This before all: ask yourself in the quietest hour of your night: must I write? Dig down into yourself for a deep answer. And if this should be in the affirmative, if you may meet this solemn question with a strong and simple, I must, then build your life according to this necessity.
April 23, 2012
Quote of the Day: Rainer Maria Rilke
April 20, 2012
Script: Crazy, Stupid, Love
This draft of Crazy, Stupid, Love was written by Dan Fogelman. Enjoy.
April 20, 2012
Script: Bad Teacher
Here is a draft of Bad Teacher by Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky, the writing duo behind several favorite episodes of The Office. (Note: This script is in html format. With scripts like this, I like to copy the whole thing into a Word document. Makes for easier reading.)
April 20, 2012
Quote of the Day: Russell Baker
The only thing I was fit for was to be a writer, and this notion rested solely on my suspicion that I would never be fit for real work, and that writing didn’t require any.
April 19, 2012
Script: The Usual Suspects
Here is a draft of The Usual Suspects, the 1995 Academy Award winner for best original screenplay. This classic was written by Christopher McQuarrie.
April 19, 2012
Quote of the Day: PG Wodehouse
I should think it extremely improbable that anyone ever wrote simply for money. What makes a writer is that he likes writing. Naturally, when he has written something, he wants to get as much for it as he can, but that is a very different thing from writing for money.
April 18, 2012
Quote of the Day: David Brin
If you have other things in your life - family, friends, good productive day work - then these can interact with your writing and the sum will be all the richer.
April 17, 2012
How to Talk to Hollywood (and Be Taken Seriously)
Peter Hanson has written a great article for Script Magazine featuring ten tips for talking to Hollywood. Whether you’re writing a query, making a cold call, or pitching your script in an actual meeting, these tips will help you present yourself professionally and effectively. (And they’ll help keep you from making an ass out of yourself.)
Peter writes:
The movie business is just like any other private club, and once you learn the secret handshake (metaphorically speaking), you can get in the door.
The following tips are applicable to every possible interaction you might have with Hollywood professionals. You can use this advice for a cold call to a production company, an in-person approach to an executive or producer at a film festival or pitch fest, or even a Hollywood meeting.
read more »
April 17, 2012
Quote of the Day: Lillian Hellman
The writer’s intention hasn’t anything to do with what he achieves. The intent to earn money or the intent to be famous or the intent to be great doesn’t matter in the end. Just what comes out.
