CLASSIC POSTS
We are back to posting classic posts. No new content for now. Enjoy.
Sider-ways
Writer/Screenwriter Rex Pickett, whose unpublished novel became the basis for the screenplay Sideways (and then the novel got published) is out with the sequel novel, Vertical. Pickett is thrilled with Alexander Payne, but not thrilled with the book’s original publisher. To get hopelessly depressed about both the movie industry and the publishing industry, read about his travails in the Yamhill Valley News Register. (Yamhill Valley is Oregon wine country and apparently part of the new novel.)
Alligator’s Guide To Screenplay
Screenwriter Pen Densham writes about writing, the business, and how to get through in his new book “Riding the Alligator, Strategies for a Career in Screenwriting (and Not Getting Eaten)”. Like Kung Fu Panda, the answer is, “there is no secret ingredient.” Densham includes essays by various screenwriters. TW puts this in the “probably worth the read” pile. [Via Larchmont Chronicle.]
Hollywood Won’t Let Him Do Good
Oscar-winning screenwriter Ben Affleck says that Hollywood won’t let him make a movie about the strife in the Democratic Republic of Condo, which is one of his passion causes. I wonder if Ben knows that big stars can make little important films outside of Hollywood. [Via Yahoo/AFP]
Not Your Mother’s Script-O-Rama
Fox just sued a wanna-be screenwriter, single mother, day-job woman who posted scripts on her blog for “educati0onal purposes”. They want close to $12 million bucks from her in damages. If you’d like to see the actual Complaint, download the pdf here.
New Genre: Screenwriter Fiction
Prolific horror writer William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist among other novels, returns to his comedy roots with Crazy, a faux memoir about an old screenwriter. Via Washington Post.
Who Wrote The King’s Speech?
The Jewish Journal has a fascinating article about screenwriter David Seidler, who escaped from Nazi’s, was almost torpedoed on his way to America, and grew up escaping into writing as a refuge from his own speech impediment, then later drew from these experiences to write the screenplay for The King’s Speech. It is worth a read.