Author Archive
Jun
24
2020
 
Joel Schumacher and ‘Falling Down’ in 2020Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaDirector Joel Schumacher died a couple of days ago and while he’s known for many films (St. Elmo’s Fire, The Client, A Time to Kill, Phone Booth, Batman Forever, Phone Booth) the first film of his that came to find when I heard he passed was Falling Down. Written by Ebbe Roe Smith and starring […]
Jun
22
2020
Marlon Brando & Johnny Carson After the Death of Martin Luther King Jr.Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” —Martin Luther King (Rephrasing a 1853 sermon by abolitionist minister Theodore Parker.) Over the weekend I saw the screenwriter Paul Schrader posted on his YouTube page this interview with Marlon Brando and Johnny Carson from May, 5, 1968. Except that this two […]
Jun
19
2020
Why a Culture Needs Its Creative People —Writer/director Richard LaGravenesePosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“We have to be on the outside so we can see things other people can’t see and tell those stories. Don’t follow. Set trends. Lead us. Tell your stories or help others to tell theirs in your ways. A culture needs its creative people to tell its story, to reflect itself, and to reflect what’s […]
Jun
18
2020
‘A good character always has a crisis lurking inside them…’—Michael ArndtPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“A good character always has a crisis lurking inside them like a ticking time bomb. Once I’d decided who the characters would be in Little Miss Sunshine, it was just a matter of figuring out when those crises would happen. You also want those crises to happen in ascending order of importance. It all fell […]
Jun
15
2020
Where 99% of Your Focus Should Go to Be a Working Screenwriter (According to Oscar Winner Michael Arndt)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“The question is ‘How do you meet an agent?’ or get your script to an agent—It’s a mystery to me. Everyone sort of is able to find a different path, and usually it just comes to referrals. You can submit your script to contests, blah, blah, blah crap like that. For the real top-tier agents […]
Jun
14
2020
Oscar Winning Screenwriter Michael Arndt on ‘Endings: The Good, the Bad, and the Insanely Great’Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaIn a day and age of $50,000+ a year film schools, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better 90 minutes of screenwriting advice than Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3)—talking about insanely great endings. And this is totally free. (For years this talk was only rumored to exist, now you can link to […]
Jun
13
2020
Oscar Winning Screenwriter Michael Arndt on ‘Beginnings: Setting a Story in Motion’Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaThis video by Toy Story 3 screenwriter Michael Arndt is one I return to often. It’s so well done. Just click on the “Watch on Vimeo” and enjoy.
Jun
12
2020
Maya Angelou, Caged Birds, Deep Talk, and Alone Together in 2020Posted 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 […]
Jun
10
2020
Writing ‘The Fisher King’ (After Two Failed Starts) and the Influence of Howard SternPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaHe had a home, love of a girl But men get lost sometimes as years unfurl New York Minute Written by Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar, and Jai Winding. The original spark for The Fisher King (1991) was screenwriter Richard LaGravenese seeing two men crossing Third Ave. in Manhatten late one night. It triggered in his mind […]
Jun
10
2020
Writing ‘The Fisher King’ (After Two Failed Starts) and the Influence from Howard SternPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaThe original spark for The Fisher King (1991) was screenwriter Richard LaGravenese seeing two men crossing Third Ave. in Manhatten late one night. It triggered in his mind a bond between a handsome man and one who was mentally challenged. Informed by the book He: Understanding Masculine Psychology, this excerpt from The Moment with Brain Koppelman podcast covers […] |
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