Paranormal Screenwriting Activity

The movie Paranormal Activity continues to be that little film that does mysterious things in the dark. The sub-$15,000. budget film averaged $25,000 per theater last weekend. (The number one film in total box office revenue had just under $9,000. per.) Much has been written about the film that was shot in 2006 with some [...]

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Screenwriting Quote of the Day #107 (Walter Newman)

“You tell the audience only what they need to know—no more. And as little of that as possible. I feel that a great deal of tension can be given to any scene, any character, by keeping the information to a minimum. As Hitchcock said some time ago, ‘The one who tells you everything right away [...]

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More Thoughts on Theme

Earlier this year I did a post called Writing from Theme (tip #20) and I just came across a couple more related quotes on the matter so I thought I pass them along.
“To produce a mighty work, you must choose a mighty theme.”
Herman Melville
“Great writers communicate theme through action and images, with good dialogue used [...]

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Writing Quote of the Day #7 (Pearl S. Buck)

“I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” Pearl S. Buck
Related post: Screenwriter’s Work Ethic

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Whip It (part 3)

Carolyn wrote in the comments section of Monday’s post  about Whip It, “I can’t wait to see this film.” The problem is the film opened last weekend and these days that opening weekend is extremely important for a film to become a financial success. The filmmakers and studios were depending on the Carolyns out there to [...]

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Whip It (part 2)

Ellen Page can skate. Really skate. Roller derby-style to boot. That alone makes Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut Whip It worth seeing. But wait, there’s more….
Most people know Page for her Juno role, but the 22-year-old Oscar nominated actress from Nova Scotia already has a decade old career having been in over 25 films and TV [...]

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Whip It (part 1)

I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am women
I Am Women
Written by Helen Reddy & Ray Burton
“I couldn’t find any songs that said what I thought being a woman was about. I thought about all these strong women in my family who had gotten through the Depression and world wars and drunken, abusive husbands. [...]

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Larry Gelbart’s First Laugh

Way back in 1944 Larry Gelbart was paid for the first time as a writer. He was just 16-years-old. He would go on to have an amazing career that would span seven decades in radio, TV and movies. He died just a few weeks ago and will always be remembered for his work on M*A*S*H [...]

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Michael Hauge (part 3)

And my last quote from Michael Hauge’s book Writing Screenplays that Sell comes in on the inspirational side and something worth posting above your writing area.
“100 percent of the screenwriters who now have agents at one time didn’t have an agent.
100 percent of screenwriters who are now working at one time weren’t working.
100 percent of [...]

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Michael Hauge (part 2)

The only thing wrong with Michael Hauge’s Writing Screenplays that Sell is that it was first printed in 1991 so the film references are all old.    (At least that’s true of the version I have, and I don’t think it has been updated in the  30+ reprintings of the book.) But the tend to [...]

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