Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 164th installment of Saturday Hot Links!
Today: The Memorable Folk Songs From My Youth Edition.
2015 Golden Globe nominations: The complete list.
Excellent NYT feature on Ava DuVernay whose movie Selma opens later this month.
Related: Ava DuVernay becomes first African-American woman to receive Golden Globe Best Director nomination.
Related: The 8 most badass things Ava DuVernay said about being a female director.
Saturday Night Live spoofs new Star Wars teaser trailer [video].
Related: LEGO battle of Hoth [video].
These mammals are hit hard by climate change.
Amy Schumer to host 2015 MTV movie awards.
Related: California drought worst in 1,200 years.
6 way the movie distribution model is changing.
Anthony Bourdain’s CNN show inspires rush of new culinary series.
Origins of 8 of the strangest place names in Canada.
The original reviews of 10 classic Christmas movies.
Related: 6 grammar points to watch out for in Christmas songs.
Marilyn Monroe love letters sell at auction for big bucks.
Writer-director Damien Chazelle reveals what might have happened after the end of Whiplash.
Writing tip: The 36 dramatic situations.
6 hidden gems in the 2015 Sundance Film Festival lineup.
Related: Sundance programmers talk 2015 lineup.
Why Tesla is not a capitalist success story.
What Hollywood execs have to say about the Sony hack.
Anatomy of a corn dog.
How Ryan Gosling earns $7M for an indie film.
Astronomers say a supermassive star could be born.
7 things you probably didn’t know about Die Hard [video].
17 famous literary characters almost named something else.
We are very near the end of civilization as we know it.
“I solved the ‘Serial’ podcast.”
50 Shades of Grey are even better with Ellen DeGeneres in them [video].
Why aren’t there B batteries.
Enough is enough! Men In Black / 21 Jump Street crossover?!?!
Toys are more divided by gender than they were 50 years ago.
Are you ready for Sherlock and Dr. Who theme park rides?
25 hair-raising facts about hair.
Into the Woods: How the movie differs from the stage musical.
How one woman’s discovery shook the foundations of geology.
Neil Patrick Harris’ Oscar-writing team announced.
10 misconceptions about sleep.
Netflix plans to launch 20 new original series every year.
A fascinating history of nail polish.
The most interesting movie fact of 2014: Universal Pictures.
How to taste whiskey like a master distiller.
Co-stars who hated each other.
How much does pop culture affect the prevalence of certain baby names.
Anatomy of a scene: Inherent Vice.
Time capsule buried by Sam Adams and Paul Revere unearthed in Boston.
12 lesser known Star Wars characters who got action figures.
Judge dismisses creationist lawsuit against school science standards.
Sundance reveals short films lineup.
19 secrets of UPS drivers.
13 coolest movie theaters around the world.
25 great books you might have missed in 2014.
The awful new trend in superhero movies.
How to beat a polygraph.
12 excellent features from directors who never directed another film.
The future of movies will be more Latino.
Bob Saenz: Contrary to popular belief, screenwriting is a business.
Stephen Colbert interviews Smaug [video].
The latest on the great Jungle Book competition.
Female showrunners dominate Golden Globes’ TV comedy race.
IOC to launch year-round Internet TV channel.
Mark your calendar: May 20, 2015 is David Letterman’s last appearance on Late Night.
Next Bob Dylan album will consist entirely of Frank Sinatra covers.
Podcast: Scriptnotes.
Finally a massive oral history of Boogie Nights.
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: Recently I’ve heard some pretty dismal stories from writers who have taken classes at a well-known online screenwriting education outfit. For example, around 70 participants started the program. Only 5 completed it. Zero feedback on assignments from instructors, all comments generated by fellow students. Poor customer service.
My advice: Be smart. Ask questions.
Do the classes offer weekly, consistent and comprehensive feedback from instructors?
Screenwriting Master Class courses do.
Are the instructors professional screenwriters with actual writing credits and members of the WGA?
Screenwriting Master Class instructors are (both Tom Benedek and myself).
Do the writers who take the classes typically finish the writing goal of the course?
Screenwriting Master Class writers do.
You don’t have to spend a dime to learn the craft. You can watch movies, read scripts and write pages, and get to where you need to get. However if you need guidance and wish to accelerate learning the craft, do the smart thing: Work with professional writers with over 60 years of frontline experience in the entertainment business, educators who are passionate about storytelling and care about the writers with whom they work.
Choose Screenwriting Master Class.