Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 301st installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest.

Comic-Con 2017: Winners and Losers From the TV and Film Panels.

Comic-Con 2017: What Popped and What Flopped.

Comic-Con Ketchup: Ready Player One’s Easter Egg-Filled Trailer and Lots of Superhero Movie News.

Comic-Con Stunts Prove That The Future of Entertainment Isn’t Technology, But Live Interaction.

Has San Diego Become the Con of Diminishing Returns?

Toronto Film Festival 2017 Unveils Strong Slate.

Toronto Film Festival unveils 2017 slate: Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lawrence films to screen.

What TIFF’s 2017 Slate Tells Us About the 2018 Oscar Race.

Venice Announces 2017 Lineup.

Universal First to $4 Billion at Global Box Office in 2017.

‘Justice League’ Extensive Reshoots Causing Headaches for Star Schedules.

Warner Bros. Spending $25 Million On ‘Justice League’ Reshoots.

Revenge of the Auteur: As Bloated Franchises Bomb, Original Stories Own the Box Office.

Why Directors Are This Summer’s Biggest Stars.

97-year-old veteran of Dunkirk reviews ‘Dunkirk’.

Did You Catch Michael Caine’s Cameo in ‘Dunkirk’?

Here’s Why ‘Dunkirk’ Will Likely Make $200 Million At the Domestic Box Office.

Sorry Christopher Nolan, But ‘Girls Trip’ is the Box Office Story of the Weekend.

Christopher Nolan’s Emotional Objects and the ‘Dunkirk’ Exception.

Fox, Paramount Accused of Using Stolen Computer Graphic Technology for Hit Films.

Hollywood and Film Financiers: A Torrid Love Affair Hits a Rocky Road.

Why ‘Wonder Woman’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Should Lead to More Female-Centered Films.

Steven Soderbergh’s New Movie Writer Likely Doesn’t Exist.

Writer Of Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Logan Lucky’ Revealed.

We’re Approaching a Major Turning Point in Trump-Era Pop Culture.

The New Rules For Making It In Hollywood.

PalmStar Media Closes Near $12M National Lampoon Deal: Can Laugh Brand Regain Luster?

Why Hollywood Studios Are Slow to Embrace Virtual Reality.

Real politicians explain how government would pay for all those cities Thor, Spider-Man, and the X-Men destroy.

In a League of His Own: One Man’s Mission to Make Moviegoing Fun Again.

Joss Whedon Will Be A Major Part Of DC Films’ Creative Team, Zack Snyder May Take Smaller Role.

F. Scott Fitzgerald and “The Love of The Last Tycoon,” or “Stahr: A Romance,” Part One.

‘Game of Thrones’ Helps HBO Now Quadruple App Downloads, Triple In-App Revenue.

How ‘The Night Of’ Became a Cinematic Quality Procedural and Hitchcockian Thriller.

Why ‘The Leftovers,’ ‘Transparent,’ and ‘BoJack Horseman’ Missed Out on Major Emmys.

How ‘Sense8,’ ‘The Young Pope,’ and ‘Big Little Lies’ Cinematography Overturned TV Conventions.

Amazon Has Great TV Shows. Now, About That Branding Problem.

50 Overlooked Indie Movies You Must Stream on Netflix.

Netflix is getting a big boost in subscribers from mobile.

Nielsen Weaves Views from Hulu, YouTube TV Into Traditional Ratings.

Netflix Takes Out New Line of Credit for Up to $750 Million.

Analyzing the Gender Representation of 34,476 Comic Book Characters.

Steve Jobs’ Widow Laurene Powell Buys The Atlantic.

Watch: Comic-Con ‘Stranger Things’ panel.

Watch: Comic-Con ‘Thor Ragnarok’ panel.

Watch: Best Comic-Con TV Trailers, From ‘Game of Thrones’ to ‘American Horror Story’.

Watch: Arrested Rebellion: Ron Howard’s Han Solo.

Watch: Trailer for the movie Suburbicon.

Watch: “Raiders of the Lost Darth”.

Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week

Imagine having your very own private script workshop. A structured environment with content and a schedule tailored to meet your specific creative needs. Your own unique online course site. And a one-on-one mentor relationship with a professional screenwriter and educator.

You can do this through Screenwriting Master Class.

Perhaps all you need is a 4-week rewrite workshop to add more depth to a couple of characters in your script and polish the overall dialogue.

Maybe you have gotten through a few drafts of your story, but you need to do a page 1 rewrite.

You could have already worked out your story and want guidance during the first draft process.

Or you’re starting with a concept and want to do prep and page-writing.

Maybe you are a beginner looking to learn the essentials of screenwriting and end up with a finished screenplay.

At Screenwriting Master Class, we can create private script workshops to match up with your individual goals as a writer.

Since launching SMC in 2010, Tom Benedek and I have worked with writers of all backgrounds and interests in the context of numerous private script workshops. Here are testimonials from two:

“Working with Scott in SMC’s private workshop was an invaluable experience. The private workshop gave me the attention I needed to address my script’s problem. I was so impressed with the quality of his teaching, the way the course was structured and the interactive process. In the end, not only did Scott help me solve my character problem, he elevated my script as a whole. He is a wonderful mentor and I learned a lot about the craft of screenwriting.” — Gladys Stone, screenwriter of “Tulio” (Semifinalist, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition)

“Working with Scott in a private workshop arrangement through SMC greatly accelerated my screenwriting knowledge and craftsmanship. Scott is a most dynamic, gifted and generous educator. He offered a holistic, character-driven approach to story that helped bring out my best as a writer. The flexible syllabus of the mentorship invites exploration of creative impulses without fear of losing direction or purpose. The script on which Scott consulted placed in the top one percent of the 2011 AFF screenwriting competition and has opened industry doors. Most importantly the SMC has cemented lasting self confidence in my abilities as a writer.” — Gyan Alexander, screenwriter of “Convinced” (Seminfinalist, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition)

People who have done private script workshops through Screenwriting Master Class include professional screenwriters, best-selling non-fiction authors, playwrights, and novelists, as well as beginning, intermediate and advanced writers.

One popular approach: Combine Prep: From Concept to Outline, Pages I: The First Draft, and Pages II: Rewriting Your Script enabling you to take a story from its inception all the way through final polish — all with a knowledgeable mentor.

Here are three big reasons to consider an SMC private script workshop:

• Writing a screenplay involves making thousands of choices about characters, plot, theme and so forth. Wouldn’t it be helpful to have feedback from a professional to help steer you through the process enabling you to avoid huge story pitfalls that could derail your scripting process?
• Writing a screenplay is a thankless, lonely job. Wouldn’t it be great to have the ongoing support of a professional to enable you to overcome inevitable story problems and emotional downswings?
• Writing a screenplay is a mystery. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to learn proven principles and practices from a professional with years of experience working in the entertainment industry, an approach to writing you can use again and again on your future stories?

For more information, contact us here.