Tarantino’s teases first three pages of “Kill Bill Volume 3” online It started with this QT tweet: Ya’ll ready to see the first Kill Bill 3 preview?! Say pretty fucking please, with suga on top! Then this link where you can download three pages of the script. FilmmakerIQ has more here. Comment Archive
Hollywood Tales “Steven [Spielberg] had purchased my script Continental Divide, which was very different from the film which resulted. The script had a kind of Hawksian speed, momentum, hopefully with about it. I don’t think the film turned out that way, which was one of those painful experiences I had early
83rd annual Academy Award nominations announced Per THR: BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY ANOTHER YEAR, Mike Leigh (Sony Pictures Classics) THE FIGHTER, Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson, Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson (Paramount Pictures) INCEPTION, Christopher Nolan (Warner Bros Pictures) THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
Sundance Report: Day 5 Day 5 minute by minute of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival per IndieWire. Comment Archive
Daily Dialogue — January 25, 2011 Dr. Rosen: He’s found someone new. You’re free. Closure! Aaron: Yes Annie: I’m sorry, but that isn’t what this is. Dr. Rosen: Annie, you’re not helping us out here. Now I’m sorry. Annie: So am I! Very sorry I ever met you. Sorry I
How They Write A Script: Diablo Cody If there’s a modern day ‘talisman’ for anybody who dreams of breaking into Hollywood as a screenwriter, that would have to be Diablo Cody who’s gone from stripper-phone sex operator-blogger to Academy Award winning screenwriter in a head-spinning whirl, all because of a spec script
Kevin Smith to distribute “Red State” himself Kevin Smith continues to do things his way. Per THR: Kevin Smith plans to release his new horror movie Red State himself, the writer-director declared at the film’s first public screening at the Eccles Theatre on Sunday night. Smith had suggested for weeks that he would hold an
It’s January Spec Script Bonanza At The Broadcast Networks Interesting times in the broadcast network TV front: “Got any specs?” has become a popular refrain around Hollywood these days as pilot spec scripts are thriving in a very unusual network executive environment — new top programmers at two of the major broadcast networks, NBC and ABC. With Paul Lee joining
Popcorn Fiction: “Bones in a City Graveyard” by Sheldon Woodbury Each Monday, another short story posts at the site PopcornFiction.com, hosted by screewriter Derek Haas. Today story is called “Bones in a City Graveyard”: All right, crime fans…get ready for a shot of pulp fiction. A former beauty who moved to Manhattan to be famous believes her present
The Bitter Script Reader analyzes “Black Swan” The always excellent TheBitterScriptReader is running a series this week analyzing the movie Black Swan, paying particular attention to changes that were made from script to screen. Today he looks at the character Lily. An excerpt: Oscar nominations are coming out later this week, and as it happens I long
Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Apologies It’s apologies as suggested by Jason. It occurs to me it’s almost inevitable in a script, someone at some point must apologize to someone else. How best to write those? Do you go on the nose and direct? Or off the nose and indirect? Do you deliver it
Genre talk: Trying to be all things to all people I received this email from Jeff Messerman: It is interesting as it brings up the question can a movie be all things to all people. Certainly easy to understand a studio’s thinking: The more people we target, the wider the potential audience. But there’s the risk the movie
The first to see films: film festival gatekeepers How does this gig sound: It sounded like a dream job: plop down on a couch, throw some popcorn in the microwave and spend your days watching movies. That’s what Christine Davila thought, anyway. The 32-year-old Los Angeles resident had spent years toiling as an assistant to
Video Interview: Ray Bradbury (“The Illustrated Man”) This is pretty cool: A video interview excerpt from decades ago with writer Ray Bradbury talking about the movie Illustrated Man: A quote from the interview: We save up a tension for tears. So I as a writer come along and try to help you to cry. We save up
Daily Dialogue — January 23, 2011 Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: But it ain’t all buttons and charts, little albatross. You know what the first rule of flying is? Well, I suppose you do, since you already know what I’m about to say. River Tam: I do. But I like to hear you say it. Capt.
Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Apologies I was leaning toward another theme when Jason threw down a comment at the last minute: “The Desperate Apology” That’s a good one, I think. It occurs to me it’s almost inevitable in a script, someone at some point must apologize to someone else. How best to write
On Writing: “Look for magic, but do good work” Tom Benedek and I have got an incredible inaugural group of writers currently taking an array of classes with us at Screenwriting Master Class, a great balance of creative types outside the industry as well as many who work in some aspect of the entertainment business. A writer in one
Saturday Hot Links Another installment of Saturday Hot Links! This week vegan style! We start with Ricky Gervais acting as host of this year’s Golden Globe Awards and he just eviscerates Hollywood: Here are the top 10 Ricky Gervais zingers of the night. And if that’s not enough, here are 13
Teaser Trailer: “Red State” A horror film in which a group of misfits encounter fundamentalism gone to the extreme in Middle America. Are you interested to see it? Comment Archive
Written Interview: Sofia Coppola (“Somewhere”) Today’s written interview is with screenwriter-director Sofia Coppola. Her writing credits include The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, and Marie Antoinette. Her latest movie is Somewhere. The interview is part of The Craft series on WGA.org: Loneliness and luxury are elements for which Sofia Coppola has a
Daily Dialogue — January 22, 2011 Slartibartfast: Perhaps I’m old and tired, but I think that the chances of finding out what’s actually going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to say, “Hang the sense of it,” and keep yourself busy. I’d much rather be happy than
How They Write A Script: Anna Hamilton Phelan Anna Hamilton Phelan has been a working screenwriter since 1985 with numerous writing credits including Mask (1985), Gorillas in the Mist: The Dian Fossey Story (1988), and Girl, Interrupted (1999). These excerpts are taken from a wonderful book called “The New Screenwriter Looks at the New Screenwriter,” by William Froug,
Is the seriocomedy in danger of extinction? The ‘seriocomedy’ sub-genre happens to be one of my favorite including movies like The Apartment, Risky Business, As Good As It Gets, Almost Famous, American Beauty and Up in the Air. Is it in “danger of extinction”? Per 24 Frames: Some may be inclined to read the soft results
Update: Spec Script Sale (2010): “Goliath” After posting this 2010 Spec Script Sales list earlier today, I received a nice email from Patrick McKay (“love the site”) giving me a heads-up that I had missed the sale of “Goliath,” a spec he and his writing partner JD Payne sold to Relativity Media back in July.
