Screenwriting From Iowa

“What I’m really involved in when I’m writing is something that no one ever mentions when they see any play. Writing is like trying to make gunpowder out of chemicals. You have these words and sentences and the strange meanings and associations that are attached to the words and sentences, and you’re somehow cooking these […]

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And I wish we could sit upon a bed in some motel And listen to the stories it could tell John B. Sebastian/Stories We Could Tell When artists, speakers, and musicians come to Cedar Falls they often stay at The Black Hawk Hotel.  Over the years Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Family Guy creator Seth […]

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“I wear glasses and braces. I do all my clothes shopping at Walmart and second-hand stores. I spend more time on algebra than I do on my hair.” 15 year old Maya Van Wagenen   Yeah, teenager Maya Van Wagenen may still live with her parents in rural Georgia, but she doesn’t need to shop at […]

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“GIVE MY CREATION LIFE!” Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) in Young Frankenstein (And the plea of screenwriters throughout the world) Yesterday I went to see Young Frankenstein  at the historic Oster Regent Theater in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  It was a good turnout for the 1974 film directed by Mel Brooks. The theater opened in 1910 as […]

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“GIVE MY CREATION LIFE!” Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) in Young Frankenstein (And the plea of screenwriters throughout the world) Yesterday I went to see Young Frankenstein  at the historic Oster Regent Theater in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  It was a good turnout for the 1974 film directed by Mel Brooks. The theater opened in 1910 as […]

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Okay, it’s not really a photo of Brandi Carlile because I’m not sure if I can show any photos /video I took tonight of the Brandi Carlile concert tonight at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Artist Center where she performed with “the twins” (brothers Tim and Phil Hanseroth) and the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony. (The purpose of the […]

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You may be familiar with the 1960 French film Breathless. You probably know that it was directed by Goddard and the script written by Truffaut. But even if you know that the film co-stars Jean Seberg, you may be surprised to learn she was born in Marshalltown, Iowa. I drove through Marshalltown late this afternoon […]

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“There’s no way to learn how to write a hit song. There’s no formula for it. You just have to have it inside of you.” Beach Boys’ Al Jardine Postcard from Big Sir by Rick Petreycik Fretboard Journal 30     Tagged: Al Jardine, Beach Boys, Fretboard Journal 30, Rick Petreycik

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“I write everyday for at least two hours and I spend the rest of my time largely in the society of ducks.” Novelist Flannery O’Connor (and Iowa Writers’ Workshop MFA grad) Sometimes it takes years—even decades— to build a name for yourself, and sometimes infamy can come from just an email that takes a second […]

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“Stan [Musial] remains to this day an icon, a beloved pillar of the community , a gentleman you’d want your kids to emulate.” President Obama in 2011 when Stan Musial was awarded Presidential Metal of Freedom “No man has ever been a perfect ballplayer. Stan Musial, however, is the closest to being perfect in the […]

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