Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 334th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest.

Hot Docs: Full Film Slate Revealed.

Michael B. Jordan Could Change How We See World War II Movies.

Is the Success of ‘Black Panther’ Actually Hurting Other Films?

Don’t Blame Black Panther’s Success for Other Movies’ Failures.

Mark Hamill Is Not Done Playing Luke Skywalker.

‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’: Phil Lord and Chris Miller Reveal Their Credit.

Has ‘Tomb Raider’ Broken the Video Game Movie Curse?

Feminist Critics of Angelina Jolie’s ‘Tomb Raider’ Respond to Reboot.

‘Tomb Raider’: Is Hollywood Adapting the Wrong Video Games?

Is Avengers: Infinity War really the most ambitious crossover event in history? Twitter thinks otherwise.

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Screenwriters Share the Comics That Inspired the Film.

‘I Can Only Imagine’ Filmmakers: Faith-Based Hit Is a ‘Cinderella Story’ of an Indie Film Rejected by the Studio System.

Should More Religious Films Openly Challenge Religious Beliefs?

New Effort Aims to Boost Hollywood’s Female Union Membership.

The Furiosa Test: The New, Gritty Face of Feminism in Film.

The Enduring Feminist Vision of ‘The Silence of the Lambs’.

Being a middle-aged woman is a super power, and Hollywood is finally catching on.

The Myth of the Humanizing Woman.

Paul Feig Ignites a Powderkeg of Diversity.

Lena Waithe Is Changing the Game.

Steven Spielberg Promises To Never Digitally Alter His Films Again, Citing ‘E.T.’ Controversy.

A Decade of Steven Spielberg Not Making Up His Mind.

Spielberg Confirms ‘Indy 5’ Will Begin Production In April 2019.

Can ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Find Redemption?

Who Asked For This: A Brief History of Hollywood’s Forgotten Sequels.

Inside the making of Kate McKinnon, Mila Kunis comedy ‘The Spy Who Dumped Me’.

After ‘When Harry Met Sally’, almost every rom-com tried to have what Nora Ephron was having.

The Art of the Unconventional Adaptation.

Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction’ House Is On Sale For $1.4 Million.

Quentin Tarantino Doesn’t Even Know How Netflix Works, Still Misses Video Stores.

Robert Rodriguez: The $7,000 Movie Is Now Reality TV on ‘Rebel Without a Crew’.

Unmade Script By Akira Kurosawa Set To Go Into Production.

Stanley Kubrick Auction: ‘The Shining’ Rare Cut, Jack Torrance’s Corduroy Jacket, and More Items Being Sold.

The Weinstein Company Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Releases Employees From Non-Disclosure Agreements.

Weinstein Co. Bankruptcy: Grim Last Days for Troubled Studio Outlined in Court.

Filmart: Why the Japanese Film Sector Is Bouncing Back After Years of Struggle.

A Brief History of Movies Shot With Phones.

Man Dies After Getting Head Stuck in Movie Theater Seat.

Disney World Updates Controversial ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Ride Bride Auction Scene.

MoviePass Cuts Prices to $6.95 for Limited Time.

Hollywood Walk of Fame Licensed for Middle Eastern Version.

Women Still Underrepresented Behind the Scenes on TV, New Report Finds.

NBC Names 2018 Class for Its Late Night Writers Workshop.

There’s a Secret Code in the New ‘Westworld’ Season 2 Poster — WTF Does ‘Find the Door’ Mean?

Why I’m Not Buying What ‘Westworld’ is Selling.

‘Stranger Things’ Stars Score Massive Pay Raises for Season 3.

Stream Nation: U.S. Consumers Spend $2 Billion Monthly on Streaming Video Services.

Amazon, Netflix Gain Ground in Japanese Streaming Market.

Can the Shortform Video Market Make a Comeback?

YouTube Red Shifts Feature Strategy.

Facebook Starts Testing Patreon-Like Memberships for Creators and Their Fans.

Facebook Stock Sinks After Cambridge Analytica Report.

Google News Initiative announced to fight fake news and support journalism.

How Leading Podcasting Companies Propel Their Shows to Hollywood Heights.

RIAA 2017 Report: ‘Fragile Recovery’ Continues as Revenues Rise 16.5% and Streaming Soars.

Lollapalooza 2018 Lineup Announced: The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Jack White, More.

Say Hello to the 2018 Whiting Honorees.

Listen: Scriptnotes (Episode 342).

Read: 32 Qualities of Better Film (Ted Hope).

Read: Michael Chabon — David Lynch’s Night Truths.

Watch: The Greatest Examples of Split Screen Throughout Cinema History.

Watch: The Filmmaker’s Voice: Joel & Ethan Coen.

Watch: The Films of Steven Soderbergh :: Sex, Lies and Videotape.

Watch: A message from Akira Kurosawa.

Screenwriting Master Class tip of the week

If the Protagonist is most often your story’s most important character, the Nemesis is not far behind. Indeed, some of the greatest characters in film history have been Nemeses including Darth Vader (Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope), the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz), Buffalo Bill (The Silence of the Lambs), and the shark (Jaws).

If conflict is the stuff of great drama, there is perhaps no conflict more compelling than that of a Protagonist versus a Nemesis. But what makes for a worthy Nemesis? How to develop them?

Following up on my recent Create a Compelling Protagonist course, I’m offering Create a Worthy Nemesis. It is a 1-week writing course that takes a unique approach to developing this pivotal character in that we start the process with the Protagonist.

I found Scott Myers’ online workshop on writing a “worthy nemesis” extremely helpful as a first time screen writer it answered some key questions about character construction and relation, gave me a lot of food for thought and was overall a great experience. I will surely come back for another course once I have applied all that I learned on this one. — Zeba Bakhtiar

Here are the 7 lecture titles:

Lecture 1: Nemesis v. Antagonist
Lecture 2: Shadow v. Light
Lecture 3: Fear v. Need
Lecture 4: Disunity v. Unity
Lecture 5: Overlord v. Underdog
Lecture 6: Intelligence v. Wisdom
Lecture 7: Empathy v. Sympathy

Without a doubt, I’ve gotten more useful information out of this course than any other single course I’ve ever taken. I especially enjoyed the discussions of the applications of Carl Jung’s work to screenwriting. You’re doing great work. — Scott Gunn

Notice the clever theme of v. for versus? There’s a reason for that, one you will discover when you take the class. In addition to the seven lectures that I am writing, there is 24/7 forum feedback, six insider tips, a teleconference, and an opportunity to workshop one of your story’s Nemesis characters.

The most recent Create a Compelling Protagonist session has been phenomenal. In fact, I have extended the class for at least another week because of all the incredible conversations we’ve had along with great workshopping of participants’ Protagonists. I fully expect the my Nemesis class will just as stimulating.

This was my first time taking one of Scott’s classes, and it was totally worth it. He was full of unique insights, from his daily lectures to his Insider Tips (my favorite part of the course). Further, he was highly responsive to the myriad questions posed by students. I very much enjoyed the exchange of knowledge and advice that occurred among participants, another highlight. Would definitely recommend this class! — Jace Serrano

In 2017, I presented a condensed version of the Write a Worthy Nemesis class at the London Screenwriters Festival, the Austin Film Festival, and the Willamette Writers Conference. Packed rooms. Standing ovations. You can get the complete take in this week-long online course.

So sign up today right here and join me for a week’s journey into the dark side of the human soul, the place where great Nemeses figures dwell, waiting for you to find them.

Class start date: Monday, April 2.