Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 198th installment of Saturday Hot Links.
Toronto International Film Festival Reveals Short Film and Canadian Programs.
How Jon Stewart’s ‘Daily Show’ Exit Will Deal Big Blow to TV News.
Jon Stewart and ‘The Daily Show’: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at 9 Essential Moments.
Stephen Colbert Reveals First ‘Late Show’ Guest: ‘Could One of You Let Him Know?’
Universal to Shatter Record for Highest-Grossing Year Ever in Just 7 Months.
Paramount to Expand Slate to 15 Films Per Year.
Dear Hollywood: Enough With the Origin Stories.
FX Networks Chief John Landgraf: ‘There Is Simply Too Much Television’.
Cord-Cutting Gets Ugly: U.S. Pay-TV Sector Drops 566,000 Customers in Q2.
Report Finds Wide Diversity Gap Among 2014’s Top-Grossing Films.
The 13 Indie Films You Must See This August: “Mistress America,” “Queen of Earth” and More.
The VidCon Revolution Isn’t Coming. It’s Here.
Digital Star Popularity Grows Versus Mainstream Celebrities.
NBCU Expects More Than $1 Billion In Advertising for 2016 Rio Olympics.
USA Network to Air More Than 40 Premier League Soccer Matches.
List of Grants for Women Filmmakers & Screenwriters.
Apply for a 10-Day Retreat for Women of Color Directors and Screenwriters.
Jenji Kohan Leads Band of Female Showrunners Breaking TV’s Old-School Rules.
Indie Horror Movie Draws Outrage Over Isla Vista Shooting Resemblance.
Writers Guild to Represent Salon Media Staff.
The 15 Best Silent Horror Films You Can Watch On Youtube.
10 Filmmakers Who Disowned Their Own Movies.
‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ Sing-Along Anniversary Version Set for U.K. Theaters.
A Warning For Our Next Great Screenwriters: 2012 Nicholl Keynote Address by screenwriter Billy Ray.
Nikki Finke’s Hollywood Dementia Goes Live.
What Exactly Is Going On in True Detective Season 2? An Excruciatingly Clear Plot Breakdown.
The Minds Behind Diversity in Comics: A Reading List.
Silent Films From 100 Years Ago Found At Dump.
Gary Whitta (and Josh Trank) still really want to make a Columbo reboot with Mark Ruffalo.
Why Hollywood Is Punch-Drunk on Boxing Movies From ‘Southpaw’ to ‘Hands of Stone’.
Rare, 17 Minutes of Stanley Kubrick Commentary on ‘Dr. Strangelove’.
Giant Runaway ‘Minions’ Balloon Causes Traffic Chaos in Dublin.
Groundhog Day: Streamlining the Story.
The Weitz Brothers Help Each Other Through Hollywood Hits and Misses.
A Vulture interview with Diablo Cody.
The Black List partners with ALMA, a union for Spanish screenwriters.
Franklin Leonard on the art of podcasting.
Black List Table Reads: Chrome Noir (Part 1).
Hollywood’s Bill Cosby Amnesia: Gavin Polone Has a Cure (Guest Column).
Elliot Grove: 10 Screenwriting Myths Debunked.
Ted Hope: Film Production Methods: The “Better” Way Vs. The Easy Way (In 15 Steps).
Chuck Wendig: 100 Random Storytelling Thoughts And Tips, Starting Now.
Chicks Who Script: Episode 52.
Scriptnotes: Episode 209.
Watch: Supercut Puts Quentin Tarantino’s Visual Film References Side-By-Side [video].
Watch: Supercut Highlights 26 Movies With Beautiful Black-And-White Cinematography [video].
Watch: Fascinating 16-Minute Video Essay Explores The Power Of Color In Cinematic Storytelling [video].
Watch: ‘The Leftovers’ Season 2 Trailer Tries to Reboot the World [video].
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: The online writing workshops Tom Benedek and I run at SMC offer an unparalleled learning experience. The combination of quality writers we attract, a professional approach to prepping, writing, and rewriting a story, plus the comprehensive peer and instructor feedback at each stage of the writing process which not only takes participants into and through the writing process, but provides them a proven approach which they can adopt and adapt for all future projects… well, we are talking top shelf learning.
The next group session is the popular Prep: From Concept to Outline workshop which begins Monday, August 17. Over the course of six weeks, you ‘break’ your story, taking it from its conceptual roots all the way to a complete outline, enabling you to approach with confidence the page-writing part of the process.
Enrollment has been active for this session, so there are only a handful of spots remaining. If you’re interested, go here to learn more.
Perhaps you would prefer to work one-on-one with Tom or me as you mentor. We can do that as we offer a private version of each of our workshops. Here are testimonials from two writers:
“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” (Seminfinalist, 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 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.
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?
So if you would prefer a group writing workshop or a private session, we’ve got you covered at Screenwriting Master Class.
For more information, email us here.
Onward!
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