-
In the Spotlight
When To Call It Quits
by Jaden
When do you call it quits?
For actors in Hollywood, this is the big question after many painful days or years of hunger and rejection.
Actors are not the only ones asking when to throw in the towel.
In our endeavors and relationships, we all have points of frustration when we ask ourselves: Why? Why am I doing this? Should I even bother? What’s the point? Will there be light at the end of this tunnel?
Usually, at that point when you are standing on a cliff pondering your entire existence and self worth, something happens. Something happens that pushes you in one direction or another.
Maybe someone tells you that you are the worst writer on earth, your computer dies ten minutes later, and you are too broke to buy a new one.
Or maybe someone tells you how you have inspired them and how important you are in their life, you make a new friend, and you learn something life-changing.
We are always affecting people positively or negatively, but often we don’t know it.
From my little map widget, I can see visitors to my site from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Turkey, and South Africa; who are you people? Say hello. I want to know you and learn about your country. Khorasan? I have never heard of this place — are you an American soldier trying to figure out how to write a screenplay or a woman seeking a new life?
My mysterious visitors are silent. I know Hollywood is geographically and culturally far away from these places. I can only guess that I am providing them with some kind of useful information or fulfillment, which is why they visit.
As nice as feedback and approval can be, we cannot rely wholly on others for guidance or self-esteem. I have seen great individuals shot down by idiots and I have seen idiots placed on pedestals by bigger idiots. Being loved by the masses or hated by a few is no indication of your true essence. Almost all successful artists have stories of countless rejections and struggling years, hence the “starving artist” cliché.
Your drive to continue on your path has to come from inside yourself.
Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh gave up his life before he gave up his art. He was an outcast and didn’t fit in anywhere. He could not hold a job. He moved a lot. He was rejected by everyone. He said stupid awkward things that isolated him from people. I mean, the guy cut off his ear and mailed it to a girl! He was eccentric and weird. His art did not become known or valuable until his gallery-owning relatives decided to sell it after he died in poverty.
When do you quit?
If you do not love what you are doing, once you have lined up something else to sustain your living, I suggest quitting. Becoming disgruntled and dissatisfied does not benefit anyone.
If you love what you do: never quit. Figure out how to make it work in your life so that you are secure. By being happy, you will be able to spread joy and knowledge.
If you subtract from your life the one thing that truly gives you joy because it is causing you hardship, what do you really have? Empty comfort? No thanks.
Van Gogh may have died miserably thinking he was the biggest loneliest loser on earth, but by doing what he loved until his dying day, he has touched more people than he could have ever imagined. That’s beautiful.
As a reminder of our connectivity and importance through the ages and distances, below is beautiful song written by Don McLean, 1971, about artist Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890).
“Vincent”
Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer’s day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.
Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they’ll listen now.
Starry, starry night.
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,
Swirling clouds in violet haze,
Reflect in Vincent’s eyes of china blue.
Colors changing hue, morning fields of amber grain,
Weathered faces lined in pain,
Are soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand.
Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they’ll listen now.
For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you.
Starry, starry night.
Portraits hung in empty halls,
Frameless head on nameless walls,
With eyes that watch the world and can’t forget.
Like the strangers that you’ve met,
The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The silver thorn of bloody rose,
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they’re not listening still.
Perhaps they never will…
.
.
{Woman Sitting 
photo credit: tanakawho }
Most Famous PG Underwear Scenes in Cinema
by Jaden
A few of my writer contemporaries wrote posts recently that related their website’s topic to underwear. I couldn’t resist but to join in the fun.
Here is my countdown of the most famous *PG-esque sexless underwear scenes of the last four decades.
Lost in Translation (2003)
Never have granny-panties looked so good as on Scarlett Johansson in the opening scene of Lost in Translation, written and directed by Sofia Coppola.
The scene is written like this:
INT. CHARLOTTE’S ROOM - NIGHT
The back of a GIRL in pink underwear, she leans at a big window, looking out over Tokyo.
CUT TO:
Melodramatic music swells over the Girl’s butt in pink sheer
underwear as she lies on the bed.
TITLE CARDS OVER IMAGE.
Sixteen Candles (1984)
Written and directed by John Hughes, Molly Ringwald plays a teen girl named Samantha who gives her panties to the high school geek in exchange for information about the boy she likes, Jake.
Played by Anthony Michael Hall, Farmer Ted the geek tells Jake about Samantha, “I mean, not many girls in contemporary American society today would give their underwear to help a geek like me.”
Like Lost in Translation, these are not the sexiest panties, but the scenes written around these underwear are priceless!
Samantha’s best friend tells her, “Last night at the dance, my little brother paid a buck to see your underwear.” Samantha screams.
Risky Business (1983)
By far one of the most famous non-sexual underwear scenes is Tom Cruise dancing in his tighty-whities, singing to Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock ‘n Roll,” just after his parents leave him alone in the house.
Written and directed by Paul Brickman, I think this scene is so famous because it is something to which we can all relate. It is that embarrassing performance that most of us would never do in front of anyone else. It is that private moment alone in your underwear using some inanimate object as a microphone as you sing at the top of your lungs to your phantom audience. Come on, you know you have done it. Tom Cruise goes over the top in this scene, it was sort of the precursor to Oprah’s couch, and we love him dearly for it.
Alien (1979)
Writers Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett didn’t specifically write in the script what Ripley was or was not wearing, but director Ridley Scott made a fine choice dressing tough and sexy actress Sigourney Weaver in white cottons. Again, as with the other three movies, these are not the sexiest underwear and the scene has nothing to do with sex, but the way the underwear are worn and the way the scene is shot, makes for a lasting impression.
What is your favorite PG-esque underwear scene in cinema?
You may see Melissa’s brilliant panty twist on writing at Writing Forward in her article called Briefs are Not Just Underwear. Melissa was inspired by Brett Legree from 6 Weeks who wrote about why blogging for profit is like collecting underpants.
*PG-esque: Some of these movies are R-rated, but none of these underwear scenes are sexual.
Sunday Picture Post 9 / Tip: Fear
For The Sunday Picture Post, we are going to flip upside-down the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thousands of words are great if you are writing a novel, but if you are writing a screenplay, you need to do the opposite and be as concise as possible.
Each Sunday I will post a picture. For your screenwriting practice in brevity, in the comments section, please post one or all of the following:
- 1 word describing the theme, mood, or scene
- 1 sentence to describe the scene
- A pitch to sell the entire movie
The more colorful and creative you are, the better! Use any genre.
A good screenwriter is laconic, using a few words to say a lot.
SCREENWRITING TIP OF THE DAY: DON’T LET FEAR HOLD YOU BACK
There are many fears that can hold you back from completing your script: fear of success, fear of failure, fear of offending someone, fear of lost time, fear of someone stealing your idea (which I will talk more about soon), and fear of the unknown.
It is truly a very long road from the time of inception until the time your script unveils on the screen. During that time, many of your concerns will resolve themselves.
When fears start to take hold of you, just remember that none of them really matter at the current time. When you cross those roads where you might have to deal with success or failure or confrontations, you can deal with them at that time. Worrying in advance only absorbs your time unnecessarily. We all do it. Try not to do it.
Get your mind back where it needs to be: focus on making your script the best it can be.
Spank David Lynch, That Naughty Boy
by Jaden
On my site, I focus on teaching people the basic rules of screenwriting for Hollywood so that people have a chance to make a sale.
In my heart is another thing: creative freedom.
David Lynch is one of my top five favorite filmmakers and by far the most unruly of the bunch. Who else breaks all the rules of screenwriting better than David Lynch? Due to his screenwriting delinquency, Lynch does not have pop appeal. Most people I know (outside of Hollywood), walk out of his movies saying, “I didn’t get it.”
Despite confusing the average Joe, Lynch has a large dedicated following, oodles of respect, and some of the coolest weirdest films ever made: Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks, Crumb, and Wild at Heart.
I praise Lynch’s selection of unique actors and lifelong commitment to them: Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Isabella Rossellini, Kyle Maclachlan, and others.
Not too long ago, Lynch launched a bizarre website with odd things for sale like coffee (yum), coffee cups, ringtones, posters, and a few films.
One special item for sale on David Lynch’s site is the DVD “I Don’t Know Jack,” which is a documentary about Jack Nance the actor in Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Twin Peaks, Lost Highway, Blue Velvet, and Wild at Heart,
who died from a head injury shortly after a brawl at Winchell’s donut shop.
Also, you will find on his site, the David Lynch Foundation that teaches transcendental meditation to troubled youth.
Poke around on the David Lynch site, see what you find.
Script Snip: Midnight Cowboy
For your education in screenwriting, in the Script Snips section are snips of classic, cult, award-winning, or just plain bad screenplays. You be the judge.
“Midnight Cowboy”
1969
Screenplay by Waldo Salt
Novel by James Leo Herlihy
INT. NEDICK’S - DAY
… Ratso staring up into camera, holding his breath.
RATSO
Don’t hit me, I’m a cripple.
Joe’s hand falls on Ratso’s shoulder.
JOE
Oh, I ain’t gonna hit you, I’m
gonna strangle you to death…
The cigarette in Ratso’s mouth burns into his lip. He jerks
spasmodically, choking on smoke as he rips skin away with the
butt and drops it in his coffee cup.
JOE (CONT’D)
… only first I’m gonna turn you
upside down and shake you out right
here and now.
Coughing, eyes tearing, Ratso empties his pockets on the
counter, finally producing: sixty-four cents, a few sticks of
gum, an almost empty cigarette package, a book of matches and
two pawn tickets. He raises his eyes, somehow ashamed. Joe
kicks the toe of Ratso’s loafer.
JOE
What’s in your socks?
RATSO
Not a cent, I swear to God, I swear
on my mother’s eyes.
Ratso removes his loafers and shakes them, glancing at the
counter man. His socks don’t even conceal his toes.
Disgusted, Joe shoves Ratso’s small pile back at him.
RATSO (CONT’D)
You keep the sixty-four cents. I
want you to have it.
JOE
It’s sticky. What you do, slobber
on ‘em? I wouldn’t touch ‘em.
Joe should leave — Ratso obviously has nothing tangible to
offer — but Joe hesitates, lighting a cigarette as Ratso
pulls on his loafers.
RATSO
How do you like that O’Daniel,
flipping out like that? I wanted to
get in touch with you when I heard,
but I been laid up with this
cold…
Ratso touches his chest, forcing a cough which continues
itself beyond his intention.
JOE
You want some free medical advice,
shut your goddam mouth about that
night.
-
Subscribe
content rss