Tag screenwriter

This week’s guest on the Imperfect Podcast is Jenny Frankfurt who is the founder of the Finish Line Script Competition currently in its third year. The Finish Line Script Competition is based on the premise that rewrites are essential to be a successful writer. The panel of judges provides development notes when requested in order for writers to rewrite and resubmit new drafts for free throughout the entire script competition.

Rather than submitting your script and hoping for the best, the Finish Line Script Competition acts as a partner to up and coming writers with feedback from their mentors that have worked in every aspect of the film and television industry. The competition essentially echoes the reality of the business. Writers that work for a studio or even sell a feature film based on their script will go through a number of rewrites based on criticism and feedback.

The Finish Line Script Competition is essential for any writer that wants honest feedback and takes their craft seriously enough to bring it to the next level.

Follow Finish Line Script Competition

• Website: http://finishlinescriptcomp.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FinishLineScriptCompetition/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/FinishLineScrip

Who is Jenny Frankfurt

• A literary agent and manager with her own company, Highstreet Management based in Los Angeles for many years
• Jenny went to NYU Film School but mainly about writing on the job
• Reading countless scripts and books she would break down scripts for talent agents
• All that experience led her to know what worked and what didn’t work

The Finish Line Script Competition Is Born

• After burning out on management Jenny wanted to continue working with writers
• There are many script competitions out there but they don’t provide notes until the very end
• Jenny wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before which included the rewrites and feedback from mentors
• Through her contacts she knew she access to a lot of talent to create the panel of mentors which proved to be valuable
• As a reader for other competitions she would often say “If only this person had gotten really good notes before entering the competition.”
• As writers submit new drafts they continue to work with the same script consultant on their rewrites

How Did You Get The Word Out About The Finish Line Script Competition

• Budgets were small and they used Twitter and Facebook to start spreading the word its first year
• Because of its unique twist and 25 mentors on board they received 300 submissions in year one
• In its second year the competition grew by 500%

What Type Of Scripts Are Accepted

• TV Pilots and Screenplays are both accepted
• Writers can submit and not ask for notes for a smaller fee
• Scripts that are over 135 pages there is an additional fee for notes
• Each script is read by 3 people so there’s a balance of taste

Have You Had Any Success Stories From Past Winners

• Last years winner was a TV Pilot called Sugarland by R.B. Ripley
• He’s taken over 30 meetings and now has a producer attached to the script

Who Are The Mentors?

• There are over 30 mentors this year from all over the world that mentor and take meetings with the winning writers.
• Steven Rogers – Writer/Producer of the award-winning film “I, Tonya” starring Margot Robbie and Allison Janney.
• Colin Vaines – Co-producer of “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool” starring Annette Bening. Previously produced “The Gangs of New York” directed by Martin Scorsese.
• Michael Andreen – Producer, “Master & Commander“, “The Day After Tomorrow“.
• Karen Lunder – Senior Film Exec at Imagine Entertainment, Lunder recently oversaw production on the upcoming “The Spy Who Dumped Me” starring Kate McKinnon.
• Joey Chavez – Sr. VP, Original Programming at TNT (“Animal Kingdom”, “The Alienist”, “Claws”).
• Christine Conley – Director of Development, Working Title Television. Produced “Gypsy”at Netflix & “About a Boy”at NBC.
• Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas – President, Nuyorican Productions & Goldsmith-Thomas Productions who used to be Julia Roberts agent and now producers for Jennifer Lopez and Halle Berry.

Advice to Screenwriters

• This is your calling card and a way for people to know you
• Do you research and put the time in
• Your effort matters including the formatting on the page
• It lets people know you’re taking it seriously and that you put the work in

This week’s guest is actress and comedian, Jill-Michelle Melean was introduced to us by our good friend Alex Ferrari of Indie Film Hustle. Jill is known for her work on the sketch comedy show MadTV where she had memorable moments impersonating Hollywood stars such as Drew Barrymore and Britney Spears. You may have also seen Jill in Comedy Central’s Reno 911 and most recently in This is Meg which she co-produced and wrote with Alex Ferrari.

We talk about Jill’s family life growing up in Miami, her transition to Hollywood and her worst moments as a female comedian. She’s held her own on the road with the big boys of comedy such as Carlos Mencia and has a unique perspective as a white latina. Look out for her 1 hour comedy special, called White Latina coming soon.

Follow Jill-Michelle Melean Online

Website: http://jillyonline.com
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0577549/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillyonline/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jillyonline

Jill-Michele Melean’s Background

• Jill grew up in Miami with a strict Latin upbringing.
• Fun fact: Jill and her family were season pass holders for the Miami Hurricanes football team.
• She fell in love with TV & film at an early age but she had no idea how to get there.
• Jill realized she could make her Grandma laugh by humping her leg at an early age
• Not attending college wasn’t an option for her.
• During college she thought she wanted to be in theater but soon realized film was where she flourished by creating a family for a few months and nothing is ever the same.
• Jill believed in the power of laughter and moved to LA without knowing anyone.

Making the Cast of MadTV

• Jill’s advice to those that want to do comedy is go to Second City in Chicago because now it is like going to University.
• While doing stand-up comedy for a year and a half the folks at MadTV would follow her shows. At that time, female comics weren’t a big thing.
• She wanted to audition for a sketch group when she got to LA but she had to pay her dues first.
• Every time she would go back and audition for MadTV it would be like doing a one person show for an hour including impersonations.
• When she landed the part on MadTV it took 6 auditions that resulted in an on-air test where she did Drew Barrymore and Britney Spears and they made her a cast member immediately after.
• “Welcome to Hollywod!” Jill recounts having to get down to a skimpy outfit in her first role on TV.

Life after MadTV

• After MadTV Jill landed the Latino Locos comedy tour with Carlos Oscar, Ralphie May and other big name comedians.
• She hosted the tour and learned from them really developed her time.
• From there Jill landed Reno 911 where she met Carlos Alazraqui who she became brothers with on and off screen. You can catch Carlos in This is Meg as well.
• Jill was lucky to go from one tour to the next during that time for 7 years doing hardcore theaters.
• Jill also talks about her time working with George Lopez on Reno 911.

Surving in Hollywood is hard work

• Going over notes for a pitch recently Jill had to remind herself how grateful she should be for the position she’s in.
• She’s never satisfied and still hungers to get to the next level. You’re never going to be done.
• The game has changed and it’s going to change again. Either you change and keep playing or you get out.
• When she booked MadTV, she thought she’d be done. The reality is you book a TV show, then you don’t work for 5 years.
• Jill has done multiple pilots that haven’t been picked up, even with the producers from Curb Your Enthusiasm behind it.

The future of Hollywood

• “It’s the craziest industry to get into, but it’s also the most rewarding.”
• Even though there’s more outlets, it’s actually made it harder. You can’t centralize the marketing.
• Jill believes a shift is coming and after a attending an industry meeting recently they had the following to say: “Comedy is the only thing that has longevity. Comics have a strong clear voice…That’s where TV shows are created.”

Advice for females in comedy

• Link up with a bigger male comedian so it doesn’t become an all female show.
• Bookers like to promote the “sexy female” comedy show but that’s not where you want to be.
• Open up for a bigger male comedian and then it’s easier to transition later because all the bookers know you. Hold on to their business cards because you will have to network yourself.

This is Meg

• This is Meg is streaming on Hulu and is also available on Amazon, iTunes & YouTube.
• It was a passion piece based on true events.
• Jill wanted to portray what it’s like to live as an actor in Hollywood and the relationships you experience, not just the business.
• Involving her friends was important and there was no drama on set.
• Normally directors will not let a producer be that involved, but Alex Ferrari was able to put his ego aside and get the best shots possible.

Watch This Is Meg on  

Her First 1 Hour Comedy Special

• Jill has done specials for Showtime and other networks but White Latina will be her first 1 hour comedy special.
• Piggybacking off This is Meg, she wanted Alex to shoot the special at The Improv to keep it personal.
• Hearing her discuss how it’s shot and her decision to not show the audience is especially an interesting point. In comedy, it’s all about material.

Comedian’s that inspire

• Going back to her love for TV, Jill loves the work of Carol Burnett, Tracy Ullman and shows like the Golden Girls.
• Jill also loves the stand-up of Ellen Degeners, Richard Pryor and George Carlin.
• We also discuss her love for Louis CK and says he’s the kindest man and was completely shocked by the news circulating today.

We are back from the American Film Market in sunny Santa Monica, California where we spent three days learning, pitching and meeting the film industries biggest players from around the world. The American Film Market hosts one of the industries biggest events for film makers, screenwriters and distributors.  We also interviewed 8 film industry heavy hitters.

Our #1 tip for success at the American Film Market is preparation. Setup your meetings in advance, don’t wait for the last minute to schedule them because the likelihood of getting into a meeting without an appointment is very low. Even if you have an appointment the odds of it being on time may dwindle the later you wait to make that meeting. Not only do you have to prepared to schedule meetings with buyers and distributors, you have to be prepared with your pitch. You need to be professional and have a plan and understand why your film may be saleable and even more importantly what aspects of your film may not be saleable.

Tip #2 for success at the American Film Market is having a completed project. Nobody wants to hear about your concept or idea. Everyone has ideas. Distributors won’t even touch you if you don’t have a completed production. Screenwriters need completed scripts. Networking and building relationships take time. If you’re a first time filmmaker, nobody is going to hand you a check after a 15 minute pitch meeting. If they do, we’d love to hear about it on our podcast!

Interviews at the American Film Market

Pilar Alessandra

Creator of On The Page Script Consultation Company. Pilar  is the director of the screenwriting and TV writing program On the Page®, host of the popular On the Page Podcast and author of the top-selling book “The Coffee Break Screenwriter. She was at AFM as the moderator of the Pitch Conference for the 2nd year in a row. The Pitch Conference at AFM was eye opening to us. If you’re a screenwriter her podcast is invaluable.

We submitted our pitch for Seymour the Unfortunate Vampire and while we weren’t selected to pitch live, we learned how to craft and deliver a pitch for the meetings we were about to take.

Alex Ferrari

Filmmaker and Creator of Indie Film Hustle. Alex shares what he’s learned over the years as a writer, director, producer and post production/VFX supervisor. We were excited to finally meet Alex in person after having him as a guest on our podcast. Alex was more than generous with his time and shared a ton of insights with us. Look for his interview with AFM Director Jonathan Wolf on Indie Film Hustle.

Check out our interview with Alex: Making Money From Your Micro Budget Film with Alex Ferrari 

Jason Brubaker

Jason is a Los Angeles based movie distribution executive specializing in direct to consumer distribution strategies. He is the Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Distribber. Jason is also the founder of Filmmaking Stuff, a professional resource for independent filmmakers and provides tips on screenwriting, producing, crowdfunding, directing, movie marketing and film distribution.

Branscombe Richmond

A Native American actor, stuntman and singer most known for his role in Renegade with Lorenzo Lamas. Branscombe stands at 6′ 3″ and has been on the receiving end of the fists of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando (1985), gotten pummeled by Carl Weathers in Action Jackson (1988) and tangled with Steven Seagal in Hard to Kill (1990). At the American Film Market we saw a different while he was there to represent the Southern Kentucky Film Commission.

The most fun about meeting Branscombe is that he is long time friends with Marshall Teague who was on our show as well. Check out our Interview with Marshall Teague.

Susan Yang

General Manager of Shanghai Pusheng Translation Co. Susan was there as a translator helping a producer navigate the film market.

Paul Ayre

Paul has been writing and creating comedy for 15 years now and has worked with some of the biggest names in comedy – including Jeff Goldblum, SketchShe and toured with The Umbilical Brothers through Germany, Denmark, Austria, Slovenia and Sweden. He won the biggest prize in webseries history: $70,000 for The Justice Lease in which he acted, wrote and produced. We caught up with Paul at the pitch conference where he delivered one of the most animated pitches at the AFM. Check out his work at http://severecomedy.com

Sean Crayne

Sean was another dynamic presenter at the AFM Pitch Conference where he asked the audience “Would you kill for fame?” For more on Sean and his film Twisted check out https://www.twistedthefilm.com/home. Sean also organized an indie horror filmmaker meetup on Saturday night which was a great place to meet other like minded filmmakers.

Mike Lippert

Michael Lippert is an Ontario-based Writer/Director/Producer.  He was at the AFM shopping his debut feature film called Expecting. Mike had a great story to share about how managed to get Lloyd Kaufman to do a cameo in his film.

Mark Belasco

Mark is the Vice President of Sales & Acquisition at Adler & Associates Entertainment. They pride themselves on being a true indie company, one with a risk-taking spirit and an unbiased eye for new talent from around the globe. If you’re an indie filmmaker looking for distribution and a true partner we recommend a conversation with Adler & Associates Entertainment.

Share Your American Film Market Experiences

If you’ve attended the American Film Market and want to share your story, tell us in the comments. If you have questions about AFM and whether or not its right for you give us a shout on Twitter or Facebook and we will answer anything you want to know!

Have a question for our guests on this episode of the Imperfect Podcast? Leave it in the comments and we’ll make sure they answer it for you.

The Imperfect Podcast kicked off of its new season with a Facebook Live event that recaps the show’s most memorable moments and behind the scenes from Seymour the Unfortunate Vampire.

September 11th & Hurricane Irma Relief

We take a moment to remember September 11th and those who bravely gave their lives as well as the friends and famlies that were effected. We will also donate $1 to Hurricane Irma Relief for every new YouTube subscriber until Sunday September 17, 2017. Subscribe at http://youtube.com/hecklerkanecreations.

We’ve Moved to Blog Talk Radio

The other piece of news to share is our new home. The Imperfect Podcast is excited to announce its move Blog Talk Radio as a Prime host. Be sure to get over there and subscribe!

Top 10 Episodes

Interviewing over 40 guests the past year, made for great memories. We discuss our most memorable moments in this episode. Here’s a list of the 10 that made the cut!

Inside The Killing Season with Josh Zeman

Veteran Actor Marshall R. Teague

The Neverending Story Childlike Empress Tami Stronach 

Green Day Music Video Animator Ariel Costa

Cast & Creator of Indie Film Eyes of the Roshi

General Hospital’s Robert Palmer Watkins

Short Film Swivel Shot Actor Rick Ravanello

Indie Punk Rock Band Bad Mary 

Scream Queen in the Making, Actress Gabrielle Stone

The Simpsons and F is for Family Writer Michael Price

Behind the Scenes of Seymour the Unfortunate Vampire

For more about Seymour the Unfortunate Vampire and behind the scenes access, listen to our episode. We discuss working with Marshall Teague as Chester the Werewolf, Ethan Marten doing what he does best in front and behind the camera and the camaraderie formed shooting an entire series on a micro budget.

This week’s Imperfect Podcast guest is Manon de Reeper, who is the Editor in Chief and founder of independent film magazine Film Inquiry. Manon is also a screenwriter currently shopping her Screencraft Fellowship quarter finalist MORAL TREATMENT. She has two academic degrees and currently lives in beautiful Perth, Australia. Starting as her own personal blog, Film Inquiry has grown to having over 100 contributors.

Film Inquiry is an independent, crowd-funded magazine with which purposefully steers away from the current online journalism trends of meaningless click bait. Instead you’ll find long-form reviews and articles, as well as in-depth resources that are interesting to cinephiles and filmmakers. Film Inquiry also supports women and minorities in film and behind the camera.

Since December ’16, Film Inquiry is a Rotten Tomatoes approved publication and all of our reviews are counted towards their tomato-meter. To support Film Inquiry, you can join the Film Inquiry Society that will grant you complete access to all of their archives, as all posts older than 30 days (aside from a few freebies) are locked. Once a member, all the content is ads-free. Members also get a 10% discount to the Film Inquiry shop, and more.

Keep up with Manon de Reeper and Film Inquiry:

https://www.filminquiry.com/about/
https://www.facebook.com/filminquiry/
https://www.instagram.com/filminquiry/
https://www.twitter.com/filminquiry/

Watch How To Get Your Independent Film Reviewed by Film Inquiry

Interview Highlights with Manon de Reeper Editor in Chief of Film Inquiry

How did Film Inquiry get started?

I founded Film Inquiry as my own personal film blog where I was doing my own amateurish film reviews. I had just graduated from university and was doing some research while studying criminology. It’s still the most geeky thing ever, where I studied how a science fiction film effected the future effects of real life policies.

It was the best time of my life and I wanted to keep doing it because I always wanted to do film. Film was my biggest passion but friends and family recommended I not go to film school but I ended up making everything about film anyway.

I moved to Australia with my partner and he got a job here and I was hoping that I’d be able to do something with my criminology degree and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted. I’m not one to sit still so it was my chance to jump into the whole film thing.

People liked the blog and I wanted to involved more people so we could do more. The ball started rolling in early 2014. Every since, we’ve been steadily publishing. I don’t want to publish too much because I get too overwhelmed with how some of these magazines push out content. We want to keep the content schedule minimal but the actual articles bigger. It gives us the opportunity to go more in depth and explore one film more. More and more people are joining us to write.

People have told me they are pretty disillusioned with the current online film journalism. We really want to be able to talk about film in a context more than Marvel’s easter eggs. It’s fun and more people are picking up on it. I’m stoked an excited that all the hard work is paying off.

How do you decided which films you write about?

Honestly, at this point I have the luxury of having a team of 100 people so I have a combined amount of a time. I personally don’t review many films anymore. I’m trying to get a YouTube series going for myself but even choosing the films I’m going to watch every day is becoming a challenge. It’s starting to get so busy but I feel like I have this responsibility to watch movies.

What does a typical day as editor in chief at Film Inquiry look like?

I have to say I set it up pretty smoothly. What I do is coordinate when film makers ask us to review films, then I make sure that my team knows this film is available for review. They let me know if they want to review it, I request the screener, send it to them, they write the review and it’s reviewed by a few editors. I’m always the final review before publishing. We have a pretty strict schedule we adhere to so I make sure all the time slots are filled in. For general feature articles, its mostly all the writers pitching their good ideas. It’s a lot of work but it’s also fun.

Where does your love of films come from?

My Dad was very much into films and my Mom too actually. They would always take me to the movies. For instance, on Christmas we wouldn’t go to church, we’d go to the movies. That was our thing and it just stuck with me throughout life. I started exploring film myself when I got a little older.

What was the first article published on Film Inquiry?

I think it was a review of the film Elysium, by the South African director Neil Blomkamp. Everyone was raging on how incredibly poor it was and I thought it was pretty good. I wrote a little essay on how the criminological aspects of it were interesting.

How does your degree in criminology influence your writing?

It definitely taught me to look further than just the actor’s performances or the visuals. I always want to explore the idea of the film more. What are the film makers trying to tell us. We learn so much from film. Most of the situations these characters find themselves in, we wouldn’t ever find ourselves in. Seeing those things it teaches us a lot about life.

The way a camera is used and how a scene is framed adds to an idea. If you shoot someone from below, it elevates the person and adds meaning.

What is your screenplay Moral Treatment about?

I wrote a story influenced by academic background. It’s about a woman who is a British Royal set in the late 1800’s. It’s a Victorian era script. She has the privilege of receiving education in the UK and is married off to a rich guy in the US, an industrialists son. She starts to work at a local asylum because she’s a psychiatrist. It’s quite fascinating to me because there are so many terrible horror films set in these type of asylums. I wanted to do the opposite and give a very realistic portrayal of mental health and how these people were treated back then.

How does it differ from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?

In a way, it was quite influenced by One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I personally really love that one because it’s a realistic portrayal of mental illness and what a mental hospital was like back then. It does have a big twist in the end like Moral Treatment does. I say it’s a mix between One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Shutter Island.

Is Moral Treatment your first screenplay?

No it wasn’t but it’s the first one I fully completed and edited. It was a challenge for me specifically how do you get into the mindset of writing. You need to put a lot of creative energy into writing which I did for 30 days. If you don’t keep at it every day, it’s easy to get out of that again. I adapted the National Writing Novel Month for my own needs. I was traveling and working during that time but because I had this goal of writing 3 pages a day, which is doable, I finished writing 90 pages in that month and had 30 pages before that. If you’re just focused on writing you don’t have the time to go back and edit it constantly.

Watch Manon’s video on “How I Wrote a Script in One Month”

I had seen the deadline for the Screencraft contest and gave myself that concrete goal. It was my first complete script and I wasn’t thinking I would ever win. Considering there were over 2000 submissions I was completely stoked to have made it to the quarter finals. It doesn’t even matter how good your screenplay is at that point. It’s more like a game of luck because there are so many people that submit great work. I still think there may be an audience for my script and winning one contest isn’t going to win you the Hollywood game.

What did you learn as Editor in Chief of Film Inquiry?

I learned it’s more about the people you know. I feel for the people that believe they need to win a contest to make it because that’s not the way it works. I’m in Perth Australia and trying to get to know people in Hollywood. Film Inquiry has definitely helped with that in a very casual way. Knowing people is the most important thing.

How can film makers get coverage at Film Inquiry?

Everyone can send their request to [email protected] and I will always put their requests in front of the team. It’s up to the team whether they pick it or not. It happens sometimes that nobody is interested. We also cannot guarantee a positive review.

I try to put everything out there. There is an audience for every film so I don’t filter it. I offer it up to my team for them to decide.

Michael Price is an Emmy Award winning writer and producer. Michael is best known for his work on The Simpsons where he joined the team in 2002 and is also a co-executive producer. Curious who Michael’s favorite Simpsons character to write for is? Understanding what it’s like to write and produce an animated series was a great learning experience for us.

We discuss how Michael landed his sweet gig at the Simpsons, growing up in New Jersey and his favorite childhood cartoons. Following up on his success with The Simpsons, Michael was tapped for the wildly popular Lego Star Wars animated TV Series. Installments include The Yoda Chronicles, The Empire Strikes Out and Droid Tales. Striking a chord with fans young and old, Michael has proven he has is one of the great comedic writers of our time.

Michael Price Writer for F is For Family Starring Bill Burr on Netflix

Michael partnered with comedic mainstay Bill Burr for his latest project F is For Family.  Together they created the animated series, available now on Netflix. Finding a home on Netflix makes sense with its built in audience of Bill Burr fans from his exclusive stand-up specials.

Watching F is for Family is a reminder of a simpler yet more complicated time. The show takes place in 1973 and is beaming with its roots in classic comedy. F is For Family also stars Justin Long as the 14 year old stoner misguided son. Laura Dern stars as the lovely house wife who’s appearance of happiness to the world is merely a cover-up for her unfulfilled dreams.

Look out for Season 2 of F is Family coming to Netflix soon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFzrvMS6P8g

We talk everything movies with blogger and author Clint Harrington of the popular movie blog Clintington on Film. Clint turned his blog into a book called Growing Up Movies where he discusses his experiences growing up with his family watching iconic movies such Ghostbusters. For anyone that grew up in the 80s and 90s, it’s a nostalgic look at movies in an era when family entertainment was accessible. While reading his book you’ll realize how similar your memories of these movies may be and how movies were responsible for bringing the family together.

Interview Highlights with Author Clint Harrington

When Did You Start Clintington on Film?

• Started in January 2014
• Clint always wanted to be a writer growing up and idolized Stephen King growing up.
• He was taken by the story ‘The Body’ which as we all know and love ‘Stand By Me.”
• Meeting independent author Matt Russo was a turning point. He said that if you’re going to start a blog and try and develop a platform you have to write about things that you love.
• “You have to have a passion behind the things that you love and I gotta tell you guys I love movies.”

Watching Movies With Your Kids

• Clint’s son wasn’t even born and he was thinking about what movies to show him
• “Maybe 2 months into the  pregnancy and I’m already thinking okay, when can I show him E.T., when can we watch the trilogy. I’m probably gonna have to wait on the Godfather a little bit but not too long.”
• He’s waiting on Goonies until his son has a bigger group of friends so he can experience it better.

Favorite Movies

• I love to quote Mel Brooks when I’m asked about my favorite movies.
• I always think of the movies that impacted me and Ghostbusters was that first movie really when I was growing up that was like I finally was allowed to be an adult.
• Clint thinks the Ghostbusters reboot wasn’t even close to what the original could be and I think it’s unfair to expect it to be.
• “I really like gangster movies but a comedy would have to be in there just because the amount of respect I have for people that attempt comedy. Comedy is so hard to do.
• He has a ton of respect for people that are good at comedy. Kevin Smith is one of his favorites.
• Blazing Saddles is one his favorite  Mel Brooks movies.
• For Clint Ghostbusters is 1a and The Godfather is 1b.

Growing Up Movies

• Clint grew up in what he likes to call Morman-ville USA. It’s a Southeast Idaho and its land of the Mormons.
• He grew up Lutheran which made them the rebels of a town like that.
• They wanted to be everything opposite of Mormon, which kind of led to underage drinking every now and then and those kinds of things.
• Clint used to criticize his parents for how conservative they were but blogging brings back memories and he realized they weren’t that bad. They let him see a lot of things probably earlier than he should. He saw JAWS at the age of 8.

Download Growing Up Movies Kindle Edition

Where does ‘My Cousin Vinny’ rank?

• My Cousin Vinny will be appearing on his blog and if it shows up on my blog he liked it.
• He goes on to say actor Fred Gwynne’s (aka Herman Musnster) performance is one of the greatest performances by a supporting actor he’s ever seen.
• Marisa Tomei earned the Academy Award. It’s one of the best performances in decades for from a woman.
• Clint goes on to praise actor Joe Pesci for his roles in ‘JFK’, ‘My Cousin Vinny’ & ‘Lethal Weapon 2’
• “Joe Pesci in ‘Lethal Weapon 2’ I mean they don’t even have an Academy Award for how good that performance was. He stole the show across from Glover and Gibson. He stole the show. Every scene he’s in your like I can’t wait for Pesci to get back into the scene.”

Screenwriting and Being an Indie Author

• He wrote a screenplay and I couldn’t find anyone to make it and didn’t think it would ever get made so Clint converted it to a novel.
• The novel is called Get Back. It’s a romantic comedy for a coming-of-age adult. He says it’s also about college relationship angst. The lead character is a guy who has been with the same woman for about seven years and then she ups and leaves right before they’re about to graduate. She’s just out of his life like that. He’s coming to terms with how to move on. It’s about loss and how he’s going to get back on with his life basically.

Get Back by Clint Harrington available on Amazon

Turning Your Blog Into a Book

• Growing Up Movies is a compilation of the blog Clintington on Film.
• He wanted to make the book free but Amazon won’t let you.
• The book includes 89 movies from the 80s and earlier films like Butch Cassidy and that he watched with his parents
• He’s planning on doing the 90s and that would be called ‘Growing into Movies’.
• “I was 13 or 14 in the early 90s and then I later went into college through the 90s. Don’t get me wrong I love the 80s but the 90s for me?! Some of my movies that I have on my top ten from the 90s they’ll always be in my top 10. I probably have 5 movies on that I just watch over and over again. Like ‘Pulp Fiction’ was in ’94 and that changed everything for me.”

Advice on starting a blog

• “You have to love what you’re writing about. That passion is going to be that fuel for you to keep going and even I have some nights where I’m like I don’t know if I want to write about that movie just yet and it’s kind of like well I’m trying to do these in order but I’m not ready to do that one yet.”
• I held off on the Godfather for a long time because it had to be right. That movie had to be right. But Ghostbusters I jumped in earlier on that one. I wrote til like 4am I was like I’m doing it, I don’t care like I have to say this about this.