It’s a new year in the United States and countries that go by the Gregorian calendar. The Wikipedia has an active page of information listing places and cultures that vary from this, a handy place to start for writers who might need to check their character’s local listings.
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AJ Ferrara’s “The Book of Toth,” Mahree Munding’s “Old Girls Gone Wild,” and Lois Wickstrom’s “Coal for Christmas” were named finalists in the 2008 Movie Deal screenplay contest. Winner to be announced in January. Congratulations!
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University of Wisconsin film prof David Bordwell makes the case for a return to a more “expressionistic” style of action set piece that can grab the viewer on deeper levels.
“… (A)t some point I became a connoisseur of action sequences….
“… I became convinced that martial arts movies from Japan and Hong Kong constituted as important […]

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Our own Lis Anna is in the news today. 
See the article here.
See the Screenwriting Buzz announcement here.

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“A few weeks back I was talking to a class of writing students … (a)nd the subject of writer’s block came up. I don’t know if I brought it up or they did, but I gave my standard answer in those cases, which is that I think it’s mostly kind of a precious construction; that […]

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“… Writers often ask me how to protect themselves against plagiarism. And for years, I’ve always said the same thing: plagiarism in Hollywood for the most part doesn’t exist, at least not in the way people think. By that I mean, it’s highly unlikely that some producer is going to simply rip off your script […]

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Veteran producer Marcia Nasatir ( “The Big Chill,” “Hamburger Hill,” “Ironweed,” “Death Defying Acts,” ) and legendary screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr. ( “Papillon,” “The Parallax View,” “Three Days of the Condor,” ) give their take on recent films such as “Iron Man,” “Milk,” and “Slumdog Millionaire” at their YouTube channel.
Truth be told, they’re a little […]

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“… When it came time to animate Charles Schulz’s Peanuts world, it was Bill Melendez who did a lot of the heavy lifting. He and his team came up with all the groundbreaking stuff we don’t even think about anymore …
“… Most of all, they resisted any attempts to cute-up or pull punches with the […]

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“… If you’re holding anything back, then it’s practically a guarantee that what you’re holding back, is what’s holding you back. 85% gets you nowhere in showbiz. 90% gets you treading water….”
Go To Alex Epstein’s Place …

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Billy Mernit runs down the year’s best rom-coms.
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“… Potentially Selling Writers have written seven, eight, maybe 10 scripts. And they’re working on another one right now. They have placed in competitions. They have been or are repped now. They take meetings from time to time. They are neither head-in-the-clouds nor bitter. They hang around with other good writers. They are always learning. […]

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The kids split for the slopes, leaving Mom home all alone. Episode Six of “The Other Normal,” now showing at Nevada Grey’s YouTube channel. Merry Christmas, everybody.
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“…  Having watched former assistants and other young writers cross the line into professional work, I’ve noticed that one of the biggest mysteries is money.
“I want to offer a brief financial education for the newly-employed screenwriter….”
Go To John August’s Place …

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Todd Rubenstein, Esq., discussed the art and legalities of securing books rights in the Spring 2002 issue of Filmmaker Magazine.
“Not infrequently, a client will call me and say, ‘I just read this really great book. How do I find out if the rights are available? And if they are, how do I get them?’
“Although the […]

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“We’ve heard about the Electronic Office. And how digital files will replace paper. Well, while the former has happened, the latter hasn’t. For one thing, paper – for many reasons – is just too convenient. For another, pens are just too handy. But…what if you could combine the two concepts. And come up with a […]

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