Random 10

1. I missed the beginning of a movie the other day because the guy in the corridor thought I asked for 'Scream 4' when I asked for screen 4.

2. I gave a talk over Skype to a college in Wisconsin a few weeks back, and today I received a thank you card signed by everyone. That absolutely made my day.

3. Easter Egg for breakfast. I'm considering it. Will see how I feel in the morning.

4. I've been resisting but I'm tempted to get on board with this whole Royal Wedding thing. It's a media phenomenon and I guess there's a lot to learn from it. And it's romantic and all that crap.

5. I wrote a blog last night, which I didn't post, because it was weak. This happens quite a lot, whether it's blogging or screenwriting, a lot is garbage. But as this is a random blog post today, here's my unwanted baby:

"3am"

Woah, don't you just love the night? All your problems stay gone for that golden hour at about 3am when it's too late to be tired and too early to be concentrating. You listen to a song and all you have to do in the world is listen to that song.

All your problems are gone, forgotten, left to the daylight. You can really hear the song. And you've found quiet. It's so quiet that you hear everything so loud.

Daylight is about worrying, and making the sale and the compromise and proving you're right and wishing you were wealthier. The nighttime is spent thinking about those things.

But not that moment at 3.14am when you hear the subtle whirrings of life outside your window. Suddenly everything makes sense and peace is yours.

Be happy if you witness this. It's the glory afforded to persistent insomniacs, but only if they're lucky. You can't plan for it or look for it, but once in a while you find the spirit of the night breezing into your life at 3am and it's everything.

6. The producer of my latest project and me have different instincts on everything. I just wanna hide away until the shoot and then get on with the job. But I'm not Woody Allen, I'm not successful enough. I have to chat to investors and be smiley and all that stuff. I'm not so good with that. I mean, I'm passable, but generally uncomfortable.

7. Most of the music I listen to was recorded by the fans in the back of arenas, hiding their microphones from the security staff. There's just something great about live recordings. Not the perfect official releases, but the rareties from some gig in 1997. I think, in an ideal world, I want my films to capture that feeling. That feeling of an extended version of your favourite song, where the band improvise some magic that existed in the moment, for the moment, because of the moment. We're just lucky it got captured. I want to make films that are like that. Somehow.

8. If you make a comedy, your first time will never get the laughs you want. It's a misunderstood art form. It's harder than anything. People will cry before they'll laugh.

There's nothing worse than your jokes dying in a cinema. But it is satisfying when, despite cold silence, one person TOTALLY gets it.

9. Perfect example of the bootleg music. Adam Duritz is singing a Robyn Hitchcock song, 'She Doesn't Exist Anymore' and I didn't realize music coming out of my phone could sound so good.

And this song will break your heart. Especially this version, from this show. Email me and I'll hook you up.

10. I like that you are all here. That you come back. There's so much content on the net. So many people writing about the same things I write about and its amazing to me that you're here. I massively appreciate it and hope I please more than I fail. Thanks for sticking around.

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Jealousy

Jealousy is the strangest beast. It lives inside of almost everyone, and it shapes and effects your relationships, your creativity, and your happiness in ways you can never predict.

And it comes along the minute you start pulling out and doing something different. If you act in a TV show, or write an inspiring article, or get invited to Will & Kate's wedding; sure, some people will be happy for you, some will be supportive, but some will be insanely jealous.

It can manifest itself in wildly different ways. Some people are obvious; they inhabit a wild inner monster and they storm forth criticising your work, denying your abilities, laughing at your efforts. Other times, it's more subtle. It can come as a withdrawal of support. The disappearance of the love.

They're both difficult to deal with. The angry monster version will often retract their words, or say "I only told you you're a talentless writer because I care and because I want the best for you". But of course, they've already attacked, they've bitten into you, only there's no prison for the jealous, apart from their own minds.

Similarly, the passive one who handles their jealousy through silence, through indifference, they're hurting you but in the process; they're also making themselves more miserable. People are jealous when they feel threatened. When they worry you're going to Hollywood and they're not, or your short story won the prize and theirs didn't quite cut it.

We all have it in us. Sometimes we're almost evil, vicious. It's hard to love. It's harder to admire. It's much easier to ridicule, to assume something bad about someone, to paint a picture which allows you to look down upon another.

Jealousy is a self fulfilling prophecy. If you're jealous that someone sold a script, or bought a big boat, or went on a great date; you're jealous because they are the things you want. But the act of jealousy and the horribleness you inflict pushes you further away from your goals.

When someone achieves something, it's a reflection on their talent and dedication. Or maybe it's not, maybe it's luck, or an injustice -- but it has nothing to do with your own journey.

Jealousy is when someone, without provocation, sabotages or criticises something they wish they achieved or owned or had access too. It's their own shit. And if they withdraw their support, you can't take that person's problems personally. You have to let them go, carry on forth. Your support, for the most part, needs to be internal. This industry, and most of life, is full of rejection. It's hard when it comes from people you dislike, it's worse when it comes from someone you respect. But when they're jealous, you know you're really achieving.

As for ourselves, when we see someone doing good work, we need to tell them. Especially when they make our jealous-monster's awaken. Most people who are doing something good, or personal, or meaningful-- they are not getting the support they need. Despite the fantasticness of the lives they are creating, they are met only with the disdain of the envious people around them. Go a different way, tell them how magnificent they are. You'll help them be great, quicker, and you'll feel better inside.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

-Mary Schmich

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ELI ATTIE - Writer Interview

Eli Attie has written for 'The West Wing', 'Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip' and more recently, on 'House'. Prior to that, he worked for President Bill Clinton, and he was the chief speechwriter for Al Gore, from 1997, right up until that fateful day in 2000, when he conceded the presidency to George W. Bush.

How do you think working in politics prepared you for working in television? It seems to me that they're worlds apart, but maybe your experience is different.

There's an old joke, which I may have stuck on The West Wing, that politics is dog-eat-dog while Hollywood is the exact reverse. In fact, it turns out that they are indeed worlds apart. I spent my last few years in Washington as a speechwriter, and because that word sounds a lot like "screenwriter" I mistakenly thought the two jobs would be similar. Screenwriting is largely about structure -- what you reveal to the audience, and when -- and also emotion and character. Speechwriting, and politics in general, is a kind of extended argument about the issue at hand. I suppose in both professions you're dealing with some big personalities, but that's true of many professions. I'm lucky I thought they were similar; if I'd realized how radically different Hollywood was I might not have made the switch.

What made you decide to move into entertainment, was you looking to get away from politics?

It was really because politics got away from me. I was working for Al Gore until the final moments of the Florida Recount. I was angry, burned out, demoralized after a stolen election, and a friend jokingly suggested screenwriting, which I'd never even considered. It was more of a lark at first, I just thought I'd spend a year or two in LA and go back to Washington.

One if the most recognizable things about The West Wing, was the writing style of Aaron Sorkin, and of course-- it's not something that can be imitated. Did the writers feel a lot of pressure after he left the show?

No question about that. Aaron's an auteur, a singular genius. I think the show generally fell short when writers tried to imitate him, because that can't really be done.

For me, Season 5 was a tricky one, but 6 and 7 were incredible television. I enjoyed different writer's episodes for different reasons. I began to recognise the voices of different writers.. for example, an episode by you was different to an episode by Deborah Cahn. But I'm really interested to know how it would work. How and why do writers get assigned episodes; and did you have a lot of input in each episode?

In that post-Aaron period, John Wells would choose the writers of the individual episodes, based on a general rotation and also how many episodes he wanted a given writer to do. In my memory, it was usually a fairly blank slate when you got the assignment -- maybe a few plot points that the group had decided upon, but you could really shape the themes and storylines as you wanted (with John overseeing them all and making sure they actually worked). I guess I just wrote about the events and emotions and ideas that had stuck with me from my time in politics, and it was inevitable that the individual writer's episodes would reflect that writer's voice and style. Because of my political background, I did contribute to lots of scripts beyond my own, during all five seasons I was on the show. Some of my favorite storylines were ones I didn't actually write.

After The West Wing  - were you apprehensive at all about moving away from political material?

I was eager to do it, actually, because I'd said so much of what I wanted to say about that subject matter. And at the end of the day, you can't tell a story about politics with the story itself -- a character's overconfidence, a disintegrating friendship, whatever it is that you weave in between the government acronyms. Those stories don't change very much, whether you're putting those characters in the White House, or a hospital, or on a flying saucer for that matter. Well, okay, maybe it's different on a flying saucer.

It's still devastating to me how Studio 60 got cancelled after one season. I thought it was fantastic. But what lessons can we take from this? Next time around, how can we make sure the great shows get to stick around?

TV is a brutal business. Lots of great shows just don't find an audience, for hundreds of reasons -- marketing, scheduling, whether or not they hit the right moment in the zeitgeist. If I knew the real answer to this question, I'd start my own TV network.

Where do your writing ideas come from? What inspires you?

The best writing is at least a little bit autobiographical, I think. But ideas tend to come from everywhere -- something you read in the paper, something that happened to you the week before, a song you hear on the radio that reminds you of a time of your life. You just have to stay open to the ideas that are all around you, flying through the air, in a sense -- and it helps to be on a really tight deadline.

What music do you like? Do you listen to music when you're writing?

I listen to music constantly -- everything from acoustic blues and early Americana to British Invasion to punk rock to modern alternative rock -- but never when I'm actually writing. But sometimes, the mood or idea of a song can carry over into what you're writing.

When you were writing for Bill Clinton, or Al Gore, how much of that comes from inspiration? And how much of YOU is in what you write?

Not very much of the speechwriter should be in a political speech. You're trying to capture the spirit and pulse and passion of another person, right down to the punctuation. Plus, you have to remember that it's not your intellectual property at the end of the day. For someone like Al Gore, the speechwriter exists only because he's too busy to be hunched over a computer screen all day. That's not to say you can't have an influence, but that shouldn't be how you approach the task.

Have you written any feature film screenplays? Is that something you're interested in?

I do have one original screenplay that's set up at a studio right now, called "Smile Relax Attack," but it's a tricky indie-type film and I can't say if it'll ever get made. I've done uncredited rewrite work on some other people's movies, and I'd like to do more original work when I get the time.

I still like to hold on to the notion of screenwriting being an art-form. A singular voice. There's something heartbreaking about someone's screenplay getting re-writes, but I realize it's the nature of the industry. Do you think re-writes for the most part improve screenplays, or do you think there are times when they ruin what is on the page?

It really depends. Some movies are based on the voice of the author, and all you're going to do by tampering with it is ruin it. Those kinds of movies don't get rewritten very much to begin with. But most Hollywood movies are driven more by plot and action than any kind of voice. Sometimes, a little rewrite work can help a confused plot, or give a character a more distinctive personality, or simply slip in a few more good lines. It's not a bad thing in itself. Even a movie written by a committee can be preferable to one that doesn't quite make sense.

How do you, as a writer, get into the head of the characters?

If the character is strongly defined, they really can help you tell your story. The good thing about working on a TV show is that you spend hours and hours with your colleagues talking and arguing about what each character should say or do or feel, so you get to know them really well, and that knowledge can spill right onto the page. There's some mimicry involved too; sometimes the actor's voice and bearing has everything to do with how you write a certain line, or shape a certain scene. But often the story ideas start in your own head, from your own experience or observation, and then have to be transplanted into the character's world and idiom.

Hugh Laurie has such a specific way of talking in 'House' - is it difficult to get the tone right?

The voice of House is very much the voice of David Shore, the show's wonderfully funny and talented creator. I love writing for the character, but David is always right there, making sure the tone is pitch-perfect, and adding hilarious lines that make me look better than I should when my name flashes on the screen.

Who is your favorite writer?

That's hard to say. Paddy Chayefsky, maybe? Mamet? I've of course been lucky enough to work for some of my favorite writers in this business too. Which is why I wanted to work for them.

Do you have any plans to create your own show at some point?

No specific plans, and I've had such wonderful jobs as a staff writer on other people's shows, but it's something I'd like to try.

After your two very different careers -- in which do you think you have a better chance of inspiring people --- television, or politics?

I would have to say politics. Because TV and movies are, at the end of the day, entertainment; you should shut them off when the real people walk into the room. Politics can really transform people's lives, sometimes even save people's lives. The greatest episode of the greatest TV show is no match for the creation of Medicare.

If Al Gore had made it to The White House, I'm guessing your career would be a lot different now. Is that something you ever think about?

If I think too much about what it meant for the country, I'd be in therapy for the rest of my life, maybe even longer. In terms of my own career, you really never know where things will lead. I kind of stumbled into politics, just as I stumbled into Hollywood. Hard to think very much about the past when I barely have a grasp on the future.

I also spoke to Eli last year, about John Spencer, who played Leo McGarry in 'The West Wing' - you can read his poignant words HERE.

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STEPTOE & SON - Steptoe and Me

I was ten years old and I randomly came across an old TV show on the BBC. It was black and white, which is not something I had time for. But before I had a chance to change the channel, it had me laughing.

It was STEPTOE & SON. I remember the episode very specifically, it was the episode where Albert turns 65.

Everyone has that story about how they first saw a movie when they were 4 and it changed their life forever. I don't have that story. But maybe this was that moment. I don't remember much TV or film from my childhood, at least not in any special way. But I do remember Steptoe & Son.

I would get to school early on a Tuesday, or whatever day it was, and I would sit up against the old shed at the back of the playground and recall the previous night's episode with my friend, Stewart. I don't remember much about Stewart, if anything at all, apart from the fact he also loved Steptoe & Son.

I wasn't a screenwriter at ten years old. I didn't direct films. And I didn't consciously have any tastes (although I was developing a bit of a taste for a girl called Victoria, but she showed no appetite). I wasn't as limited back then. I was free. And Steptoe & Son was glorious. We would watch every episode we could find, and we would talk about it non-stop, and I would impersonate Harold's voice.

Around a similar time, I found The Beatles. There I was, ten years old, and everything I loved was black and white. I didn't have to justify my preferences to anyone, and I didn't feel the need to tweet about it. I'd just watch and laugh and love.

I watched that episode yesterday. When Albert turned 65. It's not as funny to me now, but it has so many of the seeds that bloomed into things that would become a huge part of the essence of who I am. My sense of story, and character, and my love for comedy. Maybe it began that one night, when I accidentally caught an old episode of Steptoe & Son. Maybe that's why this blog is called Kid In The Front Row. Everything I've done since, is just about finding my way back to that feeling of joy that I felt when I discovered Harold & Albert Steptoe. 

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Nora Ephron on Screenwriting

'The screenplay is the big plain pizza, the one with tomatoes and cheese. And then the director comes in and says "you know, it's needs mushrooms." And you put mushrooms on it, and the costume designer throws peppers on. And pretty soon you have a pizza with everything. Sometimes it's the greatest pizza of your life and sometimes you think 'that was a mistake, we should have left it with only the mushrooms.'

-Nora Ephron

Sleepless In Seattle, You've Got Mail, Julie & Julia

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