Day 5 - Act One Writing Seminar

Day 5: June 25, 2010


8:00 – 9:00 Breakfast
It was Ethics day at Act One. Here are some tidbits from my notes:

9:00 – 10:30 Chuck Slocum: Theology of Entertainment
The Assistant Executive Director of the Writer’s Guild of America, West, asked questions like, “What knowledge, thoughtfulness, preparation do I expect from my Pastor? How similar do I expect my Pastor’s sermons to be to the Bible? How much will I hold him accountable?”

We’re not making toaster ovens. We’re making movies that reaching inside a person. There’s a higher responsibility. We have the same moral and ethical responsibility that Teacher/Preachers have.

Do a Theological rewrite (last). Don’t start with a Scripture, but with story. Write dangerously. Let the story go where it needs to go. But then ask what theological issues does my story bring up and how am I treating them? Do I agree with the position I’m representing?

10:30 – 12:00 Barbara (Nicolosi) Harrington: The Ethics of Artistry, Professionalism, Meaning & Spirituality
Discussion on not violating our contracts with our viewers, collaborators, and more.

1:00 – 4:30 Vicki Peterson: Film and Discussion: The Audience of One
Film: The Audience of One (Made by a nonbeliever? I think that's what was said, though I'm not positive.)

A documentary about a San Francisco Pentecostal church that started to make a movie. WYSIWYG Productions. Michael Jacobs, film maker. Oh my gosh. They stepped out in faith to make a movie, but they had no idea what they were doing. It was a disaster. As a Christian, it's embarrassing. (This documentary is available at NetFlix and Amazon.)

Then we discussed what happened. And why. Both sides of what happened. Faith. Wisdom. Doing what God says. Discerning what God says. Accountability... And more.

Here’s something crazy: We’re watching this film and I think, “Gee whiz, that looks like ___ sitting over there across the room.” After the film, sure enough. It was her. She answered an ad and went to find out about this project, but she felt something was wrong and didn’t go back. That was in 2002. Another one in our class worked with WYSIWYG Productions one summer while in college. Small world.

4:30 – 6:00 Social/Spiritual Reflection time
I had a computer video conference with my beloved husband. That was fun!
Then spent time working on my story assignment: Make a list from my own life experiences that finishes: “This I know to be true…” Then write a story on one of those.

6:00 – 7:00 Dinner

7:00 – 9:00 Discussion Panel: Ethics: Karen Covell, Bryan Belknap, Charlie Carner
Talking about being careful with words when people are not nice, and not “selling yourself” in a town where everybody is selling themselves.


Quotes from today:

“Every big sin has the mark of Judas on it. His biggest sin was disloyalty to Christ and every sin is that.” – Barbara (Nicolosi) Harrington

“If you want to affirm your faith in the Lord, do something really crappy. You’ll feel so bad that it will confirm, ‘Yeah, I am a child of His!’” - Bryan Belknap