Robert McKee's story seminar

Started by jtm, April 14, 2004, 05:23:03 PM

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jtm

has anyone here been?  i really wanna check it out, but 500 bucks, damn.  just wanna make sure its worth it.  for anyone who's gone, whats it like?

http://mckeestory.com/homepage.htm

mutinyco

Take $20 and buy Adaptation to see how it makes fun of him. Then spend the remaining $480 on making a short film.
"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

jtm

ive seen Adaptaion and i dont think it makes fun of him at all.  alright, maybe a little in the beginning.  seriously tho, that doesn't help me much.

mutinyco

Neither will taking his course. Download scripts of movies you like and study them. That's a good place to begin.
"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

jtm

i began a long time ago.. just looking for anything that might elevate my game alittle.  couldn't hurt could it?  except on my wallet.

SoNowThen

It's a good course, it will fire you up, and he's an engaging, witty speaker. See it if you can.
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

cowboykurtis

i find it funny that this man has become the moses of screenwriting -- people invest their money,time and hope in this man's words -- my problem with theis proxy is; where does he get his acredidation? -- hes never written a fucking screenplay! just becasue he knows how to structure a screenply and has great advice on how to handle a "ptich session", doesnt mean hes going to turn you into the next robert towne -- this man has created this evangelist following purely on hype -- hes no different then some travelling preacher who riles up a crowd of eager and desperate people who are all looking for a miracle -- put a 20$ bill in his hat and all your woes will sink to the depths. its a fucking scam.
...your excuses are your own...

SoNowThen

Have you been to his seminar?

Seriously, anyone thinking they're gonna go and "learn" how to be a great writer, well, I feel sorry for you. But anyone willing to gain some insight into a certain kind of traditional structure and presentation lesson, this is a great help. The parody in Adaptation is just that -- a parody. If you spent even 1 minute listening to this guy, he'll ramble on about Aristotle and Bergman and Tarantino and Sargent, all in one sentence. It's obvious he loves what he talks about. You can't put a price on that. We need role models and all that, but sometimes it's nice to have a trustworthy teacher. He's solid.
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

mutinyco

I took a weekend class with Syd Field once. It got really repetitious. He went through a handful of hit movies to point out each plot point, etc. And like McKee, he's never written a produced screenplay.
"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

cron

He's not really incompetent. A lot of people pass judgement on him because of Adaptation, which I think is unfair. That's the reason why I read his book and I wasn't completely disappointed. It's clear from the beginning  that the man is adressing the laymen with the book hence it's easy to say he's teachings are useless or uninspired.

And that argument about him never writing a screenplay, well , as anything in this world, it depends on how the person interprets him.
Hitler interpreted Nietzche's super man in a different light, for example.
context, context, context.

cowboykurtis

Quote from: SoNowThenHave you been to his seminar?

Seriously, anyone thinking they're gonna go and "learn" how to be a great writer, well, I feel sorry for you.We need role models and all that, but sometimes it's nice to have a trustworthy teacher. He's solid.

there are many people who go and think just that -- what has legitimized himm as trustworthy? -- i see it the same as the numerous film teachers who have been couped up in a classrrom behind books their whole life -- who says that these people  are apt to teach film? -- re-stating information they've ready in psuedo-intellectual theory books is about as useful as jerking yourself off. The only people worth learning from are those that have made or written films -- why do i want to learn from some self proclaimed guru of screenplay craft when hes never picked up the fucking pen? thats just absurd in my opinion. now david mamet, ill sit through a seminar with him, thats someone worth listening to.
...your excuses are your own...

SoNowThen

Trust me, I hate jag-off self-important film school teachers probably more than anyone you'll ever meet. This guy is not that.

And he's made a living off of writing, supposedly. He's had several scripts optioned, just never one made. Also, getting a script made doesn't qualify you as a great writer anyhow, as evidenced by (insert any stock romantic comedy here).
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

metroshane

Different people have different motivations...and different things that inspire them.  If any of these guys can inspire you to sit and write...then by all means go to the seminar.  It's not a judgement just because it takes a good speaker to motivate  you, it's not a failure.  I feel sorry for those that think they have nothing to learn.

However, if you already know the technical side...then you could do much worse than to study some shakespeare.  No really study it.  Also check out Stephen King's "on writing".
We live in an age that reads too much to be intelligent and thinks too much to be beautiful.

mutinyco

I suppose the point of this thread is that Robert McKee is REALLY Adolph Hitler...
"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

Pastor Parsley

A friend of mine finally bit the bullet and went to one of McKee's seminars.  He secretly taped the entire seminar using a digital recorder.  I listened to the entire thing twice and was impressed. He really is an incredible speaker and quite inspiring.

But there was nothing he said that you can't get from the popular literature on story structure (at most setting you back $150). Although it's important for you to know, there is so much more to writing.  If you're a great writer and your structure isn't right, it's a minor fix.

Let's face it, if it was as important as McKee makes it out to be, he'd have film after film under his belt.  There is so much crap out there being made into film, you would think he would have, at the very least, one script make it to film.  

There's a reason he's spending so much time giving seminars and not writing: structure is both easily taught and learned, great writing is not.  And no, Mckee has not supported himself by writing; he's supported himself by writing about writing.

If you need to spend $500 to be inspired, maybe writing is not your thing.