Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 236th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest.
LA Film Festival Unveils Full Lineup.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Explains Why He Loves Using Indie Directors For MCU Films.
Disney Rules Hollywood’s Fairy Tale War as Other Studios Bite the Poisoned Apple.
Disney Sets New Release Dates for Fairy Tale Films, Live-Action Movies.
Coming Sooner Than You Think: Do Release Dates Even Matter Anymore.
10 Fun Summer Movies for Kids.
Why Sean Parker’s Screening Room Plan to Home-Stream New Movies for $50 Is Absurd.
NBCUniversal to Acquire DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 Billion.
How Will DreamWorks Animation Boost NBCUniversal’s Theme Park Business.
How Jeffrey Katzenberg Finally Made DreamWorks Animation A Sexy Buy.
Jeffrey Katzenberg to Transition Out at DreamWorks Animation, Takes Consulting Role.
Hollywood Feeding Frenzy: How DreamWorks Deal Could Impact Paramount, Lionsgate.
Sony Film Unit Full-Year Profit Down 34 Percent.
AMC Entertainment Posts First-Quarter Records.
Inside the Glaring Income Inequality in Studio Executives vs. Average Workers.
How Captain America shifted the dial on Marvel’s political compass.
Originality: Reboots, Sequels & How They Affect Modern Film.
Women in Film Put Major Studios on Blast.
Female Directors in Hollywood: Are Things Getting Any Better.
Gender Inequality Plagues Europe’s Film Industry on Comparable Scale With Hollywood.
You Want To See More Women In Film? This Is How To Do It — Girl Talk.
Movies About Women Nearly Impossible to Finance, Say Indie Producers.
‘Headless Women of Hollywood’ Tumblr reveals disturbing movie poster trend.
Mary Pickford: America’s first screen megastar`.
Psycho thrillers: five movies that teach us how the mind works.
How Much Did People Make in Hollywood 25 Years Ago.
CAA Marketing Sets New Leadership Structure.
Evolution Media to Launch in China With $350 Million Fund.
Ratpac, Warner Bros. to Launch Chinese Film Fund with China Media Capital.
Paramount Pictures Sued for $27M in China Over ‘Transformers 4’ Product Placement.
Russia Proposes Tax on Hollywood and Foreign Films.
‘Doctor Strange’ Screenwriter: “Every Single Decision That Involves the Ancient One Is a Bad One”.
J.K. Rowling’s ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Screenplay to Be Published.
Read Cameron Crowe’s Entire 25-Page Mission Statement From ‘Jerry Maguire’.
‘Episode VIII’ Director Rian Johnson Contributes to New ‘Star Wars’ Novel.
J.J. Abrams Tells Young Female Filmmakers To Trust Their Own Voices.
If You’re Having Fun, You’re Doing It Wrong: Andrew Kevin Walker On Screenwriting.
Writer Tracy Oliver’s rise from ‘Awkward Black Girl’ to big-screen ‘Barbershop’.
Paul Feig to Deliver Commencement Speech at USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Who Needs an Auteur? Feature on Joe and Anthony Russo, comic book franchise impact on Hollywood directing.
How This Screenwriter Convinced Susan Sarandon to Play Her Mom.
Screenwriter Talks George Miller’s More Intellectually Ambitious Version Of ‘Contact’.
A Scientist Ripped My Screenplay a New Asshole Thanks to Hollywood’s Science Hotline.
Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ Expanding in Theaters Thanks to Fan Demand.
Our Dated Model of Theatrical Release Is Hurting Independent Cinema.
Google’s Offering Money for the Best Scripts About Computer Science.
10 Lessons ‘Pulp Fiction’ Can Teach You About Scriptwriting.
Tim Burton Themed Bar Beetle House Opening in New York.
Hollywood has never matched the gritty masterpieces of the 1970s.
Feminism, Radicalization, and Injustice: The Enduring Power of the Witch Narrative.
The Secret History of North Korean Martial Arts Cinema.
11 Secrets of Hollywood.
Hollywood’s Asian Whitewashing: Why It Happens So Often, And Why It Must Be Stopped.
Entertainment Education 2016: The Best Showbiz Programs.
Film Schools Open Path to Hollywood Diversity.
A practical guide to making your first short film.
TV Formats Giant Endemol Shine Quietly Expands Into Movies.
Forget Too Much TV. It’s Too Big TV We Should Worry About.
We’re Seeing the Evolution of TV, Not Its Decline.
Viewers Still Prefer Traditional TV Content — But Streaming Is Gaining Fast.
Why TV Isn’t Working At Festivals Yet: A Modest Proposal.
Confessions of an Emmy Virgin: TV vs. Motion Picture Academy.
It’s Time for the Emmys to Expand the Outstanding Limited Series Category.
How to Buy a Future-Proof TV.
Rovi Buys TiVo for $1.1 Billion.
‘SNL’ to Cut 30 Percent of Commercials Next Season to Encourage Live Viewing.
Write for Star Trek: 1996 Wired article — really interesting read (HT The Bitter Script Reader).
At 94, Carl Reiner Reflects on Decades of Making People (and Himself) Laugh.
How Nielsen Has Built a TV Ratings Monopoly Nearly as Old as TV.
‘The Leftovers’ Is Moving to Australia in Season 3.
Beyonce Serves Up Emotional, Personal Film With ‘Lemonade’ HBO Special.
Critic’s Notebook: Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ Is a Revolutionary Work of Black Feminism.
Why the Return of HBO’s Best Shows Actually Spells Doom.
‘Twin Peaks’ Official Cast List Released.
Judd Apatow, Jeffrey Tambor, Sarah Silverman Pay Tribute to Garry Shandling.
Charter-Time Warner Cable Deal Clears Justice Department, FCC Chairman Recommends Approval.
Charter’s New Limits Are Victory for Netflix, Analyst Says.
Turner Classic Movies & The Criterion Collection Team For New Streaming Service FilmStruck.
Why Criterion and TCM’s New Streaming Service Is So Important.
Lionsgate Launches Distribution Through Steam, Includes ‘Hunger Games’.
Amazon in Talks to Create Virtual Reality Content.
How Will Amazon, Netflix and Apple Disrupt The VR Space.
Facebook Q1 Beats Estimates on 87 Percent Surge in Adjusted Earnings.
Twitter introduces updated harassment reporting tool.
Apple Q2 Sales Slip for First Time in More Than a Decade.
Virtual Reality and the Pioneers of Cyberspace.
Gannett Offers to Acquire Los Angeles Times Owner Tribune in $815M Deal.
Don’t Blame Readers for Low Sales of Diverse Comics.
L.A. Review of Books: The Juicy New Read of L.A.’s Intellectuals.
Alan Moore Advises New Writers to Self-Publish Because Big Publishers Suck.
Apple Music Grows to 13 Million Subscribers.
Pandora’s Masterplan: Be The Netflix Of the Music World.
Prince’s Paisley Park Estate to Become Museum.
Sara Finnerty: What I Wish I Knew After My MFA Ended.
Ted Hope: Independent films will flourish on streaming platforms.
3rd & Fairfax (WGA podcast): Episode 22 (Brian Sipe interviewed by Craig Borten).
Screen Talk: Episode 95.
Scriptnotes: Episode 247 (with Lawrence Kasdan).
Watch: The Best Sci-Fi Movies of the Century So Far.
Watch: 20 hidden jokes & cryptic metaphors in “A Clockwork Orange”.
Watch: Women Sportswriters Listen to Men Read Vile Tweets About Them.
Watch: Lone Figures in Movies.
Watch: Man // Woman // Mirror.
Watch: Calling From Somewhere [tribute to Jim Jarmusch].
Finally some good news: ‘Miracle’ Producer Gordon Gray Might Have Gotten A Miracle For Daughters Suffering Fatal Rare Brain Disease.
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: Imagine having your very own private script workshop. A structured environment with content and a schedule tailored to meet your specific creative needs. Your own unique online course site. And a one-on-one mentor relationship with a professional screenwriter and educator.
You can do this through Screenwriting Master Class.
Perhaps all you need is a 4-week rewrite workshop to add more depth to a couple of characters in your script and polish the overall dialogue.
Maybe you have gotten through a few drafts of your story, but you need to do a page 1 rewrite.
You could have already worked out your story and want guidance during the first draft process.
Or you’re starting with a concept and want to do prep and page-writing.
Maybe you are a beginner looking to learn the essentials of screenwriting and end up with a finished screenplay.
At Screenwriting Master Class, we can create private script workshops to match up with your individual goals as a writer.
Since launching SMC in 2010, Tom Benedek and I have worked with writers of all backgrounds and interests in the context of numerous private script workshops. Here are testimonials from two:
“Working with Scott in SMC’s private workshop was an invaluable experience. The private workshop gave me the attention I needed to address my script’s problem. I was so impressed with the quality of his teaching, the way the course was structured and the interactive process. In the end, not only did Scott help me solve my character problem, he elevated my script as a whole. He is a wonderful mentor and I learned a lot about the craft of screenwriting.” — Gladys Stone, screenwriter of “Tulio” (Semifinalist, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition)
“Working with Scott in a private workshop arrangement through SMC greatly accelerated my screenwriting knowledge and craftsmanship. Scott is a most dynamic, gifted and generous educator. He offered a holistic, character-driven approach to story that helped bring out my best as a writer. The flexible syllabus of the mentorship invites exploration of creative impulses without fear of losing direction or purpose. The script on which Scott consulted placed in the top one percent of the 2011 AFF screenwriting competition and has opened industry doors. Most importantly the SMC has cemented lasting self confidence in my abilities as a writer.” — Gyan Alexander, screenwriter of “Convinced” (Seminfinalist, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition)
People who have done private script workshops through Screenwriting Master Class include professional screenwriters, best-selling non-fiction authors, playwrights, and novelists, as well as beginning, intermediate and advanced writers.
One popular approach: Combine Prep: From Concept to Outline, Pages I: The First Draft, and Pages II: Rewriting Your Script enabling you to take a story from its inception all the way through final polish — all with a knowledgeable mentor.
Here are three big reasons to consider an SMC private script workshop:
* Writing a screenplay involves making thousands of choices about characters, plot, theme and so forth. Wouldn’t it be helpful to have feedback from a professional to help steer you through the process enabling you to avoid huge story pitfalls that could derail your scripting process?
* Writing a screenplay is a thankless, lonely job. Wouldn’t it be great to have the ongoing support of a professional to enable you to overcome inevitable story problems and emotional downswings?
* Writing a screenplay is a mystery. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to learn proven principles and practices from a professional with years of experience working in the entertainment industry, an approach to writing you can use again and again on your future stories?
For more information, contact us here.
Tom and I look forward to the opportunity to work with you.