Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 229th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest.
SXSW: How the Fest Landed President Obama.
SXSW: ‘Purge’ Producer Jason Blum on the Future of Horror Films.
Oscar Box Office Winners and Losers 2016.
How Studios Use Blockbuster Budgets to Boost Moviegoing Attendance.
‘Deadpool’ Drives White-Hot 2016 Box Office Past $2 Billion.
Disney to Take $75 Million Hit Over ‘The Finest Hours’.
What Will Be the Highest-Grossing Movie of 2016.
‘Zootopia’ Box Office Success Proof of Disney Animation Renaissance.
‘Zootopia’ is Disney’s best animated opening ever — thanks to Pixar.
Sony Entertainment ‘Leadership Vacuum,’ Poor Studio Results Create Tension, Insiders Say.
Cannes Film Festival Cinéfondation Names 16 New Filmmakers to Watch.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Drops Out of ‘The Sandman’.
Lionsgate Plans ‘Now You See Me’ Mobile Games.
What VOD’s Growing Dominance Means For Indie Filmmakers.
How Senior Citizens Became Independent Film’s Most Powerful Audience.
Studios, Exhibitors Consider Revolutionary Plan for Day-and-Date Movies at Home.
Sean Parker’s New Distribution Concept Has Studios & Exhibition Running For Exits.
Post ‘Spotlight’ Oscar And ‘The Revenant’, Anonymous Content Explores Minority Stake Sale.
Hollywood luminaries talk entry into the entertainment business.
The Man Who Makes the World’s Funniest People Even Funnier.
J.J. Abrams Explained How His Wife Got Him to Give Up on Lens Flares.
Steven Spielberg to Give Harvard Commencement Address.
Jaws: The Story Behind the “Bigger Boat” Line Revealed.
Beetlejuice 2 is a go, with Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, and Winona Ryder.
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes Says HBO Original Programming to Increase by 50%.
Warner Bros. Creates Directors Workshop to Address Diversity.
20 women in Hollywood making a difference from behind the camera.
Canada Bankrolling More Female Directors to Close Gender Gap.
After 20 Years, Gaza Residents Are Heading to the Movies.
Watch what you read: 19 essential books about TV.
How Netflix, Amazon & Indie $ Created Sellers’ Market For ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon,’ ‘Bright’ And Festival Films.
Amazon is about to start releasing its movies in a very old-fashioned way.
Amazon, Retail Behemoth, Taking Smaller Steps Into Hollywood.
Amazon to Launch Its First Live Show.
YouTube Creates Global Production Program for Women Content Creators.
Vimeo Expands Original Slate, Sets ‘The Outs’ Season 2 Premiere Date.
Snapchat’s Valuation Sticks at $16 Billion in New Funding Round.
Apple’s Mac Computers Hit by First Ransom Malware.
Bob Dylan Announces Tour and New Album ‘Fallen Angels’.
Sam Smith Quits Twitter After Oscars Acceptance Speech Backlash.
Longlist Announced for Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Hamilton Is Headed Back to the White House.
Online Radio Crosses Crucial Threshold: Now Listened To By Half Of Americans Weekly.
Crosby, Stills, and Nash have broken up.
Chicks Who Script: Episode 79.
Scriptnotes: Episode 240.
Watch: Shades of Blue: The Colorscape of Michael Mann [video].
Watch: Kylo Ren Shows Up in Famous Scenes from Movies [video].
Watch: The Coen brothers — Under the Influence [video].
Watch: Angela Merkel Rap! (HAMILTON Parody) [video].
Watch: David Bowie’s first film, 1967’s The Image, surfaces online [video].
Watch: Kick-Ass Shorts Done in One Take, With No Lights, Made by Anonymous Filmmakers [videos].
Watch: 12-Minute Video Essay Explores The Triumph Of ‘The Dark Knight’ And Failure Of ‘Batman & Robin’ [video].
Ken Adam Dies: 007, ‘Dr. Strangelove’ Production Designer Was 95.
George Martin, Redefining Producer Who Guided the Beatles, Dies at 90.
Paul McCartney on George Martin: “[He] left an indelible mark on my soul and the history of British music”.
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: Why haven’t you finished that script?
You know, that story you’ve been kicking around for months. Maybe it’s pretty well worked out, but you just can’t summon up the energy to type FADE IN. Or you have a partial draft and you’re stuck, not sure which way to go. Or a story concept you think has strong potential, but you’re battling your own Voices Of Negativity…
The simple fact is an unfinished script is nothing but potential. And nothing but potential is… nothing.
Maybe what you could use is this.
* A structured environment with actual due dates to inspire you to knock out pages.
* A workshop where you receive constructive feedback from a group of writing peers.
* A mentor who is a professional screenwriter and educator to accompany you on your writing journey.
That’s what we offer at Screenwriting Master Class with our Pages I: The First Draft workshop. 10 lectures [written by me] to spur your creativity, 10 teleconferences to review your pages, 10 due dates to motivate you to get from FADE IN to FADE OUT.
If you are comfortable with the sequence approach to screenwriting, you will feel right at home in this course.
If your grasp of story structure is a weak point, this workshop will help you ground your understanding.
If you have trouble finding the discipline to deposit your ‘derriere on chair’ and write, Pages I takes that problem on in a direct, practical and supportive manner.
Some thoughts by writers on the singular importance of the first draft:
“Then comes the great leap which is the first draft, I call it ‘the muscle draft,’ where you just muscle it out. You don’t worry about what you’re missing, you just get through it, get to the end.” — Darren Aronofsky
“Even if you write it wrong, write and finish your first draft. Only then, when you have a flawed whole, do you know what you have to fix.” — Dominick Dunne
“The first draft is nothing more than a starting point, so be wrong as fast as you can.” — Andrew Stanton
“Sometimes you’re swinging your way through a first draft like a blind miner with a pick-axe. That’s OK. Get it done, nothing else matters.” — Justin Marks
“First drafts are for learning what your story is about.” — Bernard Malamud
If you’re looking to go on that unique journey of discovery which is a first draft and could use the structure of an online workshop to help guide you through the process, go here to learn more about Pages I.
My next session in 2016 begins Monday, March 21 with me as your guide and mentor.
To see the lineup of Screenwriting Master Class courses and workshops from January through June, go here.
We look forward to the opportunity to work with you!