RSVPs will be accepted until 5pm the day before; zoom handles registrations and links automatically

Please join us to discuss Writers Boot Camp’s concept of how movies and television cultivate an “entertaining argument” between the principal characters. Also, Founder Jeffrey Gordon (JG), will share his perspective of an argument in favor of long-form entertainment, the extension of A-Level two-hour movies and series television, as well as books and novels for adaptation to the big and small screen.

The phrase “entertainment argument” in the Mini-Camp title proposes that the current disruption of the entertainment industry–along with the rise of the nine or ten-second video and AI looming–will within a couple years yield additional opportunities for artists and writers who create conceitful properties will continue to excel. (It usually takes about two years for newly financed companies to curate a development slate–and the belt-tightening of the past year or so will see some shifts.) Beyond doom scrolling and AI-generated, stereotypical robotically narrated and acted drama, audiences will “naturally continue to crave interesting people doing interesting things together”.

It’s not to say that machines cannot scour legacy works to arrive at fresh ideas, it’s that the tools available for creative execution, including AI, and reduction of costs by advanced filming technology will provide staying power for writers and filmmakers who continue to create viable material, as has been shown (over the past 36 years this month) by nearly 1000 success stories (projects produced and published) by our alumni.

Mature audiences–and that may include parent-supported, academically excellent children, as my own parents brought me as a youth to the theater to see first-run, sophisticated movies like SHAMPOO–inherently expect a Main Character to experience an arc in a story. The entertaining argument between the Main Character and the Dynamic Character (another unique idea by JG) portrays a form of debate on a topic. The 3rd-Party Opponent may also weigh in on this view.

Ultimately, the overall theme of the story (with a longer allusion and process of change season-by-season in TV series), will be illustrated within the Battle Scene as the Main Character’s actions convey that meaning, usually in some inverse connection to their problem toward others seen from the outset and through their interpersonal struggle throughout the 2nd-Act Adventure.

While the classic entertaining argument in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY stems from Harry’s presumption about sex and a gender gap, gradually he comes to understand that through friendship with Sally, he’s found his soulmate.

The exception of certain genres and related tropes, in movies like TAKEN or THE EQUALIZER, in which the character is thoroughly skillful and the human stakes exclude the hero from making mistakes, the audience’s rooting interest in most genres requires multi-dimensionality borne in Misbehavior, that sweet and sour combination of the Main Character’s adverse impact on others, while remaining well intended and redeemable.

Where Artists Learn as Professionals

Writers Boot Camp’s myriad methods that have helped thousands of writers and artists jumpstart their climb in the professional entertainment business. We’ll pivot from a few key fallacies that ultimately hold writers back, including a lack of writing regimen.

While it’s clear that new writers entering the business may not as broadly see their path as prior generations before, with every disruption comes significant opportunity for motivated workers.

For example, after the writers’ strike and economy meltdown of 2007-2008, limitations on private equity severely reduced independent production of feature films. However, when investment ramped up again a few years later, we learned that nearly 80 feature films were made between 2011-2017 that were written by Writers Boot Camp alumni. And you know how they earned their keep? By staying on as the writers of record all the way through the creative process.

In addition to addressing the realities of AI looming, which may assist very clever writers in minimizing the drudgery of writing, JG will raise the profound differences between machine-based storytelling and the human intuition that will distinguish your material.

Regardless of trends or changes in the business, idealism about the creative process can help a new writer generate excitement for their ideas and muster a certain level of productivity. That said, it’s crucial to identify the methods of professionals–and to learn more specifically about the expectations of studios, networks, executives and established producers. Inexperience is inherently a path of inertia, which can present an invisible wall. Walls like being unwittingly derivative, not knowing how to test one’s ideas, being content-driven or text-driven, editing rather than rewriting more authentically, all contribute to profound delays in a writer’s productivity and career progress.

Normally reserved as a review and ongoing benefit for our Professional Members, we’ve opened up this Mini-Camp for Basic Training alumni and colleagues in our Creative Community as a way to meet aspiring writers and talented filmmakers. Or top success stories tend to come through alumni and friends in the business.

Writers Boot Camp’s core philosophy is one of Full Development, a six-month, 10-draft process for part-time writers who have committed 10 hours per week for their writing regimen. Each of these drafts is not as daunting as a page-one rewrite, yet each one can bring a new layer of depth and improvement to a script. We’ll discuss how each month is refined by very specific creative objectives, as well as the best order of rewriting priorities.

In addition to doing too much with the first rewrite, mixing up the various fundamentals and levels of work–Concept, Structure, Character Development & Scene Work–inevitably undermines a writer’s sense of progress. In that way, drafts are not necessarily progressive and the writer’s view of their own work becomes obstructed and the work that would ideally feel stronger tends to lead to project burnout.

Please have your guests note your name on their RSVP.

If you RSVP and cannot attend, please let us know. Mini-Camps are an ongoing benefit of Professional Membership. We open certain Mini-Camps to Basic Training alumni and friends in the business to meet new writers and filmmakers who will benefit from our support.

For more info about Writers Boot Camp you can call 310/998-1199, check out writersbootcamp.com, or email jg@writersbootcamp.com.

We always love to hear from alumni with news and success stories!