Love the idea of the Pats starting yet another much-hated dynasty. But also love me some Sam Darnold come back story. So I'll be good however this game goes. Predictions: Pats. Crucial mistake cost Darnold in the 4th Quarter. Situational football rules the day. But... this takes me back to The Goat, TB12. And the horrible start vs Atlanta, years ago. They fell behind 28-3, before storming back and winning in overtime. And maybe nothing looked worse than when Brady threw a pick 6 when they were down 14, to let the score go to 21-0. But he gathered himself and his team. "Come on now, laser focus! We gotta play harder! Tougher!" And led the greatest comeback in sports history. I've often felt this way when battling a script. Trying to figure out the way forward. Feeling lost, but knowing it's not in my DNA to give up and being determined to fight my way through. I genuinely look to Brady as a model for that. Selected 199th in the draft. 4th quarterback on the roster, behind the first QB ever to sign a $100M contract. But showing up everyday in practice and staying late, with the mentality that this would be his team one day and his work ethic would make that inevitable. I'm curious, who's your model for the way you work, for how you move forward when things get tough? Oh, and what's your pick? I'm going 27-24 Pats. Vrabel's got this team dialed in. I could be wrong, but even if I am, with the mentality Brady set down for that organization, even a loss will be a learning experience on their way back to greatness IMHO. Then again, I'm the same guy who was at a huge Super Bowl party years ago and everybody was making fun of me when the Pats were down 28-3. And I said, we've got them right where we want them. Then I might have turned around and flipped them all a double bird when the Pats won. I'm not saying I did. But I'm not saying I didn't either. Go Pats!

Meant to put this up earlier, but it's been a week! Zoom: Premier Coaching - Tuesday 10 a.m. Pacific time Last week was packed too, and we met several new members, including @Temycka Carpenter Carlton who brought pages in for the first time and got a wonderful reception for her very sleekly written female-driven pilot about the secret world of private aviation. She's taking expertise from her own life and converting it to compelling characters in a fantastic setting, the feels fresh and exciting to explore. There's a lot of talk about "world building" in film and tv writing, and her example of how to open a script was a perfect example of efficient, visual world building, that doesn't beat the reader over the head with excessive detail. Looking forward to seeing compelling work from more new writers, who will be welcomed by the veterans around here with open arms, just as Temycka was. When I see the lights go on in someone's eyes like it did with her and @Chris Dyer and @Chad Desrochers and @Lena Lieuvin @Godfrey Virgile and @Krystel Biasotti when they come in for their first reads, it's just exciting for me personally, and makes all the work that goes into this feel deeply worthwhile! So, thanks to all of you for bravely showing up! Looking forward to more! -D

@Alan Brash @David Hinnebusch @Chris Dyer We talked about this in the New Member Coaching today... a YouTube short that broke out and was part of what lead Danny and Michael Philippou aka Rackaracka to break into making mainstream horror like the fantastically dark Talk to Me. This is intense, so you've been warned!

Great group today. I am really feeling the momentum, not only in the number of people showing up, but for the pages getting rewritten and really coming to life. I want to break down what separates those who are actually doing the work from those still sitting on the sidelines. What Happened Today Chris brought a deeply personal scene exploring his character Guy's wound - the absent father driving his need to show up for kids at birthday parties. The scene ran long at 5 pages, but Chris did something crucial: he explored his character's emotional core. We workshopped how to tighten it, add humor to balance the sincerity, and motivate it with a specific inciting incident. Chad completely transformed his teaser based on last week's notes. What was once cluttered and confusing is now a tight, atmospheric demon-summoning sequence with genuine scares AND dark comedy. The goldfish boiling as the demon dances by? Hell yes, Chad! If they can kill a dog in John Wick, you can boil a goldfish! It's funny, it's dark and f'd up in the best of ways. This is what revision looks like when you actually apply feedback. Jason Smith is actively producing a feature film - casting internationally, storyboarding, dealing with the brutal reality of pre-production while trying to nail his dialogue and character voices. Notice what these writers have in common: 1. They brought pages - not ideas, not excuses, actual work 2. They're iterating based on feedback - Chad's rewrite was night and day 3. They're exploring character wounds - Chris digging into Guy's abandonment issues 4. They're committed to their worlds - Like Tolkien building backstory before writing The Hobbit 5. As I said in the session: Lord of the Rings is unabashedly sincere. It commits completely to what it is. Whether you're writing comedy or fantasy, be as much of that thing as you can be. That's how you distinguish yourself. The Brutal Truth Some of you are taking notes. Some of you are "doing homework." But are you actually writing? Are you bringing pages to get read? Are you applying notes and showing up with rewrites?

Also, reach out to someone and cast some parts. Have them read and be prepared, if possible. Let's step our collective game up and see what we can do together, people! If you're coming, drop your name below, even if you don't have pages, so someone can cast you. Thx!