#ThinkpieceThursday – An Oscar-Winner dreamed in my dining room
Continue reading#ThinkpieceThursday – Where are the Women?
#ThinkpieceThursday – Split Best Director
Continue readingThe Hurt Locker – Power of Idealism
#TypesTuesday – The Hurt Locker & The Power of Idealism are an Oscar worthy combination
Continue readingPower of Conscience at the Oscars
#TypesTuesday – 2013’s awards season film featured several compelling Power of Conscience characters
Continue readingExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Some books just don’t make good movies, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a prime example.
Continue readingThe Descendants
I found the film predictable, lacking in character development, with a script that continually tells us rather than shows us.
Continue readingThe Artist
Writer-director Michael Hazanavicius is one of the rare filmmaker-artists whose pictures are worth a thousand words.
Continue readingHugo
Characters that exist to advance a plot tell us nothing about the human condition.
Continue readingIron Lady
Meryl Streep gives a tremendous performance in IRON LADY– but the film ultimately didn’t work because it has no point of view.
Continue readingDogtooth – Day Two – #40movies40days
Last night I saw Dogtooth, the 2011 Academy Award nominated Best Foreign Language Film from Greece. There’s going to be no rhyme or reason in selecting the films for my 40 movies in 40 days project. I’ve decided to go wherever the spirit leads me.
Continue readingThe King’s Speech
The King’s Speech is a wonderful film with brilliantly drawn Power of Conscience and Power of Idealism characters in constant tension and conflict.
Continue readingOscar Nominated PDF Screenplays Here
#WritingAdviceWednesday – Raindance has posted the 2010 and 2011 Oscar-nominated screenplays for both original screenplay and adapted screenplay.
Continue readingMcKee on 2011 Best Screenplay
Here is Robert McKee’s views on Best Screenplay and on stories based on history, fact or actual people’s lives. Like McKee, I believe that a writer’s first duty is to the emotional truth of the story, not factual accuracy. That’s why it’s FICTION.
Continue readingHope-ful survey on the state of indie films
#ThinkpieceThursday – Ted Hope presents a glowing outlook on the state of the independent film business.
Continue reading“King’s Speech” and “Fighter” lead the SAG Awards
The 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced. What do you think?
Film
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The King’s Speech
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble
Inception
Television
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (TV Drama)
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (TV Drama)
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Comedy Series
Modern Family
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (TV Comedy)
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (TV Comedy)
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (Miniseries/TV Movie)
Claire Danes, Temple Grandin
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Miniseries/TV Movie)
Al Pacino, You Don’t Know Jack
It Never Gets Easier
Here is the good news and the bad news about being a writer– “It never gets any easier.” Every writer from an Academy Award winner to a complete beginner face the same challenges, obstacles and terrors
Continue readingIdealism Wins at the Oscars
Pixar won the 2009 Oscar for Best Animated Feature with Up. All seven Pixar films released since the creation of the category have been nominated. Five have taken home the Oscar: Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up. Three of those five Oscar winners— Up, The Incredibles and Ratatouille— are Power of Idealism films.
Continue readingTwo Oscar Contenders – Up In The Air and The Hurt Locker
Two of the most talked about characters in Oscar-nominated pictures this year are emotionally damaged men deployed to handle bombs in people’s lives. Their approaches to this assignment are very different.
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