(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) Cancer, a marathon, thievery and a touching story are a lot to pack into a thirty minute film. That, however, is what producer/screenwriter, and American Film Institute (AFI) grad student, Sara Hills is doing in her film, You Got This. This film is the thesis for Sara’s Masters in Fine Arts from the AFI Conservatory. […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) Circus Vargas came through town a while back. It had been years since we’d been to the circus so my wife and I decided to go. This is not a big “sports arena” circus like Ringling Brothers. Circus Vargas sets up old fashioned big top tents in a mall parking lot, sometimes has […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) Cowboys & Aliens screenwriters Mark Fergus (First Snow, Children of Men, Iron Man) and Roberto Orci (Star Trek, Transformers, Fringe) beamed down to The Los Angeles Film School the night before Cowboys & Aliens opened to share observations about life in the warp-speed lane with students and fans. The film begins in the old west when a stranger […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) The creative process – with its joy and disappointments, its triumphs and tragedies – is for many artists an intensely private experience. The writer in front of a computer or the artist alone in a studio has the privilege of privacy. This is not the case for those who express their […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) Writers, long domesticated by publishers, producers, and other men in suits, are now empowered to break through the barriers and take charge of their careers as never before. That was the message writers Jim Sorenson (Transformers Animated: The Allspark Almanac, Vol. 2 ) and Courtney Joyner (Stealing Candy) shared at the Alameda Writers Group (AWG) July general membership […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) It was one of those moments. As a screenwriter or filmmaker you’re constantly studying structure, dialogue, what makes a good scene, distribution, financing, who’s hot, who owes you a favor, and pondering your latest rejection. Then one of those moments happens. One of those moments that reminds you why you decided […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) The success of an independent film can often depend on getting a “name star” to sign on to the project. The “Big Names, Small Budgets” seminar, presented by SAG and SAGIndie at this past weekend’s “Produced By Conference” (PBC), focused on how to accomplish that. The PBC, presented by the Producers Guild […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) You guessed it…then you gotta do it yourself. That was the advice from show creators and writer-producers at this year’s LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival at the Downtown Independent Theater. The “write-it-yourself” panel consisted of Kevin Shinick (writer/creator/producer of Cartoon Network’s Mad and writer/creative director of Robot Chicken), Phoef Sutton (writer/exec producer of Cheers, writer/producer Boston Legal), and […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) I received an epiphany as a result of having parts of two SyFy Channel movies inflicted on me this weekend: The current crop of screenwriters is totally clueless about things military. Granted, SyFy movies, especially Battle of Los Angeles (not to be confused with the now-in-theaters Battle: Los Angeles), may be the bottom of the barrel in many […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) Enough with the producers already. How did the Producers Guild of America’s “Produced By Conference” look from a writer’s perspective? Peter Ong Lim is a Seattle-based “writer/producer/creative entrepreneur.” Peter started out in entertainment, took a detour through medicine, but now is back with his first love: “I sold my first script at age 14 […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) At this month’s Producers Guild of America “Produced By Conference”, a distinguished group of filmmakers tackled the question “Do producers bring anything to the creative process?” Maybe it doesn’t apply to every producer, but these gentlemen bring a lot. David Pickler, former CEO or United Artists and producer of Lenny, The Man with […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) Action! Wait… nothing’s happening? Why isn’t a movie being made right now? Because a director isn’t enough. We need actors, crew members, lights, cameras, a location, props, costumes, technology services, sound systems, catering, insurance, doctors, accountants, tax breaks, furniture and, God help us, lawyers. We need the work of a producer. […]
(Originally published on Blogcritics) Two expert panels advised, teased, and encouraged filmmakers attending the Los Angeles Comedy Shorts Film Festival Friday morning, while giving them a chance to peek behind the curtain of “the biz.” The first panel, “What…In This Economy?”, focused on giving management/production companies what they really want. Panelists included J.C. Spink (Benderspink), […]