Notes from a Screenreader: This Stake Is Undercooked
Photo via Go Into the Story. Stakes are the thing in the story that makes a reader care what happens. Your fun characters and snappy dialogue and careful plotting literally do not matter if nothing much will happen if the plan doesn’t come together. And the stakes can be anything, really, as long as they...
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: Shonda Rhimes Rules, But Diversity Still a Problem
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/475689039?et=E3ULsU53QnlvMx63S3PD7A&sig=QpyQLEQT3-C02uGwHywv6vYvmaUuzGVeVzL24eZ-1wI= “And nobody asks, ‘How do you write smart, strong men?’” Shonda Rhimes speaks on creating iconic female characters. Six of the best new web series are created by women. President Alexis Wilkinson discusses bringing 138-year-old The Harvard Lampoon into a new age. There’s been “no improvement” in diversity hiring in episodic television. CBS may not have considered a...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Where Do I Begin?
Photo via Go Into the Story. Your story has a beginning, a middle and an end but they don’t necessarily have to appear in that order. A good beginning has lots of things happening in it, things that make the reader curious about what’s going on. Once the reader is curious, they are hooked. Don’t...
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: Rosie’s New ‘View’ & Film Schools’ Gender Bias
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/466306157?et=HSXJJGsBQ-d3O0UBr4NyyA&sig=dFh7E5EG_PMRab3OPJMFfHdxc8YsTLaRguHQCE9hZBU= Can Rosie O’Donnell save The View? Gina Sanders becomes Conde Nast’s first President of Global Development. Connie Chung advises women to “sing your praises the way men do!” (Video) Which screenwriting contests are really worth entering? This Is Our Youth star Tavi Gevinson on the perks and pitfalls of adulthood. Gender bias—it starts in film school. — KELLY...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Where’s Waldo?
Photo via Go Into the Story. Do you feel like you’re looking for your second act in a giant Where’s Waldo poster? You know it’s there somewhere, but so is everything else in the entire world. Efforts to find Waldo shouldn’t show in your final draft. It’s imperative for clarity that you don’t submit a...
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: Starts, Finishes & Remembering Joan Rivers
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READ MORERemembering Joan Rivers
Born in Brooklyn in 1933, Joan Rivers had a long and varied career in the entertainment industry before passing away on September 4, 2014, at the age of 81. Rivers’ began her career in New York City, performing stand-up in Greenwich Village. She was first introduced to a national audience when she appeared on The...
READ MOREActing Up: Tips for Creating Your Website
As a producer, one of the things I look for online when I’m hiring actors is an up-to-date, easy-to-navigate website. I want to see their work and what they’re contributing to the business. It is important to have an online presence, even if it’s just a single web page with your headshot and contact info Here...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Don’t Whimper
Photo via Go Into the Story. Your ending needs a bang. Settling gently down to Fade Out from the end of Act Two does not an Act Three make. Don’t hold back. Act Three is a balloon you keep inflating until it explodes. Push it as far as it will go. Tie up loose ends...
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: Emmy Wins & a ‘World News’ Loss
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/454184348?et=RqGBiht9TChLSo26NFbjTw&sig=cARkM_aeV3Mb3BNO_V-6n6l0wbrp0gEwsf5JsThv7HY= Moira Walley-Beckett was the first solo woman to win in her category SINCE 1994! Congratulations to her and the other female Emmy winners. AFI announced a major expansion to its Directing Workshop for Women. Working on your “scriptment” this weekend? (Yeah, I’d never heard the term either.) After five years, Diane Sawyer leaves World News. True Blood author Charlaine Harris...
READ MOREDrive Your Own Career: Producers of ‘The Kids Menu’ Talk Collaboration
Photo credit: Shane Maritch. A common frustration for many actors is the constant grind of looking for work, auditioning, and then waiting for the phone to ring (or the email to appear). So, ten women and myself decided to take our careers into our own hands and independently produce projects together. Our first collaboration is...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Size Matters
Photo via Go Into the Story. Your page count is the first thing that happens to a reader after your title. Somewhere in the 90s is ideal, but a good script at 110 is fine. How can you tell if you need 110? I will give you a thousand dollars for every page you can...
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: ‘OITNB’ Wins Big, ‘Chelsea Lately’ Says Goodbye
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/453741390?et=FfzKTpGUTfp8O-XlqtdAvg&sig=l5sniaB5XsRt9t6-hSJ6IyF35mW62s1iWGs-J2tkdZI= OITNB wins big at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. On Tuesday, August 26, Chelsea Handler will host her epic series finale. Life After Beth actor Molly Shannon discusses the zombie apocalypse and becoming Sally O’Malley. Are you Alice in Wonderland or Dorothy from Oz in your decision-making? If I Stay star Chloe Moretz is really a “very goofy” Hillary Clinton admirer....
READ MORENotes from a Screenwriter: Entitlement
Photo via Go Into the Story. A good title tells a story for you, honing in on the theme and tone. When a reader scans a list of titles, a strong one puts them in an optimistic mood. Keep it short. A short title suggests that you know exactly what your story is. A long...
READ MORESocial Media for Film & TV: Engagement Is the Magic Word
If your social media accounts have largely been for personal use, the words “engagement” and “metrics” likely haven’t peppered your vernacular. But they are truly the magic words in trying to define the success of your social media strategy. More followers mean more buzz when you’re promoting your project — and being able to quantify...
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: ‘OITNB’ Showrunner on Hollywood, Women Directors ‘Flip the Script,’ Remembering Bacall & Williams
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READ MORE#TBT Flix Not to Miss: ‘Gas Food Lodging’
Gas Food Lodging (1992) by Allison Anders is one of those films that has stayed with me over the years. It resonated at the time I saw it as well as years later when I decided to revisit it. Anders has directed a few gems, but this is my favorite. It’s gritty without being mean, hopeful...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Bonsai for Beginners
Photo via Go Into the Story. It looks like it grew naturally, its boughs and crown pleasingly asymmetrical in the way wild things grow, but you can hold it in your hands. Bonsai looks entirely wrought by nature and time, but it’s a painstaking process of complete artifice. Constant bending, pruning, grafting, wiring and clamping...
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