December 2011
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Amazon Studios Deadline Advice: December 2011...
Saturday (Dec. 31) is the last day for Amazon Studios participants to submit their work for Annual Awards totaling $1.1 million as well as December contests. We want this process to be as smooth as possible, so here’s some advice:
1. If you’re uploading a test movie, start soon! We recommend giving yourself at least an hour to upload a script, and 24 hours to upload a test movie. Trailers and...
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Oscar-Winning Makeup/Effects Designer on "Grimm,"...
For Barney Burman, it made sense to go into the family business. In fact, one of his earliest memories is of helping his father, Tom, on a job. By working as a model to make giant rats for a movie called The Food of the Gods. (OK, so it’s not your typical family business.) “And then he used me again as a model for making the alien heads for the little aliens in Close Encounters, which is the...
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From The Script Lab: Understanding the Character...
By Michael Schilf The Script Lab
Only a small part of an iceberg actually rises above water level; the rest is an unseen mountain below. And when it comes to creating characters, the iceberg metaphor is no different. The tip of the “Character Iceberg” is what the audience sees or hears, but the abyss beneath is what the writer knows. And understanding this mass of ice under the surface...
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From Amazon Studios: Update on Original Soldiers...
Thanks again to all of the writers who pitched their take on Original Soldiers, the story of what happens when America’s all-droid Army is disabled and a human strike force must save the day. We were blown away by the response — more than 1,000 pitches! — and we’re still evaluating everyone’s work.
We are requesting feature writing samples from some writers today, and will continue to do so...
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From The Script Lab: Your Script is Your Calling...
By Michael Schilf The Script Lab
Reality check: Your original spec screenplay is probably never going to get sold. But that’s okay because your primary goal is not to sell your script. I know that may sound crazy, but I’m just being pragmatic about the realities within the industry.
The truth of the matter is that a career as a screenwriter is less about selling your great screenplay and so...
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Top Producers Attached to Three Amazon Studios...
Top producers Denise Di Novi (Crazy, Stupid, Love; The Nightmare Before Christmas), Bill Gerber (Gran Torino; The Dukes of Hazzard) and Academy Award winner Edward Saxon (Adaptation; Silence of the Lambs) have signed on to three Amazon Studios projects.
“We’re delighted to be getting into business with top-flight producers like Billy, Denise and Ed,” said Amazon Studios Director Roy Price. “Their...
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Watchvogue:
BEHIND THE SCENES: Meryl Streep Photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the January Issue of Vogue
Meryl Streep uses her Vogue soapbox — it’s a very stylish soapbox — to speak up for a National Women’s History Museum and discuss the responsibility she feels to real-life characters she portrays, such as Margaret Thatcher. (It’s really not so different from the...
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From The Script Lab: Screenwriting, Art or Trade?
By Michael Schilf The Script Lab
Art: to be or not to be, that is the question. Or could it be that screenwriting is nothing more than a trade?
This debate has been battled in writer’s groups, coffee houses, and online communities all across the world. But are we wasting our time? Is it really a war — two formidable foes squaring off from opposite corners, dueling it out over 12 rounds, ...
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"Mr. CSI" on the Power of Vegas and Making It In...
Anthony Zuiker talks exclusively with Amazon Studios about how he went from driving a casino tram to meeting with Jerry Bruckheimer and creating one of television’s most popular and enduring shows, CSI. He also discusses the influence his Las Vegas upbringing had on his work, as well as the past, present and future of CSI.
Hear more of our interview with Zuiker on Amazon’s Armchair Commentary...
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From The Script Lab: Writing Believable Action
By Michael Schilf The Script Lab
Recently, I was asked about the use of “false action”, which was described to me as forcing characters to do something during dialogue because that’s better than having them just standing around.
I had never heard of this exact terminology used to illustrate action, but I understood the concept behind it. However, not every concept is necessarily a good one,...
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What are your favorite Tumblrs?
nprfreshair:
Thought it was time for another list. What are you following and really liking these days?
[Update: Tumblrs that are not your own. Clearly everyone also likes his/her own Tumblr.]
Lots of fun stuff on this list, like classichollywoodforever, where Ava Gardner brings holiday cheer:
We also liked fakescience. What are some of your favorites? (And you can see what we added to the...
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