Happy Halloween!

UPDATED: 11/7/09 Neil Gaiman's latest novel The Graveyard Book just nominated for a Carnegie Medal. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Snagged this spooky gourd from Neil Gaiman's online journal. It was carved in honor of his book-turned-film Coraline. Cool huh? I love Mr. Gaiman's work. Here's an interview with Henry Selik, Coraline's director...



He's got a new book out called The Graveyard Book (a great time to be promoting it, BTW) that I'm willing to bet will soon be a movie. It's about a young boy who's raised by the ghosts and goblins and ghouls in the graveyard where he lives. The question is, will he be able to meet the challenges of the "real" world?

The Auteurs (the world's first online cinema for "legit" filmmakers worldwide) is also hosting a special scary movie weekend. If you've got nothing else planned, click here to visit the site and watch some vintage classics for FREE! This is a photo from the Onibaba Festival. Onibaba is a Buddhist folktale that was made into a horror film in Japan in 1964. It was directed by Kaneto Shindo and is one of the rare independent films you can watch free at the Auteurs site today.

In many cultures it is believed that on this night, the veil between the living and the dead is thinner than at any other time. That's why the common tradition that all cultures share is an honoring of the spirit world. Our neighbors in Mexico today celebrate Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Catholics, of course, recognize tomorrow as All Souls Day or All Saints Day.

Some years ago when I was living in Hawaii, I attended a Bon Festival, which is a Japanese version of the Festival of the Dead. They are on a lunar calendar so the celebration/dance usually takes place in July/August. We met on the beach at a Buddhist Temple. There were candlelit paper lanterns all around and a beautiful altar filled with fresh cut flowers and island fruits. Entire families particiated in a folk dance called the Bon Dance.

Incense was burning and there was much activity as the faithful prepared a ritual called Toro Nagashi, a moment when floating candlelit paper lanterns that hold the spirts of our ancestors are sent back to the "otherworld". At the climax of the ritual, the boats were set free on the waves with their fires gleaming under the stars and reflecting off the water. We watched until they disappeared. It was one of the most beautiful rituals I've ever attended.

I found a commericalized version of the Toro Nagashi ceremony on YouTube. Here you can even see a few moments of hula, another of my beloved dances.



It turns out that about 10 years ago some of the leaders in Honolulu decided to combine the celebration of Memorial Day with Toro Nagashi - in honor of those lost in WWII. It has become a very popular tradition now. Here is a commemorative video that gives an idea of the worldwide response to the ritual.



There is a rich story tradition behind all of these. And that is yet another great reason to explore the many avenues of the holiday. Many of the producers and film execs I've known consider it essential for writers and story development folks to immerse themselves in all kinds of cultural research. So have a great night. And who knows? You may just stumble on an idea for your next story.

Cinelan & Snag Films

This is going to be short. Had a wonderful day today singing at the community center and meeting a keyboardist who has invited me to sit in with him at a club in Westlake. What fun! It's been a very long time since I did this. Nice to know I still can and people want to listen.

Also had a kind of breakthrough in the script and film area of life. I have some ideas for short films which I pitched to a new producer friend this morning. Then later today I literally stumbled on a company called Cinelan (which is based in the US) that collaborates with filmmakers on 3 minute non-fiction pieces.

Can't really go into it with you yet because the info I have is not complete but if you've got story ideas for mini-documentaries, Cinelan might just want to help you make and distribute them on the web. Here's a link that takes you to an info page.

Snag Films, on the other hand, is actively accepting indie documentary films of a more standard length (an average of 90 minutes). You must have had your film accepted into a Film Festival to be considered for online distribution. Here's the link if you're interested. Worth checking out anway!

Wild Things takes top spot at B.O.

UPDATE: Spike Jonze' adaptation of Mauce Sendak's classic children's book roared into first place at the box office on it's opening weekend in the USA earning 32.7 million from approximately 5,000 screens (including 145 IMAX). Not Harry Potter numbers for sure but it's performing above studio expectations and captures four quadrants. 43% of the audience is over the age of 18, 55% female. A pretty healthy balance that will likely give the film legs. For a more in-depth look at the audience demographic click here.

To listen to the soundtrack by "Karen O and the Kids" click here.

Wild Things

I went to see Where The Wild Things Are yesterday and could hardly believe what an awesome job Spike Jonze did in adapting Maurice Sendak's classic children's book. Tom Hanks was involved in producing and Tim Disney (Roy's son) was head of art direction. An absolute triumph!




Interview with Maurice Sendak on Spike's adaptation ...



Without spoiling it for you, what I got from the film was that Spike preserved Maurice's story and vision (the look and size relationships are wonderfully wild) but he also added a subtle dimension of Jungian archetypical shading. In other words, the monsters seem to represent parts of Max's interior landscape. It's a deeply moving work. Even the kids in the theatre were mesmerized.

Here's another, longer interview with Mr. Sendak about his work, his breakthrough as a writer and some of his "traumatic" but inspiring influences. Although he doesn't speak about it here, Sendak is rumored to have designed some of the monsters for Where the Wild Things Are based on his troubled relationships with his family.



I truly love this film and highly recommend it. The mixed reviews seem to derive from the less than stellar script. Yes, there are a few noticeably slow moments but they seem to come as a result of an overall effort to honor Sendak's original vision. Sometimes less truly IS more.

Film Lab Online Writing Classes

Just learned through StoryLink that Film Lab is offering some outrageously great online screenwriting and TV writing classes beginning October 19. Extremely limited. 8 weeks $400.

Creating the Space for Creativity

Here's a fantastic TedTalk for writers and artists. Enjoy!

Stories for the times

Yesterday at the Breakthrough with Tony Robbins taping, I got to witness the essence of two segments via their wraparound devices (i.e., structural underpinning). In this case, the action pieces of each transformational story were already in the can. We were there to shoot the end-product - a Q & A on a procenium stage - which serves as the spring-board for retelling those stories in flashbacks.

As a member of the live audience we promised not to tell what specifically happened, so I can't share the content. What I can tell you is these stories make a real difference in people's lives. In fact, they document total turnaround. This is reality TV at it's very best. Absolutely awesome.

If you want to translate this to a three-act structure, it's laid out as:

- Set-up and Intervention
- Escalating, customized tasks that take place over 30 days
- Climax (i.e., breakthrough) and conclusion

You'd be hard-pressed to find a film that carries this level of impact. And with the economy the way it is, I believe Breakthrough is a story idea whose time has come.

As you know, I wanted to be ON the show but just being in the presence and close proximity of this amazing man was a precious gift. We also got to rock a little after the show. Thanks Tony XOXOXO

NBC's Breakthrough with Tony Robbins will air at 8 pm in January (they haven't nailed down the day yet).

Cutest Kitty Contest

My sweet Himalayan kitty Kira has officially entered the PetMeds cutest pet photo contest this month. She really wants to win. Please take a moment to vote for her and click here Thanks!

The Changing Landscape

What's new in Hollywood? CHANGE. Of course that isn't news because change is ever-present in the creative realm of TV and film. New media continues to make its impact on our industry, in tandem with the global economical meltdown and the most creative adapt. Those who don't, won't survive.

Still it's helpful to look at the biggest news in summary to get an idea of the general drift. In the past couple of weeks...

- Disney has bought up Marvel (I tried to get them interested 20 years ago when the company was near bankruptcy but that was before it was a proven commodity), fired filmmaker favorite president Dick Cook and promoted Disney Channel exec Rich Ross.

- MGM publicly admitted it has requested an extension on its debt to avoid imminent bankruptcy (rumor has it Warner Bros is eyeing production/release of The Hobbit, which will give them control over the LOTR franchise). Something's gotta give here.

Warner Brothers renewed their top exec/former agent Jeff Robinov who immediately announced that they're taking back all DC Comics properties from producers to form a new subsidiary company called DC Entertainment. Warners DID finally settle the multi-million dollar case brought against them by the Tolkein estate.

- While NBCU awaits news on Vivendi's annual option, NBCU has fired it's top feature film execs and promoted Adam Fogelson and Donna Langley as parent company G.E. entertains bids from Comcast to buy NBCU. At they same time they took out full page ads in the trades and L.A. Times announcing 100+ million dollar upgrades to Universal City with improved theme park space, transit and new condos.

- DreamWorks exited Paramount months ago marking the official split between former partners Steven Speilberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Katzenberg remains in control of DW feature animation at Paramount, while the studio continues to its executive shuffle and general downsizing trend. Sumner Redstone (former principal Paramount's parent company Viacom) continues to sell off shares to lighten his debt load.

With these kinds of personnel and parent company ownerships changing, it makes looking for traditional work a tough go let me tell you. But it's also a really good time to study the technology that's having such an impact on our industry. TV and film aren't going anywhere just yet but they way we watch them IS and opening up new avenues for writers and artists of all kinds.

If you weren't there or haven't read it yet, I urge you to take a few minutes to review Bill Mechanic's keynote address to the Independent Producers. It gives a crystal clear thumbnail into what's going on at the studios and for independents right now.

Also, last week, MIPCOM met in Cannes to discuess the latest news on the digital universe. Check out Mika Salmi's keynote 10/7/09. Not only does he discuss how mobile entertainment is HOTTTT but individuals have more opportunity than ever to create and distribute their own product. Here's a clue. 300,000,000 people are on Facebook right now and more are joining by the thousands daily.

My newest friends are gorillas

There's a story in the news that has totally captured my heart and I suspect it's going to have legs in the media here before long as the project goes "live" today. You may have heard about Friendagorilla, a conservation group in Uganda that is implementing an innovative use of new media to raise money and awareness to protect the endangered mountain gorilla.

Friendagorilla has linked their website with Facebook and are encouraging people to donate one dollar to hire more protection against poachers (still their biggest threat) and to pay for veterinarian treatments in their wild habitat.



Awareness of the endangered state of the mountain gorilla first caught fire with the work of Dian Fossey (the inspiration behind the movie Gorillas in the Mist), who was murdered in 1985 for her efforts to protect them. Seven years before her death Dian started The Gorilla Fund which raises money to protect the gorillas and first began an "adopt-a-gorilla" fund (which ranges from $50-300).



My new gorilla friends are baby Tabu and an adolescent named Happy. There are no photos or video available yet of Tabu (who is already known to be quite a troublemaker in the Bwindi Forest) but here is a picture of Happy, the first born son of a silverback King named Rukina. What a terrific idea.

Congratulations to Friendagorilla. I imagine at least one feature story will come out of this project. And, if you're into it, you can follow Friendagorilla on Twitter. What a fantastic business model as well. Could this be a better alternative to zoos?