Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 345th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other…
Time for the 345th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest.
Stacey Snider Walks Fox Tightrope While Stuck in Disney Limbo.
John Lasseter to Exit Disney at End of the Year.
How the AT&T-Time Warner Decision Could Change the Future of Big Media Mergers.
Sony Wills ‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’ into Existence.
Marvel’s Women Problem: Not A Single MCU Film Has Female Characters on Screen for More Than 40 Percent of Runtime.
‘Solo’ Crash Lands For Second Weekend In A Row With Dismal Box Office Showing.
Why the Tanking of ‘Solo’ Is a Force of Darkness for ‘Star Wars’.
‘Star Wars’: The Franchise’s Highest-Grossing Films Are The Ones That Give Female Characters More Screen Time.
Female-Led Comedies Are Finally Fulfilling the R-Rated Promise of ‘Bridesmaids’.
Here’s Every Upcoming Action Movie With a Female Lead.
ReFrame Spotlights Gender-Balanced Films and TV with New Stamp.
Blumhouse Productions Is Quietly Bringing Diversity Behind the Camera.
The Humanizing Power of Immigrant Filmmakers.
Sydney Film Festival picks 10 female directors to watch in 2018.
Pearl Studio Forges Its Own Animated Path.
Korea’s CJ Entertainment Developing 10 Movies in Hollywood.
Russian Cinema Chains Lobby for Hollywood Fare.
‘Sherlock’ Star Benedict Cumberbatch Saves Cyclist From Muggers.
Joss Whedon Developing Comedy for Freeform.
Reese Witherspoon in Talks to Return for ‘Legally Blonde 3’.
Paramount Teams With Blake Griffin, Ryan Kalil for Sci-Fi Action Comedy.
‘Ocean’s 8' Writer on the Challenge of Gender-Bending a Classic Franchise.
‘Toy Story 4’: Annie Potts Says Pixar Trashed Most Of The Script Causing Major Delays.
Paul Schrader On Writing ‘First Reformed’ and ‘Cracking Open the Audiences’ Skulls’ Like He Did in ‘Taxi Driver’.
The Story of Harold Ramis and Amy Heckerling’s Secret Daughter.
A Brief History of Cinematic Crossovers.
NBC, ABC, Fox Start to Sell as TV’s Upfront Market Heats Up.
Emmys: Inside the Rise of the Female TV Auteur.
Emmys: TV’s Top Show-Runners Give Rare Peek Behind the Scenes.
A ‘Roseanne’ Spinoff: ABC Sets Meeting to Hear Ideas.
MACRO, Lena Waithe, Eva Longoria & The Black List Unveil Episodic Lab For People Of Color.
Emerging TV Studio Chiefs Explain the Appeals of Being Independent.
Netflix Sets Record-Breaking $150 Million Budget for Michael Bay and Ryan Reynolds’ ‘Six Underground’.
Kanopy: The Free Netflix Alternative Adds 100 Classic Paramount Titles.
BuzzFeed to Lay Off 20, Hire 45 in Company Reorganization.
Starbucks Commissioned a Film About Bias Training That’s Risky and Essential.
Tony Predictions: The Sure Things, the Best Bets and the Real Toss-Ups.
How Will Amy Schumer’s Huge Spotify Deal Change the Podcast Industry?
5Qs with…Founder of Paraluman Media Kendall Rhodes on Why Serialized Podcasts are the Next Big Thing.
Watch: The Problem With DC Action Scenes.
Jerry Maren, Last Surviving Munchkin in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ Dies at 98.
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week
On a limited basis, I work one-on-one with writers on their script projects.
Imagine having your very own private script workshop. A structured environment with content and a schedule tailored to meet your specific creative needs. Your own unique online course site. And a one-on-one mentor relationship with a professional screenwriter and educator.
You can do this through Screenwriting Master Class.
Perhaps all you need is a 4-week rewrite workshop to add more depth to a couple of characters in your script and polish the overall dialogue.
Maybe you have gotten through a few drafts of your story, but you need to do a page 1 rewrite.
You could have already worked out your story and want guidance during the first draft process.
Or you’re starting with a concept and want to do prep and page-writing.
Maybe you are a beginner looking to learn the essentials of screenwriting and end up with a finished screenplay.
At Screenwriting Master Class, we can create private script workshops to match up with your individual goals as a writer.
Since launching SMC in 2010, Tom Benedek and I have worked with writers of all backgrounds and interests in the context of numerous private script workshops. Here are testimonials from two:
“Working with Scott in SMC’s private workshop was an invaluable experience. The private workshop gave me the attention I needed to address my script’s problem. I was so impressed with the quality of his teaching, the way the course was structured and the interactive process. In the end, not only did Scott help me solve my character problem, he elevated my script as a whole. He is a wonderful mentor and I learned a lot about the craft of screenwriting.” — Gladys Stone, screenwriter of “Tulio” (Semifinalist, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition)
“Working with Scott in a private workshop arrangement through SMC greatly accelerated my screenwriting knowledge and craftsmanship. Scott is a most dynamic, gifted and generous educator. He offered a holistic, character-driven approach to story that helped bring out my best as a writer. The flexible syllabus of the mentorship invites exploration of creative impulses without fear of losing direction or purpose. The script on which Scott consulted placed in the top one percent of the 2011 AFF screenwriting competition and has opened industry doors. Most importantly the SMC has cemented lasting self confidence in my abilities as a writer.” — Gyan Alexander, screenwriter of “Convinced” (Semifinalist, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition)
People who have done private script workshops through Screenwriting Master Class include professional screenwriters, actors, directors, best-selling non-fiction authors, playwrights, and novelists, as well as beginning, intermediate and advanced writers.
We offer one-on-one sessions with any of our popular group workshops:
Pages II: Rewriting Your Script
For those who want a comprehensive approach to learning the craft — immersing yourself in screenwriting theory, then putting that to use in developing an original story and writing a complete draft — there is The Quest, a unique 20 week program.
The Quest changed my life. It gave me the structure to be immersed in screenwriting and the flexibility needed to write and accommodate work and family life. Not only did I come out with a quality screenplay, but a practical approach that I can apply to each script I write.
Scott’s instincts as a mentor are spot on. He can tell the difference between when you need encouragement and when you need a good kick in the pants. Under his guidance, you become the kind of writer you want to be, the kind that doesn’t need to wait for inspiration.
You can spend your time reading through screenwriting inspiration, tips or shortcuts, thinking it will help more than actually doing the work, or you can take the leap and do The Quest.
— Taylor Gordon
Here are three big reasons to consider an SMC private script workshop:
- Writing a screenplay involves making thousands of choices about characters, plot, theme and so forth. Wouldn’t it be helpful to have feedback from a professional to help steer you through the process enabling you to avoid huge story pitfalls that could derail your scripting process?
- Writing a screenplay is a thankless, lonely job. Wouldn’t it be great to have the ongoing support of a professional to enable you to overcome inevitable story problems and emotional downswings?
- Writing a screenplay is a mystery. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to learn proven principles and practices from a professional with years of experience working in the entertainment industry, an approach to writing you can use again and again on your future stories?
For more information, contact us here.