Vairety’s review of “Black Swan” SPOILER ALERT: For anyone who does not want to know about Black Swan in advance of its opening, don’t read further. First review is in here [subscription required]. And it’s a strong one: A wicked, sexy and ultimately devastating study of a young dancer’s all-consuming ambition,
Daily Dialogue — September 1, 2010 Alvy Singer: [the man behind him in line is talking loudly] What I wouldn’t give for a large sock with horse manure in it! Alvy Singer: [to audience] Whaddya do when you get stuck in a movie line with a guy like this behind you? Man in Theater Line:
Top 20 indie movies in the 2000s Thought this was worth discussing. The top 20 list of indie movies per their box office performance. List compiled by IndieWire: Top Grossing Independent Films of the 2000s 1. The Passion of the Christ, 2004 (Newmarket) $370,274,604 2. My Big Fat Greek Wedding, 2003 (IFC Films) $241,438,
How They Write A Script: Billy Wilder What can I say? Billy Wilder is my favorite director. Why? Because at his core, he was a writer. For Wilder, it was all about the story. And finally because he made so many great movies: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Stalag 17 (1953), Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
NPR & Storytelling, Part 2: The Story Here in the United States, National Public Radio broadcasts several great series that feature stories and storytelling, and as such are an excellent resource for writers. Each day this week, I’ll look at a different series that is aired on NPR. Today: The Story (produced at North Carolina Public
Hollywood Tales “Virginia. 1990. I’m thirty-five years old, married with two very young kids. No one’s asking, but I get an idea for a love story where the two main characters don’t even meet until the very last scene — but that when they do, it’s on top
Daily Dialogue — August 31, 2010 “What a pisser.” — Ted Striker (Robert Hays), Airplane! (1980), written for the screen by Jim Abrahams & David Zucker & Jerry Zucker The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is character’s breaking the 4th wall, suggested by Joshua James. Trivia: To get inspiration for the ZAZ Kentucky Fried Theatre
Update: “Awesome Infographic: Music Metaphors, Simplified” It all started back in June with this: From FlavorWire: I asked for suggestions. I got some. So the list grew: Ben said… Desert: Horse with no name chuck said… Out of here: fast car Mike Dachuk said… Your Door — The Long and Winding Road danielt3 said… Just “Leaving” — On
SciptChat live event this Sunday (September 5) As a reminder, you’re all invited to a live chat event this Sunday, Sept. 5 to discuss the script Dune with the Scriptchat folks. Sunday, EURO chat 8pm GMT & USA chat 8pm EDT Why Dune? Because someone posited the idea that it might be an interesting exercise to
NPR & Storytelling, Part 1: This American Life Here in the United States, National Public Radio broadcasts several great series that feature stories and storytelling, and as such are an excellent resource for writers. Each day this week, I’ll look at a different series that is aired on NPR. Today: This American Life (a co-production of
On Writing “Don’t worry about people stealing an idea. If it’s original, you will have to ram it down their throats.” — Howard Aiken
Popcorn Fiction: “Willie the Kid” From screenwriter Derek Haas and his short fiction website Popcorn Fiction: For all the readers who have been asking for more crime fiction, this week’s story is “Willie the Kid” written by veteran TV scribe Larry Moskowitz. The hardboiled story has an interesting protagonist: a librarian who looks for
Daily Dialogue — August 30, 2010 Henry Hill: [narrating] Anything I wanted was a phone call away. Free cars. The keys to a dozen hideout flats all over the city. I bet twenty, thirty grand over a weekend and then I’d either blow the winnings in a week or go to the sharks to pay
Emmy writing awards Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Winner: “Mad Men” (2007) — Matthew Weiner, Erin Levy (“Shut The Door. Have A Seat.”) Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Winner: “Modern Family” (2009) — Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd (“Pilot”) Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special Winner: You Don’t Know
Reader Question: What’s the deal with so many spelling and format mistakes in shooting scripts? A question from Ken: Hi Scott, As an outsider to the industry, I have to say that I have been shocked by the frequent spelling mistakes and formatting issues in the “40 days” scripts. For example, in the script for “The Usual Suspects”, the last page has “leaks like VERBAL
“‘Empire Strikes Back’ gets the silent treatment” Per Geoff Boucher at the LAT’s blog Hero Complex: It’s the 30th anniversary of “The Empire Strikes Back,” and what better way to look back on that dark pinnacle of the “Star Wars” franchise than in mute admiration… Which is your favorite Star Wars movie? I’d have
“D.I.Y. Music Labels Embrace D.I.Y. Film” An interesting article last Sunday in the NYT about yet another emerging approach to distributing indie films: Here are some excerpts: ON a midsummer night a few dozen people, many in glasses and with messenger bags, gathered at Zebulon, a bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to watch a new low-budget
Video Interview: Francois Truffaut After the wonderful written interview posted here yesterday with noted writer-director Francois Truffaut, a series of videos featuring him. Part 1 — On his early films Part 2 — On preparing for a film Part 3 — On something he learned from Alfred Hitchcock Part 4 — More on Alfred Hitchcock AFI Lifetime
Daily Dialogue — August 29, 2010 “Aha. Look what I’ve created. I have made fire!” — Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), Cast Away (2000), written by William Broyles Jr. The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is character talking aloud to themselves, suggested by Greg Colburn. Trivia: Actual lines of dialogue were written for Wilson the Volleyball,
Reader Question: How to handle a shooting script with post-production issues? A question from Patrick: Hello Scott! I have a question about the seemingly paradoxical task of writing a screenplay while it’s in post production. I am currently working on a low-budget film that’s been shot and in post-production for some time now. There are numerous scenes
“A third way to break into screenwriting” An email from GITS reader Todd Wallinger: Hey Scott, Love the blog. Don’t know how you find the time to keep it going, but it is appreciated. I thought your readers might like to know there’s another way to break into screenwriting besides the traditional methods of sending
Profile: Stephen Spielberg (Part 1) Our friend Trevor Hogg is back at FlickeringMyth with another profile, this one on Steven Spielberg. Here is an excerpt from Part 1: Steven Spielberg“My childhood was bad and it was good. It was chaotic; it was noisy; it was real loud. I have a big family, with three
Written Interview: Francois Truffaut Today is a real treat: The last interview given by Francois Truffaut before his untimely death of a brain tumor in 1983. Truffaut’s movie credits include Les quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows — 1959), À bout de souffle (Breathless — 1960), Tirez sur le pianiste (Shoot the Piano Player — 1960)
Daily Dialogue — August 28, 2010 Ace Ventura: What the… That’s it! Einhorn is Finkle! Finkle is Einhorn! Einhorn is a man! [Ace remembers how Einhorn kissed him and the pieces fall into place] Ace Ventura: Oh, my GOD! Einhorn is a man! — Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey), Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), screenplay by Jack
Spec Script Market Scorecard (through August 15th) Jason Scoggins is back with another Spec Script Market Scorecard. Here’s a worthy quote: Which leads me to my other minor observation: The spec market may be moribund, but good writing can still move the needle. APA and Circle of Confusion took out Max Landis? thriller spec “Chronicle” at
