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Q & A with J. Michael Straczynski Part 1
Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a fabulous (and free) question and answer session with prolific screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski (Changeling, Babylon 5). The Orange County Screenwriters Association (who hosted the event) provides the following...
Finding The Truth About Your Work
Finding The Truth About Your Work – Good, Bad Or Indifferent by Michele Wallerstein OK, let’s say you’ve come this far as a writer: you’ve written one or two original screenplays or a novel or one or two TV movies or spec episodes. Now comes the scary part. Are...
Unstoppable
Some movies are unstoppable I'm not talking about runaway box office successes. I'm talking about those movies that can hold your rapt attention in every scene until the closing credits -- whether you want them to or not. Sometimes I'll flip channels late at night,...
The Shorts Trend – Big Screen PIXELS
The trend of successful viral shorts being made into movies continues. Previously, I had posted this article about PIXELS. Now comes this news: So many shorts to adapt, so little time. Late last year Sam Raimi paid top dollar for Fede Alvarez's internet sensation...
How To Be Creative
I was going through some of my old emails the other day and found one with the subject line: "I'd like my crayons back, please." It was an excerpt from an article entitled, "how to be creative," by Hugh MacLeod, that offers 30 great tips and insights for us creative...
Short Film: Evidence
There's an amazing extended scene in the movie Birth (2004), where the camera just holds on Nicole Kidman as she watches an Opera -- her head swirling with emotion and confusion. It's simple, but mesmerizing. The short film Evidence (1995), by Godfrey Reggio, the...
Quick Screenwriting Tip: Don’t Sweat the Backstory
Don't get hung up on writing character backstories. What's important is knowing how your character will react to situations right now. We all react differently to trauma and events. For example, someone who grows up in an abusive household may become an abuser...
Honoring the Creative Process
In these inspiring and insightful short videos, creativity expert Eric Maisel shares some practical advice for maximizing our creative output. Video 1: Honoring the Creative Process / Challenges and Solutions / Persistence and Courage "... what really honors the...
Rubber
It's so crazy, it just might work... as a movie! I had this fever dream the other night... A telepathic car tire was killing anything that stood in its way because of its attraction to a beautiful woman. Oh no wait -- that wasn't a dream, it's a new movie! Rubber,...
If at first you don’t succeed…
Here's a little inspiration for all those writers out there who have had creative work rejected. Neatorama has put together a list of famous books that were first rejected by publishers. Here's an excerpt: Gone With the Wind – one of the most enduring novels and...
The Lovely Bones vs. Ghost
This isn't really a review of The Lovely Bones, so much as it is a "What if?" game. That is, what if the movie Ghost had made some bad script choices? Unlike all of my other reviews, this one is teeming with SPOILERS, so if you haven't seen The Lovely Bones (or Ghost...
Dear TV and Movie Vampires
Dear TV and Movie Vampires: As mesmerized as I am by your moonlit adventures, I continue to be confused by several aspects of your behavior. Most notably: Why do you have so much blood on your face?! I get it. You love blood. It's colorful, iron-licious,...