David McKenna | |
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Born | San Diego, California | 14 August 1968
Occupation | Screenwriter, producer |
Language | English |
David McKenna is an American screenwriter and producer. He wrote the screenplays for American History X (1998), Blow (2001) and S.W.A.T. (2003). He is also a film professor at Columbia University and Barnard College.[1][2][3]
YouTube Encyclopedic
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1/3Views:62 55028 707317 673
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Creative Spark: David Magee
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The Making of: American History X - 20th year anniversary
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Creative Spark: Dustin Lance Black
Transcription
Magee: I DON'T HAVE A PARTICULAR TYPE OF STORY I WANT TO TELL. WHAT BECOMES IMPORTANT FOR ME IS, WELL, WHAT DO I WANT TO SPEND THE NEXT SIX MONTHS THINKING ABOUT? WHAT'S GONNA EXCITE ME? WHEN I FIRST FINISHED COLLEGE, I HAD STUDIED TO BE AN ACTOR, AND I ACTUALLY FEEL SOMETIMES LIKE I'M A BETTER ACTOR IN MY HEAD WORKING OUT CHARACTERS, IMPROVISING WHAT THEY MIGHT SAY TO ONE ANOTHER, FINDING THE STORY ON THE PAGE, THAN I EVER WAS ONSTAGE. UNDERSTANDING WHAT COMES OUT OF AN ACTOR'S MOUTH AND HOW AN ACTOR THINKS WHEN THEY SIT DOWN TO PERFORM SOMETHING IS KEY TO WHAT I'M DOING. IT'S THE ACTIONS THAT YOU HAVE TO TRANSLATE TO A FILM. A CHARACTER DOES SOMETHING. A CHARACTER WANTS SOMETHING AND TRIES TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING. IF THE CHARACTER IS WANDERING AROUND LOOKING AT PIGEONS AND THINKING ABOUT HIS CHILDHOOD, YOU HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO MANIFEST THAT IN ACTION, OR YOU HAVE TO CUT IT. IN ADAPTING A BOOK AND IN ORIGINALS, THERE IS A SIMILAR PROCESS. I TAKE POST-IT NOTES OF DIFFERENT COLORS, AND I WRITE QUICK IDEAS ON THEM OF WHAT SCENES MIGHT BE IN THE FILM. ANNA FIRST COMES IN HERE. -Luke: YES. SHE... Magee: AND SO, IF THAT'S THE BEGINNING POINT, WE SAY, "ANNA WANTS THE DRAWINGS BACK." THAT'S EASY. -Luke: YES. YEAH. Magee: AND BECAUSE I'M USING DIFFERENT COLORS, VERY QUICKLY, YOU CAN SEE WHICH PLOT LINES AND CHARACTERS ARE GETTING SHORT SHRIFT. YOU GET A VISUAL SENSE OF WHERE THE INTERACTIONS TAKE PLACE IN THE STORY THAT YOU DON'T GET WHEN YOU JUST PUT UP WHITE CARDS. THIS MAY BE A FORESHADOWING THING EARLIER -- I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY. I WANT TO PULL THAT OUT OF HERE BECAUSE I THINK IT LEADS TO... -Luke: YEAH. Magee: ...THAT MISTAKEN FLIGHT, WHERE THE GUY GETS KILLED. Luke: IT DEFINITELY DOES. Magee: LUKE HAS BEEN MY ASSISTANT FOR OVER A YEAR NOW. I TAUGHT A CLASS AT EMERSON, AND HE WAS ONE OF MY BEST STUDENTS. AND SO, I HAVE HIM HELP ME WITH OUTLINING BOOKS AND READING MATERIAL THAT'S COMING IN AND GIVING ME FEEDBACK ON MY OWN DRAFTS. THAT'S BEEN TREMENDOUSLY HELPFUL. I LEARNED A LONG TIME AGO THAT I NEED AT LEAST THE ILLUSION OF STRUCTURE IN MY WRITING LIFE TO ALLEVIATE THE STRESS THAT COMES FROM DAYS WHERE IT'S NOT WORKING, BECAUSE, WHEN I'M DONE, AT THE END OF THE DAY, I DO MY BEST TO BE WITH MY FAMILY, WATCH BAD TV, HAVE A GLASS OF WINE, NOT WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING. AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE A WRITING TIME, YOU'RE ALWAYS WRITING. AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, I ONLY GOT TWO PAGES. WELL, THAT'S WHAT I COULD DO TODAY. I THINK THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH WRITER'S BLOCK IS A FEAR OF INADEQUACY THAT THE RESULT WILL NOT MATCH YOUR ASPIRATIONS. I HAVE A ROUTINE THAT I CALL "YELLING AT THE PAPER," WHERE, IF I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT I'M DOING, I JUST START KIND OF STREAM OF CONSCIOUS, YOU KNOW, COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT. "I CAN'T GET THROUGH THIS SECTION. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT, BECAUSE EVERY TIME I TRY TO DO IT, THIS CHARACTER -- I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT PERSON SHOULD GO, AND THAT'S BECAU-- OH, IT'S BECAUSE THAT PERSON SHOULDN'T BE IN THIS SCENE." IN ONE VERSION, HE HAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY. IN ANOTHER VERSION, HE HAS... UM... -Luke: PARTS OF THE TRUTH. -Magee: PARTS OF THE TRUTH. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIS JOURNEY EVOLVE INTO SOMETHING UNEXPECTED, YOU KNOW? Luke: YES, DEFINITELY. Magee: WHAT MAKES A WRITER A WRITER IS THE ABILITY TO WRITE A SCENE FIVE DIFFERENT WAYS WITHOUT MAKING IT A PERSONAL ATTACK IF SOMEONE ASKS YOU TO DO SO. IF SOMEONE SAYS, "TRY THE SCENE, YOU KNOW, THIS WAY," YOU CAN TRY IT IN THE FULL KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU'LL HAVE LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS, AND IF IT IS NOT BETTER, EVERYONE WILL KNOW. THE LONGER I HAVE GONE AT THIS, THE MORE I HAVE COME TO BELIEVE THAT THE REWRITING IS WHAT REALLY MAKES A GOOD SCRIPT. I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE COULD BE MUCH MORE CREATIVE THAN THEY REALIZED IF THEY WERE WILLING TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES AND WANTED TO PUT IN THE HOURS TO GET IT DONE. YOU BECOME AWARE OF THE GAP BETWEEN THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF SOMEONE WHO'S EXPERIENCED AND YOUR OWN ABILITY, AND YOU TELL YOURSELF, "WELL, I CAN'T DO IT," RATHER THAN SAYING, "WELL, I HAVE TO KEEP DOING IT UNTIL I BECOME THAT GOOD." I HAVE FOUND, OVER THE YEARS, THAT I'M TELLING MANY OF THE SAME KINDS OF STORIES AND GRAVITATING TO THE SAME KINDS OF STORIES OVER AND OVER AGAIN -- WHAT EXCITES ME, WHAT INFURIATES ME -- AND YOU END UP FINDING THOSE THREADS COMING OUT IN WHAT YOU WRITE. IT'S AN EXPLORATION OF HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY. IF YOU FIND THE RIGHT WAY TO ENGAGE IT, IT'S NOT GONNA GET OLD.
Career
McKenna wrote and sold American History X when he was 26. It drew from his upbringing around the punk music scene, as well as interviews with real skinheads. The film became the focus of a post-production dispute between director Tony Kaye and lead actor Edward Norton.[4] Made on a budget of $20 million, the film grossed $24 million at the worldwide box office.[5][6] He then wrote the screenplays for Blow, about American cocaine smuggler George Jung, and Get Carter, a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, starring Michael Caine. Also in 2001, his adaptation of the book Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge by Jim Schutze was released as Bully. The book and film were based on the 1993 murder of Bobby Kent. McKenna was unhappy with the finished film, and chose to be credited under the pseudonym Zachary Long.
He was also the creator and Executive Producer of NBC's E-Ring (2005–2006).[7][8][9] The show starred Benjamin Bratt as Major James Tisnewski, a former Delta Force operator and Dennis Hopper as Colonel Eli McNulty, as officers working in the E-ring of the Pentagon in the Special Operations Division (SOD) – planning and co-ordinating covert US special operations actions around the globe. The show struggled from the onset because it was up against ABC's Top 20 hit Lost, CBS's Top 30 hit Criminal Minds, FOX's Top 10 hit American Idol and the network's Top 30 hit Unan1mous. Although NBC gave it an earlier time slot which led to better ratings, the show was pulled from the lineup during the February sweeps and officially canceled at the NBC upfront on May 15.
McKenna also ventured into video games, writing the script for the 2006 open world action-adventure video game Scarface: The World Is Yours.[10] The game is not a direct adaptation of the 1983 film directed by Brian De Palma, but is instead a broad strokes sequel which changes the ending of the film.
Filmography
Film
Year | Film | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | American History X | Yes | Yes | Co-Producer |
1999 | Body Shots | Yes | No | |
2000 | Get Carter | Yes | No | |
2001 | Blow | Yes | No | Co-Wrote screenplay with Nick Cassavetes |
Bully | Yes | No | Credited as Zachary Long | |
2003 | S.W.A.T. | Yes | No | Co-Wrote screenplay with David Ayer |
2017 | Cocaine Godmother | Yes | Yes | Co-Wrote Screenplay with Molly McAlpine, executive producer |
2020 | Embattled | Yes | No | |
TBA | Cabo | Yes | No | [11][12] |
Television
Year | Title | Writer | Producer | Creator | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005-06 | E-Ring | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-creator, writer, executive producer |
Video games
- Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006)
References
- ^ "Profile Of Screenwriter David McKenna". July 13, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ "Take Five: Meet David McKenna, screenwriter and producer". stunewsnewport.com. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ "AMERICAN HISTORY X screenwriter David McKenna on going from waiter to produced writer". www.youtube.com. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (October 22, 1998). "American History X". Variety. Archived from the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
It is possible that some otherwise well-disposed critics may restrain their praise, even unwittingly, in knee-jerk sympathy with director Kaye, who disowns this cut and lost his bid to take his name off the picture.
- ^ "American History X (1998)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
- ^ "Remembering "American History X". Interview with Screenwriter David McKenna". forenseek.app. March 9, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ https://www.palmbeachpost.com/article/20051117/ENTERTAINMENT/812039907 Archived March 27, 2019, at the Wayback Machine[bare URL]
- ^ "David McKenna '91".
- ^ "Scribe beats up BULLY".
- ^ Fruchter, Alexander. "Soundslam Interviews". Soundslam. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (November 14, 2023). "Management Company The Cartel Makes Multiple Signings Across Various Platforms". Deadline. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ "AFM: Concourse Sets Action Thriller 'Cabo' From 'American History X' Writer David McKenna, 'Eraser: Reborn' Director John Pogue (Exclusive)". www.hollywoodreporter.com. October 31, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
External links
- David McKenna at IMDb
- David McKenna @ thetvdb.com
- David McKenna @filmbug.com
- David McKenna at Rotten Tomatoes