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The Weekend Movie Takeaway: Creative Vision Still Matters in the Modern Mass Movie Marketplace

October 28, 2019

A rather quiet weekend at the box office saw Joker, now the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, compete for the top spot with last weekend's debutante, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. At the time this article was written, the two films were pret...

All the Write Moves: 'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie'

October 28, 2019

A made-for-streaming feature that resolves a subplot from a beloved TV series might seem an unlikely subject for study in this space, since precious few writers will ever be in the same position as Vince Gilligan. Gilligan wrote El Camino: A Breaking...

Weekend Writing Inspiration: 10 Things To Do When You Can’t Write a Word

October 25, 2019

Feeling blocked, stuck, uninspired? Here are 10 things you can do when facing your script feels just plain impossible.

All The Write Moves: 'Judy'

October 21, 2019

Beloved entertainers who cannot sustain happiness offstage are fascinating, hence the litany of biopics about troubled actors and singers. The latest movie of this type is Judy, which concerns actress/singer Judy Garland. She gained fame as a child s...

Fast Five: Star Wars Uses Books to Sell Movies and SAG Gets Metaphysical

October 21, 2019

This week, Disney made some major choices about the narrative future of its two biggest franchises, disabled writers and SAG Presidents are in the spotlight for different reasons, and MIPCOM proves once again that every idea has already been thought ...

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: Sequels Don’t Equal Success as Joker Has the Last Laugh

October 21, 2019

Over the past month or so, there’ve been various cases at the box office that could be considered as highly encouraging for big screen storytelling. Key developments following some of those trends occurred over the weekend.

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: Narrative Beats Out Special Effects at the Box Office

October 14, 2019

Last week in this space we celebrated the massive opening weekend of Joker, a film that captured the film conversation—and audience attendance—by virtue of the power of its narrative approach. Whether or not you agreed with the film, or even liked it...

The Fast Five: New Writing Initiatives & Successfully Pivoting Genres

October 14, 2019

I hope everybody enjoyed their Thanksgiving / Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples Day holiday weekend. Whether you’re back to work or still enjoying the long weekend in one of the states that gives you a day off for it, catch up on this week’s Fast Fiv...

All The Write Moves: 'Joker'

October 14, 2019

It’s become rare for movies released by major studios to spark heated debate, but director-co-writer Todd Phillips’ Joker, a wild riff on the iconic Batman villain, has done exactly that. By placing the psychotic clown character at the center of a na...