Author: Donald L. Vasicek

Award-winning writer/filmmaker Donald L. Vasicek studied producing, directing and line producing at the Hollywood Film Institute under the acclaimed Dov Simens and at Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute. He studied screenwriting at The Complete Screenplay, Inc., with Sally Merlin, daughter of the famed Hollywood Merlin family of screenwriters and writers, as his mentor. Don has taught, mentored, and is a script consultant for over 300 writers, directors, producers, actors and production companies. He has also acted in NBC’s “Mystery of Flight 1501”, ABC’s Father Dowling starring Thomas Bosley, and Red-Handed Productions’ “Summer Reunion.” These activities have resulted in his involvement in over 100 movies during the past 23 years, from major studios to independent films including MGM’s $56 million “Warriors of Virtue”, Paramount Classic’s “Racing Lucifer”, American Picture’s “The Lost Heart” and “Born To Kill” starring the Charles Bronson of Korea, Bobby Kim, and his internationally-known brother, Richard, who directed, Incline Productions, Inc.’s “Born To Win”, 20th Century Fox’s “Die Hard II” starring Bruce Willis with Rennie Harlan as director, and Joel Silver as producer, Olympus Films+, LLC’s “Haunted World” with Emmy-nominated PBS Producer Alison Hill, and Olympus Films+, LLC’s “Faces”, “Oh, The Places You Can Go” and the award-winning “The Sand Creek Massacre” documentary film. Don also has written and published over 500 books, short stories and articles. His books include “How To Write, Sell, And Get Your Screenplays Produced” and “The Write Focus.” He has been a guest screenwriting and filmmaking columnist for Hollywood Lit. Sales, Moondance International Film Festival’s e-zine, Screenwriter’s Forum, Screenplace, Screenplayers.Net, Screenwriters.Net, Screenwriters Utopia, Spraka & Kinsla (Swedish), Inkwell Watch, and Ink On the Brain. Writing recognition includes Houston’s WorldFest International Film Festival, Chesterfield’s Writer’s Film Project, Writer’s Digest, The Sundance Institute, The Writer’s Network, and the Rocky Mountain Writer’s Guild, Inc. Don completed producing “The Sand Creek Massacre”, a documentary film project that includes the completed and award-winning documentary short, a book, a classroom video, Interactive Media, a study guide, and a lesson plans. The film is being distributed by Films Media Group. Don is on the board of directors of the American Indian Genocide Museum in Houston. He is the founder and owner of Olympus Films+, LLC, a global writing and filmmaking company and a screenwriting volunteer on AllExperts.com. Don’s screenwriting agent is Robin Kaver of the Robert Freedman Dramatic Agency, Inc., 1501 Broadway, Suite 2301 New York, NY 10036, 212-840-5751.
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Donald L. Vasicek Introduces Himself

PAMELA'S FALCON
PAMELA’S FALCON

-Donald L. Vasicek

To introduce myself:

I’m an award-winning writer/filmmaker/consultant. Amongst many clients including writers, producers, production companies, directors, and actors, I have worked as a writer/consultant for MGM/Law Brothers Productions’ $56 million film, “Warriors of Virtue.” I also wrote, directed and produced “The Sand Creek Massacre”. It’s a story about how over 400 Cheyenne women, children, special needs people and elders were shot, raped, mutilated, and burned up by the Colorado 1st & 3rd Cavalries led by racist Colonel John M. Chivington on November 29, 1864.

“The Sand Creek Massacre” won best film in 3 film festivals. It received the prestigious Golden Drover Award and has been cataloged into Smithsonian Institute Libraries.

I’ve also written, directed and produced some other documentary films. I have written over 500 articles, books, short stories and poems during the course of the past 43 years. I am presently working on a narrative film about the hate that is engendered in race and religion in the United States.

I think the fine point of success in any endeavor resides in the passion one has for what they are doing. Without that burning fire inside of yourself, you will probably live in mediocrity, which by no means, is good or bad. It simply, is. So, as each one of you continue your life journey, take with you the fact that everything that you desire is contained inside of your brain. You simply have to instruct your mind to tell it that and off you go.

Peace and Light,

Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC
The Zen of Writing & Screenwriting
http://michaelc.nextmp.net/wordpress
dvasicek@earthlink.net

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Quotes On Writing From Elmore Leonard

5 QUOTES ON WRITING FROM ELMORE LEONARD
Categories: Brian Klems’ The Writer’s Dig.
August 20, 2013

We’re saddened to hear about the passing of literary legend Elmore Leonard (I absolutely loved his book Get Shorty when I read it in high school). He was a great writer and will be remembered through his wonderful work for years and years to come. In honor of Leonard’s passing, we’ve pulled five memorable quotes on writing from our Writer’s Digest interviews archive, as we were fortunate to get to speak with him several times over the years. Here they are.

“… The writer has to have patience, the perseverance to just sit there alone and grind It out. And if it’s not worth doing that, then he doesn’t want to write. …” (1982)

“A writer has to read. Read all the time. Decide who you like then study that author’s style. Take the author’s book or story and break it down to see how he put it together.” (1982)

“The main thing I set out to do is tell the point of view of the antagonist as much as the good guy. And that’s the big difference between the way I write and the way most mysteries are written.” (1982)

“It is the most satisfying thing I can think of, to write a scene and have it come out the way I want. Or be surprised and have it come out even better than I thought.” (1997)

“Write the book the way it should be written, then give it to somebody to put in the commas and shit.” (my favorite) (1997)

* Special thanks to Writer’s Digest intern Priyanka Mehta for scouring the archives to find these gems.

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Do You Have An Idea for a Movie?

Donald L. Vasicek - Alfrech "Heap of Birds", Cheyenne on location in Clinton, Oklahoma during interview for the award-winning documentary film, "The Sand Creek Massacre"
Donald L. Vasicek – Alfrech “Heap of Birds”, Cheyenne on location in Clinton, Oklahoma during interview for the award-winning documentary film, “The Sand Creek Massacre”

Your Movie Idea(s)

So, you have an idea for a movie? There are steps that you can take to
make it into a screenplay. Unless you’re in the Hollywood loop, simply
selling your movie idea or movie ideas are virtually impossible. Do
you know why? Almost everyone has a movie idea or two or three, etc.
A more realistic approach to getting your movie idea noticed is to do
the following:

Steps to Take To Get Your Movie Idea(s) Noticed

A logline, a treatment, a script and a query letter should be written
by you or someone who has experience in writing screenplays. Once you
have accomplished this, then purchase a copy of “The Hollywood Creative
Directory”. There you will find studios, producers, and production
companies with their names, contact information and the kinds of movies
and/or television movies they have produced. Those are the people you
to whom you should send your query letter. You can also do an Internet
search for producers and production companies who are seeking screenplays
to produce. Also, purchase a copy of “The Hollywood Creative Directory
for Agents” and send them your query letter introducing yourself and
tell them about your screenplay as well.