Screenwriting From Iowa

Harold Loyd Vs. Buster Keaton (Super Bowl Special)

screenwritingfromiowa — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:20:31 +0000

“When we speak of silent comedy we speak instantly of three names—Chaplin, Loyd, Keaton.” Walter Kerr The Silent Clowns The eyes of the world are on the Midwest today. Tomorrow they could shift back to the Middle East and Israel vs. Iran. But for at least a few hours during Super Bowl XLVI it will [...]

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Silent Screenwriter Dies

screenwritingfromiowa — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:15:03 +0000

“She learned about movies by seeing ones she liked three or four times, studying them frame by frame.” Douglas Martin New York Times article on Frederica Sagor Mass “I would work so hard on some of the scripts and the minute I’d turn it in, someone else would take credit for it…Unless you wanted to [...]

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Blacks in Black & White

screenwritingfromiowa — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:02 +0000

“We’re a great country. We’ve got great stories. And for the most part, the great stories of people of color have not been told.” Spike Lee (at the NYC Premier of Red Tails) “Americans trust black people when we sing, dance or tell jokes. It’s when we stop laughing that people get itchy.” Author Charles [...]

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The Father of Film (Part 3)

screenwritingfromiowa — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:33:11 +0000

“Pioneer, visionary, ‘father of film technique,’ primitive poet, social agitator, king of screen sentiment and melodrama—all are apt descriptions of David Wark Griffith, the first of the great film directors.” Frank Beaver On Film, A History of the Motion Picture “It is unfortunate that the reputation of pioneer filmmaker D.W. Griffith will forever be stained [...]

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The Father of Film (Part 2)

screenwritingfromiowa — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:33:12 +0000

“To watch (D.W. Griffith’s) work is like being witness to the beginning of melody, or the first conscious use of the lever or the wheel; the emergence, coordination, and first eloquence of language; the birth of an art: and to realize that this is all the work of one man.” James Agee This is a [...]

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The Father of Film (Part 1)

screenwritingfromiowa — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:26:35 +0000

“No town, no industry, no profession, no art form owes so much to a single man.” Orson Welles on D.W. Griffith & his relationship to Hollywood The Father of Film was born in Kentucky. Surprised? Don’t be. After all, Johnny Depp—recently named the world’s coolest actor by GQ—is from Owenboro, Kentucky. And in a 2010 [...]

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You Tube Film School (Early Film History)

screenwritingfromiowa — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:13:54 +0000

The first 20 years of motion picture history had more in common with You Tube than Star Wars.The early films were often under a minute long and seldom over ten minutes. They featured animals, people kissing, people doing menial tasks—or just someone sneezing. Film was more of a novelty than business or an art form. [...]

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“No Dogs, No Actors”—Hollywood c.1908

screenwritingfromiowa — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:59:03 +0000

“Hollywood was established in 1853, with a single adobe hut on land outside Los Angeles, California. Growing crops was so successful there that by 1870, Hollywood became a thriving agricultural community.” History of Hollywood In the early 80s I remember driving north on the 101 freeway in Southern California, exiting at Santa Monica Blvd., turning [...]

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The Secret to Being a Successful Screenwriter (Seriously)

screenwritingfromiowa — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:00:03 +0000

“The reason that I am a writer today is Shakespeare.” Three-time Oscar nominated screenwriter John Logan (Hugo) Here it is, in just under 1,000 words, the secret of being a successful screenwriter. (From the lips of a bona fide and currently successful screenwriter.) There was some disappointment yesterday when the Oscar nominations were announced. (Isn’t there always?) [...]

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The First Academy Awards (1929)

screenwritingfromiowa — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:00:02 +0000

Inspired by seeing the silent film The Artist (2011) I’ve spent most of the past week or so reflecting on the early days of motion pictures, and since the Academy Award nominations are today it seems fitting to look back on the first Academy Awards on May 18, 1929. One of the most significant things [...]

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