March 2011
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“Film is incredibly democratic and accessible,
it’s probably the best option if...”
– ~Banksy (via lilithfilm)
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Spanky New Screenwriting Blog →
I have been neglecting tumblr something awful. That is because I have been building the new AFW blog — I couldn’t keep shuttling people off to my person blog for news and updates about AFW, it needed it’s own place. Also it has a spanky new mailing list people can sign up for for news and updates on the haps.
And I’m tired! Ahhh! And now know way too much about...
February 2011
114 posts
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Write Like a Pro if You Want To Be a Pro | The... →
There is —
This piece of internet wisdom floating around the web that has been floating around a long time. It’s that, if you’re an amateur writer, you are supposed to write like… an amateur writer.
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“Akismet is my friend.”
– ~source to remain unnamed [okay it is me dammit]
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ACTION!
So. There I am —
Reading an exciting action script. [Well what should be an exciting action script but we will get to that.]
So far, it is an exciting action script. It opens on cool stuff. Something Matrixey. People in cool clothes pulling cool power weapons and pulling even cooler stunts. Diving through air. Leaping tall buildings. Defying motion normal humans cannot defy. Everything looks...
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TOP TEN REASONS TO UNFOLLOW SOMEONE ON TUMBLR
1. Long streams of anon question and answer posts. 2. Long streams of anon question and answer posts. 3. Long streams of anon question and answer posts. 4. Long streams of anon question and answer posts. 5. Long streams of anon question and answer posts. 6. Long streams of anon question and answer posts. 7. Long streams of anon question and answer posts. 8. Long streams of anon question...
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HIGH CONCEPT SCREENWRITING MARCH 15TH →
High Concept Screenwriting begins March 15. This is an online master class taught by yours truly.
::: high concept writing ::: newacademy.usHIGH CONCEPT WRITING: UP YOUR GAME: You will learn techniques to identify and break down high concept as well as build it up; how to kick start the five story elements that contribute to high concept; how genre can be used to increase your story’s...
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Nathan Fillion and Firefly's writers are ready... →
Nathan Fillion and Firefly’s writers are ready continue the show
When Nathan Fillion announced yesterday he’d love to step into the tight pants of Capt. “Mal” Reynolds again, we of course liked the idea, but also thought … well, what’s the chance of that? But today, now that a couple of Firefly writers chimed in to say they’d also climb on board a...
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What's Inside the Oscar Mind: David Fincher's 26... →
What’s Inside the Oscar Mind: David Fincher’s 26 Favorite Films
~by Tim Appelo
What fed the imagination of two-time Oscar nominee David Fincher, who’s going to win best director Sunday for The Social Network? A film festival he carries around in his head.
For a director whose latest film takes the pulse of this moment in popular culture, Fincher has some impressively...
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BRING ON THE FRIES →
Birthday 2006 — A memory.
So Sunday is my birthday. I do the Max thing. I tell people on Thursday that Sunday is the big night and where I will be.
My birthday celebrations are generally an eclectic gathering of who can get free or is free with three days notice. The invites always say rsvp. People never rsvp. My birthdays are mystery nights. The guests are the presents. Surprises. I like them...
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Screenwriting Master Classes ONLINE with Max Adams... →
Screenwriting Master Classes ONLINE with Max Adams
February 19, 2011
by raincoaster
Max Adams, international screenwriter of mystery
Max Adams is the hardest-working screenwriter around, because not only is she an award-winning (and yes, produced) screenwriter, she’s also constantly teaching. Here is her upcoming class schedule for March, which is also a good place to plug MY upcoming...
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What Not to Do
WHEN YOU GET YOUR FIRST WRITING DEAL:
1. Don’t spend the money before the check arrives. People writing those checks are collecting interest they are not in a hurry to cut your check.
2. Don’t spend money before the check clears. Checks don’t always clear. 3. Don’t get too excited about zeroes. [The agent takes 10%, Uncle Sam will take 35-40%. If you’ve got a...
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“It’s no good pretending that any relationship
has a future if your record...”
– ~High Fidelity | Nick Hornby (via whenthecamerasoff)
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25 damn things « celluloid blonde →
Yep. You guessed it. Tagged on FB. And I have been neglecting the blog — though you could scroll down to the bottom and catch some of the links from that other blog. Ahem. But —
Blog neglect! Ahhh! So —
In no particular order and sans the help of alcohol because I am sick, damn it, here are 25 random damn things.
1. I snore. Really loud. Ungentlemanly persons to remain unnamed have...
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SCREENWRITING STRATEGIES THAT SELL -- WRITING...
~ by Max Adams
I know two people who set out, purposefully, to write “marketable” scripts. Andrew Marlowe, who wrote Air Force One, and myself. I wrote Excess Baggage. As I understand it, and I am playing fast and loose with details here because I don’t know all of them, Andrew decided it was time to break out of the pack. Doing that meant writing something someone would have...
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'The Avengers' pulls out of Michigan, other films... →
FILMING IN DOWNTOWN DETROIT: An explosion lights up the night on the set of “Transformers 3” — near the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Clifford Street — on Sept. 24. / BRIAN KAUFMAN/Detroit Free Pres
BY B.J. HAMMERSTEIN AND JULIE HINDS DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget proposal on Michigan film incentives is sending immediate...
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“I love writing, but I hate starting. The page is awfully
white and it says ‘You...”
– ~Aaron Sorkin (via fergmus)
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Screenwriting Tip #521
screenwritingtips:
You might think this scene of two characters talking is interesting enough, but trust me, it would be a lot more interesting if they also did something.
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CONFESSIONS OF DAVID SEIDLER →
Confessions of David Seidler, a 73-year-old Oscars virgin
The screenwriter, whose first nomination was for ‘The King’s Speech,’ ponders his formalwear options for the big night, his standing in Hollywood and much more.
Above, Screenwriter David Seidler in Santa Monica. (photo by Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
~David Seidler...
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Max Adams’ “Pitching A Script” | Launch Flix →
Max Adams’ “Pitching A Script”
Max Adams Teaches Pitching your Screenplay
I attended The Hollywood Filmmaking and Screenings Meetup at the Neon Venus Art Theater on Melrose last night. Max Adams presented “Pitching a movie script.” Max is the author of The Screenwriter’s Survival Guide and has worked with Hollywood Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Universal, Tri-Star and Columbia Pictures. Her...
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IN PRAISE OF VISUAL WRITING →
In Praise of Visual Writing
By Patrick A. Horton, PhD, The Story Coach Copyright © Write Brothers Inc. / screenplay.com
I recently found myself in an unexpected conversation with an accomplished colleague about some of the things most writers are taught and not taught that can make difference between subsequent success and failure in their work and careers. The colleague was...
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Our Esteemed Faculty at Gotham Writers' Workshop... →
Faculty Focus: Max Adams ~By Britt Gambino
Gotham teacher Max Adams has only one hard and fast rule for great screenwriting: don’t be boring. That and always use 12-point Courier font (and even that rule, she says, can be broken). If you were to follow Max’s example, you would learn another lesson about the screenwriting trade—be bold. Originally, Max had planned to become a novelist but, by...
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UPCOMING CLASSES →
Upcoming 2011 —
Online Master Classes in Screenwriting Taught by yours truly Max Adams:
March: Character Writing, 03.15.11 [3 seats left] High Concept Writing, 03.15.11
May: Non-Static Writing, 05.17.11 Structural Writing, 05.17.11
July: Character Writing, 07.19.11 Visual Writing, 07.19.11
September: High Concept Writing, 09.13.11 The Art of the Pitch, 09.13.11
November: ...
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THE DAY THE MOVIES DIED →
You want to understand how bad things are in Hollywood right now—how stifling and airless and cautious the atmosphere is, how little nourishment or encouragement a good new idea receives, and how devoid of ambition the horizon currently appears—it helps to start with a success story.
Consider: Years ago, an ace filmmaker, the man who happened to direct the third-highest-grossing movie in U.S....
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The Bitch Slap: Theory vs. Teaching | Erika... →
A Bit on Intellectual Property and Proprietary Information
This will be short. Me? I have a little penchant for the carbonated bevvies. Fresca. Coke Zero. Yes, yes, I love them even though I know they will cause me cancer or make me rot in nine ways. Here’s the power of intellectual property and proprietary information: I can’t pick up the phone and call Coca Cola and say, “Hey! I just love...
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The Lost Roles of Bill Murray →
splitsider:
Bradford Evans dives deep into the many, many roles that Bill Murray was up for but either turned down or was passed on for one reason or another. There are some reeeeeeeeal crazy things in here. Han Solo! Batman! Forrest Gump! Tom Cruise’s part in Rain Man! Shit, can you imagine?
*Max Note: This is pretty fascinating
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10 Tips for Effective Book Covers →
10 Tips for Effective Book Covers Posted by Jane
As more authors opt for independent publishing routes, I’m getting more questions about secrets to good book design, production, and layout. While at F+W, I spent hundreds of hours in cover design/review meetings. Sometimes I forget about the education it’s given me. Here are the 10 biggest things I learned about book cover design...
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“If there is one writer who regularly nailed high concept [and did it over and...”
– ~Max Adams ~high concept writing
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“I was doing an interview once and the guy said,
you must be psyched by all this...”
– ~Aziz Ansari (via morebusinessjuiceplease)
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Shane Black to Direct IRON MAN 3! →
Last week, we reported the exciting news that Shane Black (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) might write and direct Iron Man 3 now that Jon Favreau was off the project and directing Magic Kingdom instead. Now, Deadline is reporting that Shane Black will re-team with Robert Downey Jr. and direct Iron Man 3. As to whether or not he’ll write the flick, a source tells Deadline “That’s not figured out.” I say...
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MARCH CLASSES →
I am registering March classes Character Writing and High Concept Writing. Both start March 15 and those seats are filling right now so if you are interested, drop me a line now at :::contact::: and more info on the classes is also available at :::classes:::
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