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The Weekend Movie Takeaway: 'Anabelle Comes Home'

July 1, 2019

Although it was considered something of a placeholder ahead of the July 4th holiday, this past weekend's box office offered up some important some lessons from a narrative perspective nevertheless.

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: 'Toy Story 4'

June 24, 2019

When it comes to the business of telling stories on screen, the definition of success is constantly evolving. Since the mid-to-late 1980s, we have mostly relied upon the opening weekend box office to be the key indicator, but this past weekend's resu...

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: 'Men in Black: International'

June 17, 2019

Depending on what time of day you ask, sequels are either the scourge of Hollywood storytelling or the best thing since sliced bread. Following the most recent weekend box office, there will likely be a chorus more in line with the former than the la...

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: 'Dark Phoenix'

June 10, 2019

The 2019 box office has provided plenty of reasons thus far to be encouraged about both the health of the contemporary blockbuster, and the state of modern macro storytelling. But this past weekend's earnings told a slightly different story — one tha...

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: 'Aladdin'

May 29, 2019

Disney very much owned the Memorial Day weekend as the live-action remake of their animated classic, Aladdin, was collectively embraced to the tune of approximately $117 million during its opening four days. A huge haul that represents a significant ...

The Screenwriter's Coach: Clarity is the Secret to Success

May 24, 2019

Admit it, you already hate me after reading that headline. How dare I limit you to being and talking about only one thing?! If five-years-ago-me had read that headline, I would have punched it. I thought that the more willing I was to write and be an...

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: 'John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum'

May 20, 2019

Well, it was another huge weekend for storytelling — three days during which our collective obsession with narrative was once again thrust to the center of the cultural conversation.

Bricks of Breaking In: TV Writer Andrea Ciannavei on Building a Creative Career

May 16, 2019

While there is no one path to break in as a film or TV writer, there are a lot of similar challenges — both internal and external — that aspiring writers have to confront. Below, Mayans M.C. writer Andrea Ciannavei shares how she faced the odds to gr...

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: Pokemon Detective Pikachu

May 13, 2019

When Avengers: Endgame trampled the competition in its second weekend, preventing three new releases from making any kind of impact, some parties were no doubt concerned its dominance would stretch into the film's third weekend.