If you've never read David Mamet's memo to the writers of The Unit, prepare to be amused. The author of 50 plays and 25 screenplays, Mamet is a study in why playwrights often dazzle when it comes to screenwriting. They learn to move the plot forward dramatically, scene by scene, through character and dialogue, without the help of Lizard men descending from the ceiling or massive car chases. Known for his witty, acerbic style, staccato musicality of dialogue and ability to render the dynamics of complex human emotion into nuanced, yet dramatic turns, Mamet's writing is sometimes surprising and often lovely. His dialogue is so distinctive, it spawned the slang phrase Mamet Speak. But in 2006, Mamet was working in the Hollywood Dream factory at the breakneck pace television demands, as executive producer on a weekly drama for Fox called The Unit, based on his co-producer's book Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counter terrorist Unit. The show ran for four seasons. In this letter, David Mamet's frustration with his writer's is apparent, but between the lines … [Read more...] about David Mamet’s Memo: To the Writers of The Unit
Brave New World of e-books
1. Write book on typewriter 2. Send to typesetter 3. Receive galley proof 4. Mark up galley proof 5. Create layout 6. Corrected proof arrives 7. Paste type to boards (including page numbers) 8. Send boards to printer 9. Correct blueline proof 10. Print 11. Distribute Sound crazy? Back in the day, publishing had a slow, relentless tempo, like a sacred choral work. Individual voices rose in gestalt to make a whole. Books were planned a year in advance. The minute there was a cover, the sales force courted bookstores and distributors. Editors and proofreaders checked every dangling participle and questionable fact. Copywriters wrote sales pitches and back covers. The art department assembled the physical object. Finally, the book was printed, boxed and sent out into the world. Licenses were handed out to foreign publishers and the process repeated. The Heirarchy of publishing grew around this process; writers, publishers, editors, copy writers, art directors, proof-readers, traffic controllers, marketers, publicists, salespeople, etc. … [Read more...] about Brave New World of e-books
Day of the Dead: A Walk in the Graveyard
Every Autumn, Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead blossoms from the very earth of Los Angeles, a potent integration of ancient Aztec rituals and the Catholic All Saint's Day. Flower shrines or ofrendas appear honoring the dead. Votive candles flicker beside yellowing photographs of the departed and graves are piled high with bright chrysanthemums, baby's breath and cockscombs, symbolizing the blood of Christ. By night fall, groups of friends and families stroll casually through neighborhoods, their faces painted like sugar skulls, wearing black hats tipped at a jaunty angle or flowing veils attached to garlands of fragrant gladiolus and roses. LA has always been intrigued by Dia De Los Muertos, it's in our bones. My writing partner Alix Sloan when she lived in LA, was a curator with the La luz De Jesus Gallery whose owner Billy Shire was one of the first people to bring the curious Day of the Dead artifacts from Mexico; elaborately painted plaster skulls and tableus of skeletons dressed in their Sunday best, enjoying the pleasures of life. My friend Erin, an … [Read more...] about Day of the Dead: A Walk in the Graveyard
