“The script will write itself” Over the weekend, @UnkScreenwriter tweeted something with this startling headline: “UNIVERSAL PICTURES READY TO TURN SCREENWRITING OVER TO COMPUTER ALGORITHMS”. Clicking on the link, I read this: Hollywood, CA — For years computers have been making the job of making movies easier and easier, more efficient in some areas, more expansive
Interview: Lindsay Devlin (“Devil’s Due”) — Part 1 January has turned out to be a reliable month for Hollywood with regard to one genre in particular: Horror. This year was no different when Twentieth Century Fox released Devil’s Due, a movie that thus far has brought in over four times its production budget in box office revenues.
“Social Anthropology in Film: The Narratives of Darren Aronofsky” (Video) From Indiewire: You may not know that [Darren] Aronofsky studied both film and social anthropology at Harvard, and it’s through that lens that [Nelson] Carvajal has crafted a short video essay about the director’s work. Cutting together scenes from his films, with overlapping dialogue and more, the five-
How To Be Prolific: Guidelines For Getting It Done From Joss Whedon Not sure how this link came my way, especially given the fact it was published in January this year, but I’m always glad to read about Joss Whedon whose film (Toy Story, The Cabin in the Woods, The Avengers, Much Ado About Nothing) and TV (Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Movie Trailer: “Chef” Written and directed by Jon Favreau. A chef who loses his restaurant job starts up a food truck in an effort to reclaim his creative promise, while piecing back together his estranged family. IMDB Release Date: 9 May 2014 (USA) Comment Archive
A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 21 This is the fifth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today’s story: Ten Days in a Madhouse: The Woman Who Got Herself Committed. “The insane asylum on Blackwell’s Island is a human rat-trap. It is easy to get in, but once there
On Writing “If there is a secret to writing, I haven’t found it yet. All I know is you need to sit down, clear your mind, and hang in there.” — Mary McGrory Comment Archive
Daily Dialogue — April 21, 2014 CHRIS: So my associate tells me you’re interested in one of our stocks. DR. JACOBS: Yes, MSC sounds like it might be interesting. CHRIS: Might be? Might be doesn’t sell stock at the rate MSC is going, Dr. Jacobs. We’re talking about very high volume here. DR.
Go Into The Story Week In Review: April 14-April 20, 2014 Links to the week’s most notable posts: 2014 Cannes Film Festival Lineup: Screenwriters A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 14: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Lost Years A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 15: Woman hits multimillion scratchcard jackpot 4 times A Story Idea
“The Hateful Eight” staged reading round-up Last night at the United Artists Theatre at the Ace Hotel in downtown LA, Quentin Tarantino directed a staged reading of his original screenplay The Hateful Eight. This is the script that Gawker leaked to the web back in January that led to a lawsuit by the filmmaker against the
Interview [6 part series]: Elijah Bynum The Black List is a pretty exclusive club, especially so for those writers who manage to land two scripts on the List in a single year. That’s what Elijah Bynum did in 2013 when two of his original screenplays — “Mississippi Mud” and “Hot Summer Nights”. I sought out Elijah
Screenwriting News (April 14-April 20, 2014) Jesse Armstrong writing comedy “Border Guards” for Sony and Gary Sanchez Productions. David Berenbaum writing sequel Mrs. Doubtfire 2 for Fox 2000. TJ Fixman sells action thriller script “Men Who Kill” to 20th Century Fox, Michael B. Jordan attached to star. John Hlavin sells period action pitch “Nekome” to GrandElectric
A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 20 This is the fifth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today’s story: 7 tips for keeping your man (from the 1950s). Woman, you have no idea how lucky you are to have landed a man. But as the literature of the mid-century’s
Interview [Video]: David S. Goyer The BAFTA Lecture Series is one of the best resources available to hear screenwriters talk directly about the craft. Another example released recently: Writer-director David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, Man of Steel). Comment Archive
Daily Dialogue — April 20, 2014 “My predecessor in this job left a man named Charles Grady as the Winter caretaker. And he came up here with his wife and two little girls, I think were eight and ten. And he had a good employment record, good references, and from what I’ve been told he
Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Sales Pitch We move from this week’s theme (Job Interview) suggested by blueneumann. Next week: Sales Pitch. “Listen, I’m not here to tell you about Jesus. You already know about Jesus. He either lives in your heart or he doesn’t. Every woman wants choices, but in the end, none
2014 Cannes Film Festival Lineup: Screenwriters Once again, the press covers a film festival and notes each of the movie’s directors, but no mention of screenwriters (for example, see here). Not to diminish the directors’ contributions, however without a script… well… you know. So here is every single movie scheduled for this year’s Cannes
Interview: Elijah Bynum (2013 Black List) — Part 6 The Black List is a pretty exclusive club, especially so for those writers who manage to land two scripts on the List in a single year. That’s what Elijah Bynum did in 2013 when two of his original screenplays — “Mississippi Mud” and “Hot Summer Nights”. I sought out Elijah
Saturday Hot Links The 130th installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The Charlie Chaplin Turned 125 Years Old This Week Edition. Summer box office forecast: Studio-by studio breakdown. The world’s dumbest idea: Taxing solar energy. Last week, James Cameron did a Reddit AMA which you can read here. How far does
A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 19 This is the fifth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today’s story: Bank Repossesses Wrong House, Sells Off Homeowner’s Stuff. An Ohio bank is refusing to reimburse a Vinton County woman whose house they unjustly repossessed while she was out of town. Katie
Interview (Written): Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman (“Draft Day”) An interesting interview, a journal of events with screenwriters Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman about the writing, sale and production of their movie Draft Day. An excerpt: Mid-2011: “We partied like we won the Olympics.” S: This part is going to kill a lot of screenwriters: Rajiv got approached
Daily Dialogue — April 19, 2014 Pam: Well, Brennan, you certainly have had a lot of jobs. Brennan: I’m a bit of a spark plug. And, Human Resources lady, when I think… Pam: You know, it’s… Actually, it’s Pam. Brennan: I’m sorry. Well, Pan… Pam: No, my name is Pam. Brennan: Are
Reader Question: Do you have any tips for working with feedback? Question from Alejandro: HI, Scott. My question is related to feedback, not just studio notes but all kinds of feedback — from other writers, friends. How would you recommend handling feedback? I’ve seen cases where the script gets worse, not better — because they accept every comment. And the opposite — where
Interview: Elijah Bynum (2013 Black List) — Part 5 The Black List is a pretty exclusive club, especially so for those writers who manage to land two scripts on the List in a single year. That’s what Elijah Bynum did in 2013 when two of his original screenplays — “Mississippi Mud” and “Hot Summer Nights”. I sought out Elijah
Spec Script Sale: “I’m In Love With The DJ” Sony Pictures acquires comedy spec script “I’m In Love With The DJ” written by Lauryn Kahn. From Deadline: The new deal is for an R-rated comedy is about a girl whose two best friends tag along on her work trip to Spain that quickly turns into a crazy
