Go Into The Story

Pitch sale: “Accidentes”

Fox Atomic picks up comedy pitch “Accidentes” from writer Peter Baynham as possible starring vehicle for Sacha Baron Cohen: The protag will be a lawyer of Latin descent who transforms from contingency attorney to hero of the working class when he helps an immigrant win a judgment against his wealthy

Hollywood Tales

“The [Hollywood] film business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There is also a negative side.”  — Hunter S. Thompson

“Follow your bliss” & the Protagonist’s transformation

I just posted this on the online site of the course I’m currently teaching “Character Archetypes.” We’ve engaged in a fair amount of discussion about Joseph Campbell and a student posted something with his famous quote, “Follow your bliss.” Here’s my response which I tied into screenwriting:

“The Dark Knight” — breaking records

Well, this is impressive. Here’s a list of records that The Dark Knight broke in its opening weekend: Theater Count — 4,366 theaters Midnight Showings Total — $18.5 million Midnight IMAX Total (94 Screens) — ~$640,000 Opening Day (Friday) Total — $67.8 million Opening Weekend IMAX Total (94 Screens)

Spec script sales: “Going the Distance” and “The Roommate”

Two spec script sales to report. Former New Line script reader Geoff LaTulippe sells rom-com “Going the Distance” to — who else — New Line: LaTulippe, who’s been a script reader at New Line for four years, credited creative exec Dave Neustadter with helping develop the story.”The essential story

On writing

“First you have nothing, and then, astonishingly, after ripping out your brain and your heart and betraying your friends and ex-lovers and dreaming like a zombie over the page till you can’t see or hear or smell or taste, you have something.” — T.C. Boyle Comment Archive

LA Times (7/20/08):”His trailers keep moviegoers parked”

As mentioned in the previous post, last night before the screening I attended of The Dark Knight, there were six trailers of coming attractions. The number of ‘previews’ has gone up over the years, now typically 4 or 5, but with big box office movies like The Dark Knight, the

Variety (7/18/08): “Next summer to let up on super films”

At the screening of The Dark Knight here in Chapel Hill tonight, there were no less than six trailers. Most of them were in the superhero genre including Watchmen, The Spirit, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.  Well, it appears the WGA strike is part of the reason

“The Dark Knight:” Finally!

After enormous media build-up and fanfare, The Dark Knight has finally opened. We’ve done our humble part here, here, and here, so nothing of real substance to add.  However, there is a nifty retrospective provided by NPR in this article today courtesy of movie critic Bob Mondello. Fun

Friday movie reviews

The Dark Knight Daily Variety Hollywood Reporter Los Angeles Times National Public Radio New York Times Rolling Stone Time magazine Mamma Mia! Daily Variety Los Angeles Times National Public Radio New York Times Space Chimps Daily Variety Hollywood Reporter New York Times UPDATE: Lewis Beale, whose article on The Dark

On writing

“There is always a sheet of paper. There is always a pen. There is always a way out.” — H.L. Mencken Comment Archive

Good story concepts

Some days when I track what projects have been set up, I’m really struck by the creative inspiration of the basic story concepts involved. For example, in the last 2 days, there have been three projects with really clever premises: “2-Face”: A man has a split personality: one

Disney / ABC writing fellowship program

Since 1990, Disney has offered an annual writing fellowship program to find and develop talented writers in both feature films and TV. Now done in association with ABC, the program is now open for applications. Go here for the feature film program and here for TV writing.

“With ‘The Dark Knight,’ film noir still lives”

Funny how moving to Chapel Hill, North Carolina has resulted in meeting a slew of entertainment business folks. For instance, just a few weeks back, I met Lewis Beale, a freelance journalist who covers movies and Hollywood trends. Turns out he teaches journalism at UNC-Wilmington and is the brother-

Bitter Truth #10

“Someone always says ‘Watch your head!’ the moment after you slam it on a low ceiling.” © 2008 Kurt Brown & Scott Myers

Yale alum Polly Draper

When I started this blog two months ago, I doubt I ever thought I would post something from the Yale Alumni Magazine. But there I was a few minutes ago, flipping through my copy that arrived in the mail today, and who do I see but “Ellyn Warren” from thirtysomething,

John Cusack, War Inc and naked cycling in London

I’ll be honest — John Cusack makes me feel like a smitten teenage girl. Great roles in some of favorite movies like Eight Men Out (1988), Say Anything (1989), The Grifters (1990), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Being John Malkovitch (1999), High Fidelity (2000), and lest we forget the wonderful comedy

Screenwriting 101: Phil Alden Robinson

“I think it’s one of the reasons that people resent writers is because when we are writing, we are God. When you’re making a movie, the most powerful director is still subject to, the lens won’t do that, the sun just went behind the clouds, the actor

Complications, Roadblocks and Reversals

Imagine this: Here is your Protagonist at the Beginning. And way over there, 120 pages away is where your Protagonist will finish up at the Ending. In between, the Beginning and the Ending is this thing I call the Plotline, and I want you to envision it just like it

“Five character archetypes: Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster”

That’s the title of the new 1-week online course I will be teaching through UCLA Extension beginning tomorrow. It’s basically an introductory level course where I synthesize my studies of Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, a bunch of psychology and mythology books I’ve read, a zillion movies

Hollywood Tales

“So we picked this girl up in this big bus of a car, and she had us drive to a party in Beverly Hills. It was the house of a man named Cliff Henderson, a pilot, a kind of Howard Hughes character. And he has in his library a wall

Spec script sale: “Tehran”

Imagine Entertainment picks up spec drama “Tehran” from writer Richard Regan: Drama revolves around an American professor who is contracted by the federal government to observe tensions in pre-coup Tehran in 1977. He realizes that Iran is rife with political danger and his viewpoint is backed up when he

Spec script sale: “Inside Passage”

Gold Circle Films buys thriller spec “Inside Passage” from writer Jonathon W.C. Mills: The story, in the vein of “Dead Calm” and “Breakdown,” centers on a young couple whose honeymoon aboard a luxury yacht is turned upside down when they come across a murder at sea.

Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards”

It’s interesting to reflect on the last 20 years and consider how fixed screenwriting has become in pop culture. Witness an article in New York magazine with the breathless title, “We’ve Got Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglorious Bastards’ Script. Granted, it is Quentin Tarantino we’re talking about, but

On writing

“One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”  — Andre Gide Comment Archive