I did the same thing, Glen and Dan. It was very tempting to step in and offer my own thoughts, but the discussion was so heated that it was best to not add to the fire. IMHO, they both overreacted and it's unfortunate that Tracie chose to leave.
I'm sure Gary regrets going public with his thoughts. If only they could have had a civil discussion in private.
Oh well. What's done is done, I suppose.
A Participant says:
I'm with you on that, Glen. People should be able to discuss thoughts without it becoming a war or with ad hom attacks. And if the comment has no purpose except to agitate then it's probably best left unsaid.
And I agree about some reviews being bias or having an agenda. And I agree that we should be able to discuss reviews - it's a two way street in this type of community. But no need to take the discussion to extremes.
That said, I think we’ll always have the good, the bad, and the ugly in every online community – seems to be the new paradigm.
On a lighter note....
I got my "Save The Cat!" and "The Screenwriter's Bible" from Amazon in the mail today!! Woot!
I immediately saw two mistakes in my script...
One, I most certainly did NOT do the INTERCUT correctly. In fact, INTERCUT -- ALL is for phone conversations. Instead, I should have just established the shots and then used their secondary headings. So kudos to whoever knew not to do it how I did.
Two, not have any punctuation when ending a sentence with a scene heading.
The way I did it.
Titus draws his sword and enters the --
ARENA
Correct way:
Titus draws his sword and enters the
ARENA
Just in case some of you didn't know.
A Participant says:
INT. AMAZON STUDIOS/ZVG FORUM - CONTINUOUS
Glen - a director I know swears by "Save the Cat," but I thought it covered everything that had already been said a thousand times before... but then again I've been reading screenwriting books since there were only 3 or 4 around.
Also, you should check out Lew Hunter's book; "Screenwriting 434." He was one of my professors at UCLA and he's one of those guys who really got it at a core level.
As for me, "The Screenwriter’s Problem Solver: How to Recognize, Identify, and Define Screenwriting Problems” by Syd Field is a must have. My copy has been opened and closed so much it looks like it's a thousand years old.
BACK TO SCENE
I debated between Save The Cat and The Screenwriters Workbook by Syd Field. I was looking over the Screenwriters wb in the book store, but I just went off of number of reviews on Amazon.
The Syd Field one you mentioned is only $11.56, and Screenwriting 434 is only $10.85, so those are both going into my cart.
Glenn
Syd Field has a workshop on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te6TZEKLYqc
"I'm sure Gary regrets going public with his thoughts. If only they could have had a civil discussion in private."
I definitely regret this whole episode happened. And I definitely wanted to keep it civil and in private.
When Tracie first expressed her concerns regarding certain aspects of my script, I went to great lengths to explain my position to her via StudioMail. We had several lengthy back and forths on the issues involved. And I think I actually did a pretty good job of explaining my position.
But Tracie wasn't satisfied with having this discussion in private. She wanted to take the debate into the public forum. Which I politely declined because I was getting the distinct impression that all Tracie cared about was creating a public scene around herself.
And that was the end of it. Or so I thought. But then shortly thereafter she posted a review of my script that was even more extreme in her accusations than anything she expressed to me in private. Tracie was clearly determined to create a storm of controversy and ride it for all it was worth.
And for the record, even though I really regret this whole incident happened. I don't regret for a second that I responded to it the way that I did. Some accusations you can't just let stand. And if someone wants to use my script to serve their own purposes and agendas, then I'm going to have something to say about that.
Gary
I would like to play. I am happy to read someone else's script if someone will read mine.
Carey Grayson
"Race for the Galaxy"
