Go Into The Story (Page 904)

Character Type: Companion

“Often Companions are staunch allies to the Protagonist exhibiting loyalty, tenacity and unselfishness.” Those of you who have followed my blog for some time or taken courses with me through Screenwriting Master Class know how fascinated I am with character archetypes, specifically how there are five — Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor,

On Writing

“Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of

Daily Dialogue — February 24, 2014

Christian begins to torture Babe by using a dental probe and a mouth mirror to check for cavities. Babe: [the probe hits a cavity] Ow. Christian Szell: That hurt? Babe: Uh-huh. Christian Szell: I know. I should think it would. You should take better care of your teeth. You

Go Into The Story Week In Review: February 17-February 23, 2014

Links to the week’s most notable posts: Are “TV” and “Movies” terms bound for obsolescence? Character Type: Advocate Character Type: Angel Character Type: Destroyer Character Type: Gambler Character Type: Rookie Check out an early outline for The World’s End Daily Dialogue Theme for Next Week: Agony Do you

Interview: Aaron Guzikowski

Go Into The Story Interview: Aaron Guzikowski My in-depth interview with the screenwriter whose credits include Prisoners, the Sundance TV series “The Red Road”, and the upcoming film Papillon. One of the best movies of 2013 was Prisoners, written by Aaron Guzikowski, directed by Denis Villeneuve, and starring Hugh

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 22: Word Choice

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 (February 17-February 23, 2014)

Victoria Aveyard sells action fantasy spec script “Eternal” to Sony Pictures Entertainment. Robert Carlock adapting memoir “The Taliban Shuffle” for Paramount, Tina Fey attached to star. Christian Cantamessa and Chris Pasetto writing science fiction drama “Air” for Skybound Entertainment. Willie Ebersol writing the sports sequel Space Jam 2 for Warner

Interview [Video]: Craig Borten, Bob Nelson, Jeff Pope, John Ridley, Eric Warren Singer

Here is video of the entire writers panel from the recent Santa Barbara International Film Festival, moderated by Anne Thompson (Indiewire) and featuring Craig Borten (Dallas Buyers Club), Bob Nelson (Nebraska), Jeff Pope (Philomena), John Ridley (12 Years a Slave), and Eric Warren Singer (American Hustle). For Anne’s overview

Daily Dialogue — February 23, 2014

“It is all rubbish isn’t it. I mean… transplants, anti-bodies, we can produce birth ectogenetically, we can clone people like carrots, and half the kids in this ghetto haven’t been inoculated for polio. We have established an enormous medical entity and we’re sicker than ever. We

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Agony

From this week’s theme — Surgery — we may be only a short hop away from the suggestion for next week: Agony, proposed by Illimani. First a definition: “extreme and generally prolonged pain; intense physical or mental suffering.” As here with Mr. Orange: “We’re just gonna sit here and bleed

Interview (Part 6): Aaron Guzikowski (“Prisoners”)

One of the best movies of 2013 was Prisoners, written by Aaron Guzikowski, directed by Denis Villeneuve, and starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to have an hour-long conversation with Aaron about his background as a writer, his work on Prisoners,

“True Detective” opening title sequence… with cats [video]

Via Uproxx. And while we’re at it, in case you missed the whole #TrueDetectiveSeason2 hilarity, Vulture has hit some of the high points here. Comment Archive

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Great Scene: “The Wizard of Oz”

The tornado scene sequence in The Wizard of Oz is memorable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is without it, there’s no Oz and therefore no story. This meteorological event is (my terminology) The Lock, serving as the major plot point that transitions the story

Spec Script Sale: “Eternal”

Sony Pictures Entertainment acquires action fantasy spec script “Eternal” written by Victoria Aveyard. From Variety: Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the film will involve a modern re-interpretation of the Greek god mythology. Aveyard is repped by New Leaf Literary and Media and Benderspink. By my count,

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 124th installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The Kurt Cobain Would Have Turned 47 This Week Edition. Aberdeen, Washington unveils ‘crying’ statue of Kurt Cobain [video]. DreamWorks Animation can still make money on movies that don’t. 25 female comedians everyone show know. Screenwriter Emily Blake blogs

Interview [Written]: Ed Neumeier (“RoboCop” — 1987)

Upon the release of the remake of RoboCop, TheDissolve sat down with the screenwriter of the original 1987 version Ed Neumeier for an interview: The Dissolve: How did you get the idea for RoboCop? Ed Neumeier: I was a young man in the development side of Hollywood. I had come

Daily Dialogue — February 22, 2014

Capt. Peterson: [hostile tone of voice] What are you two HOODLUMS doing in this hospital? Hawkeye Pierce: Ma’am, we are surgeons and we are here to operate. We just waiting for a starting time. That’s all. Capt. Peterson: You can’t even go near a patient until Col.

Talismans

Physical objects with symbolic meaning are one key to visual storytelling. I’m teaching a class on theme right now and one of the points I make is that good stories have multiple themes, a central theme which reflects the core meaning of the story, then all sorts of other

Interview (Part 5): Aaron Guzikowski (“Prisoners”)

One of the best movies of 2013 was Prisoners, written by Aaron Guzikowski, directed by Denis Villeneuve, and starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to have an hour-long conversation with Aaron about his background as a writer, his work on Prisoners,

Video: “Kid Oscars”

Lots of facial hair, wigs and cute faces. Comment Archive

Movie Trailer: “The Two Faces of January”

Hossein Amini (screenplay), Patricia Highsmith (novel) A thriller centered on a con artist, his wife, and a stranger who try to flee a foreign country after one of them is caught up in the murder of a police officer. IMDB Release Date: 16 May 2014 (UK) Comment Archive

Character Type: Angel

Those of you who have followed my blog for some time or taken courses with me through Screenwriting Master Class know how fascinated I am with character archetypes, specifically how there are five — Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster — which recur in movies over and over and over. Some might see

Great Character: Lancaster Dodd (“The Master”)

This month’s theme: Great Philip Seymour Hoffman characters. Today: Guest poster Jason Cuthbert looks at Lancaster Dodd from the 2012 movie The Master, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Hard Eight. Boogie Nights. Magnolia. Punch-Drunk Love. Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and director/screenwriter Paul Thomas Anderson had

Daily Dialogue — February 21, 2014

FREDDY: “As the minuteness of the parts formed a great hindrance to my speed I resolved therefore to make the creature of a giant stature.” Of course. That would simplify everything. INGA: In other words, his veins, his feet, his hands, his organs would all have to be increased in

Are “TV” and “Movie” terms bound for obsolescence?

In a recent interview with Atlantic, “House of Cards” showrunner Beau Willimon articulated something in a clear, concise that I’ve been toying around with on the blog for the last 18 months or so: The idea that “TV” and “Movie” will in time become obsolete. Here are key excerpts