Richard Walter on Static Vs. Dynamic Scene Settings
Richard Walter explores how to invigorate a script merely by changing the venues in which scenes are set.
By Richard Walter. My sister is an actor. For decades she was best known for her femme fatal role in the first movie ever directed by Clint Eastwood: Play Misty for Me. That led to thirty years of bad girls: Women in Cages, Women in Chains, and u-name-it. In recent years however, thanks to her […]
Richard Walter on Why There’s No Success Like Failure
Richard Walter explains why the failure to sell a script can prove to be the beginning of launching a career as a screenwriter.
By Richard Walter. When I was invited to join the faculty of the UCLA film school it was technically the late ’70s. Spiritually, however, it was still the ’60s, with its hippie-dippy disregard for accomplishment and achievement. The third worst act a writer could commit was to actually sell a screenplay. That was mere commerce, […]
Richard Walter on Hollywood Trends
Richard Walter explains why the biggest mistake a writer can make is to pay attention to Hollywood trends.
By Richard Walter. What is the ‘trend’ today in Hollywood? I’m standing smack-dab in the middle of the town and haven’t a clue. As in algebra, however, let’s say that there is a trend and let’s call that trend ‘X’. It’s too late to get in on that trend for the simple reason that it […]
