Michael Reutter: Screenwriter.

Hello Michael. Thanks for the connection, glad I could "pull you back in" lol Cheers, Shawn Schaffer www.shawnschaffer.com www.facebook.com/shawnschafferdop www.imdb.com/name/nm2089834

Sounds great, Michael! I'm so happy to hear the 30-Day Write Club helped motivate you to get your project up and running. ;) What's it about? What genre?

It's a comedy set in the world of Lifeguards. It's a throw back to the 80's, about an underdog bungalow beach going up against an elite beach, in order to save their drunken way of life.

What a fun concept. Anything that's a throwback to the 80's sounds fantastic to me! ;)

Good points above about balancing professional reactions/passes on screenplays with your own sense of the story you want to tell. Keep in mind that the script in your head may not be the script that made it to the page -- playwrights have this problem, too. That's one of the reasons putting a script aside for a time is good practice so you can later read it with fresh eyes. Since these two folks requested your script, that's a very good start -- it means something about your story/logline/synopsis captured their attention over 1000s of other scripts. So you might want to send them a very brief email simply thanking them for taking the time to read it.

Great idea, Richard. That's a very professional way to show you can handle critic and you appreciate their readings. This could lead to a new request for the rewritten draft from the same people.

Thanks everyone for the help! Sorry if I came off as naive to my initial inquiry. I started on a new script and put the other two aside for now in order to get a fresh perspective at a later date. I have one thank you down and just need to track down the other Exec for the second. As always, thanks for the insight! You're the best!

I can only dream that something I've written becomes apart of pop culture. But that's what I'm trying to convey in my script. Small little bit of nostalgia. Nothing too crazy. But it's true that a lot of the writers that have become mainstream in their own right quote other films as commonplace. IE Kevin Smith.. He loves it and embraces it.

Mark is right about song lyrics -- though in a spec script the odds are probably in your favor that you might not get taken to court. Again, in a spec script, quoting a single line from some much older famous film probably won't get you strung up, but both of these add hurdles for any producer thinking about doing you film -- the hoops to jump through to track down the rights, pay the big bucks, etc.

Don't fret about this stuff in a spec script. Don't fret about this stuff as you sign the contract. Don't hide the fact that you're using lyrics during this whole process, just be ready and wiling to change the lyrics if the studio can't get a license for them. Be ready to change the lyrics when the actor decides that Rolling Stones has better lyrics than Enya. Or that the director decides the scene needs to be changed to a retro disco party. If it fits the story, go for it. If it's an awesome story and people start waving money at you -- then you make sure it's clear that you haven't done the legwork to research the rights. If it's an awesome script, everyone will find a way around -- or through -- that issue.

Amen! That's so true.

Great to hear Michael! Congratulations!!

Congrats Michael :)

The one entitled "Blood Moon at Dusk". Hope to see it on the big screen one day!

That's one of my favorite scripts that I have written. I miss westerns and decided that I wanted to write one of my own. It's a story of redemption, like most westerns are, but with a twist that I think would work well in today's "super hero" centric environment we are currently experiencing. Thank you for the praise. It's much appreciated.

That's your favorite, and we can feel it through your logline. You make it so enticing. I really wish you best of luck with this project!

Use 'CUT TO' only to draw special attention to the edit. It provides emphasis, but overuse will look amateur. As others have pointed out -- most of the time it's just redundant.

What Jon said: use CUT TO: when you want to call attention to the change in location (usually when it might be confusing to a reader). CUT TO: between every scene was never done (I have scripts from the 1940s and they don't do it).

Thanks! For whatever reason I think there was a default and for transitions I had been using CUT TO even within the same scene. Went back through my scripts and made sure that they were necessary. Thanks again!

Thank you everyone for your kind words!! They are much appreciated! Wish me luck!

First of all, KUDOS to you for placing in the semi finals in the Blood List contest. That's HUGE. Congrats to you Michael. Great news.

Congratulations Michael for your ranking in the Blood List, and for your request. Fingers crossed!

correction.. it was acutally the semi finals... oops

Way to write! That's a big step forward. Congrats