Saturday Hot Links
Back for yet another installment of Saturday Hot Links!
Today: The “From The Files of ‘Police Squad’ Edition”.
“Police Squad”: Name Confusion
Golden Globe highlights [video].
Now it’s time to move onto the Sundance Film Festival where people are predicting a wild time in terms of acquisitions.
THR with some producers you want to sidle up to at Sundance.
LAT with six stories to track at this year’s Sundance.
Holy crap! NBC finishes in 8th place for this last Thursday in the 10PM slot.
Funny movie parody posters starring The Simpsons.
Seven hush-hush gyms becoming Hollywood favorites.
And in related gossip, four work-out classes that has Hollywood flocking.
The judge who ruled Deep Throat to be obscene? Dead at the age of 90.
Wahoo! The Apartment: The Collector’s Edition comes out on January 24.
Nice feature on “Star Wars: The Old Republic”.
Fox launches diverse writers program.
Mumblecore filmmaker Joe Swanberg to release his next movie for free online.
The most amusing images from the recent SOPA Internet ‘strike.’
Hulu announces three original series including its first original scripted series “Battleground”.
Johnny Depp reads aloud personal letters from Hunter S. Thompson [video].
I did not know this: Stanley Kubrick is the ‘father’ of the modern box office report.
Russell Brand handles press inquiry about his impending divorce from Katie Perry by citing Kurt Vonnegut.
Damn it! “Treme” won’t return to HBO until the fall!
Biggest industry real estate deals of the week including Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, Regis Philbin, and Christina Aguilera.
The Alamo Drafthouse expands into the DC area.
Brad Pitt laughing himself silly in this outtake from Moneyball [video].
Springsteen has a new album coming out on March 6 and it’s calle “Wrecking Ball”.
“Police Squad”: Johnny the Shoe Shine
In screenwriting news, Damon Lindelo (“Lost”) talks about Prometheus
Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) to write sequel for Hunger Games.
Josh Friedman (“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”) sells a spy drama pilot to Fox.
David Kajganich (The Invasion) hired to rewrite The Stand.
A nice LAT feature this week on screenwriter John Logan.
Another nice feature on 19 year-old writer-director Emily Hagins who I interviewed when she was 16 and made her first feature-length movie.
In a first, Lionsgate to offer Abduction through Facebook.
Google responds to Rupert Murdoch Twitter rant.
The 10 most anticipated movie adaptations of 2012.
Ebook stats writers should know about.
Six ridiculous reasons why moviegoers asked for their money back.
Snag Film acquires the rights to 16 top documentaries.
Another country set record B.O. in 2011: The Netherlands.
In honor of the 1%, the 50 richest movie characters.
Speaking of one-percenters: Disney’s Bog Iger collects $31.4M compensation package in 2011.
How about the time Walt Disney kidnapped Richard Nixon?
George Lucas to quit the blockbuster business.
10 actors who hated these films they starred in.
Meanwhile here is Ryan Seacrest to pick up the slack as he makes a move to take over the entertainment universe.
Seven late-blooming authors who prove it’s never to late to start a writing career.
Remember the old horror film label Hammer Studios? Looks like it’s being resurrected.
TCM names the 10 most influential silent movies.
More favorites: The 50 greatest Bollywood movies.
Sign of the times: Kodak files for bankruptcy.
New documentary claims to have discovered underwater Mayan city, aliens, and… go read it for yourself.
The ten most expensive books in the world.
TV series “Sherlock” commissioned for a 3rd season.
Meanwhile on the scheduling front, the news is not so good for two big-ass movie projects at Warner Bros.
Steve Martin with a great tribute to famed bluegrass musician Earl Scruggs.
“Police Squad”: Mrs. Twice
SCREENWRITING MASTER CLASS TIP OF THE WEEK: It’s one of the best and favorite courses we offer: Prep: From Concept to Outline, a 6-week screenwriting workshop where through a series of weekly exercises, you work out your story ending up with a full outline. Most professional screenwriters break their story in prep. Isn’t it about time you learned how to do it, an approach you can use on all future projects. Tom Benedek leads the next Prep session beginning Monday, February 2nd. For more information, go here. And don’t forget these upcoming classes:
Pages I: The First Draft: A 10-week writing workshop in which you plow through the first draft of your script. Begins Monday, January 23. Teacher: Scott Myers.
Pages II: Rewriting Your Script: A 10-week writing workshop in which you take a current draft of your script, analyze and assess it, then rewrite it. Begins Monday, January 23. Teacher: Tom Benedek.
Core V: Dialogue: A 2-week screenwriting class in which you learn how to find your character’s voice. Begins Monday, January 30. Teacher: Tom Benedek.
We look forward to the opportunity to work with you!
Comment Archive