Screenwriting From Iowa

On this repeat Saturday, I going back to a post I wrote back in 2008. (Back when I regularly wrote posts that were between 1,000-2,000 words.) This one keeps with the Ohio-centered theme this past week. But a few changes have occurred  in the five years since I wrote this post. First LeBron James and I both […]

Original Source…

Since I’ve been kicking around Oberlin, Ohio on this blog all week I thought I’d slide over and talk about a writing team with roots not far from Oberlin. Jerome Lawrence was from Cleveland (less than an hour from Oberlin) and Robert E. Lee (the writer, not the General) was from Elyria, Ohio—just about 10 […]

Original Source…

“One of the things that [then Oberlin College] President Starr said to me, which stuck with me, was —’look out into the world and see if there is a gap that needs to be filled, see if there’s something you really want to do that isn’t being done, and then go and do it.’ And […]

Original Source…

“One of the questions you get asked when you’re a professional filmmaker is, ‘I want to be a director how do I do it?’ And the only real answer to that question is ‘make a film.’ Twenty years ago, even ten years ago it was harder to do that. But with the advancement of digital […]

Original Source…

Last year Oberlin was voted the “Best Hometown” in northeast Ohio by Ohio Magazine.  The city of just under 10,000 people was founded in 1833 by two Presbyterian ministers, and just happens to also be the place that helped develop two top Hollywood screenwriters. And while the city sits between Cleveland and Toledo you have to […]

Original Source…

“I started out in newspapers, went on to narrative nonfiction magazine articles in the late 90′s, and then began trying my hand at screenwriting…In 2002, Kathryn Bigelow optioned a piece I did called ‘Jailbait.’ It became a short-lived TV show on Fox that she directed. That was really my introduction to television and film. The […]

Original Source…

At the beginning of 2012 I decided for various reasons that after blogging everyday for three years that I would take the weekends off from blogging. But that all changes today, in that I will use Saturday’s to do a repost of pervious posts. The idea came to me Thursday after I had a meeting […]

Original Source…

“I don’t want to bring this to a conclusion on a down note. A few years back, I got a call from an agent, he said look ‘Will you come see this film? It’s a small, independent film a client made. It’s been making the festival circuit and it’s getting a really good response, but […]

Original Source…

“A few months ago I was on this Jet Blue flight going from New York to Burbank…I’m getting comfortable in my seat—You know, I spent the 60 bucks to get the extra the legroom— so I’m starting to get a little comfortable and we make altitude. And there’s a guy who is in the other side […]

Original Source…

“Most of the stuff that I’m looking forward to seeing is on TV now. Almost exclusively due to The Sopranos, there’s been a resurgence in long-form television. That’s great for someone like me, the ability to play out a narrative with a very long arc and explore complicated characters and have the audience be happy about […]

Original Source…