“I love finding the worst things happening at the best moments of a person’s life. So trying to have a scene that embodies those disparate elements of joy and agony when you keep pushing and pulling the characters like that—that’s fun writing.” Two-time Oscar-winning producer/director/writer Paul Haggis (Crash) The Dialogue: Learning from the Masters interview with Mike De […]
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Archive for June, 2014Yesterday I visited DeLand, Florida not knowing that it was just listed by Parade Magazine as one of 16 cities in their Best’s American Main Street competition. I took the above photo of the restore Athens Theatre just a block off the main drag in DeLand. The historic theatre first opened on January 6, 1922. […]
Jun
27
2014
 
“Never lie to an actor.”—Paul HaggisPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“Usually the characters are where I start [the writing process] and then I continually ask myself, ‘what’s the worst thing that can happen to this character?’ I love finding the worst things happening at the best moments of a person’s life.” Paul Haggis “Trust is the most important thing in any relationship. Never lie to […]
Jun
26
2014
Outsider Paul Haggis & Your VoicePosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I think it’s good for a writer to always be an outsider of some sort.” Canadian-born screenwriter Paul Haggis “When I’ve spoken at colleges and schools and—after you give the long spiel about writing from the heart, and all that stuff—the writers always ask, ‘What are people looking for?’ And I say, ‘Stop, stop thinking that […] “Very simple litmus test on what you should be writing or what you shouldn’t be writing—never ever write a movie that you yourself wouldn’t pay yourself to see.” Screenwriter Billy Ray (The Hunger Games, Captain Phillips) The Dialogue interview with Mike De Luca P.S. Here we are on day four of the Screenwriting Summer School and […] “Very simple litmus test on what you should be writing or what you shouldn’t be writing—never ever write a movie that you yourself wouldn’t pay yourself to see.” Screenwriter Billy Ray (The Hunger Games, Captain Phillips) The Dialogue interview with Mike De Luca P.S. Here we are on day four of the Screenwriting Summer School and […] “I took a great class taught by Robert McKee—sort of a cliché in Hollywood— but I learned things in there that I use and apply on every script. And even if I’m breaking the rules, it’s helpful to me to know what those rules are. The McKee class taught me a way of thinking about […]
Jun
24
2014
The Screenwriting Bar vs. Drinking BarsPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“When I was 18 I said, ‘Dad I think I want to be a screenwriter.’ He said OK and took me in his office…and pulled out the screenplay for Ordinary People and he said, ‘OK, do this.’ He was saying to me that’s where we’re going to set the bar.” Billy Ray “I think UCLA […] Today is the first day of Screenwriting Summer School. Admission is free and attendance is optional. The text I’ll be using mostly isn’t a text at all, but videos from The Dialogue Series: Learning from the Masters. The series (81 of the top screenwriters working today) was produced several years ago and until earlier this […]
Jun
20
2014
‘Field of Dreams’—25th ReunionPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“Movies aren’t intellectual, they’re emotional. And this one rang a bell…Movies at their best are about moments that you never, ever forget.” Kevin Costner on Field of Dreams The above NBC program aired yesterday and was shot last weekend in Dyersville, Iowa. It would be wrong (and maybe un-American) to have a blog title Screenwriting from […] |
