Indeed, there's a part of my longing: to write outside of some stereotypical realm, in my writing styles and my locations (novels, screenplays, nonfiction). There's some useful links at the end. This is some handy inspiration for any of those out-of-the-way, hopeful screenwriters.
This one posting, "Screenwriting in Florida," caught my attention, or, more accurately, it was caught by my Google alerts search for "florida novel". (Simple but effective weekly email I get from them keeps me abreast of things.) I wanted to record much of his comments, and pieced, ruggedly, those parts I especially took in. The whole post is a good read, if you're interested in writing, film and Florida.
Ron Howard and Steve Martin came to Orlando to make Parenthood, Wesley Snipes made Passenger 57, Nickoloaden [sic] was busy on the Universal lot, TV programs The Mickey Mouse Club, Superboy and Sea Quest were also shooting around Orlando.Adam Sandler went to Central Florida to make The Waterboy, Director John Singleton to make Rosewood, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp to make Edward Scissorhands, Michael J. Fox to become Doc Hollywood, and Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro to make Marvin’s Room. Then it seemed like every other state and country got into the tax incentives for filmmakers game.
And then like a crew wrapping a production on location and returning home “Hollywood East” disappeared. Around the same time a handful of filmmakers educated in Orlando colleges made one of the biggest splashes in independent film history making The Blair Witch Project landing two of the filmmakers on the cover of Time Magazine. Then they all but disappeared as well.
Perhaps the greatest illusion of Florida is the fact that two of the greatest films ever made are set in Florida but neither were shot in the Sunshine State. Both Citizen Kane (listed as AFI’s top film) and Some Like it Hot (AFI’s top comedy film) were shot in California adding to the irony of the Florida film industry.
The film industry first came to Florida at the turn of twentieth century and it looked like Jacksonville would be a major player in film production. Dozens of films were made there and studios began to pop up to take advantage of the warm sunny days. But eventually the film industry chose Hollywood as it’s go to place to film around the year.
Smith notes that some iconic stars have made films in Florida: Elvis Presley (Follow that Dream), Gary Cooper (Distant Drums), Frank Sinatra (Lady in Cement) and Paul Newman (Absence of Malice). Not to mention a cast of more recent movie stars including John Travolta, Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey, and Demi Moore, as well as Florida’s own legend Burt Reynolds have made movies in Florida.
On the surface when you step back from the picture what you see emerge in Florida’s 100 year movie history is that Florida doesn’t so much have a unified film industry –it’s one giant back lot. A great place for New York & California filmmakers to come and make movies and commercials. And they have made a lot of them over the years.
But when you look beyond the smoke and mirrors of “Hollywood East” you begin to a deeper foundation. Since I like to talk about screenwriting and regionalism you can’t get any more regional in Florida than The Yearling written by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize Novel in 1939 and it became a great film in 1947 and also was made as a TV film in 1994.
Zora Neale Hurtson was part of the Harlem Renaissance movement in the 20s & 30s and used her hometown of Eatonville, Florida as the backdrop for her most well-known novel [Their] Eyes Were Watching God. Oprah Windfrey produced the TV version of that book in 2005 starring Halle Berry.
But what about…screenwriters from Florida? Yes. Let’s see what we can find. Let’s start with writer/director Victor Nunez who though a UCLA film school graduate is known for his un-Hollywood films. In fact, he could be the poster child for regional filmmakers. The first film I saw of his was A Flash of Green that not only introduced me to his talent but also that of a young actor named Ed Harris. His next film Ruby in Pardise was Ashely Judd’s first film as a lead actress.
Nunez’s Ulee’s Gold starred Peter Fonda (who received an Oscar nomination) and was just the second film for a young actress named Jessica Biel. Nunez continues to make films but his day job is currently teaching film at Florida State University.
And lastly (but the most highly rewarded FSU grad) is Alan Ball, the Oscar winning screenwriter of American Beauty. (From the theater school where Burt Reynolds graduated from back in the day.)
I know there are many colleges in Florida doing media and theater training but none that have the fruit of the FSU program.
While I was in Orlando last week I stopped by and visited some old haunts; Building 22-A at Universal, Panavison Florida and some friends who now work at Full Sail (which does have the most amazing sound stages I’ve ever seen for students). The good news is Universal has had a solid run of booking their sound stages for the past 18 months with a variety of productions and we’ll have to see what this new economy brings.
The talent, studios, desire, film commission offices, and other infrastructures are in place for things to take off in Florida. But for whatever reason it seems like Florida as a whole as been in rehersals for 100 years. I believe Florida is ready for its close-up beyond just attractive people running around on the beach. And that’s where screenwriters from Florida come into the picture.
Florida is fertile ground for writers. It has an eclectic multi-cultural mix of characters and a large transient culture. (Heck, Jimmy Buffett’s had a long career writing songs about such people. And if you haven’t seen Errol Morris’ early documentary Vernon, Florida I’d recommend checking that out.) There are stories to be told from there and there just needs to be some screenwriters who can tap into the real Florida rather than Hollywood’s version of Florida.
Sidenotes: Orlando-based editor Oliver Peters who has edited features and documentaries (and a heck of a lot of corporate and commercials) has a helpful and informative blog called Digitalfilms for those of you interested in filmmaking. And to find out about production news in Florida (including tax incentives) contact Film in Florida. Florida also has over 50 film festivals including the Florida Film Festival hosted by the wonderful Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida.
If you are a screenwriter type, this is not a bad resource for some down-to-earth reflections on working at it, in obscurity, outside of the L.A. rigmarole.
- Jonny O
Powered by ScribeFire.
No comments:
Post a Comment