Archive for September, 2012
Sep
29
2012
 
Postcard #29 (Downtown Horses)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaA friend called me today and asked if I was going to be in Minneapolis tonight for the Upper Midwest Emmy Awards, where I am up for an award for a project I shot earlier this year. Nope—I’ve been in Des Moines shooting a project since Wednesday. It’s been a busy month and the Regional [...]
Sep
28
2012
Offensive & Defensive Screenwriting (Tip #62)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“The biggest lesson a screenwriter can learn is how to master a rewrite of his own script, or someone else’s, and make the change a studio wants without destroying the story. It’s like a football game: If you think of writing an original screenplay as ‘offensive’ creativity, then rewriting is all about ‘defensive’ creativity. There [...] “Just when I thought I understood how to write a good line, Phil Foster headed me in a different direction. He was one of the first comedians to break out of the traditional one-line joke format and venture into personal narratives. He would talk about his wife, his childhood, politics—anything he could put his personal [...]
Sep
26
2012
Tasting & Smelling Comedy (Tip #61)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“Buddy Hackett held up a matchbook and said, ‘What jokes can you write about this?’ I pitched a few about the advertisement on the outside of a matchbook, then a few behavior jokes about trying to light a match with one hand to impress a girl. ‘That’s good,’ Hackett said, ‘but the trick is not [...] “Be prepared at all times for rejection, even after you break in. One night I was backstage at Jack Silberman’s International Nightclub in New York City. I nervously handed a page of jokes I had written to a famous veteran comedian. He read my jokes without laughing or even cracking a smile, removed a silver [...] Producer Mason Novack—who discovered writer Diablo Cody and encouraged her to write her first screenplay (Juno)—finally picked up the phone and called Cedar Falls, Iowa. No, he didn’t discover the Diablo Cody/Juno-inspired blog Screenwriting from Iowa. He called a photographer friend of mine Tim Dodd telling him he needed to get an agent. Tim’s blog [...] I’m not sure what I’m allowed to say about my shoot today in which I was field producer on in the greater Dallas area, so I’m just going to pull a line & picture Prime Time at tweeted @DeionSanders: Just finished shoot with BallPark. Prime has own Burger baby! “The Prime” Read more at http://twitter.yfrog.com/hwc4wdhj#6Vp5Ty6XDDEFCiDR.99 It’s not everyday [...] Last year I started this section about postcards from the road as a way to stay sane when I was traveling and still trying to keep up a daily weekday posts. Two days ago I was driving on A1A in Ft. Lauderdale and was kicking around ideas for a post and I took the following [...]
Sep
19
2012
Postcard #26 (Scary New Jersey)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaLast night/earlier this morning ended a 21 hour work day that started in Ft. Lauderdale and ended in New York City. Missed the big storm in the area as well as the President hanging out with David Letterman and later with Jay-Z at the 40/40 Club in NYC. Got four hours of sleep and headed [...] Miami is the most exotic city in the United States. Of course, that’s debatable—and I won’t even trying to unpack what I mean. I just love the city—and I do mean the greater metro area including downtown, Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, Coral Gables as well as some of the outer areas. Yesterday afternoon I was [...] |
