And four years later…
…still going. 1461 days. GITS has been here every single day.
The next three posts are about some interesting things I’ve been mulling over for quite some time and are part of today’s celebration. But for this, the Official 4th Year Anniversary Post, I’d like to thank a few people.
Franklin Leonard: For reaching out to me about this time last year to begin a conversation about the state of screenwriting, then eventually inviting GITS to become the screenwriting blog of the Black List. This has put what we do here on the blog that much more front and center in the consciousness of people who influence what stories get bought and are developed in Hollywood. Moreover it has been invaluable to have Franklin’s perspective on the business as he is both incredibly knowledgeable and savvy. Finally every GITS reader should know how strongly Franklin backs what goes on here, even to the point of showing up for the first GITS Meet-Up: LA. So thank you, Franklin, and best of luck with your producing and all things Black List, arguably the most important brand in Hollywood related to screenplays.
Nate Winslow: I intersected with Nate like I’ve met everyone on this blog, through his comments. His passion for movies and desire to work in the industry made me a fan. Nate made a big move this year, relocating to LA, and started from scratch attempting to break into the movie business. Happy to say he is making solid progress. But even with all that going on, Nate has been a big help in many ways behind the scenes, and as a point person in LA. Thanks, Nate, and please remember me when you’re a big producer.
Annika Wood: A talented writer, Annika has been a supporter of the blog since early on. She has been a go-to person for me to discuss things like marketing and was instrumental in helping organize a series of extremely informative question-and-answer sessions with a select group of GITS readers when I was assessing where we were with the blog. Annika also helped put together the first GITS Meet-Up: LA. Thanks, Annika, and I can’t wait to do a Spec Script Sale announcement featuring you and your script.
Tom Benedek: A terrific writer with an incredible resume and one of the first screenwriters I met in Hollywood, Tom founded Screenwriting Master Class with me. I’m excited about what we’ve accomplished there, an extension of what goes on here only more intense, in-depth, and comprehensive in large part due to Tom’s abilities as a teacher and his contacts in the business, many of whom frequent classes Tom teaches to interface directly with students. Thanks, Tom, and congratulations on the publishing of your first novel this year “Peloponnesia”.
Chris Borrelli, Stan Chervin, F. Scott Frazier, Jeremiah Friedman & Nick Palmer, Kyle Killen, Marc Maurino, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, Chris Sparling, John Swetnam, and Aaron Tracy: Screenwriters who were kind enough to share their thoughts about the craft this year in a series of GITS interviews including the incredible 2011 Screenwriters Roundtable. Thanks all for taking the time to do those Q&A’s. You’ve earned lots of creative juju for that and I hope it’s paying off.
Mary Coleman, head of Pixar’s story department: Another memorable interview that provided some amazing insights into the inner workings of the most successful movie production company in the history of cinema. Thanks, Mary, for spending part of two days on the phone with me and to Franklin for arranging the interview, knowing how obsessed I am with Pixar as ace storytellers.
Finally and of course, there is the GITS community. We don’t do much in the way of flash and sizzle here, just the day to day work of the craft: learning it, getting better at it, sharing ideas about it, and using practices that are grounded in what it takes to be a professional screenwriter. This year like every year, several writers who have broken into Hollywood by selling a script or getting repped, have contacted me to express their thanks for this site, how this humble little blog meant a lot to them in their journey to success. What goes on here with the posts, many of them inspired by your Tweets and emails, and the ensuing conversations are all part of that. My wish is that each of you realizes the goals to which you aspire as writers, so that next year at this time, I can acknowledge you.
Let me end with a few reminders:
Read scripts. Watch movies. Write pages.
And of course: Go into the story… and find the animals.
Onward and upward!
[Stay tuned for three posts today, each with an interesting announcement].
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