Tag: scott w. smith

LB: Peter Bogdanovich RIP

by Larry Brody

Bogdanovich & Boris Karloff back when Bogdanovich began his ascent

LB’S NOTE: I’ve been thinking about Peter Bogdanovich’s death and wishing there was something I could add to the discussion of one of the most influential film directors of the 1970s.

I met him once during the ’80s, via my then business managers, and he was quite pleasant in a Hollywood sort of way. My management, however, wasn’t exactly fond of him. Something to do with the fact that he only got in touch with them when he needed money for a project.

This shouldn’t have been a negative because my managers’ main business was in fact lending people money in exchange for a percentage of the take. But their policy was to never – absolutely never – invest in the film biz, which, they said, they had told Bogdanovich myriad times so why did he keep insisting on wine-and-dining and pitching them time after time? read article

Raymond Chandler on ‘Writers in Hollywood’

Scott Smith’s Screenwriting From Iowa blog scores again:

raymondchandlerinhollywood

by Scott W. Smith

“HOLLYWOOD is easy to hate, easy to sneer at, easy to lampoon.”
Raymond Chandler’s essay Writers in Hollywood published in the Atlantic in 1945 read article

Lawrence Kasdan’s Rejection/Breakthrough

Yes, we know this title doesn’t mean anything unless you know who Lawrence Kasdan is. But we’re counting on your heightened awareness and proceeding accordingly:

lawrence-kasdan-the-maltese-falcon

Lawrence Kasdan’s Rejection/Breakthrough – by Scott W. Smith (Screenwriting From Iowa Blog)

“A week later [my agent] called with news that the folks at Starsky and Hutch had read my screenplay and didn’t think I had what it took to work on the show. I told my agent I was on page 108 of my new script and he should not to anything rash. I’d call him as soon as I was done. I thought I had bought myself another week or so. read article

Garry Marshall on Rewriting

A big tip of the TVWriter™ hat to screenwriter-blogger Scott Smith for reminding us this great book exists:

Offensive & Defensive Screenwriting (Tip #62) – by Scott W. Smith

“The biggest lesson a screenwriter can learn is how to master a rewrite of his own script, or someone else’s, and make the change a studio wants without destroying the story. It’s like a football game: If you think of writing an original screenplay as ‘offensive’ creativity, then rewriting is all about ‘defensive’ creativity. read article

Don’t Blame the Writers, Blame the Buyers

…Which is to say the studios and production companies. What are we talking about? Glad you asked:

How awesome is Chris Rock? This awesome. Hi Chris! Hi Rihanna!

Chris Rock & Adult Movies – by Scott W. Smith (ScreenwritingFromIowa.Com)

“Most parts in comedy, they’re not written for men. They’re written for, like, boy-men. So it’s cool to play a man-man. They don’t make adult movies anymore. Go to a multiplex. If Sydney Pollack was around today, he’d be directing episodes of ‘True Blood.’” read article