I have had many, many failures and I’m a big fan of them…NBC a couple of years ago optioned one of my books and it was going to be a comedy where every week this writer did another wacky experiment and chaos ensued. And it was a total failure—it didn’t get picked up….There was one […]
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Author Archive
Aug
17
2017
 
Three Reminders that Every Working Screenwriter Had to Start at Square OnePosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa100 percent of the screenwriters who now have agents at one time didn’t have an agent. 100 percent of screenwriters who are now working at one time weren’t working. 100 percent of the screenwriters who have made money at screenwriting at one time time didn’t made a dime.” Michael Hauge Writing Screenplays that Sells page […]
Aug
16
2017
Canadian screenwriter who has ‘yet to step foot in L.A.’ sells script that will star Anne HathawayPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“If there are two writers, one living in Toronto obsessively focused on quality and craft, and another in Hollywood, looking to make contacts — my money’s on the out of town writer all the way.” Screenwriter Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean) I Love LA Wordplayer Screenwriting Column 33 (Also used in my 2009 post […]
Aug
15
2017
Nostalgia: The Pain from an Old WoundPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“In Greek nostalgia literally means the pain from an out wound…”
Aug
14
2017
‘If I were a California writer…’—Garrison KeillorPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“If I were a California writer, I would try to describe this sense of easiness and perhaps tie it to the landscape and the climate. I’d write about people in love with their home. But they must deal with the same troubles that afflict other humans, and not only mudslides, earthquakes, and brush fires, but […]
Aug
14
2017
The Perfect Mad Men MonologuePosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaWay back when I studied acting it was years before the Internet came along. So you’d hang out at the Samuel French bookstore on Sunset Blvd. flipping through plays searching for a monolgue that you hadn’t seen 100 times. (“I coulda been somebody…) There were also a few books that had collects of monologues. I […]
Aug
12
2017
Just Edit All the Dull Parts OutPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I don’t want film to be a ‘slice of life’ because people can get that at home, in the street, or even in front of the movie theater. They don’t have to pay money to see a slice of life. And I avoid out-and-out fantasy because people should be able to identify with the characters. […]
Aug
12
2017
That Time William Goldman Got a ‘C’ in Creative WritingPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I was eighteen and an aunt gave me a copy of Mixed Company, a book of his (Irwin Shaw) collected stories. I’d never read a word by him, never heard his name. But I remember the lead story in the book was The Girls in Their Summer Dresses. About a guy who looked at women. Followed by The […]
Aug
10
2017
Muhammad Ali v. Pee Wee Herman?Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaMost books about screenwriting talk about the importance of creating a strong protagonist, and don’t understand the important structural role the antagonist plays in defining the protagonist. As someone said, ‘You want to see Muhammad Ali fight Joe Frazier, not Pee Wee Herman.’ Too often scripts make the mistake of making things too easy for […] Like a rhinestone cowboy Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo Rhinestone cowboy Gettin’ cards and letters from people I don’t even know And offers comin’ over the phone Glen Campbell signature song written by Larry Weiss This is as good a time as any to go back to 1975 when Rhinestone Cowboy […] |
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