Songwriters On Songwriting: Van Dyke Parks “I think a good melody can be evocative. It can remind you of someplace that you’ve been. And if a melody jars memory, I think it serves a great purpose.” I wrote my first song when I was 14 years old. Over the years, I’ve composed hundreds of
Script To Screen: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” As a salute to Halloween, how about a cut from the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Setup: A newly engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a call to the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Here is the movie version
Daily Dialogue — October 31, 2012 Matt Damon: Just take it from “It’s a good course.” Ben Affleck: Oh, now you’re the director. Matt Damon: Hey shove it, Bounce-boy. Let’s remember who talked who into doing this shit in the first place. Talking me into Dogma was one thing, but this… Ben
Guest Post: Planning Action Sequences [David Bishop] A remarkable phenomenon is happening. Over 100 writers are participating in the Go On Your Own Quest initiative and have signed up at the GOYOQ Forum. As Shaula Evans, one of the three site moderators [along with Debbie Moon and David Joyner] wrote to me recently: There’s a great
Funny or Die: “Miss Fortune One of the 8 writers with whom I am working in “The Quest” is Dave Bekerman. He currently has a short video he wrote and directed that is gaining some traction on FunnyOrDie. It’s called “Miss Fortune”: Two friends visit a psychic to address a mysterious ailment and don’
Spec Script Sale: “Subdivision” Universal acquires science fiction comedy spec script “Subdivision” from writers Morgan Jurgenson and Alex Ankeles. From Variety: While the logline is being kept under wraps, “Subdivision” marks the second major spec sale this year for Jurgenson and Ankeles, who sold their sci-fi script “Hyperdrive” to Paramount earlier this year.
Spec Script Sale: “Somacell” Warner Bros. acquires dystopian thriller “Somacell” from writer Ashleigh Powell. From Deadline: “Somacell” chronicles a female prison guard in the near future who discovers that the virtual reality process that rehabilitates convicts is not all it promises to be. Deal is reported to be in the mid-six figures. Powell
“You just muscle it out” Advice on writing the first draft from writer-director Darren Aronofsky. Starting Saturday, September 1, we will launch the 2018 September Zero Draft Thirty Challenge. Participants have a simple goal: Write a story from beginning to end in 30 days. Screenplay or teleplay. It’s like NaNoWriMo for screenwriting. This
Movie Trailer: “California Solo” A former Britpop rocker who now works on a farm gets caught driving drunk and faces deportation after living in Los Angeles for many years. His efforts to stay in the U.S. force him to confront the past and current demons in his life. Written by Marshall Lewy IMDB
Songwriters On Songwriting: Willie Dixon “How often do you write songs? / Well, whenever the various facts come to your mind that you think are interesting, it can do somebody some good. / Where do you get those facts? / From life. Life itself is a fact.” I wrote my first song when I was 14 years old.
Screenwriting 101: Christopher Nolan “Looking back on, say, the novels of Jim Thompson and how that’s been applied to film, for me, there’s a very strong form of characterization in the noir/thriller genre. It relates back to the historical model of character always having to be defined through action. In all
Daily Dialogue — October 30, 2012 Jay: [Bethany, Jay, and Silent Bob are sitting in a diner; the guys are staring at Bethany expectantly] So what’s up? You have a friend for Silent Bob or are you just gonna do us both? If so, I’m first. I hate sloppy seconds. Bethany: You’re a
Calling all Kevin Smith fans! This week’s Daily Dialogue theme is Kevin Smith. Thus far, only 3 suggestions. So I’m calling on all the filmmaker’s fans to step up! What are your favorite Kevin Smith pieces of dialogue? Could be a line, a bit, an exchange, a monologue. The usual drill: * Copy/
101 tips on how to be more creative From the Creativity Post. Here are some of the tips: 1. Take a walk and look for something interesting. 2. Make metaphorical-analogical connections between that something interesting and your problem. 3. Open a dictionary and find a new word. Use it in a sentence. 4. Make a connection between
“Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it” “Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.” That’s a quote from author and screenwriter Neil Gaiman. I thought it an appropriate way to kick off this week’s worth of daily posts about writing a first draft. As I suggested last
Movie Trailer: “Quartet” Yahoo! Video PlayerEdit descriptiond.yimg.com At a home for retired opera singers, the annual concert to celebrate Verdi’s birthday is disrupted by the arrival of Jean, an eternal diva and the former wife of one of the residents. Screenplay by Ronald Harwood based on his play IMDB site
“Songwriters on Songwriting”: Pete Seeger I wrote my first song when I was 14 years old. Over the years, I’ve composed hundreds of songs. It was that interest — music — that led me to take a year off from pursuing a doctorate and led me down the circuitous path that has been the rest of
On Writing “I spent my entire youth writing slowly with revisions and endless rehashing, speculation and deleting and got so I was writing one sentence a day and the sentence had no FEELING. Goddamn it, FEELING is what I like in art, not CRAFTINESS and the hiding of feelings.” — Jack Keruoac (Paris
Daily Dialogue — October 29, 2012 INT. COMIC BOOK CONVENTION LECTURE HALL — DAY HOOPER fills the frame. He comes off like a typical, pro- black/anti-white homeboy. HOOPER: For years in this industry whenever an African-American character — hero or villain — was introduced usually by white artists and writers — they got slapped with racist names
Box office and ballot boxes Here in the United States, it’s election time. Federal, state and local elections all around the country. I hope you exercise your right as American citizen and participate in the democratic process by voting this year. It’s also useful to remember that as far as Hollywood is concerned,
Dispatches from The Quest: Prep [Week 14] In Week 14, I relieved the Questers of the dispatch requirement, wanting them to focus on pounding out pages as they begin their first draft. It is optional writing from here on out, only if they feel inspired to share something and have the time as Scott did this week:
Go On Your Own Quest, Week 15: First Draft Several readers emailed me about aggregating the entire series of posts we have been running in association with the Go On Your Own Quest initiative. Here is Week 15: First Draft. “The only way out is through” “Get the damn thing done!” “One [blank] at a time” “Writing equals butt
Screenwriting Advice From The Past: What to Write and Not to Write [Part 3] 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 (October 22–28, 2012) Morgan Davis Foehl adapting videogame “Mass Effect” for Legendary Pictures. Matt Greenberg adapting Stephen King short story “Gramma” for Universal. Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler western comedy “Ridiculous 6” shifts from Sony to Paramount. Marc Lawrence sells untitled screenwriter pitch to Castle Rock. John Logan writing James Bond 24 and
Daily Dialogue — October 28, 2012 Paul: Know what you need on that? Ham, cheese and sardines. Norman: I don’t want sardines. Paul: I’ll show you Paul prepares the sandwich with cheese and sardines. Paul: I should write an article. “Macleans conquers chutes.” And you could get in the school paper I bet. Norman:
