Archive for May, 2014
May
31
2014
 
What to Do After You Fall 101Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaYou may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Maya Angelou, poem Still I Rise It’s like the boy who cried wolf—all those over-the-top Facebook titles that are meant to entice us. Daring us click and watch the video. “What this woman did at this end of this video will […]
May
30
2014
Maya Angelou on Caged Birds & Deep TalkPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I write for myself and that reader who will pay the dues. There’s a phrase in West Africa, in Ghana; it’s called ‘deep talk.’ For instance, there’s a saying: ‘The trouble for the thief is not how to steal the chief’s bugle but where to blow it.’ Now, on the face of it, one understands […]
May
29
2014
Writing Quote #49 (Maya Angelou)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“There’s a statement by [the Roman dramatist] Terence: ‘I am a human being. Nothing human can be alien to me.’ If you know that, accept that, then you can tell a story. You can make people believe characters are just like they are. Jack and Jill went up the hill, one fell down and the […] “The Immigrant is one of those rare, strikingly beautiful film experiences that transport you to another world.” Colin Covert Minneapolis Star Tribune “[The Immigrant] earns its dissonances. It’s richer than anything onscreen right now.” David Edelstein Vulture In light of the extravaganzas X-Men:Days of Furture Past and Godzilla pulling in $120 million over the weekend, […]
May
27
2014
Screenwriting Quote #189 (James Gray)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“Screenwriting is so hard. Anyone who’s ever done it or tried to do it learns very quickly how cruel it can be. It’s so dependent on things that are out of your control. I mean, the chemistry between actors, the director’s pacing, and all of a sudden you either look really good or really inept. […]
May
24
2014
Screenwriter Clare Sera & ‘Blended’Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“Someone told me some critics are not enthused about Blended. What?!! Unbelievable! … I know I could be upset, but I’m kind of enjoying the madness… Anyway, don’t worry about me, I’m lovin every minute and every aspect. It’s all a crazy wonderful ride!!” Clare Sera (Co-screenwriter of Blended) Facebook post 5/23/14 Imagine you’re from […] “Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky […]
May
21
2014
Writing Quote #48 (John Steinbeck)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“When I face the desolate impossibility of writing five hundred pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day’s work is all I can permit myself to contemplate.” Pulitzer-Prize winner John Steinbeck (Grapes of Wrath, East of […]
May
20
2014
Screenwriting Quote #189 (Darren Bousman)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I want to do things that are very outside of the box, and I want to do movies that no one else can do. If someone else can make the movie that I’m making, then I shouldn’t do it. I want to make these films that I think other people would be scared to do. […]
May
19
2014
Stephen Susco Q&A at Full SailPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaLast week I went to hear screenwriter Stephen Susco do a Q & A at Full Sail University. It wasn’t open to the public but I know some people who know some people, so I dropped in and found some worthwhile advice from a Hollywood veteran that I’ll pass on here in bullet points. Back […] |
