Interview: David Guggenheim (2010, 2012 Black List) — Part 6 David Guggenheim broke into the business in February 2010 by selling the spec script Safe House which was produced and has grossed $208M worldwide. Since that time, Guggenheim has sold two more spec scripts: “Black Box” to Universal and “Narco Sub” to 20th Century Fox, as well as the pitch
Great Scene: “Halloween” This is one of the iconic scenes in the history of horror movies: Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) versus Michael Myers (Tony Moran) in the Final Struggle at the very end of the 1978 movie Halloween, screenplay by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. INT. DOYLE HOUSE -- ANGLE THROUGH BEDROOM DOOR -- NIGHTWe
A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 6 This is the third year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one: Story ideas are worth gold in Hollywood. I’m
Saturday Hot Links Time for another installment of Saturday Hot Links! Today: The Two Thumbs Up For Roger Ebert Edition! Selected obituaries for Roger Ebert. David Edelstein on Roger Ebert. Richard Roeper on Roger Ebert. Todd McCarthy on Roger Ebert. Peter Travers on Roger Ebert. Barack Obama on Roger Ebert. A statement from
Written Interview: Tom Bissell (“Gears of War”) Something a little different today: A New Yorker interview with Tom Bissell who along with Rob Auten wrote the video game “Gears of War: Judgment”: How long will it take before we see a game that has the quality of a literary novel? That pushes the same buttons, as it
Daily Dialogue — April 6, 2013 Elle: I’m sorry Budd, that was rude of me, wasn’t it? Budd, I’d like you to meet my friend, The Black Mamba. Black Mamba, this is Budd. Y’know before I picked that lil feller up I looked him up on the internet. Fascinating creature, the black
Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Action Hero Wisecracks So we move from the subject of death this week [courtesy of a suggestion by SandbaggerOne] to characters laughing in the face of death with next week’s recommendation from Shaula Evans: Action Hero Wisecracks! The usual drill: * Copy/paste dialogue from IMDB Quotes or some other transcript source. * Copy/
Interview (Part 5): David Guggenheim (2010, 2012 Black List) David Guggenheim broke into the business in February 2010 by selling the spec script Safe House which was produced and has grossed $208M worldwide. Since that time, Guggenheim has sold two more spec scripts: “Black Box” to Universal and “Narco Sub” to 20th Century Fox, as well as the pitch
Carpe Diem… jazz style! Roger Ebert’s death reminds us to seize the day. And these two dudes on a NYC subway do just that in this must-see video that will bring you great joy! Thanks to @bf4tbrainy, who also happens to be my wife Rebecca, for the link! Comment Archive
GITS: The Twitter Conversations — Script Readers (Part 10) Twice last year, we did a live Tweet Chat with three people you should follow: Amanda Pendolino [@amandapendo], Nate Winslow [@nate_winslow], and The Bitter Script Reader [@BittrScrptReadr]. For two weeks, I will be reprising posts I ran on the blog including the transcripts of those conversations. Read on, then
Movie Trailer: “White House Down” Written by James Vanderbilt While on a tour of the White House with his young daughter, a Capitol policeman springs into action to save his child and protect the president from a heavily armed group of paramilitary invaders. IMDB site Release Date: 28 June 2013 (USA)
A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 5 This is the fourth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one: Thinking up new story ideas keeps you on your
Great Character: Renton (“Trainspotting”) This month’s theme: Addiction. Today’s guest post by Jason Cuthbert features Renton from the 1996 movie Trainspotting, written by John Hodge, novel by Irvine Walsh. If you ever need a brutal reality check for why you might not really want to needle up your first heroin smack down,
Daily Dialogue — April 5, 2013 Luna Schlosser: Oh, I see. You don’t believe in science. And you also don’t believe that the political systems work. And you don’t believe in God, huh? Miles Monroe: Right. Luna Schlosser: So then, what do you believe in? Miles Monroe: Sex and death. Two things that
In Memoriam: Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 — April 4, 2013) By now I’m sure most of you know that Roger Ebert, one of the most important figures in the realm of movies, has died today. He was 70 years old. Here are some of the obituaries and columns that I’ve found so far: Chicago Sun-Times Hollywood Reporter
“Why Studios Continue Banking on Franchises Like ‘G.I. Joe’” Anne Thompson at IndieWire reacts to the success of the G.I. Joe sequel: Over the decades the movie studios — which are small cogs of huge corporations run by business executives with an eye on Wall Street who are skittish about narrow profit margins — have steadily moved away from risky
Interview (Part 4): David Guggenheim (2010, 2012 Black List) David Guggenheim broke into the business in February 2010 by selling the spec script Safe House which was produced and has grossed $208M worldwide. Since that time, Guggenheim has sold two more spec scripts: “Black Box” to Universal and “Narco Sub” to 20th Century Fox, as well as the pitch
“The Shining” — Zooms From Ian Kammer: A synchronized collage of every zoom in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror masterpiece, The Shining. UPDATE: Mark Walker posted this terrific video compilation featuring Kubricks’ “single point perspective.”
GITS: The Twitter Conversations — Script Readers (Part 9) Twice last year, we did a live Tweet Chat with three people you should follow: Amanda Pendolino [@amandapendo], Nate Winslow [@nate_winslow], and The Bitter Script Reader [@BittrScrptReadr]. For two weeks, I will be reprising posts I ran on the blog including the transcripts of those conversations. Read on, then
Movie Trailer: “The Wolverine” Screenplay by Mark Bomback, Scott Frank, James Mangold, and Christopher McQuarrie, comic book by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller Wolverine makes a voyage to modern-day Japan, where he encounters an enemy from his past that will impact on his future. IMDB site Release Date: 26 July 2013 (USA)
A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 4 This is the fourth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one: You can evolve into being a writer-producer. Let’
The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 8] Part 8: Attaching talent. Spec scripts, that is. I’m guessing that perhaps 90% of the people who follow this blog at some point in their lives will write a spec script. And the other 10% are involved in buying and selling them. In light of that fact, last year
Daily Dialogue — April 4, 2013 ANGLE BY WINDOW as Luke steps out of pitch black into the harsh light in full view, calm, slight smile, having chosen his moment. His voice is loud, clear, mocking: LUKE: WHAT WE GOT HERE IS A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE… A SHOT! It catches Luke in the throat and throws
“Please allow me to introduce myself…” It just occurred to me to frame this post with the Rolling Stones song “Sympathy for the Devil,” but maybe there’s a nifty connection: Because the reality of introducing multiple characters in a script can give a writer a… ahem… devil of a time! [And Myers sinks the shot
Spec Script Sale: “Broken Cove” Thunder Road acquires thriller spec script “Broken Cove” written by Declan O’Dwyer. From TheWrap: The crime thriller follows a half-Irish half-British man who lives in London but moves back home after discovering his brother has been killed. The writer was discovered on the Black List website. Note:
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