The Seminar Weekend, Part Two: Sunday

I got to the seminar at 10 of 8, and Gordy Hoffman showed up about 10 or 15 minutes later. Gordy has longish hair, and sort of looks like a burlier version of the guy who played the guidance counselor on Freaks and Geeks.

Basically, the day was spent reading and critiquing each others' scripts. When it came time to critique mine, I admit It was a little hard for me to articulate what it was about. It didn't occur to me to tell them that I brought it because I didn't have anything else to present. He asked me where I wanted to go with it. I hardly remember what I said. I'm not sure if I really want to continue with it, because as Gordy pointed out, the script was written as a means to express myself. Someone said it reminded them of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, another said Dr. Strangelove, Gordy said The Graduate.

During lunch break, someone asked Gordy what it was like to have a famous brother.

"I don't really look at him that way," He replied.

One thing about Gordy that I find an asset is that
he critiques from the point of view of a writer. I find that most script coaches/analysts write and work from the point of view of a story editor, and I find that many of these people berate the aspiring writer, whether they intend to or not. Rather than say, "Don't put that in there because the cinematographer wouldn't like that," he would say, "That detail isn't necessary. Delete it, and then you have more room for your movie." (Okay, he didn't say that exactly, but that's the crux of what he said.) As a writer, that makes more sense to me.

All in all, it was time well spent. Perhaps I'll sign up for another course when I actually do have new material.

I think the one thing I took away from the seminar is that I want to write screenplays, but I need to take things one step at a time. If I do write another spec, I'll pick a subject or story that I won't mind still working on in a couple of years.