The Invisible Ink Blog: King Kong -- An American Icon

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Isolation of Interest: More thoughts on Learning

Posted on 4:21 PM by christofer D
 If you ever want to get better at learning, become a teacher—you will see all of the things people do that stop themselves from learning. One thing we do that blocks us from learning is that we listen/read with an agenda. In magic this is called isolation of interest.
Here is a story I have told before, but to make a different point, about a magician who was teaching a class on magic in Las
Read More
Posted in | No comments

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Movies I Like: Sunset Boulevard

Posted on 3:20 AM by christofer D


“Grab ‘em by the throat and never let ‘em go.”—Billy Wilder, talking about the audience.



The Major and the Minor, Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, Ace in the Hole, Stalag 17, Sabrina, The Seven Year Itch, Witness for the Prosecution, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, and The Fortune Cookie are just some of the classic films co-written and directed by the great Billy
Read More
Posted in | No comments

Monday, November 15, 2010

Mountain Music -- The Movie

Posted on 6:00 PM by christofer D

Last year I was asked to direct a three-minute documentary for MTV. This was for their show $5 Cover and the short films were companion pieces called B-sides. Several filmmakers made shorts for the show and as far as I know MTV has never done anything with them.

They wanted us to do something about the Seattle music scene, but not a typical Seattle music story. So my producing partner and I
Read More
Posted in | No comments

Monday, November 8, 2010

Movies I Like: Shadow of a Doubt

Posted on 4:59 PM by christofer D

Alfred Hitchcock’s directing career spanned form 1922 to 1976: 54 years. He started with silent film and saw the advancements of sound (he made the first British talkie), color and even 3-D within his lifetime. And he was a master of filmmaking almost from the beginning.



Some of his classic films include Blackmail, The Lodger, Rope, Strangers on a Train, Lifeboat, Dial M for Murder, The Man
Read More
Posted in | No comments

Monday, November 1, 2010

A Lesson From Paddy Chayefsky

Posted on 4:42 AM by christofer D


“When you ask a writer what their story’s about and they give you plot you’re in trouble.”—a paraphrased quote by director Sidney Pollack.

In the 1950s Paddy Chayefsky made a huge splash with a teleplay he had written called Marty. Marty would then become a hit movie and an Academy Award winner.

Chayefsky wrote many things of note in television, film, and theater. He was a writer’s writer (
Read More
Posted in | No comments
Newer Posts Older Posts Home
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Movies I Like: Double Indemnity
     “The two most important words in motion pictures are Billy and Wilder” – Alfred Hitchcock “It was a hot afternoon, and I can still remember...
  • Yet another movie I like—The Apartment
    "The best director is the one you don't see." -- Billy Wilder Someone asked me today why I like older movies better than new o...
  • A Genius -- Part 1
    "I like Keaton's [films]. But Chaplin is the best of 'em all." -- Howard HawksCharlie Chaplin was a genius. I know, I'...
  • Why a deus ex machina doesn’t make a satisfying story.
    Before I start this post I want to apologize for the long gap between this post and the last.  I was deep in a project that took up a lot of...
  • The Best Writing Advice I Ever Got
    One thousand years ago, when I was a teenager, I went a sci-fi convention in Seattle. This was probably 1978 or ’79. In those days these kin...
  • Observing Drama in its Natural Habitat -- A Raccoon Adventure
    All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions. --Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci was 500 years ahead of his time. Think about th...
  • Movies I Like: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
    /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-gener...
  • The Artist’s Vision
    “Why do you want to build an amusement park, they’re so dirty.” -- Walt Disney’s wife, on his idea for DisneylandFor those of us born after...
  • Two Questions That Drive Me Crazy
    First some backstory: When I was a kid there were no VCRs. Only rich people had them; they were still rare for the rest of us. I desperatel...
  • Yes, Documentaries Also Use Story Structure
    One of the questions I get most is about story structure and is, “Is it different for documentaries?” No. In fact one of the best structural...

Categories

  • Billy
  • Brian McDonald
  • Classics
  • empathy
  • Invisible Ink
  • Kirk Douglas
  • Literary Fiction
  • Mirror Neurons
  • Norman Rockwell
  • The Golden Theme
  • Wilder

Blog Archive

  • ►  2014 (4)
    • ►  December (1)
    • ►  June (1)
    • ►  March (1)
    • ►  January (1)
  • ►  2013 (5)
    • ►  August (1)
    • ►  June (1)
    • ►  April (2)
    • ►  February (1)
  • ►  2012 (13)
    • ►  December (3)
    • ►  November (1)
    • ►  October (1)
    • ►  September (1)
    • ►  July (2)
    • ►  May (1)
    • ►  April (1)
    • ►  March (1)
    • ►  February (1)
    • ►  January (1)
  • ►  2011 (23)
    • ►  November (1)
    • ►  October (1)
    • ►  September (1)
    • ►  August (3)
    • ►  July (3)
    • ►  June (1)
    • ►  May (1)
    • ►  April (2)
    • ►  March (4)
    • ►  February (2)
    • ►  January (4)
  • ▼  2010 (23)
    • ►  December (2)
    • ▼  November (5)
      • Isolation of Interest: More thoughts on Learning
      • Movies I Like: Sunset Boulevard
      • Mountain Music -- The Movie
      • Movies I Like: Shadow of a Doubt
      • A Lesson From Paddy Chayefsky
    • ►  October (4)
    • ►  September (2)
    • ►  August (2)
    • ►  July (2)
    • ►  June (1)
    • ►  May (2)
    • ►  April (1)
    • ►  March (1)
    • ►  February (1)
  • ►  2009 (9)
    • ►  November (1)
    • ►  October (1)
    • ►  August (1)
    • ►  July (1)
    • ►  June (1)
    • ►  April (2)
    • ►  March (1)
    • ►  January (1)
  • ►  2008 (6)
    • ►  October (2)
    • ►  September (1)
    • ►  August (1)
    • ►  July (1)
    • ►  June (1)
  • ►  2007 (10)
    • ►  December (2)
    • ►  September (1)
    • ►  August (1)
    • ►  May (3)
    • ►  March (1)
    • ►  January (2)
  • ►  2006 (21)
    • ►  November (1)
    • ►  October (1)
    • ►  September (2)
    • ►  July (1)
    • ►  June (1)
    • ►  May (3)
    • ►  April (2)
    • ►  March (4)
    • ►  February (4)
    • ►  January (2)
  • ►  2005 (22)
    • ►  December (2)
    • ►  November (3)
    • ►  October (6)
    • ►  September (5)
    • ►  August (4)
    • ►  July (2)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

christofer D
View my complete profile