Archive for July, 2020
Jul
31
2020
 
Filmmaker Jimmy Chin & the New/Old Ford BroncoPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I always found that the harder a place was to get the more I enjoyed going there.” —Jimmy Chin (Who lived out of his car for six years as a mountain climber on his way to being an Academy Award winning filmmaker.) Somewhere in a shoebox is a photo of me 15+ years ago in […]
Jul
30
2020
‘The Lonely Tavern’—A Poem by Gehrig ChamblessPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaEvery once in a while someone will briefly come into your life and leave a lasting impression on you. I met Gehrig Chambless on a video shoot two years ago and I knew he was special. He was only a high school senior but he could hold his own talking to college students. His attributes […]
Jul
29
2020
How to Write a 2×4 Piece of Wood as a Character in Your ScreenplayPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaRamesh Santanam on The Inside Pitch interview with OScar winning screenwriter Chris McQuarrie (at the 1:58:58 mark) asked McQuarrie a question about how he dealt with notes from studio executive in the development process and he told this great story about a writer who said he got a the “dumbest note he’d ever received” note […]
Jul
28
2020
‘Information is the Death of Emotion’—Filmmaker Christopher McQuarriePosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“What I’ve learned to do, probably really in just the last couple of films is to regard music and dialogue as very much one in the same. Dialogue is just as musical as music is a language. And by thinking of dialogue in musical terms, thinking of dialogue in terms of something that conveys an […]
Jul
28
2020
‘Information is the Death of Emotion’—Christopher McQuarriePosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“What I’ve learned to do, probably really in just the last couple of films is to regard music and dialogue as very much one in the same. Dialogue is just as musical as music is a language. And by thinking of dialogue in musical terms, thinking of dialogue in terms of something that conveys an […]
Jul
22
2020
Lens, Light and Location (The Lesson That Took Chris McQuarrie 25 Years to Articulate)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaChristopher Lockhart’s two hour interview with writer/director Christopher McQuarrie— that was originally shown on the private Facebook group The Inside Pitch— is now on YouTube. Here are two filmmaking lessons from the Mission: Impossible writer/director McQuarrie (the second which he said took him 25 years to articulate): LESSON 1 “I didn’t understand lens on my […]
Jul
22
2020
Lens, Light and Location (The Lesson That Took Chris McQ 25 Years to Learn)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaChristopher Lockhart’s two hour interview with writer/director Christopher McQuarrie— that was originally shown on the private Facebook group The Inside Pitch— is now on YouTube. Here are two filmmaking lessons from the Mission: Impossible writer/director McQuarrie (the second which he said took him 25 years to articulate): Lesson one “I didn’t understand lens on my […]
Jul
16
2020
‘Here’s how you become a screenwriter…’ (The Three Dollar Christopher McQuarrie Film School)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“Here’s how you become a screenwriter: Get yourself a pencil and a piece of paper—you don‘t need a computer, you don’t need Final Draft— and write interior [INT] and then chose any location you want. And then decide whether it’s night or day. You’re a screenwriter. There’s no such thing as an aspiring screenwriter or […]
Jul
16
2020
‘You’re supposed to be failing’—Unusual Advice from an Oscar-winning ScreenwriterPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“If you think you’re a failure as a writer because you’re failing, you’re doing it wrong. The whole idea is you’re supposed to be failing. You’re supposed to be learning from your mistakes. You’re supposed to be going through a process of trial and error and trial by fire. The strongest steel goes through the […]
Jul
14
2020
Kelly Preston Packed a PunchPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaI was saddened to learn yesterday that actress Kelly Preston died of breast cancer at age 57. This scene from Jerry Maguire where her character breaks up with Tom Cruise’s character instantly came to mind. Though it’s been 24 years, I remember the impact of that scene the first time I saw it in theaters. […] |
