My last normal job — the 9-to-5 kind — was as an assistant at Oliver Stone’s production company. At the time, he was in post-production on Natural Born Killers, and developing future projects, one of which was a remake of Planet of the Apes. Any version of Apes must tackle the basic question of, “How [...]
Yesterday, I saw The Constant Gardener. My quick review: I respected the filmmaking, but I can’t say I loved the movie. Throughout the entire film, I was so far ahead of the Ralph Fiennes character that I found myself thinking more about African theatre, diplomatic passports and shallow-focus lenses than what exactly had happened to [...]
In an article published today, one of the other John Augusts argues persuasively that the states should be abolished. Before you take up arms against him, you should know that he’s Australian, and he’s talking about “states” like New South Wales and Queensland. Which sound like made-up Risk territories, if you ask me. It’s important [...]
After meeting a friend-of-a-friend at a birthday party over the weekend, I ended up getting pressed into service for a story on NPR’s Day to Day. Reporter Mike Pesca wanted to talk about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s challenges converting his action-movie persona into a consensus-building governor, and wanted to talk to a screenwriter about it. So I [...]
The single most asked question (How do I get an agent?) answered directly by the source and amended by me.
Do you play guitar, or do some other type of hobby in order to get inspiration for your writing? – Jesse Leal I don’t play guitar, though I’ve always wanted to learn. I tried to teach myself on my father’s guitar, but never even mastered tuning it, which made the rest of the process painful [...]
One of my most frequent pieces of advice to would-be writer/directors is to make a short film. After all, with the wonders of digital technology, any monkey with a good idea and a long weekend should be able come up with something watchable. Right?
The next step is getting someone to see your miniature masterpiece. That’s where my knowledge comes up a little lacking. Fortunately, my assistant Chad Creasey has just been through the process. He and director Dara Resnik recently made a charming short film called “Great Lengths.” You can read all about it at their website.
Pretty much every weekend this spring, either he or Dara were flying to some festival across the country. With this in mind, I asked Chad to write up advice about short films and festivals. He was gracious enough to reply at, well, great length:
KINGDOME COME writer talks candidly about his process.
BRING IT ON writer on setting goals and taking advantage of fear.
Avoiding the early edit and other ways I get my story down on paper.
FOXY BROWN writer on coloring his beats to visualize the structure, and other methods.
CAMP writer uses bad movies as a muse and motivator.
I am interested in becoming an assistant to a TV or Film writer. I have experience in the industry as an assistant to a Producer/CEO of a Production company, but I’m not sure what the qualifications are to be a writer’s assistant or how to apply for the job. –Beth I’m passing off the question [...]
RUNNING ON EMPTY screenwriter on going from Sesame Street to Hollywood.
A case of paid script analysis paying off for an aspiring writer.
Someone (anyone) else saying your script is great is infinitely better than you doing it yourself.
Thai noodles led a baby writer to a baby agent. This is more likely to happen in LA.
Using a short to lure agents to your script.
A good example of why impressing assistants matters.
Oscar nominee for BULLETS OVER BROADWAY tells his story.
My personal answer to the most asked question of young writers.
