Today’s big screenwriting news is that Kurt Wimmer will re-write the Tom Cruise role in the spy thriller Edwin A. Salt…for Angelina Jolie. As a result, I’m a whole lot more interested in seeing Salt. Sorry, Tom, but it’s just a much more original concept now. After seeing Jolie in Wanted, we also know that Jon Voight’s offspring can pull it off.

This switch got me thinking…screenwriting is a male-driven industry, and most films have male protagonists, and most of the highest-grossing actors are men…BUT because of those facts, female audiences are almost ignored completely, deprived of protagonists that empower women.That’s why you should always at least ponder switching the way your protag pees–from standing up to sitting down.

I met Karen MCullah and Kirsten Smith, who wrote 10 Things I Hate About You, a long time ago. They were the ones who first planted the gender-switch seed in my head. I was struggling with a father-son coming-of-age spec screenplay, and it just wasn’t doing it for me. At their suggestion, I switched the protagonist to a female. It totally brought my story to life. In retrospect, the story was never compelling enough to sell. But it was much, much more compelling after I made the lead a female.

Before today, I hadn’t thought of that whole experience in forever. Looks like I’m going to have to pull out some scripts and think about doing some sex change operations. Off the top of my head, I might change an antagonist, a big-time villain, to a female. Think about it; if you write a bad-ass role for a fella, how bad ass will that character be when you re-write it for a female. Just think about it. Would Misery have been a classic if Kathy Bates’ character was written (by Steven King or William Goldman) a man? Probably not.

This won’t work for a lot of scripts, but I’m guessing it could also fix a few. I found switching the role after I wrote it the most effective way to do this. That way I wrote a STRONG female character. Not that I’m a chauvinist, but I definitely think she ended up being stronger because of that approach. Hey, it’s worth a try. If it fails, at least you got to be Lorena Bobbit for a day.

Yep, screenwriter Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) is coming back to Austin. Black will appear at this year’s Austin Film Festival, where he has been a panel staple in the past. I don’t know about everybody else, but Black is one of my favorite reads. I actually enjoy the leeway he takes in his scripts, and think his shit is ridiculously engaging, not to mention just plain ol’ fun. I have definitely borrowed a few tricks from Black, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Since I’ve never seen him speak before, somehow, I will definitely be there this time around. Definitely.

I was already pumped about August’s Tropic Thunder, but now I’m really psyched. One of my favorite documentaries of all time is Hearts of Darkness, which chronicles Francis Ford Coppola making Apocalypse Now. I just recently Netflixed and re-watched it, and it doesn’t get any less interesting with time. Probably the opposite, actually. A must-see movie for any serious fan of film.

Now, Paramont has been clever enough to come up with a Hearts of Darkness mockumentary called Rain of Madness, which even has its own site. What a great idea. After seeing how well The Dark Knight’s viral marketing did, and knowing that they’ll be able to put this on the DVD–just brilliant. What I’m wondering is how long Rain of Madness will actually end up being, and if scribes Etah Cohen and Justin Theroux penned it in addition to Tropic Thunder? If I had to guess, I’d guess that they were heavily involved with the project.

Regardless, with the emergence of both Blu-Ray and its increased storage capacity and Internet viral marketing, expect opportunities for screenwriters to extend beyond the initial script.

Here’s that Rain of Madness trailer. To download in glorious QuickTime, go here. Enjoy:

(hat tip: First Showing)