The Creative Screenwriter by Zara Waldeback and Craig Batty

Zara Waldeback and Craig Batty. The Creative Screenwriter: Exercises to Expand Your Craft. London: Meuthuen Drama, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2012.

This book encourages screenwriters to be dutiful in upgrading their abilities. Increased expertise provides insights on overcoming difficulties. Creative forces should be sharpened to improve writings. Stories should be analyzed and weaknesses should be improved upon.

The authors observe that creativity involves a freedom of ideas within limits.  They recommend writing down all kinds of ideas and then sharpening the best ideas.  A writer should consider experiences that were particularly engaging as subject ideas. Writers should tell stories and consider what they hear.

Writers block can be overcome by deliberately writing badly. In fact, the goal then is to write as badly as possible Writing things we shouldn’t often leads to something creative.

Screenwriters should guard against choosing stories that are so common that they wont excite an audience. They should stay attuned to new ideas that may occur or  become known in one’s surroundings. Consider how introducing other characters may change a story and the relations between characters. Switch roles of characters and consider those possible consequences. Discover what works best.

A story requires development. Find a “Creative Dramatic Question” that creates desires for characters and develop a dramatic story. Analyze the story for problems. Resolve the problems. See that the story will hold an audience’s interest. Most screenplays have 30 or more beat points. There must be conflict. The story must progress logically an enthusiastically. Reconsider the story for new ways that make them more dramatic. The audience should appreciate the story, its characters, and how the story progresses.

Characters should fit well into the story. There should be a clear protagonist.  The characters require emotions and should grow emotionally during the story. The protagonist needs some reason to react to a story.

Characters must react to other characters. There must be conflict with an appropriate antagonist.  The antagonist must create obstacles to a protagonist’s goals. A catalyst creates a new situation that changes the principal character. This alters characters and their relations. Screenplays often show situations as viewed differently by different characters. This affects how they interact with others as situations alter. Sometimes the presence of an unseen character offers insights.

The protagonist requires a character arc derived from a serious fo events that creates an emotional realization. This realization results from the inciting incident. All characters are changes by these events. Those changes result from growing problems, increasing drama, and severe challenges that bring about rewarding resolutions of all problems.

Screenwriters should examine alternatives in the structures of screenplays. There can be more than one protagonist or several stories.  Reexamine the beginning and consider if it starts at the best time or place. Examine if the Central Dramatic Question works. See if audiences get the best initial impressions of characters.  Make characters more sympathetic by placing the in greater trials. Be certain important information is provided.

Opening with a voiceover often results in an audience immediately bonding with the narrator. This can be a tricky but useful device if the narration either bonds the audience to a central there or if the narration contains information that rewards the audience later.  The story must end in a manner with which the audience considers apparent and with which the audience identifies. Twists to endings can work but twists that do not seem to follow the previous actions can fail.

Some scripts take familiar themes of stores and reset them in new locations with different characters.

Dialogue has to be appropriate for a character at that time.. They should be reveal inner thoughts. The screenplay should be appropriate for its genre. Genres can be mixed but may face confusion that loses the audience. Genre can create a mood.

Rewritings should refine the screenplay. Check that each scene fills a need. Conflict and action should build with increasing complications.

Movies, being visual, require visual depictions. Screenplays show characters doing things. Audiences prefer seeing things shown to them rather than having dialogue describing it.

Rewrite to sharpen dialogue. Create dialogue that reveals emotions and information without directly stating it. Often a silent reaciotn of some sort can be very informative.

Consider how to best present subtext in dialogue.

A screenwriter should recognize and develop one’s own voice. This voice can change over time, yet it, or its distinguishing difference, can find new appeal.

My Happy Days in Hollywood by Garry Marshall

Garry Marshall with Lori Marshall. My Happy Days in Hollywood: A Memoir. Crown Publishing Group, 2012.

Actor Hector Elizondo notes how Garry Marshall, as a director, gives simple directions with simple corrections while remaining in sync with actors  Elizondo notes that Marshall is “a master of comedy” with natural abilities i guiding actors.  Marshall makes the filming experience fell relaxed through creating an upbeat atmosphere.

Marsha, as a child, played drums at his mother’s dance school.  He observed when humorous skits worked and when they didn’t, He noted the key was to get the whole audience laughing and not just a few.  He rewrote sketches to make them funnier.

Mashall did some TV camerawork in college.  After graduating college with a Journalism degree, he became a cameraman in the Army in a unit led by producer Darryl Zanuck’s son Richard.  He then wrote for the Armed Forces Korean Network.  He wrote humor such as “Now say the password”, “Matzo”,”You may now Passover.”  

After being in the Army, Marshall turned to writing comedy for comics.  He passed out business cards given to stand up comics promising “100 percent virgin material”.  He wrote for Phil Foster and Joey Bishop.  He was among the writers for Bishop when Bishop subbed for Jack Parr hosting the “Tonight Show”. Marshall notes Parr did not respect his writers.

In 1960, Marshall was added to the “Tonight Show” writing staff. Writers had to come up with five pages of jokes each day for four days a week.  Of the four writers doing this, maybe one or two jokes were selected daily.  The writers also stood near during shows, especially when there were guest hosts, and gave hem joked based on what was happening on the show.  Marshall also worked at the same time as a New York Daily News copyboy.

The “Tonight Show” writing opened contacts leading to more writing jobs.  Marshall learned comedians had their own styles.  Arthur Treacher liked obscure referential humor such as “I got up this morning and my mouth tasked like Harrisburg, Pa. after a heavy rain.”

Marshall wrote for Shari Lewis and her puppet Lamb Chop. Marshall observed that Shari Lewis was always outwardly kind towards writers yet she would speak her criticisms through using her puppet.  Marshall and other writers were quite unhappy with this treatment.

Marshall was added to the writing staff of the floundering “Joey Bishop Show”.  Marshall moved to Los Angeles for this job, as did fellow writer Fred Freedman. They were given a contract of $200 monthly for six months, which they split  The pay increased to $300 monthly and Marshall got to keep it all after Freedman left.

Marshall wrote some episodes of the “Lucy Show”. Star Lucille Ball wrote “This is shit” on the first script he gave her. Marshall discovered that Lucille Ball’s humor was to begin with a humorous scenario and base the rest of the script on that scenario, 

Marshall wrote scripts for other show such as the “Dick Van Dyke Show”. His agent warned him against being listed as writing too many shows and to save his nae for the most viewed shows. He wrote shows using the fake name Samun Mitsubi. He and writing partner Jerry Belson wrote 32 script in 1963 using their own names.

In 1966, Marshall and Belson developed this own TV series “Hey Landlord” on NBC. The show lasted one year, finishing 99th out of 100 series in ratings.  The experiences of creating and running a series was very educational Marshall and Belson wrote movies, the first being “How Sweet It Is!” They were then commanding $75,000 for a movie script and $3,500 for a TV episode script.

In 1969, Marshall and Belson were asked to produce the ABC TV series “The Odd Couple”. The show was a hit. Actor Tony Randall thought the show would be stronger if performed in front of a live audience. Randall despised canned laughter.  Randall asked viewers to demand removing the canner laugher in favor of live audience reactions. This was done.

Actor Gavin MacLeod had appendicitis the night before an episode was to be taped. Marshall filled on on the role.

Head writers on “The Odd Couple” ate with meals on their desks. Apprentice writers ate while balancing trays on the laps.

Writers Lowell Ganz and Mark Rothman were hired to punch up the material.  They were fired but couldn’t afford to move back home. They remained on the set, telling Marshall they wanted to learn how to improve their writing. This impressed Marshall. He gave them a chance at writing a script. Marshall liked it and he rehired them.

Tony Randall inspired writers by telling them he wanted top notch shows so he would be proud of them when watching them in the future in a retirement home, That imagery motivated the writers.

Marshall believed in nepotism.  He cast his sister Penny on the show, as well as giving some work to another sister Ronny, his mother, and Penny’s husband Rob Reiner. Tony Randall helped mentor Penny Marshall/ His father was hired as an Associate Producer. His father taught him each episode didn’t have to cost the same. He could spend more on one episode by spending less on another.

The TV executive worried that the two male lead “Odd Couple” characters were gay.  The show staff would deliberately irritate the network executives by sending them unused scenes where they kissed. The executives insisted the characters date women. They were worried hat gay characters would not be accepted by 1970s TV audiences.

The network asked Marshall for more shows. He created “The Lost People” TV series. After “The Odd Couple” finished after five seasons, he created “Happy Days”.

In creating “Happy Days”, he wanted a comedy about youth that did not concern the issues facing youth then, such as the Vietnam War and drugs. He set the show in the 1950s. Executives were pushing for  show from the 1930s. Marshall noted he was more familiar with the 1950s. The pilot was filmed, appeared on “Love American Style, which aired rejected pilots, and the show was presumed dead. Yet, the producers of the film “American Graffiti” saw Ron Howard in the pilot and cast him in their movie. The movie was a success. ABC then decided to use “Happy Days” as a midseason replacement.

Marshall’s agent advised him to offer to take less per episode in money in return for a larger ownership share. They believed the show would have a long run. It did, running for 11 seasons.

Marshall saw potential in actor Henry Winkler. He was cast even though he was not physically what they originally sought. Marshall notes that comedy needs to be flexible when you find the right talent.

ABC asked for “Happy Days” spin off ideas. Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams appeared on some “Happy Days” episodes and they had chemistry. A TV series “Laverne and Shirley” resulted. A ten minute pilot was shot after a “Happy Days” was done filming by paying the crew overtime, The pilot was shot with Penny Marshall and Liberty Williams. The network stated they preferred Cindy Williams. Cindy Williams did not want to do the series. Marshall believes she finally agreed by believing it would not last long. It debuted with the number one show rating. The series lasted eight years.

The “Happy Days” cast and crew were pleasant to each other. By contrast, the “Laverne and Shirley” cast and crew bickered. One worker demanded to leave “Laverne and Shirley” and return to “Happy Days” when he confessed to considering running his car over the cast. Even Garry Marshall’s father, who handled payroll, once refuse to give Penny her paycheck when they had a disagreement. Cindy Williams left the show and did not appear in its final season.

Marshall’s son Scott was a big “Star Wars” fan. Scott suggested a space alien could come to Fonzie in a dream. Marshall then hired a talented street performer Robin

Williams to play the alien. The live audience gave Williams a standing ovation. ABC asked Marshall to quickly develop a TV pilot for Williams, even thought it was already past pilot producing season. Marshall remembered an actress he had seen whom he felt would be right, so he hired Pam Dawber without seeing her or auditioning her A montage from a failed Pam Dawber pilot and “Happy Days” footage substituted as a pilot. ABC then bought the show as “Mork and Mindy”.

Marshall also created a TV show “Angie”. He admits it was not as funny as the other shows. It lasted a year.

Marshall directed a movie “Young Directors in Love”. He was not familiar with film directing terms He would take walks to think and resolve problems. During one walk, he resolved shooting a scene differently by having an added actor doing physical comedy in the background.

Marshall next directed the movie “The Flamingo Kid”. He observed, as director Blake Edwards confirmed that performers’ reactions to dialogue are more important than the dialogue. He decided the ending was wrong, The studio wouldn’t pay to return the cast to a beach set the studio so he filmed it at a real beach.

Marshall remembered names of good employees. He developed a reliable team he could raise for future projects.

Marshall next was asked, and agreed, to direct the movie “Nothing in Common” with Tom Hanks. TriStar Pictures was forcing Hanks to do the movie and Hanks was not happy. In addition, Hanks was getting a divorce. Marshall met with Hanks and told him not to take his private issues out on cast and crew. Marshall promised to making the filming fun. Marhsall then asked Hanks how he liked to be directed. Jackie Gleason was signed to do the movie even though he wasn’t physically well. It would pointed out to Gleason that his last film was “Smokey and the Bandit II” and if he wanted that movie to be his last credit. Gleason immediately agreed to do “Nothing in Common”. Marshall had difficulty getting along with the cinematographer, John Alonzo, as they had different ideas on directing.

Marshall next directed “Overboard”. It was not a movie he intended to direct yet he needed the money it paid him. The costars Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell were dating and happy which made the set happy. One of four boys in the movie hurt his ankle ad couldn’t run in a scene where he four boys ran, Marshall had them put on Halloween masks so they when they needed to run, a substitute boy could run.  Marshall used John Alonzo as his cinematographer and they got along better.

Marshall directed the movie “Beaches”. Due to his record of getting movies done on budget and on time, Marshall got the unusual reward of having his $500,000 paid upfront in order to get him out of personal debt. He was hired to bring humor to a dark story about dying. When actor Mayim Balik, who were brown contact lens covering her blue eyes, lost a contact lens, it was discovered the doctor in town with contact lenses was on vacation. Rather than correct the different eye colors in postproduction, Marshall called and receive permission from the doctor to break down his office door and tke the correct lens.  This was a less expensive alternative.

“Pretty Woman” was Marshall’s next movie directing. It was a low budget movie without any huge strs that become a big success. Marshall made 20 year old Julia Roberts comfortable on a set by making her laugh, Marshall notes he wanted people to enjoy working with him  He doesn’t want a reputation of being difficult to work with. 

Marshall directed “Frankie and Johnny”. Michelle Pfeiffer wanted the role of a plain woman even though most considered her too beautiful to carry off portraying a more average person. She went in person, without an agent or handlers, to Marshall and spent an hour explaining how she would handle the role. Marshall was convinced and she was cast opposite Al Pacino,

Marshall will take good advice from others. While having problems filming a scene where a floral display was desired, it was suggested that a delivery truck open up showing a truck full of flowers. Marshall loved the idea and used it, noting some directors will not accept ideas from others.

Marshall directed “Dear God”. He observes that the low budget did not allow for obtaining the music he wanted. He believes better music would have much improve the film.  He later successfully fought to have a U2 song he thought was perfect to open his directed movie “Runway Bride”.

Diane Keaton and Julie Andrews are both noted for staying on set even when not in a scene to be helpful. They provide advice to less experienced actors, help feel lines, and assist others.

Marshall, as a director, finds something for characters to do with their hands or bodies. Ths makes the scenes more vibrant and interesting.

Marshall recommends actors get schooling, do plays, meet people socially, work at small roles or as extras, use experience to teach others especially children, be willing to work in student films and small films, stay healthy, and don’t waste time being jealous.

Found by Tatum O'Neal

Tatum O’Neal with Hilary Lifton. Found: A Daughter’s Journey Home. New York, N.Y.: William Moore, 2011.

Tatum O’Neal was being raised by her mother and her mother’s 16 year old boyfriend.  Her mother had difficulties with staying sober.  Her father, actor Ryan O’Neal, put her in a movie “Paper Moon” where she won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award.  Her life became filled with problems from drug use.  She became free of drugs and wrote an autobiography “A Paper Life” about overcoming drugs and setting her life straight. Many presumed she has been fine from the on.  This book tells how things weren’t all fine.

Her divorce to John McEnroe and being separated from her children during his joint custody time devastated her.  She discusses how heroin relieved the pain.

O’Neal revived her acting career. She won a role on the TV series “Rescue Me”. She writes how she had been clean of drugs for a year and hadn’t done heroin for six years when she was arrest for buying drugs.

RyanO’Neal and Tatum O’Neal did not speak to each other for eight years.  Ryam made uncomplimentary statements about his offspring and was arrested for shooting a gun at his son Griffin.

Tatum O’Neal had been attending Alcoholics Anonymous and had a sponsor who helped her through the group’s steps.  She found she still thought about using drugs despite achieving sobriety.

Tatum O’Neal had painful nerve damage from a 1976 automobile accident as well as having chronic degenerative disc disease that required three surgeries.  She needed prescription drugs for the pain. Her observation about dependency is that the desire to return to drug use “gets you when you least expect it.”

The cast and crew of “Rescue Me” was supportive after her arrest. Fellow Denis Leary told the press how she never missed work and that he would continue working with her.  Ironically, her character portrayed a drunk.

Tatum O’Neal entered heroin rehabilitation in 1994.  She wanted to end her dependency on heroin.  She used heroin because “heroin was the only things that made me feel like I was meant to be alive.”  She called her father from rehab yet Ryan replied “don’t blame me for the fact that you’re smoking the dragon” and then hung up.  They had not spoken to each other since Tatum’s autobiography said things that hurt her father. She realized her heroin use was her own responsibility.

Tatum’s son Sean studied acting at Occidental College in hopes of becoming a third generation actor.  He asked to learn about his acting heritage.  Tatum let Sean call Ryan even though Tatum and Ryan had not spoken in years. Ryan and Sean met and things went well between them.

Ryan started dating Farrah Fawcett when Tatum was 15 years old.  Ryan put more attention on Farrah while leaving Tatum and Griffin to themselves, which included their smoking marijuana.

Tatum attended Farrah Fawcett’s funeral. When she hugged her father, Ryan asked her out for a drink. Ryan did not recognize Tatum and was unaware he was hitting on his own daughter.

Filming “Paper Moon” had brought Ryan and Tatum more together and then it separate them. Tatum was paid $16,000 to appear in the movie.

Tatum was then offered a role in the movie “Bad News Bears”. She was offered $150,000. Ryan turned down offers until the producers offered her $350,000 and a percent of gross profits.  She was the highest paid child actor to date.

When Ryan and Tatum reconnected years later, her book and his past parenting were never discussed. Tatum didn’t want to upset their fragile truce.  Ryan and Tatum formed a film documentary company together.

The O’Neal family discussed starring in a reality show.  They agreed to it. Ryan and Sean argued. Ryan kicked Sean out of his car. Ryan asked Tatum to get him. Tatum proceeded with the show believing the cameras could serve as mediators in family relationships.  She learned from Griffin that Ryan had no remorse for what happened in the past.  They worked on reconciliation.  Tatum notes she’s a survivor and she will continue working at life.

Basil Rathbone by Michael B. Druxman

Michael B. Druxman. Basil Rathbone: His Life and His Films. Duncan, Ok.: Bear Manor Media, 2011 (originally published in 1975).

Basil Rathbone, an actor, was liked by all he knew.  Interviews find no one stating they disliked him.  Rathborn was itially typecast as a “heavy” after his role of a sadistic character in “David Copperfield”.  Rathbone could portray a wider range of characters, yet was often cast as a dark character.  He was then typecast as Sherlock Holmes, his most famous role.

Rathbone portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 14 movies, a radio series, in TV, and on stage.  Fans called him “Mr. Holmes”.  Rathbone never received another major role after his role as Holmes.

Rathbone was noted for his kindness to others.  There are many remembered instances of his quietly doing favors for people without being asked.  Despite Rathbone’s series of portraying serious characters, he was personally had a strong sense of humor.

Rathbone started in the entertainment field on the British stage.  He served in World War I where he received a medal for crossing to the German lines to gather intelligence.  He claimed he pretended to be a tree and “I have not since been called upon to play a tree.”

Rathbone had numerous movie roles. His first role was in “The Fruitful Vine” in 1921.  He then appeared on Broadway while continuing staring in more movies.  His first American movie was “Trouping with Ellen” in 1924.

Rathbone appeared in the play “La Prisonniere” that concerned lesbianism.  It ran for 17 weeks until a few weeks before city elections.  New York officials arrested Rathbone for offending public morals for starring in a play about lesbians.  The charges were dropped but the play was closed.

Rathbone received the lead role in several talking movies.  He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for “Romeo and Juliet”.  He was nominated again for a Best Supporting Actor Award for “If I Were a King”.  He lost both times to Walter Brennan.

Rathbone starred in a movie version of William Gillette’s play “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” with co-star Nigel Bruce.  Rathbone went on to do other movies.  NBC decided to have a “Sherlock Holmes” radio series.  Rathborn and Nigel Bruce voiced their movie roles.  The radio series moved to the Mutual network with Rathbone and Bruce staying with the series.  They did 275 episodes over seven years.  Rathbone once misspoke the line “horde of bees” as “board of whores”.

In 1929, as war broke out in Europe, Rathbone become President of the British War Relief’s Los Angeles chapter.  He regularly entertained troops in the Los Angeles area.

In 1942, Universal paid $300,000 to Conan Doyle’s estate for the movie rights to 22 of Doyle’s writings on his Sherlock Holmes character.  Universal initially was going to produce a number of low budget Sherlock Holmes movies.  MGM agreed to loan Rathbone to reprise his Holmes role.  Nigel Bruce and Mary Gordon who was on the Sherlock Holmes radio series, were also signed.  Dennis Hoey was added as a semi-regular character beginning with the second Universal Holmes movie  The series was updated with Holms facing Nazis.  Each movie was filmed in 12 to 13 days for $300,000.  12 movies were produced in five years.

Rathbone was counter-cast as a Gestapo villain in “Above Suspicious”, which was released in 1943.

Universal increased in quality in three Holmes pictures released in 1944.  Yet Rathbone was tiring of portraying Holmes.  Rathbone also considered Holmes an egotist who was wrong to be so critical of Watson.  Rathbone refused to renew his 1946 contracts with Mutual and Universal/MGM.  He went back to theater work.

Rathbone was active in Actors Equity.  He served as its Third Vice President and then as Recording Secretary.

Rathbone did theater work and several TV plays for American and Canadian television.  Rathbone did a Sherlock Holmes play on Broadway that closed after three performances.  Rathbone returned to film work.  His last notable role was in “The Last Hurrah”.  He made recordings where he read classical stories. He also did readings on NBC’s “Monitor” radio show. 

In 1967, Rathbone was in the movie “Hillbillys in a Haunted House”,  It was his last film as he died a month afterwards.  His estate was valued at between $10,000 and $20,000.

Riding the Alligator by Pen Densham

Pen Densham. Riding the Alligator: Strategies for a Career in Screenplay Writingland and Not Getting Eaten. Studio City, Ca.: Michael Wise Productions, 2011.

The author quit school in Britain at age 15 and became a self-taught filmmaker.  He present his personal guide to the filmmaking process while advising people to follow their instincts in finding what works for them.

Densham believes one needs a passion to do what they want.  He notes the Hollywood distribution system has the ability to provide an average of about one movie a day. He advises trying to make what moves your spirit into something that similarly moves others.

A part of the brain, mirror neutrons, become active when observing other humans.  The brain considers how it might respond in similar situations.  These receptors are often lacking in people with autism.  Thus, Hollywood literally is correct in calling itself a “Dream Factory”.  Movies activate brain receptors and places ourselves into what we watch.  From this, we learn the brain the brain responds to challenging situation, realism, and happy endings that allow the characters watched achieve goals.

People like heroes.  A study of six year olds had them view a film of a movie where a block helped another block climb an incline while another block pushed the block down.  When offered which block to play with, the babies usually chose the block that helped move the block up.  From birth, most humans prefer heroes over villains.

Cultural studies of myths and legends indicate there are variations of similar stories in every culture through time.  The stories relate to “primary needs” and to “experiences”.  There are about seven general plots behind all stories.  There are love stories/finding a mate, survival stories/finding food and shelter, avoid dying/murder and detective stories, avoid being eaten/fear and horror, and achieving dominance/reproduction.  These dominance tales include precautionary tales about achieving too much dominance.

Creativity expands stories to new points.  Movie scripts, due to limitations of 90 to 120 pages, are short stories.  Writer’s block can be overcome by just writing anything and then looking at what creativity exists in what was written.  Avoid being so unique that others can’t comprehend it.

A problem in the movie industry is that audience surveys indicate people most want to see new and different types of movies.  Yet, movie executives need to justify their spending based on past successes. Fox Studios expected “Star Wars” to fail. Universal Studios feared “American Graffiti” would be a disaster.

Movies have themes that teach about something that touches our basic biological senses.  Denshall calls this “hiding the medicine”.  Densham recommends providing characters with a dark, life changing past that leads to an internal journey. The external story haunts the internal turmoil.  The lead character’s world should fall apart, usually around page 28 of the script.  The lead character uses past lifelong knowledge to cope.  Things, though, only get worse.  The character discovers a new path and is reborn. This should relate to our feelings and common experiences.

A script needs an interesting beginning, a middle with conflict, and an explosive end.  Densham advises ending quickly to create a more positive feeling.

Densham recommends taking a lead character and placing the character into a situation contrary to the character’s personality.  Let the character’s voice come through, he advises.

An antagonist should attack a lead character’s weakness.  The hero overcomes the weakness to succeed.  The hero should have failure before overcoming tribulations around the third challenge.

When writing to sell a script, Densham recommends researching the background of the person being contacted. He advises personalizing the letter.  He recommends developing contacts with assistants.  He advises choosing agents, managers, and lawyers who are moral.

Use stress to your advantage, Densham advises.  It can yield insights.  It can make others care more for you.  Prepare for possible outcomes.

Densham recommends screenwriters dedicate themselves to ther career and not to one screenplay.

Not Bad for a Human by Lance Henriksen

Lance Henriksen and Joseph Maddrey. Not Bad for a Human. Canada: Bloody Pulp Books, 2011.

Lance Henriksen began painting at age 15 and threw himself into his art.  He added pottery as a passion.  He dedicates himself to his work without deciding when starting what it will be when he ends.  He then went into acting, which he handled with the same philosophy which he calls “compulsive energy”.  He went into narration and voice over work.  He feels consistent with director Sidney Lumet’s philosophy of “I don’t want life reproduced up there on the screen.  I want life created.”

Actor Charles During advised Henriksen that Henriksen’s unusual looks meant he would get more roles when he was older.  This proved correct. 

Henricksen’s father was a Merchant Marine who was seldom around.  He spent time in children’s homes where he regularly defied authority.  He didn’t learn to read.  He had only three years of grammar school.  He worked the streets as a shoeshine boy.  His uncles pleaded with him to earn more for the family by deliberately getting hit by a car, to which he refused.  He ran away from home and kept running, doing odd jobs along the way. He snuck into a theater and watched a play.  When he saw the actors swear on stage, and observed how the audience loved it, he knew he wanted to be an actor.  He walked into the Actors Studio, announced he wanted to be an actor, was told he was too young, and he was kicked out. That frustrations made him decided to become a man.  He joined the Navy, in part, to mimic his father’s life.

Henriksen was 16 when he joined the Navy, and lied by saying he was the minimum age of 17.  He enjoyed having friends and being challenged.  He was given responsibility, which taught him about himself.  His mother made the Navy give him 30 days emergency leave because she had no money during winter.  He realized he couldn’t do anything about that, so he ran away again.  He made it to Denver where he was arrested for not paying rent.  He was then arrested for being AWOL.  When in the brig, another prisoner threatened to kill him.  Henriksen decided to act first and beat the guy with wooden shower shoes.  After release, he tried to escape again, het his vehicle caught fire after going just 500 yards.  He was expelled from the Navy and given $15.

Henriksen used the money to buy funny looking clothes, in protest against the world.  He hitchhiked and was picked up by a guy in a stolen vehicle.  He spent four months in jail awaiting trial on charges he was involved in stealing the vehicle.  The Judge let him go and he went back to traveling.  He returned to art, received a commission for murals, yet they were rejected.  He then went overseas.

Henriksen was jailed for vagrancy in Tucson in 1960.  A film crew was in town filming the TV show “Sunday Showcase”.  He pleaded for help and he received $5 for being an extra.  He went to Boston and auditioned for a part as a mime.  Out of a block long line of mimes, he and a friend got two of the four mime parts. He saved an act when a foam rubber golden calf fell and he mimed as if it the fall were part of the act.  The mime artist, Claude Kipnis, was impressed and offered Henriksen work in a touring company.  Henriksen ironically played a prisoner in the play “The Brig” in San Francisco.

Until this point, the mostly illiterate Henriksen did not need to rely on written words.  His acting was being “on just being”.  He wanted to “live as the character” and not as someone else’s written words.

Henriksen won the lead role in a Eugene O’Neill play at the Masterworks Laboratory Theatre in New York.  He didn’t realize he had the lead role until rehearsals.  He would land several roles, usually as an angry person, in New York and Boston theaters.

Henriksen hung around the Actor’s Studio.  He could observe and attend meetings.  He never auditioned to become a member.  He disliked Leo Strassberg.

Henrikson studied Method acting and placing his own memories and emotions into his roles.

His first movie was “It Ain’t Easy” in 1972.  It was critically slammed. He then did some more plays.  In 1973, his next movie roles was in “To Kill the King”.  He couldn’t identify with the part.  Still, he continued during film work.  He was hired to work in the movie ”Dog Day Afternoon” with director Sidney Lumet..  Henriksen observed how Lumet directed. 

Henriksen’s next film was “Close Encounters of the Third King”, where he worked for six months for less than two minutes of film time.  The director, Steven Spielberg, didn’t like it when Henrikson suggested a plot change.

Henriksen filmed several horror films, including “Damien: Omen II”.  He was in “Piranha 2” as directed by James Cameron.  In that film, he broke his hand diving 40 feet from a helicopter, accidentally drove a boat onto a dock, and his helicopter almost collided, almost stalled, and crashed.  Cameron was impressed by the risks Henriksen was silling to take and also in his interest in the acting process.

Henriksen appeared on the TV soup “Ryan’s Hope” for two days.  He didn’t like the acting work there, which he thought was awful.  He turned down a three year contract of $50,000 for the first year, $75,000 for the second year, and $100,000 for the third year.  Instead, he had a few minor roles during that time.  He had a role as a hostage negotiator on “Cagney and Lacey” which went so well it is used in a government film for training hostage negotiators.

Henriksen appeared as Wally Schirra in “The Right Stuff”.  He then helped James Cameron negotiate approve to film “The Terminator”.  Henriksen turned down the role later given to Arnold Schwarzenegger.  He didn’t regret this.  Instead, he took the role of Hal Vukovich.

James Cameron brought Henriksen back in the “Alien” sequel.  Henriksen did conceptual drawings and hired a costume designer to give himself ideas on how the role should be played.  Henriksen reached into emotions from his youth for this part.  He lost weight the role and tried taking on the physical characteristics of the parts he had.  He would attempt to remain in character to better understand his roles,  Henriken notes that the greatest villains are not those that committed a lot of violence, but those that has a lot of power.

In playing comedy in HBO’s “Tales from the Crypt”, Henriksen was successful by not acting as it if were a comedy.  That tone worked better.

In the movie “Stone Cold”, Henriksen immersed himself into his character. He improvised his lines and the director realized Henrikson understood his character more than was in the script.

Henriksen found it difficult to empathize with his sadistic character in “The Pit and the Pendulum”.  Henriksen adopted a primal life style during the shooting by walking barefoot and having only bread and water.

During filming “Gunfighter’s Moon”, his friend Rex Rossi, a stuntman, suffered a heart attack on the set.  The cast and crew had to keep shooting during the two hours waiting for the ambulance to arrive.  Fortunately, Rossi survived.

Henriksen was on the TV series “Millennium”.  He discovered that TV work involved long hours over continuous weeks.  He found learning 60 pages of script each week for 22 weeks “overwhelming”.  His acting challenge was to bring a human touch to horrific scenes so that they would appear real.  Henrikson worked with director Thomas J. Wright on developing his character.  He wanted closure for his character and he received it when series creator Chris Carter had his character appear on Carter’s next series “X Files”.  Afterwards, Henriksen devoted more time to his family and newborn daughter.

Henriksen’s voice attracted voice over work.  He did a voice on the animated “Tarzan” movie.  Narration work followed by voiceover work in video games.

Henriksen advises low budget filmmakers not to compete with a large budget movie.  He urges finding some originality that will make the movie different and special.

Henriksen had the role of a dying man in “AVP: Alien vs. Predator”.  He smoked four packs of cigarettes a day to make his voice sound sickly.

Henriksen observed “when I’m acting, I’m admitting who I am”. He finds it difficult, after completing a film, waiting until he finds more acting work.

Film School by Steve Bowman

Steve Bowman. Film School: A Memoir That Will Change Your Life. Dallas, Tx.: Benbella Books, Inc., 2011.

Screenwriting courses teach that protagonists must overcome tribulations, the author reports in relating his coursework at the University of Southern California.  This book is the memoirs of someone who overcame difficulties of raising a family and being older than most other students to complete film school and successfully create a TV series.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences was created in 1927.  Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was President.  His first project created an awards system, which is the Academy Awards.  His second project was to create a film school.  The University of Southern California (USC) agreed and became the first film school.  The first course it offered in 1929 was Introduction to Photoplay.  Among the first teachers were Fairbanks, Mark Pickford, Darryl Zanuck, D.W. Griffith, and Ernest Lubitsch.  The USC School of Cinematic Arts has the most film school students in the world with 850 undergraduates and 650 graduate students.  UCLA opened its film school in 1939 and New York University opened its film school in 1965.

A full time USC student takes 8 to 10 credits per semester.  52 credits are required to graduate with a Master of Film Arts in Film Production.  It costs $1,500 per credit or $80,000 in tuition.  Completing film school can cost $150,000 to $200,000 total.

The Production 507 course creates a B to continue in the program.

USC offers a student designed Interdivisional Media Arts and Practice Ph.D. degree. 

The Introduction to Screenwriting course is CTWR 528.

An initial assignment was for students to film a two minute film on a digital camera, which required shooting in order as the film would be shown.

Acting class has a strong basis in acting theory, especially the theories of Uta Hagen.  In the acting class, students had to act and direct.

Film Production class required making short films with limited dialogues.  One film was allowed just one word in eight minutes of film viewing.  The next assignment allowed just one sentence.  Students were to then describe the intentions, synopses, strengths, and weaknesses of each other’s films.  Film should convey information about characters, their directions, relationships with other characters, and make an audience wish to watch.

The author calculated that a four credit course taught in a 341 seat auditorium represented $2 million in tuition for USC.

There is an informal rule that the police won’t hassle a film shoot by film students lacking a permit so long as there are three or less people involved in the shoot.

The permit office FILM MA is described by the author as being slow and ineffective.

Many film people find they may earn a good living working on film sound.

Film was useful in World War II.  16 millimeter film cameras activated when on American airplanes with the planes fired.  This could show exactly what happened.  It could also prove useful for training purposes.

The author notes that film school is very competitive.  Students want to associate with the top level students in hopes of furthering their own careers. 

Much of learning in film school is how well one learns from mistakes.

The author took a course on pitching ideas.  Industry people listened to students pitches.  The author successfully pitched an idea that became a CBS TV series, “Three Rivers”, which aired in 2009 to 2010.

USC provides students with safety guidelines on filmmaking. The author strongly advises they be followed.