Owner: The Screenwriters League URL:http://www.ScreenwritersLeague.com Join Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 10:27:57 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The Screenwriters League is a collective of NYC-based writers sharing their experiences as they build their careers from the ground up, and hoping to impart any knowledge they gain along the way. Site statistics:Click here
Wanted - Ridiculous Doesn't Do It Justice 2008-07-02 11:23:00 Onyx and I saw Wanted last night (free screening a friend let me know about). For what it was – a mindless, suspend your disbelief at the door action flick – it was fun. It was fun in a way that made me laugh out loud at just how ridiculous some of it was. Don’t get me wrong, I love a “good” ridiculous movie every now and then (I will argue to praise for Shoot ‘Em Up any day of the wee Read more:Justice
Vote for Billy! 2008-07-01 13:04:00 Let’s forget about Obama and McCain for a second and talk about a man that we need to rise in our government. Sonny Landham, better known to me as Billy
from the 1987 action flick Predator, is making a bid for the Kentucky senate. You can read more about it at the CNN link below.Tough guy actor eyes Senate seatSo why should anybody vote for Billy? And believe me, it is Billy you’re voting for.
The Writing Week part 26 2008-06-30 15:52:00 Twenty six. That's half of fifty two, by my ever decreasing math skills. That means we're halfway through 2008. Halfway. Halfway...Hmm.I suppose it's fitting to do some kind of mid-year recap at this point. (But first, let’s get that weekly blabbering out of the way.)This week was, in fact, a writing week. I wrote. I did. I wrote a page of a play that I had no idea about. I wrote the first two p
Trailer Trash III: Hercules in New York 2008-07-22 11:12:00 While we're on an Arnie kick, here's a classic one. I only wish it was the original theatrical trailer and not the post-Terminator VHS release...Best Arnold Schwarzenegger movie? Definitely. Onyx would agree. At 0:50 - do we really need to see that? REALLY?At 1:10 - Can anyone translate this for me? Read more:Trailer
, Trash
, Hercules
, New York
The Writing Week part 29 2008-07-21 22:48:00 Another week down. Like recent weeks, though, this one has been pretty stellar. Besides the still lingering high of The Dark Knight, I've been making some progress in my post-Apocalyptic spec. Before I go any further, I have to take a quick detour to talk about... PAGE NUMBERS!!! I don't know about the rest of you out there, but those of us in the League wind up doing a lot of talking about page n
Vacation coming to a close... 2008-07-21 10:44:00 I'm leaving the big apple for the next week on a stint of (fun) work-related travel. July has been the busiest time of the year for me at my day job, and it's just been taking it all out of me. I've been getting home and having the hardest time putting words to the page and it's been very frustrating.I finished a first draft of a new screenplay in late June and have only really been picking at it Read more:Vacation
Why So Serious? 2008-07-20 11:21:00 I saw The Dark Knight on Friday. I'd have posted my review earlier, but I had to spend the past two days taking a cold shower to calm myself down. The movie competes - along with air, water, Mom's cooking, and love - for the title of "best anything ever."Ok, before I go on, I should say that I'm perhaps a little bit biased. I probably have one of the largest Batman trade and graphic novel collecti
Trailer Trash II: Troll 2 2008-07-18 07:28:00 Troll 2 is a special little doozy of a film. Rated near the bottom of IMDB's Worst 100 Movies, the movie has absolutely nothing to do with the first (awful) Troll movie. So little, in fact, that the movie doesn't even have trolls in it. The midgets in halloween costumes you'll see in the trailer are GOBLINS, and goblins are the stars of the movie Troll 2.So, to explain things... a happy family tak Read more:Trailer
, Trash
, Troll
23 and Counting 2008-07-16 10:48:00 Here we go, my first post as a 23 year old. Not a bad number 23, although some would say it was a bad movie. (Ba Da Chh!) I’ve actually never seen The Number 23, but I should have gone to support Jim Carey. I always liked him, especially when he dabbled with more dramatic, less zany rolls. Some of my fellow league members may disagree with me here, to the point where I have a knife in my back, Read more:Counting
Trailer Trash: Commando 2008-07-16 07:36:00 The trailer for (the cinematic masterpiece) Commando
does just about everything right to sum up the movie in two minutes: it offers up bite-size portions of all of the movie's most essential elements. You get gunfire and explosions, cheesy catchphrases, and tough-guy mugging from Arnie.I think more bullets are fired in this trailer alone than in all of Saving Private Ryan.Sequence that hurt my eye Read more:Trailer
, Trash
The Writing Week part 28 2008-07-14 23:26:00 This has been another week of re-writes. Some major, others not. But re-writes, nonetheless. And, I'll tell you, it feels good. Knock on wood, but I think this round of re-writes is going well. I'm feeling very good about them. I think I'm making some solid, strong changes, without compromising the strengths of the script so far. It's a bit of a strange feeling for me, actually. Normally, I hate r
In Soviet Russia... 2008-07-14 07:37:00 I know this is a music video, but somebody really needs to ink a deal right away to turn this thing into a movie. Into TEN movies. Holy crap this rules. GORBACHOV: THE MUSIC VIDEO - BIGGER AND RUSSIANER from Tom Stern on Vimeo.Via Kid Sis in Hollywood.I tried to think of a cold war joke to put here, but it's still too early and I've barely cracked my coffee... Read more:Soviet
, Russia
Trailer Trash VI: Return to Horror High (1987) 2008-08-08 15:06:00 Special George Clooney edition."Stand up, sit down, FRIGHT! FRIGHT! FRIGHT!"Admit it, you were scared when she turned around, weren't you? And despite the movie being called "Return
to..." there was never a first Horror High movie. I will not let you be misled!At 1:05 - Yes, that schlub opening the door to murderville is a young George Clooney. A bit of trivia for ya: this poster for Return to Hor Read more:Trailer
, Trash
Weakness Sighted, Commence Destruction 2008-08-07 22:49:00 The other day the League had what was probably our most loaded meeting yet. Aside from blog business, we had notes to share on three feature length scripts and one outline. My feel good sports movie was the last order of the night, but apparently it didn’t make my peers feel as good as I had hoped it would. Not that the script got trashed. I think I executed several elements very well, but our m Read more:Destruction
Death Neglected II: Time of Your Life 2008-08-05 11:43:00 When most people think about "heaven", clouds, fat lil' cherubs, rivers of honey and fruits (especially grapes, which I hope is seedless), and formless white robes come to mind. Not really the way people want to spend eternity, but I guess if the only alternative is being engulfed in flames while simultaneously stabbed by red-dudes with sharp objects, then, I guess playing a harp ain't so bad. Sti
The Writing Week part 31 2008-08-04 17:17:00 It’s odd; the things that can change from week to week. Last week, I wrapped up by saying that I was having major doubts about the direction of my re-write. Almost as soon as I hit “publish,” though, I flip-flopped. I finished reading the dreaded second act, slept on it, and woke up thinking to myself that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had imagined.Then, I went out of town for the weekend.
Trailer Trash V: Viking Women and the Sea Serpent (1957) 2008-08-03 15:34:00 The title alone gives you the clue that this will be one of those cheesecake movies teenage males would go see before Hollywood could openly advertise that a movie had no other purpose than gratuitous cleavage shots. The trailer is rife with sexual innuendo (the description of how gi-normous the sea serpent is enough to elicit a few immature giggles), but it features probably one of my favorite na Read more:Trailer
, Trash
, Women
The Collaboration: Mexican Writing Standoff 2008-08-01 09:42:00 A little while back Cake Man, Zombie, and I decided that we wanted to come together and collaborate on an idea. There are a lot of successful writing partnerships out there, and for me personally, the ability to work well with other writers is something I very much want to develop. You have to start somewhere, so what better place than a bar?Sixty beers later I think we were all agreeing for the t Read more:Collaboration
, Mexican
Dark Knight - Aftermath 2008-07-31 14:40:00 I recently read an imdb.com article that claimed that The Dark Knight
“has become one of the most mistake-ridden films of the year so far” with movie-goers catching 16 mistakes in it. Granted, some of these film flubs are minor, such as hair being out of place from one shot to the next. Some, such as an extra S.W.A.T. truck appearing during a chase scene, are more major. All that said, the col Read more:Aftermath
Wonderful Life 2008-07-31 01:19:00 I've realized recently that since graduation, my days can be divided into three types:A) In which I write nothing. I don't even pretend I'm thinking about my script. These days I cook, I clean, I go running, I hang out with friends, I watch TV, I go to the library or read in the park, I remember to eat fruits and vegetables, I consider getting a pot of lavender or a cat. I am a normal, functioning Read more:Wonderful
Trailer Trash IV: The Van 2008-07-30 12:00:00 "Bobby couldn't make it... til he went Fun-Truckin' in a Van!"Show of hands, based on what you just saw, how many of you need to see this movie? The trailer gives the impression that the movie is short on plot, but REALLY delivers on van accessories.IMDB offers up the following (god-awful) logline: "Bobby is a shy Los Angeles teenager who buys a sleek chevy van for himself to impress, pick up, and Read more:Trailer
, Trash
The Writing Week part 30 2008-07-29 15:06:00 The big re-read!It’s strange, as I was sitting at my computer reading through the post-Apocalyptic spec in its third incarnation, I had the most fleeting sensation of hating the words before me, not because they are dull or unmoving, but because they might still not be the final words in the final draft. The feeling passed nearly as quickly as it came, but the sense of being ready to be done wit
Back from sunny San Diego... 2008-07-28 23:08:00 My final costume count was 36 Jokers at Comic Con International - a whopping 27 based on the Heath Ledger Joker, and only nine of the classic look.On the screenwriting front, Ken Levine has posted a great article on his blog about finding a perfect screenwriting partner. Read more:Diego
Death Neglected I: There Can Only Be One 2008-07-25 23:49:00 For many, middle school was the worst time of their lives. Sexual tension, cat fights, pretense of friendship, bullying. Secrets, shame, awkwardness. It's all there. It is, however, also the first time people start to take control of their lives, and not just stand up for themselves, but also for the things they find important to them. In addition, it is when most have their first real crush. And
The Writing Week part 34 2008-08-25 19:34:00 Not much writing this week. At all.I started working on a short for that Hotel Guignol thing earlier this week, but as I was relaying my idea for it to Onyx )damn that Onyx) he told me that it sounded exactly like that movie 1402, or whatever that Sam L. Jackson thing was. I've never seen 1402 beyond the trailers, and I didn't know much about it - I think I knew it took place in a hotel. Other tha
Trailer Trash VIII: The Video Dead (1987) 2008-08-22 15:25:00 "Don't you find it a little creepy, living in the murder-house?" Watching this trailer, you have to wonder if the makers of the original "The Ring" saw this, with all of the scenes of monsters crawling out of televisions? I can't imagine this would have ever been exported to Japan, though, but who knows. I'm sure Japan appreciates stupid as much as we do.The movie itself is just as bad as it looks Read more:Trailer
, Trash
Korean Film Fes! 2008-08-21 16:08:00 For all you living in the New York City, it’s time for the 2008 New York Korean
Film Festival!August 22-31Cinema Village and BAMcinematek will be playing 14 feature films that cover everything from horror-romance to sports drama to chefs facing off and good old bare-knuckled action flick. They are also showing 3 short films program. So, if you got a few hours to spare the next two weeks, come an
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work We Go.... 2008-08-19 15:28:00 Some time back in March or April I was suddenly inspired to write a fantasy romance action movie. My main goal was to write something that'll appeal to the pre-teen/ teen girls. I wanted to create the same feeling girls get after seeing Kate & Leopold, except instead of "sigh...I want a 19th century Duke as a boyfriend", change that to "sigh...I want a thief from a distant land as a boyfriend.
The Writing Week part 33 2008-08-18 13:07:00 I did something this week, which I’m not sure how I feel about. Long story short, a literary manager in L.A. had contacted the League a while back. I sent him my “Sin City style” spec in response to his query, and he claimed to really like it. Flash forward about six months, and nothing really came of it. Since a few of us are on the verge of sending out queries, I figured I’d drop him a l
Recommend Site To A Friend
