Saturday Hot Links
Time for the 379th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other…
Time for the 379th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest.
Weekend Box Office: ‘Lego Movie 2’ Wins With $35M in Hollow Victory
Oscars: Nominees Shine a Spotlight on Innovative Filmmaking
Oscars: Female Animation Directors Reflect Change With Nominations
BAFTA Awards: ‘The Favourite’ Dominates With 7 Wins, But ‘Roma’ Claims Top Prize
Awards Show Ratings Have Leveled Off (or Maybe Bottomed Out)
Bringing Screenwriters Together: Writers Guild of America West’s Annual Beyond Words
‘Roma’, ‘Green Book’ and More Screenwriters Talk Oscar Contenders’ Journey From Script to Screen
BAFTA Awards: ‘The Favourite’ Dominates With 7 Wins, But ‘Roma’ Claims Top Prize
2019 Grammy Winners: Complete List
2018 Films Featured More Diverse Leads Than Ever, Study Finds
Imax Ditched VR — but Big Theaters Are Buying In
Berlin’s 2019 Drama Series Days: Five Takeaways
Jeff Bezos’ Journey From Private Family Man to Tabloid Sensation
Why the Weinstein Company Bankruptcy Hurt Native Women
Lena Waithe on ‘Boomerang’ and being a young, black professional
The Uphill Battles of Black Talent Agents in Hollywood
‘Dear White People’ Producer Talks Hollywood’s ‘Black Tax’
‘BlacKkklansman’: Balancing Comedy and Drama in Spike Lee’s Racial Allegory
How Miles Morales Changed the Spider-Verse
Inside an indie: Making a film from scratch without a Hollywood budget
The 13 Biggest Takeaways From TV’s Winter Press Tour
TV Pilot Season By the Numbers: Total Volume Plunges
Welcome to the Golden Age of TV’s Teen Sex Comedy
Netflix and Pen15 Are Changing the Way TV Does Teen Sex
Network TV’s Live Musical Boom Hits Sour Note
Netflix Starts Production on Its First Dutch Original Series, ‘Ares’
Critic’s Notebook: The Curious Cases and Future Fates of Starz and Epix
Cord-Cutting Sped Up in 2018: Biggest Pay-TV Ops Shed 3.2 Million Subscribers Last Year
Amazon Abandons HQ2 Campus in New York
Can Amazon Get Out of Its Woody Allen Deal?
WarnerMedia Streaming Service Will Launch Beta Version by the End of the Year
Apple to Announce Streaming Service Next Month With J.J. Abrams, Jennifer Aniston and More
Reddit Raises $300 Million at $3 Billion Valuation
Universal Music Posts Revenues of $7.15 Billion as Sale Plans Move Forward
Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week — Private Script Workshops
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 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 24 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.