Archive for November, 2012
Nov
30
2012
 
“Television used to suck.”—Frank DarabontPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I was reminded of how badly television used to suck. And you will be reminded if you go buy like a DVD set of any show that was popular prior to, I don’t know 1990-something. And you take your favorite show from the 80s—I promise you it sucks. They’re simpleminded, they’re stupid, television used to [...]
Nov
29
2012
Legacy Filmmaking (& Your Bank Account)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I learned a lot of my values growing up watching movies. Of course, they made a lot more movies like that then than they are currently.” Frank Darabont In the Q&A with Frank Darabont at the Zürich Film Festival he was asked if the DVD sales from The Shawshank Redemption were his safe security in [...] “Shawshank is basically It’s a Wonderful Life in a prison.” Frank Darabont, Writer/director of The Shawshank Redemption That observation by Darabont came during a Q&A at the Zurich Film Festival where he also made this comment: “To me, aside from I really dig movies and a good story well told, I think there is sort [...] “Orphans always make the best recruits.” M (Judi Dench), Skyfall This year marks the 50th anniversary of the on-screen debut of Agent 007 (Sean Connery in Dr. No), and those six words above spoken by actress Judi Dench pack many layers of meaning. Back in ’09 I wrote the post Orphan Characters (Tip# 31) and looked [...] Oscar-winning screenwriting Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) for years has given a talk called Endings:The Good, The Bad, & The Insanely Great. You’d think a talk like would blaze a trail through the internet, but I’ve yet to see an audio or video link. So we’re at the mercy of others who’ve heard the talk somewhere [...] “I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. I did not ask her [...]
Nov
22
2012
Filmmaking Quote #33 (Ken Burns)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I think filmmaking is obstacles. In fact, every film is a set of millions, literally—no egageration—millions of problems. But I use the word problems not so much pejoratively as if it’s just resistances, friction that you have to overcome. I’m fifty-six right now and have been making films for over 30 years—I don’t look fifty-six— you [...] “The real genuine stories are one and one equalling three.” Ken Burns My entrance into the world of Ken Burns was his film The Civil War which first aired back in 1990. Though that was 22-years ago, and in a world before You Tube, Facebook, and smart phones, there were plenty of distractions in modern Amercia [...] I’m paring down some of my film books, but flipping through them again before I give them away and looking for some less known quotes I can post at the same time. You can file this one under “embrace your limitations.” “Warners insisted I cut the budget [on Deliverance] before they would go ahead with [...] “If graphic design has a grand master, then Milton Glaser is Michelangelo.” Chip Kidd Talks With Milton Glaser “I started out copying Walt Disney, very early, and then invented comic strips.” Milton Glaser Author of Art is Work and designer of the “I ‘Heart/Love’ New York” logo Tagged: Art is Work, Milton Glaser |
