Story. Screenplay. Sale.
While you were out celebrating New Year’s Eve, I was watching David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ on DVD. Not that I’m such a pathetic hermit; it was just my wife’s fun idea of closing the Old Year. She admitted afterwards she might have been wrong. Missing the Sydney Fireworks and all that. Meanwhile, the Story Dept. has … Read more
About ten years ago I was first introduced to the Hero’s Journey. Since then I have found myself regularly relying on it when explaining story structure. Today I wanted to write an article about why I believe the Hero’s Journey is such a popular model for screenwriters and story teachers. Then I stumbled on the … Read more
Once past the Ordeal, the hero is ready to Seize the Sword, says Chris Vogler. In July we received development funding for THE MORTAL COIL. Next it was selected into SPAAmart and now the AFC is funding the production of the animation ACID SUN, after only one application. It sounds like OZZYWOOD Films is seizing … Read more
THE DA VINCI CODE came and went, PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST came and stayed and our own dear THE MORTAL COIL receives development funding from our own dear AFC! But let’s not distract from those other Things That Matter in the world of story and screenwriting. According to respected screenwriting gurus, one … Read more
Following my post on SYRIANA writer/director Stephen Gaghan, I came across an interesting discussion on the necessity of rigorous structuring vs. a more liberal, visual approach to screenwriting. Jim Mercurio makes the following point about Gaghan’s comments in the notorious CS podcast: “Gaghan’s comments are showing that he is evolving from a screenwriter into a … Read more