Saturday, May 23, 2009
INT. AGENCY OFFICE - DAY
Friday, May 22, 2009
INT. BLOGISPHERE - DAY
Monday, April 27, 2009
INT. THE RED CARPET - NIGHT
INT. EDITING ROOM - DAY AND NIGHT
As we now begin the process of editing all of the wonderful material you all have contributed, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge all of you who have so far participated in the making of "Spec: The Documentary". Though we are still scheduling a few final interviews, please stay posted for more developments, such as our first public screening which we are planning for the end of October.
From Pitchfest ’07:
Bob Chimiel, Robert Chmiel Productions
Bob Schultz, Pitchfest Director
Zoltan Barabas, Vancouver writer/promoter
Andrea Seybold, Seattle housewife writer
Viki King, motivational writer
Josh Weinstock, husband/father and pharmaceuticals rep
Loren Reed, writer/comedian
Evelyn Cole, writer/novelist
Talana Lynum, 9-year-old writer/actress
Justin DiPego, writer, horse trainer, son of Jerry DiPego
Elena Zaretsky, writers group participant
Gayle Jackson, writers group participant
Laurence Cruz, writers group participant
Christopher Schultz, writers group participant
Nicholas Johnson, writers group participant
Sam Simkin, screenwriter, Writers Store worker
Mario Moreno, screenwriter, Writers Store worker
Jesse Douma, Writers Store owner
C. Andrew Hilton, script reader, screenwriter
Michael Zola, DMD, visited by Josh Weinstock on business call
John Truby, author, screenwriting guru
Kirsten Thayer, Final Draft product planner
Marc Madnic, Final Draft founder and president
Mark Clark, Las Vegas screenwriter, form prison guard (speaks outside prison)
Mark Gelarderes, Las Vegas screenwriter (speaks at petroglyphs)
David Chance, president, Las Vegas Screenwriters
Kris Young, screenwriter and WGA member, Asian writers group
Oscar Toruna, Latino screenwriter
Demetrius Bady, screenwriter and member of WGA Gay Writers Caucus
Michael Sodersten, NYC screenwriter
Cornelia Ravenal, NYC screenwriter
Mark Grisar, Westchester screenwriter and optometrist
Angela Schultz, Queens screenwriter
Jason Smiley, Vermont screenwriter
Kristen Gray, Queens N.Y. Screenwriter
Jeff Drongowski, screenwriter, sold script at eleventh hour before start of strike
Anthony Grieco, screenwriter, sold script at eleventh hour before start of strike
Emile Gladstone, agent, ICM
John Walton, Salt Lake writer, with MS now living in elder care facility
Angela Grimmer, Walton daughter, talks about hardship brought by father’s writing dreams
Dr. John Zhang, Wharton Business School PHD with theory on successful scripts
Dr. Jehoshua Eliashberg, Wharton PHD with theory on successful scripts
Lee Ross, Sundance screenwriter
Pamela Cuming, Sundance screenwriter
Ellen Smiler, wife of Josh Weinstock
Leslie Weinstock, mother of Josh Weinstock
Michael Weinstock, father of Josh Weinstock
Pitchfest ’08
Stewart Fergeson, English screenwriter
Marc Cherry, Desperate Housewives creator
Millard Kaufman, 92-year-old screenwriter, Academy Award nominee
Sonya Gay Bourn, screenwriter, stand-up comedian
Jenna Turner, Susina Bakery owner (popular writer hangout)
Stephanie Marracco, screenwriter
Maric Yates, carpenter-screenwriter
Raynold Gideon, “Stand by Me” co-writer
Bruce Evans, “Stand by Me” co-writer; director
Asia Esterak, African-American screenwriter
Rachelle Williams, African-American screenwriter
Kelly Fremon, screenwriter, sold spec, August release by Fox Searchlight
Ligiah Villabos, writer, “Under the Same Moon”
Dennis Palumbo, screenwriter, author, and therapist
Austin Kalish, long-time TV writer
Irma Kalish, former WGA Vice-President and screen/TV writer
Dale Launer, “My Cousin Vinny”
Marc Comstock, WGA Script Registration
Patrick Verrone, President, WGA
Gayla Nethercott, Agent, Nethercott Agency
Julianna Baggott, novelist, "Girl Talk"
Chad Clough, Script Pimp
John August, "Big Fish"
Ron Bass, Academy Award, "Rainman"
Kent Bowen, Fog River Fisheries
Michael Blackburn, editor, trailer cutter
Adrian Kay, editor, trailer cutter
Friday, March 20, 2009
EXT. STUDIO PARKING LOT - DAY
Thursday, October 16, 2008
INT. PRODUCTION OFFICE - DAY AND NIGHT
Tape. Lots, and lots of tape.
In the last year, the filmmakers have interviewed a fantastic number of people for this project. Screenwriters from vastly different walks of life have shared their stories, as have their spouses, families, teachers, even the people who make the lattes that keep them typing away, day in and day out.
As “Spec” nears completion, MOE EL EMAM has come on board to interview even more writers, and help sift through the hours of material that will soon be a feature length documentary. A spec screenwriter himself, Moe is wholly familiar with the process of writing a script that no one has yet commissioned.
Writing on spec can be a solitary, maddening process, given the odds of attaining some measure of success for the endeavor. On the bright side, there will soon be a movie that may shed some light on why so many continue to do just that…
Which brings us back to the tape. Lots, and lots of tape.
EXT. POOLSIDE - DAY
“Nobody ever writes about happy people, they’re boring.”
MARC CHERRY sat down with us to talk about the spec that nobody wanted, “Desperate Housewives.” One of the first things that many writers say is that selling a spec screenplay is like winning the lottery.
With the success of his hit ABC drama, Mr. Cherry will tell you that he did just that.
Before it became the popular drama that millions tune in to watch every week, “Desperate Housewives” was turned down as an idea, and then rejected as a spec screenplay by everyone that read it – except for the one that didn’t.