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Tag: Sue the Screenwriter

Sue the Screenwriter || Hi Ho, Hi Ho—It’s Off the Island I Go!

BY SUZANNE KELMAN
September 7, 2016

So I have some exciting news to share. My second book in my “Rejected Writers’ Book Club” series has just been acquired by Lake Union Publishing. For a bunch of ladies who have been rejected on the page, they’re sure getting a lot of attention from a real publisher.

Lake Union is one of Amazon’s own imprint companies so this news warranted a trip down into Seattle to meet with the publishing team and venture into the Willy Wonka of buildings—the infamous Amazon Towers, corporate headquarters of the company.

So off I trundled with my agent, Andrea Hurst, and her associate agent, Sean Fletcher, for a day in the big city—clad in my OICs (Off Island Clothes).

Amazon Tower in Seattle (photo by Anthony Bobnie for Business Journal)

I should say, at this point, I only possess three sets of OICs—you know, the ones you wear with underwear, and they don’t include clogs or boots in the ensemble. Because of limited OICs and the fact that this was the second meeting with Lake Union, it dawned on me (with only one more appropriate set of togs), that I may have to stop writing books they like or find another publisher.

Anyway, we left at the crack of dawn for a noon lunch meeting and, believe it or not, we actually arrived at 11.45. I could have flown in from San Diego quicker. But you know how it goes, there was a line for the ferry, then we crawled through traffic on the way down. Then with coffee and bathroom breaks, we finally entered Seattle at around 11 a.m.—only to have us overshoot our exit.

With the sights and sounds of the big city turning my menopausal brain into mush, I finally got my iPad navigation working, only to be informed by Siri that the exit we needed was half a mile behind us. This resulted in us crawling, in the boiling heat, through Game Traffic till we eventually looped back around.

The three biospheres in front of the Amazon headquarters will bring the outdoors indoors with over 300 species of plants from 30 countries. (photo by Suzanne Kelman)

We finally arrived to attend our lunchtime meeting in a new Italian restaurant in the shadow of the Amazon Tower. We had an excellent meeting with food so exquisite I wasn’t sure whether to eat it, plant it or mount it in a frame above my fireplace.

Once lunch was over it was off to the tower to have an editorial meeting and also enjoy a grand Amazon tour. I made it through security—yes, I had to go through security; I guess they were worried I might be sneaking in a Penguin publisher in my off-island pants. The first thing I realized, on entering, is that this is no ordinary building; with such impressive facilities, it felt more like a European airport than the place I order my toilet paper from.

It was, in fact, like entering a different universe. The 37-story building has a five-story meeting room center, featuring an amphitheater and stage with stadium-style seating for 2,000. There are also shops and restaurants, including a Starbucks, Skillet Street Food, Marination, Mamoon, Anar, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, and two restaurants from local chef Josh Henderson. That is a lot for a country mouse in her second set of OICs to absorb in one building.

My first port of call was Starbucks for a meeting with my new editor, who had flown in from New York for the week. We had a very successful business meeting discussing future projects and the plans for the Rejected Ladies. This included outlining the six months of work my newest manuscript will go through to make it into the beautiful package it’s sure to become. We had a great chat in such a comfortable little booth that it was hard to believe this was a work environment at all.

After my meeting, it was time for my tour of the rest of the tower. A trip up the building was an adventure all in itself as there are no buttons inside the elevators. Instead, you tap the desired floor into an electronic keypad mounted in the corridor; it then directs you to the elevator to take. I have to admit it seemed a very effective way to get you from A to B, but it was a little disconcerting, shut inside a metal box zooming skyward without the safety of illuminated buttons to chart my course or as a distraction to stare at as people entered. I kept thinking—as we gained speed, higher and higher—that maybe we would shoot right out of the roof just as in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We didn’t, as it happens, but when I got out on the 37th floor, we might as well have; it felt as if I was on the top of the world. What a fantastic view.

Proof that I made it all the way to the top! (photo by Suzanne Kelman)

As I toured the building, making my way down from floor to floor, I was in awe. Some of the highlights for me were the areas dedicated to fun, with an art and craft room and an electronic gaming room for employees to play and blow off steam. Also, a food court and an outside barbecue deck.

But my favorite by far was the dog floor. There is a unique outdoor deck, with a wall covered in tennis balls, so employees can bring their pooches to work. It’s complete with grass, fire hydrants, stacks of towels and dog toys. What a smart and innovative company.

Ever seen this many tennis balls at one time? On a wall? (photo by Suzanne Kelman)

Dogs on top of the world (photo by Suzanne Kelman)

I was told by Gaby, my author-liaison lady, that not only do Amazon allow their employees to bring them new ideas to make this working environment the best that it can be, but they also encourage it.

I loved my trip to the big city and it was fun to meet everyone at Lake Union and see firsthand where all the magic happens. But I was so glad to shelve my OICs for another year and get back into my yoga pants (that have never been to yoga) and my clogs. It was a very successful trip and the good news is that my crazy ladies will be back in a second book to entertain everyone. It’s scheduled to be released in the summer of 2017.

Image at top: Suzanne Kelman, photo by Kim Tinuviel

Suzanne Kelman is a multi-award winning screenwriter, playwright, and an Academy of Motion Pictures Nicholl Finalist. Her debut novel The Rejected Writers’ Book Club was released in 2016 and quickly became an Amazon international bestseller within its first week. Her second book in the same series is due to be released by Lake Union Publishing in Summer 2017.

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September 7, 2016
Sue the Screenwriter || How to Make ’em Laff: Free-Falling into Funny!

BY SUZANNE KELMAN
May 4, 201

I actually didn’t set out to write comedy; I kind of fell into it one day as I was writing something serious and I’ve been trying to find my way out of the canyon of craziness ever since. What I’ve learned since traversing the humor terrain is that writing funny stuff is no laughing matter.

Here are some tips if you are thinking of falling into funny yourself.

Don’t read books on writing funny stuff. What I’ve noticed is people who write comedy don’t tend to write books about writing comedy very well. It’s like trying to explain a joke after the moment has passed; it kind of gets there but the spontaneity is lost along the way. There are many books out there that claim to help people write hilarious stuff but, I have to tell you, the ones I’ve read, have been as entertaining as re-mortgaging a house. So. trust your gut rather than another writer’s process, even mine.

Don’t force it. Forcing is like forcing someone to love you. Before you know it you’re boiling their bunny. The more obsessive you become over the comedy, the harder it becomes to work. This is not good. I once met a very straight-laced, old school teacher-type who looked me dead in the eye over her half-rimmed glasses as she handed me her manuscript and said in one long monotone, “I can write funny.” After reading it, I hadn’t the heart to tell her SHE was funny; her saying it that way WAS funny but, alas, her writing wasn’t.

You see, she approached it in a very rigid and controlled way. She read a bunch of books, commanded all her words to sit up straight in their chairs and line up quietly in very grammatically correct order. Then she slaved over the perfectly crafted punchline, but it fell flat.

Comedy for me isn’t like that. It’s just not rigid; it’s more like a form of free-falling. I jump in naked. I run with the wild bulls of the adjectives. I dance with my hair on fire. My first drafts are a mess.

It’s just a raucous can-can with the dancing red squiggly lines and me.

I just have fun with words. We hang out together like two old friends laughing at the bar. I type something funny and then I answer myself in a kind of schizophrenic double act. So try free-falling, and don’t edit that first draft.

I do is look for visual extremes to take along on my word journey, such as “run naked,” or “hair on fire.” The funnier you can make the visual for the reader, the more fun they’re going to have reading it. You can always pull back if your editors rolls their grammatical eyes. You can tell they are doing that when they send you back little bubbles in the “Track-Change” function accompanied by the tut-tut-tut of the three-question-mark disapproval—“???” This is editor talk for: “What the heck was that?

(because I can’t think of any more tips), I allow my mind to go on a constant party or Mardi Gras. Enjoy everything around me, especially characters that I meet. I’m always eavesdropping other people’s conversations too. Firstly, because it’s fun but mostly because I often hear nuggets that will take my mind into a million comical directions. Like the result of someone shouting “FIRE!” at a clown convention. Did I tell you I like writing in extreme visuals?

So, there you are—my process—read from the back of a postage stamp. If you want to make them laugh, I encourage you to find your own voice in it. Because, at the end of the day, you should enjoy it; after all, it’s comedy. And if you meet the tut-tut-tut of the bubble of doom, at least you had a blast of a time while you were free-falling.

Suzanne Kelman is an award-winning screenwriter and playwright and also the author of the international bestselling book “The Rejected Writers’ Book Club” Her accolades include The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences – Nicholl Fellowship Finalist, Best Comedy Feature Script – L.A. International Film Festival and Gold Award Winner – California Film Awards.

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WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

May 4, 2016
Sue the Screenwriter || Memoirs from the Ledge of ‘Oh, how in the Heck did I Get here’

BY SUZANNE KELMAN
August 26, 2015

Many of us who are ‘creatives’ know the challenge it can be to make a living doing what we love, which is, of course, making art. Some artists take on jobs outside their home to subsidize their art “habit.” I take on multiple writing and film producing assignments in the hope that one of my ships will come happily sailing home.

Let me repeat that…in the HOPE that ONE of my ships would come sailing home. And. after working at this writing habit for five years, often doing 12 hour days, what happened this summer was the arrival of the equivalent of a writing Armada.

Welcome to Kelman Harbor. You can’t get a toothpick between all the ships that are fighting their way into dry dock right now.

In the month of August alone, I became an Executive and a Co-producer for two separate movie projects, one of which is winning major awards. I also had the unique opportunity to write the ending for another movie that was filmed in Ireland, giving me my much-desired IMDb writing credit.

Then there was much cheering as my stage play, “Over my dead body,” was a winner in the well-respected Annual Writers Digest Competition. Then, on the back of that celebration, my script “Held,” which I wrote with Susannah Rose Woods, battled it over 16,000 other scripts to make it to the top 1% of not one, but two, very prestigious competitions. One of them is run by the Academy of Motion Pictures (that’s right, those are the people that are right now polishing Oscars for the Academy Awards next year.) Then to add a huge dollop of cream to the top of my cake, my book “The Rejected Writers Book Club” was just picked up by a major Publisher.

Phew, it was tiring just writing all that and the month’s not over yet.

And it’s not that I’m complaining—no, Siree! Because this outcome means each of these projects was well received in the world. I am, in fact, ecstatic, (if not a little mystified). It’s just—I wasn’t prepared for the workload that comes with navigating all your celebrated cargo safely home. Right now I’m desperately spinning all my plates to keep up with the demand to respond to the needs that arise from each success.

I am mystified because I didn’t become a writer to become successful. I write because I enjoy the sheer delight of throwing the clay of words onto a spinning potter’s wheel and seeing how many funny and amusing shapes I can make with them.

I’m like a kindergartener at her first pottery class. “Oh, look! I can make a long smoochie tower if I roll it up like this!” Then if I smack it with my fist and stick my thumbs in, it becomes a fat wobbly pot! It’s all about the sheer delight of writing for me because I love it. It’s fun to throw down words like a gauntlet, words that come cavorting and cascading out of my odd little brain in their own wild and abundant exuberance. I have my own little personal circus of words.

But I realized a couple of things in all of this homecoming cheering.

Firstly, there is a ledge between “fighting your way up to the top and having enough money to pay people to help you” that I didn’t know about. It’s called the ridge of “how in the heck did I get here!” I think there isn’t a successful small business owner that doesn’t know what I’m talking about: the “Ledge of In-Between.”

Then secondly, I kept throwing things out into the world day after day, month after month, year after year, hoping that one of them would do well but with no plan for them if they did. And as far as I know there are no “how to manage your success” classes, only “how to become successful” classes. Once you’re hanging off the ledge of “oh heck, how did I get here,” the only help up is the big boot of the universe as it kicks your patootie in the success door. And you have to figure the rest out for yourself.

But it was as I was hanging by my fingernails that something struck me; it’s you guys who have made me successful—my readers, my Superfans, my family and friends. My book publisher informed me that my Amazon and Goodreads reviews were something they had taken into consideration before they approached me. So, never underestimate the power of YOUR words. The truth is without someone to enjoy and celebrate my words they are just… well, words.

So, this post is just a roundabout Kelman style way to say “thank you.” Thank you for not only believing in me but voting for me with your incredible Amazon and Goodreads reviews, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter posts. I always feel pretty humbled by the praise, not unlike a waitress that has just been thanked for preparing the fabulous dinner you just enjoyed. When all I did was be a careful vessel of the delivery from the story house of the universe. The inspiration, the humor, the sheer joy I enjoy in my work all comes from somewhere else, something I have no control over—the enormous sea of storytelling that surrounds us all; I am just grateful to have been blessed with a rather large, quirky and absurd fishing net.

Suzanne Kelman is a screenwriter and author of “The Rejected Writers Book Club.” Her writing voice has been described as a perfect blend of Janet Evanovich and Debbie Macomber. Some of her accolades include best comedy feature screenplay at the 2011 LA International Film Festival, a Gold Award at the 2012 CA Film Awards and a Van Gogh Award at the 2012 Amsterdam Film Festival. She can also sing Puff the Magic Dragon backwards! You can learn more about her on IMDb.

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CLICK HERE to read more WLM stories and blogs. Have a great story idea? Let us know at info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

August 26, 2015
Sue the Screenwriter || Kelman on the Carpet at Cannes

BY SUZANNE KELMAN
June 10, 2015

So I had the incredible opportunity to attend the 68^thCannes Film Festival last month to support the film “Our Father,” of which I am an associate producer. But my experience wasn’t quite what I had expected, or what I had seen on “E!”

First of all, Cannes—during the festival—is an experience that is difficult to put into words! “It’s like Miami on Crack,” one producer joked with me, which is an excellent way to describe the electric vibe that exudes from every pore of this famous Riviera town for ten days.

Suzanne in all her finery, readying herself for the WALK! (photo courtesy of the author)

I arrived late on a Sunday night, expecting the world to be asleep, and drove straight into a street party—music, flashing lights and wall-to-wall people. As we crawled through the mayhem to my hotel that was, thankfully, a mile out of town, I felt like singing, “Put your shoes on Lucy—don’t you know you’re in the city.”

I have to admit, though, it didn’t take me long to get into the Cannes buzz; my days became a whirlwind of meeting people, cocktail parties, listening to celebrities, producers and directors talk about their films, more parties, and movies—lots and lots of movies. There are special movie editions of the Hollywood Reporter and Variety, movies on posters, movies on flags, movies on the beach and movies playing in theatres—all day and night. Meanwhile, millions of dollars are trading hands as movies are being bought and sold all around town.

And, of course, there are the red carpet events. To score a red carpet ticket was actually potluck. Every day, an email informed me if I’d managed to make the cut for the following day. It was on day three that I got the golden email and an invitation to the Lumiere Theatre to see Emily Blunt’s new film “Sicario” at the 3 p.m. showing.

I was overjoyed but, having had a few unfortunate experiences with sparkly Hollywood events in the past—like the time I left the bathroom at the Beverly Hills Film Festival with my ballgown caught in my Spanx—I really did not want a repeat of Kelman Klutz in France where everything is “oh, so chic!” So to prepare myself I went to study the carpet I had waited my whole life to walk.

The (Very Same) Red Carpet upon which Suzanne Kelman had the Amazing Good Fortune to WALK! (photo by the author)

The Red Carpet journey into the Lumiere Theatre is long—a vast walkway barricaded by security with hoards of photographers high on a lofty platform. And with forty-plus stairs to navigate, it’s a ballgown-and-heel-wearer’s nightmare. Film industry peeps are lined up in rows, and there is red carpet etiquette. No selfies, no bothering celebrities and the “heels rule” that caused a right-ruckus while I was there. Apparently, the carpet “police” had turned women away for wearing flat shoes at Cate Blanchett’s premiere the day before, (to which Emily Blunt had responded by saying “I think everyone should wear flats… to be honest.” She called it “very disappointing, obviously.”)

So heels it was. The day of the event I had meetings in the morning and later in the evening and, as my hotel was a mile out of town, I had no choice but to ride the bus that day with my ball gown over my arm and said heels in my hand. I couldn’t help wondering, as I gazed out the window, how Emily would be faring for her premiere. I didn’t see her on the bus, so I guessed she had it covered.

The Most Special and Most Prized (and Most Lucky) Ticket to the Red Carpet that Suzanne Kelman had the Amazing Good Fortune to WALK!! Oh, and there was a movie, too… (photo by the author)

There were other problems to overcome, too. For instance, with no bathrooms at the American Pavilion—where I spent most of my day—I had to use the bathrooms in the Marche de Film, or “the Market” as we called it. This is a vast exhibition hall where film peeps buy and sell their film wares. So with my glam rags in hand I tottered across the car park, through a bag and security check, then up three flights of stairs to stand in line for the bathroom. Then, like some glitzy Superwoman, I went into the cubicle in regular clothes and came out looking like Sophia Loren in a ball gown and sparkly jewelry. Then back down all the stairs to get ready to join the line for the carpet. I must admit I was pretty nervous, so I popped into the Pavilion to say goodbye to my friends before I headed to the theatre.

Okay, I was ready for my moment! Or was I? As I set off, prepared for my red carpet walk, I was suddenly grabbed by two producers.

Oh no, was it another Spanx moment? Was my makeup smudged or bra strap showing? No, I was off to the red carpet with the coat hanger from my dress still in my hand! Ah, a Kelman Klassic—it will go down in my film industry history along with the Spanx hitch and the time I forgot my best friend’s name at an awards ceremony.

The reason why “Heel-Gate” (as it became known among the press corps) is actually a problem for women who have to wear them. (photo courtesy of the author)

Well, I finally walked the carpet and I savored every moment. Unbelievably, I made it up all the stairs without a trip as I waved to adoring fans who seemed to think my name was Emily, for some odd reason. And as I sat in the Lumiere Theatre waiting for the movie to start, I thought about the stars who would float over from the grand hotel in their finery later. I was quite sure none of them would be sporting a coat hanger.

And as the lights went down and people cheered as the red velvet curtain was drawn to reveal the Cannes film festival logo, I was lost in the magic of story and thoughts of a girl who grew up in Birmingham, England and somehow had the good fortune to walk the red carpet in Cannes.

Suzanne Kelman is a screenwriter and author of “The Rejected Writers Book Club.” Her writing voice has been described as a perfect blend of Janet Evanovich and Debbie Macomber. Some of her accolades include best comedy feature screenplay at the 2011 LA International Film Festival, a Gold Award at the 2012 CA Film Awards and a Van Gogh Award at the 2012 Amsterdam Film Festival. She can also sing Puff the Magic Dragon backwards! You can learn more about her on imDb. Image at top by Kim Tinuviel

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WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

June 10, 2015
Sue the Screenwriter | You can’t miss the road less traveled; it’s third on the left with the dark winding pathways, occasional sinkholes, and very unexpected twists and turns

BY SUZANNE KELMAN
Oct. 17, 2014

When I first got married, I bought a guinea pig.

I just couldn’t resist his sweet face with his eyes too close together and his rosettes of ginger and white fur. I was already half way home with him in his little brown box before it occurred to me he would need a cage. Enter the handsome, strapping new bridegroom we shall call “Hun.” I told “Hun” about the problem and, wanting to prove his worth, he spent the entire weekend making lots of sawing and banging noises, while Ging (the very deep meaningful name I had given to the furry pom-pom) and I watched. Ta da! Ging had a new home.

A couple of days later as I sat watching Ging chew on a dandelion leaf, it occurred to me that this little fella was probably lonely all on his own. After further thought I made a decision. Off I went again to the pet shop and bought a beautiful soft grey rabbit I called Sophie to keep him company. Pleased with myself, I popped Sophie into the cage to meet her new friend; Sophie went in and Ging came flying out on the back end of her paw. She was having none of him. Guess what Hun spent that weekend doing?

Now two cages later I still hadn’t solved the problem of Ging’s loneliness, so being extra smart this time I decided to buy a nice little boy guinea pig for him to play with. Surely that would solve the problem. It did; they seemed to get on great. Ging purred and shook all over when he met him and I was finally satisfied.

It was about a month later that we found out Ging’s new favorite friend wasn’t a boy after all…you know the end of this story, right? Let’s just say there was a lot of banging and sawing weekends that followed.

I think life can sometimes feel like that—and the creative life can for sure. Often as artists we are responding to the next need, the loudest voice, the one that calls to us hysterically that day. The need to make money, the need to serve the market, the need to further our career. Sometimes even our muse gets a look in. I often wonder if the great artists of the past ever got an inkling of what they would become to the world, of what their legacy would be. Or if they, like me, got up each day and started building the most urgent cage because that was what needed to be done.

Five years ago I wrote my first screenplay and fell in love. Many screenplays followed, and screenwriting became my passion. And even though my work has been optioned three times, and I have lots of awards to show for work well done, the film industry is a slow track. A couple of years into being a full-time screenwriter I realized that in order to keep going I needed to make money another way. It was then that I had a brainwave to write a book to subsidize my screenwriting habit.

The book cover of Suzanne’s book, “The Rejected Writers Book Club”

Three weeks ago I actually got to hold that newborn book: “The Rejected Writers Book Club.” It was all sexy in its brand new glossy cover, and I couldn’t believe how proud I was of it. I had done it, finished something I hoped would help fund my screenwriting career. Off it went into the world with its knapsack on its back to earn its living.

Over the past couple of weeks the most extraordinary thing has started to happen. People writing to me to tell me they really liked it, people telling me they couldn’t put it down, people who even loved it. Then it started getting five-star ratings on Amazon. I was totally bemused. The work I thought was just another guinea pig cage—a means to an end—had started to take off and fly with a life of its own. I know this sounds odd, but I never expected people to actually like it. This isn’t some sort of vague modesty; I just wanted people in China to buy it so I could make a little money to continue my real career which is screenwriting…or is it?

As I find myself pondering this new interesting twist of circumstances—people loving and buying my work—I am thoughtful and excited. And it’s the truth that we really don’t know as we travel the road less traveled where that next bend or twist will lead, or if this guinea-pig cage is actually the one.

Suzanne Kelman is an awarding-winning screenwriter and published author, her new book “The Rejected Writers Book Club” is available on Amazon or locally at Moonraker Books in Langley.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

October 17, 2014
Sue the Screenwriter | From Script to Screen: The journey of ‘Our Father’

BY SUZANNE KELMAN
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
May 16, 2014

As a storyteller, I have the privilege of telling stories, and as a filmmaker, I have the pleasure of telling stories in lots of unique and interesting ways. Over the last couple of months I have had the opportunity to create a story from a different perspective; instead of as a writer or director, I joined Linda Palmer’s team—Runaway Productions—as one of her Associate Producers and I really enjoyed the experience.

Always fascinated by a story’s journey from script to screen, I caught up with Palmer to talk about the project.

“Our Father” starring Michael Gross, is Linda’s production company’s eighth film and is one close to her heart—one she felt compelled to tell. Based on an experience with her own family, it is a poignant story of how, through a fleeting moment of clarity, dementia opened a portal to her father’s past and a love he was denied—a glimpse that provided understanding and began to heal her family.

Four of the cast members, left to right: Michael Worth, Michael Gross, Eileen Grubba and David Topp (Photo by Malik Sooch)

The journey through pre-production was an interesting one, Palmer admitted. In the beginning, she found it challenging to get talent attached because it was a “short” and most agents don’t want actors to do shorts. But spurred on by the encouraging response from a script reading and from those around her, she continued to send it out to agents and entered it into competitions, where it did very well.

Eventually her persistence paid off; the script was seen by Michael Gross, who is known for his role in “Family Ties” and “Tremors,” and who wanted be involved. Having had a family member who had suffered with Alzheimer’s disease for many years, he was very understanding and sensitive to the subject matter. So much so, in fact, that he told Palmer, the writer on the project, that he didn’t want to change her script at all. He prepared for the role by spending time with dementia caregivers and sufferers so he could really understand the disease.

Other gifted actors also became attached to the project after Michael Gross signed on, including Eileen Grubba, “Sons of Anarchy; Michael Worth, “God’s Ear;” Ally Iseman, “Criminal Minds;” Julia Silverman, “Grey’s Anatomy;” Isaiah Lucas, “Waiting in the Wing;” Patrick Censoplano, “Fame;” Aaron Stall, “The Ruffian” and David Topp, who just won “Best Performance in a Short” at the 35^th Young Artists Award ceremony.

Michael Worth and Michael Gross in a scene from the film “Our Father” (Photo by Malik Sooch)

Admitting she is a very collaborative filmmaker, she also surrounded herself with a remarkable team of creative individuals and a group of associate directors, introduced to her by Hal Croasman of Screenwriting U, which is how I connected with her.

Palmer worked with Hal on a previous movie when one of her soundtrack songs was an Oscar contender, and he suggested she approach the Screenwriting U Alum to champion her cause. We came together—most of us from all over the country—to support her vision. It was a fascinating experience for me and I enjoyed every aspect of it, from reading the script to seeing the storyboards and the footage of the final auditions. Palmer did a great job keeping all her producers connected on the project and through our own Facebook group.

“Having everyone share this story and be a part of its process is what is going to make this a successful movie,” Palmer said.

Now that the movie has wrapped, she has moved onto post-production and preparations for the film festival circuit at festivals such as Sundance, where I think it will do very well.

Adding one last story to the film’s journey, Palmer talked about a moment during the audition process when she was preparing the two young actors to play their scene. I said to them, “it is this moment, it is this moment in this man’s life—and because he can’t have this person, he is denied this person, it is going to make him the way he is. So everything the two of you bring to these characters comes from this one moment, the entire story is because of this moment.”

This is one of the many reasons I personally love to write—the treasure of being able to delve into and explore the core of human experience that is shaped by an invisible chain of such moments.

Thank you, Linda, for a great experience and for your passion to tell a story. You are a true inspiration.

(Photo at top: Four cast members: (l to r) Michael Worth, Michael Gross, Eileen Grubba and David Topp Photo by Malik Sooch)

Suzanne Kelman is an awarding-winning screenwriter of a screenplay that has recently been optioned.

CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

May 16, 2014
Sue the Screenwriter | From Script to Screen—A Local Writer’s Ten Year Journey to the Oscars

BY SUZANNE KELMAN
February 25, 2014

Walking the Red Carpet in Hollywood is a long way from Bob Nelson’s usual writing routine when he’s at home in Freeland, Washington. That normally consists of him doing research during the day and then creating words on a page from 9 p.m. until 3 a.m. with only the owls for company.

Poster for the Acadaemy Award movie, “Nebraska”

But accolades are to be expected if you write a screenplay of the caliber of “Nebraska,” which has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including a Best Original Screenplay for Nelson.

As I talked to the author, 57, about his experiences it became obvious that his own journey has been as interesting as the movie’s main character. “Nebraska” is a story about Woody, an aging alcoholic played by Bruce Dern, who sets out on a cross-country adventure to claim a bogus million dollars in a marketing sweepstakes. Overcoming jaded family members and old adversaries, Woody uses dogged determination to pursue the money he believes is rightfully his. Though things don’t turn out exactly as expected, he eventually has his moment to shine.

That is no doubt the kind of determination Bob Nelson needed to believe his story would eventually come to life after its own 10-year trek. It was a journey that started in 1999 when the Seattle-based TV show he was writing for, “Almost Live,” came to an end. With unemployment looming, Nelson wrote the first draft of “Nebraska,” a story he had been thinking about for a while. He admitted he relied on his personal family experiences to create its world, and no more so than for the character Woody, who is based on his own father.

“I heard my Dad’s voice in my head when I would write a line that came out of Woody,” Nelson commented, “particularly the voice in his later years when the alcohol had slowed him down. By that time my father’s manner was a little less verbose, a little more terse with his midwestern taciturness,” Nelson said. “But, for creative purposes, I did make his character a little more cantankerous.” He drew the rest of the characters from visits to his extended family in the Midwest, of which he has vivid childhood memories.

With the first draft completed, he headed off to Hollywood with no idea of its potential, believing it would serve as a nice writing sample for producers and perhaps be a “little movie” he could shop around the Indie Market.

Screenwriter Bob Nelson (right), actor Will Forte (photo credit Dannie Zhao, VIFF)

His screenplay, however, was destined for bigger things and, through a number of serendipitous connections, it caught the attention of Alexander Payne, the successful director of the movies “Sideways” and “The Descendants.” Payne, who has spent 20 years proving he can turn an indie into a mainstream movie, saw the potential in the gritty, character-driven comedy and it became a much larger Paramount Studio’s project.

Even with all the power players in place, it still took a decade to complete, with Payne agreeing to direct it just as he was gearing up to shoot “Sideways.” Despite the long wait, Nelson always remained optimistic that the movie would be made. He joked that it gave Bruce Dern ten years to age into the perfect version of the onscreen lead character, the actor Payne had seen in the title role from the beginning. Nelson added that now “he couldn’t see anybody else in that role.” He commended the director’s instincts for casting the perfect actor and sticking to his original gut feelings about Dern, even after a second round of casting auditions.

Bruce Dern (right) in a scene from “Nebraska”

It seemed that the casting experience was a precedent of the collaboration process to come between Payne and Nelson, who admitted he lucked out getting a director of Payne’s ability on his first movie. A director known for his drive to make movies about real characters, Payne was very respectful of the script and the characters Nelson had created. The director even had a hand in the ending. A novice feature writer, Nelson admitted he had originally written a more explosive end to the story. Once it became an Alexander Payne movie, however, the director encouraged him to find an alternative ending driven by the arc of the main characters. The results speak for themselves.

Unfortunately for Nelson, his father—who has passed away—will never get to see the role his son created based on him, but his mother, who is 85, actually had a small part in the movie. Living close to the town in “Nebraska” where they were shooting, she was invited to be an extra when she visited her son on the set one day. She also had the added thrill of joining him on the red carpet for the Chinese Theatre premier in Hollywood. Nelson hopes she also may be able to join him again for the Academy Awards celebration.

There is one difference, however, between Woody’s journey and Bob Nelson’s: while Woody was really always on a fool’s errand, Bob’s journey of success appears to be just beginning. The way I see it, no matter whether he gets his statue or not on March 2, with the notoriety he has achieved with “Nebraska,” his future is looking golden either way.

Sue the Screenwriter (photo by Kim Tinuviel)

Suzanne Kelman is an awarding-winning screenwriter that has been optioned. She will be teaching a new six-week screenwriting basics class from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday mornings starting on March 22nd – April 26th. For more info about this class, email Suzanne at suzkelman@gmail.com

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February 26, 2014
Sue the Screenwriter | A screenplay adventure with Superbloggers!

BY SUZANNE KELMAN
Dec. 13, 2013

INTERIOR, WHIDBEY LIFE MAGAZINE HEADQUARTERS – SOMEWHERE ON EARTH

The “Life Cave” is stacked from floor to ceiling with photos, articles, art stories, supplies and anything a goat can produce.

At the desk under a pile of old island periodicals, SUPERHERO SUE is slumped, head down, mumbling to herself.

An alarm is triggered.

INTENSE RINGING SOUNDS AND FLASHING LIGHTS

PASSIONATE PATRICIA, a cute, cocky broad with great legs, dashes into the office with a tablet featuring the mock-up for a glossy print edition of Whidbey life Magazine. She drops it gingerly on the desk.

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
It’s bad isn’t it?

Sue still slumped, doesn’t look up.

SUPERHERO SUE
The worst. We are not going to make it; we are nowhere near.

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
What! No, that’s impossible. What are we going to do?

Sue pulls her head from the desk and slams her hand down on a button that instantly cuts the ringing alarms.

SUPERHERO SUE
We are going to have to go to the extreme. Call in the Superbloggers!

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
Really? It’s that desperate?

SUPERHERO SUE
I’m afraid so!

One hour later, the Life Cave is full of an odd assortment of superheroes with uncanny blogging powers.

BENEVOLENT BOB, a highly skilled cartoonist, who also happens to be… a panda.

VIVACIOUS VICKY, skilled in mixing dangerously sweet concoctions of food with funky names, who also speaks goat.

JUBILANT JUDITH, just back from sweeping the sky — which she minds.

And lastly, we believe there may be ELUSIVE ERIC, but as he is also a master of disguise… one can never really be quite sure.

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
These are all the Superbloggers we could get on such short notice.

SUPERHERO SUE
I’m afraid it’s worse than we thought.

VIVACIOUS VICKY
What! You mean worse than trying to lug defrosted water to 30 goats on a November morning and then… trying to milk them?

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
Yes.

JUBILANT JUDITH
Worse then trying to board a 4 p.m. ferry at 3:30 p.m. on July 3?

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
Yes.

BENEVOLENT BOB
Worse then trying to find an adequate supply of bamboo shoots to feed a 300 pound Panda on an island in the Northwest in January?

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
Yes. Much worse.

A DOG
(Sounding decidedly like Elusive Eric)
Worse than trying to get a ticket to the last night of “The Full Monty” at WICA?

SUPERHERO SUE
Well, maybe not that bad, but nearly.

ELUSIVE ERIC
(Now disguised as a chicken)
I think we need to tell Whidbey Island the truth.

SUPERHERO SUE
The truth! The truth! WHIDBEY CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

Benevolent Bob jumps to his paws.

BENEVOLENT BOB
What truth? I thought this was just a campaign to get the Whidbey Life Magazine into a printed format?

All the other Superbloggers look sheepishly from one to the other.

All that can be heard in the room are… crickets.

A fern walks up to Bob and puts a frond on his shoulder… [It might be Elusive Eric.]

FERN
We didn’t want to worry you, Bob, because we know how difficult it is for you just to draw without having opposable thumbs.

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
But the problem is much bigger then just the printing of a magazine.

BENEVOLENT BOB
How can it be bigger than having a whole island of artists with no periodical to call their own? Do you know how many artists we have on this island?

Suddenly the door bursts open and in rushes JOYOUS JAN with her hands full of charts, graphs and a piece of bread spread with what looks decidedly like an illegal substance or, as it’s known for F.D.A. purposes, “Dulce de leche.”

JOYOUS JAN
I have them all; the final numbers. Unfortunately, it’s as bad as we thought!

With one sweep she clears the cluttered table, throws down the charts and pulls out her whiteboard and scribbles hurried equations.

VIVACIOUS VICKY
Can the ferry be saved?

JOYOUS JAN
I don’t think so.

BENEVOLENT BOB
What? What’s wrong with the ferry?

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
What about the sinkholes? The landslides?

SUPERHERO SUE
The whales?

Jan looks down… then shakes her head.

JUBILANT JUDITH
This is terrible! It will make my job minding the sky so much harder. I won’t know what weather to prepare for!

BENEVOLENT BOB
What? Will someone please tell me what is going on? I was under the impression that we were just doing an Indiegogo called “Roll the Presses for WLM” to create a print addition of the magazine for tourists and off-line folks, to help them find out about the island’s artists and what’s happening on Whidbey.

The armchair get’s up and speaks; the voice is once again… strangely familiar.

ARMCHAIR
We are going to have to tell him.

All the Superbloggers look from one to the other; there is a long hard silence. Superhero Sue steps forward.

SUPERHERO SUE
A few months ago, through the list of the Drew-ids, we obtained a cunning, second-hand device (which we of course paid 10 percent to the list for) that measures solar flares, biomass, volcanic activity, and the amount of Mr. Mobley’s sauce consumed.

Joyous Jan approaches the white board and writes down more figures.

JOYOUS JAN
We have figured out that because of global warming and rapid climate change and the interminable amount of sauce consumed, that Puget Sound is going to be knocked off kilter by precisely .3758942789 degrees West on Dec. 22.

BENEVOLENT BOB
Well, that doesn’t sound serious. What’s going to happen to the whales?

JOYOUS JAN
We have calculated that if we don’t weigh down the ferry with the precise gigawatts to change up the catalytic convertor, reverse the warp core emissions, and reboot the laser cannons, the sound will reset to 10 minus pie (apple) on Dec. 22.

SUPERHERO SUE
At that point, the ferry will list in such a way as to be naked to the untrained eye, but catastrophic to the Island of Whidbey!

JOYOUS JAN
That figure equals the exact weight that can be produced with 1,000 copies of a printed edition of Whidbey Life Magazine.

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
Without the printed magazine on the ferry, an unprecedented chain reaction will occur on our shores, resulting in tidal waves, sinkholes, and huge landslides that will dam the Sound, preventing the whales from ever visiting Langley again!

BENEVOLENT BOB
I don’t believe you. That sounds ridiculous.

JOYOUS JAN
Exactly! That’s what people on Whidbey will say if we tell them the truth.

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
So we have had to go undercover with this campaign.

JUBILANT JUDITH
Oh. What are we going to do?

A TALKING HAT STAND
Why don’t we ask SMASHING SUE to write a blog piece? Maybe, just maybe, if all three of her readers contributed to the campaign… ?

JOYOUS JAN
It’s a long-shot, but, yes, yes, it might just work!

PASSIONATE PATRICIA
Averting disaster?

JOYOUS JAN
ONLY if we get all three.

WILL THE THREE READERS OF SUE THE SCREENWRITER PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN?

WILL WHIDBEY BE SAVED FROM DISAPPEARING INTO A SINKHOLE?

WILL THE WHALES HAVE TO MOVE TO LYNNWOOD?

ONLY YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS.

TUNE IN NEXT WEEK ─ SAME BAT TIME, SAME BAT CHANNEL ─ TO SEE IF WHIDBEY ISLAND IS SAVED BY WHIDBEY LIFE MAGAZINE!

Click here to help Whidbey Life Magazine save the island from the abyss!

Screenwriter Suzanne Kelman will teach a new, six-week screenwriting basics class from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday mornings starting on Jan 18. There will be an open house on Saturday, Jan. 11 for anyone interested in more details about the class. For info about the class or the open house email Suzanne at suzkelman@gmail.com.

December 13, 2013