One on One with Ed Solomon: Confirmed Panelist for the 2007 AFF Conference

Ed Solomon is a confirmed panelist (schedule permiting) for this year's Austin Film Festival and Conference. Ed has been responsible for many films including Men In Black, Levity, Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure, and currently Tokyo Suckerpunch ( staring Tobey Maguire) and Nowhereland (starring Eddie Murphy). While gearing up for the 2007 AFF Conference, I had a few minutes to ask Ed Solomon some questions about screenwriting.

Linnea: Your body of work crosses over several genres. What attracts you to a project as a screenwriter?

Ed Solomon: I like something that draws me in and makes me excited to go into its world. Usually that’s because it says something to me in an emotional way. It’s not usually a logical decision; ie, “what’s best for my career?” or “what should I do?” It’s more like “this feels like there’s an energy to it — a sense of movement.” I like to know that there’s a journey within it, that the characters can really move through the idea. I don’t care about genres. The question is: what’s the best milieu through which this story should travel? I wanna know it’s a world I understand (emotionally, not necessarily intellectually) and am interested in exploring. If it’s a comedy, can I make it funny? Is it original? Is it something I’ve done before?


Linnea: How did you transition from being a joke writer for comedians to writing scripts?


Ed Solomon: Most joke writers make lousy long-form writers. And I certainly struggled with my bad habits — like stretching truth to go for a joke, thinking outside the story as opposed to from within the story, or from within the characters. But my actual step by step transition was: In college I wrote with some comedians. One of them (Garry Shandling, who almost entirely wrote his own material) introduced me to a tv producer named Marc Sotkin, a really great, really funny guy who was going to be producing Laverne and Shirley. I was a senior at UCLA, and I invited him to come see a play I wrote being performed. Based on the play and on Garry’s recommendation, Marc hired me as a staff writer on the show. I was paired “on paper” with another guy, Nick LeRose — in other words we were ostensibly “partners” -- but that was only so that they could hire two of us for the price of one. In hindsight they should have hired FOUR of us for the price of one: I wasn’t worth much more than that. I was too young to really know what I was doing. After that I wrote a spec screenplay or two while returning to jokewriting and doing (lame — seriously lame) stand-up comedy, then — thank God -- set up the Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure script (a spec which I cowrote with my college friend Chris Matheson, who is quite brilliant and still a great friend and sometimes collaborator) for $5000. That was the end of 1984 (I was 24), and that was pretty much the beginning of my movie writing career. (I did work with Garry from 86 to 88 on “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show”.)


Linnea: You have attended AFF several times since its inception in 1994. What keeps you coming back to talk with burgeoning screenwriters and filmmakers?


Ed Solomon: It helps me on a lot of levels. I learn stuff. I meet interesting people — those on the panels and those in attendance; we’re all doing the same thing. And I love the festival – the people running it, the people who come. It’s really great to meet people who aspire to do the thing you take for granted. It’s ennobling. And I love Austin. And I love free plane trips.

Linnea: What is the one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring screenwriter or filmmaker?


Ed Solomon: Make your own rules.


Buy a badge now and talk to Ed Solomon in person at this year's Austin Film Festival and Conference!

Only 10 days left for early registration. Purchase a Producers Badge during early registration and be entered in to win a FREE NIGHT STAY AT THE STEPHEN F. AUSTIN HOTEL FOR THIS YEARS CONFERENCE!

picture from the set of Levity, Ed Solomon and Holly Hunter.

Austin Stories: The Best Panel Ever

The Best Panel Ever was taken by Susan Bays' Blog http://blahblahbloggingalong.blogspot.com

Being the bright folks they are, the folks at AFF realized that a panel with David Milch, Shane Black and Sydney Pollock might attract, you know, more than a handful of people. So they did the wise and prudent thing and moved the venue to the historic Paramount Theatre. Okay, so imagine a cool, old theatre with beautiful Grecian frescos?, murals? carvings? Man, I'm not good at this design stuff. It's just a very cool venue, okay?

David Milch, Shane Black, and to a lesser but still important degree, B.J. and Pollock, had good chemistry. Or maybe they had great chemistry. All I know is it was magic. Remember, I'd seen Milch only hours before and he was funny. He was great. He was helpful. But up there on stage with the Others, he was more than that. I've also seen Shane give good panels, be funny and helpful and whatnot. (Side note: Shane Black and Scott Rosenberg on a panel together is always worth the time. Also good chemistry there, but in a guy-ish sort of way.) Yeah, so, I've seen Shane on panels over the years and I have to say that here, in this instance, he was more than I've ever seen him be. He was present, funny, brilliant, open and raw and yet, he had an aire of a man who's come into his own. He sat up there with Milch and Pollock and he owned his place at the table. That was very cool to see.

The day before TBPE, Sydney Pollack was walking in the lobby of the Driskill. (yes, I just now realized I've been misspelling his name. I'll have to apologize the next time I fawn over him.) Anyway, in the time I was waiting with my kids, Jon and Bryan for my ex to show up, Mr. P. walked by toward the cafe. Jon or Bryan said I should go up to Mr. P. and say something. I didn't. But then, when Mr. P. walked toward us on his way back (he'd bought coffee), I did go up to him. I had nothing to say, really. I just gushed and said hi. I'm such a goober.

Anyway, the point is, if I'd had anything coherent to say, I would have told Mr. P. how much I enjoyed his movies. I think he has a gift with actors and everyone knows actors are crazy which may be why he handled being on stage with Milch and Black so well.

(Again, and for the record, I'm not exactly sane, so my comments on the mental capacities of Mr. Milch and Mr. Black are not judgemental, merely observational.)

You know what was! cool about Sydney Pollack? He started off by saying he's not a writer and he wasn't sure he belonged up there with the other two. That's a cool way to give props to writers. And for most of the panel, unless Barry Josephson asked him specific questions, Mr. P. sat and listened and laughed as Milch and Black spoke. Still, I was impressed with Mr. P.'s attentiveness and presence. What can I say? I'm easy to please.

Okay, so now that I've taken FOREVER to introduce the players, let's see if I can remember why I keep calling this the Best Panel Ever.

I think, more than anything, I'll remember how the panelists took time out of their funny and often personal stories to address the audience. More than once, they pointed out specific examples...they found teachable moments in what was being said and THAT made the panel more about us, the audience, than it did about them. It wasn't just an ego session for three big filmmakers. It was an informative session for all of us. Do you know how cool that was? I think you do, or you can imagine.!

"So anyway, there you go." That was my favorite teachable moment. It was a moment where David Milch, whose mind zips around at warp speed and wanders very strange paths, pulled something from a personal story Shane Black had just told and turned it into something we, the audience could use. There, in that moment, when the audience could have been left with just one example of how a person's pscyhe ends up in their writing, Milch ADDED to the moment by pointing out the value of what wasn't said.

My friend, Glynis, suggested elsewhere that if a recording of that panel is available for purchase, people should buy it. I know I will, if it's available. Otherwise, I'll be left with this feeling that I was witness to an amazing moment in time where three generous, brilliant people came together, without ego or even self-preservation, and gave to others in a way that was inspiring and thought-provoking. That's not a bad feeling with which to leave the Austin Film Fes! tival after nine straight years of attending. Not a bad feeling at all.

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We are quickly approaching our early registration deadline. Purchase your Producers Badge now and save $150 dollars on the Producers Badge! Please feel free to call and register over the phone at 1.800.310.FEST

After May 31st Producers Badges will be priced $585 and Conference Badges at $350.

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We would love to hear your Austin Story! Please send yours to linnea(@)austinfilmefestival.com.

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Pirate Radio USA- B Side Entertainment

B-Side Entertainment Acquires Worldwide Rights to Documentary ''PIRATE RADIO USA''
Release of Subversive Festival Favorite to Begin with DRM-free Downloads and B-Side Grassroots Screening Launch.

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Specialty distributor B-Side Entertainment has secured worldwide distribution rights to the documentary PIRATE RADIO USA. In the spirit of bypassing mainstream media channels, the film will be released initially on May 22 via DRM-free download on BSIDE.COM, the company’s forthcoming online marketplace for independent films. The digital launch will be escalated in mid-Summer with a widespread grassroots screening release.

In PIRATE RADIO USA, DJ Him (director Jeff Pearson) and DJ Her (producer Mary Jones) take viewers on a rock-n-roll tour through the underground world of illegal radio in America, where people play what they want and say what they want – unless the FCC catches them. The film uses a riotous DIY approach to show low-wattage radio “Davids” as they battle to free the radio airwaves from mass media “Goliaths” and ultimately discover the real price of freedom.
B-Side, which also provides free online community technology to dozens of international film festivals, identified PIRATE RADIO USA as an audience favorite at the 2006 Austin Film Festival (AFF). AFF’s B-Side Festival Community members posted thousands of film ratings and reviews during the event, and B-Side recognized the film’s potential through its overwhelmingly positive audience feedback.

“Our festival technology helps us find movies that audiences love in places that other distributors are not even looking,” said B-Side CEO Chris Hyams. “Our proven grassroots exhibition model, combined with the upcoming launch of bside.com, will give Jeff and Mary the audience they know is out there and the economic terms they deserve.”
Director Jeff Pearson agrees. “There are tens of thousands of pirate radio fans in this country, not to mention millions more who are passionate about defending free speech, spreading social justice and fighting media tyranny. We’re convinced that B-Side’s innovative model will not only reach traditional independent film fans, but also the vast untapped audience of people who care about the film’s larger message.”

“Through the B-Side Festival Community, we were able to deliver a richer festival experience to our audience and create significant new opportunities for our filmmakers,” said Barbara Morgan, Executive Director of the Austin Film Festival. “We feel B-Side is emerging as a major player in the independent film landscape, and we are thrilled this partnership led them to acquire PIRATE RADIO USA."
More details about the film’s release will be available in the coming weeks at http://www.bside.com/ and www.pirateradiousa.com.

About B-Side Entertainment
B-Side Entertainment is a specialty distributor and online marketplace for independent films. Through innovative online marketing, alternative distribution models, and strategic partnerships with IFC and dozens of international film festivals, we help movies find their audiences, and introduce fans to their next favorite film. In 2006, B-Side established a groundbreaking grassroots screening model to release the electrifying music documentary Before the Music Dies (http://www.beforethemusicdies.com/), which has become a sensation among music fans.

On May 22, the company will launch the new BSIDE.COM, the largest online community of independent film audiences, which will offer DVDs and DRM-free downloads of great undiscovered independent films from festivals around the world. For more information, please visit www.bside.com.

There are Many Winners at AFF: 2006 Semi-Finalist, Dwayne McKenzie, On the Conference and Writers' Ranch

MARY: Dwayne, last year was the second time you have entered the Austin Film Festival Screenplay and Teleplay Competition. What made you come back and enter again?

DWAYNE: Sucker for punishment? At least that’s the way it can feel sometimes. But I figure if you write teleplays or screenplays, you do it in the hopes that what you write will make it to the small or big screen. Otherwise, you’re writing a diary. So, eventually, you need to get read by people who can and do make that happen. My impression of the AFF is that it’s one of the few competitions that can get some attention for scripts that advance. And you don’t need to win the competition to have some great results. So when I felt I had a script that was worth sending out, the AFF was on my short list.

MARY: You also attended the festival and conference last year as a 2006 Semi-Finalist with MOXIE, which was co-written with JJ Masley. What made you attend and how was your experience?

DWAYNE: Thinking back, I think there were a couple of reasons why I decided to make the trek out to Austin, aside from the repeated promises of BBQ. I know a big part of it was that there were special panels for Finalists and Semi-Finalists, and then some more for Second Rounders. Those smaller panels looked very interesting and, let’s face it, they gave those writers advancing in the competition a chance to get up close with some pretty talented people. Besides that, the lineup of panelists, films, and documentaries just sounded like a good time. I’ve never been opposed to a good time. The focus of the festival on the writer in the whole equation is unique, and it shows at the conference. I’d strike up a conversation with a panelist and end up having coffee and talking about views on what kind of stories we’d like to write and see on the screen. I live in L.A., and you’re just not going to have that happen in stop-and-go traffic.

MARY: After the festival, MOXIE was selected to apply for the 2007 Writers’ Ranch. Currently, the first week of the ranch is complete, but the second week is coming up later this month in LA. What has been your experience so far with the ranch, and what made you apply?

DWAYNE: I definitely wanted the opportunity to sit with the likes of Jim Hart and Herschel Weingrod for a week and learn what I could, but my main goal was to make MOXIE as good as it could be. The story was inspired by my Mom and in first creating the character of MOXIE (a 10-year-old girl), I drew bits and pieces from my nieces and nephews (some pretty cool kids). So, I’ve had a lot invested in the script and I wanted to do it and them as much justice as I could. As far as my experiences there, it far surpassed my expectations. I knew going in that there were issues with MOXIE but wasn’t sure of how to fix them. By the end of the Ranch, I could see the entire rewrite. I think I can safely say MOXIE is vastly better now, and it was the feedback and tools that Jim and Herschel provided that sped up that process.

For more information on the Writers' Ranch and this year's Austin Film Festival and Conference check out www.austinfilmfestival.com. And DON'T FORGET upcoming deadlines for the Screenplay/Teleplay Competitions (May 15th/June 1st) and Early Festival Registration (May 31st).