Saturday Hot Links
Time for another installment of Saturday Hot Links!
Today: The Incredibly Cute Otter Video Edition!
Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction Chevrolet which was stolen 17 years ago? It’s been recovered.
Iconic country singer George Jones dies at the age of 81.
Venezuela’s president orders the arrest of an American documentary filmmaker.
When Mark Zuckerberg cashed in Facebook stock options last year? He netted $2.3B.
The producer as serial entrepreneur.
Writer-director sues Paramount claiming they stole his ideas for Paranormal Activity 4.
Why it’s time to retire the term ‘manic pixie dream girl.’
James Ellroy shopping a TV series sequel to L.A. Confidential.
16 amazing stories about trees.
10 essential cinematic antiheroes.
20 beautiful and strange bicycle designs.
Watch Studio Ghibli’s first live-action short [video].
7 terrifying beauty practices from history.
The best Joss Whedon movie moments.
Creativity Post: 10 practices from the most innovative organizations.
Little girls are better at designing superheroes than you.
You can support the proposed Lucas Cultural Arts Museum in San Francisco.
Meet Rebecca Martinson, the rabid sorority sister from Delta Gamma.
Actor Michael Shannon does a dramatic reading of Ms. Martinson’s email [video].
So what happened with Ms. Martinson? She resigned.
Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reminisce about 18 years of Jesse and Celine.
How did Caesarean sections get their names.
Brian Williams chats it up with the cast and crew of “Mad Men”.
The 10 most often butchered song lyrics.
CNN Films acquires Richard Nixon doc.
Best-selling author seeks female participant for erotic novel ‘research’.
Worst to Best: Comic-book movie villains.
12 dating sites for weirdly specific tastes.
This flow chart explains time travel in all movies and television.
How deadly is a spoonful of cinnamon.
10 minor TV characters who stole the show.
Why don’t cell phones have a dial tone.
Hollywood’s troubled history with The Great Gatsby.
19 outstanding words you should be working into conversations.
Why the Sarasota Film Festival is indie-film’s best kept secret.
KCRW drops “Le Show.”
Sony options Kickstarter-funded “Half”.
13 products made using recycled materials.
Every clue so far about Star Trek Into Darkness villain.
16 big marketing ideas for filmmakers on a small budget.
Millennium Entertainment is for sale.
Read the first page of Thomas Pynchon’s next novel.
Keanu Reeves prod co signs Chinese co-production deal.
Disney princesses reimagined as sloths.
Mexico has a new all-time box office champ.
8 fascinating facts about planet Earth.
Cool 80’s heroines.
Why do we knock on wood.
The Black Board: The psychology of names.
When and why did people start saying “um” when they talk.
Everything you need to know about the Bitcoin boom.
Finally Michael Bay apologizes for Armageddon.
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: If you go to the SMC website and sign up for our free newsletter, you can download a PDF entitled: “Keys to Create a Compelling Protagonist.” That will give you a taste of my upcoming 1-week online screenwriting class starting Monday, May 6.
In it, we will be analyzing three movies: Bridesmaids, The Social Network and Up, each featuring a uniquely different Protagonist from which we will learn several proven keys to character development.
Some testimonials from writers who have taken the class in the past:
“A class that is perfect for anyone looking to learn the primary character archetypes, their psychology, and how they relate to the protagonist. The lectures provide thorough examples of these character archetypes in modern and classic movies, and the online forums were a hotspot to ask questions about the material or anything related to screenwriting. Scott’s style of teaching is highly accessible to anyone, as he creates an environment of easy, open discussion on the subject of character and welcomes any other questions you may have along the way.” — Kristen Vincent
I took your Create A Compelling Protagonist course a couple of weeks back and just wanted to write and thank you for providing an outstanding course. I’ve taken a ton of classes, both inside and outside film school, and this was one of the best. The material provided a ton of inventive ways to approach the development of a solid, three-dimensional protagonist, and helped me dig deeper into the character’s internal world — forcing me to reject easy solutions, the first ideas that came to mind. — Jason Young
Join me for this important and exciting 1-week class. For more information, go here. And don’t forget to sign up for the SMC newsletter and download the free PDF: “Keys to Create a Compelling Protagonist.”