Anton H. Gill

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06.30.10

In general, I’m weary of Hollywood scribes that sell their version of the formula for writing a winning script, the script that sells, that script that places you on the map. If they’re so effective, why aren’t they selling their own scripts? Naturally, I had long applied this standard to Gordy even before I considered attending any of his workshops. It’s not an issue here. He’s a produced writer and director, has other projects in the works, and has been recognized either by film festivals or in academia (not to mention being the founder of BlueCat itself). There are competitions and there are competitions. BlueCat is widely regarded as one of the few in the upper tier. (As an aside, they provide incisive, albeit concise feedback on ALL entries and judging by what I received by the script I had in competition, it’s anything but boiler plate). So I signed up for Gordy’s feature script workshop with the expectation that I would receive quality feedback on my script. Attendance was limited to six writers who, by prior arrangement, distributed their scripts to all other attendees a week prior to the date. Gordy also allowed individuals without ready-to-read feature scripts to attend the class in an audit capacity. Cool. The more, the merrier as long as the class was moderated so that no one writer or attendee manipulated class time.I arrived at the location at nine, the intended start time, to find the attendees waiting in the lobby. In a nutshell, the room had to be opened for us and sufficient chairs brought in so we started half hour late. The point is that I would have done things a little differently. I mention this only in the context that this was my first impression and as the saying goes, it’s kinda important.Once past the introductions, Gordy invited us to volunteer ourselves for our preferred order of discussion. I put myself up to be the second script under review, my rationale being that I wanted input from people before the lunch carb coma. Plus, I wanted to get what would cause me the most discomfort out of the way and over with. Having read the scripts in advance (more on that later), I felt that they varied widely in their quality as would be expected where attendees had signed up on a first-come first-served basis. And because of this, I was curious to see how Gordy would meter out his comments according to the range in skills.We followed a standard discussion format. For each script, Gordy offered his feedback for half hour to forty-five minutes and the remaining forty-five minutes were opened up to the rest of the group - including those auditing - for commentary and questions. In sum, I was impressed with Gordy. If anyone’s taken the time to provide feedback on a feature script, it involves, in my experience, not only a significant effort to read the script, but also in effort and tact when providing constructive feedback. More likely than not, egos are fragile at any stage. Gordy always found a way to convey positive and encouraging comments while pointing out what needed to be addressed and rewritten. At times, there was a lot that needed rewriting frankly, some of it relating to fundamental elements in my view. If anything, I felt he erred on the side of caution and delivered the medicine with syrup....and rightly so. I mean, who am I to say? I’m not an established writer and I’m certainly not a teacher. I was writing my first screenplay not too long ago and needed that spoonful of sugar myself. Like a dutiful student, I made mental notes to be more encouraging and positive when playing that role with others at their request. Not that I think I’m deficient from what I’ve been told, but there’s always room for improvement.My turn. In sum, Gordy and the class were very complimentary. I don’t have the notes I took with me, but I recall several comments regarding its readability, the strongly delineated characters, solid scene construction, great pacing and such. I came away thinking that he felt he had read a strong script that shone on various fronts. Where I got a little thrashed was in the perception of my characters. I’ve been a member of a screenwriting group for several years and I don’t recall hearing such a disparity of views. Not a problem, just surprising. My script is an ensemble drama (already difficult territory) and one of the lead characters is bisexual. To top it off, other issues - parenting, sexual responsibility, marital chemistry - permeate the script. It seemed like everyone in the class had a strong stand and wanted their say. I felt hen-pecked for the briefest of moments. As with any session, I identified enough commonalities in the comments to get a strong sense of what needs to change.We broke for a lunch and a weird thing happened. We must have numbered sixteen in all, but by the time we got to the downstairs lobby, we lost half the group between the elevator and the stairs. And by the time we got to the corner with people deciding on other eating options, we were down to four. A half block later and suddenly, it was just Gordy and I. Apparently, this never happens. “ Didn’t they want to have lunch with the Gordo?” he asked aloud. I felt a tad inadequate.We had lunch at the Westfield. Mostly, we talked about BlueCat and where it was headed. He revealed a couple things he asked me to keep to myself. Northing earth-shattering; just a few changes coming down the pike aimed at improving and expanding the competition’s impact. It was at once comfortable and unnerving. We tried not to talk about the class, because lunch was an opportunity for him to disengage from the day’s task though we did touch on it briefly. At one point, I revealed that I had difficulty getting through one particular script and despite my best efforts, I only reached half way. He took it stride...or so I thought.After lunch, we convened and went through the other scripts. All those auditing the class had disappeared by then, but our energy and attention span had not ebbed. Eventually, the script I had difficulty getting through came up and after Gordy provided his analysis, he again opened it to others. I held back, letting others taking the lead. When conversation partly lulled and he wanted even more input, Gordy looked around and again solicited feedback, pointedly looking at me in the process and saying, “I know you had some thoughts?” Thanks, Gordy. Seriously, he meant well and I knew it. As with the other scripts, I contributed my two cents in the same constructive vein as before and we we eventually moved on. This was a long, draining day for me as I’m sure it was for the other writers. It was a long haul, but we all got there. Bottom line: For my money, I got valuable feedback and had a bright light shone on my blind spots, met several new local writers, learned a thing or two about providing feedback to others and got some face time with Gordy. That’s a solid way to spend a Saturday in my book. Our class pic is here.

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