Lancelot Link Thursday! Last night AFTER EARTH was only at 7% on Rotten Tomatoes, today it is at 15%! At this rate, it will be at 120% by Sunday! Here are this week's links to some great screenwriting and film articles, plus some fun stuff that may be of interest to you. Brought to you by that suave and sophisticated secret agent...
Here are four links plus this week's car chase...
1) Danny Boyle's 15 Rules Of Filmmaking.
2) Warner Bros Hires Writer From Black List *Service*.
3) *REVENGE* OF THE JEDI!
4) Direct From Cannes! Highlight Movies!
And the Car Chase Of The Week!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvYyTDXY-0A
- Bill
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Lancelot Link: The Undiscovered Country
Lancelot Link Thursday! This is HANGOVER 3 weekend... and I will be mega-pissed off if Doug is excluded from the group again. The first film, the plot was that he was misplaced after a night of drinking... and these three guys who are *not* friends with each other but are connected by Doug must search for him. So, movie #2 rolls around, and... they manage to exclude Doug from the story! Hey, *he* is the only reason these three know each other! Without him, they would never be together! So #2 was obviously some sort of search-and-replace screenplay, since there is no other logical reason why Doug wasn't part of the group in that one... and now we have #3. Will Doug be part of the Wolf Pack? Or will they once again search-and-replace the script and find some way to remove him from the story? He was the *center* of the first story... yest somehow unimportant in the second. WTF? Here are this week's links to some great screenwriting and film articles, plus some fun stuff that may be of interest to you. Brought to you by that suave and sophisticated secret agent...
Here are seven links plus this week's car chase...
1) Complete List Of New TV Shows!
2) How To Be Creative *And* Pay The Bills.
3) The Truth Behind Screenwriters!
4) Too Many Blockbusters?
5) Six Types Of Writers - which are you?
6) TV Executive's Notes - what do they mean?
7) NBC Pilots, anyone? - Watch them here!
This week's car chase is from a subtitled art house film...
- Bill
Here are seven links plus this week's car chase...
1) Complete List Of New TV Shows!
2) How To Be Creative *And* Pay The Bills.
3) The Truth Behind Screenwriters!
4) Too Many Blockbusters?
5) Six Types Of Writers - which are you?
6) TV Executive's Notes - what do they mean?
7) NBC Pilots, anyone? - Watch them here!
This week's car chase is from a subtitled art house film...
- Bill
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Lancelot Link: The Wrath Of C.H.U.M.P.
Lancelot Link Thursday! This is STAR TREK weekend... and I wonder what will happen with GATSBY and IRON MAN 3? No matter what - Hollywood's Summer is HERE! It was 103 degrees for a couple of days in Los Angeles, too. Here are this week's links to some great screenwriting and film articles, plus some fun stuff that may be of interest to you. Brought to you by that suave and sophisticated secret agent...
Here are a dozen links plus this week's car chase...
1) What You Need To Know About STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS (and they don't tell you that the villain is Harry Mudd!)
2) Writing For STAR TREK - the original TV series!
3) *Everyone* gets rejected. Everyone.
4) When You Do Get Published, Other Writers Dump On You.
5) Drew Pearce, co-writer of IRON MAN 3... and a *stack* of other films!
6) Roger Deakins On Cinematography.
7) What's Hot At Cannes?
8) WILD BUNCH remake? What will they remake next?
9) The Film No One Wants To Be Associated With?
10) Co-Writer Nightmares - He Steals Your Script And Sells It And It Becomes A Hit Film!
11) Q&A With Mystery Novelist Walter Mosley.
12) Read A Script A Week? Here's a good list.
Not a car chase...
- Bill
Here are a dozen links plus this week's car chase...
1) What You Need To Know About STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS (and they don't tell you that the villain is Harry Mudd!)
2) Writing For STAR TREK - the original TV series!
3) *Everyone* gets rejected. Everyone.
4) When You Do Get Published, Other Writers Dump On You.
5) Drew Pearce, co-writer of IRON MAN 3... and a *stack* of other films!
6) Roger Deakins On Cinematography.
7) What's Hot At Cannes?
8) WILD BUNCH remake? What will they remake next?
9) The Film No One Wants To Be Associated With?
10) Co-Writer Nightmares - He Steals Your Script And Sells It And It Becomes A Hit Film!
11) Q&A With Mystery Novelist Walter Mosley.
12) Read A Script A Week? Here's a good list.
Not a car chase...
- Bill
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Free Book Day!
On Wednesday the 15th I’m doing a *free* promotion of the Supporting Characters Blue Book - sorry to those of you who just bought it. Even though I did a bunch of work expanding it and like how it turned out... it’s not a big seller. I would like to change that, and I need your help.
First: Please tell every writer you know that the book is free on Wednesday. Just go to Amazon and you’ll see the price is $0.00 and click on it. They don’t need a Kindle device - all you need to do is download the *free* program. You can read the book on your computer, tablet, even phone.
Second: After you (and your friends) (and total strangers you may send this info to) read the book, please write a review on Amazon. That’s the deal - get the book for free, write a review on Amazon. I’m not saying you have to write a *good* review, I want you to be HONEST. But write a review.
Here’s the thing - Supporting Characters has *three* reviews total. SAVE THE CAT has *420* reviews as I write this. I need more reviews on all of my books! People e-mail me how much they liked the book, and I thank you all for that, but reviews on Amazon help people make up their minds if they want to buy the book or not.
Third: I think one reason why people don’t write reviews on Amazon is that they don’t know what to say. So here are some suggestions:
A) The Blue Books sell for $2.99, and the average screenwriting book at that price has 60-72 pages... the Blue Books all have 150-210 pages. Supporting Characters is 164 pages. So, even if you got it for free, was it worth the retail price? Was it a good value?
B) What was your favorite part or tool from the book? Explain why.
C) What did you learn from the book? List the things and maybe explain them a little.
D) Were there tools and techniques in the book that you have never read anywhere else?
E) Were there a good variety of examples, and what examples were most helpful?
F) Was the book a pleasant read, or was it boring or dry or too academic?
G) Would you recommend this book to other Screenwriters? How about Novelists?
One of the problems is that Amazon requires a certain number of words for a review, and some people would rather just click the “like” button because they don’t know what to say. Hopefully those will give you someplace to start.
If you bought the other books, please take a minute or two to go to Amazon and write a review. It’s strange to have books with only 3 or 4 reviews that are in the Top 20 sales! I’m not a big company with a marketing budget and adverts in magazines and newspapers - it’s just me. I want to keep the price low - Act Two Blue Book is (at least) 209 pages for only $2.99 - but that means *you* are my advertising team. Next up is the Story Blue Book, and I think it’ll be over 209 pages... that’s a lot of research and writing! Please help me with this, and I’ll keep the Blue Books (and others) coming.
Thank you.
Wednesday the 15th, go here for a free book: Supporting Characters Blue Book.
To write reviews for other books:
ACT TWO BLUE BOOK.
VISUAL STORYTELLING BLUE BOOK.
YOUR IDEA MACHINE BLUE BOOK.
CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS BLUE BOOK.
DIALOGUE SECRETS BLUE BOOK.
SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING.
- Bill
First: Please tell every writer you know that the book is free on Wednesday. Just go to Amazon and you’ll see the price is $0.00 and click on it. They don’t need a Kindle device - all you need to do is download the *free* program. You can read the book on your computer, tablet, even phone.
Second: After you (and your friends) (and total strangers you may send this info to) read the book, please write a review on Amazon. That’s the deal - get the book for free, write a review on Amazon. I’m not saying you have to write a *good* review, I want you to be HONEST. But write a review.
Here’s the thing - Supporting Characters has *three* reviews total. SAVE THE CAT has *420* reviews as I write this. I need more reviews on all of my books! People e-mail me how much they liked the book, and I thank you all for that, but reviews on Amazon help people make up their minds if they want to buy the book or not.
Third: I think one reason why people don’t write reviews on Amazon is that they don’t know what to say. So here are some suggestions:
A) The Blue Books sell for $2.99, and the average screenwriting book at that price has 60-72 pages... the Blue Books all have 150-210 pages. Supporting Characters is 164 pages. So, even if you got it for free, was it worth the retail price? Was it a good value?
B) What was your favorite part or tool from the book? Explain why.
C) What did you learn from the book? List the things and maybe explain them a little.
D) Were there tools and techniques in the book that you have never read anywhere else?
E) Were there a good variety of examples, and what examples were most helpful?
F) Was the book a pleasant read, or was it boring or dry or too academic?
G) Would you recommend this book to other Screenwriters? How about Novelists?
One of the problems is that Amazon requires a certain number of words for a review, and some people would rather just click the “like” button because they don’t know what to say. Hopefully those will give you someplace to start.
If you bought the other books, please take a minute or two to go to Amazon and write a review. It’s strange to have books with only 3 or 4 reviews that are in the Top 20 sales! I’m not a big company with a marketing budget and adverts in magazines and newspapers - it’s just me. I want to keep the price low - Act Two Blue Book is (at least) 209 pages for only $2.99 - but that means *you* are my advertising team. Next up is the Story Blue Book, and I think it’ll be over 209 pages... that’s a lot of research and writing! Please help me with this, and I’ll keep the Blue Books (and others) coming.
Thank you.
Wednesday the 15th, go here for a free book: Supporting Characters Blue Book.
To write reviews for other books:
ACT TWO BLUE BOOK.
VISUAL STORYTELLING BLUE BOOK.
YOUR IDEA MACHINE BLUE BOOK.
CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS BLUE BOOK.
DIALOGUE SECRETS BLUE BOOK.
SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING.
- Bill
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Lancelot Link: Into Dorkness
Lancelot Link Thursday! Hey, this STAR TREK takes place on Earth as well!Wasn't their 5 year mission *in space*? Here are this week's links to some great screenwriting and film articles, plus some fun stuff that may be of interest to you. Brought to you by that suave and sophisticated secret agent...
Here are five links plus this week's car chase...
1) Would YOU Sue Over GI JOE 2?
2) That stupid development executive has been replaced by a computer!
3) Shane Black is Back! And DOC SAVAGE is next!
4) Win the lottery, become a film mogul!
5) Danny Boyle bitches about current films.
6) Does it bother anyone else that, once again, Doug is *not* part of the team in HANGOVER 3... when he's the very reason the other 3 guys (in the poster) know each other?
And the car chase of the week...
- Bill
Here are five links plus this week's car chase...
1) Would YOU Sue Over GI JOE 2?
2) That stupid development executive has been replaced by a computer!
3) Shane Black is Back! And DOC SAVAGE is next!
4) Win the lottery, become a film mogul!
5) Danny Boyle bitches about current films.
6) Does it bother anyone else that, once again, Doug is *not* part of the team in HANGOVER 3... when he's the very reason the other 3 guys (in the poster) know each other?
And the car chase of the week...
- Bill
Saturday, May 04, 2013
Scenes Class Tuesday!
On the 14th I'm doing an online class for Final Draft on Scenes!
For more information: Scene Class.
- Bill
For more information: Scene Class.
- Bill
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Lancelot Link: Beyond The Valley Of The Chimps
Lancelot Link Thursday! IRON MAN 3 is set to kick butt over the weekend! Here are this week's links to some great screenwriting and film articles, plus some fun stuff that may be of interest to you. Brought to you by that suave and sophisticated secret agent...
Here are a dozen links plus this week's car chase...
1) Christopher McQuarrie on JACK REACHER and USUAL SUSPECTS.
2) Shane Black on IRON MAN 3 and his career.
3) Steven Soderbergh on the problems with Hollywood.
4) If that didn't bring you down, this will - The Reality Of Novel Writing.
5) Zach Braff's Kickstarter project - Crowdfunding or Crowdfleecing?
6) Top Rated Movies From The Past Couple Of Decades.
7) Brad Pitt's zombie movie is a little pricey...
8) Classic Movies They Thought Were Crap While Malking Them.
9) Talk about a film by committee! 30,000 screenwriters on one film!
10) Larry McMurtry On Writing.
11) Movie Posters From The Villain's POV.
12) *Very* detailed review of screenwriting software.
And this week's Car Chase!
From SUPERCOP. I've been on this road in Hong Kong!
- Bill
Here are a dozen links plus this week's car chase...
1) Christopher McQuarrie on JACK REACHER and USUAL SUSPECTS.
2) Shane Black on IRON MAN 3 and his career.
3) Steven Soderbergh on the problems with Hollywood.
4) If that didn't bring you down, this will - The Reality Of Novel Writing.
5) Zach Braff's Kickstarter project - Crowdfunding or Crowdfleecing?
6) Top Rated Movies From The Past Couple Of Decades.
7) Brad Pitt's zombie movie is a little pricey...
8) Classic Movies They Thought Were Crap While Malking Them.
9) Talk about a film by committee! 30,000 screenwriters on one film!
10) Larry McMurtry On Writing.
11) Movie Posters From The Villain's POV.
12) *Very* detailed review of screenwriting software.
And this week's Car Chase!
From SUPERCOP. I've been on this road in Hong Kong!
- Bill
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