Too much work!

"Gee, Flic Maker Scott, you've given me a lot of information, but I have a lot of excuses...now what?"

Obviously, the first thing is LOSE YOUR EXCUSES! You know the old saying...but if you don't: "Excuses are like assholes, everybody has one and they stink!" Look, you're not getting any younger. And if you are young, early twenties or even just out of high school, TIME is about to speed up on you! Ask anyone in their mid to upper thirties!!

Okay, that's not really the reason for this post. I actually wanted to give you some of my best resources. Just remember that none of this does you any good if you're the type of person who lets all those excuses get in your way.

I gave you a list of my favorite podcasts (or as I like to call them, AUDIO BLOGS) in my post "Time to go to work (part 1)" Here's a list of my favorite commentaries:

The one that started it all for me...Spy Kids 2 (why, in a moment). To all of us low-budget flic makers, Robert Rodriguez is our personal JESUS CHRIST (relax, no disrespect to JC). You don't have to like his movies. I'm not huge fan of his movies, I like most of them, but I'm a disciple of his movie-making! Not only do his commentaries go, nearly, step by step through the flic making process, he adds a 10 or 15 minute flic making school to his DVD's (his cooking schools aren't bad either).

Why Spy Kids 2? To begin with, I have always liked commentaries. When I pulled out Spy Kids 2, I had been writing prose (stories) and was close to finishing a feature length screenplay. I put on the commentary and from the moment Robert started talking, I was hooked. He was excited. Later, listening to his other commentaries, I found out why. He was excited to be shooting a digital, high definition movie. In Spy Kids 2, he talks more about the PROCESS of movie/flic making than he does the actual movie. He throws in a few things about Spy Kids here and there, but most of it was the process. Then I discovered the 10 minute film school. And what really excited me was, my buddy told me Robert does a film school for all his movies (he's since changed them to flic school - see Sin City.)

I'll just say here that anything Rodriguez has done, get/listen to the commentary! Now, more on that list:

Underworld - Writers and Director
Pirates of the Carribean 1 - Writers
X-Men 3 - Writers
Ice Age - Directors
Collateral - Director (in depth characterization/story building)
Paycheck - Director
Sum of all Fears - Director & Producer, Director & Author (Clancy)

And last, the Creative Screenwriting Magazine podcast (found on ITunes) has a ton of interviews with mostly the writers of some the hottest movies. Start there if you're currently trying to get screenwriting down. My favorites: Pirates 2 and X-Men 3. For more on screenwriting, check the 2b pictures podcast for a 5-part lesson.

For Later!