Screenwriting From Iowa

“Cast Away is designed to be entertainment, but one that is making a sincere attempt to get to something deeper.”
                                          Bill Broyals
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“Movie storytelling is about redemption–the recovery of something lost or the attainment of something needed.”
                                                               Brian Godowa
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The movie The Greatest Story Every Told is not considered a great movie. Nor is it the greatest movie made on the life of Christ. Nor is it the biggest box office maker on the life of Christ. Nor is it the most viewed film on the life of Christ. But you have to agree [...]

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“I’m just glad I don’t live in a trailer…”
                               Jimmy Buffett 
                              Son of a Son of Sailor 

Just about everything about writer/director Courtney Hunt’s debut feature film goes against [...]

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Though writer John Steinbeck has been dead for more than 40 years he’s been in the news a few times this year. Earlier in the year producer Brian Glazer announced he was going to remake East of Eden, last month the DVD was release of the six-hour production of East of Eden that first aired on [...]

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“I think what makes a film stick to the brain is the theme.”
                                                                   William C. Martell 
“There’s no place like home.”
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Shane Black stormed on the scene back in early 80s when as a 23-year old he sold his script Lethal Weapon. The film came out in 87 and was a hit and he was paid a reported $1.75 million for his script for the 1991 film The Last Boy Scout, and then made $4 million [...]

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So where did the Ark idea come from for Raiders of the Lost Ark?
The credit apparently goes to Philip Kaufman who received a story credit on the script. (Kaufman is best known as the writer and director of The Right Stuff.) Kaufman was born and raised in Chicago and his grandparents were German-Jewish immigrants. [...]

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So Lucas came up with the bullwhip idea and Spielberg scored with the snake concept, where did the girl come from in Raiders of the Lost Ark?
Well, first let’s back up a step and realize that Casablanca did influence Raiders. And Casablanca is many things, part a detective story, part mystery, part wartime story, and [...]

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 I hate snakes, Jock. I hate ‘em. 
                                       Indiana Jones
                                       Raiders of the Lost Ark 
How did Indiana Jones come to [...]

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