Dreams on Spec
Directed by	Daniel J. Snyder
Produced by	Daniel J. Snyder Gary Edgren
Starring	David Stieve Joe Aaron Deborah Goodwin James L. Brooks Nora Ephron Carrie Fisher Gary Ross Steven E. de Souza Larry Karaszewski Scott Alexander
Music by	Deane Ogden
Cinematography	Harry Frith
Distributed by	Mercury Productions
Running time	86 min.
Followed by	"Untitled Project"
IMDb profile

Dreams on Spec is an American documentary film that profiles the struggles and triumphs of emerging Hollywood screenwriters. It was written and directed by Daniel J. Snyder, who learned first-hand about the screenwriter's travails in the late 1980s when he was a teenager working alongside aspiring writer/directors Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary in the famed Video Archives video store in Manhattan Beach, California.^[1] James L. Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is a three-time Academy Award, nineteen-time Emmy and Golden Globe-winning American producer, writer, and film director. ... Nora Ephron Nora Ephron (born May 19, 1941 in New York City, New York) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and novelist. ... Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress, screenwriter and novelist. ... Gary Ross (born November 3, 1956 in Los Angeles, California is an American writer, director and actor. ... Steven de Souza is among the handful of screenwriters whose films have earned over two billion dollars at the box office. ... Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are a Hollywood screenwriting team. ... Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are a Hollywood screenwriting team. ... Top-call Los Angeles drummer Deane Ogden (born November 26, 1974) is one of pop musics most sought-after stickmen. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Screenwriters, or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies are made. ... Video Archives is a video rental store located on Manhattan Beach, California. ... Location of Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles County, California Coordinates: , Country State County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) 1912-12-12 [2] Government  - Mayor Jim Aldinger [1] Area  - Total 10. ...

Synopsis

Dreams on Spec follows three aspiring screenwriters as they struggle to turn their scripts into movies.^[2] David is a hip talent agent's assistant with three scripts circulating around town. He's plugged into "young Hollywood" - and when he's not working or writing, he's usually hanging out at the beach. Joe is a middle-aged family man who has split time over the last three years between caring for his autistic daughter and writing what he believes could be the great American screenplay. And Deborah is trying to become one of the few African-American women to ever write and direct a feature film, though she's struggling just to pay her bills while she searches for money to produce her script.^[3] Between these stories, the film intercuts critical insight from such Hollywood heavyweights as James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher, Gary Ross, Steven E. de Souza, Ed Solomon, Paul Guay, Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander.^[4] James L. Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is a three-time Academy Award, nineteen-time Emmy and Golden Globe-winning American producer, writer, and film director. ... Nora Ephron Nora Ephron (born May 19, 1941 in New York City, New York) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and novelist. ... Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress, screenwriter and novelist. ... Gary Ross (born November 3, 1956 in Los Angeles, California is an American writer, director and actor. ... Steven de Souza is among the handful of screenwriters whose films have earned over two billion dollars at the box office. ... Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are a Hollywood screenwriting team. ... Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are a Hollywood screenwriting team. ...

Selected quotations

In Dreams on Spec, the established filmmakers interviewed for the documentary offer anecdotes about working in Hollywood.

Writer-director Nora Ephron (When Harry Met Sally and You've Got Mail) describes why she believes there are so few women making films: "It's a very male business, and it has in vast portions of it—the whole action movie part of it might as well be the United States Army in 1943, in that the ethics of it are boot camp and action movies and guns and explosions and all the rest of it, and that—so that means that—that about 50% of the business is not only pretty much closed off to women, but women don’t even wanna be in it." Nora Ephron Nora Ephron (born May 19, 1941 in New York City, New York) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and novelist. ... The gate under which Harry meets Sally in the film; located on the campus of the University of Chicago When Harry Met Sally. ... Youve Got Mail is an American romantic comedy released in 1998 by Warner Brothers. ...

James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment) relates his love for screenwriting: "I never knew anybody who ever got a Writers Guild card who didn’t have a hard time when somebody said, 'What do you do for a living?' saying, 'I'm a writer.' Your—your voice always catches on 'a writer.' I think it takes about 14 years to not have the catch in your voice if you’re very aggressive. It takes longer if you're not. Because ... so many of us have dreamt about it forever as a dream that could not be realized." James L. Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is a three-time Academy Award, nineteen-time Emmy and Golden Globe-winning American producer, writer, and film director. ... For the Drawn Together episode, see Terms of Endearment (Drawn Together episode). ...

Carrie Fisher, who in addition to making headlines as a judge on the FOX show On the Lot is also a highly-paid script doctor, tells how she got started re-writing screenplays: "It was Spielberg that asked me to rewrite Hook—just to rewrite Tinker Bell. But that makes no sense because you can't just write one character. There is another character that they speak to. Although, you know, it was Robin’s character mostly, so I would improvise with Robin Williams. Well, he and I do that anyway. So now you have two people that desperately need medication, but it's fine if they're off and you’re taking notes. And we had a very good time." Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress, screenwriter and novelist. ... FOX redirects here. ... On the Lot is a reality show competition produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett[1]. The show, which airs on FOX, features filmmakers competing in weekly elimination competitions, with the ultimate prize of a million dollar development deal at DreamWorks. ... Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. ... Hook is a 1991 family action/adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins and Maggie Smith. ... This article is about the American actor and comedian; for other people named Robin Williams, see Robin Williams (disambiguation). ...

As to why some young screenwriters succeed while so many others do not, Paul Guay (the co-writer of Liar Liar and The Little Rascals says, “The thing that separates more successful writers from less successful writers, the most important thing, is the perseverance.” The writer-director of Seabiscuit, Gary Ross, adds that the term “success” is rather elusive. “There’s a great line in J.D. Salinger when he talks about writing, he says, “The ultimate question is not ‘Were you successful or weren’t you successful?’ … The real question at the end of your days when you’re judged as a writer is, ‘Were all your stars out? … Did you live up to your potential?” Liar Liar (1997) is an American comedy film starring Jim Carrey. ... The name The Little Rascals refers primarily to the television package of producer Hal Roachs Our Gang theatrical short film comedies, specifically those made between 1929 and 1938. ... Seabiscuit is a 2003 American drama film based on the best-selling book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. ... Gary Ross (born November 3, 1956 in Los Angeles, California is an American writer, director and actor. ...

Production notes

Dreams on Spec was filmed in 2004 and 2005 in Los Angeles, California, and Portland, Oregon. The documentary was shot in the widescreen, 16 x 9 aspect ratio. Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... Nickname: Location of Portland in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates: , Country State Counties Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas Incorporated February 8, 1851 Government  - Type Commission  - Mayor Tom Potter[1]  - Commissioners Sam Adams Randy Leonard Dan Saltzman Erik Sten  - Auditor Gary Blackmer Area  - City 376. ... The aspect ratio of a two-dimensional shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. ...

Cinematographer Harry Frith put a Panasonic DVX100 camera in a splash bag and took it into the water to film the scenes where aspiring writer David Stieve goes surfing on Venice Beach. Frith himself is an avid surfer. The Panasonic AG-DVX100 was the first affordable progressive scan camcorder. ...

For almost the entire production, director Daniel J. Snyder worked at his day-job as a producer/director of non-fiction television. He only worked on Dreams at night, on weekends, and during his hiatus periods.

References

External links

• Official movie website