Movie Trailer: “To The Wonder” Written by Terrence Malick After visiting Mont Saint-Michel, Marina and Neil come to Oklahoma, where problems arise. Marina meets a priest and fellow exile, who is struggling with his vocation, while Neil renews his ties with a childhood friend, Jane. IMDB site Release Date: 12 April 2013
5 Screenwriting Traits: #1 — Passion During the nearly 5 years I’ve run this blog, I have been privileged to do one-on-one interviews with a number of screenwriters, especially this year as I set a goal to post a Q&A per week for 2013. Over the course of those interviews, it’
On Writing “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.” — Elmore Leonard
Daily Dialogue — March 11, 2013 “Keep your feet off the grass, shine your shoes, wipe your… feet.” — Shrek (2001), screenplay by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Joe Stillman and Roger S.H. Schulman, book by William Steig The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is innuendo, suggested by Hawkewood. Trivia: “Shrek” means “monster” in
Story Concepts That Sell The foundation of any movie is the screenplay. The foundation of any screenplay is the concept. Therefore it stands to reason which story concept you develop and write as a spec script is a critical choice. And that is precisely why I created the upcoming webinar Story Concepts That Sell:
Interview: Brad Ingelsby (2008, 2012 Black List) Brad Ingelsby is one busy writer with at least six projects in various states of development and production including Hold on to Me and Run All Night [both on the 2012 Black List] and The Raid. Plus he sold a high-profile pitch “Merry Men” to DreamWorks. Here are links
Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Midway in the Photoplay [Part 7] If you are a screenwriter, you should know about Anita Loos. Loos was one of the most influential writers in the early stages of American cinema, associated with 136 film projects per IMDB. Married to writer John Emerson, the pair wrote one of the first books on screenwriting in 1920:
Screenwriting News (March 4-March 10, 2013) Randy Brown sells sports bio pitch “Jesse Holley” to Sony Pictures Entertainment. Scott Z. Burns adapting real life drama untitled Tyler Hamilton project at Warner Bros. Ross Clarke adapting drama thriller novel “Dermaphoria” for him to direct for Aperture Entertainment. Ben Coccio adapting thriller novel “So Cold the River” for
Daily Dialogue — March 10, 2013 Summer: We’ve been like Sid and Nancy for months now. Tom: Summer, Sid stabbed Nancy, seven times with a kitchen knife, I mean we have some disagreements, but I hardly think I’m Sid Vicious. Summer: No, I’m Sid. Tom: Oh, so I’m Nancy… Pancakes arrive. Summer:
Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Innuendo As we wrap up a week’s worth of breakup posts [thanks to Liri Nàvon], we move onto next week’s theme: Innuendo, courtesy of a suggestion by Hawkewood. Innuendo: “An oblique allusion : hint, insinuation; especially : a veiled or equivocal reflection on character or reputation.” This is a specific type
Interview (Part 6): Brad Ingelsby (2012 Black List) Brad Ingelsby is one busy writer with at least six projects in various states of development and production including Hold on to Me and Run All Night [both on the 2012 Black List] and The Raid. Plus in a nice bit of synergy for us, he sold a high-profile
Great Scene: “The Exorcist” This being Halloween week, I’ve been celebrating the horror genre each day in Daily Dialogue, so it makes sense to continue the trend with our Great Scene today — from the 1973 movie The Exorcist. Adapted for the screen by William Peter Blatty from his best-selling novel and directed
Saturday Hot Links Welcome to another installment of Saturday Hot Links! Today: The Oh My God, How We Miss Kurt Vonnegut Edition! “Always Sunny’s” Glenn Howerton is soliciting scripts on Twitter. Scientists say Earth is hotter today than it has been in 11,000 years. Netflix series spending revealed… and it’s
Written Interview: Graham Greene A 1953 Paris Review interview with Graham Greene: INTERVIEWER: Do you ever need the stimulus of drink to write? GREENE: No, on the contrary, I can only write when I am absolutely sober. INTERVIEWER: Do you find collaboration easy, in particular collaboration with directors and producers? GREENE: Well, I have
Daily Dialogue — March 9, 2013 “I am done. I don’t deserve this. I really do not deserve this. I deserve someone who gives a shit. I’m not spending one more second of this life with some inconsiderate prick. You’re a prick.” — The Break-Up (2006), screenplay by Jeremy Garelick & Jay Lavender,
Reader Question: Structure is character. Agree or disagree and why? Art asks: Structure is character. Agree or disagree and why? If by structure you mean story structure or plot, and if by character you mean the characters in a story, and if your implication is a story’s plot should arise from character, I agree 100%. However I have a
Interview (Part 5): Brad Ingelsby (2012 Black List) Brad Ingelsby is one busy writer with at least six projects in various states of development and production including Hold on to Me and Run All Night [both on the 2012 Black List] and The Raid. Plus in a nice bit of synergy for us, he sold a high-profile
In honor of National Grammar Day… …which was March 4th, here is an article by Ben Yagoda, author of How to Not Write Bad: The Most Common Writing Errors and the Best Ways to Avoid Them, that is a writer’s equivalent of the Emancipation Proclamation. Well… sort of. To wit: 7 supposed grammatical ‘rules’ you
Movie Trailer: “Much Ado About Nothing” http://movies.yahoo.com/video/much-ado-nothing-trailer-173033169.html?format=embed&player_autoplay=false William Shakespeare (play), Joss Whedon (screenplay) A modern retelling of Shakespeare’s classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words. IMDB site Release Date:
Studies in flashback: “Ordinary People” I set this discussion into motion here and here. To wit: Hollywood conventional wisdom is that voice-over narration and flashbacks are a no-no, yet some of the greatest movies ever produced use these narrative devices including Fight Club, Goodfellas, The Silence of the Lambs, and Rashomon. My conclusion:
Great Character: Catherine Tramell (“Basic Instinct”) This month’s theme: Femme fatale. Today’s guest post by Jason Cuthbert features Catherine Tramell from the 1992 movie Basic Instinct, written by Joe Eszterhas. Just how prolific is spec script super hero and Basic Instinct screenwriter Joe Eszterhas? He has had at least 17 screenplays produced and roughly
Daily Dialogue — March 8, 2013 Scarlett: Rhett, Rhett… Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do? Rhett Butler: Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. — Gone With the Wind (1939), screenplay by Sidney Howard, novel by Margaret Mitchell The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is breakup, courtesy of
The Black Board: Forum Highlights In case you missed the official launch of The Black Board earlier this week, you can go here for background. Moderator Shaula Evans sends along some forum discussions of interest. You should check them out. Business of Screenwriting Screenwriting Contest Strategy Think of your spec script as a writing sample
Interview (Part 4): Brad Ingelsby (2012 Black List) Brad Ingelsby is one busy writer with at least six projects in various states of development and production including Hold on to Me and Run All Night [both on the 2012 Black List] and The Raid. Plus in a nice bit of synergy for us, he sold a high-profile
Showrunner Rules from Jeffrey Lieber: Numbers 141–150 Jeff Lieber is a screenwriter and TV writer. His movie credits include Tuck Everlasting and he is currently an executive producer of the USA Network series “Necessary Roughness.” On Twitter (@JeffLieber), he has run a series of tweets called Showrunner Rules. For background on Jeff and this Twitter series, go
