Understanding Screenwriting #122
Calvary, Guardians of the Galaxy, Love is Strange, The Skeleton Twins, This is When I Leave You, The Guest, The Two Faces of January, Gone Girl, Kill the Messenger, Dear White People, The Judge, Fury, St. Vincent, Birdman, The Homesman, Interstellar, The Bridge, Masters of Sex.
By Tom Stempel. Fan Mail I was delighted to see a user comment on US #120. When I did the column for “The House Next Door” a large part of the fun of was getting comments from readers agreeing and some vehemently disagreeing with what I wrote. I look forward to more comments here. It […]
Understanding Screenwriting #121
Boyhood, A Most Wanted Man, Magic in the Moonlight, Hitchcock’s Partner in Suspense (book), Fargo.
By Tom Stempel. Now That’s a Writing Challenge Boyhood (2014. Written by Richard Linklater. 166 minutes.) Writing most screenplays is relatively easy. (Writing them well is a whole ‘nother story, which is what this column is about.) If you are writing a script in a genre, you follow the rules of the genre. In a […]
Understanding Screenwriting #120
Non-Stop, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Two and a Half Men and Fading Gigolo, Chef, Maleficent, Belle.
By Tom Stempel. Alfred Kinsey, Amber Waves, Lady Mary Crawley, and Patsey Kick Serious Butt Non-Stop (2014. Screenplay by John W. Richardson & Chris Roach and Ryan Engle, story by John W. Richardson & Chris Roach. 106 minutes.) Yes, this is another one of those Liam Neeson whoop-ass movies, in the vein of Taken (2008), […]
Understanding Screenwriting #119
Nebraska, The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, Saving Mr. Banks, Lone Survivor, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, The Monuments Men.
By Tom Stempel. A Gem, but Not Without a Flaw Nebraska (2013. Written by Bob Nelson. 115 minutes.) For all the beautifully filmed (in glorious black and white by Phedon Papamichael) shots of the wide open spaces of Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska, this is a small-scale film. Woody, a geezer well past the beginnings […]
Understanding Screenwriting #118
Blue is the Warmest Color, Frozen, Dallas Buyers Club, 12 Years a Slave, Philomena, Go For Sisters, About Time.
By Tom Stempel. Another One Where I Would Sell My Grandmother For a Long Shot Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013. Scenario, adaptation, and dialogue by Abdellatif Kechiche & Ghalia Lacroix, from the graphic novel Le Bleu est une couleur chaude by Julie Maroh. 179 minutes.) On the script level this is a nuanced, sensitive […]
