Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 239th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest.
Cannes 2016: Buyers on the Hunt for the Next YA Franchise.
Cannes 2016: Huayi Brothers CEO Outlines How Hollywood Can Make Hit Films for China’s Audiences.
Cannes 2016: Why STX Won the $50M Bidding War for Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’.
Cannes 2016: Film Acquisition Roundup — Every Deal Coming Out Of The Film Festival.
Cannes 2016: The Year of the Women.
Summer Box-Office Guide to ‘Suicide Squad,’ Safe Bets and Potential Misfires.
‘Batman v. Superman’ Fallout: Warner Bros. Shakes Up Executive Roles.
The New Co-Chief of DC Superhero Movies Is Big On Hope and Optimism.
‘Captain Marvel’ Rumored To Be Directed By ‘White Girl’ Helmer Elizabeth Wood.
Wanda’s Legendary Lost $500 Million in 2015.
Why Focus Features Ditched Horror Flicks and Returned to Its Indie Roots.
Why Production in California Is Booming Even Beyond L.A.’s 30-Mile Zone.
Disney Movies for VR launches for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
What’s Next Now That Charter-Time Warner Cable Merger Is Complete.
Bollywood Musicals’ Boundaries Pushed With Violence, Homosexuality Onscreen.
Reels of change: Hollywood distributors not afraid of Bollywood flicks anymore.
20 Filmmakers on the Art and Habits of Screenwriting.
25 Highest Grossing R-Rated Comedies: From ‘Neighbors’ to ‘Beverly Hills Cop’.
How the X-Men franchise echoes The Usual Suspects.
What Are Steven Spielberg’s Favorite Superhero Movies?
Feature on Shane Black: The 20-Something Writer Whose Screenplay Started A Hollywood Bidding War.
In Memory of Thelma & Louise: Oscar-winning screenwriter Callie Khouri looks back at her controversial classic.
Jodie Foster Says Male Filmmakers Rely Too Often On Trauma as a Female Character Motivation.
How Olivia Wilde Used Her Star-Studded ‘Hannah And Her Sisters’ To Reintroduce NYC To The Live Read.
13 Female Filmmakers Who Are Ready To Direct A Blockbuster.
12 Arthouse Horror Directors Who Are Reinventing The Genre.
15 Camera Shots Every Movie Fan Should Know.
Producer-Managers Chris Bender and JC Spink Split After 18 Years.
A Hollywood Assistant Dishes on the Groveling, Posturing and Ego-Saving Fibs Involved in Booking a Power Lunch.
‘The Lobster’ and ‘Love & Friendship’ Rule the Specialty Box Office.
Here’s the Full Fall TV Schedule for ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and CW.
The Business of Too Much TV.
TV Upfronts: Power Plays, Surprises and Status Checks From the 5 Networks.
TV Upfronts by the Numbers: Total Orders Dip as Broadcast Networks Seek Stability.
From Lee Daniels to ‘Downward Dog’: TV Buyers Predict Best/Worst New Series.
Critic’s Notebook: The Sadness of Upfronts.
Critic’s Notebook: Why Being Critical of Broadcast Television Matters.
CBS Passes on Nancy Drew Adaptation For Testing “Too Female” For Lineup.
CBS President Explains ‘Supergirl’ Moving to the CW.
Rejecting ‘The Lie’: Why Racist Financing is Sending Filmmakers to a Colorful Television Landscape.
Directors Guild Reports ‘Slight’ Improvement in TV Hiring Practices of Women, Minorities.
How Female-Led TV Shows Are Being Negatively Skewed By Men Online.
Battle for the Screens: Why TV Told Madison Avenue to Ditch Digital.
HBO Signs Development Deal With China Movie Channel.
HBO Faces Major Programming Challenges as Michael Lombardo Departs.
People watch Netflix more than they hang out with their friends, exercise, and read — combined.
Why Netflix Is Launching Fast.com, Its Own Internet Speed Test Website.
Netflix Orders First Original Series From Argentina.
Amazon, Hulu & Netflix Load Up On Original Content.
Amazon Studios Takes Cannes ‘On Its Own Terms’.
Xiaomi Wants to Take On Roku and Apple TV With New Streaming Box.
Yahoo Headed for Fire Sale: Bids May Come in Below $3 Billion.
26 Obvious Signs You’re a Writer.
THR Ranks the 25 Best Drama Schools for an MFA.
David Byrne writes contemporary musical about Joan of Arc.
Prince Guitar to be Auctioned in Beverly Hills.
Why the Peabody Awards at 75 Still Matter to the Winners.
Reddit AMA: Shane Black.
The Bitter Script Reader: The writers of the spec script THE MAKING OF STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII revealed.
Broken Projector: Vomit Draft 14.
Chicks Who Script: Episode 84.
Watch: Terry Gilliam at Cannes 2016 / “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”.
Watch: “Nice Guys” Funny Animated Short.
Watch: 11 Ways All Movie Trailers Are the Same.
Watch: “Yojimbo” and “Fistful of Dollars”: Shot-by-Shot Montage.
Watch: Mexican Standoff Movie Mashup.
Watch: “North by Northwest” meets “Star Wars” mashup.
Watch: Opening Shots Tell Us Everything.
Watch: How Alfred Hitchcock Blocks A Scene.
Watch: Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick.
Finally watch this incredible spoken-word performance by Kate Tempest.
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: Eighteen years ago, the movie The Big Lebowski opened. Here is a taste of this wondrous Coen brothers movie:
Perfect timing because beginning Monday, May 30, I will be offering my popular 1-week online class The Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling.
If you are a Coen brothers fan — which you should be!!! — here is a great opportunity to immerse yourself in their movies and discover story principles and dynamics these incredible filmmakers use, knowledge you can bring to bear on your own writing.
Learn about the importance of ordinary person /extraordinary situation, the dynamism of violence, the morally complicated universe, the dramatic potential of misunderstandings, authority figures, grand schemes and much, much — “Shut the fuck up, Donnie!” — more.
Workshop your own story using these same principles as well as insider tips, enabling you to put theory into practice. The class includes:
Seven lectures written by Scott Myers
Special insider tips
Daily forum Q&As
Workshop writing assignments (optional) with instructor and class feedback
A 90-minute live teleconference between instructor and class members
This is the only time I will be teaching this class in 2016 and if it’s anything like previous sessions, we are going to rock and roll!
The Dude abides. And so can you! Join me, won’t you, in my Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling class. Enroll here now!