Archive for April, 2009

Yesterday I was reading David Bordwell’s book The Way Hollywood Tells It which as the subtitle says is a look at Story and Style in Modern Movies. Bordwell taught film studies for several decades at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (I think he recently retired.) Robert Ebert has said, “David Bordwell is our best writer on [...]

Original Source…

Comments No Comments »

Since I mentioned both director John Boorman and Liberal Arts in the last few days that lead me to the writer of Deliverance, James Dickey. It took Dickey ten years to write the novel and he also wrote the screenplay for the 1972 movie that would be his only feature film release. (Though he did [...]

Original Source…

Comments No Comments »

I took the above photo at Calvin College after my screenwriting talks this week. It’s part of Calvin’s Crossing, a pedestrian bridge designed by architect Frank Gorman that spans a little over a football field in length connecting one the main parts of campus with the DeVos Communications Center over one of the busiest roads [...]

Original Source…

Comments No Comments »

The great think about traveling is it allows you to toss things into your creative blender, to learn things, and to see new things. For instance, though I have traveled to all 50 states here in the US I did something yesterday that was a nice surprise. In flying from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Minneapolis, [...]

Original Source…

Comments No Comments »

“You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me?”
                                         Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)
                                         [...]

Original Source…

Comments No Comments »

When Ed Burns came on the scene in 1995 with his film The Brothers McMullen he was the independent hero of the year. That film was made in the $25,000. range with a loan from his father who was tired of hearing Burns complain about his screenplays not getting made. The Brothers McMullen went on to make [...]

Original Source…

Comments No Comments »

“Cast Away is designed to be entertainment, but one that is making a sincere attempt to get to something deeper.”
                                          Bill Broyals
                               [...]

Original Source…

Comments No Comments »

“Movie storytelling is about redemption–the recovery of something lost or the attainment of something needed.”
                                                               Brian Godowa
                   [...]

Original Source…

Comments No Comments »

The movie The Greatest Story Every Told is not considered a great movie. Nor is it the greatest movie made on the life of Christ. Nor is it the biggest box office maker on the life of Christ. Nor is it the most viewed film on the life of Christ. But you have to agree [...]

Original Source…

Comments No Comments »

“I’m just glad I don’t live in a trailer…”
                               Jimmy Buffett 
                              Son of a Son of Sailor 

Just about everything about writer/director Courtney Hunt’s debut feature film goes against [...]

Original Source…

Comments No Comments »