Tom Vaughan

@TheLastMachine Thanks, John. Such terrible news.

@storyandplot Beautiful tribute. I'm so sorry for your loss and sad for the unrealized project that we all would have loved to see.

My friend Jamie Blanks passed away. Jamie and I met in the late 90s. Producer Don Murphy introduced us. Jamie had just missed the directing gig for I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, and I had written a crazy $200 million werewolf movie that no one was ever going to make. He was in town from Australia, and we met at Birds in Hollywood over a lot of beers. He was effusive about my script. I had dreams of a long writer-director partnership. I would later learn Jamie was effusive about everything horror! All of it sincere. He had a well of enthusiasm that was absolutely contagious. Months later, he called me out of the blue and said he was coming back to the States. He just got hired to direct URBAN LEGEND. He introduced me to young Hollywood. We would marvel at how just following Tara Reid, who was cast in the film, would get us into any place in town. One night at Atlantic on Melrose, I was introduced to a slew of extremely attractive actors who were all going to Austin the next day to film a movie. My own urban legend is that this was the cast of VARSITY BLUES. All these young actors hung out together and knew each other. They all partied together, and I felt special to be around them. We were young, silly, and we all felt like we were on top of the world. I was insecure and wanted to be accepted by the cool crowd, but Jamie quickly grew out of it. His heart was with Simone and his home country. I remember at a party once, I pointed out to him, "Neve Campbell is here!" and Jamie shrugged, "I'm over it." Jamie and I lost touch sometime after VALENTINE. I moved back to Texas to get sober, and he and Simone moved back to Australia. They didn’t want to raise their son in the States. We reconnected about 18 years later here on Twitter! It was like no time had passed at all. Within months, we were talking about finally making a movie together. I tried to get Jamie on a project of mine that was looking for a director. It had been years since Jamie had made a film, and in true Hollywood fashion, that made the producers nervous. Why didn’t anyone else want to hire him? I told Jamie that he needed to explain this gap. He did. And it says all you need to know about Jamie. He explained that his dad was away from home often when he was growing up, and it affected their relationship. He didn’t like how directing would take him away from Simone and his son Oliver for months on end so he stopped doing it. Jamie was a very talented editor and composer and never had trouble getting work in that area. But now that Oliver was grown and off to college, it was time to direct again. Just like back in the day, Jamie had his priorities straight. Jamie didn’t get the gig, but we were both determined to finally do what we set out to do in 1997. We were going to get SOMETHING going together. Around this time, Jamie had developed an online friendship with my brother Lance. This didn’t surprise me at all as Lance is perhaps the finest observer of horror I know. Of course, they would get a kick out of each other! What killed me is that Jamie didn’t know we were brothers! His absolute joy in discovering this was such a treat. Jamie loved horror, he loved surprises and he loved life. For the last two years, Jamie and I have been working together to get this project going. I was writing and producing, he was directing. We were finally getting some movement on it last year when Jamie had some health issues that put everything on pause. The other (bigger) producer wondered if we should move on. I said nope. We are waiting for Jamie. We’ve waited 27 years to make a movie together; we can wait another year. I found out this morning that will never happen. My brother Lance texted me the news. I am devastated. I will never hear Jamie call me “brother” again in that accent of his. I will never get another overly long email signed off with “big hugs” again. We will never make that movie together. His loss will leave a huge gap of love and enthusiasm for all of us who knew him. But as much as Jamie loved horror and movies, he loved his family so much more. I am just so sorry for Simone and Oliver. Jamie was way too young. The loss they will feel will never go away. Goodbye, brother. Big hugs.

@DaveBuzan Was it Fulvio Cecere? After 25 years, Jamie finally told me that Detective Vaughan was named after me!

He directed a best friend of mine in "Valentine," so we briefly connected during that Vancouver shoot decades ago. But it was in the last few years when we began a frequent correspondence that lasted right up until this past weekend. He was a kind and supportive person who will be greatly missed.

I'm absolutely heartbroken and saddened. Over the last several years, Jamie and I had become good friends. A fantastic director, tireless supporter of creatives, and an incredible father and husband to his wonderful family. Recently, Jamie sent me hours of demos, mockups, and recordings of his wonderful scores. He loved that I was so appreciative of his music, and that I listened to those cues while writing. I'll still be listening to this music for years to come as I honor his talents and his memory.

@DaveBuzan Good. I am just so stunned. Not sure it's even hit me.

@storyandplot He most certainly did!

@MattFini Still processing this. I'm so sorry, Matt.

Word of Jamie’s passing has devastated me this week. I didn’t know him long, we became close during COVID and since then I don’t think there was a month in all that time where I didn’t talk to him. We bonded over our mutual obsessions: synthwave and movies. But we also loved talking about our families, and were looking forward to a time when we could all get together and have some laughs. Jamie and I went from fast friends to frequent collaborators and I had the honor of working with him on two projects. Some of the most fun I’ve had in this business. His enthusiasm was infectious, for our work, yes, but for everything else, too. He had a larger than life personality and that came through no matter the topic of discussion. Jamie was one of those people who seemed to love life, and he made you want to love it more, too. Jamie loved supporting the horror genre. One of our last conversations was just rattling through the slate of horror films released so far this year. He was also quite deeply touched by the outpouring of love here on X for the 25th anniversary of his film VALENTINE. A film that, many of you know, was great back then and has only gotten better with age. So if you are among the many on this site to proclaim your love of that movie this year… just know that Jamie saw it and that it meant the world to him. Sincerely. The world feels a little quieter this week. And forever. I’m still adjusting to the fact that he’s gone. My heart goes out to his beautiful family in this unthinkable time. Rest in peace Jamie Blanks. I love you, brother.

Interested in screenwriting? Join 12,000+ other screenwriters every Tuesday for The Story and Plot Weekly Email. It's the best 5-minute investment you will make in your screenwriting all week. storyandplot.link/twitter

In 29 years of writing features, I never once heard anyone use the terms "A Story" or "B Story" in a development meeting. Only in TV have I heard these terms. I think it was popularized by Blake Snyder. As a teacher, I can understand why he did it. But it can fool people. Outside of true ensembles, there really is no "B Story." There is only ONE story. Feature subplots support that story. They influence it. They affect it. They are necessary to push or pull the protagonist on their journey. If you do not understand why the subplot in your feature is essential for an emotionally satisfying ending, then there is a very good chance you should cut it.

@Cara_RogersOOO Thank you, Cara! That is delightful to hear!

@storyandplot I quoted it in yesterday's writing sprint, stated the link! We meet in zoom from all over, share industry info, and write together. Your insights were appreciated! 🤓

Independent producers are the soft underbelly of the Hollywood gatekeepers. Yesterday, I shared with 12,000 subscribers the process of taking a spec script out and why newer writers should focus on those producers. Did you miss it? One more chance in the replies 👇

@SomersaultFilms I'm lost. Can you elaborate?

@storyandplot That depends on WHO reads it. I'm a film producer.

@LukeBarnett I show the film and the script to my advanced class every semester.

More to come once it’s announced but the Crossing Over Express feature is moving forward with some great folks. There’s a new deck and this page, with maybe 1% of the love we’ve received, will always be a reminder of what a great experience it’s been. What a ride. ❤️

@menonfilmpod Final Destination rip-off. No thanks!

This may seem ridiculous, but it happened to me last week. Get Over It (2001) dir. Tommy O'Haver

@srin_writer Yep.

@storyandplot Can be very counterproductive if taken at face value without nuance

@SomersaultFilms Wish I could say more definitively, but that depends on the story.

@storyandplot The question is what's " the space" between "A Story" and "B Story"? On the scale from 1 to 10.

@batcountry1980 @BenStiller I have him blocked for just that reason.

@BenStiller You’re not disagreeing with him, btw. He will have nicked this wholesale from someone else.

100 percent disagree. One of the great film making achievements. Warren Beatty is one of the best directors of the last 50 years. This is a beautifully made film on every level with one of the great Diane Keaton performances. Any person wanting to make a love story that is both small and epic should watch this. In this era of shorter attention spans REDS stands out as what long form storytelling used to be. This used to be what a big screen movie was with our IMAX or special effects - and it is breathtaking. The witnesses alone - real people from the era telling the story interspersed with the films scenes give of a depth and authenticity we never see anymore in studio movies. See REDS!!

@georginascull @LukeBarnett I haven't, but I love that era and Lee Pace. I am kind of shocked I HAVEN'T watched it.

@storyandplot @LukeBarnett Tom, have you watched Halt & Catch Fire? Be interested in what you think... I loved it so much but hardly ever hear it being mentioned.

Having withdrawals after finishing Mad Men. Which show should my wife and I rewatch? Thinking same era of prestige TV. We’ve done BB and BCS recently, and GoT. Not super interested in a 100+ episodes like Lost or West Wing. Did Sopranos during Covid. Give me your suggestions!

@johnnyblackout It was definitely a lot more fun before. It was such a clear process, and defined expectations. Now, it's... maybe something will happen sometime in the future.

I miss producers jockeying for territories and the updates from reps like 'So and so into New Line and This Producer into Sony. Another producer wants Universal.' Etc. 'Go out on Tuesday and pray for an offer by Friday...but, hey, if it goes into the weekend read - that's ok (but it's really not).' Nerve-wracking fun. Going Wide has pretty much gone away. It's a different vibe now. I was too young for the 90s spec boom, but there was still a lot of activity in the early and mid 2000s.

@Pennington90234 🙏

@storyandplot Super helpful. Thank you Tom

@deborahbetenew Thank YOU, Deborah!

@storyandplot thanks!