Dispatch From The Quest: Christian Fontenot Over the course of the 24 weeks I am working with the writers in The Quest, each will write a weekly dispatch to share with the GITS community. There are several reasons for doing this, the main one educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding
Great Scene: “Se7en” When a movie builds to the climactic face-off between Protagonist and Nemesis, I call that the Final Struggle. Typically it’s a case of fists-versus-fists or guns-versus-guns. But the movie Se7en (1995), written by Andrew Kevin Walker, provides an unorthodox twist — befitting a movie with
Hidden Movie Gem: “Christmas in Connecticut” Today’s Hidden Movie Gem guest post comes from Nora Berry. Movie Title: Christmas in Connecticut Year: 1945 Writers: Lionel Houser (screenplay) and Adele Comandini (screenplay) and Aileen Hamilton Lead Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, S.Z. Sakall Director: Peter Godfrey Plot Summary: Barbara Stanwyck plays Elizabeth Lane,
Written Interview: Richard Price An interview in the Paris Review (Spring 1996) with screenwriter and novelist Richard Price (Sea of Love, Clockers): INTERVIEWER: You intended to go to law school, but you ended up a writer . . . PRICE: I always wanted to be a writer, but coming from a working-class background it was hard
Daily Dialogue — October 19, 2013 Mr. Blonde: Listen kid, I’m not gonna bullshit you, all right? I don’t give a good fuck what you know, or don’t know, but I’m gonna torture you anyway, regardless. Not to get information. It’s amusing, to me, to torture a cop. You can say
Question: Where to start when developing a story? Another open forum question — from attatt: When you write a script, do/did you usually start with a character, a specific plot point, or a specific ending you want to reach? Curious how others write because I tend to have plot point ideas out the yang, then have to connect
Dispatch From The Quest: Paul Wie Over the course of the 24 weeks I am working with the writers in The Quest, each will write a weekly dispatch to share with the GITS community. There are several reasons for doing this, the main one educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding
Studio wanted major changes in “Gravity” Check this quote from Gravity co-writer and director Alphonso Cuarón in io9: Did you have to fight for the film to be more of a small, character-focused piece? Instead of focusing on all of the destruction? When we set up to write the script, it was about that.
Go On Your Own Quest — Week 14: Prep The 2013 version of The Quest starts Week 14 today. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by because you can Go On Your Own Quest by following the structure of The Quest to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write
Movie Trailer: “Endless Love” Written by Shana Feste, Joshua Safran The story of a privileged girl and a charismatic boy whose instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart. IMDB Release Date: 14 February 2014 (USA)
Hidden Movie Gem: “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” Today’s Hidden Movie Gem guest post comes from Zach Jansen. Movie Title: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Year: 2002 Wwriters: Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman (uncredited rewrite by George Clooney); based on the book by Chuck Barris (screenplay link here) Starring: Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Rutger
Great Character: David (“The Lost Boys”) With Halloween approaching, our theme this month is Supernatural Characters. Today in his regular weekly guest post, Jason Cuthbert looks at David from the 1987 movie The Lost Boys, screenplay by Janice Fischer & James Jeremias and Jeffrey Boam, story by Janice Fischer & James Jeremias. Can you imagine those
Daily Dialogue — October 18, 2013 Joan Crawford: [muttering to herself, hacking down the rose garden] Hollywood royalty! Parted friends… everyone already knows! Box office poison! Box office poison! Class! You’re… class… you’re… class… box office poison! Eighteen years in the business and we parted friends! Creative differences! Notices the others. Joan Crawford: Oh…
Question: What about working with a co-writer? A question from Tom: Co-writers… I am just beginning to work with a foreign-born writer I met who asked me about working with him on a screenplay that takes place in his native (third world) country. He approached me for a variety of reasons, but bottom line, we
Dispatch From The Quest: Sandy Leviton Over the course of the 24 weeks I am working with the writers in The Quest, each will write a weekly dispatch to share with the GITS community. There are several reasons for doing this, the main one educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding
Final Call: 30 Essential Movies for Screenwriters to Watch For my original post, go here. For your suggestions yesterday, go here. Let’s do one more day to solicit your take: What movies would you consider to be essential for us to watch? Movies where we can learn something substantial about the craft. Movies that are critical to watch
Go On Your Own Quest — Week 14: Prep The 2013 version of The Quest starts Week 14 today. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by because you can Go On Your Own Quest by following the structure of The Quest to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write
Movie Trailer: “Non-Stop” Screenplay by John W. Richardson & Chris Roach and Ryan Engle, story by John W. Richardson & Chris Roach An air marshal must spring into action aboard an international flight. Release Date: 28 February 2014 (USA)
Hidden Movie Gem: “The Fountain” Today’s Hidden Movie Gem guest post comes from Mark Walker Movie Title: The Fountain Year: 2006 Screenplay: Darren Aronoskfy Story: Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel Cast: Hugh Jackman — Tomas/Tommy/Tom Creo, Rachel Weisz — Isabel/Izzi Director: Darren Aronofsky Plot Summary: Three stories — one each from the past, present,
Writing and the Creative Life: What if… Perhaps the two most powerful words in the creative process. Screenwriter James V. Hart (Dracula, Contact, Tuck Everlasting) recounts the creative inspiration behind the movie Hook: “The secret, the great key to writing Hook, came from my son. When he was six, he asked the question, ‘What if Peter Pan
Daily Dialogue — October 17, 2013 “Don’t be a good neighbor to her. I’ll send you a love letter… [shouting] straight from my heart, fucker! You know what a love letter is? It’s a bullet from a fucking gun, fucker! You receive a love letter from me, you’re fucked forever! You understand,
Dialogue Paradigm One of the great aspects of the screenwriting courses I teach is the contributions of the writers involved. Case in point, John Hörnschemeyer recently took my Core V: Dialogue class which led him to this epiphany: Another intense, thought-provoking, and dare I say, inspiring week, the fifth, of Scott’
Dispatch From The Quest: Waka Brown Over the course of the 24 weeks I am working with the writers in The Quest, each will write a weekly dispatch to share with the GITS community. There are several reasons for doing this, the main one educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding
Update: 30 Essential Movies for Screenwriters to Watch For my original post, go here. What I’d like to do today and probably tomorrow is solicit suggestions from the GITS community: What movies would you consider to be essential for us to watch? This is not necessarily a Best Of list, but rather movies tied to the craft
Go On Your Own Quest — Week 14: Prep The 2013 version of The Quest starts Week 14 today. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by because you can Go On Your Own Quest by following the structure of The Quest to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write
