I wouldn't mind being apart of his class. I love his lecturing. He has a way of keeping my attention no matter if I agree or disagree. I love his videos.
Well I was just surfing through screenwiting. And I was hooked with this video. Lots of wisdom for artists in many mediums. Wrote down several things: The real wisdom is knowing that you don't know (Socrates). You want excitement in your art, boredom in your life (Walter).
Excellent stuff and great insight into screenwriting and LA. Richard Walter is a beacon in the scriptwriting Valley of Death. But read between the lines: There's too many writers and far too many screenwriters. Either you've got what it takes or you don't. Know this going into the business. And, yeah, this series ought to be required for any student of writing.
Richard spoke in Dallas many many years ago when I had no idea who he was. Wow, what a great speaker, motivator, and instructor. I wish I could take every writing class with him.
Great stories. He gives lots of permission to try anything. Sound advice to allow yourself to be surprised by the characters. I am always surprised by my characters--what they say, who they become. Even characters that show up and take their place like I had nothing to do with it. Then the story develops beyond what I could have imagined.
Same experience happened to me when I learned the meaning of oxymoron from a movie I watched. The next day I went to school and told my 6th grade English teacher of the new word I learned but instead of seeing the expression of excitement and acknowledgment she looked at me like I said a bad word and said there's no such thing ....made me second guess myself until I went back home to double check then came up with the conclusion teachers don t know everything. This was around 1996
This is really great.. I've only watched about half so far.. but I'm curious if students ever feel like the don't want to divulge their script ideas. I mean, you're sitting at a table with 8 other very talented writers.. Yeah, naturally, you want to do well in the class yet who would want to reveal a brilliant idea / story line in that environment? This is why I love the age we are in right now.. I'm working on my first independent film and I'm writing for myself. The way I see it, I have 49 years of film watching experience. No, it's not a formal education but "it ain't nothing" either. Like he says.. story, story, story...a fertile imagination is key.
+Hull Films You point out the paradox that i think Walter makes. If you plan the future, it never arrives. If you try to get on a trend it will always be too late. If you dont share you can never learn. You will get ripped off, everyone gets sued at least once, and it will always be a struggle. Best just get on with it! Dont over-think it, do it. This was an amazing interview.
In a different interview he talks about how ideas are useless. It doesn't matter if you have a good idea or a bad idea, it's how you execute the idea. It's about the craft and the story. Feel free to share your ideas, regardless of how good they might be, because the value comes from crafting, structuring, and rewriting that idea into a good story. Without that the idea is worthless.
Thanks for your feedback Jacob. We initially titled this video, "Office Hours with UCLA Screenwriting Chairman Richard Walter" and it didn't perform well at all. After a few months we changed it to "Essentials of Screenwriting - The Complete Film Courage Interview with Richard Walter." It certainly has performed a lot better since the change. We agree with you that UCLA Professor should be in the title, so we have adjusted it. If more people like your title better than our adjusted title above, maybe we'll make the switch.
Ive realized that anybody can come up with ideas but the problem is people cant execute them. And thats the biggest struggle is coming up with a great script i struggle with that
+roger8654 Yeah, this applies in business and start ups. Im from that world, but ive discovered the film process is very much like the start-up scene, well, each movie is a start up. Idea, funding, mentor, dream team and that makes the execution. Ideas are two-a-penny. Rare is the person who can assemble a team of excellence. Ive seen piss-poor ideas executed well and make money, and ive seen the best thing since sliced bread get screwed up by people not knowing what they're doing. The secret, if i may be so humble as to offer such a suggestion is to test. YOU dont know what a good script is. ONLY the audience does...trouble is, they dont know it until they see it. So, like product development, you churn out a minimal viable product - (cheap as poss or as fast as poss - or both!) and test. If no result, start again. Repeat. No point in spending 18 months and 50 grand polishing a turd. If its a turd, find out in a couple of days. Every now and then, go back to an old idea....theres no accounting for "art"! Maybe you were ahead of your time, or behind.
I found the question about the big fish in little ponds very interesting.... lol. I was part of a group that went to NASA and we did not feel common. We were not put down because we were a dime a dozen. We were accepted because we made it. Made it how? We were not part of NASA as of yet, we were the cream that had the opportunity to be part of NASA. I think, the reality that actors/writers/etc have to learn in this industry is not a valid point. It may be reality, but it doesn't have to be that way. It shows the hard core character of Hollywood vs other industries. It is the nature of the business they are entering. I dont know if I would like that. NASA was a far better experience than what is described here.
I have a box full of screenplays that I have written! About 250 original scripts but the chances of any studio taking a chance on them or even getting an agent is very slim to none! It's a tough business! I've written scripts of all kinds of genres, from a Holocaust/WWII epic/Romantic Thriller about a young Jewish woman who falls in love with a Nazi officer, who is a glorified war hero in Germany and Austria, who eventually helps her and her family escape German-occupied Poland to America, A Fantasy-thriller/supernatural drama/ dark comedy/mystery-thriller about a young hotshot attorney living in Manhattan, NYC who is accidentally bumped in front of a moving subway train and is killed but is reincarnated as a black cat and now tries to stop a psychotic murderous rapist who is stalking a young woman that has taken him in, A Crime-drama/Mystery thriller about a young female DEA agent who goes undercover to take down a notorious Greek mob boss/drug-lord who crosses paths with a young female FBI agent hunting a highly-intelligent serial killer/domestic terrorist and the two of them discovers that their investigations are somehow connected, and even a drama-thriller about a young mother and her young daughter who run away from their rural Missouri home to get away from her abusive husband and end up in Texas where she meets an elderly black woman who own a farm near the mountains where she takes care of a group of strangers like a surly elderly marine corps/Vietnam veteran, a blind elderly black Jazz musician dying of cancer, a young man struggling with heroin addiction, a young black teenager who has runaway from his home in Chicago, a mentally-impaired young woman, and a few others. The young mother and her daughter's newfound home and family is threaten by a gang of thugs led by a loan shark/small-time gunrunner/ drug kingpin whom the drug addict owes a large sum of money to. I have tons of interesting ideas like these but no one will take a shot at them!
250 scripts by one person is the most we have heard of. How much time do you spend on each screenplay? How many of these scripts have you been paid to write?
I have this film idea, it's a original. Where do I send the script and make some quick cash. I am not really interested in being famous. I just want to make a quick buck by selling this great film idea. If anyone is willing to offer £1,000. I will take it. I will give you the idea. You wont be disapointed. This film is different to anything anyone has seen.
***** thank you for the explanation. It all sounds like hard work my friend. You seem to be knowledgable about this sort of thing. What if I give you my idea and if you make a success of it, you can take all the credit and give me some cash and leave it at that. Like I said, I am not really interested in being on the spotlight. If your interested let me know. I will give you my email address.
***** I have not really written the complete story. I just wanted to pass on the idea and you could write out the complete story yourself. Also I am not a writter. I get bored very quickly. But I just think using this idea, you could turn it into a interesting film. If your still interested, let me know. I really dont want to get an agent. Like I said I dont care making a career out of this.
SA Entertainment Did you say FREE? Nothing is FREE my friend. lol You can pay in instalments. I will give you my paypal address and all you have to do is transfer £50.00 and I will give you this unique idea.
and Nuron, you don't have a script you have a very rough 'villain's plan' it needs so much hard work, you need characters, by characters i mean blocks of detailed action/dialogue, forget famous and concentrate on hard work. people will steal your 'idea' so got to work.
These guys are all so full of themselves and tell really awkward jokes. But they at least talk like they know what they're talking about and know how to speak well enough. Are all people in Hollywood on edge, having to list all of their accomplishments in every story they tell? I don't mind this guy. I have a very similar story to him on his first day on first grade but about 40 years later. Something's don't change I suppose.
Theo Dore I think creative types at the top of the industry are bound to be over-the-top and dramatic people, that’s usually what it takes to get the sort of expertise and charisma from a professor and figurehead, he’s a like a character himself
If someone made a film about a pretentious screenwriting professor who talks and talks about himself in a self-indulgent and quasi-profound way this person would get the part.
dog ribs haha i think a: he's quite down to earth, b: he actually has some wisdom to impart, and c: you have probably are just jealous. Focus on your own craft, if you in fact have any, bitch.
![It’s All About Story And Nothing Else - UCLA Professor Richard Walter [FULL INTERVIEW]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_tT_GjjlCLs/mqdefault.jpg)
![It’s All About Story And Nothing Else - UCLA Professor Richard Walter [FULL INTERVIEW]](/img/tr.png)
![How Movies Work - Peter Russell [FULL INTERVIEW]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Vi6XG-JlIg0/mqdefault.jpg)
I wouldn't mind being apart of his class. I love his lecturing. He has a way of keeping my attention no matter if I agree or disagree. I love his videos.
I learn so much by listening to Walter and other Film Courage writers. And he's so wonderful to listen to. Great video.
Well I was just surfing through screenwiting. And I was hooked with this video. Lots of wisdom for artists in many mediums. Wrote down several things: The real wisdom is knowing that you don't know (Socrates). You want excitement in your art, boredom in your life (Walter).
Gold Jerry Gold.
Excellent stuff and great insight into screenwriting and LA. Richard Walter is a beacon in the scriptwriting Valley of Death. But read between the lines: There's too many writers and far too many screenwriters. Either you've got what it takes or you don't. Know this going into the business. And, yeah, this series ought to be required for any student of writing.
One of my favorite lectures on film courage. ❤️ I watched it many times.
That's a great question. We aren't sure what his policy is regarding script reading. Perhaps you could find an answer by visiting his website?
Richard spoke in Dallas many many years ago when I had no idea who he was. Wow, what a great speaker, motivator, and instructor. I wish I could take every writing class with him.
For someone who isn't a writer I still find this fascinating.
Great stories. He gives lots of permission to try anything. Sound advice to allow yourself to be surprised by the characters. I am always surprised by my characters--what they say, who they become. Even characters that show up and take their place like I had nothing to do with it. Then the story develops beyond what I could have imagined.
Just found out his sister is Jessica Walter, she was the villainous Evelyn in "Play Misty For Me"
Jessica Walter played the hell out of this part, especially in the Taxi scene when Clinton Eastwood forces her into it.
Good insight.
Thanks Roy. Which insight are you going to put into practice right away?
love this guy ❤
Same experience happened to me when I learned the meaning of oxymoron from a movie I watched. The next day I went to school and told my 6th grade English teacher of the new word I learned but instead of seeing the expression of excitement and acknowledgment she looked at me like I said a bad word and said there's no such thing ....made me second guess myself until I went back home to double check then came up with the conclusion teachers don t know everything. This was around 1996
"Writing is frustration not to mention humiliation"...this is ROTH!😂
wonderful advice.
i wish such a prof would address writing a mini-series script[s]
A. D. Godbee Mini-Series meaning television? Or web-series? Can you give us an example of a mini-series you are thinking of?
A. D. Godbee Mini-Series meaning television? Or web-series? Can you give us an example of a mini-series you are thinking of?
2:41 most important thing you'll ever hear in your lives.
58:20 "George genuinely hated running the empire. It was like a trap." --Admiral Ackbar
LOL!
This is really great.. I've only watched about half so far.. but I'm curious if students ever feel like the don't want to divulge their script ideas. I mean, you're sitting at a table with 8 other very talented writers.. Yeah, naturally, you want to do well in the class yet who would want to reveal a brilliant idea / story line in that environment? This is why I love the age we are in right now.. I'm working on my first independent film and I'm writing for myself. The way I see it, I have 49 years of film watching experience. No, it's not a formal education but "it ain't nothing" either. Like he says.. story, story, story...a fertile imagination is key.
+Hull Films You point out the paradox that i think Walter makes. If you plan the future, it never arrives. If you try to get on a trend it will always be too late. If you dont share you can never learn. You will get ripped off, everyone gets sued at least once, and it will always be a struggle. Best just get on with it! Dont over-think it, do it. This was an amazing interview.
In a different interview he talks about how ideas are useless. It doesn't matter if you have a good idea or a bad idea, it's how you execute the idea. It's about the craft and the story.
Feel free to share your ideas, regardless of how good they might be, because the value comes from crafting, structuring, and rewriting that idea into a good story. Without that the idea is worthless.
I think the title of this video should be changed to:
"A conversation with Screenwriter and UCLA Writing Professor Richard Walter"
Thanks for your feedback Jacob. We initially titled this video, "Office Hours with UCLA Screenwriting Chairman Richard Walter" and it didn't perform well at all. After a few months we changed it to "Essentials of Screenwriting - The Complete Film Courage Interview with Richard Walter." It certainly has performed a lot better since the change. We agree with you that UCLA Professor should be in the title, so we have adjusted it. If more people like your title better than our adjusted title above, maybe we'll make the switch.
Film Courage
Great find!
wow! this is good
I really admire Richard. So does he read or accept scripts from off campus writers? I'd love to send him a script someday.
Ive realized that anybody can come up with ideas but the problem is people cant execute them. And thats the biggest struggle is coming up with a great script i struggle with that
+roger8654 Yeah, this applies in business and start ups. Im from that world, but ive discovered the film process is very much like the start-up scene, well, each movie is a start up. Idea, funding, mentor, dream team and that makes the execution. Ideas are two-a-penny. Rare is the person who can assemble a team of excellence. Ive seen piss-poor ideas executed well and make money, and ive seen the best thing since sliced bread get screwed up by people not knowing what they're doing. The secret, if i may be so humble as to offer such a suggestion is to test. YOU dont know what a good script is. ONLY the audience does...trouble is, they dont know it until they see it. So, like product development, you churn out a minimal viable product - (cheap as poss or as fast as poss - or both!) and test. If no result, start again. Repeat. No point in spending 18 months and 50 grand polishing a turd. If its a turd, find out in a couple of days. Every now and then, go back to an old idea....theres no accounting for "art"! Maybe you were ahead of your time, or behind.
Whats the b/w silent Oscar winner film he mentions near the end?
Tempest 89 The Artist
This guy does love to talk.
He's sort of paid to talk.
awesome :)
Does Richard have an email address? Thank you.
Same disdain for authority, so I'm struggling with the fact that I like him.
i fucking love this guy. but he kind of looks like the doctor from nightmare before christmas.
I found the question about the big fish in little ponds very interesting.... lol. I was part of a group that went to NASA and we did not feel common. We were not put down because we were a dime a dozen. We were accepted because we made it. Made it how? We were not part of NASA as of yet, we were the cream that had the opportunity to be part of NASA.
I think, the reality that actors/writers/etc have to learn in this industry is not a valid point. It may be reality, but it doesn't have to be that way. It shows the hard core character of Hollywood vs other industries. It is the nature of the business they are entering. I dont know if I would like that. NASA was a far better experience than what is described here.
I'm not sure I quite understand your comparison of NASA to Hollywood. Care to clarify a bit?
Shhh, Christopher, don't tell everyone :)
Ha, this video has grown a good amount since Christopher posted that comment. People are slowly catching on.
I have a box full of screenplays that I have written! About 250 original scripts but the chances of any studio taking a chance on them or even getting an agent is very slim to none! It's a tough business! I've written scripts of all kinds of genres, from a Holocaust/WWII epic/Romantic Thriller about a young Jewish woman who falls in love with a Nazi officer, who is a glorified war hero in Germany and Austria, who eventually helps her and her family escape German-occupied Poland to America, A Fantasy-thriller/supernatural drama/ dark comedy/mystery-thriller about a young hotshot attorney living in Manhattan, NYC who is accidentally bumped in front of a moving subway train and is killed but is reincarnated as a black cat and now tries to stop a psychotic murderous rapist who is stalking a young woman that has taken him in, A Crime-drama/Mystery thriller about a young female DEA agent who goes undercover to take down a notorious Greek mob boss/drug-lord who crosses paths with a young female FBI agent hunting a highly-intelligent serial killer/domestic terrorist and the two of them discovers that their investigations are somehow connected, and even a drama-thriller about a young mother and her young daughter who run away from their rural Missouri home to get away from her abusive husband and end up in Texas where she meets an elderly black woman who own a farm near the mountains where she takes care of a group of strangers like a surly elderly marine corps/Vietnam veteran, a blind elderly black Jazz musician dying of cancer, a young man struggling with heroin addiction, a young black teenager who has runaway from his home in Chicago, a mentally-impaired young woman, and a few others. The young mother and her daughter's newfound home and family is threaten by a gang of thugs led by a loan shark/small-time gunrunner/ drug kingpin whom the drug addict owes a large sum of money to. I have tons of interesting ideas like these but no one will take a shot at them!
250 scripts by one person is the most we have heard of. How much time do you spend on each screenplay? How many of these scripts have you been paid to write?
If you got something that could be made in Australia. Hit me up.
Forgive me @Packman, but 250 scripts? And you don't even have representation? I find that hard to believe. No offense.
I have this film idea, it's a original.
Where do I send the script and make some quick cash.
I am not really interested in being famous. I just want to make a quick buck by selling this great film idea.
If anyone is willing to offer £1,000. I will take it. I will give you the idea.
You wont be disapointed. This film is different to anything anyone has seen.
***** thank you for the explanation.
It all sounds like hard work my friend.
You seem to be knowledgable about this sort of thing.
What if I give you my idea and if you make a success of it, you can take all the credit and give me some cash and leave it at that.
Like I said, I am not really interested in being on the spotlight.
If your interested let me know. I will give you my email address.
***** I have not really written the complete story.
I just wanted to pass on the idea and you could write out the complete story yourself. Also I am not a writter. I get bored very quickly.
But I just think using this idea, you could turn it into a interesting film.
If your still interested, let me know.
I really dont want to get an agent. Like I said I dont care making a career out of this.
ill sign an NDA, before that i would want know how fleshed out this idea is. What genre is this? What beats do you have at this point?
SA Entertainment Did you say FREE?
Nothing is FREE my friend. lol
You can pay in instalments. I will give you my paypal address and all you have to do is transfer £50.00 and I will give you this unique idea.
and Nuron, you don't have a script you have a very rough 'villain's plan' it needs so much hard work, you need characters, by characters i mean blocks of detailed action/dialogue, forget famous and concentrate on hard work. people will steal your 'idea' so got to work.
Narcissism.
Well earned narcissism.
These guys are all so full of themselves and tell really awkward jokes. But they at least talk like they know what they're talking about and know how to speak well enough. Are all people in Hollywood on edge, having to list all of their accomplishments in every story they tell? I don't mind this guy. I have a very similar story to him on his first day on first grade but about 40 years later. Something's don't change I suppose.
Theo Dore I think creative types at the top of the industry are bound to be over-the-top and dramatic people, that’s usually what it takes to get the sort of expertise and charisma from a professor and figurehead, he’s a like a character himself
I love this guy...But he DOES love to humble-brag a lot, as well as going on these tangents to the point where he forgets what was asked.....lol...
Where does he "humble brag"?
Yeah I do not understand either.
You love him? okies
If someone made a film about a pretentious screenwriting professor who talks and talks about himself in a self-indulgent and quasi-profound way this person would get the part.
dog ribs haha i think a: he's quite down to earth, b: he actually has some wisdom to impart, and c: you have probably are just jealous. Focus on your own craft, if you in fact have any, bitch.
Can't disagree with you more -- sounds like you don't understand or appreciate the name of the series, FILM COURAGE, but good luck to you anyways.
True that. The guy is definitely in love with himself.
Nothing more pretentious then preaching in a RUclips comment section