May 2010 – Page 3 – The Story Department

Why movies aren’t novels (1)

May 21, 2010 by Michael Hauge

Next month, Michael Hauge and Steve Kaplan will be in Australia for two weekends of story classes. This month we run a special guest contribution by Michael Hauge plus we give Melbournians the chance to win a free ticket to the event (worth $445). Many fiction writers, at one point or another, consider adapting their … Read more

Lew Hunter’s Screenwriting 434

May 20, 2010 by Karel FG Segers

While Jack Brislee is trying to con himself into believing there are actually things more important than screenwriting (let alone The Story Department), I stumbled upon this review of Lew Hunter’s Screenwriting 434. A review of a review. Lew Hunter writes: “…the main reason why flashbacks, flashforwards, and narration are generally undesirable as storytelling devices today. These … Read more

James Gray is angry. (Audio)

May 19, 2010 by Karel FG Segers

Here is an exceptionally gifted filmmaker, profoundly unhappy with the state of the craft.
At the time of writing, this excerpt of an old CS Magazine interview with James Gray has had 5 views.
Let’s make that 500.

Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers.

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Activate your Dialogue

May 18, 2010 by Karel FG Segers

Give your characters something to do. Always. Long dialogue without action essentially means you are filming talking heads, which is profoundly anti-cinematic. It’s a simple rule but still too many newbies ignore it. It’s called MOVIES, remember? This is a really easy check. Flick through your script, checking for pages with only dialogue. See that continuous … Read more

Mystery Man on Melodrama

May 17, 2010 by Mystery Man

What is melodrama and how do we avoid it? I’ve noticed that people have differing interpretations of melodrama, ranging from “sad movie” to “soap operas” to “anything that’s on Lifetime” or, as one guy told me, “it’s anything written by Anton Chekhov.” Indeed, variations abound in its definition: “A genre with an opposition between good and … Read more

Here is an exceptionally gifted filmmaker, profoundly unhappy with the state of the craft. At the time of writing, this excerpt of an old CS Magazine interview with James Gray has had 5 views. Let’s make that 500.

Here is an exceptionally gifted filmmaker, profoundly unhappy with the state of the craft.
At the time of writing, this excerpt of an old CS Magazine interview with James Gray has had 5 views.
Let’s make that 500.