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Screenwriting News (September 22-September 28, 2014)

Adam Brooks adapting “No Baggage” for New Line Cinema. Charles Cumming adapting drama mystery “The Tracking of a Russian Spy” for The Picture Company. Jason Filardi sells children’s book adaptation pitch “Floors” to Walt Disney Pictures. Joe Henderson sells fantasy spec script “In the Land of Imagined Things” to

Classic 70s Movie: “Carrie”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Lyn Wheaton. Movie Title: Carrie Year: 1976 Writers: Screenplay: Lawrence D. Cohen, Novel by: Stephen King Lead Actors: Carrie — Sissy Spacek, Margaret White — Piper Laurie, Sue Snell — Amy Irving, Tommy Ross — William Katt, Billy Nolan — John Travolta, Chris

Daily Dialogue — September 28, 2014

“Who are you?” — High Plains Drifter (1973), written by Ernest Tidyman The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Vengeance, suggested by Jon Raymond. Trivia: The Bible verse on the wall of the church is Isaiah 53:3–4 which reads, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Politics

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Politics. “Nothing’s riding on this except  the first amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press,  and maybe the future of the country.” Lots of great angles with this theme. Political intrigue like The Manchurian Candidate. Political romance like The American President.

Interview [Audio]: James Schamus

BAFTA (The British Academy for Film and Television Arts) has for several years hosted an annual series of screenwriter lectures. I have featured pretty much all of them here. Recently James Schamus, whose writing credits include Eat Drink Man Woman, The Ice Storm, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hulk, gave

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 153rd installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The All Hail Withnail & I, The Finest Cult Film Ever! Yes! Withnail & I is coming back! Restored print! Re-released! Happy, happy, joy, joy! The little known story of how The Shawshank Redemption became one of the most

Classic 70s Movie: “Apocalypse Now”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Rahul Prasad. Movie Title: Apocalypse Now Year: 1979 Writers: Written by John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola, based on Joseph Conrad’s book “Heart of Darkness” Lead Actors: Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Interview [Written]: Jill Soloway

Excellent interview in Vulture this week with Jill Soloway, writer-producer on several TV series including Six Feet Under, United States of Tara, and How to Make It in America, and the new Amazon series Transparent. So much of the conversations about your show are about Jeffrey Tambor’s transgender

Daily Dialogue — September 27, 2014

“JUST TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO ME!” — I Spit On Your Grave (1978), written by Meir Zarchi The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Vengeance, suggested by Jon Raymond. Trivia: The British feminist Julie Bindel actively picketed the film when it was first released in the

Declare Your Independents — Vol. 31

GITS development assistant Wendy Cohen here, and welcome back to Declare Your Independents, our new series highlighting the latest developments in the world of independent film! This week… 9 Must-See Underdogs At the 2014 New York Film Festival The Best Documentaries of 2014 So Far, According to Indiewire 2015

Spec Script Sale: “The Eden Project”

Sony Pictures acquires science fiction spec script “The Eden Project” written by Christina Hodson. From Tracking Board: Sony Pictures has just won a multiple studio bidding war to win the sci-fi spec script THE EDEN PROJECT from writer Christina Hodson. The project, which is being pitched as a grounded

Reader Question: What does a “bidding war” mean and how does that happen?

[Originally posted April 2, 2012] From Anonymous: I read about spec scripts, or screen rights “going to auction” or acquired in a “bidding war.” Although I am familiar with the concept of an auction, I am wondering if you may explain what exactly this means in a Hollywood setting. What

Video: Sarah Polley and Greta Gerwig on “Frances Ha”

17 minute conversation between Sarah Polley and Greta Gerwig about the indie film Frances Ha from the Criterion Collection: Via VICE and Indiewire.

“12 Things I Learned at Werner Herzog’s Rogue Film School”

Indiewire contributor Marie-Françoise Theodore attended “film school” with famed filmmaker Werner Herzog (Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo, Invincible) and came away with 12 pieces of wisdom. In late August in a nondescript hotel banquet room in a nondescript section of Los Angeles, I gathered, along with about 50

Movie Trailer: “Two Night Stand”

Written by Mark Hammer A snowstorm forces two people who made an online connection to unwillingly extend their one-night stand. IMDB Release Date: 26 September 2014 (USA)  Comment Archive

Classic 70s Movie: “Shampoo”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Greg Scharpf. Movie Title: Shampoo Year: 1975 Writers: Robert Towne, Warren Beatty Lead Actors: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden Director: Hal Ashby IMDB Plot Summary: Lovers undo a hairdresser from Beverly Hills around

Great Character: Donnie Darko (“Donnie Darko”)

The Great Character theme for the month: High School Characters. Today: Donnie Darko from the 2001 movie Donnie Darko, written and directed by Richard Kelly. What makes Donnie Darko feel like the bold rewind-worthy fireworks display that it is? The answer is because its sinister complexity is decorated with

Daily Dialogue — September 26, 2014

“Victims, aren’t we all.” — The Crow (1994), screenplay by David J. Schow and John Shirley, comic book series and comic strip by James O’Barr The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Vengeance, suggested by Jon Raymond. Trivia: James O’Barr stated on the Crow DVD that when he

Quest Writing Workshop: Santa Monica, December 10–13, 2014

I am pleased to announce I have scheduled another Quest Writing Workshop in Santa Monica, California: Dates: Wednesday, December 10-Saturday December 13 Location: The Writers Junction, 1001 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica Here is the schedule: Day 1: We begin by digging into the first of three sections of the

Is this the model for a “next-generation film studio”?

This interesting news item was announced in March: Several years ago, the Hollywood producer Robert Simonds Jr. began thinking about how a movie studio for today’s age — with the ascendance of China and a dizzying array of distribution channels — should look. Now Mr. Simonds and his backers, including TPG

Six Book Trip To 2nd Annual Black List Screenwriters Lab

From the Black List: Early career writers to join mentors Jessica Bendinger, Max Borenstein, Jesse Wigutow, & Scott Myers in Las Vegas LOS ANGELES (September 25) — This morning, the Black List unveiled the names of the six screenwriters who will make the trip to downtown Las Vegas on Monday for

Movie Trailer: “Drive Hard”

Written by Brigitte Jean Allen, Chad Law, Evan Law, Brian Trenchard-Smith A former race car driver is abducted by a mysterious thief and forced to be the wheel-man for a crime that puts them both in the sights of the cops and the mob. IMDB Release Date: 3

Classic 70s Movie: “Star Wars”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Bretton Zinger. Title: Star Wars Note: Let’s get one thing clear: The movie should rightfully be called Star Wars, not Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope. Titles of movies are what they were upon release. No

Writing and the Creative Life: Writing as Pilgrimage

I am a pilgrim and a stranger Traveling through this wearisome land I’ve got a home in that yonder city, good Lord And it’s not, not made by hand — Music and lyrics by Merle Travis Perhaps because I am a military brat, having been transferred so often from

Daily Dialogue — September 25, 2014

Ext. Miami Nightclub- Night Ray is at first standing on the street across from the the nightclub where May is dancing with Tomas, the son of a Cuban mafia don who killed her father. He is listening to recording of her voice from previous phone calls while he watches her.