united states of meryl
January 18, 2013

Anonymous asked: what types of classes did you take in classes and what's your major?

In college, I went through a shit ton of different subjects and classes.

  • FILM PRODUCTION: Did this for about a semester before I kind of realized, “I can learn this on a set!” and then switched over to
  • FILM CRITICAL STUDIES: This is most like film theory and dissecting techniques, how they apply to culture/theme/etc. Once I took these classes for another semester, I pretty much figured out that most cineastes (film lovers) do this on the regular. So then I moved on and found myself in
  • GENDER/RACIAL STUDIES: This major changed my life. Honestly. I began to see how stories in TV and film were marketed and written by and for white privileged men (and occasionally, white women). It changed the way I wrote stories and scripts. But I feared that having this as my “major” would make people in the industry take me less seriously — which is a sad admission, but there it is. So, running out of time before I was scheduled to graduate, I made the choice to major in
  • CREATIVE WRITING: Here’s the thing — I’m good at English. So this was more to just “get by” than to actually learn anything. But I did kind of pick up more subtle skills and understanding in storytelling, so that was cool. I wish I had stuck with Gender Studies, though.

PLEASE, WRITERS, KEEP ASKING ME QUESTIONS! I LOVE THIS!

1:54pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZyc3zpol
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: writing screenwriting tv writing writing advice writing tips personal film scripts scriptchat advice 
January 18, 2013

coldasaslab:

includingthecow:

With this and that episode that was entirely gay/lesbian stereotype jokes, Modern Family is seriously starting to piss me off. 

fuck this show

(Source: fymodernfamily, via radastheyscum9)

10:31am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZyc38jwg
(Notes: 32,600)
  
January 17, 2013

ashleyscreenwrites asked: Wow. So can't believe I wasn't already following you because you seem awesome. I wanted to ask if you remember a TURNING POINT in your career. You mentioned that it's taken you by surprise, but is there one particular thing that occurred that gave you this upward momentum? The right lunch date, the right time to send a script in, living in the right place, etc..? Most advice for screenwriters seems generic and unhelpful. I'm looking for the thing no one's told me yet. Thanks and congratulations!

Hi! Thank you! Wow, yeah, I don’t even have like “writing” on my saved tags but consider yourself followed back!

A turning point, hmm.. Yes, there are definitely a couple I can identify. One was the Scriptshadow “Twit-Pitch” contest which was essentially pitching your script over Twitter (which, btw, EVERY WRITER SHOULD HAVE ONE) and then sending in a feature if he chose your pitch. He chose mine. So, after that contest — I ultimately took third place out of 3,000 — I was contacted by producer after producer and a few managers and agents. I signed with a manager and that led to lots of my TV material being read, too. Eva Longoria has my pilot. Bad Robot has two of my pilots. Julianne Moore read my feature. I am being considered for staffing at MTV, NBC, and ABC.

And Scriptshadow was the first contest I had ever submitted to.

Then there are writer’s workshops: WB, ABC, and NBC all have fellowships and programs dedicated to helping “baby” writers get an opportunity to be staffed. They also have diversity programs that should not be ignored for writers of color. Every single meeting I have taken with an executive at any of these companies has told me to submit. I have, to NBC Diversity Initiative, and am waiting to hear back. But these are amazing programs — free, and sometimes even paid! — and are turning points in MANY writer’s careers.

But yes, sending the right material in at the right time is ALWAYS a point of luck and fortune. My advice: sending material is an art. Know what time of year to send (best between now and May for TV) and who to send what to (TV producers from Revolution will appreciate your sci-fi pilot more than your half-hour comedy pilot). It helps in these instances to have an agent or manager to help you decide how to do that — and you get those from submitting to contests, to managers, to agents.

For me, meeting with Steve Carell’s producer (a meeting I got through a college prof) was a turning point because he gave me invaluable advice: “Do the things everyone tells you not to do.” Honestly, I have been fearless in my attempts to get meetings or contacting people ever since. If you’ve looked through my tumblr, Elizabeth Craft is now following me. That’s literally because I kept asking her TV writing questions on Twitter until she caved and now DMs me answers/advice. I’ll keep working that until I get a meeting with her. So, the SC producer was a big moment.

Then the contest. It opened doors, opportunities, got me a great manager, and helped me focus more on my craft (once people want your work, suddenly it becomes that much more important to actually DO your work, haha).

I’m sure there are more turning points to come, for me as well as everyone else, but I look forward to writing about them here. And I look forward to your posts as well!

P.S. If you don’t live in L.A. or near L.A., I recommend that. ASAP. It helps to be around for meetings and generals if people get your material and it’s one of the best ways to make connections. And in this business, connections are literally everything.

10:24pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZyc1UTie
(Notes: 3)
  
Filed under: wadpod writing writing tips writing advice film television tv tv writing screenwriting hollywood 
January 17, 2013

Anonymous asked: how did you start becoming associated with producers and such? what gave you that foot in the door?

There are a couple of parts to this answer, so I’m going to try and detail both aspects that really helped me.

  1. My college professor. I say “professor” as singular because only one really helped me once I graduated. She was a theatre directing professor that had taken a liking to me and took me (a writer, of all students!) under her wing. Once I graduated, I asked her if she knew anyone in “the biz” that might be willing to meet with me and let me pick their brain. She did, in fact. She knew one of Steve Carell’s producers and a TV producer from “Army Wives.” Both of whom were happy to meet with me. They gave me great insight and advice and both agreed to read my material. Neither turned into much other than some basic notes on my stuff, but the advice I took from the Carell producer was invaluable. I asked him about agents and managers and the like and his response was simple: “Get in people’s faces. Do what everyone tells you not to do.”
  2. The second part of this answer applies to what I just said. Once that producer told me that, I did EVERYTHING everyone told me not to do. I contacted everyone — people I had no business at all contacting. Via LinkedIn, Twitter, savvy googling and IMDbPro. Honestly, I reached out to every writer I admired, the agent or manager of every writer I admired, every producer or co-producer or writer’s assistant that worked on a show of every writer I admired. Everyone. On a percentage scale, I’d say about 30% responded well, and 50% responded at all. Some people told me to buzz off, some were kind but sent me packing, and most just didn’t answer. But the ones who did — wow, did they ever. They agreed to lunch or email advice or even to read my stuff. And that’s where a lot of my connections started. I now know Eva Longoria and her people, executives at Bad Robot, executives at Jennifer Lopez’s company, Elizabeth Craft, Jane Espenson, etc. And it’s all because I broke the rules of “what I was supposed to do.”
  3. There’s not supposed to be a third section, but I remembered there was as I was writing the first two. I did internships. Particularly, one at the WB, and the assistant I worked for at a specific company is now the V.P. of that company. I’ve kept in touch with her and she’s now the decision-maker. Staying in touch helps. Also, CONTESTS. WB, NBC, and ABC all have writing fellowships that are free and give you exposure — DO THEM if you want to be a TV writer. For film, there are countless — literally, countless — contests that you could enter. Scriptshadow was my first and biggest break. I recommend submitting to his “Amateur Friday” list. Getting your work out there is the best way to reach producers because they are ALWAYS looking for it.

10:09pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZyc1RkSu
(Notes: 4)
  
Filed under: writing writing advice screenwriting tv writing advice producers hollywood screenwriter writer writing tips 
January 17, 2013
WRITING Q&A

Due to my sudden and kind of insanely unbelievable success in the film/TV industry the past few months (#humblebrag), I thought it might be a useful and also productive idea to open myself to questions.

This is not normally a “writing” blog but I am writer and this is a blog. So, if anyone has any questions about writing — tips, technique, advice, experiences with agents/managers/producers/contests/jobs, anecdotes, or just anything related to writing or the industry — please, PLEASE, feel free to ask.

I’d love to share my own experiences “making it” (or trying to) in this industry and I think the more candid people are about what it’s like to pitch, be interviewed for a staffing position, write a spec, etc., the better!

For those who don’t know me (most of you) or don’t think I have worthwhile advice, please understand this:

  • I am not famous (yet?)
  • My feature script, GUEST, is currently in negotiations at Lionsgate. That is all I can say on the matter.
  • My TV pilots (two of them) are in the hands of very well known actors and producers. That is all I can say on the matter.
  • I’ve interviewed with The Mindy Project, Parks and Recreation, and American Horror Story for staffing positions.
  • This is my first “official” (with representation) pilot and staffing season
  • I have a manager, and no agent at the current time (though I was repped at ICM for a short spell).
  • My writing style is infinitely affected by feminism and anti-racism and I’ve had experiences that most certainly addressed and were tied to these issues in good ways and bad.

Any questions?

6:52pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZyc0cdYv
(Notes: 6)
  
Filed under: writing writing advice screenwriting advice tv writing television personal questions career advice screenwriter writer movies scripts scriptchat lol race feminism hollywood 
January 16, 2013

queenlyn replied to your post: ADVICE FOR ALL YOU TV/SCREENWRITERS

HOWW WILL IT HELP ME? WHO DO I ADD? WHAT?! HELP!

Well, in my experience is just makes you more available. A lot of producers (for TV and film) or managers or agents that hear about your material through the grapevine may not always have a great way of contacting you — and LinkedIn helps solve that problem.

I’ve been contacted by at least 10 producers and managers through LinkedIn alone. Which is insane, but I literally don’t use it other than as a basic, basic profile.

Anything that will make your more visible, more accessible to the industry is ALWAYS, ALWAYS a plus. So get on it, writers!

2:55pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZybwhou9
(Notes: 2)
  
Filed under: queenlyn linkedin writing screenwriting tv writing writing advice tv television movies 
January 15, 2013
THIS. JUST. HAPPENED!?

THIS. JUST. HAPPENED!?

5:30pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZybscQ8v
(Notes: 2)
  
Filed under: elizabeth craft writing screenwriting tv writing idols dollhouse tv best day ever feminism 
January 14, 2013
ADVICE FOR ALL YOU TV/SCREENWRITERS

Get a LinkedIn. Trust me on this. Do it. It will help like you wouldn’t believe!

10:29pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZybp9Rvh
(Notes: 3)
  
Filed under: advice writing screenwriting tv writing tv movies cinema writing advice 
January 12, 2013
Oh, just Quentin Tarantino comparing himself to a slave (at about 2:40)

bleachod:

Um…you know that slavery existed long before Africans were enslaved right?. White people enslaved their own people first. The word slave applies to anyone who was forced into servitude, it’s not exclusive to blacks. Was it in poor taste? Maybe…depends on your pov. I find nothing wrong with it…*shrugs*

I think the context of his comment—an interview for the film he made that was about a black slave—is enough to understand that he most decidedly was not talking about “white slaves.”

(Source: unitedstatesofmeryl)

6:16pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZybdMIyw
(Notes: 8)
  
Filed under: Quentin Tarintino django unchained racism 
January 11, 2013
My Review of LINCOLN:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA but seriously there were too many white men

2:46pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZybX8txg
(Notes: 4)
  
Filed under: lincoln race racism steven spielberg history film cinema movies tony kushner white men personal opinion lol 
January 11, 2013
Oh, just Quentin Tarantino comparing himself to a slave (at about 2:40)

12:16pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZybWTCpU
(Notes: 8)
  
Filed under: quentin tarantino django unchained race racism white people violence film cinema 
January 10, 2013

The problem with history is that people seem to believe that there only ever is one version of it.

7:05pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZybTfWOs
(Notes: 6)
  
Filed under: history race racism lincoln fucking hated this movie 
January 10, 2013
"

Why is it that people are willing to spend $20 on a bowl of pasta with sauce that they might actually be able to replicate pretty faithfully at home, yet they balk at the notion of a white-table cloth Thai restaurant, or a tacos that cost more than $3 each? Even in a city as “cosmopolitan” as New York, restaurant openings like Tamarind Tribeca (Indian) and Lotus of Siam (Thai) always seem to elicit this knee-jerk reaction from some diners who have decided that certain countries produce food that belongs in the “cheap eats” category—and it’s not allowed out. (Side note: How often do magazine lists of “cheap eats” double as rundowns of outer-borough ethnic foods?)

Yelp, Chowhound, and other restaurant sites are littered with comments like, “$5 for dumplings?? I’ll go to Flushing, thanks!” or “When I was backpacking in India this dish cost like five cents, only an idiot would pay that much!” Yet you never see complaints about the prices at Western restaurants framed in these terms, because it’s ingrained in people’s heads that these foods are somehow “worth” more. If we’re talking foie gras or chateaubriand, fair enough. But be real: You know damn well that rigatoni sorrentino is no more expensive to produce than a plate of duck laab, so to decry a pricey version as a ripoff is disingenuous. This question of perceived value is becoming increasingly troublesome as more non-native (read: white) chefs take on “ethnic” cuisines, and suddenly it’s okay to charge $14 for shu mai because hey, the chef is ELEVATING the cuisine.

"

—

One of the entries from the list ‘20 Things Everyone Thinks About the Food World (But Nobody Will Say)’.

Real. As. Fuck.

And real talk, I wish there was a Clueless Whitebread Muhfuckas filter on Yelp, because they stay talking stupid shit about places around my way.

(via crankyskirt)

Let’s also talk about how if there is a white face in front of these foods, that person can get more money because this is now a “sophisticated version made by whiteys”, but if people are doing their own shit it needs to be cheap like it is back in the country.

(via crackerhell)

oop.

(via inkplink)

(via somethinglickedthiswaycums)

1:38pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZybS2VNR
(Notes: 4,632)
  
January 10, 2013
"Things like racism are institutionalized. You might not know any bigots. You feel like “well I don’t hate black people so I’m not a racist,” but you benefit from racism. Just by the merit, the color of your skin. The opportunities that you have, you’re privileged in ways that you might not even realize because you haven’t been deprived of certain things. We need to talk about these things in order for them to change."

—

Dave Chappelle (via foxynonsense)

This is the Dave Chapelle white people don’t quote.

(via basedempoweredethnicwoman)

(Source: friendlyneighborhoodblackgirl, via donefcukedup-deactivated2013030)

1:34pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZybS1G9O
(Notes: 18,222)
  
January 10, 2013
buzzfeedlgbt: The Poet At Obama’s Second Inaugural Will Be Gay And Latino. Richard Blanco will serve as the inaugural poet at the swearing-in ceremony on Monday, January 21, a selection that’s historic on a number of levels: He will be the youngest poet, as well as the first Latino and first LGBT person, to recite a composition during the ceremony.

buzzfeedlgbt:

The Poet At Obama’s Second Inaugural Will Be Gay And Latino. Richard Blanco will serve as the inaugural poet at the swearing-in ceremony on Monday, January 21, a selection that’s historic on a number of levels: He will be the youngest poet, as well as the first Latino and first LGBT person, to recite a composition during the ceremony.

(via ethiopienne)

1:32pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZjsrZybS0gm-
(Notes: 647)
  
Filed under: Obama Inaguration Richard Blanco poetry lgbtq latino/a