Welcome back to another week of Breaking In!
This week we tackle a tad bit of criticism, update you on where we are with current projects and dive deep into Cheryl’s writing. We also take a couple of minutes to sptball how to better prepare you for pitchfests.
Our song this week is Limp Bizkit’s “N 2 Gether Now.” Ahhh yes, the 90’s. I miss them so. The song will totally make sense when you hear our discussion. Please, head over to iTunes and download this nugget from the past.
Okay, enough chit chat! On to the show!
Till next week…
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Breakin' In! 
I love the idea of Cheryl being a mole at some upcoming pitchfests!
I also think the idea of you all holding practice pitching sessions the evening before the pitchfest is great. And if the participants agree to allow you to record (audio) for the show (last names withheld) so we can all benefit from your critique, all the better!
I was fascinated by the discussion of each of your writing styles, as I am a mixture of both. I especially laughed with recognition regarding “Where is Student#5?”, as I have completely outlined the current screenplay I’m working on and have written several scenes, yet I don’t have names for all of the major characters yet. I just wait until each name comes to me.
Yet, unlike Cheryl (and apparently Stephen King), I can’t just sit down and write. I have to know the ending, beginning, and a couple of points along the way. Then I write the first ten pages or so (until the inciting incident), then go back to the outline, filling in “randomly” whatever occurs to me as it occurs to me.
But, just like Manny, I have to write the actual script linearly. I too was stopped for a while recently (though I continued to work on the outline and character bios and stuff) because I couldn’t get a scene right, and just couldn’t go on until I had it right, even though in theory there were plenty of other upcoming scenes I could have written (because I had them outlined).
Regarding the need to “vomit”, to me that is what the (free-form) outline and character bio files are for. When it comes to the actual scene writing I use Movie Magic, which practically reads my mind when it comes to knowing whether I am writing a scene header, description, or dialog.
Regarding that ‘tard that complained about the show, something’s obviously wrong with him. I appreciate all of the information you give, both from your own experience and from hearing the frustrations of managers, agents, producers, execs, et cetera, so we can avoid making the same mistakes. I find that 99% of it rings true.
As much as I like Empire, Big Chill, et cetera, I think my favorite Kasden movie is still Continental Crack (as Belushi’s character called it). And apparently he is also responsible for getting Crowe to finally make “Untitled” (“Almost Famous”), another one of my all-time favorite movies.
In closing, might I suggest that if Cheryl’s efforts outside the award’s ceremony go well that the song for next week be a medley of Dylan’s “Everybody Must Get Stoned” and Afroman’s “Because I Got High”?