The Thinking Writer – Page 7 – Classic Posts About Screenwriting….

Screenwriter Irving Ravetch Passes

headstone — Photo by Svadilfari @ flickr.com

Irving Ravetch, one-half of the husband and wife writing team behind Hud, The Long Hot Summer, Norma Rae, and more than twenty other films, died on September 19. Read his obituary here and a short bio here and dream of a life so beautiful.

“Don’t have him say something unless it’s really f*cking crucial.”

Movieline has done a nice interview with screenwriter Rowan Joffe, writer of The American, starring George Clooney.

“What’s the cheapest film I can make?”

Buried — Photo by jodywebsternw8 @ flickr.com

What would asking that question lead you to write? Here’s a pretty good interview with screenwriter Chris Sparling, who answered that question by writing the new movie “Buried”.

Is The WGA Forcing Credits on Non-Writers?

Amid speculation that Casey Affleck’s new documentary about Joaquin Phoenix is a hoax, Affleck tells USA Today that the WGA insisted on giving him writing credit, intimating that he did not write it. Is the WGA really forcing credits on non-writers? Or is the picture a carefully crafted hoax for which the writers deserve credit?

Screenwriter Says Tony Blair Plagiarized For His Autobiography

Screenwriter Peter Morgan, writer of Frost/Nixon, The Queen, and The Last King of Scotland, tells The Telegraph (UK) that Tony Blair “had one gin and tonic too many” when he copied fictional scenes written by Morgan and included in The Queen into his autobiography.

“It made me love Ronnie Reagan”

Ronald Raegan — Photo byy cliff1066™ @ flickr.com

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, screenwriter Jonas McCord tells WSJ that his screenplay for the in-development Ronald Reagan biopic will make you love him. The picture apparently has no director, cast or distributor so far, which means likely no money for its $30 million budget, but is managing to kick up a lot of noise.

Blood Poured Onto This Film

Zombies — Photo by Felix42 contra la censura @ flickr

This 16-year-old made her movie. Don’t you feel stupid for not making yours? Take heart; it wasn’t easy. As the 16-year-old noted, “Blood poured onto this film.”

WGA Moves Into Porn

Egyption Sex — Photo by sinabeet @ flickr

Adult entertainment industry newswire Xbiz reports that the WGA is collecting foreign levies (royalties) for screenwriters of adult films.