#WritingAdviceWednesday – Coming of Age films, as I define them, are Power of Idealism films.
Continue readingSecond Hand Wedding
As a frequent flyer on Air New Zealand I have the opportunity to see regional films that don’t ever make it to the US in wide distribution. My favorite film this trip was the delightful and heartwarming Second Hand Wedding. It’s everything one would want in comedy.
Continue readingValues at Stake – Film
The obstacles in a film or television series should create the kind of risk, peril or danger that pushes the character to take actions that define what is most fundamentally important or true in a character’s life.
Continue readingValues at Stake – Televison
A character should be forced to make a stark, definitive and active choice. As one value is ultimately chosen, the character finally negates or surrenders the other contrasting value. What price is paid for the character’s choice?
Continue readingThe Invitation
When I was in my Master’s Program at the UCLA Film School I got a handout with a copy of a wonderful poem, A Passion for the Possible. For me, the poem definitively sums up what the audience is looking for in a character.
Continue readingEmotional Status Quo
Too often characters seem to have emotional amnesia, especially when off stage for a couple of scenes. What’s a character’s emotional status quo? It’s the emotional temperature of the character when he or she enters a scene.
Continue readingWhat Happens in Vegas
This film is a high-spirited Romantic Comedy romp that is a really enjoyable surprise. It has its flaws, particularly in its rather pat ending is well worth seeing.
Continue readingA Moment of Inspiration
I came across this item and found it to a perfect recipe for a terrific creative life.
Continue readingLoss and Grief
Whenever a character is disappointed, rejected, humiliated or spurned (or has a set-back of any kind), he or she experiences a loss. The question is, how does experiencing this loss reveal character? The loss and grief cycle includes these character revealing steps.
Continue reading#TypesTuesday – Mad Men and Power of Truth
#TypesTuesday – Stories that are about issues of loyalty and betrayal.
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