Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 141st installment of Saturday Hot Links.
Today: The Pixar Animation Studios Short Film Edition.
David Duchovny on the end of “Californication”.
Related: Heather Graham’s reflections on her stint in “Californication”.
Related: The 35 worst sex acts that happened on “Californication”.
One series ends, another begins: Scene from upcoming sci-fi drama “Extant” on CBS [video].
Related: A feature on Mickey Fisher who wrote the spec pilot for “Extant” which sold last year. Note: I interviewed Mickey recently and will feature that QA starting Monday.
John Lennon art and legacy made public.
10 movies based on real-life cases of demonic possession.
AP will use robots to write some business stories.
Can you match Tilda Swinton’s hair to her movies.
Was World War I really the first one.
Unseen photos from the Battle of the Bulge found in foxhole.
Breaking down the multi-billion-dollar “Seinfeld” economy.
Why the Asian theme park business is exploding.
Esquire Network to air Spain’s famed running of the bulls live.
10 trailers that use and abuse the Inception BRAAAM!
Related: 16 musicians-turned-film composers and their breakout scores.
Why do seagulls like to hang out in parking lots.
Which celebrities got raptured in “The Leftovers”.
Amazing unseen photos of Woodstock concertgoers.
Snowpiercer, Life Itself and 9 other indie movies you can see on VOD in July.
How to procrastinate wisely according to writer Roxanne Gay.
17 Disney Park windows worth a closer look.
Ava DuVernay and 10 more trailblazing black female directors.
10 of Ben Franklin’s lesser known feats of awesomeness.
Spike Lee films ranked best to worst.
Only in America: When an $8M bonus is not enough… you sue for more.
How Melissa McCarthy became a box office powerhouse.
Related: Jennifer Lawrence tops Forbes most powerful actress list.
The New Yorker article on the Chilean miners who spent 69 days in a collapsed mine.
Watch the classic 1920 German expressionist horror movie The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari for free online [video].
When did Americans lost their British accents.
Bryan Singer shares first page of the purported treatment for X-Men: Apocalypse on Instagram [photo].
Minnesota’s mysterious Viking runestone.
25 things you probably didn’t know about A Hard Day’s Night.
Here are 50 films you should check out this fall if you’re going to the Telluride, Venice and/or Toronto Film Festivals.
Luxury balloon will take space tourists 100,000 feet up.
Guess what is getting a 6th season on Yahoo: “Community”.
The best hacks for grilling on a budget.
Sign of the times: CBS makes 20% more from online ad revenue than TV.
Plato invented the first alarm clock.
Rotten Tomatoes links with Netflix to help choose movies based on ratings.
The USA may have been bounced from the 2014 World Cup, but Tim Howard may have had the best game by a goalkeeper ever.
Related: 33 reasons why we love the U.S. men’s soccer team.
Related: If you are an American and got turned on to soccer by this World Cup, here are 13 ways you can take your soccer fandom to the next level.
China box office grows 22% in first half of 2014.
17 secrets of a competitive eating champion.
21st Century Fox launches mentoring program for female directors.
The Jurassic Park theme song as sung by… goats [video].
Evidence that almost all of the cast of “Orange Is The New Black” was on “Law & Order” at some point [video].
6 elaborate plots to prevent tornadoes.
The 9 indie films you must see this July.
That whole 10,000 hours thing? Not true.
WGA West earnings down 6.4% in 2013.
The Amsterdam bench from The Fault in Our Stars is missing.
Laura Palmer’s “Twin Peaks” house is for sale.
The names of 10 fireworks effects.
Related: How do fireworks get their colors.
Related: The best fireworks scenes in indie films [videos].
“Breaking Bad” marathon coming to AMC.
10 time management tips for busy screenwriters.
How to make music with an active volcano.
How John Oliver and HBO shattered TV’s comedy-news format.
Hans Zimmer concert series announced.
You can all relax now: ESPN extends hot dog eating TV contract through 2024.
Conversation with “Seinfeld” writer Peter Mehlman.
Time lapse of ice cream melting… mesmerizing [video].
Star Wars fan terrorizes Kansas town.
Can meditation really slow the aging process.
“Silicon Valley’s” Thomas Middleditch’s diary of 29 hours at an improv festival.
Imperiled Amazonian Indians make first contact with outsiders.
2014 original iPhone film festival seeks submissions.
7 big ideas from Aspen Ideas Festival.
The longest movie plot summary on Wikipedia.
10 tricks to appear smart during meetings.
Finally the 13 funniest lines from some of Roger Ebert’s most scathing reviews.
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: It’s always great to hear from SMC alumni who have good news to share. Just this week, I got an email from filmmaker Deborah Goodwin whose indie film The Pastor just wrapped its shoot in Brooklyn. That project began in the Core III: Character session which ran last September during which Deborah started developing her original idea.
A few days later, I received word from one of the 2012 Quest writers Brandon Cohen who co-wrote The Escort, a comedy starring Michael Doneger (also co-writer), Lyndsy Fonseca, Bruce Campbell, Tommy Dewey, Rumer Willis, Rachel Resheff, and Sonya Walger that is now in production in the Los Angeles area.
It’s possible to get there on your own. However if you are considering any sort of screenwriting education, why not work with professional screenwriters like Tom Benedek and myself, who have over 60 years of experience working in the movie and TV business, and over two decades as teachers. As Brandon tweeted this week:
Congratulations to Brandon and Deborah! The combination of their talent, hard work and persistence has taken them to the next stage in their development as professional filmmakers.
I look forward to the opportunity to work with you… to see where your journey may lead.
For more information on all Screenwriting Master Class courses and workshops, go here.