Daily Dialogue — June 2, 2010 Gordie: Fuck writing, I don’t want to be a writer. It’s stupid. It’s a stupid waste of time. Chris: That’s your dad talking. Gordie: Bullshit. Chris: Bull true. Chris: I know how your dad feels about you. He doesn’t give a shit about you. Denny
“Screenwriter duo hits it big with this summer’s two Bruckheimer films” LA Times blogger-columnist Patrick Goldstein did a nice feature the other day on the screenwriting duo Doug Miro & Carlo Bernard. They have two movies coming out this summer Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. It’s a good read, but let me
“Is Peter Jackson’s Hat in the ‘Hobbit’ Ring?” By now, you’ve not doubt heard that Guillermo del Toro has left “The Hobbit”. So who’s in line to direct the movie? Could it be Peter Jackson: As the producers of “The Hobbit” undertake the very gloomy business of seeking a new director for the film adaptation of
Online Information Sites: The Tracking Board The amount and quality of information online about the Hollywood movie business nowadays is remarkable. Writers from anywhere in the world can track the progress of a spec script all the way from its submission to acquisition through development and into production. Some sites have been around for years, while
Interview: Joshua James Playwright Adam Szymkowicz has a blog where among other things he interviews fellow playwrights. The other day, Adam interviewed Joshua James, playwright, screenwriter, and I’m happy to say, my friend. Here are a few excerpts: Q: What are you working on now? A: I’ve recently completed a screenplay
Hollywood Tales “The famous ending of ‘The Graduate,’ for example, came about because as it came time to film the scene where Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross get on the bus, Mr. Nichols found himself growing unaccountably irritable. ‘I told Dustin and Katharine, ‘Look, we’ve got traffic blocked for 20 blocks,
Daily Dialogue — June 1, 2010 “No fair! No fair, no fair…” — Gage Creed (Miko Hughes), Pet Semetary (1989), screenplay by Stephen King, based on his novel The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is dialogue from movies or TV shows based on the writing of Stephen King, suggested by JD Walters. Pet Semetary suggested by
“Script for Sale” director Marie Tang blogs about movie Yesterday I posted this great story: Ben Resella wants to sell a screenplay. Not an unusual dream, but Ben has already “made it” once in Hollywood. For decades he worked on movie sets as a scenic designer and painter in the Philippines and found his way into Hollywood. But that
Online Information Sites: Done Deal Pro The amount and quality of information online about the Hollywood movie business nowadays is remarkable. Writers from anywhere in the world can track the progress of a spec script all the way from its submission to acquisition through development and into production. Some sites have been around for years, while
On Writing “It’s not plagiarism — I’m recycling words, as any good environmentally conscious writer would do.” — Uniek Swain
Daily Dialogue — May 31, 2010 Annie Wilkes: [Right after smashing Paul’s ankles with a sledgehammer] God, I love you. — Annie (Kathy Bates), Misery (1990), screenplay by William Goldman, based on the novel by Stephen King The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is dialogue from movies or TV shows based on the writing of
Reader Question: Is it better to specialize in one genre or write specs in several genres? From one of my students and GITS reader Randall: Scott, I am sure you have been asked this many times before (if you have a link on your GITS blog do tell) — do you think it is more strategic for a writer to specialize in one genre (for example my
Orange and blue Yesterday we talked about why some good movies fail at the box office, noting how important marketing is to a film’s success. Previously I ran this 5-part series, a Q&A with a marketing executive at a major Hollywood movie studio. Think there’s not a ‘science’
Documentary: “Script for Sale” What a wonderful story: Ben Resella wants to sell a screenplay. Not an unusual dream, but Ben has already “made it” once in Hollywood. For decades he worked on movie sets as a scenic designer and painter in the Philippines and found his way into Hollywood. But that never kept
In Memoriam: Dennis Hopper (1936–2010) Go here to read Roger Ebert’s “In Memory of Dennis Hopper”. An excerpt: For Hopper, life was an art form. His acting took such shape because he was able to reinvent himself as a character. More than many actors , he created characters we remember vividly for themselves: James Dean’
Daily Dialogue — May 30, 2010 Billy: [while smoking a joint] Oh wow! What? Who’s that man? What the hell was that, man? Captain America: Huh? Billy: No, man, like hey, man. Wow. I was watching this object man, li-like the satellite that we saw the other night, right? And, like, it was going
Reader Question: Why do some great movies fail at box office while others succeed? A question from Mahmoud: In your opinion why do many great movies fail to get money in boxoffice as Shawshank Redemption, or Hurt Locker or Coens films as Miller’s Crossing and Barton Fink, while others as Crouching Tiger, Pulp Fiction, Slumdog Millionaire and Full Monty hit? Is it a
Saturday Hot Links Some links for you to enjoy over the weekend. For you literary types, how about “12 Great Overlooked Books By Famous Authors”? And for James Bond fans, did you know that the next Bond book is being written by an author from right here in Chapel Hill? The New Yorker
Written Interview: Tom Mankiewicz Today’s interview is with Tom Mankiewicz whose screenwriting credits include Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, Mother, Jugs and Speed, Superman: The Movie, Superman II, Ladyhawke and Dragnet. In a two-part interview at ScriptMag.com — here and here — Mankiewicz talks about
Daily Dialogue — May 29, 2010 Never Cry Wolf (1983), screenplay by Curtis Hanson and Sam Hamm and Richard Kletter, based on a book by Farley Mowat The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is extended scenes with no dialogue, suggested by Désirée and Viewers Like You, a reminder that movies are primarily a visual medium
Reader Question: How do you write a professional story treatment? An open forum question from jonathan: Hi Scott, great blog. There’s lots of screenplays available online. I haven’t managed to find an equivalent resource for examples of treatments. There doesn’t seem to be too many pointers out there on how to write a good, exciting yet ‘professional’
Rob’s Finds Today is sci-fi day for Rob’s Finds, the weekly anthology of interesting stuff GITS reader Rob Fuller discovers on his meanderings through the Web. First, one movie fan put together an homage to his favorite sci-fi film Star Wars… er, Star Trek… um, well… just check it
Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Stephen King Last week, GITS featured two interviews with prolific writer Stephen King. In comments, JD Walters suggested: By the way, Scott, that might be an idea for Dialogue of the Week: favorite lines from Stephen King adaptations. I’ll see if I can rustle some up. I think that’s a
Great Scene: “Thelma & Louise” A great ending to a movie is (in my view) the only ending it should have. Oh, a movie could have multiple endings, but a well-constructed plot should lead to the story’s only real ending. And when that ending is both logical and shocking, then you have the
Daily Dialogue — May 28, 2010 Cruel Intentions (1999), screenplay by Roger Kumble, based on a novel by Choderlos de Laclos The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is extended scenes with no dialogue, suggested by Désirée and Viewers Like You, a reminder that movies are primarily a visual medium — and that sometimes, the best dialogue
