Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 134th edition of Saturday Hot Links.
Today: The Godzilla Kickin’ It Old School Edition!
Sundance reveals 13 projects for 2104 directors and screenwriters labs.
11 incredible bike mods.
The 15 most anticipated movies at 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
Related: Stream 12 past Cannes Film Festival movies for free at SnagFilms.
Related: Cannes jury president Jane Campion calls out the “inherent sexism” in the film industry.
Related: The 2014 Indiwire Cannes Bible. Everything you need to know updated daily.
Speaking of free films online: New Eminem documentary on Hulu.
Alcohol kills one person every 10 seconds worldwide.
Dan Harmon on the cancellation of “Community”.
Are there Number 1 pencils.
If you could be adopted by a movie mother, who would it be?
According to early records, the least popular American baby names.
Related: 6 ways to have a lucky baby.
7 historical parallels to “Game of Thrones”.
The time Salvador Dali worked for Disney.
Screenwriter Chris Sparling (Buried, ATM) to be featured #scriptchat guest tomorrow, May 18.
Does Norm MacDonald tell the best joke ever [video].
The origins of 10 great insults.
The stars of this summer’s movies? Special effects.
Uh-oh. The return of El Niño could mean we’re in for some serious bad weather.
Wil Wheaton’s web series “Tabletop” sets crowdfunding record: $1.4M.
An interview with the members of Pussy Rio [video].
How Robert Rodriguez is going to revolutionize television by getting rid of executives.
11 gross things that could be on your toothbrush.
Nice feature on screenwriter Edward Ricourt (Now You See Me) who visited his alma mater Dickinson College.
Did an undersea expedition find the Santa Maria from Christopher Columbus’ famous voyage?
How technology is warping your memory.
H.R. Giger, Oscar-winning Alien designer, dead at the age of 74.
Related: The Dissolve with an excellent overview of Giger’s life and work.
Related: James Cameron letter of apology to Giger’s representatives re the movie Aliens.
Could this 1862 infographic be the best one ever made [video].
How emotionally intelligent are you? Here’s how to tell.
13 incredible unbroken takes in movies [videos].
News anchor learns of her friend’s death while delivering the news on-air [video].
25 fun facts about Godzilla.
25 things you might not know about “The Sopranos”.
44 things you probably didn’t know about the Alien films.
Science says the five-second rule isn’t such a bad idea.
Noooooo!!! Beverly Hills eatery Kate Manilini to close in June.
7 movies based on a true story (are shockingly full of crap).
Notes from a recent Chuck Wendig writing workshop.
Alec Baldwin arrested for… illegal biking.
An argument for why Han Solo must die.
Another stupid case of victim-blaming.
Ranked: The top 10 Godzilla movies.
17 celebrities who raise chickens.
TNT goes edgy with new tagline: “TNT Drama. Boom.”
Why you should watch every single match of the 2014 World Cup.
The great site Cinephilia and Beyond finds a documentary on Edward Muybridge, a key figure in the evolution of cinema [video].
The meanings behind the weird symbols on 20 beer labels.
George R.R. Martin writes “Game of Thrones” in DOS?!?!
Half of the U.S. now in a drought.
Go here to download the pilot and 5 other episode scripts for the TV series “Hannibal”.
Soylent food is here… and it’s tyrannical.
Speaking of tyrannical: This move by movie theaters!
Fast Company: The 100 Most Creative People in Business 2014.
Related: The Truth About Creativity — A Free Virtual Conference (June 2–6, 2014).
15 teen feminist books everyone should read.
10 apps for writers.
10 lakes that are disappearing.
Diagramming dramatic dialogue from action movies.
Jim Henson wrote these 2 letters to his family to be opened on the event of his death.
40%. That’s the percentage of all copyright lawsuits filed in 2014 directed at one porn company.
Watch Jennifer Lawrence lie to Jimmy Fallon… and we fall in love with her all over again [video].
Why indie filmmakers should care about net neutrality.
Click this link. If you are a curious person who likes to read, trust me, you will be happy you did.
What movie the Coen brothers are directing next.
Teacher wears same outfit for school picture for 40 years [photo].
Attention aspiring filmmakers: Enter to win a scholarship to the David Lynch MA in Film Program.
24 dudes share the red flags they use to identify “crazy” girls.
Related: How to marry the right girl: A mathematical solution.
Cormac and Marianne Wibberley to receive UCLA screenwriting award.
Finally beware network execs: Here’s what TV writers really mean in meetings.
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: The online screenwriting universe can be a wonderful thing. Massive amounts of resources. Direct social media contact with actual screenwriters, TV writers and industry insiders.
It can also be a confounding thing. In part because there are so many different approaches to the craft of writing. You dabble here, dabble there. This so-called guru says one thing. That guru says another. There are supposed screenwriting ‘rules’. And a ton of people promising to tell you how to write a script… if you part with sometimes a considerable amount of your hard-earned money.
At least three problems here:
* It’s quite possible to hear and read so many conflicting takes about screenwriting that you are pretty much flummoxed about what to do, left to cobble together a hodgepodge of ideas and tips into some sort of coherent method to the madness.
* Moreover many of these self-proclaimed experts have never worked in Hollywood as a writer, never had a movie produced, and as a result are conveying information and ideas that may very well have no grounding in the realities of what it takes to actually make a living as a professional screenwriter.
* Finally, the very idea that there is one way to write a script, a single approach to the craft is itself a lie. Every writer is different. Every story is different. Anybody promoting a screenplay formula is almost assuredly leading you down a path you will spend months, maybe even years having to extract yourself from.
I have been teaching screenwriting now going on 13 years. I am as passionate about it as I am my own writing because my journey of discovery has led me into some fascinating insights about Story, what I call Character Based Screenwriting. I continue to explore this perspective in my writing and teaching, and what I am discovering just blows my mind. It is such an interesting way to approach the craft. It’s not a formula. Rather it is an attitude. Start with characters. End with characters. Engage your characters throughout the process and they will lead you into and through the story-crafting process.
Every class I teach, every workshop I run comes from this attitude: Characters first. Whether it’s the entire screenwriting theory curriculum I have created, what I call Core, eight classes covering Plot, Concept, Character, Style, Dialogue, Scene, Theme and Time, 48 lectures in all, dozens of pro writing tips, or courses that focus more on the practice of screenwriting, what I call Craft, another set of eight classes, or any of the four writing workshops we offer — Prep: From Concept To Outline, Pages I: The First Draft, Pages II: Rewriting Your Script, The Quest: 24 Week Private Screenwriting Workshop — all of them reflect my belief that the best writing is that which derives from focusing on characters.
Frankly, this approach makes the teaching more challenging. Why? Because when I work with writers, it means I’m rolling up my virtual sleeves, and digging into their stories, pushing each writer deeper and deeper into their characters to find common themes and dynamics, grasp the interrelationships and respective narrative functions of the characters, External World, Internal World, Metamorphosis, Subplots, and on and on. Here’s the thing: Through that process, the story structure evolves and emerges. Not outside-in writing, plugging beats into some prefab chart, but rather inside-out writing, immersing oneself in the story universe and into the lives of the characters, enabling them to show us the way.
It can be a messy process. It can be hard. It would be much easier for all involved to just toss out some simplistic formula. But formulas lead to formulaic writing. And that road is not the one you want to take to try and find your way into Hollywood.
Rather you want to find your voice. You want to gain confidence in digging into your story and seeing where that process takes you. You want to learn how to craft multilayered compelling characters that will help lift your words off the page and into the imagination of a script reader or story analyst, agent or manager, studio executive or producer, actor or director.
That’s what we do in the courses I teach. Here are my next three sessions:
May 26: Craft: The Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling
June 9: Prep: From Concept To Outline
June 23: Pages I: The First Draft
Then in July, I begin my next cycle of the Core curriculum.
As I always say, you can learn what you need to know about screenwriting on your own and with free resources like my blog. Just embrace the mantra: Watch Movies. Read Scripts. Write Pages. That can get you to where you need to be.
If, however, you want to expedite the process… if you want a structure and online community of other passionate writers to help you shape your story development… if you are intrigued by the shared adventure of digging into Character Based Screenwriting…
Check out Screenwriting Master Class.
As always, I look forward to the opportunity to work with you.