Category: Opinion

‘Deadpool’ Creator Rob Liefeld: Why We Loved Stan Lee

NOTE FROM LB: For all practical purposes, today is TVWriter™ Stan Lee Remembrance Day. I don’t have my act together enough to write my own memories of Stan the Man or go into why I believe he’s one of the most important figures in world culture today, but, fortunately, many other people do.  For example:

by Rob Liefeld

Growing up as a kid in the 1970s, Stan Lee’s name was in every Marvel comic book I pulled off the Spinner Rack. “Stan Lee Presents…” was at the forefront of every dynamic splash page that opened any Marvel publication. He was a larger-than-life presence, his image drawn into the actual comics, and at times, as a caricature illustrated atop the masthead of his popular “Stan’s Soapbox,” where he wrote about a wide variety of topics outside of comics. Regularly featured in the back pages, Stan’s Soapbox exposed us to his unique voice and personality, inviting us into his personal views on everything from bigotry to racial division. Simply put, he was the personality behind it all. Stan Lee was Marvel Comics. Period. read article

3 Mistakes Screenwriters Make In Act 1 That Ruin A Screenplay

It’s show of hands time. How many of you reading this know what the act structure of a screenplay is? How many know what info goes into the usual first act? How many know when it ends?

Oh well. Maybe this will help: read article

Debra Winger Plays Plead the Fifth

Some people are just too damn smart for their own good.

Oscar winner Debra Winger isn’t one of them. Because she’s even smarter than that.

Andy Cohen, OTOH… read article

John Ostrander: The Uncivil War

by John Ostrander

“Fuck civility!”

Chuck Wendig

Chuck Wendig, an author of (among other things) Star Wars novels and comics, was working on a Darth Vader miniseries for Marvel when his editor informed him he was fired. Wendig said it was “because of the negativity and vulgarity that my tweets bring… It was too much politics, too much vulgarity, too much negativity on my part.”

It should be noted this is Wendig’s characterization. Marvel has not commented beyond confirming Wendig had been removed. read article

John Ostrander: My Own Private Film Fest

by John Ostrander

It’s starting to get chilly outside which makes it a good time to stay indoors, get cozy, and watch movies. Sometimes – usually by accident – I find I’ve created my own personal mini movie festival around a theme or a certain actor or genre. I have a Christmas mini festival and Mary is putting together a Halloween one.

I did it recently around a specific time and place; Britain just before or early in the Second World War. All the films were, in one way or another, historical movies. Some characters are repeated in more than one film although in different interpretations and, of course, the events overlap but without being repetitive. read article