Scriptdoctor.com has a new Doctor

Chris Haughom (pronounced Ho-gum) has been in the film business for over 25 years. She estimates she’s read and evaluated more than 8,000 scripts in her career.
Chris started out in the biz as Executive Assistant to the President of Filmways Picture, Inc. (formerly AIP), evaluating all the scripts that made it past the Story Department for a final recommendation. She also screened many films for the company for possible pick-up and distribution and made the rounds at the Cannes Film Festival and the American Film Market. She then went on to work in foreign film distribution, reading scripts and screening films for pick up, as well as selling the companies’ films to international distributors (her most favorite job of all). During those years, she also worked for the co-founder and first president of the AFM, Bobby Meyers, head of his own foreign film distribution company.

Over the years, Chris evaluated scripts for AFI, CAA and many production companies, and also wrote many script novelizations. Chris is a writer herself and has had two scripts optioned, works as a freelance script consultant and has taught screenwriting workshops in Los Angeles. “I love nurturing other writers. We all need that.”

Indie film distribution

John August has a post on his blog about a small indie film called One Too Many Mornings that's being distributed by nontraditional means (see the writer/producer's blog here). In comments, Michael Mohan (the writer/producer) mentions Topspin, the technology platform they're using for online distribution.


In unrelated news, Independent Lens is showing the 2007 documentary Young @ Heart this week. Check your local PBS and PBS World listings if you want to see it.

Film Festivals: Se Habla Español

Our first short film, Se Habla Español, is currently entered in two film festivals: the Davis Film Festival (March 12-13, 2010) and the Palm Springs Shortfest (June 22-28, 2010). We'll keep you updated on future events.

CMF in the news

The January 2010 edition of Arizona Bilingual Magazine has a nice article about CoyoteMoon Films, our first short film (and DVD), Se Habla Español, and our director, Howard Allen. If you're in town and have a copy of Arizona Bilingual, look for us on page 26.

Recommended Viewing: Goodbye Solo

Goodbye Solo opens in Senegalese cab driver Solo's cab. His passenger, William has asked him to pick him up in a few weeks and take him to Blowing Rock and leave him there. Solo surmises that William plans to commit suicide and spends the better part of the rest of the film trying to get him to change his mind. It's a smart film that could easily have crept into melodrama, but writer and director Ramin Bahrani trusts the audience to react to the story without manipulation.

The film has received much critical acclaim, making several Top Ten of 2009 lists, as well as having been featured at the 2008 Venice Film Festival (where it won the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize) and at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. In December, the film's star, Souleymane Sy Savane, was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award (Best Male Lead). And the LA Times included it in an article about what is right with indie films.

We at Coyote Moon Films congratulate Ramin Bahrani and his cast and crew on their beautiful film and hope for their continued success.

Hints for writers

MakingOf.com has posted a couple of articles that may be of interest to writers. One by Don Roos (credits include Marley & Me and Happy Endings) deals with the usefulness of a kitchen timer when writing screenplays, and another, by Rob Edwards (one of the writers of Disney's The Princess and the Frog), lists seven rules for writers working in animation.