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Rian Johnson (director of “Brick” and “The Brothers Bloom”) did a great interview on MakingOf.com, where he puts into words something I’ve been formulating for awhile.
Key excerpts of his quote, and the full video interview under the cut.
Real problems from fake people.
Dear Earl,
I read your post about how screenwriters should become directors to protect their work. Isn’t that a bit much to ask somebody? It’s hard enough to learn one job.
In that specific case, I was referring to the screenwriter’s weakened position in the moviemaking system.
Directors have more power. Ergo, if screenwriters want the power to protect their stories, they should seek a position of power. I’m not saying every artist needs to study every field.
Oh, thank goodness.
But now that you mention it, it’s not a bad idea.
Real problems from fake people.
Dear Earl,
We just received an email announcing the open entry period for a big media award/film festival, and we’re going to enter!
Awesome, congrats. Why are you entering?
When you win, the trophy is amazing, it’s made of crystal and golden butterflies — wait, what? What do you mean, ‘why?’ It’s a big award/film festival!
How much is the entry fee?
Huh? I don’t know. It’s somewhere around ($50/$100/$200).
Maybe it’s just me, but if someone is asking for more than lunch money, I like to know why I’m doing it.
Found this blogpost on Twitter, courtesy of Matt F’n Wallace. It’s a piece by Kurt Sutter, a TV showrunner, and it digs into the little-mentioned world of television runners. It’s a world I’m currently fascinated by. Film directors brag about shooting a 2 hour film in 30 days. A television showrunner could be overseeing the production of between 13 and 22 hour-long features, each of which will be turned around in a matter of weeks. In short, these guys know the process, and they know how to multi-task.
Read more here: The Show Must Be Run
Scifi Wire posted this story (Warning: Sanctuary Spoilers) about a recent plot twist on Sanctuary.
What Really Happened To (Spoiler Deleted)
Here’s the excerpt I want to focus on (emphasis mine):
Creator Damian Kindler: “Once we know for sure about a third season, there is definitely an Ashley story in there that we’re developing…(snip) The intention was to never kill her off with any finality. It was always to kill her off in a way that was dubious at best and fraught with inconsistencies and fraught with mystery and isn’t completely solved even when they have to put her to rest and move on.”
Let’s start with some disclaimers.
Last week I spent a few days in Auburn, Al, catching up with Doc Waller, executive director for the Layman Group. He did an interview with me (as Board Emeritus for the group) about art, the Layman Group, and their collective futures, and you can see the best pieces of it here:
Through the back-channel of blog links, I found Gabrielle Harbowy from Dragon Moon Press linked to my blog post, Dealing with Silence and Rejection, as part of an excellent post of her own: Dealing with Rejection.
I highly recommend you read the entire post. Gabrielle is an editor for Dragon Moon Press, and really offers the much-needed insider view on this issue.
My thoughts on her post after the jump.
Mur Lafferty (author of Playing for Keeps and the Heaven series, amongst other celebrated works) posted a terrific article about the problem of juggling “real life” and writing*.
* replace writing with drawing, composing, editing, dancing; whatever your particular passion is.
An article about my entré into filmmaking was recently published in the Destin Log in Destin, Florida. It talks a lot about what first drew me into storytelling. Fraser Sherman penned the article, and you have to hand it to him: it has a killer opening line:
When Earl Newton was 10, he convinced his friends he was born on another planet.
The article hasn’t been posted on the Destin Log’s website, so I’m linking to a repost of it on TMCnet.com.
Read the full article here.
“True Stories” is a series of videos examining the thoughts and feelings of artists as it relates to their art. I produced this series for the Layman Group, featuring select members of the board of directors.
I thought Rachel White’s comments were especially on-the-mark. Listen close when she starts talking about “being the right puzzle piece.”
Stranger Things fans will also recognize Rachel as Madeline from Disconnect.
adaptation apple creativity demo reel disconnect editing interview j.c. hutchins layman group marketing matt wallace mevio mur lafferty patrick mclean pure love real problems from fake people sci-fi scott sigler screenwriting script secret project storytelling Stranger Things twitter video games
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