Fast and Furious

Doesn’t John Hughes claim to knock out a feature film script in a week or two? John Sayles, in some cases, a weekend ? Then 100 members of the nonprofit Independent Writers of Southern California, working as a team, should have no trouble cranking out their romantic comedy during the group’s 72-hour Great American Movie Script-athon, set for July 27-29.

“First and foremost, it’s to showcase our talent,” says Rick Smith, IWOSC secretary. “To get a break (writing scripts), you’ve got to make some noise. Basically, we want to make Hollywood kingpins go deaf.”

Starting with a completed, scene-by-scene outline, revolving writers will knock out description and dialogue. Then a team of story editors will rework scenes, handing them to actors who will act them out for more possible revision.

“The element of the clock is definitely there,” Smith adds. “If anyone freezes over the keyboard for more than 60 seconds, they go straight to the penalty box, dubbed the Writer’s Block.”

IWOSC, which claims 450 total members, is currently scouting a location and lining up sponsors. If the script sells, Smith says, all proceeds go to the organization.