What Makes Italians Laugh

Italian screenwriter Mario Monicelli died Monday in Rome. He was 95 and twice in his lifetime he received Oscar nominations; I Soliti Ignoti (Big Deal On Madonna Street, 1958) and Casanova (1970). He made his first short film when he was 19 and some obituaries say that he wrote as many as 100 screenplays. “The Italian comedy [...]

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The Author’s Suite

“Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice.” E.M. Forster A Room with a View It’s no secret that a life dedicated to writing has a lifelong history of financial struggle. But year after year there are also stories of writers who break through and join the ranks of the financially secure—some even very [...]

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John Gardner on Original Style

“Art Gropes. It stalks like a hunter lost in the woods, listening to itself and to everything around it, unsure of itself, waiting to pounce.” John Gardner I like to refer to creativity as a blender in which you pour your life experiences and talent into. Your originality comes out of this mix. One of [...]

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Filmmaking Quote #12 (Hitchcock)

“You have to design your film just as Shakepeare did his plays—for an audience.” Alfred Hitchcock Interview with Francois Truffaut

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Screenwriter Edward Anhalt (1914-2000)

Screenwriter Edward Anhalt had a more than 40 year career after graduating from Columbia University’s School of Journalism. While two of his most popular films were Jeremiah Johnson and The Young Lions, his two Academy Awards were for Panic in the Streets and Becket. Along the way his work was produced by an amazing group of people: Elia [...]

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Happy Anniversary

You find someone to love in this world You better hang on tooth and nail The wolf is always at the door Don Henley New York Minute I know it’s Thanksgiving day, but it’s also my 25th wedding anniversary. (No, I didn’t get married on Thanksgiving, it just happens to be where it falls this [...]

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Screenwriting Via Index Cards

“We work out the story on index cards to break it down.” Screenwriter Ted Elliot (Pirates of the Caribbean) on how he and writing partner Terry Rossio work “While I always outline scripts, for me it’s 50/50 whether I use index cards or not.” Screenwriter John August A few years ago the popularity of Blake [...]

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Screenwriting Obsession

“Most creators — and all would-be creators — simply aren’t obsessed enough.” Eric Maisel A few weeks ago I was talking to a couple filmmakers and we got to talking about a favorite topic of mine; Why are so many artists dysfunctional?  Take a handful of painters, writers, musicians and filmmakers and you’ll have more [...]

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Art & Fear

“In making art you declare what is important.” David Bayles & Ted Orland “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint’, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” Vincent Van Gogh Several  years ago I attended a weeklong workshop at what is now known as the Maine Media [...]

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Writing Quote #17 (Leland Ryken)

“As we read a poem or watch a movie, we stare at some aspect of human experience. While seeming to pay attention only to immediate foreground details, we are actually looking at life in general. Someone has said that the writer’s task ‘is to stare, to look at the created world, and to lure the [...]

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