Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 218th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest.
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’: Breakdown of Box-Office Records.
Hollywood Loved ‘Star Wars,’ But George Lucas Didn’t Love Hollywood.
Michael Arndt Reveals Rejected Plots From ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’.
How the Abandoned ‘Star Wars’ Expanded Universe Inspired ‘Force Awakens’.
Which New ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Character Was Originally Supposed to Die.
26 Unanswered Questions of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’: We Have the Answers.
The Millennial vs. Baby Boomer Conflict at the Heart of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Rounds Out the Year of the Remake Sequel.
Harrison Ford Was Paid Over 50x More Than ‘Star Wars’ Co-Stars.
Fan Watches ‘Star Wars’ for 46 Straight Hours.
How the New ‘Star Wars’ Movie is Bringing Celluloid Back to Cinema.
Trolls are Spoiling The Force Awakens on Star Wars: Battlefront.
The Ultimate Guide To Star Wars: The Force Awakens Easter Eggs.
Star Wars: Episode VIII’s Script Is Reportedly so Awesome That J.J. Abrams Wishes He Was Directing.
Vatican Paper Rips ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’.
Marvel to Celebrate Women’s History Month With Variant Covers.
Secrets to Success in Hollywood (For Women).
Nicolas Cage Returns Stolen Dinosaur Skull to Mongolian Government.
Man Charged With Hacking Celebs’ Emails, Stealing Scripts.
‘Hateful Eight’ Pirated Screener Traced Back to Top Hollywood Executive.
Inside the Making of Home Alone’s Fake Gangster Movie.
Analyzing the Pranks in the ‘Home Alone’ Movies: A Venn Diagram.
Shane Black talks Christmas in movies with Kim Gordon.
The Paramount Vault: Over 175 Movies Free and Streaming Online.
Paramount Pictures and Landmark Theaters Teaming Up for Charlie Kaufman Retrospective.
50 mind-blowing movie fan theories.
Fifteen Percent of Adult Americans Are Already “Cord-Cutters”.
10 Things TV Networks Want for Christmas: Golden Globes, Another ‘Empire,’ Football.
Hollywood’s Surprise 2015 Box-Office Hits and Misses Abroad.
France Box Office 2015: Hollywood Tentpoles Reclaim Dominance.
South Korea Box Office 2015: Local Titles Still Dominate, But Another Strong Year for Hollywood.
IMDb’s Annual Top 10 Movies and Top TV Shows.
The Price of Entertainment in 2015 — Sports Spike Up, Cable’s Stable.
The Most Underrated & Overrated Films Of 2015.
The Trends That Made 2015 a Memorable Year at the Movies.
2015: 7 Great Female Characters You May Have Missed.
The 10 Best Female Performances of 2015.
The 13 Most Criminally Overlooked Indies and Foreign Films of 2015.
The 15 Best Documentaries of 2015.
15 International TV Shows to Binge-Watch This Holiday Season.
17 Most-Watched TV Specials of 2015: Oscars, ‘SNL 40,’ ‘The Wiz Live!’
The 20 best Christmas TV episodes.
Peak of Quality TV Makes Awards Consensus Hard to Reach.
Peak Inequality: Investigating the Lack of Diversity Among TV Directors.
Why Full-Frontal Male Nudity Was All Over TV in 2015.
Hits & Misses: Broadcast Networks’ Fall Scorecard And Look Ahead To Midseason.
7 Biggest Reality TV Developments of 2015.
9 Streaming Shows That Encouraged Cord Cutting in 2015.
The 10 Best Art Shows of 2015.
18 Great Performances in Mediocre Movies in 2015.
12 Broadway Breakout Stars of 2015.
Hollywood’s 10 Make-or-Break Moments of 2016.
Our 18 Most Anticipated Films By and About Women in 2016.
25 Incredible Writing Retreats to Attend in 2016.
From Adult Relaxation to Prole Erotica: Book Publishing Predictions for 2016.
The Beatles Will Finally Be Available on Streaming Services.
The Bitter Script Reader: A spoiler-filled reflection on Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Women Scribe: You get an idea. Now What?
Chicks Who Script: Episode 70.
Scriptnotes: Episode 229.
Listen: Radiohead song written, but not used for the movie “Spectre” [audio].
Watch: Stephen Colbert Explains the Plot of The Original Star Wars Movies [video].
Watch: 5-Minute Video Essay Explores What It Means To Be ‘Lynchian’ [video].
Watch: 10-Minute Video Essay Explores 120 Years Of The Cinematic Kiss [video].
Watch: 11-Minute Supercut Totals Tarantino’s Kill Count [video].
Watch: 32-Minute Talk With J.J. Abrams And Lawrence Kasdan About ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ And More [video].
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: Here is our just released schedule for the first six months of 2016:
January 4: Pages I: Writing the First Draft
presented by Tom Benedek
January 11: Prep: From Concept to Outline
presented by Scott Myers
January 18: Pages TV: Original Pilot Script Workshop
presented by Tom Benedek
January 25: Craft: Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling
presented by Scott Myers
February 1: Craft: The First 15 Pages
presented by Tom Benedek
February 8: Craft: Story Summaries
presented by Scott Myers
February 15: Craft: Writing the Low Budget Script
presented by Tom Benedek
February 22: Craft: Handling Exposition
presented by Scott Myers
February 29: Prep: From Concept to Outline
presented by Tom Benedek
March 7: Craft: Scene Description Spotlight
presented by Scott Myers
March 14: Craft: Character Driven Screenplay — Alexander Payne and David O. Russell
presented by Tom Benedek
March 21: Pages I: Writing Your First Draft
presented by Scott Myers
March 28: CRAFT TV: Writing the Original Pilot — 1 week class
presented by Tom Benedek
April 4: Craft: Character Development Keys
presented by Scott Myers
April 11: The First Draft — Introduction to Screenwriting
presented by Tom Benedek
April 18: Prep: From Concept to Outline
presented by Scott Myers
April 25: Craft: Joss Whedon — Creating Characters
presented by Tom Benedek
May 2: Craft: Create a Compelling Protagonist
presented by Scott Myers
May 9: Original Pilot Script Workshop
presented by Tom Benedek
May 16: Craft: Write a Worthy Nemesis
presented by Scott Myers
May 23: Craft: Writing Scenes — Sorkin to Tarantino
presented by Tom Benedek
May 30: Craft: The Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling
presented by Scott Myers
June 6: Prep: From Concept to Outline
presented by Tom Benedek
June 13: Pages II: Rewriting Your Script
presented by Scott Myers
June 20: Pages I: Writing Your First Draft
presented by Tom Benedek
June 27: Core I: Plot
presented by Scott Myers
July 5: Craft: TV — Writing the Web Series
presented by Tom Benedek
If you’ve never tried an online course before, a great way to check it out is our 1-week Craft classes. Sign up for one or do what a lot of writers do: Enroll in the Craft Package which gives you immediate access to the content for all 8 of my Craft courses and automatic enrollment in each of the 1-week Craft classes, all for about 50% off the regular price.
For those of you thinking about entering the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge in March, pounding out a draft of an original screenplay in 30 days, consider my Prep: From Concept to Outline workshop which begins January 11. The timing is such you’ll finish breaking your story in prep right as the ZD30 challenge begins.
Jump start your writing with Screenwriting Master Class.
We look forward to the opportunity to work with you!