Film Strategy

Master director / master decision-maker: Stanley Kubrick Decisions on acting, cinematography and editing are the main provinces of the director. And rightly so, because those decisions, good or bad, many or few, are what distinguishes the kind of film we see from one director to the next. Still, as important as those decisions are, the director has no decision to make without a script.   Of course, no one needs to be convinced of the importance of the script since that is where it all begins.  The screenwriter writes, rewrites, polishes and submits the script to the producer and director or produces and directs it herself.  As soon as the actual production of it is imminent , practical considerations like budgets, schedules, rehearsals, set and prop designs, etc. come to the fore which affect the kind of film the script will become. But more important than even those, I think, are the considerations of aesthetics and visualizations that the director undertakes before and while

Happy birthday, Pedro Almodóvar ( Sep. 25, 1951)!   "When you glance over the early life of Pedro Almodóvar, who turns [62] today, one can start to understand the formation of his style and preoccupations as a filmmaker. Born Pedro Almodóvar Caballero on September 25, 1949 in the country town of Calzada de Calatrava, the young auteur-to-be lived a life defined by poverty and hard work. He was one of four children being raised by his parents, who were poor peasants; his near-illiterate father’s small income came from hauling wine barrels by mule. Young Pedro, however, was intellectually curious and achieved a vaunted position within the community already as a very young child as he was able to read letters and teach literacy to his fellow visitors. At age 8, he was sent to a religious boarding school in Cáceres, with the ultimate aim of becoming a priest, an experience which informed his 2004 film Bad Education . Looking for an escape from his tough, c

Captain's Log. Star Date:9.18.13 62 years ago today A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE opens When Elia Kazan’s film  A Streetcar Named Desire  opened in September of 1951, those who’d read the play or seen the Broadway production, knew this was something very different. The 1947 drama, for which playwright Tennessee Williams received a Pulitzer Prize, was for the most part intact. The haughty Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) comes to live with her sister Stella (Kim Hunter), and her sister’s earthy husband Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando). But the nuances that defined William’s dramatic style were quietly erased. The Production Code Administration, led by Joseph Breen, demanded up front 68 changes (some rather major). Blanche’s dead gay husband is now simply referred to as sensitive; the rape is covered in darkness; Blanche’s sexuality is quieted down. But even this was not enough, as Warner Brothers worked out a 11th hour deal with the Catholic League (unbeknownst to either Kazan or

Cuz screenwriters can relate to this on the one hand... Captain's Log. Star Date - 9.2.13 Today is Labor Day and what better way to spend the day off then to spend it working on your script.  'Nuff said. What would Oscar-winning producer, Edward Saxon, advise his 18 year-old self ? How many feature length scripts should you write before you're 'ready' for Hollywood? What are 10 rules for writing the screenplay ? What are 7 rules for writing shorts ? How do you make a TV drama in the Twitter age ? What are some screenwriting tips from Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost ? Who are some female screenwriters and screenwriters of color to inspire you? And why you shouldn't let rejection of your script/work/project get you down ? Bonus: Two podcasts for screenwriters and filmmakers: OnStory and ScriptNotes ...but also relate to this on the other hand.

Captain's Log. Star date: 8.28.13 Ready to jump right in and answer some good questions but first a moment of silence because 26 year ago today in 1987, "one of the great directors of all time, John Huston , died from emphysema in Middletown, Rhode Island. Like another Hollywood titan, Alfred Hitchcock (whose last movie was called Family Plot ), Huston’s final production was a harbinger of his mortality: an adaptation of James Joyce’s The Dead . The film was a nod to Huston’s Irish roots, and he very much conformed to the stereotype of a hard-living Irishman: Huston was a man’s man – the Hemingway of the cinema, if you like – a heavy drinker and shameless womanizer (he was married five times) who supposedly only took on The African Queen so he could go shoot an elephant (if White Hunter, Black Heart is to be believed, anyway). Bedridden for several years as a child, when Huston recovered his health he took on life with an insatiable hunger: he followed his fat

Captain's Log. Stardate: 8.21.13 August 21 was a good day for rebels and innovators.  Today in 1932, Melvin Van Peebles, director of the politically and artistically radical film, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971), was born.  Also, today in 1939, Orson Welles signed a 63-page contract with RKO Pictures that allowed him to write, direct, produce and act in two movies for the studio with an unprecedented offer: complete creative control .  This led to the production of RKO 281 better known as the innovative and artistically daring film, Citizen Kane (1941). Now that your artistic appetite has been whetted, consider this: What are some sci-fi storytelling script tips ?  What lessons can networks (and aspiring producers pitching episodic concepts) learn from Breaking Bad ? What lessons can aspiring producers learn from David Simon's pitch for The Wire ? How do you light dark skin ?  Do you want an introduction to After Effects? Then here it is. What are th

Trading Places | John Landis | 1983 | USA | Format: 35mm | 116 min  Business Insider gathered the recollections of director, John Landis ; writers, Tim Harris and Herschel Weingrod ; and, actress, Jamie Lee Curtis for what many consider one of the greatest Wall St. Movies ever made (I think they're right).  It's a fun and intriguing look at how a great comedy was made even though it seems like no one expected it to be a great comedy while it was being made.  However, I think that's more due to modesty because as you read their accounts, besides the fact that it seems like everyone was having a ball working on this, you pick up an essential element of their filmmaking strategy; they trusted their instincts even when the naysayers and higherups did not .  They were a talented bunch but without the confidence  and persistence to back it up it would have been a different movie. During the development of the film: TIM HARRIS, co-writer: There were these two

The greatest obstacle to a filmmaker's career has always been access. Specifically, access defined as the opportunity to pitch and produce a project with major studios, movie stars, production companies, network executives, agents and distributors.  Reaching the people with the financial and logistical capabilities to make a major movie has been made almost impossible by the narrow gate that only lets a privileged few through.  For the most part, to get through has required a combination of networking, winning a major festival award and luck.  Despite the advent of digital technology (or maybe because of it ~~ more competitors trying to make it) it's still hard to break in.   But now, Amazon Studios is offering the public at large the opportunity to make their filmmaking dreams come true.  And while the opportunity offered still requires talent and work, at least there is a peace of mind knowing that Amazon Studios is offering a legitimate opportunity and not just a huck

Pi , also titled π , is a 1998 American surrealist psychological thriller film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky . It is Aronofsky's directorial debut, and earned him the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival , the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and the Gotham Open Palm Award. The title refers to the mathematical constant pi .    Like most of Aronofsky's films, Pi centers on a protagonist whose obsessive pursuit of ideals leads to severely self-destructive behavior. Pi was written and directed by Darren Aronofsky , and filmed on high-contrast black-and-white reversal film . It was produced on a sufficiently low budget of $60,000, but proved a financial success at the box office ($3,221,152 gross in the U.S.) despite only a limited release to theaters. It has sold steadily on DVD .  ~~ Wikipedia E xcerpts f rom director Darren Aronofsky's diary: January 31, 1996 Back From Sundance '96 Just go