Best o/t Web 31 Oct

:: Screenplay rejection letter from 1920s movie studio :: A seminar with Billy Wilder :: Stuck as a writer’s assistant? :: Are parentheticals overused? :: Why Doc Brown is the real villain of Back To The Future :: Drama from the non-dramatic :: Author’s e-novel to become Hollywood movie :: The art of book-to-film adaptations :: Why doesn’t more fantasy take place in the … Read more

Video: The Formula For A Winning Trailer

All trailers look the same. Why?
Because great movies have the same story components. [debate follows]
Here, in the greatest simplicity, it is shown what to incorporate in your story that needs to go in the trailer. Well, kind of.

With thanks to Louise Lee Mei and Niels Abercrombie.

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Cinematic Storytelling (4)

Below is yet another example of narrative paintings. This one by Wes Christensen and titled “John’s Dilemma.” As strange as I know this will sound, the painting above brings to mind two films: The Conversation and Raging Bull. THE CONVERSATION Notice all of the straight, rigid lines – the walls, the shelves, the books, the television, and even … Read more

Best o/t Web 24 Oct

:: On Subtext :: Fears and Questions of Science Fiction :: Complications, Reversals, and Roadblocks :: Restoring Chaplin gems :: Movie quotes that had us at hello :: Interview: Michael Arndt and Lee Unkrich of Toy Story 3 :: Battlestar Galactica writer goes back to the future :: Judith Weston on building conflict and drama in your scene :: A screenwriting competition believer :: ‘RED,’ … Read more

How To Make Our Myths

In late 2009 I wrote an essay for Lumina, called Make our Myths. This essay argued that the purpose of Australian feature film production is not to tell our own stories. The purpose of our feature film production is to make our myths. by Karen Pearlman The essay went off like a firecracker, with excerpts … Read more