Toronto Screenwriting Conference – Day 2

Day two kicked off at 9:30 am as the two hundred plus attendees filled the lower bowl of the John Basset Theatre. Putting down their coffees to produce notebooks and pens or the odd laptop. Politely chitchatting away with their neighbors and newly acquainted friends. Waiting patiently for the caffeine to kick in.

Then the lights dimmed and the conversation stopped. About five minutes later, this room full of drowsy writers sat perched on the edge of their seats, scribbling frantically in their notebooks. Eyes and ears glued to the hilarious Stephen Falk. A former Co-Executive Producer on Weeds and Orange Is The New Black. Now, the creator and showrunner of the FXX hit, You’re The Worst.

Behind him, a giant projection of the writing room he commands, playing slides of the marked up whiteboards he uses to break a season of the show and pictures of his talented writing staff. They start the process with what he refers to as a slush: a random pile of funny ideas. Next, a list of guest stars. Followed by a general character breakdown and finally they map out each character ‘s arch. The system works to feed on itself, the slush ideas making their way into the character breakdown, and the character breakdown assisting each character’s arch. Once these four elements are complete the real assembly begins as the team heads to a fourteen square chart to build each episode. It’s here they ask themselves what each episode is about and find the right elements from the earlier process to support them. Once this process is complete, a sixteen beat, seven-page outline is produced for each episode before they go onto type Fade In on one of thirteen first drafts.

I’m skimming here, because this attention to detail is not what makes Steven’s show so great – although, like with all successful endeavors, it definitely plays a big part. Nor, is this process unique to him. A fact he openly admitted to when he briefly reminisced about his time working under Jenji Kohan. To break any season of TV requires a similar undertaking where the showrunner and his staff roadmap every painstaking story beat. The outlining phase of any writing endeavor is arguable the most important. But to answer what makes You’re The Worst so great is to take a look at Steven’s unique vision. Because lets face it, when is the last time you saw a lens flare in a comedy show? The pilot and the rest of the series have plenty, a visual look established by Kings Of Summer director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts. Whose directorial vision Stephen deliberately sought out for the pilot. Then there’s the blocking – a three-episode at a time shooting schedule that helps cut down production costs and provides the source of inspiration for the show’s miniseries-like quality. Each three-episode chunk serves the writers as an act break and informs the season’s story structure, giving the show its unique narrative aesthetic. Finally, there is Steven’s closing comment: make people worry about you when they read this. When you can put that much emotion into your work and you have the craftsmanship and vision to back it up you’re bound to write something good. You’ll write something great if your name is Steven Falk.

Concluding with a Q+A, Stephen left the room with the accompaniment of a thunderous applause. The energy in the room changed. The chatter was livelier. It felt like this wasn’t impossible. Breaking down a successful show seemed to be in the grasp of everyone seated in those red velvet chairs and the tools to do so had just been added to our writing arsenals.

It was the perfect setup for what was to follow, a conversation with the woman responsible for getting You’re The Worst on the air, FX executive Nicole Clemens.

Taking center stage for an hour long Q+A she delighted the crowd with hope and optimism. The TV business has changed. Creativity is now the grand jewel networks are seeking and with it comes all the types of prestige and viewership that matters in today’s golden age. It’s good for business. She’ll ask you “What’s the crazy idea you always wanted to write?” If it’s any good, you might get picked up. The FX boardroom seldom has a conversation along the lines of “we need this right now.” What they care about is the writer’s vision, the special sauce that gives a show its unique flavor. Then they’ll want to see your credentials. This is still a business after all. The reality of running a show is a serious undertaking and if you don’t have the right resume or mental fortitude to carry its load, you’ll crash under the pressure.

The process seems simple enough. First, have a vision; second, be able to sustain it. But like all things that seem simple, complexity dwells under its surface. The right pitch plays an important part in the equation. She recommends to keep it under thirty minutes. In that time you need to convince her and her fellow execs that you’re the right guy for the job. Why are you the one to tell this particular story? Is there a personal connection to the material? Tone. Structure. Theme. Character! Forget about the roadmap and focus on character. They want to see the unique story telling engine that produces a successful show, focus on the long arching character journeys and the emotional connection. Not every season one-plot point. The stuff that gives writing a soul. Be focused and keep it moving, you want it to be like you’re crashing into the second act of the feature. And make sure you pitch the pilot. After your done bleeding your heart out, they’ll follow up with some questions. Usually this takes around fifteen minutes. What they’re looking for is specificity of character. They want to makes sure you know this story and you’re not just bluffing.

It was around this point that the moderator took the opportunity to ask a personal question regarding his own project in predevelopment, affording all of us glimpse into types of conversations that happen in back room proceedings. At least, I think. Ambiguous with the specifics, it was impossible to discern what his project was about but somehow it involved Jonathan Nolan. The conversation quickly became about packages: A writer, director, actor, you name the famous person, bundle that usually expedites the selling process. It was a fascinating back and forth but I can’t recall it going anywhere. Maybe, that’s how Hollywood works. But you don’t get that impression from Nicole. Her keen questions struck at the core of the moderator’s concerns, undoubtedly backed by years of industry experience. However, the private nature of this conversation did not produce any real answers and was probably better suited over coffee or backstage.

If all television executives are like Nicole Clemens then the entertainment industry is in good hands. If you’re a writer trying to make it in TV your gold rush is in full swing. With seventy-seven buyers the opportunities are greater than ever. Networks are hungry for original, captivating work and they’ve proved it ten-fold with the current state of television.

Nicole too, was ushered off the stage with the echo of an applauding theatre. This was good stuff, the type of stuff we all wanted to hear. That art and commerce seem to be getting along well.

We broke for lunch and returned to the theatre at 2:15 for a beat-by-beat breakdown of the pilot episode of Damien. Hosted by its creator and showrunner, Glen Mazzara, who was the former showrunner of The Walking Dead and an Executive-Producer on The Shield.

His ethos is simple: don’t do what you’re supposed to do. A fact he mentions in the opening moments of his presentation. Always striving to challenge himself and push his work to new and original heights, Glen is uncompromisingly dedicated to quality and intent on staying true to himself. Despite the pressure from executives and difficulty of the network grinder, he finds a way to preserve his vision and deliver it to the screen.

He recalls the decision to make Damien a war photographer and the thematic weight it carries. Challenging critic’s concerns about the underutilization of his supernatural powers in a seemingly frivolous occupation, Glen backs up his creative decision with an insightful observation about the Arab spring. Where a photographer had the power to spark the movement with a single photograph. A seemingly simple act that is both powerful and modest. He is trying to create a horror show that has heart. With a lead character that has a deep human need to connect despite the supernatural horror that follows him around. We need to be invested in the character, in Damien, in his inner turmoil and the conflict he’s fighting so hard to suppress.

This type of commentary followed every act break, when Glen would pause the show to explain his decision making process. An incredible screenwriting lesson that afforded us a glimpse into a showrunner’s thought process and the reality of what appears on screen. Packed with practical anecdotes about the reality of production and dealing with meddling network executives, he never held back. Generously giving away his knowledge and experience at each interval.

Eventually, we began to run out of time and the remainder of the show had to play without interruption. It finished and Glen left the stage, leaving the crowd with a wealth of screenwriting knowledge.

The conference closed with a fan favourite speaker from the previous day. Corey Mandell. A story coach and screenwriter with a long list of sold work to Ridley Scott and Warner Brothers, amongst many others.

For proprietary reasons, I cannot delve into the specifics of his talk but I will say that it is an approach like no other. Hailing from a screenwriting background, Corey throws paradigms and easily marketed structure out the door in favour for cognitive based science. Advocating for two unique modes of thinking called the intuitive and conceptual brain. In his second presentation, he delves into a process he calls By Association.

Opening with a provocative question, he asks, “Can you kill someone and save them at the same time?” The normally wired brain will say no. Cognitive dissonance says yes. It is an approach that trains writers to separate their brains and find a way to solve the riddle. The hope is that by finding a story engine that can do both in a convincing manner will create a compelling script. He calls it authentic pitch perfect. Reiterating that there is no A+B formula to writing anymore. To be successful in today’s environment requires melting the two parts of your brain into cohesive unison.

He is a passionate teacher who stayed long after his lecture was over to answer any dangling questions. This man cared about teaching; maybe more than he does writing and his delivery was genuine. A rare quality in the countless screenwriting “gurus” that preach their dogmatic views for whatever astronomical price you are willing to pay.

It was an appropriate conclusion to the weekend. Two days and countless lessons learned. If you are a screenwriter serious about your craft and live in Toronto don’t pass up this event. It’ll invigorate your writing. Provide you with the inspiration to push through whatever plateau you’re stuck in and allow you to connect with countless like-minded professionals from all over the country.