Category Archives: Articles

On Directing Film by David Mamet

Posted on Oct 20, 2015 by | Path: Articles | Comments Off on On Directing Film by David Mamet

On Directing Film by David Mamet A review by Shawn Duenas “Always do things in the least interesting way, and you make a better movie.” pg 20 A hand grabs a book off of the shelf. It’s opened wide. A young … Continue reading →

Action movies

Posted on Jul 13, 2015 by | Path: Articles | Comments Off on Action movies

http://www.avclub.com/article/how-make-good-action-film-11-lessons-modern-movies-222083 This article got me thinking about what action movies I like. I seem to like and respect all of the action scenes and fight choreography shown here, but the lack of characters having fun was noticeable. Lock out was … Continue reading →

Lessons from Liar Liar

Posted on Jun 29, 2015 by | Path: Articles | Comments Off on Lessons from Liar Liar

The first time I saw this movie was in theaters back in 1997, so I was 9 1/2 years old. I remember liking it but forgetting about it until we got it on VHS. From that point on it was … Continue reading →

Jurassic World (Spoilers)

Posted on Jun 27, 2015 by | Path: Articles | Comments Off on Jurassic World (Spoilers)

Let me preface this by saying I saw Jurassic World in perhaps the worst theater I’ve ever been in because all my friends bailed on me, and by the time they did, all the tickets were sold out for the … Continue reading →

Inside Out Review Part 2 of 2

Posted on Jun 27, 2015 by | Path: Articles | Comments Off on Inside Out Review Part 2 of 2

Spoilers in a Paragraph: Every human has five emotions in their mind reacting to circumstances and encouraging emotional responses from a command center in the mind:  Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger.  Riley moves to a new town where circumstances … Continue reading →

“Inside Out” Review Part 1 of 2

Posted on Jun 23, 2015 by | Path: Articles | Comments Off on “Inside Out” Review Part 1 of 2

My review of Inside Out is a 1/5. It’s a very personal 1/5 but I also had problems with the story, characters, clarity of the world, and Inception-style explanations of story solutions. The one point came solely from the message they were trying to put on screen. Continue reading →

How to write a four-quadrant story

Posted on Jun 9, 2015 by | Path: Articles | Comments Off on How to write a four-quadrant story

Article on ideas for writing the Four Quadrant story (related to High-concept). Taken verbatum from https://ffwhite.dreamwidth.org/9438.html In the movie business, studios look to maximize the audience for their blockbusters by appealing to the largest audience possible. The default strategy is to … Continue reading →

Wordplayer #5 Death to the Reader

Posted on May 25, 2015 by | Path: Articles > Wordplayer | Comments Off on Wordplayer #5 Death to the Reader

http://www.wordplayer.com/columns/wp05.Death.to.Readers.html Death to the Reader by Terry Rossio For those who don’t know what Wordplayer is, it’s a web blog created nearly two decades ago. It was written by the screenwriters of Aladdin (1992), Mask of Zorro (1998), and the Pirates … Continue reading →

The Hidden Tools of Comedy

Posted on May 25, 2015 by | Path: Articles | Comments Off on The Hidden Tools of Comedy

Summary of: The Hidden Tools of Comedy (The Serious Business of Being Funny) by Steven Kaplan (written without the book in front of me) I love this book. It has helped me reframe stories, character, and life in general. At … Continue reading →

Shakespeare for Screenwriters

Posted on May 24, 2015 by | Path: Articles | Comments Off on Shakespeare for Screenwriters

This is a summary of the book: Shakespeare for Screenwriters by J. M. Everson I found the book extremely insightful. More so than any English class I ever took in high school. But I’m also the guy who loved the … Continue reading →