Posted in Most Viewed Posts, Screenwriting Biz, screenwriting, tagged Alec Badwin, Blake Snyder, Bruckheimer Films, Carnegie Mellon, David Mamet, Des Moines, Diablo Cody, entertainment, Glengarry Glen Ross, Good in a room, Hollywood, Iowa Save the Cat, Juno, LA, Legally Blonde, MGM, movies, Pittsburgh, Scott W. Smith, screenwriting, screenwriting from iowa, STEPHANIE PALMER on April 2, 2008 | No Comments »
“Let’s talk about something important…coffee’s for closers only.” [...]
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Posted in Most Viewed Posts, screenwriting, screenwriting tips, tagged A Beautiful Mind, Akiva Goldsman, David Mamet, Edward Dmytryk, entertainment, Inciting Incident, Juno, movies, Paddy Chayefsky, protagonist, Rain Man, Ron Bass, Scott W. Smith, screenwriting, screenwriting tips, Skip Press, Syd Field, The Caine Mutiny, writing on March 31, 2008 | No Comments »
“My psychological state when I start a screenplay is always the same. It’s a mix of fear, anxiety and insecurity.”
Akiva Goldsman, Oscar winner (A Beautiful Mind)
“Who is your hero, what does [...]
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Posted in Most Viewed Posts, screenwriting, screenwriting tips, tagged Alien, Countercultural, Dan O'Bannon, David Mamet, Goddard, LaBron James, Lance Armstrong, Lew Hunter, Magnolia, Memento, movies, Picasso, Pulp Fiction, Robert Frost, Robert McKee, Scott W. Smith, screenwriting, screenwritingPulp Fiction, Syd Field, Tiger Woods, writing on March 20, 2008 | 3 Comments »
“Structure is the most important element in the screenplay. It is the force that holds everything together.” Syd Field
Today is the first day of spring and that signals a change. (Not so much here in Iowa, because the forecast is we’ll get 2-6 inches of snow tomorrow.)
If you’ve been thinking about writing a [...]
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Posted in Most Viewed Posts, screenwriting, tagged 60 Minutes, Andy Griffith, Ansel Adams, Apple, art, Arthur Koestler, Bob Dylan, Cameron Crowe, Comedian, Creativity, Des Moines, Diablo Cody, Dummies Books, Ed Harris, Einstein, filmmaking, Gary Kelley, Goethe, Hemingway, How to Get ideas, How to write a screenplay in 20 days, Jack Foster, Jack Johnson, Jack London, James Webb Young, Jerry Maguire, Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Buffett, Julia Cameron, Juno, Katie Couric, Orlando, painting, Paul Schrader, Peter Hedges, Pieces of April, Pixar, Reece’s Peanut Butter, Robert Frost, Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield, Rolling Stone, Scott W. Smith, Stallone, Stephen King, Steven Jobs, Steven Spielberg, The Artisit's Way, Thomas Edison, Tom Cruise, Vicki King, Windsurfing, Yosemite National Park on March 1, 2008 | 5 Comments »
“All the good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.” Grant Wood (Iowa painter, American Gothic)
Where do creative ideas [...]
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Posted in Most Viewed Posts, screenwriting, tagged A Raisin in the Sun, Bernard Malamud, Daddy Day Care, entertainment, film, Geoff Rodkey, Goethe, Iowa Writers' Workshop, John Steinbeck, Lake Howell High School, Lew Hunter, Lorraine Hansberry, Natalie Goldberg, Neil Simon, Quentin Tarantino, Scott Smith, screenwriting, Screenwriting Iowa, Sean Combs, Sidney Poitier, teaching, The Natural, UCLA, University of Wisconsin-Madison on February 20, 2008 | 5 Comments »
There is an age old question; Can writing be taught?
Don’t be silly, of course it can.
When it comes to most things in life we expect that we must be taught how to do them properly. We are taught how to ride a bike, swim, our A-B-C’s, to a drive a car, how to be a [...]
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Posted in Most Viewed Posts, screenwriting, tagged Beatles, Big Fish, Casablanca, Chinatown, Chuck Norris, David Lynch, entertainment, Fairfield Iowa, filmmaking, George Lucus, ILM, Infomercials, Iowa Writers' Workshop, John August, Koyaanisqatsi, Maharishi, movies, Robert McKee, San Francisco, Scott W. Smith, screenwriting, screenwriting gurus, Seth Godin, The Matrix, The Straight Story, Tom Peters, USC, writing, Yoda on February 18, 2008 | 2 Comments »
“So many gurus and so few good writers. Where are all these lessons going?”
[...]
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Posted in Most Viewed Posts, Screenwriting Road Trips, screenwriting, tagged Barry Kemp, Cillian Murphy, Coen brothers, Des Moines, Diablo Cody, Ellen Page, entertainment, Ethan Canin, Field of Dreams, Gene Wilder, Iowa, Iowa Writers' Workshop, Joe Eszterhas, John Irving, Juno, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Johnson, Max Allan Collins, movies, Oscars, Peacock, Philip Roth, Rebel Without a Cause, Robert Penn Warren, Scott W. Smith, screenwriting, Stewart Stern, Tennessee Williams, The Road to Perdition, University of Iowa, W.P. Kinsella on January 23, 2008 | No Comments »
Yesterday the Oscar nominations were announced and Diablo Cody and her script Juno were nominated for best original screenplay and the film was also nominated for best picture. I recently pointed out her Iowa connection as having graduated from the University of Iowa.
If you’re not familiar with the creative talent that has come out of [...]
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