Archive for the “Screenwriting From Iowa” Category


The man in this case  was writer/director Alexander Mackendrick, and what he walked way from way making movies in Hollywood.  Here’s a documentary about the film Mackendrick made and how he turned to teaching at CalArts—a school founded by Walt Disney.   Scott W. Smith Tagged: Alexander Mackendrick, CalArts, Walt Disney

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“‘Protagonist’ (the name given to the leading character in your story) literally means the person who initiates the agon (struggle).

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” ‘Look, Highland cattle!’ This was a quote from a particularly amateurish travelogue in which a character pointed off-screen, said this line, and the film cut to guess what? “—Making the case against bad dialogue.

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“One of the tasks of the director is almost to forget what the characters are saying and reimagine their behavior as being mute…”

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Today I’ll start a series of posts on Alexander Mackendrick. He directed Sweet Smell of Success and received an Oscar nomination as one of the writers of The Man in the White Suit.  Frustrated with the Hollywood studio system he turned to teaching at CalArts, where he was Dean of its School of Film from 1969 […]

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“[Death of a Salesman] really seeps into why we’re here. What are we doing, family, work, friends, hopes, dreams, careers, what’s happiness, what’s success, what does it mean, is it important, how do you get it? It really does seep into all those areas. “ Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) 2012 NPR interview about his […]

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“The art of survival is a story that never ends. “—American Hustle

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“I always look for amazing characters who I find are fascinating, charming, flawed, romantic and in trouble”—Screenwriter David O. Russell (American Hustle)

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“I always look for amazing characters who I find are fascinating, charming, flawed, romantic and in trouble”—Screenwriter David O. Russell (American Hustle)

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“My recipe for making movies has always been…”—Howard Hawks

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