“I just write character first. I put plot second.” Writer/Director Jeff Nichols (Mud) The reason I’ve spent all week writing about Jeff Nichols and/or his film Mud is not just because he is currently a screenwriter/filmmaker based outside of Los Angeles—but because I think Mud will end up with Oscar-nominations for Best Picture and best original […]
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Archive for May, 2013
May
16
2013
 
Screenwriting Quote #183 (Jeff Nichols)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I feel like when you write, you have to have a personal core to a story if you have any hope of it translating to an audience. There are certain emotions you have throughout your life that are palpable, you can feel them; they hurt. Every film I’ve made, I can point to one of […] “[Jeff Nichols] was way beyond most students with narrative. Of all the students I’ve seen in 10 years, he’s probably the best with just taking a story from beginning to middle and end. He was raised right, as we say in the South.” Filmmaker and Instructor Gary Hawkins (now at Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies) Storytelling Son of […] “I wanted to bottle the pain of standing in a parking lot next to a Piggly Wiggly and having your heart broken.” Writer director Jeff Nichols on his film Mud When a man loves a woman, he can’t keep his mind on nothing else He’ll trade the world for the good thing he’s found If she […] Love my ma, love my pa But I just love ole Arkansas Arkansas lyrics from the musical Big River <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/Pv30J05U2nI” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen><iframe> “I remember I was in junior high school and I was going to write a short story about mobsters, or New York mobsters. I think I had just seen a Scorsese […] “There is no way I’d be doing what I do now if it wasn’t for The Beatles. I was watching the Ed Sullivan show and I saw them. Those skinny little boys, kind of androgynous, with long hair like girls. It blew me away that these four boys in the middle of nowhere could make […]
May
09
2013
Writing Quote #39 (Writing in Paris)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaThis morning I was in Atlanta, Georgia and writer Pat Conroy was on my mind. On this road trip I’ve been listening to Conroy’s book on CD My Reading Life. While he’s usually associated with South Carolina’s Lowcounty because many of his books (The Water is Wide, The Great Santini, South of Broad) are set in that […] (Had a little technical issue so I’m posting Wednesday’s post just now.) ” In the active voice, the subject performs the action. In the passive voice, the subject is acted upon.” Contance Hale The Pleasures and Peril of the Passive/NY Times Driving through Tennessee today I spoke briefly on the phone with William Akers who lives in Nashville […] I’m on the tail end of a three week road trip working on a variety of video projects and I took the above picture at sunset this evening in Quincy, Illinois. The town sits on the Mississippi and no doubt was a stop for Mark Twain who came from Hannibal, Missouri just down river. Quincy [...]
May
06
2013
Filmmaker Les Blank (1935-2013)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I think he’s a national treasure.” Director Taylor Hackford on Les Blank “As his work testifies, [Les]Blank has made a fine art out of making a personal connection with diverse people. He works through the lens, behind the camera, never drawing attention to himself. He makes friends with his subjects, spends weeks with them and [...] |
