BrainStorm

To be continued... Elsewhere

2007-10-06T09:23:00.000-05:00

The time has come to migrate my thoughts elsewhere. As any of my loyal readers might have noticed, my posts here have come less and less frequently.

I started this blog in early 2005, to track my progress as a poet and filmmaker. It's carried me through directing and editing my first film and three more, and periodic poetic moments.

It's also witnessed my first film festivals; my first big screenwriting grant courtesy of the Manitoba Arts Council; having fun working on other people's films; my first Canada Day as a Canadian; and my acceptance and attendance at the Canadian Film Centre.

This marks my 101st post, and I appreciate all the comments of support that people have made of the last 2 1/2 years.

I invite you to join me at my new blog: Strong Female Lead. I'll be exploring the presence and use of female characters on television and in film, and occasionally looking at the role of women in The Industry. As appropriate, I will discuss my own projects, but I will also be using email and facebook for those kind of updates. I will report any news regarding Rave Review here.

And if you want to know how else I'm spending my time, check out 101 in 1001 - a project tracking 101 goals in 1001 days (only 958 days left now!).

TIFF!

2007-09-08T18:43:00.000-05:00

The Toronto International Film Festival is underway!

TIFF kicked off officially on Thursday, but I went to my first party on Tuesday night. Six more to go and tickets in hand for 3 screenings, but hope to pick up a couple more. Heading to my first film tomorrow morning - it's called The Visitor, by Thomas McCarthy, the director of the brilliant Station Agent.

So it's an action-packed week. Gotta pace the schmoozing, and stick with the soda water to make it through... What's nice is a few filmmaker and tv friends from other parts of the country are here, so I'll get to hang out with them.

Last year, I just got here in time to catch a film on the last day of the festival. Hard to believe it's been only a year since I got to Toronto. After the festival, I'll be meeting this year's crop of CFC TVers - hard to believe we're replaceable!

And then the season premieres start flying fast and furious. I'm trying to catch up on a few of last year's shows still, and digging into the summer cable shows (Mad Men, Burn Notice).

Meanwhile, prepping for Bump's tour to Scandinavia, then Italy, then South America! Learning an incredible amount on the non-fiction side, but getting back to work on a couple of drama projects too.

And I've brought in an editor to help finish Rave Review. I remember being surprised when I heard about people who took a year or longer to finish a short film, but now I guess I see how it happens! I'm sorry that NSI is cancelling its FilmExchange - that was one place I was hoping to show it....

Podcasted

2007-08-20T20:10:00.000-05:00

The multi-talented Sabine Hikel (writer, editor, cultural theorist) has a new creative project and sucked me in!
University Affairs magazine (the Canadian Chronicle of Higher Education) is publishing Sabine's podcast series on people who left academia, and it kicks off with my story of dropping out of linguistics grad school after only a year. If you've never heard that story, hop on over there and you can hear the whole tale....

Summer Reading and Riding

2007-07-30T03:43:00.000-05:00

Been doing a lot of reading this summer, to balance out all the tv and film watching (I have sooo many shows to catch up on...). Found this brilliant site where you can keep track of what you read (and watch and listen to).

Keeping a list of books I've read reminds me of summer reading programs at the Denver Public Library, where we'd get a little certificate for every set of 8 books. One that sticks in my mind is you'd get a picture of 1/4 of a record and try to collect 4 parts. I'm working on my second record... Current recommendations: MJ Davidson's "Undead Betsy" series and Philip Pullman's "Dark Materials" series.

It's also been awesome there to go through lists like the Rolling Stone top 500 songs, or the Top 500 Country songs of all time. To sit down and really listen to these classics has been mind-expanding.

And I've been using the RS500 to rock my training sessions for my upcoming mini-triathlon on Toronto Island. Did my first back-to-back bikeride and run this weekend, and found out what "hitting the wall" means when my legs rebelled. Good to know for the actual race...

The new job is going quite well. Learning a lot and having fun!

And yes, I am still editing Rave Review! Watch this space for a self-congratulatory post when that's done! But it won't be until after my vacation, wherein I'll get to train in four states!

Let's All Love Toronto/Canada

2007-07-06T06:22:00.000-05:00

Went to see Let's All Hate Toronto last week. Special NFB presentation with the filmmakers. They mentioned that immigrant to the city are often surprised: "What's to hate?"

I have to admit, I'm in that category. So for my post-Canada Day celebration, here a few things I love about Toronto:
- bike lanes!
- one minute you're in big buildings, the next you're in residentia or some big park!
- a zillion restaurants - not an Olive Garden in sight!
- clean, reliable subways (when they say every 3-5 minutes, they mean it!)
- interesting, supportive people
- major ethnic diversity (though LAHT myth-busts the "most diverse city in the world" claim)
- Ginormous Pride parade
- veggie dogs at the street vendors! I finally get to load up my dog!

On "Canada Day Monday" I went to see Sicko. Perfect way to celebrate being Canadian and universally health-cared. I work on contract, so if I had to pay 10 - 15% of that out in private health insurance, I wouldn't be too happy. There's just so much freedom in never having to factor in insurance when deciding where to work, or how many hours. I have so many American friends and relatives who feel constrained by having to keep the job that gives them insurance. Or my niece has to take a certain number of classes next term to keep her mom's insurance.

I would say it's my fave Michael Moore film to date. My favourite part in the film was when people in Canada and Britain actually laughed at Moore when he asked how much their stay in the hospital cost. Highly recommend to folks on both sides of the border!

New Job!

2007-06-23T06:11:00.000-05:00

After lots of knocking on doors and going for coffee, I've landed my first production job. I'm associate producing a travel show called Bump! for OUTtv. Obviously the focus is gay & lesbian travellers! (a festive beginning as it's Pride week here in Toronto and our office is right in the heart of things!)

I've put in my first week and already learned that my personality and skills are well suited to production work. Collecting and organizing all kinds of information, putting it into useful formats, getting in touch with people and bringing them on board, problem-solving, finding alternatives...

And getting to be creative! As the person who researches the cities, I get to shape the skeleton of the show, then flesh it out as I learn more and talk to people, and work with my producer. There is writing involved as well, but it has to be ego-less, as the hosts may completely ignore my script! After we've shot some more episodes, I'll have the opportunity to see how the original concepts fare in the field and then back in the editing suite.

I'm excited to learn all I can about producing, and my producer has promised to give me all the opportunities she can to learn and try my hand at as many aspects of the producing side of things as possible. So it should be an interesting, fun, and challenging season.

I only wish I got to travel with the team!

Banff! (Some specifics)

2007-06-18T06:41:00.000-05:00

Fave sessions:

Carol Mendelsohn (CSI) - Powerful creative woman!
Ben Silverman (NBC, Ugly Betty) - Powerful inspiring, energetic man!
Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) - the CFC gang lingered and got an impromptu master class!
International Trends - niche TV, vertical integration, aggregators, global programming
Brave New World - we gotta drop the "new" from "new media", Joost
User Generated Content - SO key - and good to finally understand LonelyGirl15 (200 eps in 1 year = impressive!)
Big Drama, Small Screen - I wish all the Canadian net execs had been forced to attend to hear why hour-long drama is rocking in the USA so they could get pumped about putting on more Canadian one-hours.

My main thought out of these last two was that with the rise of UGC, drama is the key to the future of broadcasters - because users can create passable low-budget "reality" tv or even LG15, but I can't make Galactica or Ugly Betty in my basement.

That said, clearly I need to go to Next when it comes to Toronto in November.

Fave quotes:

"If you're not here at Banff, the conversation goes on without you." (Peter Mowan)
"Broadcast television is the common language, but the web is the conversation"
"Message (content) has to supersede platform."
"We're all in the hit-making business." (Susanne Daniels)
"Creativity is the most valuable asset."
"No-one is more aware than the show-runner when an episode is less-than stellar." (Rob Thomas)
"Where are the Canadians producing online content?"
"You can't get away with not writing if you want to be a tv writer." (Thomas)
"We ask ourselves if we're over the line and we keep going." (Carol Mendelsohn)
"Writers running television is what makes it the best entertainment." (Mendelsohn)
"Passion moves mountains." (Ben Silverman)
"Grab a camera and go do it! The distribution channels are wide open." (Greg Goodfried)
"There are an infinite number of channels now, and you can have one." (Goodfried)
"We're making TV! How fun is that?" (Silverman)

Things I'm still thinking about:

How the web and TV can feed (into) each other - "connecting over content"
Consumer -> Producer
Extended, Enhanced Experience of content over multiple devices/settings
Democracy of Media - how to organize the chaos
Pay TV - not constrained by advertisers or broadcast standards
Non-linear entertainment
Fragmentation vs Expanding Market
Personal Storytelling <-> Community Storytelling
Subliminal advertising = the future? (30 sec -> 5 sec -> 2 frames)
"Disintermediation"

Banff! (The Overview)

2007-06-18T05:31:00.000-05:00

Where to start? Banff was amazing - even exceeding expectations!

My pre-set meetings went fine, and I now have major incentive to finish up the pilot of my post-CFC project. But the most memorable encounters I had were the random ones - running into someone while waiting in line, or sitting next to someone at one of the fab-o workshops, or - as advertised - hanging out at the St. James Gate.

Having the opportunity to meet and and repeatedly run into the CTV fellows was a major bonus. Great to feel a part of the Next Generation of writer/ creator/ producers. Easy to imagine us coming back to Banff year after year with new projects, and who knows, even collaborating. Really important to me to hear how other people are tackling these early years of independent producing, and to hear that Toronto is not the only spot for producing, by a long shot! So hats off to CTV for the fellowship program!

Got to hang out with a few of my must-read bloggers, Denis McGrath and Alex Epstein, and to bond with CFC grads from previous years. Since I wasn't staying with my fellow CFC writers from this year, actually didn't see a ton of them, which, given that this was an event to network with new people, is probably a good thing. The only event we all attended (besides free food opportunities!) was Rob Thomas, and we also got an impromptu hour-long masterclass from Virginia Thompson (exec producer of Corner Gas), urging us to Maximize dollars to screen. As Adam said "That's the magic of Banff."

For more specifics about sessions, etc, read on.

Stayed an extra day to get some actual mountain time with a for-now local friend. Mmm Mountains.

(more photos here)

Coffee Maker at Cinemateque

2007-05-29T22:09:00.000-05:00

The Coffee Maker will have its Cinemateque debut this weekend (Saturday and Sunday). If you worked on the film and want to get into the reception Friday, let me know and I'll ask them to put you on the list.

Also showing in the Regenesis line-up is Bevan Klassen's ReTired, that I spent 2 days in a tire factory working on - "I love the smell of rubber in the morning!" Plus work from Guy Maddin, Heidi Phillips, Darryl Nepinak, Jaimz Asmundson and more!

Bevan and Heidi's films will also show at the WIFF, which starts this weekend too.

How to Stop an Exploding City

2007-05-21T20:31:00.000-05:00

Is it a coincidence that the finale of Heroes titled "How to Stop an Exploding Man" (who might take a city with him) airs just as the citizens of Toronto send hundreds and hundreds of firecrackers into the sky?

A spectacle worthy of this metropolis. From my balcony 11 floors up, I literally can't take in all the fireworks in every direction, just as I can never take in all that this town has to offer. But like the city's daily bursts of activity, the cumulative effect is outstanding, inspiring, energizing. A brilliant start to summer! (don't bother me with solstician details...)

Because who celebrates summer's return with more enthusiasm than Canadians? I even spent the weekend at the Lake, like a good Canuck. (thanks Joanna!)

Back to Heroes, I'll need to watch the finale again. For one thing, I thought it was a two-hour event, so was stunned that after 40 minutes it was all converging. It did make me cry, for what that's worth. I don't know what to make of the preview for next year. I will withhold judgment to see what they do with it. Overall, definitely one of my favourite shows of the year. Will have to write a whole post about the season in review, I suppose!

Going to Banff!

2007-04-27T13:44:00.001-05:00

I found out yesterday that I'm definitely going to the Banff World Television Festival in June. I got a fellowship from CTV. Thank you CTV! I've been hearing amazing things about the networking opportunities there for the last 2 years, so I'm very excited to be going. I'll be taking ideas for two drama series and a couple of lifestyle shows, but I'm also just excited to hear and possibly meet panelists including Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars creator), Jenji Kohan (Weeds creator), Ben Silverman, (Exec Producer of Ugly Betty), and Greg Daniels (Exec Producer of The Office).

In other, but possibly related, news, while I'm sad that Falcon Beach got cancelled, this opens the door to me, or one of the other 3 writers originally from Winnipeg at this year's CFC!, or possibly, conceivably someone else, to bring a great show to the 'Peg!

Wisdom from Robert Towne

2007-04-10T16:23:00.000-05:00

From Above the Line: Conversations about the Movies

On screenwriting:

Screenwriters are trying to pedict the future. What's going to happen at some unnamed time and place when people are going to expend upwards of $50 million, with actors they don't know, with settings and climactic conditions that nobody knows, and what's going to happen when that product is finished and goes into a theater before audiences which may or may not show up. And in that screenplay you're saying that this will be an effective tale, one that will make the investment profitable. That's a level of arrogance that on the face of it is foolish...

There are so many variables, the screenplay itself doesn't tie anything or anyone down enough to be able to predict with any certainty whatever the f*ck is gonna happen with it! It's a meaningless document. The screenwriter controls nothing.

But notwithstanding that, there are some of us who try. [And] I certainly don't think about that when I'm writing.

***

On directing:

You're so passive when you're directing. When you're writing, you've got the whole world in your hands - though there's a point where that can get passive too. But when you're a director, from the moment you say "Action," you're the only f*cking asshole on the set that doesn't have a job. Everybody else is doing something. You are doing nothing. But watching. And your only job is to be in touch with your feelings... respond to what's going on in front of your eyes. And do it quickly enough so you're not only able to feel but you're able to articulate how you feel in time to tell the actors before the next take... You don't need to know why you're making a movie half the time, or if it's going to be any good, until it's done and then you say, "Oh f*ck, that's why I was making it." It's a voyage of discovery, not just of invention.

Recovered

2007-04-01T16:46:00.000-05:00

Whew, it took a month, but I think I'm now fully recovered from the physical and mental fatigue brought on by the intensity of 6 months in the PrimeTime Program. Lying on the beach helped, emptying my brain for a week helped, sorting through papers and catching up with friends helped, reading trash novels helped, and riding my bike through the spring air has helped a lot!

So I'm back at it. Busy editing my novel-turned-feature, getting writing samples out to agents, and eagerly studying Ugly Betty to prepare to spec it over the next few weeks. I had planned to spec The L Word, and developed through a scene-level outline, but season four has blown my plotlines to smithereens. I'm really enjoying Ugly Betty though -- after I've seen the full season, I'll post an analysis.

Yesterday, a few of us returned to the CFC to speak to potential applicants for this coming year's program. It was great to verbalize what I got out of my time there, including:

- a writing regimen
- a methodology for taking an idea from concept to script, more efficiently and calmly than ever before!
- the opportunity to work for 3 months with one of Canada's top producers in a setting approximating a story room
- a solid pilot for my original one-hour drama
- a table read of my pilot
- the chance to film a 3-minute scene from my pilot
- sincere and valuable feedback from a variety of professionals on several of my show ideas
- a 5 year business plan
- how to break down a show to spec it
- how to pitch and lots of practice doing it!
- meetings with many of the top Canadian agents
- meetings with almost every Canadian broadcaster
- meetings with dozens of Canadian production companies
- an opportunity to ask questions of working writers and producers
- invitations from almost every guest to set up a meeting as appropriate as I go forward
- a basic understanding of the current state of the Canadian television industry
- the chance to become colleagues with seven amazing co-writers, future show-runners and quality note-givers
- new ideas, encouragement, information, guidance...

Convinced you to apply? Here's the link for more info.

Proud

2007-02-27T07:12:00.000-06:00

We had our "graduation" party last night, and showed the "teaser" scenes we shot 2 weekends ago. My scene led off the night, so I was able to relax and enjoy the other 7. The quality of writing and care that went into those teasers was apparent to everyone there. Congratulations to all involved - writers, directors, crew, editors and the CFC staff. A very fun night of shaking hands and (after agents and producers had departed) dancing ensued.

Can I just say how dang proud I am to have had the opportunity to work and learn alongside this group of writers? And hopefully this is only the beginning. I truly believe I saw the future of Canadian (and American) television on that screen.

We still have several meetings this week, but as of Friday we are kicked out of the nest and will have to find ways to keep supporting each other without the structure of the CFC. I know we will make that happen.

But first I will take a much-needed break in Florida for a week, to wipe the slate clean, recuperate and recharge. I'll get to see my dad and sister, and a spring training game or two! While on the beach, I'll re-examine my 5 year plan to see what I want to change. Then I'll come back refreshed and ready to implement my game plan!

100 Drafts

2007-02-26T06:06:00.000-06:00

That's how many drafts Michael Arndt says he wrote of Little Miss Sunshine, winner of the Best Dramatic Screenplay award last night. Not bad for his first produced screenplay.

Of course it helps that he had connections to turn to when he was done, but one of my favourite screenwriting aphorisms is: "a great script is the final argument."

So here's to you, all you screenwriters tapping away in your basements, attics, bachelor studios. Maybe just one more draft, eh?

Coffee Maker at NSI FEX

2007-02-21T17:48:00.000-06:00

I won't be able to make the NSI FilmExchange this year, but Coffee Maker will be there at a late night show!

The lovely Danishka Esterhazy is curating the William F. White Sofa Cinema next week. Coffee Maker will be one of 8 short films screened, in a program called Beautiful Lost Souls. It will be in good company with shorts from Sean Garrity, Coral Aiken, Cecilia Araneda, Mike Reisacher, and others.

Details:
Thursday March 1, 11 p.m.
Industry Room
Hotel Fort Garry, Suite 925

Why I Do This

2007-02-18T05:21:00.000-06:00

I have to admit that at 8 p.m. Friday night, I wasn't sure that I wanted to make TV shows. We'd spent the day grabbing props and moving furniture and painting flats. I'd found out that afternoon that I'd lost one of my leads, and went home to spend a restless night of bad dreams.

But 12 hours later, my fake bathroom had walls, my fake office was decorated and being lit for fake night; and in our first rehearsal, I knew both actors were going to be great. The rush of production kicked in, everyone bunkered down and we met our 5-hour shoot schedule.

I owe a life-debt to the producer Tara Boire, the production manager Adili Yahel, and Steve-the-film-student who stayed super-late Friday night to create a bathroom out of wood and paint and vinyl and sweat! It will all be worth it when you see the final product, I promise.

My actors were outstanding. A special kudos to Lachlan Murdoch, who got a call at 4 p.m. Friday asking if he could fill in the next morning. He jumped right into the character and really pulled it off! And Jennifer Foster brought the perfect balance to her role of Sarah. I hope both of them get lots more work once the strike is over!

Lachlan Murdoch as Travis

I wasn't sure what it would be like to have someone else directing my words, but the director Dylan Smith was generously open to input, inviting me to feel like it was truly a collaborative effort.

Given the major time constraints, every aspect exceeded my expectations. Thanks so much to the rest of the crew - true pros. Congrats to Angie-the-makeup-artist who made my post-brawl actor look so authentic that a guy in the men’s room asked him if he was ok!

Then after we struck the set, my editor Lisa kindly picked up me and the tape and whisked us up to the CFC editing studios to watch the rushes!

And looking at the footage, in the high of seeing the results, it was suddenly all worth it. I can honestly say, there truly is nothing like it for me. The closest thing I can compare it to is friends who have given birth saying they barely remember the pain. I've always doubted this, but by last night, the exhaustion and terror of Friday night was fading into a pleasant prideful glow of accomplishment and teamwork.

Lisa got to work and I went to take a nap on the couch. I've never had someone edit my story before either, and it was somewhat surreal to hear her Assembling the Assembly Cut. As I drifted in and out of sleep, I could hear Sarah, the mom in the story, calling for Travis, her son, reminding me of my bad dream from the night before -- searching for Travis and finding only an actor who looked about 40...

12 hours after the first rehearsal, and 24 hours after my dark moment of doubt, I was watching the assembly and letting the emotions of the piece wash over me. Heavenly feeling - my vision was now Reality. At least the screen version of reality, which is apparently going to continue to be my passion. Lisa had continued everyone else's work of really capturing what I was going for when I set up this slice of my show.

Jennifer Foster as Sarah

And now I can use the energy and emotions from this tangible creation to finish rewriting my pilot - second draft due tomorrow! Better get to work, since the idea behind the trailer is for someone from the industry to become intrigued enough to ask to see more about this world and these characters. And with television, unlike a short film, I can show them more, and give them an opportunity to let us show What Happens Next...

Transitions

2007-02-05T17:56:00.000-06:00

(the view from my new balcony)

Moved into a new apartment over the past week. 11 floors up, centrally located and loving it. I'm a light person, so living in a basement has been tough, though I was and am grateful to have a place to land when I arrived in Toronto, a poor country mouse from Winnipeg, all those months ago...

I'd still love to bring a series back to Winnipeg when I have that power, but in order to continue developing the contacts I'm making at the CFC, it makes the most sense to stay here. It will be fun to discover the city, as I haven't had much opportunity to over the past few months! Haven't been to a single symphony or opera performance, or into a single museum.

But all that will probably still have to wait for another four weeks or so while I finish the program.

In those four weeks, my to-do list includes:
- continue to refine and pitch my pilot for my original series Town and Gown - I'm having a table read tomorrow (yay! Actors!) and meeting with a professional story editor on Friday, so will do at least 2 more drafts
- cast and shoot a "teaser" for the series - a 3-4 minute scene that showcases the series -- and my writing! We'll show them at a special event at the end of the program.
- continue to write my spec scripts, which are L Word (awesome lesbian soap opera) and Ben 10 (brilliant animated kids' show) - diversity, always!
- keep researching producers and broadcasters to figure out who's doing what
- keep talking with agents and see if I can find a good fit
- figure out what to do when I get out!

We had to write a five year business plan, so I have a game plan mapped out in terms of who to contact when, and what I should be working on - I have 2 feature scripts I need to finish as well to round out my portfolio!

Writing on Christmas

2006-12-30T11:42:00.000-06:00

In his awesome and inspirational book On Writing, Stephen King discusses his writing regimen. He said he tells interviewers that he writes every day except Christmas* and his birthday. But then he says this is a lie. He does write on Christmas because writing every day is what he does.

I've been trying to institute a write (or rewrite/edit) every day policy, but was definitely challenged by the travels of the last few weeks. I did however bring my laptop in the car on our 2 hour drive to Christmas dinner and got some work done. I'm plugging away at the first draft of the pilot for one of my original series ideas (due upon my return to the CFC). Because the draft will be used by others to figure out what scene(s) I should film for a "teaser," I want it to be a very solid first draft, which means really a second draft, as I'm the queen of what Anne Lamott calls the "shitty first draft" - just dumping some dialogue on the page to fill those dreaded early pages.

Had a good time in Vegas and visiting friends and family in California. As always, travel and sleeping on unfamiliar beds proved to be good for the muse, and I've got a couple fun ideas for what will hopefully be a feature script and a chick-lit novel.

My week in Winnipeg will also be spent finishing the edit of Rave Review, and clearing through papers I left in disarray when I departed for Toronto in September. (only 3 1/2 months ago? Feels like a lifetime!)

Happy New Year to All! May 2007 bring you ever closer to your dreams and goals!

----
* In the back of my mind, I think he possibly he says the Fourth of July, but that doesn't really fit in with my story

Final Draft

2006-12-13T05:20:00.000-06:00

Since I last wrote, we turned around a third draft and got to hear it at a table read with a collection of very talented actors. I'd like to thank them all for donating their time and passion: Jared Brown, Ben Carlson, George Ghali, Gabriel Hogan, Helene Joy , Geoff Kolomayz, Melissa Kramer, Matthew Lemche, Zoie Palmer, Courtenay J. Stevens, Sugith Varughese, Asim Wali and Ron White.

It was an amazing experience to hear our characters come to life, and to get the questions and comments of the actors, even though they pointed out a flaw that we've had to return to the drawing board (literally) to address. Today is our last day in the story room, and I definitely feel sentimental. It's been rough sometimes, but the energy of bouncing our ideas off each other, and having the opportunity to contribute in the direction of this ship, has been outstanding. Very few awkward silences, lots of laughter and a true egoless collaborative spirit. Our producer Barbara Samuels has given us so much that we can take forward with us in our careers. I can only hope that getting to work with people this creative, professional and generous is preparing rather than spoiling me for my future collaborations.

We'll get out one more draft for Friday, and then we have a few weeks away from the Centre. A "working holiday" I'm calling it, as we will be working on the first draft of our original series pilot, a spec script or two, and our business plan. So the laptop will be coming on my travels! But I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into all those projects, so it's not a burden at all! And I find I get great ideas staring out airplane and car windows...

Had time to take in great free entertainment the last two nights. On Monday, got to see the calling card projects of the writers and directors who are finishing up their CFC programs. Great stuff, congrats to them! And then last night, saw Snow Cake at an Academy screening, and then a groovy light and music show in Nathan Philips Square.

Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver in Snow Cake

Snow Cake is a beautiful film, though there were one or two moments where they crossed over the fine line of sentimentality that they tread so carefully through the whole film. Having met with composer Tim McCauley this week, I was perhaps overly-tuned in to the use of music to emphasize a point, and there was one speech that was perfectly beautiful on its own without my having to be told to pay attention to it with piano notes. Then they brought part of the speech back at the end of the film in voice over, when in my opinion, Alan Rickman could have just uttered a single word to bring us back to that moment. Ah well - a personal choice in a film of lots of great moments.

Another thing Tim said that impressed me was that sometimes he watches films ten times. I've been watching a large quantity of stuff over the last 8 months, but maybe I need to re-watch me some Friday Night Lights and Battlestar over the next few weeks to see just what it is that grabs me and won't let go.

11 Hours

2006-12-01T06:27:00.000-06:00

That's how long we spent in the writing room yesterday. A record for us - we had to get through day two of notes on our second draft so that we can turn around a third draft by Sunday for a table read next week. Really looking forward to that - hearing our words through actors' mouths. And we've got some excellent Toronto actors coming in! Major bonus of being at the CFC!

It's been a very busy couple of weeks:
- Revised a five page pitch document for one of my original series; and based on feedback of another idea (basically "This will never fly") created a new show and wrote a five page pitch doc for it too.

- Got feedback on the first draft of our miniseries. It was intense to say the least! We were given plenty to change, but since my partner and I have hour four, we got our last notes on Friday afternoon with a Monday due date. Luckily my sister, a talented actor, was in town, so she helped me by doing a table read of my edited half hour and gave me a lot of great ideas to integrate. Nothing like hearing your work read aloud to let you know what's not working!

- Was given guidance on which series to move forward with, and got encouragement on what I want to do and how to take it forward. I've started outlining the pilot, which I'll be drafting during our December break.

- Met writers and creators from four different shows. Took lots of notes! Very interesting to see that while there are many routes to finding work, they are finite and all involve working hard, meeting people and keeping an open mind. One thing I opened my mind to, was the idea of writing an animated show...

- Had a session on pitching, which will come in handy as we begin pitching our series ideas.

So plenty of writing to do this weekend... But that's what I'm here to do!!

Intelligence

2006-11-14T21:08:00.000-06:00

I finally realized today (thanks to a visit to our group by Globe and Mail TV Critic John Doyle) that it is insufferable hypocrisy for me to whinge about broadcasters in Canada putting out so little one-hour drama, when I'm not even watching Intelligence. And what do you know, it was on tonight, conveniently timed after Friday Night Lights, my fave new series this season. Lights just got picked up for the season by NBC, by the way, so no more excuses about how it might not last long, start watching! It looks like it's about football, but really it's about passion and dreams and heartache and yearning and small towns and classism and faith and inspiration and fighting off other people's versions of you to create your own version. Oh god it's good.

I did actually try to watch the pilot of Intelligence, but the show is meaty and complex and I was too tired to give it the proper attention. I'm still a bit confused, but will attempt to read the character descriptions and episode recaps kindly provided over at the CBC website, and get on board. This is when a PVR would definitely come in handy, as I'm guessing there's not a huge torrent fan club for Intelligence. Because after seeing it tonight, I would like to start from the beginning. It's good. It's dense. The characters are "fun" (as in creepy double-crossers) and interesting (as in creepy double-crossers). I don't really watch any cops and robbers shows (though I'm trying Wire because I've heard such good things), but I want to give this a chance, and I want everyone else to watch to prove that there is a market in Canada for well-made one-hour dramas.

And it is well-made. Intricate scripts, fine acting and the production values are outstanding. I put a call in to my DP and demanded that he watch the show and get back to me on how much it will cost to make a show look that good. I'll see if I can find out how much CBC is spending on each ep, because it looks damn good. You know, as in, "I might mistake it for an American show." You know it's true.

Ian Tracey is Jimmy Reardon, crime boss, in Intelligence

We were talking today about what it takes for an audience to get behind a criminal as a character and we decided that if he cares about a family member and is a good leader, that helps a lot. Well, Jimmy Reardon has a daughter and a loyal crew, so the theory holds so far...

OK must get some sleep because I am pitching/workshopping my two one-hour dramas tomorrow -- one of them to two different guests! Would be perhaps more stressed out about this but I've been too busy to think much about it. Yesterday, presented a 90 minute deconstruction of The L Word (hilarious - me trying to explain all the relationships in a lesbian soap opera to a crowd of unbelievers), and today we had a deadline to turn in a first draft of our half-hour portion of our mini-series. One thing for sure, I'm now completely sold on solid outlining before going to draft. By the time I got to drafting, it was a breeze compared to the usual sweating bullets!

"See, I'm already learning something here..."

It burns! It burns!

2006-11-05T20:38:00.000-06:00

My eyes that is. From all my homework. Since Thursday afternoon, I've watched:

The Office, My Name is Earl and CSI (these were actually ASSIGNED as homework)
Most of Grey's Anatomy (over commercial breaks during the two hours above)
The last 6 episodes of Veronica Mars, Season 2
The first 3 episodes of Veronica Mars, Season 3
The last 4 episodes of The L Word, Season 2
The first 8 episodes of The L Word, Season 3
The latest episode of Battlestar Galactica.

As far as the last is concerned, I have this to say (hopefully not too great of a spoiler): thank the gods Lee lost some weight and Kara cut off her hair - these may sound like cosmetic changes, but trust me, they are deeply and intrinsically important to the characters and to my personal enjoyment of the show.

Kara, a girl after my own heart, takes a knife to her hair over the bathroom sink.

Please note, I did also buy and eat food, do dishes, speak with Loved Ones, read a book printed on paper, go for brunch with a friend, take at least one bath and one shower, and vacuum. Oh, and write and submit my Five Year Plan.

I need to rewatch BG because I was actually trying to do some work during the episode (8th grade all over again! Homework in front of the TV!). My other homework was making changes to the outline for my designated acts in our mini-series. I also took on the task of creating a chronological timeline for the 4 hours, as we're telling it all out of order and the Script Supervisor within was going nuts not knowing what day a scene took place. It's something I've always done for my own work, including timelines into the past for backstory to keep everything straight. Least I could do to keep 8 of us on the same page!

The L Word marathon is to prepare for a deconstruction of the show that I'll be presenting a week from tomorrow. We're each given 90 minutes to break down a show, its characters and themes. It's not all hard work, as one of the big themes of LW is The Joy of Sex, baby...

We're going to work with Yan Moore (Degrassi, Road to Avonlea) this week. Friday we met and heard the story of Christopher Bolton and Chris Szarka, who created and sold Rent-a-Goalie to Showcase without ever having worked in a story room. Definitely inspiring!

I still need to catch up on last week's Lost and Friday Night Lights (d'oh, did they change the time on me again this week? Checking... Shew, not on until Tuesday...) Thank goodness Lost is going on hiatus after this week - all this keeping up on current shows is hard work, especially as I'm also trying to catch up on shows I missed over the last couple of years (Deadwood, Weeds, The Wire, The 4400, Firefly, Carnivale, and V Mars (which I'm oh so close to watching in Real Time!)).

For those of you who have heard me eschew television watching in the past, laugh all you want, I'm paying now... in blood vessels...

Coffee Maker at Reel Pride

2006-10-29T12:58:00.000-06:00

Another chance to see The Coffee Maker in Winnipeg! TCM will screen at Reel Pride on Sunday November 12 during a Short Film Competition (IMAX, Portage Place, 7 p.m.). My friend Kellie Thomson's film What Will the Neighbours Say is featured as well, so it should be a fun night. I unfortunately won't be able to make it out, but encourage one and all to attend the festival - some great films all weekend!

I'm feverishly editing Rave Review, but will definitely require a sound edit for the final version. I'm very happy with the performances and the cinematography - just trying to nudge it together to flow more naturally than it does in its awkward rough cut state.

Using It All

2006-10-21T08:52:00.000-05:00

One thing I've learned over the past few weeks is that everything I've studied and practised over the last decade (or 3) is still of use to me now in this new setting of television writer and potential showrunner. An actor/director came in to talk to us and when he was talking about understanding actors, I knew what he was talking about because of my experiences as a director. I could picture myself at a casting meeting or writing to a particular actor's Voice.

When we're hammering out story, I know what a beat sheet looks like because of making the equivalent for my novels. Collaborating together with my awesome co-writers, laughing and disagreeing reminds me of creative nights with my writing group in Winnipeg. One of the shows I'm developing takes place on a university campus, so I can use my experiences of working at the U of M for 4 years, and going to grad school for a year, and my 4 lovely years at a small liberal arts college in Ohio.

When I'm looking for a way to say something in fewer words, the practice of crafting poetry comes in handy.

So there you go - I don't need to put anything behind me or wish I'd known I wanted to be a tv writer 5 years ago (because how could I with the television Renaissance just beginning?) I've been on a path that's led me to now, and I get to throw the fruits of all my prior labour into this big screenwriting salad (hmm, metaphor may have gotten away from me there but I'm going to go with it...).

Working hard, and still trying to get Rave Review edited in time to submit to NSI FilmExchange. Upgraded the memory on my Macbook, which has turned frustration with my machine into awe, though I've had to use QuickTime and iMovie to make the rough cut so far as I'm having trouble installing FinalCut - annyoing.

More soon...