Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 122nd installment of Saturday Hot Links!
Today: The Beatles Cartoon TV Series (1965–1967) Edition
The must-see films at 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
25 movies that defined the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Criticwire cheat sheet for 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
5 cold truths from an uninspiring 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Steven Spielberg makes surprise appearance at 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Sundance Institute announces short film challenge.
Paul Newman’s copy of The Sting script up for auction.
11 creative breakthroughs people had in their sleep.
12 Years a Slave screenwriter John Ridley worked for free.
Unreleased Miles Davis performances to be released.
Joaquin Phoenix interviewed by Terri Gross on “Fresh Air”.
Study says Facebook about to lose 80% of its users.
20 great stage-to-screen adaptations.
Apple reflects on the Mac at 30 years old [video].
The latest Broken Projector podcast.
Calendar casts retirement home residents as beloved film characters.
Megan Ellison won’t fund Terminator revival, sticking to indie movies.
Is Megan Ellison the savior of the movie world.
Will one more female billionaire make a difference.
Where are the leading roles for black actresses over 5o.
Debunking the myth of the 10,000 hours rule.
Quentin Tarantino pulls plug on “Hateful Eight” after the first draft of his script leaks.
Swedish town famous for its incredible ice orchestra.
Disney to bring Frozen sing-along to theaters.
NES start screens… for three hours [video].
50 strangest movie relationships.
Ghost ship full of ‘cannibal rats’ heading for the U.K.
What should you name your kid if you want him/her to be a movie star.
The woman buried in a New Jersey parking lot.
A group home veteran looks at Short Term 12.
How the Internet solved a 20 year-old mystery.
Neil Patrick Harris named Hasty Pudding Man of the Year.
Lake Superior freezes, revealing ice caves blocked for 5 years.
David Lynch confirms “Twin Peaks” Blu-ray with new material… but no 3rd season.
8 money-soaked tales of Wall Street excess.
NYT first-person essay on wealth addiction.
J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron on their garbage first drafts.
The biggest land rush in the history of the Internet starts February 4th.
Friday, Jan. 31 at 8PM: An evening with Nia Vardalos and Diablo Cody.
40 questions that will tell you if you’re normal.
5 most surprising moments from the Roger Ebert documentary Life Itself.
How your brain activity changes when you’re “In The Zone”.
Why were there so many great movies in 2013.
20 survival tips you must know.
Paramount first studio to stop distributing film prints.
11 things you might not know about cheese.
Harvard + Hollywood = Harvardwood.
85 richest people own as much as bottom half of the population.
6 surprising things that can influence your dreams.
6 signs reality is catching up with science fiction.
AARP launches Movies For Grown-Ups seal.
13 university-sanctioned paranormal research projects.
The best career advice from top Hollywood producers.
10 really weird pieces of classical music.
10 of Shakespeare’s best dirty jokes.
Watch a crowd sourced Neil Young concert film [video].
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week: From elevator pitches to development meetings to conference calls with talent, a screenwriter’s ability to share stories in a variety of narrative forms is both a valuable and necessary skillset. In the upcoming 1-week Screenwriting Master Class online course “Story Summaries: Loglines to Beat Sheets” [February 3–9], you will learn six different story summaries that are critical assets for any screenwriter.
A screenwriter not only needs to know how to write a script, we also have to be able to convey our stories in multiple other ways. Beyond that, every time we shape a story in a different way, we learn something about it. As such, summaries can be helpful tools in developing, understanding, and crafting our scripts.
This 1-week online course that I will be teaching covers multiple story summaries: Logline, Synopsis, Breakdown, Treatment, Scriptment, and Beat Sheet.
Learn the ins and outs of six different story summaries, and how they are applicable to the craft of screenwriting.
Plus you will have the opportunity to craft a logline of your own story with an optional workshop exercise.
The course consists of:
Seven lectures written by Scott Myers
Daily forum Q&As.
Logline workshop with instructor and class feedback.
A 1-hour live teleconference between instructor and class members.
I taught the inaugural session of this class last year and the response from participants was extremely positive, so I know the content is really solid. Plus if you haven’t tried an online course before, this is a great and simple way to do it. You can download lectures any time and read them at your leisure. Peruse forum comments from your fellow classmates and respond whenever you want. The teleconference is on Skype and recorded so you can have access to it for transcription purposes. It’s amazing how convenient and effective online education is.
So why don’t you join me for “Story Summaries: Loglines to Beat Sheets”? You can find out more about this 1-week online screenwriting class here.
Thanks for your interest in Screenwriting Master Class!