THE WRITER'S ROUNDTABLE (great video)

Being that it's award season, The Hollywood Reporter has begun posting their series of roundtable discussions with possible contenders.

Last month, they posted an one-hour discussion between screenwriters Aaron Sorkin ("The Social Network"), Simon Beaufoy ("127 Hours"), Michael Arndt ("Toy Story 3"), John Wells ("The Company Men"), Todd Phillips ("Due Date") and David Lindsay-Abaire ("Rabbit Hole"). Grab a drink and settle in because this powwow is pretty fantastic for any kind of writer...



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'BOND,' 'SUPERMAN' WRITER TOM MANKIEWICZ DEAD AT 68

Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz, the scribe and script-doctor who made his bones penning such James Bond films as "Diamonds Are Forever," "Live and Let Die" and "The Man With the Golden Gun," has died at 68.

Known for his trademark light and breezy writing style, Mankiewicz once said he had endured snickers for his association with the sexy Bond films. He told the Miami Herald in 1987: "I don't apologize for entertaining people."

In 1978, Mankiewicz received a controversial credit for rewriting the 1978 Richard Donner film "Superman" and its 1980 sequel. Donner hired him to rewrite the impossibly long script (by "Godfather" scribe Mario Puzo), and stayed with the project for more than a year.

At the time the script drafts combined were more than four hundred pages long (an impossible length to shoot) and Donner felt they were much too campy as well. He brought Mankiewicz aboard to do a complete overhaul in terms of length, dialogue and tone.

Mankiewicz stayed on the production for more than a year, assisting Donner in other departments as well. Donner referred to him as a "creative consultant."

The Writer’s Guild strenuously objected on two grounds; first, that the traditional script arbitration process was being bypassed and second, that Mankiewicz’s credit came after the original screenwriters and not before them, implying that his contribution was more important. The dispute went to a legal hearing. Mankiewicz won.
His credit remained where it was on "Superman: The Movie," but he agreed to have it come just before the listed screenwriters on "Superman II." In the 2006 documentary "Look, Up in the Sky: the Amazing Story of Superman", Mankiewicz accurately describes "Superman: the Movie" as a three-act play exploring Superman's three separate worlds, describing the film's depictions of Krypton as "Shakespearean", Smallville as comparable to the works of Andrew Wyeth and Metropolis as a place where sarcasm flies.

"The Writers Guild didn't want to give him a credit, but he definitely deserved a credit," Donner told The L.A. Times on Monday. "I probably wouldn't have made the movie if Tom hadn't come on to rewrite it."

In addition to working and developing ABC's "Hart to Hart" for Aaron Spelling, Warner Bros. signed Mankiewicz to an exclusive deal and kept him busy “fixing” films. He wrote scenes for Steven Spielberg’s "Gremlins," Spielberg and Richard Donner’s "The Goonies" and John Badham’s "WarGames." He next wrote the first draft of Batman, the opening film for that successful series. Then Richard Donner brought him onto "Ladyhawke," the medieval romantic fantasy starring Matthew Broderick, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Rutger Hauer. He received shared screenplay credit and a separate credit as “Creative Consultant.”

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THE REWRITE SCRIBE: THE STUDIOS' HUSH-HUSH SECRET

I think if I could be any type of scribe, it would be that of a screenwriter. While I love the notion of locking myself in a private hideaway and churn out The Great American Novel, I've always had an affinity for the craft. It also helps that I'm a huge movie and TV buff. Television, by the way, is churning out some of the best writing I've seen in years. "Treme," anyone?

I've dabbled in the form (check it out HERE), have been read by some agencies (bog whoop, I know) and in my younger days turned down an offer on one of my scripts from a small production outfit. Dumb mistake, I know, but that's another post.

I say screenwriting is a craft, because that's exactly what it is. The script is a blueprint for a film -- the guide for the actors, director et al. That said, I was more than stoked to see a recent article in Variety about a type of writer most people are unaware of: the rewrite scribe, that last-minute gun-for hire who gets none of the glory and a whole mess of dough. An added plus? The rewrite scribe gets NONE of the grief if the film tanks.

According to the piece, the most frequently tapped polishers haven't had official onscreen credits in years. Jim Uhls, who has only one screenplay credit since penning "Fight Club" more than a decade ago, works regularly as an uncredited gun-for-hire. Shane Black, who once earned the distinction as Hollywood's highest-paid screenwriter, also is high on many studio wish-lists for being a closer.

Not that I'm exactly a whore for the benjamins, but alot of A-list scribes like John August, Jamie Vanderbilt, Steve Zaillian, Scott Frank, Akiva Goldsman, Brian Helgeland, Eric Roth, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, Paul Attanasio, Aaron Sorkin, Susannah Grant and Ron Bass are on many a studio speed dial and have been polishing many hits through the years.

Despite earning up to $60,000 a day, the piece says the gig isn't right for everyone.

As a lit manager remarks, "You don't see Diablo Cody doing polishes. Her voice is too original, and if she came in and punched up dialogue on someone else's script, it would probably sound out of place."

Check out the full-length fascinating piece HERE.

And while we're talking screenwriting, check out a few vids from the cool video series "Learning From the Masters" after the jump.

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PLAYWRIGHT DAVID MAMET BITCH SLAPS TV WRITERS OF 'THE UNIT'

I love how every now and then playwright David Mamet goes on one of his rants. This time, the Pulitizer-Prize winning scribe had some ire for the writing staff of the canceled CBS drama "The Unit" (which he helped create) and has drafted a snippy memo for what he considers compelling drama. Thanks to Slashfilm for pointing this out. The tirade, btw, first surfaced at Ink Canada.

Anyone who read his non-fiction rant "Bambi Vs. Godzilla" knows that the guy can get a little heavy-handed and this new memo shows that the trademark Mamet attitude is indeed present in full-force.

A small example: "ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT," and "IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT *WILL* BORE THE ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE BACK IN THE BREADLINE."

Just a few thoughts: After watching some of his latter-day projects like "Redbelt" and "Spartan," we're wondering if he's following his own advice. Also note that the memo was drafted in ALL CAPS.

The complete memo runs in full after the jump.

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MY ADVENTURES IN THE SCREEN TRADE (OR LACK THEROF)

Being that this is Oscar week and all my esteemed writing bud Absolutely*Kate asked many of her peeps to provide some sort of film-related content for her nifty showcase At the Bijou. Being that I'm a movie guy, I dusted off an old project of mine and wanted to give her an essay about its conception.

That said, here is an ever-so-brief taste of a much longer essay on her blog about my adventures in the screen trade and collaboration with my buddy and writing partner Eddie.

One night around two years ago, my buddy and sometimes guest poet Edoardo Mungiello (pictured, below) and I were sitting in my man cave pondering our creative lives. At the time, I’d say that both of us were pretty creatively unfulfilled and extremely disenchanted with what we were seeing on movie and TV screens. What’s more, we were both about to enter the world of fatherhood so our creative juices were flowing with a bunch of unbridled, kinetic energy.


We had always talked about writing a script. It’s what people say… “Hey, we should write something…” Yeah. Right. Easier said than done. It’s hard writing something by yourself, much less another moody scribe.

Not only does a writing team need similar sensibilities, but they have to be willing to bend with one another. There’s a huge give and take at hand when it comes to what you both like. And then there’s the frame of reference…

Visit At the Bijou for the rest as well as a sample of our script "Dull Hobo."

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