Casting Your Web Series

by Bri Castellini

By now you’ve written a script, gathered a team of hopefully competent people behind the scenes, but now you need someone to film. That’s right — it’s time to open up your email to headshots from every hopeful performer in a fifty mile radius.

Because you’ve already made your script breakdown, you should know exactly how many characters you need to cast, so it’s time to write what’s called a “casting call.” You’ll pen a short paragraph about each character, describing their age, gender, ethnicity, and other important traits that will be helpful for actors to get a feel for the part. read article

WGAW April 2017 Calendar

What’s happening in the Writers Guild of America West this month:

Click HERE for the, you know, clickable version!

Diana Vacc sees ‘Beauty and the Beast’

by Diana Vaccarelli

—SPOILER ALERT—SPOILER ALERT—SPOILER ALERT—SPOILER ALERT–

Friday March 17, 2017, Disney Studios released the live action version of their iconic animated film Beauty and the Beast. Growing up, I loved the animated film and watched it countless times, so I was truly excited to see how Disney would reinterpret the classic fairy tale of a prince who is imprisoned in the form of a beast and can only be freed by true love.

And guess what? I was not disappointed. read article

WGA Contract Negotiation Update

A few words of importance for WGA members, current and future:

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John Ostrander on ‘Twin Peaks’: Fool Me Once

by John Ostrander

Entertainment Weekly recently made its (multiple) cover story the return of the TV show Twin Peaks. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, or even if I want to watch it. This is surprising to me since I was a big fan for most of the show’s run.

The show was set in the Pacific Northwest in a small town and was created by David Lynch (writer and director of the movie Blue Velvet) and Mark Frost (one of the main writers of the TV series Hill Street Blues). The show took place in the mythical small town of Twin Peaks, nestled in lumber country, and deals with the townsfolk, many of whom are, well, odd. The show starts with the discovery of high school homecoming queen Laura Palmer who has been murdered. Circumstances draw in the FBI in the person of Special Agent Dale Cooper, played by Kyle MacLachlan, a favorite actor of Lynch’s. Agent Cooper is, well, odd. He solves mysteries with the help of dreams and visions that he gets. He’s a very Special Agent and, I think, something of a shaman. read article