Go Into The Story

Writing Mantra: “Writing equals butt on chair”

Or does it really? Writing equals butt on chair. I’ve seen this one attributed to Oliver Stone. A more poetic version: Writing equals derriere on chair. Fundamentally I agree with it. Then again, I don’t. Yes, at its core, the act of writing requires that we move our

The Business of Screenwriting: Hurry up and wait

The bane of a screenwriter’s existence: They want the script NOW… then they make you WAIT… and wait… and wait… We have worked on the script for months. It’s an assignment. The studio and the project’s producers have made it known emphatically since day one they want

Daily Dialogue — October 7, 2010

A customer enters a pet shop. Mr. Praline: ‘Ello, I wish to register a complaint. (The owner does not respond.) Mr. Praline: ‘Ello, Miss? Owner: What do you mean “miss”? Mr. Praline: I’m sorry, I have a cold. I wish to make a complaint! Owner: We’re closin’ for

“Notes on Craft” series at WGA: 10/14–11/18

Per THR: The Writers Guild Foundation is rolling out its “Notes On Craft” panel series, weekly beginning Oct. 14 at WGA headquarters. Dan Petrie Jr. moderates. Below is the schedule: Thursday, Oct. 14: Premise and Concept — Dan Pyne (“Fracture”) Allan Loeb (“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”), Ann Peacock (“The First

How They Write A Script: Philip Dunne

Today some words of wisdom from screenwriter Philip Dunne. A veteran of the Hollywood “studio system”, Dunne had a long and prolific screenwriting career from 1932 to 1965. Writing credits include The Count of Monte Cristo (1932), The Last of the Mohicans (1936), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), and

“Found in Translation” (Part 3)

There is a fascinating opinion piece in this Sunday’s NY Times from novelist Michael Cunningham, author of “The Hours” and a new book “By Nightfall.” Cunningham’s article is so thought-provoking that I decided to break it up into five parts so we could discuss it this week.

Screenwriting 101: Pen Densham

“Joseph Campbell’s studies of myths, legends, and religions suggested that exactly the same story components cropped up in every culture, language, and historical age. Therefore, the human animal seems to like seeing the same stories over and over again, with only slight variations of time, place, or character. (Ergo

Daily Dialogue — October 6, 2010

ARTHUR: You fight with the strength of many men, Sir knight. I am Arthur, King of the Britons. [pause] I seek the finest and the bravest knights in the land to join me in my Court of Camelot. [pause] You have proved yourself worthy; will you join me? [pause] You

Set your DVRs: “Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood”

Per RiskyBusiness [THR]: TCM’s original seven-part documentary series “Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood” will have its premiere November 1 and run for seven weeks. The series, which covers Hollywood’s history from 1890–1970, features rarely seen photographs and film footage; clips from memorable American

“Found in Translation” (Part 2)

There is a fascinating opinion piece in this Sunday’s NY Times from novelist Michael Cunningham, author of “The Hours” and a new book “By Nightfall.” Cunningham’s article is so thought-provoking that I decided to break it up into five parts so we could discuss it this week.

Writing Mantra: “Writing is rewriting”

Perhaps no more true than in relation to screenwriting. Why did the ancient Greeks and Romans use wax tablets for writing? Was it for ease of transport? Endless supply of bee’s wax? Ability to use that cool little stylus-thingee? No, primarily because of this [per Wikipedia]: The entire

Hollywood Tales

“I’m really weak when it comes to plot,” he says bluntly — a startling self-assessment from the creator of three television series. “With nothing to stop me, I’ll write pages and pages of snappy dialogue that don’t add up to anything. So I need big things to

Daily Dialogue — October 5, 2010

Mr Barnard: What do you want? Man: Well I was told outside that… Mr Barnard: Don’t give me that, you snotty faced heap of parrot droppings! Man: What? Mr Barnard: Shut your festering gob, you tit! Your type really makes me puke you vacuous, toffy-nosed, malodorous pervert! Man:

Spec Script Sale: “El Presidente”

Per TheWrap: Warner Bros. has acquired Dan Goor’s action comedy spec script “El Presidente,” the studio has confirmed to TheWrap. The story follows an overly-committed Secret Service agent who is assigned to guard the country’s worst former president, a bumbling sleaze. It’s a mundane and boring

Anatomy of a Hit Movie: “Easy A”

What makes a hit movie? One set of answers is front-and-center right now in the form of the movie Easy A. Let me break down some of the reasons why I think the movie has become a hit. First we must note that Easy A was, indeed, a

“Found in Translation” (Part 1)

There is a fascinating opinion piece in this Sunday’s NY Times from novelist Michael Cunningham, author of “The Hours” and a new book “By Nightfall.” Cunningham’s article is so thought-provoking that I decided to break it up into five parts so we could discuss it this week.

Popcorn Fiction: “Western Law” by Derek Haas

From screenwriter Derek Haas, another new piece of short fiction at his terrific website PopcornFiction: Good morning… there’s a new story up on Popcorn Fiction: a newspaper writer attempts to set the record straight regarding a famous trial in the Old West in “Western Law.” I wrote this story…

Writing Mantra: “Enter late, exit early”

Two weeks ago I posted this about one of my favorite writing mantras “Trust the process.” I received a number of emails and comments asking if I had other ones. The answer is yes, I do. Some of them practical, some of them ‘spiritual.’ Last week I posted five mantras:

On writing

“My lousy way of getting it [a script] done is better than your great way of not doing it.”  — Terry Rossio H/T to GITS reader Martin_B for sourcing the quote UPDATE: In comments Dustyn Kurt Gobler makes the point this way: “Because the worst thing you’ve written

Daily Dialogue — October 4, 2010

JAILER: Crucifixion? MAN: Yes. JAILER: Good. Out the door, line on the left, one cross each.  — Jailer (Michael Palin), The Life of Brian (1979), written by Graham Chapman & John Cleese & Terry Gilliam & Eric Idle & Terry Jones & Michael Palin This week’s Daily Dialogue theme is

Whatever happened to the characters in “The Breakfast Club”?

From Susannah Gora, author of “You couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation,” this article: It has been 25 years since “a brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel and a recluse” spent an unforgettable Saturday together in high

An exercise in writing dialogue: 24 English accents in 8 minutes

One way to distinguish characters on the page is how they speak. Here is a great example as this young Brit uses 24 English accents in 8 minutes: While writers have to be careful in tweaking words in dialogue to convey dialect — bottom line, it has to be readable — a

Profile: David Fincher, Part 1

Our friend Trevor Hogg’s latest FlickeringMyth.com profile is on director David Fincher, currently out with his new movie The Social Network. Some excerpts from Part 1: Watching a behind the scenes documentary on the making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) was a life altering experience

Weekend Box Office preliminary results

Per TheWrap: The Social Network: $23M. Under some projections ($28M), but a pretty strong opening for the $40M budgeted movie. Meanwhile: Starring Renee Zellweger as a social worker dealing with a demonic young client, Paramount Vantage’s long-warehoused “Case 39” grossed $5.4 million playing at 2,211 North

Video Interview: Stephen J. Cannell

Today we continue to honor TV writer, producer, screenwriter, and novelist Stephen J. Cannell, who died a few days ago. Cannell’s TV credits span from episodes of Ironside in 1971 to Silk Stalkings in 1999. He produced, created, or co-created 43 TV shows and wrote over 350 episodes.