One of the most common things I hear from people who object to learning, or having others learn, story structure is that the writing becomes stiff and mechanical. They are right. I will not argue with them about that. This argument, however, is made primarily by those who have a hard time understanding and applying story structure and it is convenient to say that it makes their work mechanical.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Movies I Like: It's a Wonderful Life
Posted on 10:04 AM by christofer D
There are some films we have that are respected and less loved, and some that are beloved and less respected. Citizen Kane, for instance, is respected but not beloved like The Wizard of Oz. A few (very few) are both loved and respected—Casablanca is a prime example.
As a rule, films that make us think are respected while those that make us feel are beloved. Film scholars and
Saturday, July 4, 2009
One-trick Pony
Posted on 1:18 AM by christofer D
"Overall theme leads to character and then on to plot" -- Rod SerlingThere are two things that inexperienced screenwriters talk about ceaselessly--dialogue and the twist ending. The twist ending is the Holy Grail for the new or inexperienced writer. Younger writers think a twist is the end-all be-all is because it is writing that can be seen, writing that can be noticed. Young writers don't speak
Friday, June 5, 2009
Yet another movie I like—The Apartment
Posted on 5:04 PM by christofer D
"The best director is the one you don't see." -- Billy Wilder
Someone asked me today why I like older movies better than new ones. This is not an easy question to answer to everyone’s satisfaction, but I will give it a try. They’re better.
This is not to say that all old films are great, but they are better on the whole. The level of storycraft in the older films is higher. It just is and as
Monday, April 27, 2009
My bad play and what it taught me
Posted on 11:29 AM by christofer D
“Never bore people.”--Billy Wilder
When I was in the 8th grade I was a big Star Trek fan. At that time there was no movie and no Next Generation–just the original Trek in reruns, and the cartoon series that got me hooked in the first place.
Anyway, the show was, and continues to be, a big influence on my writing.
Back then I was in a drama class and we had to write a short play and perform it
Monday, April 13, 2009
Another Movie I Like: 12 Angry Men
Posted on 11:38 AM by christofer D
“I happen to think that the singular evil of our time is prejudice. It is from this evil that all other evils grow and multiply. In almost everything I've written there is a thread of this: a man's seemingly palpable need to dislike someone other than himself.”--ROD SERLING, Los Angeles Times, 1967I had a student once who would always ask me what films I liked. He was confused as to why I almost
Friday, March 27, 2009
Movies I like
Posted on 2:39 AM by christofer D
"I know a woman who looks like a bullfrog but that don't mean she's the damn thing's mother." -- Moses Pray (Paper Moon)Anyone who speaks to me for more than five minutes knows that I think that this time we are living in is the worst time in the history of American film. In fact, I did write about it in two other posts. So if you’d like more details you should look at those.I will say that I
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