Not Much is an indie drama set in 2003 post-SARS Beijing. It tells the story of a businessman who begins an affair with a singer many years his junior. His wife, who barely speaks to him anymore, is afraid he might leave her for good. She seeks the help of his jealous business partner who […]
Production stills from the movie “Not Much.” Filmed in Beijing, China in 2003.
In recent years screenwriting blogs have begun taking the place of once seminal books on the subject. Information may travel faster online but by no means is the learning curve any shorter– there still aren’t any real short cuts. These past few days have seen a debate over screenwriting blogs and that got me thinking […]
Academy Award-winning screenwriter Budd Schulberg died Wednesday at the age of 95. As a screenwriter he is best known for On The Waterfront (1954) and A Face in the Crowd(1957). He is also the author of two of my favorite Hollywood books. One is the memoirs of his childhood growing up in Hollywood: Moving Pictures: […]
Paul Hackett is having the worst night of his life. It’s three a.m. Do you know where your sanity is?
In the past week I’ve seen two new Hollywood movies featuring songs by the rock group Journey (Yes Man and Bedtime Stories). It got me wondering how many movies from the past year have included Journey songs. It seems like a lot. I recall The Comebacks from 2007 had an amusing Don’t Stop Believin’ musical […]
For many online writers, the end of the year is a time for top ten lists. I didn’t get around to making my own list this year, but I don’t mind borrowing from The NY Times and their 10 Best American Movies list. This list is by Stanley Fish, who I don’t know from Adam. But […]
First impressions are just as important in screenwriting as they are in life. A good screenplay needs a likable hero that gets trapped in a compelling situation; someone the reader can relate to and root for as they turn the pages of your script. How you go about introducing your hero is something that should […]
Screen legend and cool guy Paul Newman has died. He was 83. In a career spanning 50 years Newman acted in over 65 movies. His New York Times obituary describes him as “one of the last of the great 20th-century movie stars.” For more on the life of this Hollywood titan, check out his Washington […]
When writing dialog it’s important to give each character their own voice. What often happens is we begin writing before our characters are sufficiently developed and they all end up sounding alike. This can be worked out in rewriting, but until each character comes to life they usually all sound the same. For me, characters […]
