I showed my wife the two pictures below and asked her if I looked like Tom Cruise and after studying the pictures she said, “Well, you’re both wearing a hoodie.” I think that means yes. Maybe it’s just me, but don’t you think Tom Cruise (as Ethan Hunt) and I look kinda alike in a [...]
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Archive for December, 2011In the summer of 1999, on an overnight train ride from Munich to Prague, I was asleep when I heard a several loud knocks on my sleeper door followed by urgent words I couldn’t understand. There was a second knock this time followed by words in English, “Czech police coming.” Not words you want to [...] “Truth and love must prevail over lies and hate.” Vaclav Havel Yesterday I wrote the post The Active Protagonist and that could have been the nickname for Vaclav Havel. I don’t know how many playwrights have become presidents of countries, but Valcav Havel is on that short list. He wrote over 20 plays and was also [...]
Dec
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2011
 
The Active Protagonist (Tip #56)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“One of the hardest concepts for new screenwriters to master is the active protagonist. Passive protagonists populate the pages of countless screenplays. As a screenwriting teacher and screenplay consultant, I see this all the time. But don’t just take my word for it. According to a reader friend of mine who’s read over a thousand [...]
Dec
17
2011
Leslie Dixon’s First Script SalePosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaWhile I have written my share of posts about the long journey it has taken some screenwriters to break in (10 to 12 scripts is not unheard of) here’s some encouragement from a screenwriter who sold her very first script. Just like Diablo Cody—except in this case the script didn’t get produced, but it did [...]
Dec
16
2011
Filmmaking Quote #29 (Marc Maurino)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“Write 10 pages, get a video camera, shoot a master shot and a shot/reversal shot, and edit it in iMovie. When you’re done, you’ll see you didn’t need 10 pages to tell your story you told. You’ll cut it down to five pages, and be a better writer for it.” Marc Maurino Script magazine article [...]
Dec
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2011
Writing Quote #31 (Hemingway)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“The book came to me in sort of a haze in Harry’s Bar in Venice.” Ernest Hemingway speaking about writing In Harry’s Bar In Venice When I was in high school I don’t think I really understood that Ernest Hemingway was a literary giant. But I knew Jimmy Buffett was fond of Hemingway and that was [...] “Find what gave you emotion: what the action was that gave you excitement. Then write it down making it clear the reader can see it too.” Ernest Hemingway (The Old Man and the Sea) “For me, it’s about setup and payoff. I try to set things up so that they pay off in a way [...] “What’s in a name? Possibly everything…One of the most difficult and important things to do in film is to make internal qualities apparent. Some writers choose names that suggest emotional or psychological characteristics for this reason. These names often have a mythical air about them. George Lucas utilizes them throughout Star Wars: Luke Skywalker’s destiny [...] “I’d counsel anyone that as soon as they see a movie which starts ‘Based on a true story’ should look at it the way you do with a painting and not a photograph.” Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin In yesterday’s post Emotional Climaxes I pulled a quote from Aaron Sorkin on how he used “emotional climaxes” in [...] |
