Should you ever do it?

C’mon… seriously? The answer is FUCK yeah.

Let me bow to my betters, first some thoughts on the subject by Jim Jarmusch, appropriately stolen/borrowed from a pal’s Facebook entry:

Please understand, I’m not advocating plagiarism. Plagiarists are stunningly UN-original. I’m advocating, like Jarmusch, something more akin to re-interpretation. Old school filtered through your lens, coming out new. Like Picasso…

Never been big on Cubism but the modern “influences” upon Picasso clearly coalesced into a startling “new” form. Yet Picasso himself was the one who uttered (or supposed uttered) the most famous words on this subject. “Good artists borrow, great artists steal.” This isn’t a call for outright copying of copywritten materials. It’s a nod to the undeniable fact that every generation steals from the generation before it, taking their vision to new directions using new technologies and old themes to bring us to an entirely new place creatively. The difference between innovation and boring unoriginality is located firmly between the ears of the artist/writer.

Want another genius telling you to “steal”? How about Steve Jobs….

This take on Romeo and Juliet is interesting too…

“The best example I can think of would be Shakespeare’s theft of Romeo and Juliet. The story is an Italian tale, probably by Bandello. It was translated into English (by Arthur Brooke), and then retold by some guy named William Painter in prose form, and then retold a third time by Shakespeare in play form. The story was well known at the time and many people then knew full well that it was adaptation. But the brilliance of Shakespeare’s adaptation has completely occluded any prior versions from memory, so that Romeo and Juliet is indelibly associate with Shakespeare.

Others have done re-adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, such as West Side Story written by Arthur Laurents. But West Side Story will always be remembered as a musical based on the Shakespeare play.

Thus, Shakespeare was stolen from Bandello, Brooke and Painter because now Shakespeare in a sense owns Romeo and Juliet. Whereas Arthur Laurents merely borrowed from Shakespeare, since people will always remember West Side Story as an adaptation of a Shakespeare work.

Or another example: Bram Stoker stole his Dracula character from John Polidori, since now we now indelibly associate that character with Stoker’s version, whereas Anne Rice has merely borrowed it from Stoker.”

Here’s a cool comparison, Jackie Chan riffing off Buster Keaton…

Lastly, from recent personal experience, dialogue for my micro-budget script was “stolen” from certain conversations, none of which, being 100% verbal, are copywritten or copy-writable, but which were absolutely perfect for my script to establish tone and location. I freely admit to “borrowing” from the genius of the speakers– just as I would thank two people in front of me on a line at Target if they gave me dialogue to steal. If you hear it, if it’s in open air and not in a fixed form that is copywritten, then grab a freakin’ pen and write it down. You just wrote it!

I’d tell you more about my movie subject matter but I’m afraid you’d stea– be inspired and borrow it!

[Disclaimer: I make no claims to creativity in this post.]

Teaching a recent course at Columbia  in Micro-Budget film-making, I went shopping for books on the subject. It was surprising to find just how little had been written, not on the art of making movies on the cheap, but on WRITING them with cheap in mind. In other words, primed for a micro-budget budget and shooting schedule.

The book I went with was the excellent Fast, Cheap, And Under Control. There are interviews the with the writers and/or directors of movies you’ve heard of (Eraserhead, Slacker, El Mariachi, Clerks, The Blair Witch Project) and those not quite as well known (David Holtzman’s Diary, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One). What’s remarkable when reading the accounts and writing for low-budget and then shooting are the similarities. I’ve already documented some similarities in another post, but here’s a quick rundown:

1. LIMIT LOCATIONS
2. LIMIT CHARACTERS
3. LIMIT SFX & STUNTS
4. WRITE FOR LOW BUDGET GENRES THAT SELL
5. WRITE LONGER DIALOGUE SCENES
   
6. WRITE FOR A REALISTIC BUDGET
7. WRITE LOCATIONS & RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO YOU
8. BEWARE OVER-RELIANCE ON POST-PRODUCTION DIGITAL SOLUTIONS
9. BEWARE WEATHER AND SEASONS
10. BEWARE CASTING CHILDREN, ANIMALS
11. BEWARE SEX SCENES, EXTERIOR NIGHT SHOTS, SPECIAL PROP OR MAKEUP NEEDS
12. STORY IS FREE (VIA JOHN AUGUST)

All these are well and good, but how about some specifics. One way to study micro-budget movies is to examine LOCATIONS within these movies, and the choices made by the writer on what to use, and what not to use. We can do this with a Final Draft Location breakdown. For instance, this one on PI.

PI-SCREENPLAY — LOCATION REPORT

MAX’S APARTMENT (9 OCCURRENCES)

EXT (3)

EXT. MAX’S APARTMENT – DAY (1)  P.34

EXT. MAX’S APARTMENT – DUSK (1)         P.61

EXT. MAX’S APARTMENT – NIGHT (1)       P.79

INT (6)

INT. MAX’S APARTMENT – DAY (4) P.34

INT. MAX’S APARTMENT – NIGHT (2)       P.86

BLINDING WHITE VOID (4 OCCURRENCES)

Blank scene intro (4)

BLINDING WHITE VOID (4)   P.52

SOL’S APARTMENT (4 OCCURRENCES)

EXT (3)

EXT. SOL’S APARTMENT – DAWN (1)         P.42

EXT. SOL’S APARTMENT – MORNING (1)   P.48

EXT. SOL’S APARTMENT – NIGHT (1)        P.93

INT (1)

INT. SOL’S APARTMENT – DUSK (1) P.73

COFFEE SHOP (3 OCCURRENCES)

INT (3)

INT. COFFEE SHOP – DAY (2)  P.9

INT. COFFEE SHOP – NIGHT (1)       P.71

SOL’S STUDY (3 OCCURRENCES)

EXT (1)

EXT. SOL’S STUDY – MOMENTS LATER (1)         P.17

INT (2)

INT. SOL’S STUDY – DAY (1)  P.27

INT. SOL’S STUDY – MOMENTS LATER (1)         P.45

BATHROOM (2 OCCURRENCES)

INT (2)

INT. BATHROOM – DAWN (2) P.1

CHINATOWN (2 OCCURRENCES)

EXT (2)

EXT. CHINATOWN – DAY (2)  P.4

CITY STREETS (2 OCCURRENCES)

EXT (2)

EXT. CITY STREETS – DAY (1) P.93

EXT. CITY STREETS – NIGHT (1)      P.80

For brevity’s sake I left out other locations with two or less instances including the Electronic Megadump, which conjures up all sorts of images one could only associate with a movie like PI. Aronofsky made this, his first, movie for $60,000. He lay the groundwork for being able to make the movie happen right in the screenplay with his strict limitation of locations. Here, it’s all places we can get for nothing or next to nothing: Two apartments (Max and Sol), a Study, a Bathroom, a Coffee Shop, City Streets and Chinatown scenes, and of course the Blinding White Void. Only Aronofsky, right?

Want an even more extreme example. Look at the Report for Clerks:

CLERKS-SCREENPLAY — LOCATION REPORT

DAY (30 OCCURRENCES)

EXT: CONVENIENCE STORE (7)

EXT: CONVENIENCE STORE. DAY (7)        P.73

EXT: FUNERAL PARLOR (2)

EXT: FUNERAL PARLOR. DAY (2)      P.86

EXT: VIDEO STORE (1)

EXT: VIDEO STORE. DAY (1)   P.45

INT: BACK ROOM (1)

INT: BACK ROOM. DAY (1)       P.34

INT: CONVENIENCE STORE (15)

INT: CONVENIENCE STORE. DAY (15)       P.40

INT: VIDEO STORE (4)

INT: VIDEO STORE. DAY (4)   P.67

NIGHT (17 OCCURRENCES)

EXT: CONVENIENCE STORE (3)

EXT: CONVENIENCE STORE. NIGHT (3)    P.87

EXT: VIDEO STORE (4)

EXT: VIDEO STORE. NIGHT (4)        P.127

INT: CONVENIENCE STORE (8)

INT: CONVENIENCE STORE. NIGHT (8)    P.118

INT: VIDEO STORE (2)

INT: VIDEO STORE. NIGHT (2)        P.106

MORNING (8 OCCURRENCES)

EXT: CONVENIENCE STORE (4)

EXT: CONVENIENCE STORE. MORNING (4)        P.3

INT: CONVENIENCE STORE (4)

INT: CONVENIENCE STORE. MORNING (4)        P.4

90%+ of this movie takes place in the convenience and video stores! With the exception of a couple of apartment scenes, a car scene, and the two quick exteriors outside the Funeral Home, it’s ALL at the stores. This, of course, the same store Kevin Smith was working at at the time. The movie was filmed when the store was closed (check the DVD for some hilarious commentary). Cost of all locations? Zero. As in 0$. When you learn you can film at the store, you then write it into the script. It’s how a movie as influential as Clerks can be made for $27,000.

A study of the best of Micro-Budget and Indy screenplays can yield terrific lessons when you’re starting from scratch, trying to carve out a name for yourself. Read Spike Lee’s journal of the making of She’s Got To Have It. Absolutely fortifying to know Spike Lee, back in the day, struggled to make rent, hit his mother up for money, annoyed and pissed his friends off with money requests, anything to get his first movie made. We’re talking about less than $50,000 dollars, again. He honed down the script, rewriting over and over, until it was realistically do-able at micro-budget level.

David Lynch took years to make the sub $30,000 Eraserhead. He had a paper route and grabbed unused sound and film stock from dumpsters. Cassavetes made other people’s movies to get the cash to make his own low budget films. Orson Wells made wine commercials. Rodriguez sold himself for medical experiments.

If you have to whore yourself, make sure your script is freakin’ in the bag. No flies. You might only get one chance to ride down that moonlight mile…

Make it count.

Want to see something depressing? Look at this…

Trivia

His play, “Never Come Morning” at the Prop Theatre in Chicago, Illinois was awarded the 1995 Joseph Jefferson Award Citation for New Work.

His adaptation of “1,001 Afternoons in Chicago,” at the Live Bait Theater and Prop Theatre Group was nominated for a 1997 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Adaptation.

Writer(3 titles)

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Hide Director (1 title)

Being Professor Pauly, I see a lot of student films. The filmmakers change but, even as some succeed because of vision and originality, others die the death in absolutely painful fashion, because the makers of these films fell victim to a few booby traps that you’d think would be easy to avoid, yet can blow up your film faster than a Columbia freshman.

• TRYING TO BE TARANTINO WITHOUT TARANTINO MONEY

I often read Tarantino-style scripts. These are filled with  extensive action sequences involving gun play, car chases, foot chases, martial arts fight choreography, special blood and makeup needs, or SPX. I ask the filmmaker what the budget is, which is a ridiculous question, because both of us know it’s a student film, meaning zero dollar budget. I groan. Do they feel optimistic about being able to attain Tarantino-style effects with no money? I’ll then hear how they’re aware of the dangers and have devised a shot list that will be both innovative and fun at the same time. They feel confident they can pull it off for dollar zero. Some weeks later I’ll inevitably here about some technical snafu, the inevitable, unforeseen fuckup that sabotaged their plan. When the film screens, well, it’s not Tarantino. How could it be? If you don’t have the resources to be Tarantino– Robert Rodriguez– John Woo- Tony Scott…why would you try to be? Ambition is great but sometimes it pays to be a bit more pragmatic. If all you’ve got is student film money, don’t try to make PULP FICTION. What you end up when you screen it might not be pretty. I believe the term is inappropriate laughter.

• CASTING ROOMMATES AND CLASSMATES

I know, if you’re not in film school you won’t actually be class mates. This is merely to re-state the absolutely essential process of casting. How often have excellent Columbia screenplays been shot down because they couldn’t find a decent actor in their 50′s. Or had to pick an actor because he was one of only three people who auditioned and they were all bad. Maybe nobody showed up for the audition at all or the actors bailed the night before shooting. Lights-camera-action! It’s your roommate in front of the camera because there was literally no other choice.

Nothing kills a movie as fast as actor playing a cop, a lawyer, a whale hunter, whatever…and we, the audience, don’t buy them as that person. There’s no recovering from it. Suspension of disbelief? Sure, ok, but I’m not Houdini! If you’re making your script, put more than adequate time into casting. Find an ambitious casting agent who might want to get a producing credit and attach themselves to your project. That how my brother got Calista Flockhart for JANE DOE, and Paul Dano for his LIGHT AND THE SUFFERER. If it’s micro-budget, find the money for SAG Minimum for your lead actors, get strong people.

• CREW ROLES ASSIGNED TO RELIABLE PEOPLE

Probably the #1 reason for artistic shipwreck at Columbia. You think you’re collaborating with someone reliable, someone solid, but you’re not. And you don’t find out until too late. People will let you down in the professional world too, but there there are reputations at stake there, when you’re actually PAYING people. You know the reputation of this DP, of that editor. You can look at a hundred reels if you like, interview extensively, IF you’re paying. Unfortunately, in the micro-budget and student realm, you rarely have that luxury. If you’re not paying your crew you’re often at the mercy of chance. They could flake out and there’s not much to be done about it. If you’re not paying your editor and weeks are going by waiting on the rough cut, what can you do? How hard can you lean on someone you’re not paying? Control what you can control. That means– as I just wrote in a recent post about the Writer’s Prenuptual agreement— roles need to be assigned, expectations clear, contracts signed. Even then, you’ll need to have some luck finding solid people you’ll want to work with more than once.

For JANE DOE I was a first-time director who needed a strong A.D. to guide me along. I had four of them in 18 days! People left for better paying gigs, bailed when we extended shooting past 12-hours a day once too often. It was a carnival and I didn’t blame them for fleeing the sinking sink. Still, if we had picked one A.D. who stuck it out through the process, perhaps the ship wouldn’t have sunk as fast, or at all. Crew up well. Understand their expectations of you. On your end, give them realistic scheduling and budgeting expectations for what you’re expecting of them in terms of time and $$$ compensation.

• GREAT TITLE SEQUENCES, BAD MOVIES

How is it I so often see a sizzling title sequence that gets the juices flowing, followed by a middling and mundane experience of the movie itself. Strange phenomenon that happens more often that you’d expect. Screw the great titles until you nail down the great movie.

Professor Pauly has spoken!