Aaron Sorkin Master Class

Aaron Sorkin Master Class

My son Luke has bought me an Aaron Sorkin master class for my birthday, which is fantastic as Sorkin is my favourite writer. What if I could have written West Wing or A Few Good Men, wow....  Luke knows that I am a firm believer in 'every day is a school day' and 'you never stop learning'.

Maybe he just thought I shouldn't retire yet and I should fire up another screenplay. It certainly has got me fired up. That and talking to an old friend of mine who appears to have been subject to some serious wrong doings. My old English teacher always predicted I would be a writer; one for whom jumping through windows has afforded that luxury!

I have actually taken the Master Class from my in-box where so many things rest until deleted and registered, built the profile and started. It is amazing how instant focus can be. I love his introduction, 'intent and obstacles'. Just three words, and something I always preach but not like that. Not so direct, not so focussed and strong. Three words!

I a few nights ago with Jean and started a recorded BBC drama that was on the planner and within 5 minutes I had left the room, shouting, 'don't pause it, I am sure I can catch up!' I did not get back into the room until the end and it had just got to where I had predicted it was going. If it were a movie script you would argue the whole episode should have all been in the first ten pages.

In Sorkin's first class he stresses that without 'intent and obstacles' he falls into his old college habits of just writing snappy dialogue that goes no where.

Snappy dialogue that goes no where might sum up our film industry. If you remove all the quasi British films that are made in our studios, like Harry Potter and see how the films fared whose whole being is 'funded' and 'supported', maybe it is just snappy dialogue going no where other than keeping a lot of people in jobs, who, don't really 'make' films. It was sad to see Metrodome go bust and follow so many British Film institutions who try to work with real film makers.
What if, 'industry', the word that so often follows 'film' kicking and screaming, was what it had to be?
What if the Lottery was removed?

I am not suggesting the rebate incentive goes as that is there for all. That is farer. That encourages the US studios here and has been much of my income for many years.

Over the weekend I discussed an argument that it was piracy killing film, and found myself suggesting an argument parallel to that of the music industry. I am not suggesting piracy is not a bad thing, but suggesting we are not tackling it in a way that can ever work. The music industry faced this piracy long before film, it still faces it, but it dealt with it by finding answers.
What if, instead of supporting just a chosen section of the film industry with crutches, the Lottery was made to find answers that turned film back into an industry. Would that not be a much better use of money?
For the sake of suggestions let me suggest it builds sales systems that makes all small British films so cheap and easy to buy, pirates are out of a job. That is what music did. Music hurt for a while and then it worked with the new figures.
or, what if we also only release files (at any stage) with adverts embedded into the file so income was generated. If commercial companies placing adverts funded films rather than the Lottery, would it be different? Would that be industry not the very British Benefit system?

There could be answers that build an industry but in the 40 years I have watched my industry it prizes middle management like the NHS rather than film makers. The idea of supporting film making with layers of managers and judges that consider and preach to the film makers has been well tried now and failed. It means people make films to please the charitable, not the public. To please the management not the retailer.
Maybe it is time for a serious discussion about this, or to remove the word 'industry' and replace it with 'charity' or 'benifit'.

Let us face it, film comes under the DCMS. Media and sport ... and Sport is where 'drugs' and the 'unfair playing field' is considered a crime. Yet in film, we continually build 'unfair playing fields' by giving some the 'drug' of 'Lottery money'. Is it time to re-think this?

Just saying. It is worth discussing.....

Have a great week....

ssp