HAPPY HOLIDAYS

WISHING YOU ALL HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

JOY, GOOD HEALTH, & PEACE

Susan

p.s. And I hope to post more frequent blogs in the new year!

PUBLICATION DATE for...

Susan's chapter/exercise "Analyze Your Characters" will appear in the NOW WRITE ! Screenwriting: Exercises by Today's Best Screenwriters, Teachers and Consultants to be published by Tarcher/Penguin in September, 2010

SUSAN'S NEW SCREENWRITING ARTICLE!

http://www.moviemaker.com/magazine/toc/complete_guide_to_making_movies_2010_20091020/

Don't miss my article in the

Complete Guide to Making Movies 2010 in MovieMaker Magazine's Special Annual Edition.

SUSAN'S SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP 10/22

Susan Kouguell presents: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Screenwriting

6:30 PM at Wiggin Memorial Library, Stratham, NH

Contact: Tricia Ryden 772-4346 library@wigginml.org


Whether you are a teenager or a senior, if you have an idea for your first screenplay or are writing your tenth script, this seminar will address your questions and demystify how both the independent and Hollywood film industries really work. Learn the inside secrets about what movie executives demand in a winning screenplay.

NEW HAMPSHIRE FILM FESTIVAL

My screenwriting seminar tomorrow at the NH Film Festival is at 10:30 in the Connie Bean building. It is NOT at 12:30 as posted on the NHFF Website and some other materials. Hope you can attend!

Thanks to the panelists today at the Art of the Pitch panel I moderated today!

50 Best Websites for Moviemakers 2009

FROM MOVIEMAKER MAGAZINE: 50 Best Websites for Moviemakers 2009
by Jennifer M. Wood Published June 10, 2009
The Internet offers moviemakers a unique opportunity for sharing their work with the world. But distribution is not the only way the Web can assist aspiring and seasoned auteurs alike. From pre-production through post, millions of Websites help today’s cinema artists further their careers. How can you separate the best from the rest? For starters, you can use our second annual roundup of the 50 Best Websites for Moviemakers.
AFCI.org
ArtfulWriter.com
ArtOfTheGuillotine.com
BigStar.tv
BlssResearch.com
DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com
DetonationFilms.com
DVcreators.net
DVXuser.com
EarthProtect.com
EntertainmentEarth.com
ExploreTalent.com
FightForIndependents.org
FilmmakersAlliance.org
Filmmaking.net
FiveSprockets.com
GreenCine.com
HollywoodOmniBook.com
iArtHouse.com
TheIncentivesOffice.com
IMDb.com
IndieProducer.net
IndyMogul.com
InkTip.com
JoBlo.com
JohnAugust.com
MagicRock.com
MakingOf.com
MicroFilmmaker.com
MovieMaker.com
MovieMarketingMadness.com
MovieRetriever.com
myProducer.tv
Openfilm.com
Pavaline.com
ProductionHUB.com
Reel-Exchange.com
ReelGrok.com
ReframeCollection.org
ScriptPIMP.com
ShootingPeople.org
SnagFilms.com
StoryLink.com
TakeZer0.com
TriggerStreet.com
TwistedTracks.com
WebFilmSchool.com
WebMovieNow.com
YOBI.tv
The list above includes sites only; for the full article, pick up a copy of MovieMaker‘s Future of Moviemaking 2009 special edition, on newsstands in June. Or sign up for a subscription at the discounted rate of just $1 per issue* at https://www.moviemaker.com/subscribe/best_sites.

Links to Finding Jobs & Collaborations

From FILMMAKER Magazine's Summer 2009 Issue:

WHERE TO...
FIND A JOB

• 4entertainmentjobs.com
• blog.reel-exchange.com/jobboard
• digitalmedianet.4jobs.com
• entertainmentjobs.com
• filmstaff.com
• jobhuntweb.viacom.com/jobhunt/main/jobhome.asp
• mandy.com
• media-match.com
• monster.com
• nyc.gov/html/film/html/home/reeljobs_download.shtml
• varietymediacareers.com

COLLABORATE WITH OTHERS

• actorsandcrew.com
• d-word.com
• dvxuser.com
• iamanartist.com
• massify.com
• productionhub.com/jobs
• reduser.net
• shootingpeople.org
• triggerstreet.com

ANOTHER SAVVY SCREENWRITER REVIEW

From Film International:
http://www.filmint.nu/

The Savvy Screenwriter: How to Sell Your Screenplay (and Yourself) Without Selling Out!, Susan Kouguell
New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 288pp., ISBN-13: 978-0312355753 (pbk), $14.95
For those that are considering or already dabbling in the craft of writing screenplays there are some names that recur with astounding regularity: Syd Field, Lew Hunter, Robert McKee and Dr Linda Seger. Yet even if one cracks the spine of any number of books dedicated to creating a screenplay to actually write a screenplay, then what happens after the celebratory glass of champagne has gone flat? What do you do after you’ve written the screenplay?

You may not have heard of her… yet. Her name is Susan Kouguell. She is not simply an academic that is teaching screenwriting without ever having swum in the murky and mercurial waters of Hollywood. Kougell is an award-winning screenwriter, producer and script consultant who has had stints with Miramax, Paramount Pictures and working with Louis Malle. The Savvy Screenwriter: How to Sell Your Screenplay (and Yourself) without Selling Out is a manual to guide aspiring screenwriters on what they need to know and do after they have typed FADE OUT on their final draft.

Do not be fooled by the slimness of this text. Kouguell demystifies the key components and players involved in the road to getting one’s screenplay noticed and sold in the entertainment industry. The Savvy Screenwriter reveals to readers how movie executives and story analysts approach new material and writers. Unsure of whether your script is really finished? The Savvy Screenwriter provides a checklist. Don’t know how to get an agent? It’s in there. Don’t know how to pitch anything other than a baseball? Not to worry, Kouguell’s book is able to help.

Kouguell’s writing style exhibits candour yet is forthright and this approach is perfect for communicating the practical advice that she has gleaned from navigating through Hollywood. She shares some of her not-so-great moments when she was starting out in the industry and what she learned from them. Quite simply, Kouguell’s text shows the reader how the entertainment industry works and how the screenwriter fits within this ecological system.

The Savvy Screenwriter supports the practical advice by complementing it with detailed explanations and examples of common industry documents and terminology such as coverage, release forms, option agreements and ‘pay or play’. The appendices contain a thorough list of online and offline resources, from organisations to trade publications, to prepare readers before they buy their one-way tickets to Los Angeles.

Whilst it would have been an added bonus to know the screenplays that Kouguell deems essential reading, the exclusion is understandable as her focus is squarely on how to make it in Hollywood as a new screenwriter. The Savvy Screenwriter is a welcome companion to other screenwriting texts.

Contributor details
Deirdre Devers is a researcher of screen cultures, specifically digital games and film. When she's not watching films, she's watching gamers at play or writing about people's interactions with the screen

SAVVY SCREENWRITER in TOP 10 Books

The Page Awards writes: Here are the top books, classes, seminars, software, and other tools and resources our judges recommend to help you navigate your way through the Hollywood system.

http://pageawards.com/recommended-resources/sell-your-script/

THE SAVVY SCREENWRITER: A real-life guide to surviving in the film business by industry veteran and Tufts University screenwriting teacher Susan Kouguell, this invaluable script sales manual reveals: what the studios are looking for, the dos and don’ts of pitching a script, insights into how scripts are rated, as well as instructions on writing a successful query letter and synopsis, and tips on negotiating contracts, signing development deals, and working with Hollywood agents and entertainment attorneys.

SUMMER COMES TO A CLOSE...

After taking a few weeks off from writing blog entries, I am back with weekly (or more) updates about everything screenplay and film...and more!

Atlhough I was remiss in blogging, I was busy consulting with my Su-City clients...many of whom are getting BIG interest in their projects. I will post success stories as they come in.

On the writing front, I wrote an article for MovieMaker Magazine that will come out this month -check back for the link to the article in the coming days...

I was also invited to write a chapter for Now Write Screenplays! an anthology of exercises and ‘tricks’ by masters and teachers. Other contributors include Stephen Rivele (ALI, Oscar-nominated NIXON), Oscar-nominated Kim Krizan (BEFORE SUNRISE), Danny Rubin (GROUNDHOG DAY), Paul Guay (LIAR, LIAR), David Atkins (NOVOCAINE), Andy Fleming (THE CRAFT), Karey Kirkpatrick (SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES), Blake Snyder (BLANK CHECK), Ed Solomon (MEN IN BLACK), Jim Strain (JUMANJI), Glenn Gers (MAD MONEY) and legendary TV writer Arnie Kane.

And, I recently served as the judge for the New Hampshire Film & Television Office
Screenplay Reading competition. For more info go to: www.nhfilm.gov/film/documents/screenplay-reading

BOOK RECOMMENDATION...

Another colleague's book to read ...

KING OF THE FOREST by Lucinda Marcoux

http://www.peartreepublishing.net/books/forest.php

NEW READING RECOMMENDATIONS

Great Publications/Blogs from my colleagues:

The Independent's Guide to Film Distribution, edited by Michele Meek. http://www.independent-magazine.org/distributor

Sydney Levine's blog: http://SydneysBuzz.blogspot.com/

PRAISEMAKER on GEORGIA PUBLIC RADIO

Tonight at 11 p.m....

Rebroadcast of PRAISEMAKER. Performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
(Composer Alvin Singleton, Choral Text Susan Kouguell)
(Show begins at 10 p.m. - it's #3 on program.)

Go to:
http://www.gpb.org/aso.

Then click on: "Listen Live" and follow link "ASO" - Sarah Zaslow, host.
Ms. Zaslow interviews composers.

Link below for more info on PRAISEMAKER with selection from choral text:
http://www.asochorus.org/member/SingPraise.pdf

PRAISEMAKER on Georgia Public Broadcasting

Thursday June 9 at 9 p.m. and Sunday at 10 p.m. PRAISEMAKER (composed by Alvin Singleton, choral text Susan Kouguell) and interview go to the live stream:

http://www.gpb.org/aso

FRIENDS & CLIENTS' BOOKS...

Twisted Head: An Italian American Memoir by Carl Capotorto

The Florida Life of Thomas Edison by Michele Wehrwein Albion

The Independent's Guide to Film Distributors, edited by Michele Meek. www.independent-magzine.org

Angels & Demons Private Screening/Party May 2009

Congrats to Dan Brown on his success!

UPCOMING WORKSHOP!

Write a Winning Screenplay: What Film Executives Really Look For.

MAY 30 & JUNE 6, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Two-Week Intensive with Susan Kouguell Write a Winning Screenplay Saturdays, May 30 & June 6, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.Members $175; Nonmembers $200.

Discover the tools to craft a successful screenplay that will grab a film executive’s attention. Discussion will include the three-act structure, plot exploration, characters’ journeys, and writing scintillating scenes. You will work on the first ten pages of your screenplay, which will be critiqued in class in a safe, non-threatening environment. All levels.

For more info: http://www.nhwritersproject.org/newfiles/workshops.html#screenplay

SPONSORED BY THE NEW HAMPSHIRE WRITER'S PROJECT.

LATEST PUBLICATIONS

A chapter from THE SAVVY SCREENWRITER is excerpted here!

UPCOMING SCREENWRITING WORKSHOPS

MAY 30 & JUNE 6, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Two-Week Intensive with Susan Kouguell Write a Winning Screenplay Saturdays, May 30 & June 6, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.Members $175; Nonmembers $200

APRIL 18 NEW HAMPSHIRE WRITERS PROJECT - WRITER'S DAY.

How do you know if your screenplay is really ready for submission? Where and how do you submit a script? How do you find an agent? Do you need an entertainment attorney? What's the best way to grab a production company's attention? This workshop will demystify the film industry and reveal what story analysts and movie executives really look for in a winning screenplay. Tools on writing attention-grabbing queries and synopses, as well as preparing for pitch meetings will also be discussed.

For more information visit http://www.nhwritersproject.org/