Screenwriting 101: Gerald DiPego “Before this interview, I thought I would do a little homework. I made a column of original screenplays called ‘Sold and Produced,’ and I have three of those. ‘Sold but Not Produced’: I have six of those. ‘Not Sold or Produced’: I have nine. I was a little surprised. I
Daily Dialogue — February 28, 2012 Brian Gamble: That woman is alive because of what we did. Capt. Thomas Fuller: Yeah, alive and sueing the city for millions. The Chief said that this preceinct is gonna pay for this one, too and it sure as hell it isn’t gonna be me. Brian Gamble: C’mon
Trailer: “H+” Watch this trailer: Looks like an awesome movie, doesn’t it? But it’s not a movie. Okay, a fantastic TV show. Not a TV show either. What is it? It’s a web series. And by the looks of it, the most audacious one yet. I started tracking scripted
Regret as a story theme If you are looking for a point of emotional resonance with an original story, try these top five regrets of the dying. Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She recorded their
GITS Q&A, Part 1: Mary Coleman (Pixar) If you have spent any significant amount of time on this blog, you know that I am pretty well obsessed with Pixar [just do a Google search of the site and you will find dozens of posts about the company and their movies]. In terms of both commercial and critical
GITS Script Reading and Analysis Series: “Up In The Air” Welcome to Week 16 of the GITS Script Reading & Analysis series. This week we will be analyzing the screenplay for Up In The Air (screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, based on a novel by Walter Kirn). You can access the 8/19/08 draft here. Let’s
On Writing “The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.” — Maya Angelou For 100s more On Writing posts, go here. The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytelling is a 5-star rated,
Daily Dialogue — February 27, 2012 Otto and Kevin, in the supermarket, facing cans of generic yellow cling sliced peaches. KEVIN Do Do Do De Do De Do De Do De Do Feeling Do De Da Do De Do De Do Feeling seven-up. I’m feeling seven-up. Feeling seven up. I’m feeling seven
Academy Awards schedule Here is the supposed telecast schedule for the 84th Academy Awards. All times Pacific: 5:30pm: Show starts, Billy Crystal’s opening number. 5:40: 1st award — Cinematography. 5:43: Art Direction. 5:52: Costume Design. 5:54: Makeup. 6:03: Foreign Language Film. 6:07: Supporting Actress. 6:20:
2012 Razzies Meanwhile on the other end of the award spectrum, Adam Sandler makes history by nabbing 11 Razzie nominations for the trifecta of movies this year: Bucky Larson, Jack and Jill and Just Go With It. For more, here is an LAT article. And the official Razzie nomination list. Somehow I
Jean-Luc Godard films the Rolling Stones (1968) Read on: Sympathy for the Devil is also the title of a producer’s edit of a 1968 film by Jean-Luc Godard whose own original version is called One Plus One. The film, a depiction of the late 1960s American counterculture, also featured the Rolling Stones in the process
Andy Warhol interviews Alfred Hitchcock How about Andy Warhol interviewing Alfred Hitchcock? An excerpt: Andy Warhol: Since you know all these cases, did you ever figure out why people really murder? It’s always bothered me. Why. Alfred Hitchcock: Well I’ll tell you. Years ago, it was economic, really. Especially in England. First of
Peter Bogdanovich interviews Alfred Hitchcock On the day we celebrate movies in the bizarre way we do in the States via the Academy Awards, it’s only fitting that we pull out two interviews with one of the great film writer and directors Alfred Hitchcock. Writer, you say? Oh, you didn’t know Hitchcock started
Screenwriting News For the week of 2/20–2/26: The Descendants wins the 24th annual USC Libraries Scripter Award. Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The 2012 WGA Award winners are Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris [Best Original
Video Interview: Ring Lardner Jr. Extensive interviews with veteran screenwriter and TV writer Ring Lardner Jr. (1915–2000) whose writing credits include Woman of the Year, Laura and MASH. Part 1 More below. Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Daily Dialogue — February 26, 2012 “Gentlemen and fellow citizens. I suspect y’all know who I am. My name is Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by many friends to become a candidate for the legislature. My politics are short and sweet, like the old woman’s dance. I’m in favor of a national
Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Getting fired! As we wind up our week with American presidents [thanks, Phil, for the suggestion], starting Monday it’s a week’s worth of Daily Dialogue posts focusing on getting fired, suggested by lizswan. Oh, I can think of several cinematic severance moments. How about you? The usual drill: * Copy/paste
“Wishing you would have made the time to follow your heart…” Last week’s The Business of Screenwriting post — Flavor-Of-The-Week — sparked some interesting comments. I want to feature one of them here for reasons that will become apparent when you read it. From GITS reader The Bark Bites Back: My real world came crashing down in 2009. Lost
Movie Clip: “John Carter” From Academy Award® — winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes “John Carter” — a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). “John Carter” is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present.
Saturday Hot Links Back for another installment of Saturday Hot Links! Today: The Screenwriter Award Acceptance Speech Edition First the 2012 WGA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Descendants: This is what it’s like to be a first-time Oscar nominee. Here are the 11 worst reveiwed movies on Rotten Tomatoes
Written Interview: Terence Winter (“Boardwalk Empire”) Today’s interview is with Terence Winter, creator and executive producer of the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire” and appears in the Huffington Post. An excerpt: I’ve read that seeing Scorsese’s Taxi Driver was a turning point in your life. How so? The minute I saw it, I knew
Daily Dialogue — February 25, 2012 “I’m in the driver’s seat. I run the show. I’m the fuckin’ President.” — The President (Richard Belzer), The Groove Tube (1974), written by Lane Sarasohn and Ken Shapiro The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is American presidents, suggested by Phil. Today’s suggestion by Jeffrey. Trivia:
The 1st Annual GITS Academy Awards Live-Blogging Event! Starting at 7PM Eastern, Sunday, February 26, I will be here. Not literally in this post. That would be very cramped and rather freaky being surrounded by all these letters in whatever font this is. No, by ‘here,’ I mean here… on the blog. That’s not right either because
GITS Script Reading & Analysis, Week 16: “Up In The Air” In our ongoing monthly script analysis series, the next screenplay we will reading is for the 2009 movie Up in the Air [suggested by Ah!]. Credits: “Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, based on a novel by Walter Krim.” Awards: Academy Award, Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay; Golden Globe, Best
Update: Marc Maurino You may remember screenwriter Marc Maurino who sold a spec script last year called “Inside the Machine”: The story centers on an undercover ATF agent who infiltrates a vicious cartel and is seduced by the power and violence he finds there. “Inside The Machine is about a man struggling to
