Monthly Archives: June 2020

Since I could not find a youtube video link of Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox presenting director Alexander Mackendrick’s 1957 classic Sweet Smell of Success, readers will once again have to rely on Cox’s transcript (read here). The episode’s original airdate … Continue reading →

The last episode of Season 2 in Moviedrome is undoubtedly a memorable American classic. Since I could not find a youtube video link of Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox introducing director/co-writer Billy Wilder’s 1950 Hollywood satire Sunset Boulevard, readers will have … Continue reading →

When I studied dramatic writing in college my professor John Glavin printed out the screenplay for American Beauty and told me, ‘Notice that it says draft 12.’ I remember thinking, ‘That must be an anomaly.’ But it isn’t. Everything I’ve … Continue reading →

“In 1968, Allen [Daviau] and I started our careers side by side with the short film AMBLIN’. Allen was a wonderful artist, but his warmth and humanity were as powerful as his lens. He was a singular talent and a … Continue reading →

“How did I learn screenwriting? Endless hours at the typewriter, then the computer, which came along later. It was really a lot of applied time and effort and self-study. Which is the way most people learn.” Writer/director Frank Darabont Long … Continue reading →

Don’t get scared away by the privacy settings on the below video, just click the “Watch on Vimeo” button and you‘ll be rewarded with a terrific DIY video where ASC cinematographer Lawrence Sher (Joker, The Hangover) walks you through how … Continue reading →

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? —Langston Hughes Harlem When playwright/screenwriter Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) was a 17-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin—Madison she walked into a rehearsal of Sean … Continue reading →

Yesterday’s post was long, so I’ll make up for it today. “Writing fiction or plays or poetry seems to me to be a very messy business. To be a writer requires an enormous tolerance for frustration, for anxiety, for self-doubt.” … Continue reading →

“If more information was the answer, we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs.” —Derek Sivers (@sivers) (I think this is from an interview he did with Tim Ferriss) As I try to wrap up what I hope is the final … Continue reading →