Bureaucrats should also come to my writing seminar: Robert McKee
Renowned screenwriting lecturer Robert McKee has told Encore that writers should not be the only ones attending his seminars in Sydney and Melbourne next June; the screen agency bureaucrats in charge of funding decisions should also attend.
“They’ sincere people who are trying to do their very best, but often their understanding of story is under-educated,” McKee told Encore.
“[The assessors] have their personal taste; they know what they like personally, but their judgement can be skewed, and they recognise that often. So yes, bureaucrats should and they do in fact come to my seminar, all around Europe and Canada,” added McKee.
McKee’s Story Seminar emphasises the creative aspect of writing, instead of theoretical teaching formulas. The intensive course explains how the essence of a good story is universal and timeless. His Australian tour will be presented by Screen Australia and Epiphany.
Let me guess.
This is Robert McKee’s last visit to Australia?
Oh wait – that was last time. 😉
Many years later, I still regret buying his book…
Tired ideas, wheeled out by tired people. When Robert McKee talks about other aspects of the arts, he really is fascinating..but his Story seminars are just tired and boring and the fact that Screen Australia are wheeling him out here for another round of the same old thing is just another example of how behind the old 8 ball that agency is…A Heartbeat Away sounds like it used his Story model as a blueprint..and wasn’t that a great $7million dollar template? Isn’t it strange how we have legislated a body to help approve our creative cinematic visions and this legislated vision rests in the hands of a small posse of people, who’s tastes in cinema we live and die by…and if those personal cinematic tastes have led to a $7million turkey, a film that was guided and produced by the ex-CEO of the Australian Film Commission..what faith can we have in the current posse in the development department at Screen Australia? Of course they’ll blame the Producers, which in this case is actually blaming one of their own…its pass the parcel…with the public screaming STOP!!!
Of course this screaming falls on deaf ears.
Robert McKee has something to say to storytellers. I count him, along with John Truby and Dara Marks, as one of the great salesmen for story.
He knows more than anyone that he doesn’t have all the answers and his approach is his approach but I wouldn’t fault him for that.
This is just the beginning of story. The way of developing and telling story is still evolving and everyone plays a part in the narrative. The Writers, the Director and design team, the editor, the soundscape and soundtrack designers.
Every party has the baton handed on to them to add to it but it must start with a great story first and that’s the really tough part.
What we don’t need is accountants and lawyers applying tick box formulas to determine what gets made. We need insightful people driving those decisions who understand and can see a great story and its potential.
What with ‘Aurora’ and a constant influx of ‘script gurus’ jetting in to teach us how to write screenplays, why is it that our screenplays are not getting better?
Are they, in fact, getting worse? If so, could it be that screenwriters (especially young and inexperienced) believe that following the tired formulas recommended by these ‘gurus’ is the pathway to success and so are fast-tracked into bad writing habits?
The comment above about A HEARTBEAT AWAY is spot on. One does not need to have anything more than a basic understanding of story, genre, character, dialogue to recongize what a bad screenplay HEARTBEAT was about 5 minutes into the film. All those who thought that it was a screenplay worthy of having $7 million invested in it’s production should explain on what basis they should keep their jobs. They won’t, of course. These same people will go on to develop and invest in other similarly bad screenplays and never be held accountable for their lack of understanding of the difference between a good and a bad screenplay.
If the ‘script guru’ pathway to great screnplays was working we should have seen some evidence of it by now. We haven’t. It is a failed policy.
I’m a cinematographer moving into scripting and recently read Mr. McKee’s opus “Story” and found it an interesting read but I much preferred Blake Synder’s easy going style and methodology in the “Save the Cat” series, which I’ve now read multiple times over the past year.
The comments I’m seeing from others is starting to make me think this seminar may be a waste of time and most of all, money. Is Robert and his ideas still valid in today’s marketplace?
It’s just so so sad…we’re punch drunk with crisis, the industry is just screaming and they wheel out old McKee so we can all gather around the campfire and listen to John Wayne tell us how it is…meanwhile the screenwriting programs that they wheel out are probably totally out of reach for 90% of the people at this seminar and who still think that McKee will lead them down the path towards the gold rush for 120 pages…they should bring out this guy, Corey Mandell http://coreymandell.net/, he’s speaking some sense and takes a friggin cannon to McKee’s inciting incident bullshit. I mean trying to train writers with a sermon…pointless.
Norbert…Look-Mckee has some interesting things to say, but a lot of it is now Dogma..take what you will from it, but really screenwriting is one of the most confronting art forms I have ever attempted…not for the faint-hearted and if you’re looking for guidance and the path..look no further than writing and failing, writing and failing…maybe read Bird by Bird : http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Som.....0385480016
The best book I have ever read about the writing process…writing will push every inch of your confidence you have in yourself..you have to learn to, love failure soak it up..like DRAAAAAIIINNNGEEEE!
There’s nothing wrong with what McKee has to say. We all have our own take on storytelling.
What’s wrong is that our tax spending agencies are subsidising this overly expensive weekend while similar options are available at a lower cost.
And don’t worry: the bureaucrats will be there, spending $1,000+ of our tax money each, while they could just as easily read the book ($50).
Don’t believe me?
http://thestorydepartment.com/.....o-mckee-1/
K
Often amazed by how many screenwriters and aspiring screenwriters who simply don’t read scripts…
Judging by the critics here deriding Robert McKee, is it any wonder why most Australian scripts are bad. For those who haven’t read his book, McKee never advocates a screenwriting “formula” but the nature of storytelling.
Michael, totally in agreement with you, it is amazing how many screenwriters never read other scripts!
Karel- just read your link..hilarious, seems like a sermon. Charlie Kaufman couldn’t have written a better scene. Look, its just sad, I feel we just keep rolling the dice at the crap table. Trying to inject a homogenized method into writing screenplays and wheeling this out around the world year in an year out just screams of cliche. The fact that Screen Australia are backing this and everybody will flock to it..just seems so desperate. McKee is selling an approach, people will flock home to their keyboards and smash something out, some will work out that writing is really really hard and give up, some will persist and maybe knock something out, and then what? The journey to find a Producer and then the sudden realization that they don’t fit any of the criteria outlined in any of the funding bodies programs..and then what? Not many can continue along that path, some do, but I feel the really talented, the genius element..give up. And until the funding bodies realize that they have built a system filled with criteria that impedes not supports, the genius element will continue to give up…because..put simply you CANNOT make a living as a screenwriter in this country..and if Screen Australia used the same “Act in Good Faith” clause that they ask everybody to sign on their contract when applying for funding, they would return the favor to the public and announce before this seminar something like this:
” Look most of you won’t meet our criteria, most of you, probably all.. won’t be able to make a living as screenwriters in this country and most of you won’t have the mental stamina needed to navigate the insane maze of this cottage industry..those of you crazy enough to try and run the marathon..good luck..maybe we’ll run into you along the way…but if you’re really serious about writing screenplays..maybe move to the USA and try your luck there…this is an industry where nobody knows anything..especially us..so good luck, you’ll need it and enjoy the sermon”
McKee has some good things to say, but after digesting everything he’s got to say, via his sermon and the written word you’ll realize that you spend a great deal of time…years…trying to deprogram yourself of his version of STORY. I mean you can write or you can’t…it’s that simple. You can learn some tricks but I do feel you need to be hardwired to some degree…this isn’t a negative..maybe your skills are with Producing or Directing…collaborate with a writer, there’s plenty of them out there, willing to work for peanuts or the sheer joy of filmmaking
What? You haters getting all your plugs in. Negative, uninformed and self serving. That’s the problem.
Marty..Michael..couldn’t agree more about reading screenplays..its essential..I’m not sure McKee is the answer to writing better screenplays have a look at the link I have posted above about Corey Mandell..he has some very interesting things to say about the writing process. I think years of the McKee process has final come full circle and its time for a new approach, but I agree his approach to storytelling has at its core good intentions
Pepe..negative or realistic? I’m not saying McKee is all bad. I’ve read the book done the seminar, I encourage others to go..how is that uninformed and self serving, I’m handing out advice from experience..is that a problem?
‘Overly expensive’ you say Karel.
Story works out at under $200.00 a day. Your minimum charge is $99.00 for an hour!
McKee is proven. Inspiring. Community. Networking…
Peter,
You’re right about McKee’s cost per day and I must admit that I had not done the maths. It is not bad value compared to other teachers and he does cover broader territory than most others.
Your comparison with my Story Diagnosis (I believe that’s what you’re hinting at) is not fair though, as this is a 100% personalised service, not a seminar and it requires more than 1 hour of my time.
I do highly recommend parts of McKee’s teaching to my students. When it comes to scene design, he is among the very best (probably because of his background as an actor). I find his story structure design rather thin and not practically useful.
My greatest personal reservation about McKee’s approach is the fact that his criteria for “what works” are unclear. When I teach to people who aspire to have a career in the industry, I try to leave my own taste at the door and refer to what sells at the box office and on the spec script market.
But you know what? This entire discussion is academic. As long as people keep paying to see McKee, he is charging the right amount. In that respect I realised after publishing my comment above that I was using double standards and I should really judge his success by the same criteria I judge successful films.
K
I might have to go and see this “A Heartbeat Away”. I’ll probably enjoy it although by all accounts I probably shouldn’t. Maybe there’s a good yarn in it somewhere.
Jeff- if you love a good cliche..you’ll love it
Everybody read Ray Carney, NOW!
*yawn* Shoosh Robert. I need money too.
Further waste of public money – apparently current crop of AUS APS fillmmakers (4.5% people) already know everything worth knowing about creative commercial filmmaking – been told often enough eg: “how dare you Q my qualifications as a commecial (creative) fillmmaker?” A. “Sorry but your not a commercial filmmaker your an Australian Public Servant – if you were a creative commercial filmmaker you wouldn’t be an Australian Public Servant?”.
Now in SA – SQ communications ‘Coventry’.
Just came across this. Brilliant!
How right he is. Always good value. Assessors in this country are guided by their personal taste and not whether the script works on any level or not. All seems to come down to…well I’m not all that keen on ….whatever it may be. I tell you, this guy must wear himself out trotting around trying to tell or educate people about script writing. talk about the impossible task. Thing is not everyone can do it. Just like not everyone can play the bassoon or be a brain surgeon but for some reason everyone thinks they can write.
Doug – have you done Corey Mandell’s course? Agree, he should be brought over here.