile his apparent infatuation with Romona. The Romona character never does anything worthy of being fought for. Yeah she’s cute, aloof, totally-hip but really she’s kind of a dick. And as a result, I never once cheered for Romona and Scott to be together.

It’s disappointing to see the story machinations so clearly in play. Can you recall the names of seven of the evil exes? How about their back story or motivation? I wasn’t looking for gold, but I just don’t know enough about any character to truly care about why they needed to be vanquished. This coupled with the anemic relationship between Scott and Romona left so much to be desired.

Visual / Sound

Edgar Wright has always been good with the visual details (check out my Shaun of the Dead breakdown) and he mixes it up with a clever visual vocabulary. I was initially drawn to the energy and visual execution of Pilgrim. Despite this, it’s hard for me to peg why this familiar synthesis isn’t a home run.

In a recent Popular Mechanics article, VFX Supervisor Frazer Churchill explains how they distilled the video game juice:

The film is informed by video-game style, but it’s not like we looked at games and thought, ‘We’ve got to put that in there,” – Frazer Churchill

And there’s plenty of video game mythos and fanboy gems to go around. Observant listeners may perk up when they hear the theme for Nintendo’s Zelda, ring chimes from Sonic the Hedgehog,  the explosion of coins out of a defeated enemy, or literally the hundreds of other small handcrafted audio cues that, no doubt, took time to design and execute.

The onomatopoeic manga-style typography adds some whimsy. By the second hour, I’ve seen as many “action words” as I’m willing to to bear. And perhaps that’s part of the problem. Pilgrim is filled with visual flourishes that are delightful, in small doses.  If Pilgrim was 15 minute YouTube video it would likely have 80 million views. There are constant split screens, over-layed text, power-ups, all with fast paced quick cuts interspersed with cheeky visual jokes. A.D.D. theatre at its best. But how do you do long-form A.D.D.theatre?

Insert Coin to Continue

I’d put the performances in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World into the same category as movies like Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children or Resident Evil: Degeneration. With goofy delivery of lines like “I’m a little bi-furious!” the movie misfires with a quirky, strange Japanese-esque smile.

Pilgrim’s strength is with style and flash. Its depth will be a matter of much debate. Still, I like the universe in which Scott Pilgrim lives. In fact, I look forward to the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World video game. The nostalgia crowd is already eating it up. And why not? After all, as I left the movie theater I thought to myself, “I wish I could have played that game instead of watching it.”

Over the weekend at The Great American Pitchfest I hosted Screenwriter Karaoke. Debra Eckerling of Write On! Online of wrangled me for a couple of moments during the Screenwriter Karaoke set-up and posted this video.

http://writeononline.com/2010/06/28/speaking-with-merrel-davis-creator-screenwriter-karaoke/

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.

Unlike novels, a script has implications far beyond the imagination of the reader. It is the document blue-print for an ultimately collaborative endeavor. In order to be an effective screenwriter, you need to be hyper aware of the production process and post-production process. I say aware, since you don’t have to do those tasks, you just need to know what is required of someone who does.

A couple of months ago at Screenwriter Karaoke, I was chatting with a writer about script dialogue. He was insistent that “real authentic dialogue is exactly like conversation.”  I responded that dialogue wasn’t actual conversation, but only gave the impression of conversation for the the sake of story. It is condensed and streamlined. After all, not everything we say in real life is interesting or even poignant. As we shared the exchange about a what dialogue needed to be,  he pulled the “well where did you learn how to write?” line. He’d gone to USC, was extolling the virtues of McKee or someone.  I simply said: “post-production.”

Pull the needle from the record! What, does the (mostly) solitary act of writing have to do with, say, cutting together a film? Quite a bit actually. Time and time again, I read scripts by writers who are woefully unaware that production and post process even takes place. For example: I often see scenes begin awkwardly with somebody walking into the room, simply to begin small talk, when the meat of the scene is a 30 second dialogue exchange on the couch later, where Jimmy tells Jane he’s joined a Poison cover band to avenge the death of his gerbil “Mikey.”

In a quest to mimic actual conversation, writers actually create the kind of stilted and obvious dialogue that makes most people groan. Film editing taught me to get in late and get out quick. Through my work, I’d spent so much time editing other people’s (bad!) dialogue, I began to gain a sense of what “good” dialogue sounded like to me. Part of a film editor’s job is to further finesse the dialogue, cut it so it sounds and feels natural, while maintaining the essence of the scene.  In many ways, the last cut of a film is the final draft of the script, or as Oscar nominated Director/Actor Peter Riegert said last year at the Southampton Screenwriting Conference: “Your script isn’t finished until opening night.”

As an editor, I was reverse engineering how to write a good scene.  I am able to recognize good dialogue when I read it in a script because I can see the semblance and pacing of “real” conversation, without all the boring parts. I am able to write good funny visual jokes that pop at the right moment, because I have an idea of when to get in and get out.

I put a call out to several writing and screenwriting communities for some comments on how their editing backgrounds have impacted their ability to write:

Xiaoniu (via reddit)

… I think it’s all part of what makes my film sense together, so it might have subconsciously influenced my writing.

Merrill Barr (Another Merrel?!)

You learn the idea of pacing early… when you bring that knowledge to writing, you end up pacing it the way you would edit something… It’s also helped the way I write movie/tv reviews. Reviews are written like a trailer almost. Short(ish), sweet, and to the point. I hate reviews that spend 4 paragraphs on nothing important. Most of my reviews never pass 700 words. You really shouldn’t need more than that.

Millstone99 (via Reddit)

I’ve spent a lot of time watching editors cut my extraneous dialogue (and sometimes entire scenes). So, I’m always thinking about the editor as I write. Is he just going to cut this bit anyway? Why do I think it’s so important, anyway?

So, the next time you write excruciatingly slow small talk, or have characters inexplicably enter the room at the beginning of the scene, think about how that scene will play visually, and how there would  be no way in hell, it would ever make it out of the editing room.

I encourage every writer to learn how to cut. I learned to cut on an AVID, and in recent years have moved to Final Cut Pro. There are many options out there. But, once you get a sense of how to assemble a scene visually, you’ll notice your writing will become more succinct. And even if you never work professionally as an editor, it is a skill and knowledge set which in no way can do harm to your ability to tell a story effectively. Get out there and be aware. Your story will be thankful for it.

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

Sorry, I’ve been out of pocket this month. Still getting into the groove of LA life. Luckily part of that groove is some fun tomorrow at Screenwriter Karaoke LA.

THE NEXT SCREENWRITER KARAOKE EVENT IS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10TH, 8:30 PM AT SARDO’S BAR AND GRILL IN BURBANK, CA.

Thursday December 10th, 8:30 PM
Sardo’s Grill and Lounge
259 N. PASS AVE.
BURBANK, CA 91505

Driving directions: Here

TO RSVP PLEASE GOT TO THE MEETUP.COM EVENT PAGE HERE

The pictures are in. October’s Screenwriter Karaoke was the largest one yet. Screenwriters and filmmakers filled out the entire bar from end to end. The place was filled creative energy.

Check out the pictures. (Yes, I’m the guy in the hat.)

And be sure to come to November Screenwriter Karaoke. This will be the last Screenwriter Karaoke in New York City for a little bit while I set up shop in LA.

Time: Wednesday, November 4th, 8 p.m.

Location: Baby Grand
161 Lafayette Street at Grand
New York, NY 10013
212.219.8110

It is quite possible that you’ve landed on my blog and you aren’t aware that I also organize a filmmaking network event called Screenwriter Karaoke. Right now the events are NYC based, but I hope soon to have an LA counterpart.

What is Screenwriter Karaoke? Think of it as a way to let your hair down, step up, wail on Super Tramp’s “The Long Way Home,” and then talk about your latest romantic comedy script. Looking for a collaborative writing partner with a knack for 17th Century English? You just might find one at Screenwriter Karaoke.

The event aims to be an informal way to meet your writing and filmmaking peers. Sometimes network events are just awkward, so why not try to loosen up have a couple of drinks and sing?

When: October 15, 2009 8:00 PM
Where:
Baby Grand
161 Lafayette Street at Grand
New York, NY 10013
212.219.8110

Please RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/Screenwriter-Karaoke/

To prove there is nothing to be afraid of, here I am on the right, rocking out to some Build me up Buttercup!