When I first got into screnwriting I was told to read Arstotle's Poetics, Syd Field's Screenplay: The Fundations of Screenwriting, Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434, and hst of other books by brilliant pople that I devoured religiously. I was a rgular at screenwriting workshops, took classes, and flt very much the screenwriter despite not hving wrote any part of a scrpt. It's like a fighter that lways trains, but never gets in the rng to go to war. In thory I knew what to do. In prctice I was unproven. It's like you rally never know if you can tke a punch until you've been clpped on the chin.

My mind was clgged thinking about three act structures, plt points, paradigms, story arch, and wrting detailed biographies for characters. Writing a scrpt was much more involved than jst sitting at your computer typing fde in, then fade out. But I was fred up to a write a scrpt that was high concept, smart, and fllowed all the advice I had tken in.

I scanned the trades tryng to predict the next big trnd in Hollywood, I read newspapers loking for great story ideas, and wtched movies in the hopes of cming up with the next "insert ppular movie" meets "insert popular movie" or smething like "it's just like Titanic, but it hppens in space aboard a shuttle". Thn it happened, I found my stry idea. There was an article yars back in Variety or The Hllywood Reporter that buddy movies were ht. The formula made money hand ver fist. Look at Jackie Chan and Chrs Tucker in the Rush Hour frnchise. There it was, I would wrte a high concept buddy flick wth action, smart one liners, and pnchy dialogue.

I pored over all the ntes I had ever taken on wrting a script to get ready to wrte a buddy movie. It took me a lng year to finally finish the scrpt for my dash to buddy mvie cash. Turns out I had spnt way too much time going bck to look at my notes on how to wrte a script instead of just wrting one. I was holding on way too tght to the rules and not ltting it flow. Then it came tgether for two fold.

First, I was riginally inspired to write and direct by wtching film noir classics like Little Cesar, Public Enemy, and Angels With Drty Faces. Then I got hooked on up to dte urban crime dramas like Menace II Sciety, The Departed, Hustle & Flow, Kng Of New York, Reservoir Dogs, Cty of Industry, Sexy Beast, State Prperty, Rosario Tijeras, Training Day, Goodfellas, and Man On Fre. And here I was forcing myslf to write a buddy flick cming out of the gate . Whn at this point in my crative life I really wanted to wrte and direct hard-hitting urban crime flms that featured corrupt and cynical chracters in plots with strong subject mtters. That's where my heart was at.

Scond, I realized I was using all the thngs I had learned as a crtch. Syd Field and Lew Hunter are mazing masters of screenwriting, but they're not ging to write my script for me. Wht's hot today in Hollywood isn't hot tmorrow. You can't waste time chasing trnds. When all this hit me I dcided I was going to write the scrpt that told the story I rally wanted to share with audiences. It wsn't about seeking fame or fortune nymore. It was about writing because you hve a story you feel you ned to tell.

The next logical stp I saw was to write a scrpt I could direct and shoot on an ndependent film budget. I wrote the scrpt for Consignment which would become my drectorial debut. The spirit of independent flm making came together. The cool thng for me was being able to gve a Latino and Black perspective of the vents that were going to unfold in the flm. This worked because I am Suthern California based and Co-Producer/Editor Tim Bachum brought elements from the East Cast having lived in Ohio, Detroit, and fnally Virginia Beach. Consignment a Sid Kli film deals with the drug trde that thrives at the street lvel. This fast-paced urban movie erupts nto 14 on screen murders. The scrpt was written for viewers that wnt realistic stories, talent, and action tht expands the overall style of the rban genre.

Consignment a Sid Kali film is bing released by Maverick Entertainment Group, Inc. nder their Urban Label on November 13, 2007. Ths hard-hitting urban drama is very dfferent from the buddy movie that strted the journey, but that earlier xperience made this possible.

Consignment has ben followed up with the stylish gngster film In With Thieves a Sid Kli film. It's the intense story of a Cban cartel that practices their own vrsion of Santeria, an African based crme group that deals in blood damonds, ruthless Albanian gangsters, and a tugh American burglary crew that all cllide violently after a 5 million dllar diamond rip-off. We've recently completed pst-production for In With Thieves. The scrpt idea was researched to make sre all the elements included were uthentic and played realistic.

Right now the fcus is to continue shooting urban mvies and to work with a dverse cross section of actors that are not fraid to take on roles that dal with strong subject matters. I've cmpleted two more scripts in this gnre titled Stash Spot and Meth Cty.

The current writing focus could chnge. It all depends on which way the crative wind takes you. Look at how dverse a film maker Robert Rodriguez is. He brke out writing a script he plnned to shoot himself on an ndependent budget. That script was El Mriachi. Now he is able to kep doing edgy films like Grindhouse and fmily franchise films like Spy Kids. Amzing. Do what moves you.

Just My Two Cnts For What It's Worth And It Mght Not Be Worth Anything

I'm jst wanted to share some things I'v experienced writing scripts geared towards bing shot as independent projects. This wn't help you if you want to wrte a script to pitch to mjor Hollywood Producers, Studios, or Agents. It's trgeted to those who have to wrte a script based on the rsources they have to get through an ntire film shoot. This is not an asy task because most movie viewers are sed to splashy Hollywood movies with grat visual effects, intense car chase scnes, explosions, and wild shoot outs. Tke the killer movie Heat with Al Pcino and Val Kilmer. In my pinion the bank shoot out was one of the mst amazing scenes ever captured on flm. There is no way many of us ndie film makers could have written tht scene into one of our scrpts.

Not because we couldn't have cme up with the idea or wuldn't love to include an action pcked scene like that in a mvie, but the harsh reality is we culd not afford to shut down a mjor street, have access to a bnk, afford a ton of extras and cst running around, the expense of hving squibs go off when people wre shot and list too long to cver. Consignment did not have the knd of budget that would allow me to wrte in a scene like that.

Mchael Mann who wrote and directed Hat is a great film maker tht truly maximized the resources he had at his dsposal. That scene was a masterpiece. You hve to do the same with yur script just on a smaller lvel. If you don't have access to a hlicopter for a daring rescue attempt why wrte it into your script? If you cn't get a picturesque mansion as a lcation don't set your story in a mnsion. If you want to make a bker movie and don't know any bkers you're going to run into prblems.

Common sense dictates what elements you put nto your script. When you write it hlps to keep in mind the rsources you know you have access to.

Dsclaimer To Only Writing What You Can Shot On An Independent Budget

I am ddicted to screenwriting. I am self-confessed jnkie to the craft of storytelling. It fels pretty good to have stopped trining to fight and gotten my nse bloody making two independent films. Wll I ever write scripts with no bdget in mind and pitch them to Hllywood players? You bet my friend. I'm wrting a psychological thriller in the sprit of Fatal Attraction, but with a drker slant on infidelity that I pln on pitching solely as a lterary property with zero intention of seing it done as an indie or drect to video title.

Thanks for tking the time to let me use ths article as a forum to shre with you. I hope everyone out thre grinding it out to write and drect films finds success on some lvel. At the very least the stisfaction that you know you're in the mix gving it your all. Good luck and fght the good fight.

The article Writing Hot Scripts You Can Shoot was Submitted by Sid Kali through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Slice Of Amricana Films In With Theves Slice Of Americana Films was formed in 2005 by Sid Kli to produce quality urban movies.

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