Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 202nd installment of Saturday Hot Links!
‘Scream’ and ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’s’ Wes Craven Dead at 76.
Why Wes Craven Mattered to Horror Fans.
Wes Craven Explains Why the Original ‘Scream’ Mask Is Too “Perfect” to Scrap.
Remembering Wes Craven, the Man Who Transformed Horror.
Director Edgar Wright Pays Tribute to Wes Craven.
Kevin Williamson tribute to Wes Craven: He Gave Me “a Master Class in Building Tension”.
Edelstein on Wes Craven, 1939–2015.
MTV Video Music Award Winners: Full List.
The Highs and Lows of the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.
Hollywood on track for one of strongest summers ever at box office.
Summer Box Office: How Movie Tracking Went Off the Rails.
A New Movie Season, Same As the Last Movie Season.
‘Star Wars’ Won’t Be the Only Force at Holiday Box Office.
Why American Ultra Flopped.
The 20 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.
An Alternative to TIFF for Toronto Moviegoers.
Telluride Film Fest Unveils Lineup Featuring ‘Jobs’ and ‘Suffragette’.
Telluride Announces 2015 Lineup, Including ‘Steve Jobs,’ ‘Black Mass’ and Rooney Mara Tribute.
Telluride 2015: 10 Must-See Films To Watch Out Of A Killer Line-Up.
Aretha Franklin Granted Injunction to Stop Telluride Showing of ‘Amazing Grace’.
Hollywood Continues to Use Telluride Film Festival to Launch Oscar Contenders.
From Venice to Telluride, Buyers Get Busy Before Toronto.
The Awards Pundits: Scott Feinberg and Stephen Galloway Debate Telluride, Toronto and Beyond.
Sony Lawyers Cut Material From Will Smith’s ‘Concussion’ To Avoid Potential Legal Hassles With The N.F.L.
Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks to Split From Disney, in Talks With Universal.
DreamWorks Deal at Disney Soured as Conglomerate Focused on Bigger Fish.
What Spielberg Really Wants.
Steven Spielberg predicts superhero movies will go ‘the way of the Western’.
Steven Spielberg Is Wrong About the Death of Superhero Movies.
Academy Names 2016 Oscars Producers.
James Bond Author Says Idris Elba Is “Too Street” To Play 007.
Here’s Idris Elba’s Response to Commentary That He’s “Too Street” to Play James Bond.
The Marvel Creative Committee Is Over.
Marvel’s Civil War: Why Kevin Feige Demanded Emancipation From CEO Ike Perlmutter.
Amy Schumer, Meryl Streep and the State of the ‘Strong Female Character’.
‘War Room’ Producer-Director Alex Kendrick on Prayer, Politicians, and Prospect of a Christian Superhero Movie.
The Premature Death of Physical Media — and the Cult Home Video Labels Keeping It Alive.
On The Rise 2015: 20 Screenwriters To Watch.
Six Up-and-Coming Women Writers Awarded $30,000 Rona Jaffe Awards.
TCM and WIF Announce Initiative and Programming Celebrating Female Directors.
Austin Film Festival to Honor ‘L.A. Confidential’ Screenwriter Brian Helgeland.
Who Broke the Blacklist? ‘Trumbo’ Splits the Difference in Battle for Credit.
Spanish Writers Guild ALMA Joins Hollywood’s The Black List.
Star Wars isn’t a movie franchise. It’s a toy franchise.
Apple Eyes Move Into Original Programming.
Why Apple Making TV Shows Is a Bad Idea.
25 Independent Movies Indiewire Excited to See in Fall 2015.
The 17 Indie Films You Must See This September.
Josh Gad Will Play Roger Ebert to Will Ferrell’s Russ Meyer in ‘Russ & Roger’.
Alex Cox on Why It’s a Great Time to Be an Independent Filmmaker.
Check It Out: The First Feature Film Shot Entirely with Drones.
Turner Classic Movies Taps Younger Movie-Lovers.
An entertainment power player: What it’s like to be a 65-year-old woman in Hollywood.
Inside The Persistent Boys Club Of Animation.
How Well Do You Know the Golden Age of Animation?
Announcing the 2015 SFFS / Hearst Screenwriting Grant Finalists.
Writers Guild Election Campaign Signals Tough Contract Negotiations.
How a Good Script Becomes a Bad Movie: The Inside Story of ‘Lucky Numbers’.
‘The Wire’ Creator David Simon On ‘Show Me A Hero’ and What Ails America.
‘Mad Max’ Director George Miller On Being Seduced by Storytelling in ‘The Director’s Chair’.
International Film Critics Vote ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Year’s Best Film.
19 Great Ways to Brainstorm Short Film Ideas.
Six Benefits of Microbudget Filmmaking.
Showrunner Shuffle: Last Minute Departures Explained by Booming TV Biz.
The Rise of the Sadcom.
Samantha Bee Will Join Late-Night Fray in January.
Ashley Madison: The TV Show? It Could Happen.
‘I Love Lucy’ to Return to TV…in Latvia.
The 100 TV Dramas Everyone Should Watch.
‘House of Cards’ Creator Beau Willimon On Which Shows Started The Golden Age of Television.
Summer Ratings: Broadcasters Hold Audience As Viewers Flock to Reality Favorites.
How Superhero Shows Escaped Their Awkward Phase and Became a Force on TV.
How Kids’ TV Networks Are Fighting Off Their Frightening Decline.
Hulu Unveils Ad-Free Subscription Pricing.
The Best Films Leaving Netflix in September 2015.
Netflix in Japan: Tepid Demand for Originals, Data Indicates.
How Netflix’s ‘Beasts of No Nation’ Could Change the Movie Business.
Binge or Bust? Why Streaming Networks Release Shows Like ‘Difficult People’ and ‘Community’ Weekly.
6 Tips for Getting Your Web Series Off the Ground.
Your Childhood Is Officially Over: Harry Potter’s Son Starts at Hogwarts This Week.
33 Must-Read Books for Fall 2015.
How the Tiny Graywolf Press Became a Big Player in Book Publishing.
4 reasons why independent bookstores are thriving.
Study: Adult Women Are the Biggest Demo in Gaming.
Digital Song Sales Hit Seven-Year Low as Streaming Continues to Rise.
How to Build Your Own ‘Ghostbusters’ Ghost Trap.
Beverly Hills’ $1 Billion “Vineyard”: The Bizarre Saga Behind L.A.’s Last Real Estate Trophy.
Hayao Miyazaki to Build Nature Sanctuary for Children on Remote Japanese Island.
10 Character Introductions Screenwriters Should Study.
The 10 Worst Workplaces in Movie History.
Werner Herzog’s No-Nonsense Advice to Aspiring Filmmakers and Creative Entrepreneurs.
Written By feature on Trumbo screenwriter John McNamara.
Written By magazine: Online.
Emma Thompson’s Wonderful Thoughts on Feminism, Ageism, Trump, and Teapots.
Hugh Howey: Letting Go of Fictional Characters.
Chuck Wendig: Why Star Wars Matters to Me.
Wil Wheaton: Tears in Rain.
The Black List Table Reads interview: Uzodinma Iweala.
Chicks Who Script: Episode 56.
Scriptnotes: Episode 213.
Watch: 30-Minute Video Essay Explores The Cinematic History Of The Action Hero [video].
Watch: Supercut Details The Religious Imagery In Martin Scorsese’s Films [video].
Watch: Sidney Lumet working with actors in rehearsals for the movie ‘Q&A’ [video].
Watch: 1963 Martin Scorcese short film [video].
Watch: Giant ‘Star Wars’ murals made from Post-it notes are what your office needs [video].
Watch: Supercut Assembles Some of the Best Opening Shots of All Time [video].
Watch: 7 Most ‘SNL’-Worthy Jon Rudnitsky Web Moments: Meet Lorne Michaels’ Newest Hire [videos].
Watch: Supercut Highlights The Visual Symmetry In The First 6 ‘Star Wars’ Films [video].
Watch: How Terminator Defined Action Movies [video].
Watch: Footage Surfaces of Young Angelina Jolie in Acting Class [video].
Finally, Oliver Sacks Dies at 82.
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: Many writers benefit from the structure of a writing workshop to encourage them through their story-crafting process. Plus you receive the benefit of feedback and support from your peers and the instructor. Finally, you not only work your way through your story, you also learn proven principles and practices you may adopt and adapt on all future writing projects.
So if you’re ready to prep a story or primed to go to script, Tom Benedek and I have got two online writing workshops geared for you:
Pages I: Writing the First Draft: There is only one rule about a first draft: “Get the damn thing done.” In this 10-week online workshop, you will use a series of lectures and weekly writing assignments to pound out pages and push you from FADE IN to FADE OUT.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
A professional approach to writing a first draft, everything from hitting deadlines to constructive critique, how to handle page notes to finding the motivation to write even when you don’t want to, and much more.
COURSE DETAILS
- One written lecture posted each week
- 24/7 Online Forum Q&As moderated by instructor
- Page-writing assignments with instructor and class comments
- Due dates to motivate you to write and post pages
- A weekly teleconference with instructor and class members
WHO SHOULD CONSIDER TAKING THIS COURSE
Screenwriters who will benefit from the structure of an online class to encourage them to start and finish a complete screenplay draft.
“Over the years I’ve bought and read many books on screenwriting. None of them got me as far in my goals and understanding as the Pages I: The First Draft workshop with Scott Myers. Scott was a mentor, brain-stormer, and cheerleader. I felt encouraged and informed all the way to Fade Out.”
– Dawn LeFever
Start Date: September 14, 2015
Instructor: Scott Myers
For more information, go here.
Prep: From Concept to Outline: This 6-week online workshop guides you through the story development process from concept to outline.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
A proven, professional approach to prep-writing: From a Protagonist Character Treatment to a Master Brainstorming List, Ten Major Plotline Points to Narrative Throughline.
COURSE DETAILS
- Six lectures to guide you through the prep-writing process
- 24/7 online forum discussions moderated by instructor
- Weekly writing assignments to develop and build your story
- Instructor and class feedback
- Due dates to motivate you to write and post assignments
- A weekly teleconference with instructor and class members
WHO SHOULD CONSIDER TAKING THIS COURSE
Screenwriters, TV writers, novelists, and playwrights who want to develop their story to an outline enabling them to have the confidence to pound out a first draft.
“From Concept to Outline is a course I wish I had known about years ago. I would recommend this wholeheartedly for anyone who is about to embark on their first script or ANY script. This lays the foundation stone to your story.”
— Camilla Castree
Start Date: Monday, September 21
Instructor: Tom Benedek
For more information, go here.
Remember: You can take any of our workshops on a private one-to-one basis. Indeed, one popular approach is to combine Prep and Pages I which takes you from concept all the way through the first draft process. It’s not only a great way to work your way through the writing process and complete a first draft, guided along the way by Tom or myself, it also enables you to learn a proven, professional approach to prep and page-writing which you can adopt and adapt for all future projects.
If you are interested in a private workshop, email us: info@screenwritingmasterclass.com.
“Screenwriting Master Class changed my life, and I wouldn’t be where I am as a writer without having taken these classes. I used to struggle to write every day. Now it’s something that just happens because Scott provided me with the tools I needed to learn the craft and helped me gain confidence in my writing. Scott cares about the success of each and every one of his students, and that’s what makes Screenwriting Master Class so special.”
– Amy Bircher
As always, Tom and I look forward to the opportunity to work with you.