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Recent Posts
- [IN THE TRENCHES] Adapt or Die December 31, 2020
- [IN THE TRENCHES] False Endings November 30, 2020
- [THE MAKING OF] The Premiere of Premiere Magazine October 31, 2020
- [ETCETERA] Please Stand By September 29, 2020
- [IN THE TRENCHES] What’s in a Name? August 31, 2020
Category Archives: Industry
[IN THE TRENCHES] Adapt or Die
During an email discussion a few weeks ago, regarding some form of chaos or another, my mom remarked about her and my dad that, “We adapt.” In a year where nothing is the same as it was before, this ability … Continue reading
Posted in IN THE TRENCHES, Industry
Tagged Adapt, Brad Pitt, Dakota Fanning, Formatting, Limp Bizkit, Spec Script, Whitesnake
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[IN THE TRENCHES] False Endings
False endings come in many shapes and sizes. They’re in songs, like Helter Skelter, All by Myself, and Sabotage. They’re in movies – mostly horror – often to elicit a last-minute jump scare. Although they can provide a bit of … Continue reading
Posted in IN THE TRENCHES, Industry
Tagged Blowback, False Endings, George Lucas, Self-Publishing
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[IN THE TRENCHES] What’s in a Name?
What’s in a name? A whole lot, it turns out. Maybe even too much. From the front cover of a spec script to a marquee on a movie theater, the title has been, and always will be, a critical task … Continue reading
Posted in IN THE TRENCHES, Industry
Tagged Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), Friends, Gormiti: The Lords of Nature Return!, Kuu Kuu Harajuku, Mowgli: The New Adventures of the Jungle Book, Race, Screenwriting, The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, The Karate Kid, Titles
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[IN THE TRENCHES] The Day Job and DreamWorks “Wizards”
Like a lot of screenwriters, my freelance gigs have infrequently provided enough income to make a living. To be able to do fun things like eat and pay health insurance, requires one to have an additional source of income… aka … Continue reading
Posted in IN THE TRENCHES, Industry
Tagged 3Below, Assistant Editor, Avid, DreamWorks, Guillermo del Toro, Tales of Arcadia, Trollhunters, Wizards
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[THE NETWORK] Fame-Ish
Pandemic or not, it’s never a bad time to highlight a new project by a friend and fellow creative in the entertainment trenches. The network is life. This month, the person in the spotlight is Jeff Nimoy and his freshly-released … Continue reading
Posted in Industry, NYU, THE NETWORK
Tagged Anime, Cooking Caveman, Digimon, Fame-Ish, Jeff Nimoy, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, Tentomon, Trigun
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[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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[THREE CENTS] What Now?
If there ever was a point where a question felt most appropriate, it’s today. What now? Not where are you going to find toilet paper, or how best to hide from your children, or whether you’re more of a “summer” … Continue reading
Posted in Industry, THREE CENTS
Tagged ideas, Pandemic, R.E.M., Screenwriter, Screenwriting, Writer, Writing
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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
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[THREE CENTS] Thanks for “Nothing”
Pursuing a career as a working screenwriter is challenging at best. And maintaining an existing one is no walk in the park either. More like a walk through broken glass (while also eating it). There can be days – years … Continue reading
Posted in Biographical, Industry, THREE CENTS
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[ETCETERA] The Wilhelm Scream
Most audiences are onto the fact that much of the sound they hear in movies and television isn’t made on set while the cameras are rolling. The gunshot wasn’t actually recorded live. The song at the High School dance wasn’t … Continue reading
Posted in ETCETERA, Industry
Tagged Distant Drums, SFX, Sound Design, Sound Effects, Star Wars, The Charge at Feather River, Wilhelm Scream
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