• It’d be just like John August to kick-start 2009 with a short and sweet pep talk.
• A new blog of note: TV writer Earl Pomerantz (Major Dad, Becker) is Just Thinking. (Fedora-tip: Alex Epstein.)
• Kiwi scribe (and fellow guild board member) Mike Riddell joins the scribosphere with The Interminable Moon, about the journey his novel, The Insatiable Moon, takes on its way to the silver screen.
• My favourites of multi-hyphenate Edward Zwick‘s ten filmmaking rules are -
  • 3.  No plan survives contact with the enemy.
  • 10. Where there is no solution there is no problem. At some point in every production, the director loses faith in the movie and the crew loses faith in the director. Somehow it all works out.

  (Fedora-tip: Movie Maker Magazine, by way of Mr Epstein.)

• The mighty Joss Whedon has ten writing tips, my picks being -
  • 4. Everybody has a reason to live. Everybody in your scene, including the thug flanking your bad guy, has a reason.
  • 7. Track the audience mood. Think in terms of what [your audience is thinking]. They go to the theatre, and they either notice that their butts are numb, or they don’t. If you’re doing your job right, they don’t.

  (Fedora-tip: Catherine Bray, by way of Danny Stack.

• John Rogers‘ episode-by-episode online commentary and Q&A his Leverage series is a must-read for television junkies. Favourite moment so far: an ep that [seemed] so simple. It begins with us in the writers’ room cheering “They’re on an airplane, and have to pull off the con before they land! It’s practically a bottle show!” and ends with a 70-foot replica fuselage on the soundstage. Oh, and we had to build an airplane bathroom with wild walls, because you just can’t get a camera in there.

• Danny Stack has ten essential ingredients to becoming a professional screenwriter (the first step? read.)
• John August has some solid advice on what to do with your ill-gotten gains hard-earned ch-ching: money 101 for screenwriters.
• Lynden Barber has a posted an excellent article on The non-cinematic art of David Lynch (with part one of seven here).
• Another Kiwi scribe hits the ‘sphere: Sanjay Patel asks, in the context of local stories having global resonance, What makes a Kiwi film?
• It would be just like Lucy Vee to be an agent of the universe and provide some online resources for writing a play.
• Lee Lofland has a list of suggested pressies for the protagonist in your life (no Barretts or miniguns, but).
• Jane Espenson has a post about writing comics, while –
• – the Lair of the Kung Fu Monkey has a been taken over by comic scribes Mark Waid and Michael Alan Nelson. (“[A] comic story is made up of frozen moments” – I mean, who’d a thunk?)
• And I’ve just read the final volume of Brian K Vaughan and Pia Guerra‘s Y the Last Man. Having swallowed tears aplenty, I have vowed to read the whole series through again (once the libraries reopen).

Ladies and germs – happy holiday reading, viewing and relaxing.

Warning: some old news in here (I’ve been hoarding).

• Why aren’t I all a-jingle with news of Bad Lieutenant being remade with Werner Herzog helming and Nicolas Cage in the title role? Maybe Abel Ferrara, who directed the 1992 original, says it best with “It’s lame” and “[Herzog] can die in hell“. But then I can’t help but be swept up by Mr Herzog’s response to hearing that: “That’s beautiful!” and then, with regard to Mr Ferrara himself, “I’ve never seen a film by him. I have no idea who he is. … Maybe I could invite him to act in the movie!” (Fedora-tip: Eyes Wide Open.)
• In similar vein to Lotto’s What would you do? campaign, here’s some straight-up advice on what to do when you’re burning to make a film… and a lot of money falls into your lap. (Fedora-tip: a Headstrong Forum denizen.)
• Check out fellow Pitch Engine contributor Gordon White‘s blog, smallscreens.com, in which he’s charting his progress as a screenwriter in the UK. (Fedora-tip: Dara McNaught.)
• Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane is expanding his empire – o yea! (Fedora-tip: Gordon White.)
• And finally, James Henry wonders what it might be like to do police work but with a screenwriter’s work ethic. My favourite: 4. Getting bored with writing up crime reports, so ending them with ‘and then a load of zombies arrived’.

• I wish I could break down my projects like this:
  … The Mentalist is no different from any of its mediocre-to-lousy brethren.  You’ve got Simon Baker as the TROUBLED HERO WITH A TRAGIC PAST, who is BRILLIANT IN A DISTINCTIVE AND UNUSUAL WAY.  He has a flirty, clashing rapport with Robin Tunney, the NO-NONSENCE LAW ENFORCEMENT GAL WHO SECRETLY WANTS TO BONE HIM SENSELESS, YOU CAN TOTALLY TELL.  She works with her TEAM OF MISMATCHED SUBORDINATES, including the BIG LUG (Owain Yeoman), the UNEXPECTEDLY FUNNY GUY (Tim Kang), and the HOT, WIDE-EYED ROOKIE GIRL (Amanda Righetti).  A baffling crime is committed, to and by rich people living someplace sunny and appealingly photographed, and involving a beautiful-yet-mutilated lady-corpse and a TAUNTING SERIAL KILLER ARCHENEMY.  One hour later, after the hero has a few opportunities to DO QUIRKY THINGS, BROOD ABOUT HIS SECRET PAIN, and DEMONSTRATE HIS UNIQUE GIFTS, guns are drawn, people are shouting authoritatively, the hero is smiling, and the case is neatly wrapped up.

  For the rest of the article, click on over to Teevee.org.

• Over at The Rouge Wave, Julie Gray wrote up a list of writerly traits, amongst them:
  • Many writers, regardless of age, have not seen the classics
  • No new writer is realistic about breaking into the business
  • Action scripts are almost always written by men of any age

  Guilty as charged. Let’s see how you fare. (Fedora-tip: Jill Golick.)

• Speak of the devil – Ms Golick recently wondered aloud about a world where you only got nice notes.
• In these uncertain post-West Wing times, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd writes how got Aaron Sorkin to script some face-time between Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and former president Jed Bartlet might go. (Fedora-tip: Dan Slevin.)
• And over at What I Write, Sean Molloy provides some pretty detailed insights into one of his script projects (in five parts, with addenda).

For those who’ve only read his reviews – and if you haven’t, try these two on for size – this recent post is a great intro to Mr Ebert’s blog.

Ah well.

• There’s a new Kiwi screenwriting blog: at The Truth is Out There, the Daily Screenwriter uses the web’s silent peer pressure to track their progress. Any writer who’s not afraid to say that they’re not writing on any given day because it’s Sunday or like, ’cause is one to follow. (Fedora-tip: Ben Reid.)
• Prior to To’ona’i, all the tech-geek-speak in this youtube clip would’ve gone straight over my head. Now that a little knowledge can be dangerous, upon watching this appropriation of a scene from Downfall, I laughed so much I almost soiled myself. (Fedora-tip: Lynden Barber.)

• Since my email leak previous post, I’ve found Phill Barron‘s post on giving feedback rather reassuring.
• And speaking of [cough] development, I heartily recommend screenwriting neophytes read Lucy Vee‘s current series on common – persistent? – script mistakes.

(Courtesy of Mr Tripuraneni, The Goddess and I have been ripping through his copy of Battlestar Galactica Season 3. Such focus might be at the expense of the excellent Mad Men but that’s what VCRs are for.)

(And riffing on things television, I’m looking forward to tonight’s premiere of The Jacquie Brown Diaries, from those freakishly talented BunkerMedia boys.)

• Shameless self-promotion: the UK’s Scriptwriter has undergone a name-change, jumped online, and is now called TwelvePoint. Heading its first issue is an excellent article genre by Lucy Hay in which I’m quoted a couple of times.
• UK scribe Frank Cottrell Boyce (24 Hour Party People, A Cock and Bull Story) has thirteen observations on how to write a movie. (Fedora-tip: WGGB Blog.)
• Kiwi playwright Gary Henderson (Skin Tight, Mo & Jess Kill Susie)has a site that’s a little twentieth century but that doesn’t stop it being a good wee hope chest for neophytes and grzzlies alike – my favourites being Everyone’s a Writer and Advice to Young Writers.

Mm. This week, for your infotainment:

• Wellington film and television writer Sean Molloy has joined the Kiwi scribosphere with Why I Write. Malo, man!
• What if Fawlty Towers were to be submitted to the BBC today? Click here for a laugh. And some tendrils of fear. (Fedora-tip: James Henry.)
• The Independent has an interesting chat with Neil Labute on loving thy villains. (Fedora-tip: WGGB Blog.)
• UK blogger Robin Kelly has a great post on what makes a good thriller (hint: put yourself in your hero/ine’s shoes). It raises a very good question though: how do some of those bone- and knuckle-headed plots get on to the screen? (Fedora-tip: Lucy Vee.)
• Crime writer and retired detective Lee Lofland blogs about the many facets of law enforcement at The Graveyard Shift. Of recent interest to this closet-gun-nut were author Lori L Lake‘s guest-posts on Guns, Guns, Guns. (Fedora-tip: Alex Epstein.)

• My awareness of the New Zild screenwriting blogosphere has just increased by 33%: Shortland Street scribe Edwin McRae blogs about his process at Fiction Engine. (Fedora-tip: Mr Reid.)
• Mr Barron – whose feature is shooting as I type this – was thrown a curly one recently: he was asked to rewrite the scene in which his hero meets his love interest – but without the love interest-to-be actually in it.
• Fast, Cheap and Under Control author, John Gaspard, has started putting snippets of his interviews on his blog, Fast, Cheap Movie Thoughts. See where the heck Miranda July is coming from with Me and You and Everyone We Know. Read how easy it was for John McNaughton to score a hundred grand to make his first feature, hahaha. (Fedora-tip: Alex Epstein.)
• Someone went to the trouble of typing in each and every title listed in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Hollywood screenwriter John August has read 38 of them but would’ve scored higher if non-fiction was included. I scored 41 but would’ve scored higher if they included more comics. The Goddess, a enthusiastic avid voracious reader, scored 115. (Fedora-tip: John August.)

• Locals looking for some chuckles – no, some jandle-stomping, gut-stitching hilarity – are urged to see Vela Manusaute‘s Super Fresh which opened tonight and runs until Saturday. Vela is aided and abetted by Fasitua Amosa and Stacey Leilua, lately of To’ona’i.
• Over at the glacially-growing Guild forums is a nice exchange about When Collaborations Go Bad.
• And post of the week belongs to Jeremy Slater for his ode to monkey-love. (Yes, I know: apes are not monkeys.)

• After several months of having just eight members and a total of nine posts (four of them by my own hand), the New Zealand Writers Guild forums is getting some traction with sixteen members and forty-two posts as of today. Go ask a question or something.
• Over at the Beeb‘s Writers Room is a rather informative Q&A with Casualty writer Mark Catley. The Writers Room seems to be a great resource for television writing. (Ooh! It’s got Q&A’s with Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass, and Hu$tle and Life on Mars co-creator Tony Jordan.) (Fedora-tip: WGGB Blog.)
• And Break cinematographer, Matt Meikle, recently won the 2007 Australian Cinematography Society Gold Award for Cinematography on Hawaikii. Congratulatoriations!

• Across the ditch, Lynden Barber‘s Eyes Wired Shut blog has a great series of posts about why Australian films have been lacking lately (the scripts suck). And he just might have put romantic comedies back on my viewing list. (Fedora-tip: Canberra Rob, friend of the recently-wed webmistresse DeborahK.)

• American public radio station KCRW provides two must-download/listen podcasts: Claude Brodesser-Akner‘s The Business is a witty and acerbic look at Hollywood; and former New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell scores some of the coooolest interviews in The Treatment. Download. Listen. Enjoy. (Fedora-tip: Leonie who requested that I share.)

• Seeing that Rambo IV has just hit theatres in the States, it looks like the Kimbo film will have to be pushed back even further (not that it’s going anywhere anyway, but I thought I’d work it in). (Yes. Rambo. IV.) As critics review it with tongue in clenched cheek (and, possibly, NRA memberships secretly renewed), James Berardinelli summed it up rather nicely: If what you want from a movie is a lot of Stallone looking morose and pensive before suddenly going apeshit and slaughtering a bunch of people, then Rambo is your kind of experience. Guess where I’ll be heading when that opens in New Zealand?

• And here I was thinking I’d cornered the local blogging-scriptwriting market (being the youngest of five, I was uh, doted on a little more than the other rabble siblings): Stephen Hickey, writer of Hopeless and Love Bites, has been blogging since 2004 at multi-dimensional. He’s quite open and generous about his writing process – and has just set up a wiki. (Fedora-tip: Leonie).

For a limited time only.*

*  Cackle! ‘Ve always wanted to say that.

Hundredth post.

I may not have written as much as I wanted to since 1 January 2007 but I’ve -

• run a total of 558kms (97kms of that sans mongrel);
• picked up 170 books, comics and scripts, and read 137 right through;
• and sat down to watch 128 films, DVDs and TV series, and watched 105 right to the (sometimes bitter) end.

‘S not bad. And because it’s that time of the year, I give you a list of notable and recommended reading and viewing experiences (in strict alphabetical order):

• comics: Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos’ Alias, Charles Burns’ Black Hole, Brian K Vaughan and Tony Harris’ Ex-Machina, Chester Brown’s I Never Liked You, Jimbo’s Pulp Sticktion strip in DMC‘s New Ground anthology, and Alex Robinson’s Tricked;
• scripts: 28 Weeks Later, The Bourne Ultimatum, Casino Royale, Gone Baby Gone, and Perfect Creature;
• books: Carl Hiaasen’s Basket Case, Mike Figgis‘ Digital Filmmaking, Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Rising, Patrick Suskind’s Perfume, and Patricia Grace’s Tu;
• features: The Children of Men, The Departed, Everything is Illuminated, Serenity, and Stranger than Fiction
• television: Burn Notice, Green Wing, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Insiders Guide to Happiness, The Shield, and The Wire.

As for the running, I do it only so that I fit my clothes.

Happy new year.