Another short story from the excellent site Popcorn Fiction hosted by screenwriter-novelist Derek Haas: Here comes a romp of a tale centering on a team of robbers who take down the Academy Awards. Jacob Sager Weinstein previously published “Eugene” on here, and I’m impressed with his versatility. This

It’s the only ‘original’ (i.e., non-sequel, remake, adaptation) major studio movie of the summer with some big names attached as writer-director (J.J. Abrams) and producer (Steven Spielberg). I’ve pimped it a lot on GITS, primarily because the subject matter and creative minds involved interest

Thanks to Phil for the suggestion — Lawyers — and a slew of movies to go with it. Legal dramas, legal thrillers, legal mysteries, these type of movies have had a long and successful history in Hollywood. So it will be interesting to find 7 different sets of dialogue — for Daily Dialogue

There’s inspiration. Then there’s Nobel inspiration such as that espoused by Harold Pinter. From Wikipedia: Harold Pinter, CH, CBE (10 October 1930–24 December 2008), was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, theatre director, poet, left-wing political activist, cricket enthusiast, and Nobel laureate. He was one of the

According to this article, the average age of people who play video games is getting older: The average vidgame player is now 37 years old, and individuals who buy the most games are 41, on average, according to a survey of 1,200 households compiled by the Entertainment Software Assn.

Interesting observations about The Tree of Life from actress Jessica Chastain. Check out her thoughts on Terence Malick’s script: When it comes to certain ideas and images, how is Malick as a writer? Is he very detailed? I think The Tree of Life script should be published. I say

A special treat: An audio conversation via BBC Radio between Raymond Chandler and Ian Fleming. UPDATE: Thanks to @opedr who “declipped/denoised the Chandler/Fleming Q&A…easier to listen to now.” The GITS community comes through again! You can listen to that better audio version here.

An excellent interview on AICN with Steven Spielberg. In this excerpt, the director finally answers once and for all how the famous U.S.S. Indianapolis monologue came to be: I owe three people a lot for this speech. You’ve heard all this, but you’ve probably never heard

Tanner: Hey Yankees! You can take your apology AND your trophy and shove it straight up your ass! Lupus: And another thing… just wait ’til next year!  — Tanner (Chris Barnes), Lupus (Quinn Smith), The Bad News Bears (1976), written by Bill Lancaster http://movieclips.com/e/yGrn/ The Daily Dialogue

Go here.  Frankly it blows my mind what’s on the list… and not on it. Comment Archive

Here are the current suggestions with the person who posted each one: Lawyers [Phil] Embarrassing [(Doug)] People at a loss for words [(Doug)] Arnold quotes [The Unknown Lyricist] Deathbed [Gabe] Opening or closing lines [KyahGreen] Telling jokes [Francisco Madaragog] Dialogue referencing other movies [Todd Wallinger] Moments of professional pride [Atlanta]

HT to @LaFamiliaFilm for sourcing this link featuring a series of interviews and features with some of Hollywood’s most notable directors including Bryan Singer, Francis Ford Coppola, Milos Forman, Michael Mann, Robert Benton, Rob Reiner, Ron Howard, and many others. And as long as we’re here, if you

In any given month about 15% of traffic on GITS is from writers who originate outside the United States. So I thought it would be a nice idea to provide an opportunity for our internationally based writers to give a shout-out to each other and to those of us

Today’s Great Character proves a character doesn’t have to be human or even animate to work as a compelling narrative element. Consider Wilson from the 2001 movie Cast Away (written by William Broyles, Jr). When Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is stranded on a remote desert island, his need

Via Flavorwire: If you want to be taken seriously as a writer, make sure you: * Understand the basic rules of grammar * Are adept at spelling * Love words Any other misunderstood English words? Note: As pointed out in comments on the Flavorwire post, enormity and bemused can mean both of their

The excellent online resource FilmmakerIQ has just started with a podcast series. You can go here for their inaugural podcast. Do you know of any other recurring podcasts the GITS community should know about? Screenwriting, directing, movies, filmmaking. Please post your recommendations in comments. Comment Archive

In any given month about 15% of traffic on GITS is from writers who originate outside the United States. So I thought it would be a nice idea to provide an opportunity for our internationally based writers to give a shout-out to each other and to those of us

Mikey: Chester Copperpot! Don’t you guys see? Don’t you realize? He was a pro! He never made it this far. Look how far we’ve come. We’ve got a chance. Andi: A chance at what, Mikey? Getting killed? Look, if we keep going, someone’s really gonna

NYT article today about a non-fiction book that serves as a reminder of the value of writing a high concept: Last October, just before the deal-making frenzy of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the indie publisher Johnny Temple received an e-mailed book proposal that he was tempted to

What started with this post announcing the sale of the spec script “Sex Tape,” led to this one where we brainstormed possible narrative angles based on the simple conceit: A couple loses a sex tape featuring them in action. In comments on the second post, Laura rightly said: “The sex

From Vulture: The summer’s lone original blockbuster, J.J. Abrams’s Super 8, opens on Friday, but the most recent audience tracking data obtained by Vulture suggests that surprisingly few people are interested in seeing it: According to NRG tracking data, slightly less than two out of three (64

In any given month about 15% of traffic on GITS is from writers who originate outside the United States. So I thought it would be a nice idea to provide an opportunity for our internationally based writers to give a shout-out to each other and to those of us