“Roger Ebert presents At The Movies” Per Cinematical, this is terrific news: When it was time to erase the mess that was Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz in At the Movies, Michael Phillips and A.O. Scott were brought on as replacements. While it was, indeed, a better critical mix, it was once again two white
Scorcese’s favorite gangster movies This is interesting: Before his epic new HBO series Boardwalk Empire premieres, director Martin Scorsese revisits the gangster films most influential on his career. Watch classic scenes from his picks. Scorcese intros it this way: Here are 15 gangster pictures that had a profound effect on me and the way
Dennis Potter’s last interview, Part 5 This week each day at noon EDT (U.S.), we’ll be featuring a segment from the last interview given by the late great writer Dennis Potter. His TV credits are remarkable including one of the greatest limited run series of all time “The Singing Detective”. Other credits include numerous
Great Scene: “There Will Be Blood” The last scene of There Will Be Blood is one of the most gut-wrenching, memorable finales in recent film history. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the scene features just two characters: Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Eil Sunday (Paul Dano). We pick up the action about
Daily Dialogue — September 10, 2010 “Get away from her you bitch.” — Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Aliens (1986), screenplay by James Cameron, story by James Cameron and David Giler & Walter Hill, characters by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett The Daily Dialogue theme of the week is catch phrases. Aliens suggested by ltheory. Trivia: Having hired
“Toronto 2010: A high-profile festival looks for some sleepers” Steve Zeitchik (24 Frames) has this article noting six movies that could be sleeper hits at the Toronto Film Festival: “Ceremony” — Last year’s “(500) Days of Summer” referenced “The Graduate;” this romantic comedy pays homage to it. In Max WInkler’s new film, a 20-something man is thrown
“Dexter” returns September 26th! Per TheWrap, less than 3 weeks until “Dexter” returns: Season four ended on a high note with a surprise ending that left the vigilante murderer and forensic investigator Dexter Morgan (played by Michael C. Hall) shattered — and perhaps seeking revenge. The season’s storyline, which featured Dexter playing a twisted
How They Write a Script: Ted Tally (“The Silence of the Lambs”) Ted Tally is yet another screenwriter who started out as a playwright. His film credits include White Palace (1990), The Juror (1996), All the Pretty Horses (2000), and Red Dragon (2002). Tally received the WGA and Academy awards for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for his
Dennis Potter’s last interview, Part 4 This week each day at noon EDT (U.S.), we’ll be featuring a segment from the last interview given by the late great writer Dennis Potter. His TV credits are remarkable including one of the greatest limited run series of all time “The Singing Detective”. Other credits include numerous
The Business of Screenwritng: I can do that! A writer rises to meet the challenge of any story. It’s 1986. About 12:30AM. At Charlie’s nightclub in Ventura, California where I’ve just finished performing my comedy act. As I’m packing up my gear, I get into a conversation with Steve, one of the club
Daily Dialogue — September 9, 2010 “I’ll be back.” — The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), The Terminator (1984), written by James Cameron & Gale Anne Hurd, based on “Outer Limits” episodes by Harlan Ellison The Daily Dialogue theme this week is catch phrases. The Terminator suggested by Joshua James. Trivia: The initial draft for the movie was
“6 Things Movie Characters Always Seem to Forget” This is pretty funny from Cracked: The one thing you always have to remember about characters in a movie is that they don’t know they’re characters in a movie. But sometimes they seem to forget things from one episode or scene to the next that makes us think
4 areas to focus writing spect scripts Last weekend, I reviewed spec script sales for the last three years. I read through some analysis about the indie film world. And I do what I’ve done for two decades: Determine where I think the best opportunities are for writing an original spec screenplay. Here are four areas:
Dennis Potter’s last interview, Part 3 This week each day at noon EDT (U.S.), we’ll be featuring a segment from the last interview given by the late great writer Dennis Potter. His TV credits are remarkable including one of the greatest limited run series of all time “The Singing Detective”. Other credits include numerous
Screenwriting 101: Lisa Cholodenko (“Laurel Canyon”) “I think the most important thing I learned [from editing] is that you start with this huge bear of a film which really has no pacing or no point in a way, because you’re just pacing all the footage together. And that, I discovered later, is almost identical to
Daily Dialogue — September 8, 2010 “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” — Multiple times in Star Wars movies The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is catch phrases. Star Wars suggested by James. Trivia: At one point, George Lucas planned for the characters of Luke Skywalker and his aunt and uncle, to be dwarves.
Profile: Steven Spielberg (Part 2) Our friend Trevor Hogg is back at FlickeringMyth with another profile, this one on Steven Spielberg. Here is an excerpt from Part 2: With the theme of his TV thriller Duel in mind, Spielberg shifted the roadside action to a waterside resort town for his next picture. “What really attracted
The state of indie films (cont’d) The other day I posted this, citing Steve Zeitchik (24 Frames): The offbeat family dramedy “The Kids Are All Right” comes closest to earning the crossover crown — it’s grossed just over $19 million since being released in early July. For a $5-million acquisition of worldwide rights out of
Dennis Potter’s last interview, Part 2 This week each day at noon EDT (U.S.), we’ll be featuring a segment from the last interview given by the late great writer Dennis Potter. His TV credits are remarkable including one of the greatest limited run series of all time “The Singing Detective”. Other credits include numerous
Hollywood Tale Peter Jackson had been developing Lord of the Rings at Miramax when one day he was called into a meeting where they informed him they wanted to make it as one movie (Jackson had a treatment envisioning it as two films). Jackson was shocked and even more so when they
Daily Dialogue — September 7, 2010 “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” Don Corleone (Marlin Brando), The Godfather (1972), screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola based on the Puzo’s novel The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is catch phrases. The Godfather suggested by Annika W. Trivia: The
Telluride Film Festival (cont’d) Danny Boyle showed up for a surprise screening of his latest movie (he co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Beaufoy, based on the book by Aron Ralston). The story synopsis: A mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in
“Lessons of the Summer Box Office” Since summer typically generates 40% or more of overall domestic theatrical box office, you can bet that there will be a ton of analysis coming down the pike re summer 2010. Here is an initial one from the NYT: LOS ANGELES — Christopher Nolan proved there is always room at the
“The labyrinth of Inception” H/T to Josh James for finding this. A wonderful analysis of Inception from a Jungian perspective courtesy of MindHacks. Some extensive excerpts: But for those familiar with the theories of Carl Jung, the psychoanalyst and dissenter from Freud’s circle, the film is rich with both implicit and explicit
Dennis Potter’s last interview, Part 1 This week each day at noon EDT (U.S.), we’ll be featuring a segment from the last interview given by the late great writer Dennis Potter. His TV credits are remarkable including one of the best limited run series of all time “The Singing Detective”. Other credits include numerous
