Zamacona and Simon Under the Same Roof in Austin!

Several weeks ago, my friend Gary Bond with the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau called and asked if we were still looking for panelists.

"Well, we're pretty set, but who did you have in mind?" "Oh, my buddy Jorge Zamacona. He lives in New York, but he loves Austin." Are you kidding me? Jorge Zamacona? Creator of “Wanted” and staff writer on “Homicide: Life on the Street”? Did Gary know that we had just announced as our Outstanding TV Writer Award recipient David Simon who, in addition to creating "The Wire" and "Treme", had also brought "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets" to the screen from the book, which he also wrote?

Yes, please. We would very much like to have Jorge Zamacona join us as a panelist.

A little bit more about Jorge: After graduating from California State University-Northridge Magna Cum Laude in 1983 with a degree in TV/Film Writing and Production, Jorge was hired by Mary Tyler Moore (MTM) Enterprises and began his writing career on the NBC series "St. Elsewhere." Since then Jorge has built his career and become a successful Showrunner/Executive Producer of many respected and well known television series. Please check out all his impressive and lengthy credits here. Jorge is creator/writer of “Wanted” and “10-8: Officers on Duty”, was a staff writer on “Homicide: Life on the Street” (22 episodes!), consulting producer/writer on ABC’s “The Unusuals”, and is currently a Consulting Producer on the NBC-UNIVERSAL Television produced series "Outlaw" airing this fall on NBC.

He generously agreed to answer a few questions for us below. We know you'll have many more, so be sure and check out his panels this October 21-24!

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AFF: You did a lot of work on "Homicide: Life on the Street" – the series based on David Simon’s non-fiction novel Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. How important was the source material to your contribution to the series?

JZ: The source material was critical to understanding the rhythm, texture, language and attitudes of not only the homicide detectives we were fictionalizing, but also the city of Baltimore itself. David's book set the entire template of how to tell the stories. In fact I was in Baltimore for part of the shooting of the pilot and did some "cocktail" research with one of the detectives in the book. The book was our treasure map for the series.


AFF: How much research did you need to conduct in order to stay true to the reality of life on the streets in terms police procedures and mandates?

JZ: As I said, I/we/ the other writers spent some time in the company of Baltimore Homicide Detectives. They would keep us from writing "TV" versions of detectives. Authenticity was very important to us. We also had an active Baltimore Detective working as a tech advisor on series. He would read our drafts and then give us notes on procedure and language, etc.


AFF: You’ve written for many crime-based television shows. What attracts you to that particular genre?

JZ: I love the visceral nature of crime storytelling. I love the moral and legal ambiguities of the decisions that police, attorneys and judges have to make in order to achieve some measure of justice. But I like writing other genres as well and am developing action-comedy and character-based non-procedurals as well.


AFF: What initially attracted you to television writing? How did you break in?

JZ: My mother was a Madison, Wisconsin Public Librarian. So, from a very early age she was drowning me in books. I loved reading and then began writing - stories, songs, bad plays and short films - in my teens. I worked on a movie of the week that MTM came to Madison to shoot during my freshman year at the University of Wisconsin. The producers told me that if I wanted to pursue this career, I should write and I should move. I moved to Los Angeles to finish film school and then interned at MTM my senior year. I was hired as production assistant on "St. Elsewhere" and there I met Tom Fontana and Bruce Paltrow...and started my career in earnest.


AFF: How and when does one get to make the jump to being a showrunner?

JZ: Experience. I was lucky enough to be tutored by Tom Fontana who was himself tutored by Bruce Paltrow. I did my time as a story editor, a producer and as an Co-Executive Producer (on "Millenium")... when I left "Millennium" I sold my own show ideas, shot them, got them picked-up for series and summarily "show ran" them. It takes some time and experience to effectively run a show. The job involves hiring the staff, the directors, casting, scripts, editing, budgeting, dealing with the studio and network, etc. Some writers who sell an idea and have it advance to series will get the title of Executive Producer but they will lack the showrunning experience. In those cases seasoned Executive Producers will be hired to partner that person in order to get the show up and running.


AFF: What are you working on now?

JZ: I am currently a Consulting Producer on "Outlaw." Consulting means I am part-time (sort of) in order that I may continue to develop my own projects. A latitude that I would not be afforded if I were full-time. The show will air this fall on Friday nights at 10:00 pm on NBC (the old "Homicide" time slot) and stars Jimmy Smits as a former Supreme Court Justice who retires the bench in order to become a defense attorney.


AFF: Anyone in particular you're looking forward to meeting or seeing at the Austin Film Festival this October?

JZ: It will be great to see David ... and any and all bartenders.

Austin Cats! Brings Will Akers to Austin Film Festival

A few weeks ago, Melody Lopez, Group Lead for Austin Cats!, contacted us with an idea. Were we interested in partnering this year? They would sponsor the attendance of one Will Akers at our Conference and we would offer a discount to not just Austin Cats! members, but all Save the Cat! subscribers. To take advantage of the discount, please contact maya@austinfilmfestival.com or matt@austinfilmfestival.com.

The Austin Cats! is a supportive community of writers who follow the story structure principles of the late Blake Snyder, author of the Save the Cat! series of screenwriting books. Informal monthly meetings encourage the educational development of storytellers of all levels. The Austin Cats! is a chapter within Cat! Nation, aka blakesnyder.com

For those few folks unfamiliar with Will Akers, he's the author of the bestselling book Your Screenplay Sucks!, 100 Ways To Make It Great, is a Lifetime Member of the WGA and has had three feature films produced from his screenplays. Will has written for studios, independent producers, and television networks. He currently teaches screenwriting at Vanderbilt University, does story consulting, and gives writing workshops and seminars around the world.

Blake Snyder had recommended Will Akers' book to Melody during a coaching session and it had a tremendous impact on Melody and her writing. She believes believe in her heart that Blake must be proud that his "Austin Cats!" are contributing to the writing community and keeping his positive, supportive and generous spirit alive!

Blake is quoted inside the cover of the book: "William M. Akers is a renaissance man of film who is at once a big studio screenwriter, independent writer/director, and caring, insightful teacher. He also knows every trick in the book when it comes to fixing a script. And this is that book! A must for any writer facing the 'dark night of the script.'"

Melody Lopez recently chatted with Mr. Akers and the text of their conversation is below. We are delighted to be working with both Austin Cats! and Save the Cat! and look forward to hosting Will in October.

We hope you'll join us, as well!

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Austin Cats!: In your book you share that you sold your first screenplay. How did you manage to achieve this?

Akers: It’s exactly what they tell you-- “it’s who you know.” Well, in my case it was two different “who you knows.” I arrived at film school already wanting to make a movie out of a book that had been read to me as a child. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, about two young girls whose evil governess drowns their parents so she can inherit their fortune. I did the research and found who controlled the rights. Alan Pakula. As it turned out, a guy I went to college with, his attorney also represented Pakula. They worked a deal for me to option the book from Pakula. It took me nine months to write the script. Then, I gave it to lots and lots of people. A woman I’d attended graduate school with, gave it to a friend, who knew a friend, who knew another friend who wanted to direct it. That person found the producer in England who made the film but, in the end, with a different director. Who knows what would have happened were it not for my two friends. Most likely, I wouldn’t own this house...

Austin Cats!: Of the 100 tips you offer in your book, which do you think is the most important and why?

Akers: The last chapter. It’s more philosophical than the rest of the book. It says, “If you’re not happy when you are a failure, you’re not going to be happy when you’re a success.” It’s best, when you’re writing not to spend all your time thinking about selling. You have to enjoy the process. If you don’t enjoy the process, and then it doesn’t sell, what have you got? I wrote a children’s adventure novel that may never sell. If it doesn’t, too bad. But, at least I enjoyed writing it.

Austin Cats!: You share more advice and have direct communication with readers of your blog: www.yourscreenplaysucks.wordpress.com What has surprised you the most by the comments people make?

Akers: How many good writers there are and who have something wonderful to add. I’ve been writing for 20 years and, perhaps foolishly, think good writing is important. It’s great to know there are others who to take it as seriously as I do. The main purpose of the blog is to help people improve their writing and help them not make the mistakes I’ve made. I point out the quicksand so other people can steer clear.

Austin Cats!: What lessons have you taken from your produced features that helped in the writing of 105° AND RISING, your screenplay about the fall of Saigon?

Akers: I wrote it long, long ago, while THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE was being shot. At that point, I didn’t know anything about making features. The Saigon script was good, but lay fallow for 15 years. It almost got made once, then went back on the shelf. Finally, Jon Amiel found it and wanted to direct it. For the producers and the studio, Jon and I did eleven drafts over two years during pre-production. And the screenplay only got better.

I know you got the information about 105° AND RISING from my book. Unfortunately, that screenplay is now mostly on life support. Has been for a while. It went into a coma because five other movies came out with political themes and didn’t do well. The studio lost its nerve. It’s too bad because it’s a killer story with amazing characters.

Austin Cats!: You co-wrote the screenplay, ERNEST RIDES AGAIN. What were the challenges and benefits of writing for an established franchise?

Akers: Four movies with Ernest had already been made. It was easy to look at them and write for “that guy.” He was existing character, who spoke in a certain way. All we had to do was create a new story. What was great about Ernest is that any kind of dialogue you wanted to write, Jim Varney could say, beautifully. My co-writer was the director. [John R. Cherry III] It was a lot of fun! While we were writing it, we knew the movie was going to get made. I’d come up with an idea and the team had so much experience, they knew if it was good for the story. Nothing went into the script that wasn’t gonna work.

Austin Cats!: This is your first time to the Austin Film Festival. What are you looking forward to? Are there any panelists you’re looking forward to seeing or meeting?

Akers: I’m happy to be coming. The Festival has got a stellar reputation. I just hope I’m not on a panel at the same time as John Lee Hancock’s panel. Anything he says is worth hearing. I want to hear Derek Haas, Craig Mazin, and Michael Brandt. They’re terrific. Of Course, I'm just like everyone else who'll be there. I'll hope to meet producers and executives too. Plus, I’ve never been to Austin. I like to eat, so I won’t be content until I find some top-drawer Texas barbecue!

For the full list of panelists and to buy your Badge now, click here!

Pixar's Coming to Austin!

Michael Arndt, screenwriter of the awesome summer hit Toy Story 3 (and Little Miss Sunshine)! Mary Coleman, Senior Development Executive for Pixar Animation Studios! Emily Zulauf, Creative Development Associate for Pixar Animation Studios! All gathered together under the roof of the 2010 AFF and Conference, October 21-24!

We've got some terrific panels in the works, including one on Pixar's Story Development Process and another on Writing for Animation. Where do the ideas for animated features come from? How do animation studios find writers? How do they work with them?

To hold us over until October, we've got a few more viewings of Toy Story 3 and the below interview with Emily Zulauf.


AFF: How did you get involved in development at Pixar? What's been your career path?
EZ: It's been a little random! I was in LA right after college, but northern California always felt more like home. I worked for an agency in LA, small production companies in Chicago and San Francisco and finally got in at Pixar as a temp.

AFF: What is your day-to-day work like at Pixar?
EZ: I do a bunch of reading for writer/director matches and research for our in-development projects. Our department handles a lot of stuff, including short films, so there is always something going on.

AFF: What projects are you currently working on?
EZ: I can't talk about any of them! I'd like to keep my job!

AFF: Will there ever be a Monsters, Inc. 2?
EZ: There will be! And they have a great team working on that. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

AFF: Photographs online make Pixar Studios in Emeryville, CA look like some magical office dream. Does that place really exist?
EZ: Yes. I have a chocolate river in my office. It makes it very hard to concentrate.

AFF: Advice for up-and-coming screenwriters?
EZ: We give a LOT of feedback at Pixar, which is hard for some writers. For a work environment like ours, I'd say learn to love that process - if you can embrace it, it will only make your writing better.

AFF: Does Pixar develop all of their story ideas and scripts in-house, or do they ever accept submissions from agents? If yes to the latter, have there been any films produced thus far that came from 'outside' Pixar?
EZ: Everything here is director driven, including the ideas. So, nope, we don't take ideas from outside. That said, we do hire writers from the outside and once they are on board, they are instrumental in helping the director achieve his or her vision.

Larry Doyle Coming to Austin!

We are thrilled that Larry Doyle will be joining us as a panelist for the 2010 AFF Conference.

Larry's first novel, “I Love You, Beth Cooper” won the 2008 Thurber Award for Humor Writing. He wrote the screenplay for the subsequent film, released in 2009. His new novel, “Go, Mutants!” will be released in June 2010; he is adapting that book for Imagine Entertainment and Universal.

Doyle was a writer and producer of “The Simpsons” for four years, and is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker. He also wrote the films “Duplex,” and “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.” More, mostly reliable information is available at larrydoyle.com.

We recently sat him down at his computer and had him answer a few questions for us.

AFF: Was I love You Beth Cooper based on personal experience? It was set at your alma mater, Buffalo Grove High School. Were the settings, such as Old Tobacco Road, real spots where you spent time?

LD: The book, per se, didn't happen, but I would have liked it to. I set it at my high school mostly so I wouldn't have to come up with a terrible name for a high school (e.g. Spiro T. Agnew H.S., Fawning Meadows High) and that tied me into using the local geography. The Buffalo Grove in the book is a mix of the town I grew up in (Tobacco Road), and the town it became (the strip malls are current), and some satirical invention (the McMansion subdivision.) The Buffalo Grove in the movie is Buffalo Glenn, and it's Vancouver.
By the way, if you go here, you can find an annotation I had to do for Fox legal, describing everything in the first draft of the movie that was real, invented, or some combination.

AFF: You’ve written for television, magazines, movies, and novels. How does the focus of your writing change between mediums?

LD: It's all writing for me. The important things are the same. Story and Character. (Even in journalism). The differences:

People in TV and movies don't like prose. Unless you're Tarantino, you keep your writing out of the stage directions.

In TV and Movies, somebody else is the Artist. You have to create your stuff within theirs.

Writing novels is the most fun, but living in a house with heat and electricity is more fun.

AFF: It seems most of your television credits are for animated shows. Is there something that attracts you to that style of show?

LD: I love cartoons, but that wasn't what drew me to "The Simpsons." I wanted to write for them because it was the best comedy writing being done anywhere.

AFF: You wrote the screenplay for 2003’s “Looney Toons: Back in Action.” Is it easier to write for original characters, like Brendan Frasier’s character, or pre-established characters, such as Bugs Bunny?

LD: If it's a great character, like Daffy Duck or Homer Simpson, it's much easier because all the hard work has been done. It always sounds new-age creepy to say this, but the characters really do seem to speak to you. When I was on the Simpsons, after awhile I could pitch lines as a character and it would feel as if I was hearing the line for the first time as I said it. This can also happen with original characters, but it takes much longer for their personalities to sink into your subconscious. And of course, I haven't created a character as great as Daffy Duck or Homer Simpson.

AFF: What was your first big break?

LD: My girlfriend broke up with me, and I went crazy. I subsequently wrote a piece about it, and it became my first New Yorker casual. This lead to many great things, in a very roundabout way. I wrote at length about that here and here.

AFF: This will be your first time at the Austin Film Festival. What are you most looking forward to? Any panelists you're looking forward to seeing or meeting?

LD: There will be several great writers there I know -- Derek Haas, Jeff Lowell, Craig Mazin, John Turman -- and a couple who I've only met online -- John August and John Lee Hancock -- who will be great to hang out with. I'd also love to meet Mary Coleman, because I goddam love everything Pixar does.


Want to know who else is coming in for the 2010 AFF Conference? The panelist list is up here and new names are being added every week, so be sure to check back with us regularly.