Daily Dialogue — March 13, 2014 JIM CARR: Hi. Jim Carr again. Denis, I know that some in our audience don’t know the finer points of hockey. Could you tell them, for example, what is icing? DENIS LEMIEUX: Well, icing happen when the puck come down, bang, you know,before the other guys, nobody there,
Reader Questions? It occurs to me it’s been quite awhile since I opened up the forums for your questions about screenwriting and the movie business. So here is your chance. Anything and everything, feel free to ask away. You might start here, the blog archive of Reader Questions with over 200
Update: Lisa Joy interview Last week’s interview with screenwriter and TV writer Lisa Joy has proved to be one of the most popular to date, not only in terms of the usual metrics (page views, retweets, emails), but also from my interactions with professional writers, several of whom have taken the time to
Movie Trailer: “Afflicted” ) Screenplay by Derek Lee, Clif Prowse Two best friends see their trip of a lifetime take a dark turn when one of them is struck by a mysterious affliction. Now, in a foreign land, they race to uncover the source before it consumes him completely. IMDB Release Date: 24 July
Movies You Made: “Here Comes the Night” March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers. Today: Here Comes the Night. Production notes from writer-director Pete Shanel: My name is Pete Shanel and I’m the co-writer/director of the film Here Comes The
Script To Screen: “Looper” A masterful montage from the 2012 movie Looper, written and directed by Rian Johnson. Plot Summary: In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past, where a hired gun awaits — someone like Joe — who one day learns the mob wants to
Daily Dialogue — March 12, 2014 Pat Summerall: What do you do here, John? John Madden: You go for it, Pat. You have to. Pat Summerall: But Falco’s been shut down by this defense all afternoon. John Madden: Yeah, but, I’ll tell you this. All it takes is one big play to get him
“How to write a screenplay” is NOT the question you should be asking The whole “how to write a script” obsession has spawned a burgeoning cottage industry among so-called screenwriting ‘gurus’. Learn the secrets of how to write a million dollar screenplay! Discover the bulletproof method on how to win over a Hollywood buyer with your script! The premise behind how to
1, 2, 7, 14 Here is a simple formula about three things — Read Scripts. Watch Movies. Write Pages. — you need to do to expand and deepen your understanding of the screenwriting craft. 4 numbers for you to remember: 1, 2, 7, 14. 1: Read 1 screenplay per week. Pick out your favorite movies. Or
Movie Trailer: “Locke” Written by Steven Knight A single phone call causes the life of a successful construction manager to unravel during his drive home. IMDB Release Date: 25 April 2014 Comment Archive
Movies You Made: “The Russian” March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers. Today: The Russian. Plot Synopsis: It’s the middle of the night in a diner at the edge of town and a man has settled in to read a book
Screenwriting 101: Ted Tally “It [a treatment] is about twenty-five or thirty single-spaced pages normally, in paragraph outline, and it has a very conventional three-act structure and it’s my attempt to describe the movie scene-by-scene. If it’s an important movie, I’ll go into some detail about
Daily Dialogue — March 11, 2014 Cotton McKnight: It looks like the clock is about to strike midnight on this Cinderella story, turning Average Joe’s into the proverbial pumpkin. Pepper Brooks: I sure do like pumpkins, Cotton. — — Cotton McKnight: Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to witness the greatest happening in sport: sudden-death dodgeball. Pepper Brooks:
Character Introductions: A consistent challenge for screenwriters The average screenplay features between 15–25 characters. Because you have been working with those characters for months, you may know how they sound and what they look like. But what about a script reader? Think about how hard it is for them to sort out, distinguish between and remember
Reader Question: How to actually sit down and do it [i.e., write]? I received this question via email: Thanks for you blog- I have found many useful screenwriting goodies on there. However, I spend too much time reading about writing instead of writing. I find writing my screenplay so painful. Its like pulling teeth and I have to force myself to sit
Movie Trailer: “Tracks” Marion Nelson (screenplay), Robyn Davidson (book) A young woman goes on a 1,700 mile trek across the deserts of West Australia with her four camels and faithful dog. IMDB Release Date: 6 March 2014 (Australia) Comment Archive
Movies You Made: “Cinema Roulette” March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers. Today: Cinema Roulette. Production notes from writer-director Francisco Infante: I really wanted the gunshot scene to be all on camera without any computer effects. We tied a plastic tube
On Writing “The character that lasts is an ordinary guy with some extraordinary qualities.” — Raymond Chandler
Daily Dialogue — March 10, 2014 “While the fans are waiting for the first pitch, they are being entertained by the stadium’s Angel Vision, showing some unusual moments in baseball over the years!” — The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), written by Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Pat Proft The Daily
Go Into The Story Week In Review: March 2–9, 2014 Links to the week’s most notable posts: Black List announces digital partnership with WIGS Daily Dialogue Theme for Next Week: Sports Announcer Dispatch from the Front Lines: Matt Shield First Hand Reports: Lindsay Doran on “The Psychology of Story-Telling” Go Into The Story interview: Lisa Joy Great Character:
Interview: Lisa Joy Go Into The Story Interview: Lisa Joy My in-depth conversation with the creator and co-executive producer of the hit HBO series “Westworld”. Lisa Joy got her start as a Hollywood writer working for the ABC television series “Pushing Daisies,” then as writer-producer on the USA series “Burn
Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 24: Tragedy and Epic Poem As I’ve been interviewing screenwriters, I typically ask what some of their influences are. One book title comes up over and over again: Aristotle’s “Poetics”. I confess I’ve never read the entire thing, only bits and pieces. So I thought, why not do a weekly series with
Screenwriting News (March 3-March 9, 2014) Chris Boal writing reboot of Zorro for Sony. Mark Bomback adapting 1973 Broadway play “Veronica’s Room” for TWC-Dimension. Max Botkin (2010 Black List) rewriting science fiction project “Prosthesis” for Universal. Karen Croner sells pitch adapting novel “Everything Nice” to Universal, Charlize Theron attached. Neil Druckmann adapting video game
Movies You Made: “Miss Dial” March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers. Today: Miss Dial. Production notes from writer-director David Steinberg: Miss Dial was written as an experiment gone awry. Originally, it was producer Eric Hayes’s idea to make a
Interview [Video]: Spike Lee DP/30 interview with writer-director Spike Lee (She’s Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, 25th Hour, Inside Man). Comment Archive
