by John | Jan 26, 2018 | Industry News
With the full list of Oscars nominees having been revealed this week, it’s time to get excited for the most glamorous awards ceremony in America. THE SHAPE OF WATER leads the way with 13 nominations, while Meryl Streep got her annual nomination for just appearing in a film (this time it’s THE POST), and there were one or two surprises. One of which happened in the screenplay categories. So, let’s take a look, shall we?
Adapted Screenplay Nominees:
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, James Ivory
THE DISASTER ARTIST, Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
LOGAN, Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
MOLLY’S GAME, Aaron Sorkin
MUDBOUND, Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
The Adapted Screenplay category is one of the most debatable categories considering the projects excluded. It feels strange to not have further biopics included in this category – THE DARKEST HOUR immediately springs to mind as one noticeable exclusion. But this category has one nomination that will spark some conversation…
The category is fairly… understated really. All excellent films, but this category doesn’t have the same stand out picks as others do. Still, some interesting inclusions. Most notably, LOGAN. This is the FIRST superhero film (that we can think of) that has been nominated in the Adapted Screenplay category. THE INCREDIBLES got a nod for Original Screenplay, making LOGAN only the second superhero film to EVER get an Oscar screenplay nomination.
The rest of the category isn’t as “standout” because of that, but some noticeable inclusions of THE DISASTER ARTIST and MOLLY’S GAME add some meat to the bones. CALL ME BY YOUR NAME and MUDBOUND are perhaps lesser-known to wider audiences, but the latter should definitely not be discounted considering it’s WWII setting and juxtaposition of white and black veterans; with GET OUT a strong contender this year, do not count MUDBOUND out!
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Predictions…
John: I think considering the hype of GET OUT, and the racial tensions and relations in this country, MUDBOUND could be the winner here.
Jamie: I would love it if LOGAN won and set the new precedent for superhero/comic book films. It’s not even a superhero film really! Saying that… I think THE DISASTER ARTIST may take its token award in this category…
Watch out for our thoughts and reaction to the Original Screenplay nominations coming Monday…
Check out the full Oscars nominees list here: http://variety.com/2018/film/news/list-2018-oscar-nominations-1202668757/
by John | Jan 19, 2018 | Industry News
The new Amazon superhero TV show is building up steam with announcements on casting and with more details coming out about the show itself. Article by Jamie White.
Adapted from the same comic writer of PREACHER, Amazon is moving forward strongly with its new show, THE BOYS. Antony Starr, Chace Crawford, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher and Nathan Mitchell are all onboard.
While the cast might not immediately catch the eye, the concept might. Here’s how TV Line describes the show… “The Boys is set in a world where superheroes have let fame go to their heads and gotten corrupt — and a ragtag team of vigilantes sets out to take them down.” http://tvline.com/2018/01/17/the-boys-cast-antony-starr-chace-crawford-amazon-superhero-drama/
Sounds cool, right? After the whole host of MCU films, the trash of DC films and the consistently decent X-Men films, this type of superhero story will surely add a bit of much-needed variation to the genre.
This is something you can use as writers, too. When you’re writing a genre script, think about what makes that genre tick. What do we usually expect from that genre? Then, flip it on its head, add a twist and mix it up to provide something interesting and unique. We’ve often heard it said that writers should “give us what we expect, but not in the way we expect it.” That’s how you can meet, and exceed, genre expectations.
Check out Ian’s Insights article about how Genre really works, to find out more!
© WriteMovies 2017. Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.
by John | Dec 15, 2017 | Highlights, Industry News, Updates, WriteMovies News
So you want to be a screenwriter, huh? Well, we want you to be, too! For nearly 20 years we’ve been developing writers with our mentoring services and contests with the aim of getting writers’ scripts produced. And now we’re going that step further… our Hollywood Virtual Film School is here!
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by John | Dec 8, 2017 | Industry News, Updates, WriteMovies News
Tarantino to do his thing with Charlie Manson, while DC has The Rock and a writer set for BLACK ADAM. As we wind down to the industry Christmas break, the script sales in November step it up with some very interesting pieces of news.
A Hitchcock-esque sci-fi, thriller, Sandra Bullock in a medicinal marijuana con story and much more. There’s plenty of room for sci-fi and techno styled spec scripts as reported in Script Pipeline’s November 2017 Script Sales – and that could provide an opening for you. With STAR WARS re-heightening the interest in sci-fi, the genre has had a bit of a renaissance (see ARRIVAL and PASSENGERS).
But the eye-catching news is elsewhere…
Quentin Tarantino is set to write and direct (the Tarantino way) about the Charles Manson murders – that seems right up Tarantino’s street. After the success of AMERICAN CRIME STORY season 1, which dramatized the O.J. Simpson trial, it seemed only a matter of time before a story about Manson came about. But with this being Tarantino’s first biopic, it’ll be interesting to see what comes of this…
Finally, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson not only has his DC film role, but also a writer for the script. The BLACK ADAM film set in the DCEU seems a-go… but for how long? Will this be a stand-alone film? Will this even get into production? The Rock has been pushing for this for a while now, but I don’t see a good outcome coming from this…
Check out the other script sales news from November with Script Pipeline here. What will December bring for script sales?
View our review on the Octboer script sales here.
© WriteMovies 2017. Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.
by John | Nov 16, 2017 | Industry News
ScriptPipeline’s October 2017 Script Sales review – Hanks set to go post-apocalyptic, Bob is getting a movie, and Michael Bay is working with… Dora the Explorer?
As Script Pipeline points out, script sales slowed down in the month of October. As the industry moves closer to Christmas the Hollywood “off-season” feeling is starting to creep in – but we still got some pretty cool news. Tom Hanks is set to star in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi about a robot taking care of his creator’s dog. I can’t tell whether this will be dramatic, comedic, or both, but damn I’m intrigued.
Otherwise, the biggest news comes from two animated TV shows setting off for the big screen. BOB’S BURGERS is getting the film treatment – the show has continually been rivaling FAMILY GUY’s and THE SIMPSONS’ ratings the past few weeks, even topping them! This is great news for what is one of the more refreshing, heartfelt, and relateable animated comedies out there.
And then… Michael Bay is set to produce a live-action DORA THE EXPLORER film… All in all, a mixed month for October… Read more at Script Pipeline: https://scriptpipeline.com/october-2017-script-sales
You can check out more of our recommended links, news, and buzz right here: https://writemovies.com/about/news/film-news/
© WriteMovies 2017. Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.
by John | Oct 16, 2017 | Industry News
BLADE RUNNER 2049 Not running at full speed yet… maybe that’s not a bad thing though…
BLADE RUNNER 2049 may have had a slowish start to its Box-Office life, but that could work in its favor… sorta.
While the film may never be a blockbuster hit in the same vein as any Marvel film or STAR WARS, it could become a cult classic in its own right.
The original itself was never a big conventional Hollywood blockbuster either, so in that regard the sequel stays true to the original – which is great… for the fans. But it’s been such a long time since the fans and the theme of a film were prioritized over making some dough, and for that BLADE RUNNER 2049 has our backing (see Ian’s review as well for why).
Read more here: http://www.indiewire.com/2017/10/blade-runner-2049-box-office-cult-classic-1201885405/
© WriteMovies 2017. Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.
by John | Oct 11, 2017 | Industry News, Movie Reviews and TV Reviews, WriteMovies News
The latest STAR WARS trailer for episode VIII, THE LAST JEDI, has just dropped and it is a master at disguising its true intentions – just like Palpatine…
While the trailer gives away a lot of action that will be happening – round 2 between Kylo and Rey, Luke training Rey – these situations were highly expected even before the trailer released. What the trailer did expertly was to not just hide plot details, but to dress them up as something else and misdirect the audience.
Here’s just a few examples
Raw power…
Both Luke and Snoke mention the massive, raw power of an individual. Luke says “I’ve seen this strength only once before. It didn’t scare me enough then… it does now.” Snoke says something very similar at the start of the trailer. The way the trailer sets these lines up makes the audience immediately think that Kylo Ren is the common factor here. However, this is just jumping to conclusions. They could both be referencing Luke himself – what the trailer does brilliantly is to make us think one way so that our expectations are subverted when we see the actual film.- Family reunion?
There’s a little moment between Kylo and Leia in the trailer… only it doesn’t happen. There’s an intercutting of the shots to make it appear like a “shot-reverse shot” technique, giving the illusion the scene we see are connected. But, of course, they’re almost certainly not. Is it possible those scenes are connected? Possibly, but there’s ambiguity and a lack of certainty that we can’t be sure about. Just like…
- Finding a Rey of hope…
A line uttered to what the trailer makes us believe to be Kylo. This is amplified by Kylo offering a hand to Rey – or so we think. Again, the trailer has been edited to make us believe that Rey is speaking to Kylo and that it Kylo is offering his hand to Rey. How sure are you of both of those things? Rey could be speaking to Luke, Leia, or even Snoke. The hand could be Luke’s or Kylo’s. That hand may have no relation there at all.
What this trailer has done is offer so much to audiences and nothing at the same time. Fans can now theorize on what will happen based on the trailer and based on its misdirects. There are so many doors Episode VIII could go down.
Both Mark Hamill and director Rian Johnson initially urged fans to stay away from promotional material for the film, assumedly because it would give too much away. But having watched the trailer it’s really given us the best of both worlds. It gives us a feeling of what we can expect, it hypes up certain interactions and duels while giving away very little.
Just remember, “This is not going to go the way you think.”
© WriteMovies 2017. Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.
Adapted Screenplay Nominees:
