Guest Post: Richard Walter I recently finished “Essentials of Screenwriting”, the newest book from Richard Walter, longtime screenwriter, screenwriting teacher, and chairman of UCLA’s graduate screenwriting program. The book is a worthy addition to the ongoing literary conversation about the craft. So when the opportunity arose for Richard to do a guest post,
Scene Description Spotlight: “King Kong” (1933) I thought this would be fun: Take a scene from the script to the original King Kong (screenplay by James Ashmore Creelman and Ruth Rose, based on an idea by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace) and rewrite it per a more contemporary approach to style. This is the famous
Daily Dialogue — July 15, 2010 Matty: My temperature runs a couple of degrees high, around a hundred. I don’t mind. It’s the engine or something. Ned: Maybe you need a tune up. Matty: Don’t tell me. You have just the right tool. Matty (Kathleen Turner), Ned (William Hurt), Body Heat (1981), written
Reader Question: How important is it for writers to analyze screenplays? Reader Question: How important is it for writers to read screenplays? There is a certain kind of understanding of the craft which a writer can ONLY get by reading and analyzing scripts. A question from Maurice Vaughan: I’ve been following your blog for a while now. Not sure if
“COMIC-CON 2010: ‘Scott Pilgrim’ and its music will be major backbeat in San Diego” Nice background piece on Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on the LA Times’ movie blog “Hero Complex” from guest writer Todd Martens: One doesn’t have to get far into Bryan Lee O’Malley’s six-part “Scott Pilgrim” series to realize some of the inherent challenges in bringing the
Pitch Sale: “Untitled Ryan Murphy Rom-Com” Per Deadline: Their first picture together, Eat Pray Love, based on the Elizabeth Gilbert bestseller, isn’t in theaters this summer until August 13th so Sony Pictures doesn’t know how it will fare yet. Nevertheless, the studio just made one of the year’s biggest pitch deals, paying Glee
Screenwriting 101 — Jeffrey Boam “Ultimately, plot is of little importance, more of a mechanical contrivance against which characters come to life. Plot tries to engage intellectually but that’s not how an audience responds… Critics have said that Lethal Weaponis brainless, but that’s not the point. I try to bypass the brain and
Daily Dialogue — July 14, 2010 Phyllis: Mr. Neff, why don’t you drop by tomorrow evening about eight-thirty. He’ll be in then. Walter Neff: Who? Phyllis: My husband. You were anxious to talk to him weren’t you? Walter Neff: Yeah, I was, but I’m sort of getting over the idea, if
Billy Mernit’s “Living the Romantic Comedy” on “semi-hiatus”! Billy just celebrated his blog’s 5th anniversary, but the event is tinged with some rather dispiriting news for his fans: Living the RomCom is going on a long semi-hiatus. Meaning: Although I’ll be checking in to answer comments, when/if they appear, and compulsively keeping the sidebar
Reader Question: What are the biggest craft and attitude issues holding writers back? A question from Lucy V: What do you feel is the biggest a) craft issue and b) way of thinking that holds writers back? There are so many challenges to writing a screenplay and I could mention several “issues” I see arising too often in the scripts I read and/
Great new “The Social Network” trailer Clever new trailer for The Social Network, a movie about the founders of Facebook: The trailer only uses dialogue within a Facebook frame. Cool nod to the movie’s screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, whose script is adapted from a novel by Ben Mezrich. Nice tagline: “You don’t get to 500
Q&A with editor Thomas R. Moore (Part 2) I’m always pleased to hear from professionals who work in the movie and TV business who follow GITS. Recently I exchanged some emails with Thomas R. Moore, who is a producer, editor, and director. Tom received two Emmy nominations for single camera editing, winning for the hour drama, “Northern
Balancing the “personal” and everything else when writing a script The other day in response to this post, several solid comments from GITS readers: The Unknown Lyricist (“If it doesn’t matter to you, why write it?”), What (“film is a lot more dynamic than we give it credit for”), and Alex who’s been reading scripts for a film
Hollywood Tales “I drove to Hollywood when I was 35 to become a screenwriter. Directing theater in college made me want to write stories myself. I gave myself five years and worked really hard, writing 14 specs before I got hired for Colors.” — Michael Schiffer From “The 101 Habits of Highly successful
Daily Dialogue — July 13, 2010 Dick Tracy: No grief for Lips? Breathless Mahoney: I’m wearing black underwear. Dick Tracy: You know, it’s legal for me to take you down to the station and sweat it out of you under the lights. Breathless Mahoney: I sweat a lot better in the dark. Dick Tracy
Reader Question: How do you go about writing an adaptation or a remake? Reader Question: How do you go about writing a remake? Should you really write a spec based on a preexisting Hollywood movie? A reader question from Brian: How do you go about writing an adaptation or a remake, especially if it’s purely spec? Do you write it then hope
Q&A with editor Thomas R. Moore (Part 1) I’m always pleased to hear from professionals who work in the movie and TV business who follow GITS. Recently I exchanged some emails with Thomas R. Moore, who is a producer, editor, and director. Tom received two Emmy nominations for single camera editing, winning for the hour drama, “Northern
“The Serious Side of ‘Gilligan’s Island’”… and Starting With Theme An informative post from Scott over at Screenwriting from Iowa: The Serious Side of “Gilligan’s Island. A key excerpt: When he [Schwartz] got out of the service he wanted to get away from variety shows and move toward situational comedy and wrote for the radio programs Ozzie and Harriet
On Writing “An old racetrack joke reminds you that your program contains all the winners’ names. I stare at my typewriter keys with the same thought.” — Mignon McLaughlin
Daily Dialogue — July 12, 2010 Sam Spade: Haven’t you tried to buy my loyalty with money and nothing else? Brigid O’Shaughnessy: What else is there I can buy you with? — Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart), Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor), The Maltese Falcon (1941), screenplay by John Huston, based on the novel by Dashiell
Comic-Con 2010: Day 4 (7/25) schedule announced The Comic-Con 2010 Day 3 scheduled has just been released today. Here are some sessions that look to be relevant to the craft of writing and storytelling: 10:00–11:00 Spotlight on Rick Riordan — Comic-Con special guest Rick Riordan discusses his blockbuster book series Percy Jackson &
Profile: Christopher Nolan (Part 2) Part 2 of Trevor Hogg’s profile at FlickeringMyth.com on writer-director Christopher Nolan. Here’s an excerpt: “There’s a very limited pool of finance in the U.K.,” observed British filmmaker Christopher Nolan. “To be honest, it’s a very clubby kind of place. In Hollywood there’
“Thriller Books-To-Films: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly” Thanks to Josh James for turning me onto this Deadline.com article by Mike Flemming: The just completed Thrillerfest — think Comic-Con for thriller authors and their fans — featured a lecture that caught my eye. Sleepers author Lorenzo Carcaterra chose the 10 best thriller films made from books, the 10
Q&A with John August at Palm Springs Film Festival From Filmmakeriq.com: An educational Q&A with screenwriter, director, and producer: John August, exploring his work on the films, Go, Big Fish, The Nines, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Minority Report, Corpse Bride, Charlie’s Angels, and Titan A.E. — Moderated by Deborah Dearth as part of the
Video Interview: Jim Kouf Today five interview excerpts with screenwriter and TV writer Jim Kouf. Kouf has many writing credits in a career that is about three decades long including the movies Stakeout (1987), Operation Dumbo Drop (1995), Rush Hour (1998), Snow Dogs (2002), and National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), and the TV
