Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 149th installment of Saturday Hot Links!
Today: The We Celebrate The 30th Anniversary Of Ghostbusters Release Edition!
20 things you might not know about Ghostbusters.
The lineup for the 41st Telluride Film Festival announced.
Telluride: Review of Wild.
Telluride: 8 films that could enter the Oscar race.
Telluride: The movies the hottest filmmakers want to see.
297 words and phrases that rob your writing of its power.
The Bitter Script Reader interviewed.
Amanda Pendolino interviewed.
Why the pushup is the world’s greatest exercise.
25 must-see movies for fall.
Indiewire’s 20 most anticipated films of the fall.
The ‘New Adult’ genre is condescending and pointless.
California super-sizes its TV, film tax credit program.
Related: Why is California tripling its film and TV tax credits when other states are slashing them.
30 family secrets hiding in English surnames.
15 documentaries that switched course during filming.
Lungs of a smoker vs. a non-smoker [video].
Development Hell: Directors reveal the most absurd notes they’ve ever received.
Amy Poehler mocks the difficulties of being a modern man [video].
Terry Gilliam on 13 of the most difficult scenes he’s shot.
Where does language come from.
Martin Scorcese to direct a film about The Ramones.
The mystery of Death Valley’s sailing stones has been solved.
Was the summer 2014 the worst summer for movie attendance since 1992?
Related: The highs and lows of the 2014 summer movie season.
Related: The winners and losers of the 2014 summer movie season.
Related: The summer of slump.
What people cured of blindness see.
Darren Aronofsky to receive Maverick Award from the Woodstock Film Festival.
Dunkin’ Donuts opens its first L.A. location.
Read Bill Hader’s list of 200 movies every comedy writer should see.
Best new apps: Hyperlapse.
TBS/TNT chief Michael Wright exiting the company.
The biggest change to toilet paper in 120 years could be a boon to the environment.
Could Comic-Con leave San Diego after 2016.
25 famous people who were once interns.
Films you didn’t know had two directors.
A guide to the music of Haruki Murakami.
David Chase confuses the question even more: Is Tony Soprano dead or alive.
Why we should all vacation at exactly the same time.
Why DC’s serious Batman v. Superman may give Marvel the edge.
The most depressing discovery about the brain, ever.
Will The Fault in Our Stars get more teens hooked on digital.
Humans could live to be 800 years old.
12 of the most distracting extras in movie history.
7 Smartphones photography tips and tricks [video].
Screenwriter Walter Bernstein at 95: Still front and center.
New Stonehenge discovery changes everything.
10 best improvised scenes in movie history [video].
10 Siri hacks you need to try.
CBS sued over “NCIS” farting hippo puppet.
How social media silences debate.
Spending on digital ads to overtake TV in 2017.
Why do we have middle names.
Bob Dylan news: Complete “Bootleg Series” six-disc set.
Movie tracking is in the toilet.
12 amazing dogs to remember on National Dog Day.
Amazon will buy Twitch for over $1B.
How the future of Star Wars could change long-form interconnected storytelling.
7 proposed explanations for the Loch Ness Monster.
Amazon Studios orders 5 kids pilots.
13 deliciously garlicky dishes for summer.
30 most dangerous movie cities.
50 essays guaranteed to make you a better person.
First Superman comic sells for $3.21M.
How snake venom could help fight cancer.
Are projectionists dinosaurs in the age of digital cinema.
11 scientific studies that will restore your faith in humanity.
Watch Dave Chappell’s glorious return to Hartford [video].
These are the 25 most popular mobile apps in America.
The original locations of 15 famous food chains.
So it’s come to this: A nail polish that detects date rape drugs.
John Lennon’s killer denied parole for the 8th time.
Good God, Baby Boomers are weird: Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” on dulcimer [video].
64 people and their famous last words.
Richard Attenborough dies at the age of 90.
Nikki Finke signs a book deal.
Watch Seth Meyers’ Emmys opening monologue [video].
The highs and lows of the Emmys.
25 best writing Emmy winners you can stream now.
Finally remember Billy Crystal’s touching comments at the Emmys about Robin Williams? He tells a story about he and Robin at Shea Stadium for a Mets game when a foul ball whizzed into the broadcasting booth. Here’s video of the event.
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: I’m currently finishing up an online workshop in which five writers will have pounded out a first draft of their screenplay. That’s the beauty of Pages I: The First Draft: It provides a structure for writers to do the work they need to do to complete that critical initial draft of a script.
What do I mean by structure:
* Writers get 10 weeks to go from FADE IN to FADE OUT.
* Weekly lectures, written by me, to help steer you through that week’s script pages.
* Weekly due dates that serve as both goal and motivation to, as I say, ‘deposit derriere in chair’ and get the writing done.
* An online site to upload and download pages, provide and receive feedback, and interface with fellow writers and me.
* Weekly teleconferences during which we review that week’s pages for each participant, providing keys to the rewrite process.
* Constructive critique of material, noting problem areas and equally as important, offering possible ways to improve the story.
* A community of like-minded, supportive writers, encouraging each other to keep pounding out pages.
* And me as a mentor, reviewing every single page of each writer’s script, giving comments, advice and support throughout.
I know how hard it can be to get through a first draft. That’s why I put so much thought into the structure of this Pages I workshop: To demystify the process and create an environment in which writers will succeed in getting from FADE IN to FADE OUT.
You know what? It works.
The next session of Pages I: The First Draft which I will be overseeing begins Monday, September 8.
If you have a story ready to go…
A story you started, but never completed…
You can never seem to finish a script you start…
Consider this workshop and give yourself the structure, support and synergy you need to shoulder your way through your script’s first draft.
For more information and to enroll, go here.
I look forward to the opportunity to work with you!
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