Spec Script Sale: “Action №1” Lionsgate buys action comedy spec script “Action №1” from writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon. From THR: The story of how Nicolas Cage lost his rare comic book featuring the first appearance of Superman may finally be told. At least Hollywood’s version of it. — — The story revolves around
Scene Description Spotlight: “Alien” Since we featured Wall-E last week, and co-screenwriter Andrew Stanton acknowledged his inspiration for the ‘haiku style’ approach he took to scene description from reading the script to Alien, I figured we should take a look at what Walter Hill and David Giler did with their final draft.
Screenwriter’s Roundtable, Part 5: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Jeremiah Friedman, Nick Palmer, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam A special treat this week on GITS as each day I will be posting excerpts from a screenwriter’s roundtable I did with some of the best and hottest young screenwriters in Hollywood: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam and the writing duo Jeremiah Friedman
Great Character: The Little Girl in Red (“Schindler’s List”) She doesn’t have one word of dialogue in the movie, yet this is one of the most important characters in the movie Schindler’s List (1993) [screenplay by Steve Zaillian, based on the book by Thomas Keneally]: The Little Girl in Red. Up to this point in the movie,
Daily Dialogue — March 9, 2012 Alicia: [in bed, hung-over] I’m no stool-pigeon, Mr. Devlin. Devlin: My department authorized me to engage you to do some work for us. There’s a job in Brazil… Alicia: Oh, go away. The whole thing bores me. Devlin: Some of the German gentry who are paying
“Definitive List of Cliched Dialogue” The Definitive List of Cliché Dialogue This thing has a life of its own, I swear. It’s one of the most popular pages on my blog and every so often, I’m reminded to pull it out to update with your suggestions. I have copied and pasted the entire
Spec Script Sale: “Tape 4” In launching new low-budget genre initiative, Warner Bros. acquires horror spec script “Tape 4” from writer Jeremy Slater. From Deadline: Incorporates Lovecraftian mythology into a modern setting. And so the bifurcation of Hollywood major studios continues: Huge big budget franchise movies on the one hand, low-budget franchise movies
Ira Glass on storytelling I’ve featured these videos “Ira Glass on storytelling” before: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Here’s a nice tribute to Glass from a fan, excerpting a piece of audio from the above clips, then highlighting the text: How many of you listen to “This American Life”
Scene Description Spotlight: “Wall-e” Today we look at an entirely distinct way to approach scene description in the screenplay for Wall-E. I have discussed the writing style of this Pixar film before: here, here, and here. On the subject of scene description, here’s a money quote from co-screenwriter and director Andrew
Screenwriter’s Roundtable, Part 4: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Jeremiah Friedman, Nick Palmer, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam A special treat this week on GITS as each day I will be posting excerpts from a screenwriter’s roundtable I did with some of the best and hottest young screenwriters in Hollywood: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam and the writing duo Jeremiah Friedman
The Business of Screenwriting: When you don’t get the gig We are seated in the expansive office of a top Hollywood director and we are having a great time. I mean a really great time. We talk about the business, his movies, our movies, sports, politics. We laugh, he laughs. It is as close to a love-fest as there
Daily Dialogue — March 8, 2012 Father Gabriel: I see a man running away, a man hiding from the world. I see a coward. Rodrigo: There is nothing else. Father Gabriel: There is life. Rodrigo: There is no life. Father Gabriel: There is a way out, Mendoza. Rodrigo: For me, there is no redemption. Father Gabriel:
Black List word clouds Awhile back Franklin sent me this article from The Telegraph which did a word cloud of the 2011 Black List synopses: It is a predictable lesson in oedipal clichés and unchanging themes. Right at the centre, the most common word used in these film script plot lines is: “FATHER” which
On editing a script In the recent “Handling Exposition” class I taught, we had a great group and some outstanding discussions about a multitude of subjects. One area of significant focus was editing. Here is my response in one of the threads: It’s amazing how many pages lie there in almost any early
Movie Trailer: “The Cabin in the Woods” Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard IMDB site Release date: April 13, 2012 Comment Archive
Scene Description Spotlight: “Unforgiven” I remember reading the script to Unforgiven (1992) and being struck by two things: It was a clean read and it was a compelling read. This scene, which takes place in Act Three, is a great example of both. VIEW on Little Bill in the crowded bar and he is
Screenwriter’s Roundtable, Part 3: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Jeremiah Friedman, Nick Palmer, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam A special treat this week on GITS as each day I will be posting excerpts from a screenwriter’s roundtable I did with some of the best and hottest young screenwriters in Hollywood: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam and the writing duo Jeremiah Friedman
Script To Screen: “Ghostbusters” The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man scene. From the 1984 movie Ghostbusters, written by Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis, the Final Struggle. Setup: Gozer commands the three Ghostbusters to choose their form of destruction and despite trying to keep their minds blank, Stantz has a brain fart, resulting in this: Here
Daily Dialogue — March 7, 2012 Bryant: Hiya, Deck. Deckard: Bryant. Bryant: You wouldn’t have come if I just asked you to. Sit down, pal. C’mon, don’t be an asshole, Deckard. I’ve got four skin jobs walking the streets. They jumped a shuttle off world killed the crew and passengers. They found
What questions would you ask a professional writer? As you may have noticed, I have been doing a lot of interviews with screenwriters and people involved in the movie business. Just this year, GITS has featured interviews with: * Screenwriter Marc Maurino who sold the spec script “Inside the Machine” * Screenwriter Stan Chervin nominated for an Academy Award for
Tom Benedek, “Peloponnesia” A special invitation to celebrate the publication of my friend Tom Benedek’s novel “Peloponnesia”: Dear Friends: My novel, Peloponnesia, is available now at an independent book store near you, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Bn.com, Kindle. ITunes, etc. There will be readings from the book by Lisa Jane
Behind The Curtain: What do managers look for in a potential client’s spec script? Another in a new GITS series called “Behind The Curtain.” It arises from an inspiration Franklin Leonard had — you can read about it here: Basically if you have questions about specific aspects of how the film or TV business works, you can post them here, then Franklin will find experts
Movie Trailer: “Now Is Good” Yahoo! Video PlayerEdit descriptiond.yimg.com Ol Parker (screenplay), Jenny Downham (book) IMDB site
Scene Description Spotlight: “The Shawshank Redemption: Here is the opening sequence in The Shawshank Redemption, screenplay adaptation by Frank Darabont from a novella by Stephen King. Note the contrast in scene description, pivoting from a MAN and WOMAN having steamy sex, and the drunken, but calculating moves of ANDY DUFRESNE: 1 INT — CABIN — NIGHT (1946) A
Screenwriter’s Roundtable, Part 2: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Jeremiah Friedman, Nick Palmer, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam A special treat this week on GITS as each day I will be posting excerpts from a screenwriter’s roundtable I did with some of the best and hottest young screenwriters in Hollywood: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam and the writing duo Jeremiah Friedman
