The Thinking Writer

Why You Should Change Your Name To Sheldon

TW — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:29:35 +0000

Sheldon Turner plays hard at being a screenwriter, and it shows. He is credited with the recent “Up In The Air” (a terrific script) and, according to IMDB, has more than a dozen projects in development. Hear him talk about writing and the biz.

Nineteen Years Ago, Thelma & Louise Drove Over A Cliff

TW — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:23:44 +0000

Photo by bradleygee @ flickr.com

Nineteen years after Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon took their famous turn in a ’66 Thunderbird convertible, screenwriter Callie Khouri discusses her Oscar winning screenplay for “Thelma & Louis” with Sallie King of the Los Angeles Times. Discussing the ending, she says:

People either thought it was an uplifting ending or they thought they committed suicide at the end. It kind of depends on how they see it.

Uhm? If it isn’t suicide, what is it?

Seems Everyone’s Doing It

TW — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:29:10 +0000

Photo by onlyarts @ flickr.com

Here’s a new way to become a screenwriter. First, become a famous celebrity (or the celebrity’s kid), then write a screenplay, just like Angeline Jolie, Michelle Rodriguez, or Elizabeth Hurley’s 8 year old kid.

What Does Paul Haggis Know?

TW — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:17:51 +0000

Know your screenwriters. Paul Haggis is an interesting and complex character; he is a screenwriter. His credits span from Walker, Texas Ranger to the Oscar nominated screenplay for Million Dollar Baby to the Oscar winning screenplay for Crash. He was a writer on Casino Royale, the first James Bond reboot, and its follow up Quantum of Solace. He is one of the few important Hollywood figures to publicly renounce Scientology. You can read his interesting bio here, and/or listen to him discuss screenwriting in this interview….

How To Know If Your Script Is A Blockbuster

TW — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 05:15:48 +0000

Photo by urbanshoregirl @ flickr.com

Jehoshua Eliashberg, Sam K. Hui, and John Zhang of the Wharton School of Economics have come up with a formula to analyze return based upon the screenplay. You can read about it here at NPR.org and even download the original paper.

WHY HE WON’T READ YOUR F^(!ING SCRIPT

TW — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:10:13 +0000

For anyone feeling rejected, Nikki Finke posts this terrific essay (originally published in the Village Voice) from screenwriter Josh Olson (“A History Of Violence”). Don’t just read the essay; look at the comments, too. Some important viewpoints.

CLASSIC POSTS

TW — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:04:21 +0000

You are reading classic posts on the Thinking Writer. Feel free to refresh the page or search the archives for more.

Rest In Peace, Budd Schulberg

TW — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:36:17 +0000

Writer and screenwriter – “On The Waterfront”; “What Makes Sammy Run”. See his obituary here.

SCREENWRITING WIKI

TW — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:19:53 +0000

Please visit and contribute to the Screenwriting Wiki. It takes a little learning to get used to posting and editing wiki posts, but the result is worth it. You will be building a long-term resource for screenwriters, created by and owned by screenwriters. The wiki includes articles on craft and the business, and essays on important produced screenplays from the perspective of the screenwriter.

NOTE: The ads placed on the site are put there by the web-hosting service to pay for hosting the site. Like this website, The Screenwriting Wiki is non-profit for those creating and contributing to it (including me).

Enough. Now go write.

PERSONALITY BY KEIRSEY

TW — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 06:30:57 +0000

If you want to do some deep psychology on your characters, wander through the Keirsey Temperament Website. It has a fascinating system of categorizing personality types that may focus you on who your characters are, what each needs in order to be complete by the end of your story, and how they fit in with each other.