Pitch Sale: “Kiss and Tell” Universal Pics picks up high-concept rom-coma “Kiss and Tell” from writers Dax Shelby and Robert Stevens. Per slashfilm.com: The story follows a woman who discovers she has the ability to see the exact length of a long-term relationship, and how it will unfold, when she kisses
“Hollywood movies follow a mathematical formula” H/T to Jamie Schaffner, one of my screenwriting students, who sent me this link from Physorg.com: Psychologist Professor James Cutting and his team from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, analyzed 150 high-grossing Hollywood films released from 1935 to 2005 and discovered the shot lengths in the
Spec Script Sale: “Killer” Hyde Park Entertainment nabs thriller spec “Killer” written by Kenny Golde. This post from Peter Sciretta at slashfilm.com: Hyde Park Entertainment and Parkes/MacDonald Productions have acquired Kenny Golde’s spec screenplay Killer. The contained thriller was originally written with the intent to produce the film on a low
“How Writers Create Their Fiction”: Lewis Buzbee I uncovered this month-long NPR series “How Writers Create Their Fiction”, originally run in November 2006. I found many of the ideas presented by the various writers to be informative and inspirational, so we’ll be featuring one writer from the series per day during February. Today’s writer
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 — February 23, 2010 Jimmy: Who’s this? Vinnie: Vinnie. Jimmy: We get this straightened out? Vinnie: Uh, we had a problem. We tried to do everything we could. Jimmy: Wait… Vinnie: Well, you know what I mean. He’s gone. And we couldn’t do nothing about it. Jimmy: Wait a minute… Vinnie:
GITS reader question: Movies with multiple characters using Voiceover / Interior Monologue? GITS reader Greg Colburn emailed me this question and I couldn’t think of any: Are there many movies that have multiple characters using Voiceover or Interior Monologue? I can think of “What Women Want” where Mel Gibson could hear what female characters were thinking. The TV series “True Blood”
Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Unplug your Internet! An observation from writer and essayist Jonathan Franzen: It’s doubtful that anyone with an internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction. Oh, yes. The evil temptress known as the Web! Sure, you should buckle down and get started on that scene. You know, the one you’ve
“6 Theses about Spec Scripts” Over at The GITS Club, our peer review site launched by long-time GITS reader Jeff Messerman, a former script reader halberlin posted “6 Theses about Spec Scripts”. To date, it’s been read over 150 times and much commented on. I contacted its author to ask permission to re-
Rod Serling: On creativity GITS reader David A sent me a link to an amazing set of videos, a sit-down conversation with TV and screenwriter Rod Serling. Most well-known for the long-running TV anthology series “The Twilight Zone” (148 episodes, 1959–1964), has over 70 writing credits including the screenplays for
“How Writers Create Their Fiction”: Neal Pollack I uncovered this month-long NPR series “How Writers Create Their Fiction”, originally run in November 2006. I found many of the ideas presented by the various writers to be informative and inspirational, so we’ll be featuring one writer from the series per day during February. Today’s writer
On Writing “Being an author is like being in charge of your own personal insane asylum.” — Graycie Harmon
Daily Dialogue — February 22, 2010 Marie (answering her phone): Hello. Sally: I’m sorry to call so early. Marie: Are you all right? Sally: I just did something terrible. Jess (to Marie): No one I know would call at this hour. Marie (to Sally): What did you do? Jess (answering his phone): No one I
Spec script sale: “Abduction” After she reported first on it last week, it’s official per Nikki Finke: Lionsgate won the bidding with the “most aggressive offer” for the Verve client Shawn Christensen’s script Abduction with WME- and Management 360-repped Lautner attached. But that’s not all: we hear the screenplay sold
Question: How far can a writer go with the “similar but different” approach? A reader question from The_High_Dweller: I got one for ya… We’re always talking about “Similar But Different” here, right? And we’ve even had suggestions on how to go about coming up with something that’s similar but different… Check out successful movies from the past and
Another “now you don’t need to see the movie” trailer The movie is Letters to Juliet. If you’re at all interested in seeing this movie when it comes out on May 7, do yourself a favor: Do notwatch this trailer. Those of you who don’t care, take a look: Honestly is there any significant story element you do
Rod Serling: Character motivation GITS reader David A sent me a link to an amazing set of videos, a sit-down conversation with TV and screenwriter Rod Serling. Most well-known for the long-running TV anthology series “The Twilight Zone” (148 episodes, 1959–1964), has over 70 writing credits including the screenplays for
“How Writers Create Their Fiction”: Max Apple I uncovered this month-long NPR series “How Writers Create Their Fiction”, originally run in November 2006. I found many of the ideas presented by the various writers to be informative and inspirational, so we’ll be featuring one writer from the series per day during February. Today’s writer
Video Interview: George Lucas An interview on FORA.tv with George Lucas. Of course, we all know his work with American Graffiti, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones, but he wrote and directed a lot of things before he broke into the business. From IMDB, here are Lucas’ pre-Hollywood writing credits: Look at Life
Daily Dialogue — February 21, 2010 “Listen to me! Please listen! If you don’t, if you won’t, if you fail to understand, then the same incredible terror that’s menacing me WILL STRIKE AT YOU!” — Dr. Miles J. Bennell (Kevin McCarthy), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), screenplay by Daniel Mainwaring, based on a
Question: How many scripts do you need to write to “get it”? A question from Robert: Hi Scott, I know you often mention the fact that there are a number of scripts one usually needs to write before they “get it”. It’s usually somewhere in the 5 to 7 range. My question is, how many did you write before you first
Profile: The Coen Brothers (Part 4) The final installment in a great four-part profile by Trevor Hogg from FlickeringMyth.com. An excerpt about their involvement in the movie Intolerable Cruelty: Working once again with celebrity actor George Clooney, Joel and Ethan Coen found themselves being accused of having “gone Hollywood” with the release of Intolerable
Rod Serling: Creativity and action GITS reader David A sent me a link to an amazing set of videos, a sit-down conversation with TV and screenwriter Rod Serling. Most well-known for the long-running TV anthology series “The Twilight Zone” (148 episodes, 1959–1964), has over 70 writing credits including the screenplays for
“How Writers Create Their Fiction”: Walter Dean Myers I uncovered this month-long NPR series “How Writers Create Their Fiction”, originally run in November 2006. I found many of the ideas presented by the various writers to be informative and inspirational, so we’ll be featuring one writer from the series per day during February. Today’s writer
Written Interview: Alan Ball In a 1-week screenwriting course I just taught online, we used American Beauty as a study script. Since the course is titled “Screenplay Universe: The External and Internal Worlds,” and the tagline of AB is “Look closer,” it is a perfect fit to explore the worlds beneath the visible
