“It’s that new girl in #13, says she’s got a problem…She white, she got her youth, her whole privileged life ahead of her. Oh, I am looking forward to hearing about her problems!” Evette in Pieces of April written by Peter Hedges One of the things I love about Pieces of April is it was one […]
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Archive for the “Screenwriting From Iowa” CategoryBecause it’s probably never been done before, allow me to compare the 2003 indie film Pieces of April to the 1982 classic blockbuster E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial. I’ll flesh that out in a moment. I’ve heard it said that everyone has a personal wound—and it’s usually a wound from a mother or father. In Pieces of April […] “I’m often asked how much Pieces of April cost to make. A simple answer is difficult because it doesn’t fully represent the truth. In dollars, maybe not so much. But, you see, for every person who worked on Pieces of April, there’s a story of sacrifice. So I don’t know how to answer the question […] “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’re going…This way we can show up, experience the disaster that is her life, smile through it, and before you know it we’re on our way back home.” Joy (on going to Thanksgiving dinner at her daughter April’s apartment) The inciting incident of Pieces of April—an oven not working […] This April I’ve decided to sprinkle in some posts throughout the month of the indie movie Pieces of April (2003). Like Tender Mercies (1984) it’s a simple yet complex films that I revisit from time to time. Pieces of April was written and directed by Peter Hedges who just happened to be born and raised in Des […]
Mar
31
2016
 
Jim Harrison 1937-2016 (Part 4)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“When you map your life in retrospect there’s a bit of a blind cartographer at work.” Jim Harrison Off to the Side: A Memoir This is a screenwriting blog that strays off the reservation (the reservation being Hollywood). Or as the official blog of Tom Cruise said a few years ago, “For a more off-beat look […]
Mar
30
2016
Jim Harrison 1937-2016 (Part 3)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaThis post originally ran in 2010: “I wonder, when a writer’s blocked and doesn’t have any resources to pull himself out of it, why doesn’t he jump in his car and drive around the U.S.A.? I went last winter for seven thousand miles and it was lovely. Inexpensive, too.” Jim Harrison (Legends of the Fall) […]
Mar
29
2016
Jim Harrison 1937-2016 (Part 2)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaThis post originally ran in 2010 and I’m reposting it in light of Jim Harrison’s death last Saturday: “Later that night the ocean again entered Tristan’s dreams…” Legends of the Fall (Jim Harrison) “So many nights I just dream of the ocean…” Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (Jimmy Buffett) I’m not sure what the connection is […]
Mar
28
2016
Jim Harrison 1937-2016 (Part 1)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaI learned today that writer Jim Harrison died this past Saturday, so it seems fitting to repost this week something I wrote about him back in 2010: “I think I wrote Legends of the Fall in about ten days.” Jim Harrison on his novella for which the movie* was based Though Jim Harrison’s novella Legends of the Fall is […] “I remember taking workshops with Del Close, and he always used to ask the same question of a scene: ‘Is it true?’ He didn’t give a rat’s ass if it was funny. Telling the truth was always held in higher regard than making an audience laugh.” Writer/actress Tina Fey (30 Rock, Saturday Night Live) The Believer […] |
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