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‘Sound of Metal’ Challenges Audiences to Consider the Value of Silence

January 29, 2021

There is no denying that America is grappling with the idea spending time alone, and thus ultimately, the silence that comes with it. That makes watching Sound of Metal all the more poignant. The film follows Ruben (played brilliantly by Riz Ahmed) a...

5 Screenwriting Takeaways from 'Sylvie’s Love'

January 29, 2021

Set in the early 1960s, Sylvie’s Love is a delightful film about a relationship that begins between Sylvie (Tessa Thompson), a woman working in her father’s record store, and Robert (Nnamdi Asomugha), a saxophonist looking for a job. It blossoms into...

Rising Through The Ranks: Filmmaker Kevin Bachar

January 28, 2021

Documentary filmmaker and screenwriter Kevin Bachar didn't let the COVID-19 pandemic slow him down; 2020 was full of new and exciting moments for his career. Aside from finishing up his ninth film for PBS Nature on the sharks of Hawaii, as well as an...

History of TV: How ‘Boy Meets World’ Tackled Coming-of-Age, Comedy Style

January 28, 2021

All of the shows on ABC’s popular family-themed block of Friday night programming that ran from 1989 to 2000 were spectacularly ‘90s in aesthetic. Watching for the teased hair, neon color-blocking and Walkmans (the pre-iPod, iPod) alone is worthwhile...

5 Screenwriting Takeaways: Genre Subversion and Female Rage in 'Promising Young Woman'

January 25, 2021

Screenwriters and movie lovers have likely caught wind of the premise for Promising Young Woman by now. It’s the buzziest release of 2021 so far, with the Oscar® rumor mill churning for star Carey Mulligan who plays protagonist Cassie; a young woman ...

5 Screenwriting Takeaways From Regina King's 'One Night in Miami'

January 22, 2021

The date is February 25th, 1964. The location: Miami, Florida.

History of TV: Politics and Olivia Pope Define Shondaland Hit ‘Scandal’

January 21, 2021

I resisted watching Scandal when it originally aired. I’m not into politics. But the premise is screenwriting genius — not really surprising coming from its creator, acclaimed showrunner Shonda Rhimes. Scandal is about a former White House communicat...

5 Screenwriting Takeaways: HBO Max's 'I Hate Suzie'

January 19, 2021

HBO Max has brought the darkly funny laugh-cry British hit I Hate Suzie to American audiences, and it's a cathartic watch to go down the rabbit hole with a woman likely having a worse existential crisis than you (pandemic and political crisis aside)....

A California Christmas' filmmaker Lauren Swickard is a #WomenInFilm powerhouse

January 19, 2021

I happily stumbled upon an actress recently who was not only the lead in one of Netflix’s top Christmas movies last year, but wrote the screenplay and produced it as well. As if writing a screenplay isn’t a feat in itself! At the age of twenty-seven,...