Archive for the “Screenwriting From Iowa” Category
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 […]
Jun
09
2020
“So many gurus and so few good writers. Where are all these lessons going?”—Larry GilbartPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“If more information was the answer, we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs.” —Derek Sivers (@sivers) (I think this is from an interview he did with Tim Ferriss) As I try to wrap up what I hope is the final re-write on my book on screenwriting (like the greatest hits from this blog over the […] Yesterday’s post was long, so I’ll make up for it today. “Writing fiction or plays or poetry seems to me to be a very messy business. To be a writer requires an enormous tolerance for frustration, for anxiety, for self-doubt.”
—Writer Harry Crews (A Feast of Snakes)
Jun
07
2020
REVISITING THE FAMOUS DAVID MAMET MEMO TO ‘THE UNIT’ WRITERSPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaNote: I forget where and when I first read the memo from David Mamet to the writers of The Unit, but I know I wrote a post about it back in 2010 titled DAVID MAMET’S BOLD MEMO (?) The question mark was there because I could not confirm any sources where Mamet acknowledged that he actually […] “The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him, always.” —Arthur Miller(Death of a Salesman) “A screenwriter friend of mine said your number one goal is to get to the end. So write it fast; don’t look back. If you have to have characters yak about […]
Jun
05
2020
Fishing for Ideas with David LynchPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I love the idea of catching ideas. And they’re out there, millions and millions of ideas, and we don’t know them until they enter the conscious mind. And then we know them. And we see them and hear them and feel them. We know the mood of them, even if it’s just a small fragment […]
Jun
04
2020
Postcard #191 (A Beautiful New Day)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaI took this photo at 6:27 AM yesterday following a day and night of social unrest around the country. It was a nice reminder that there is still much beauty in the world. May it give you some respite from your newsfeed. Scott W. Smith “I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you might nudge the world a little or make a poem that children will speak for you when you are dead.” Above quote spoken by character Henry in The Real Thing: A Play written by […] |
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