The Dreaming You

Unafraid and Little Bit Unreasonable

I really enjoy working with Barri Evins because she is teaching me about the power of being unreasonable - first hand.  Barri is a Hollywood film producer and teacher I met through Cinestory.   She has had a long career in the industry – which she partially attributes to being unreasonable.  How else could you persist in an industry that is famous for exclusivity and rejection?  As she said,  “Any reasonable person would pack up and go home.  But where is the fun in that?”

 

So how has she done it?  I think the key is to understand that ultimately she is fearless.  She will ask for anything and work for anything if it is something that matters to her.  Here’s an example:  Barri once decided that the children in the Head Start programs she was working with should have the same warm Santa experience that other children have when they receive their gifts for the Holidays.  There would be no more plastic chairs and boring backdrops. 

 

So this nice Jewish girl decided to design sets for all of the Head Start Programs her literacy charity was working with that year.  First she built a small six inch model and then it was simply a matter of taking the steps – one after the other – until every school had their own fairy tale land complete with working lights, fake snow – you name it.  Ultimately it was a matter of asking a lot of people to work together to support a common vision.

 

That’s how she does it.  Barri starts with a vision of where she is going – and then it’s just a matter of taking the steps and asking for what she needs – often beginning with the first thing she does know how to do on her own.  Frankly, this is exactly what I needed to learn right now as I work to build this site.  I have to be unafraid – whether I am approaching people to be interviewed or simply asking you to take your time to read my posts.

 

What a powerful combination – Unreasonable and Unafraid!  Just think what we can accomplish with those two simple traits.  So – Thank you to Barri for being a role model and for believing in me and my Unreasonable Dream of building this site!!!

 

Here’s to being Unafraid!!

First Steps Toward a Screenplay

Aisha got things started on the Saying It Out Loud page with the following post:

I want to write a screenplay. I used to make pretend movies on my parents' cash register rolls and hold them up to a desk lamp to show my captive audience (several younger siblings). - Aisha

Hey Aisha,

I am busily working on the concept for my next screenplay revision now.  I have completed 5 screenplays and learned something significant from every one.  As you saw in my post - it has been an interesting life journey as well.  I love writing and I have big dreams for these scripts!!

Here are some of the things that have helped me and been recommended by fellow screenwriters:

1.  Final Draft Software - the industry standard, takes all the worries about formatting off the table.  Not cheap but worth it.

2.  Reading Tons of Scripts - this is the site I like the best for accessibility and depth of screenplays offered:  http://www.imsdb.com/

3.  Finding Other Writers – For me this has been through Cinestory http://cinestory.org/wordpress/  I have gone to their retreats and even done classes via Skype.  I have found this invaluable and the friendships worth the price of admission regardless.

 

What else has worked for people?

Screenwriting Camp

This summer I spent a week at the Cinestory Screenwriting Camp in Idyllwild, California.  As I may have mentioned, I have always loved movies and originally dreamed of being in them.  As this dream has changed over the course of my life – I decided recently that I really want to write movies.  And that’s where I met Meg.  She was just the right person at just the right time. 

 

So picture this – I spent months slaving away on a screenplay – pouring my heart into it – hoping desperately that it is good….and she hated it.    Ok – she didn’t say anything like that – but that is what I was afraid she meant.  What really happened was she had some wonderful insights into how I put the story together and what I needed to do to take my writing to the next level.  There was a lot to learn.

 

With her help, the first screen play taught me as much about my life as it did about writing.  Turns out I was writing stories where the women gave away their power.  Every time I wrote – I had someone else shoot the bad guy – metaphorically or not.  Here’s the kicker – I was doing that in real life too!  She just had the guts to tell me.  Amazing – now I could see it.

 

But all that was before Meg – now I don’t give anything away.  I can’t tell you how much I admire her no nonsense – cut through the BS attitude.  She has an amazing story of taking on the paparazzi – which I’ll leave up to her to tell if she wants to – but the bottom line is she inspires me.  What I learned from this – was that I didn’t have to start out perfect at something – hell I didn't have to be good at it!  But I found the right people to help me on my way. 

 

The people of Cinestory did something amazing – they delivered on a promise.  They said they built relationships and they do – not just with mentors, but also with fellow writers.  So I want to give a “shout out” to my fellow Cinestory alums and mentors to thank them for their support – Soo-Hyun, Jasmine, Neil, Chris, Cindy, Randall, Clea, Meg, Joe, and Barri.

 

Side note - Barri gave me a toothbrush.  You would have to be there to understand why – but more importantly she gave me the permission to write what I truly want to write.  How cool is that?   (There will be more about Barri and her ideas in later posts.)

 

So here goes – on this site – I am writing what I really want to write.