“I’ve had to convince the studio that I know this is not a $20,000 Alexa package, but I’ll challenge you to tell the difference once I’m done grading this footage.” Daniel Myrick on shooting a film with a camera smaller than an iPhone You want to know something really scary this Halloween? Writer/Director Daniel Myrick […]
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Archive for October, 2014
Oct
31
2014
 
Jim Mercurio on Theme/Star WarsPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“Here’s the beautiful thing about theme, it’s the underlying message that kind of unifies the story…” “You want to frustrate expectations, but you also want to break clichés in a surprising way. So in Hoosiers instead of benching the good player and putting in the bad player, [the coach] benches the good player and there’s no one to replace him. They play with four players instead of five.” Filmmaker/teacher Jim Mercurio […] “Citizen Kane is the film that made me want to become a filmmaker.” Oscar-winning director William Friedkin (The French Connection) “I think the opening image is usually about theme. And the question you might ask is what comes next? Character? Setting? Tone? Genre? Well, I don’t think that’s the right question to ask because there’s no […] “The choice between good and evil is really no choice at all.” Robert McKee Back on the first day of summer I wrote a post called the Screenwriting Summer School where among other things I pulled quotes from The Dialogue Series that was on You Tube. Since the full interviews of that series has disappeared online […]
Oct
26
2014
Writing ‘St. Vincent’ BackwardsPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I learned a technique from a guy many years ago, a working backwards technique. So I start with the question, How do I want the audience to feel? And I write that answer, I want the audience to feel like their life has value. Okay. I draw an arrow down. How do I visually see that happening in the movie? […] “How many actors are so unlikable and loveable in the same moment? That’s Bill [Murray].” Writer/director Theodore Melfi (St. Vincent) “When you have a character as disagreeable as Vincent (Bill Murray), if you can keep him disagreeable, even when he becomes agreeable, you have done the job. Because you and I ultimately both know how […]
Oct
21
2014
Tennessee Williams on ‘Apparent Failure’Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“Tennessee Williams felt that ‘apparent failure’ motivated him. He said it ‘sends me back to my typewriter that very night, before the reviews are out. I am more compelled to get back to work than if I had a success.’ Many have heard that Thomas Edison told his assistant, incredulous at the inventor’s perseverance through […]
Oct
20
2014
Finding Authentic Emotions (part 2)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaAlex Blumberg is a rock star. At least a rock star in finding authentic emotions. Between Thursday and Sunday night I caught chunks of Blumberg’s live (and then rebroadcast) CreativeLive seminar Power Your Podcast with Storytelling and was enthralled with what he pulled off with the help of his class. Don’t get caught up in the […] What is a story, exactly? Alex Blumberg What were you doing at 4:16 this morning? I was watching a story unfold about a woman who married the hunk who lived next door to her in Dayton, Ohio and moved west to live the California dream. She found her dream, but not until she went through […] |
