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Category Archives: IN THE TRENCHES
[IN THE TRENCHES] Chris Cluess – A Man for All Formats
Emmy-winning screenwriter, Chris Cluess, is not easily pigeonholed. Does he do sketches? Sitcoms? Hour-long? Features? How about animation? Novels? Yes. Yes, he does. If a format exists, Chris has more than likely written for it at one point or another. … Continue reading
Posted in IN THE TRENCHES, Industry, Interview
Tagged Chris Cluess, Homeboys in Outer Space, Interview, MADtv, Modern Love, National Lampoon, Night Court, Screenwriter, SCTV, SNL, The Simpsons
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[IN THE TRENCHES] Tech vs. Spec
In the never-ending war of tech vs. spec, tech wins almost every time. Not too long ago, a production company liked a script Rhonda Smiley and I wrote, but the scale was a little too small for them. They asked … Continue reading
Posted in IN THE TRENCHES, Industry
Tagged Fax Machine, Outdated, Revision, Screenwriting, Spec Script, Tech, The Firm
2 Comments
[IN THE TRENCHES] The End of the Road
Writing is hard. Making a living writing, is almost impossible. So, have you imagined a time when you’d stop? Stop writing. Stop trying to get discovered. Stop trying to get hired, produced, or published. Have you imagined a scenario where … Continue reading
Posted in IN THE TRENCHES
Tagged Courtney Hunt, Frank McCourt, Quitting, Screenwriting, The Wizard of Oz, Toni Morrison
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[IN THE TRENCHES] That First Gig
I think the primary question for most impending college graduates is: What now? That was in the forefront of my mind as a senior in the film and television department at NYU. I had a couple of thoughts. There was … Continue reading
Posted in Biographical, IN THE TRENCHES, Industry, NYU
Tagged Film School, First Gig, M.C. Hammer, Night Flight, NYU
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[IN THE TRENCHES] Tortured Running Analogies
As the oft-repeated saying goes, a career is a Marathon, not a sprint. But really, pretty much everything – other than a sprint – isn’t a sprint. In the same vein, the most obvious marathon is an actual 26.2 mile … Continue reading
[IN THE TRENCHES] 2020 Vision
It’s still January. If barely. What are you gonna do about it? The New Year traditionally brings with it high hopes and bold resolutions (some that might border on the delusional). I’m not really the resolutions type, personally (just ask … Continue reading
Posted in IN THE TRENCHES
Tagged Advice, New Year, Resolutions, Screenwriter, Writing
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[IN THE TRENCHES] Turn Up The AC (AC Bradley, That Is)
3Below, the second chapter in Guillermo del Toro’s animated Tales of Arcadia, dropped on Netflix this December 21st, to glowing reviews (pun intended). AC Bradley, 3Below’s Head Writer, is no stranger to accolades. In addition to her work on the … Continue reading
[THREE CENTS] Responsibility to Your Audience
As writers, most of us work to create scripts with compelling stories, three-dimensional characters, and authentic-sounding dialogue. But what else should be on our checklist? After all, screenplays – and the resulting movies, television, and web content – aren’t designed … Continue reading
Posted in IN THE TRENCHES, Industry, THREE CENTS
Tagged Advice, Audience, Industry, Screenwriter, Screenwriting, Writer, Writing
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[IN THE TRENCHES] The Ensemble: Divide and Conquer
Like the rest of the industrialized world, I caught a showing of Avengers: Infinity War over the weekend. It was pretty great, actually. More or less lived up to the impossible expectations. (No pressure, Solo). In addition to a sizable … Continue reading
Posted in IN THE TRENCHES, Industry
Tagged Advice, Avengers, Ensemble, Infinity War, Kuu Kuu Harajuku, Marvel, Screenwriter, Screenwriting
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[THE MAKING OF] Bookish
So I started writing my first novel. It won’t be part of any future school curriculum. Well, probably not, anyway. It’s not that kind of novel. It’s a fun novel. An adventure novel. You know, for kids. While I’m on … Continue reading
Posted in Biographical, IN THE TRENCHES, THE MAKING OF
Tagged Adaptation, Asper, Novel, Rhonda Smiley, Screenplay, Self-Publishing
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