Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — March 9, 2014

“In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the… Anyone? Anyone?… the Great Depression, passed the… Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Which, anyone? Raised or lowered?… raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Sports Announcer

This week’s theme: Lecture. Next week’s theme: Sports Announcer, suggested by @dproII. Think about it: All those sports movies. All those sports announcers. Which ones jump out in your memory? Here’s one: C’mon, folks. We’re talking baseball, basketball, football, hockey, you name it, there are

Interview [Part 6]: Lisa Joy

“Scott, you are the only screenwriting teacher I’ve ever had.” This is what Lisa Joy shared with me when we had dinner together in L.A. last fall to celebrate the recent sale of her spec script “Reminiscence” which Legendary Pictures acquired in a deal worth a reported $1.

Spec Script Sale: “Pushing Daisy”

Linsefilm acquires comedy spec script “Pushing Daisy” written by Neal Gumpel and A.J. Benza. From Deadline: Set in 1999, the film follows the comedic adventures of a young woman named Daisy as she learns, with the help of a mysterious young woman, to break out of her limited circumstances

Movies You Made: “The Crew”

March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers. Today: The Crew. Production notes from writer-producer-director-editor Kate Kaminski: The film has not yet screened at a festival — in fact, it has been rejected over a dozen

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 126th installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The Stanley Kubrick Has Been Gone For 15 Years Edition (July 26, 1928-March 7, 1999). Stanley Kubrick interview: November 1966: The historian who unearthed “12 Years a Slave”. Celebrate March 10th — Middle Name Pride Day — by checking out these

Interview [Written]: Stanley Kubrick

In honor of the 15th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick’s death, today a 1987 interview in Rolling Stone with the famed writer-director. Here is how the interview starts with Kubrick taking charge right from the beginning: I’m not going to be asked any conceptualizing questions, right? All the

Daily Dialogue — March 8, 2014

Brody: However, an Egyptian pharaoh… Indiana: Shishak. Brody: …yes, invaded the city of Jerusalem round about 980 B.C., and he may have take the Ark back to the city of Tanis and hidden it in a secret chamber called The Well of Souls. Major Eaton: [skeptically] Secret chamber? Brody:

Update: “True Detective” primer

So I’ve caught the “True Detective” bug. Created and written by Nic Pizzolatto, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, and directed by Cary Fukunaga, it is some eye-popping, dialogue-rich, mind-blowing, crazy-ass shit. As I’ve been chasing down every article and interview I could find

Interview [Part 5]: Lisa Joy

“Scott, you are the only screenwriting teacher I’ve ever had.” This is what Lisa Joy shared with me when we had dinner together in L.A. last fall to celebrate the recent sale of her spec script “Reminiscence” which Legendary Pictures acquired in a deal worth a reported $1.

Announcing the 2014 Fellowship to theOffice

If you’re an L.A.-based writer on the Westside, check this out from the good folks at theOffice: If you’re looking for the perfect place in LA to leave the distractions of life behind and finish that screenplay/novel/short story/what-have-you, enter now to

Movie Trailer: “Grace of Monaco”

Written by Arash Amel The story of former Hollywood star Grace Kelly’s crisis of marriage and identity, during a political dispute between Monaco’s Prince Rainier III and France’s Charles De Gaulle, and a looming French invasion of Monaco in the early 1960s. IMDB Release Date: 14 May

Movies You Made: “The Secret”

March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers. Today: The Secret. Production notes from the movie’s writer Thomas Howalt: First of all — greetings from Copenhagen, Denmark. I really enjoy your site and visit it daily. My name

Great Character: Dr. Emmett Brown (“Back to the Future” Trilogy)

This month’s theme: Sidekick. Today: Guest poster Jason Cuthbert looks at Dr. Emmett Brown, the crazed professor from the Back to the Future trilogy. The combination of the “Steven Spielberg Presents” co-sign, two recognizable TV actors: Michael J Fox (Family Ties) and Christopher Lloyd (Taxi), a time-traveling

Daily Dialogue — March 7, 2014

“Welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: you DO NOT talk about Fight Club! Third rule of Fight Club: someone yells “stop!”, goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. Fourth rule:

First Hand Reports: Lindsay Doran on “The Psychology of Story-Telling”

Lindsay Doran on “The Psychology of Storytelling” Lindsay Doran holds a prominent place in the Hollywood community (you may learn more about her background here). The fact she is known as “The Script Whisperer” should tell you something about her status as an expert on storytelling. Lindsay made a presentation

Interview [Part 4]: Lisa Joy

“Scott, you are the only screenwriting teacher I’ve ever had.” This is what Lisa Joy shared with me when we had dinner together in L.A. last fall to celebrate the recent sale of her spec script “Reminiscence” which Legendary Pictures acquired in a deal worth a reported $1.

Black List announces digital partnership with WIGS

Another day, another Black List writing initiative: The Black List is pleased to announce its first partnership with a digital studio. We’ve partnered with WIGS, the FOX series incubator and top digital channel for scripted drama, to identify one writer to develop a series on the popular digital platform

Movie Trailer: “Annie”

Screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna & Will Gluck & Emma Thompson, book of the stage play by Thomas Meehan, based from the comic book “Little Orphan Annie” by Harold Gray Wealthy businessman Benjamin Stacks comes to the aid of a young girl living in an orphanage run by the tyrannical

Movies You Made: “Protesters”

March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers. Today: Protesters. Production notes from writer-director-producer Marty Lang: My name is Marty Lang, and I’m a screenwriter and filmmaker from Queens, NY. I wrote, directed and produced

Daily Dialogue — March 6, 2014

Professor: All right, settle down, people. We’ve got a lot to cover, and time is short. There are two kinds of people in business today… the quick and the dead. So, rather than waste your time this semester… with a lot of useless theories… we’re going to jump

Walt Disney Studios and Black List Team to Discover Diverse Writers

From the Black List: The Black List is pleased to announce a partnership with the Walt Disney Studios to identify writers with diverse perspectives who have not made more than $250K for their screenwriting work in the last ten years for Disney’s Feature Writers Program. This is the second

Interview [Part 3]: Lisa Joy

“Scott, you are the only screenwriting teacher I’ve ever had.” This is what Lisa Joy shared with me when we had dinner together in L.A. last fall to celebrate the recent sale of her spec script “Reminiscence” which Legendary Pictures acquired in a deal worth a reported $1.

Dispatch from the Front Lines: Matt Shields

Dispatches from the Front Line is an ongoing series of first-person accounts from writers and filmmakers who are on the front edge of breaking into the business. Today: Matt Shields. The Screenwriter As Firefighter I have been both Scribe and “Jake.” Well, not really a Jake. That term is

Movie Trailer: “Transformers: Age of Extinction”

Written by Ehren Kruger A mechanic and his daughter make a discovery that brings down Autobots and Decepticons — and a paranoid government official — on them. IMDB Release Date: 27 June 2014 (USA)  Comment Archive