StringerBell

Agreed. It was like a comfort food for me. I try to use "but what if it wasn't?" at least once a week.

Thanks, guys! You're the target audience, so glad you enjoyed it.

Great work Stringer, painfully accurate!

That is why I don't pay attention to what sells. Nice job.

I agree with the sentiment, ben, that I'd prefer these movies to superhero movies, but reading scripts tells me there are many better bets out there than the ones the studios are taking.

Noted. It will just be sad if they use the failure of these few as an excuse not to make the others.

Were those movies developed by the studio or were they negative pick ups? I think both were handled by the respective production companies (Wells and Bullock) and then the studios picked them up because "hey- Sandra bullock movie."

He shouldn't have entered the contest if he wasn't willing to work within the constraints of "the system". It's simple math, you give up some freedom for more money and higher profile. It's a stepping stone to an actual career. But then, did you see his apt in New York? The guy is a trust fund baby that's never had to make those real world compromises.

I agree about Effie though. I would fire her too, because it's only going to get worse.

Ben, I'm not sure he shouldn't have entered given that a) he won, he convinced them to shoot a different script and c) seems to be getting whatever he wants. As a director, he should fight as hard as possible to realize his vision, but he can't push "too far." As of now, he doesn't appear to have done that yet. No one on the project has to love the director; they just have to respect him and his vision and it appears that they do (for now).

Hangover

Thanks, guys!

It may be old but The Ghost Breakers is very polished. Considering Bob Hope played Liar Liar 56 years before Jim Carey, maybe worth a look. Hell, Paramount should hire me to redo all their old classics

I can only echo what TB Red said.

eddie murphy called net points monkey points. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_accounting

points ain't nuttin but some dumb shit. get everything upfront is what i'm sayin!

Haha - I first read Shadows response a direct to adlocke and not the OP.

Makes more sense as a reply to Stringer. Maybe.

Yes

I work at an ent law firm, and in my experience, they usually just get their guaranteed steps. Sometimes we do see their optional steps exercised. But not often. And it's usually with the bigger clients.

Exactly, Scott. And when there's a sale, I'm all for celebrating that.

Hyperbole or not - any news about a writer seems like good news to me.

Yeah - maybe I'm a curmudgeon - but if newbs are gonna get a skewed view of the screenwriting world, I put it on them. Not that hard to figure out how things work.

Just saw this. Brillinat film. The music is what really makes it, but I digress.

By the way, the funniest movie of the year was WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS.

McGeek and TB Red are both dead on: most of the films that stood out to me were the smaller indie/foreign films and smaller horror/thrillers, etc. Like my 2014 list, not even one big studio awards bait film made my list....and when i go back to revise it, studio films probably won't even crack my list. It definitely has inspired me with my writing too...but yes, studio bait films were dull as fuck this year...but the smaller budgeted/indie/mid budgeted/foreign films were outstanding

Yeah, I know about the shortcuts on Mac.... it's just that PC has a lot of those keys and other user friendly designs more available. Sometimes, I'm on the phone or doing something with my free hand and liked how PC made it so easy. I would switch to Macs because they are the future, but just be aware of some of the less user friendly aspects when deciding on the Macs. Next time, I will play around with each version and even spend more just to get one that's comfortable. I kin...

(continued) I kind of hate my mac.

My biggest gripe is with organization of the files and saving. I've asked every Mac expert and they have all told me that soeme of those features just not available with Macs. Like if you have 10 word documents and you want them to be linked in one document with many sccaded tabs instead of 10 separate tabs that take up space.

I got the E440. Not their high end, but like I say, perfect for work. Good luck with your search. Asus has a first-rate reputation as well.

I've got the Lenovo x220 -- which probably has been replaced with a newer model. Big fan of portability and power, nice battery life.

Avoid Dell.

Googling the words "teens" and "blow jobs" will ALWAYS turn up something. Maybe just not something pertinent to your script.

"Actually" is another horribly misused word (by teens and adults). Ex: I actually found that funny = That was really funny.

imgur, reddit and tumblr. It's fucking gold! THEY NEVER SHUT UP!!!

Terry Gross/Fresh Air, KCRW The Treatment

Thanks for the recs, everyone. I'll check out all of these!

The Moment, The Treatment by Elvis Mitchell, The Read, Radiolab (done by two guys who are alums of my undergraduate alma mater), etc. so many to choose from

I downloaded the free app on my iStuff. Android probably has it, also.

Pomp, when my diamond shoes no longer fit, I toss them in the trash and get new ones. Thanks Mysterian and Zoned!

YW, Bell. I find my paper clutter is the contemporary version of the typewriter. When I scan some handwritten notes through my printer to convert to .pdf; retrieving a jotted idea is no longer a scavenger hunt. But, I have to get a lot better at consistently scanning stuff.

To be honest, I've never quite gotten what all the fuss was about. I like that it's so iconoclastic and his personal vision, but the execution has always left me a little cold.

The doubling up on episodes didn't help. I fell behind after the elevator episode too.

Ben's use of "iconoclastic" fits this season to a tee. I saw every epi, I saw nothing wrong with it. If anything we got deeper into his and his kids characters. Plus, he was a hero.

Also a bit of a stretch, but Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

All a bit of a stretch, but here you go!

The Story of Us

Like Crazy

Green Card

Mr. Wonderful

What Happens in Vegas

Twister

Hope that helps!

Awesome - thanks Axalon, funforall and flashsandstone!

Congrats!

Congrats!

no small thing -- cheers to that

LOL.

Sweet. Best wishes for it.

Thanks. Great way to look at it, electroglodyte!

As a fellow WGA writer, heck yeah to stopping late payments if they can do it

I have no idea why Shutter Island was longer than 100 minutes. The story was decent genre stuff but pretty shallow at the end of the day.

I think a current Scorsese movie is STILL better than most movies out there. The problem we have is that we expect masterpieces at this point and bemoan the lack of another Mean Streets, or Raging Bull, or basically everything he made up until the early 90's. The man is still an amazing craftsperson. Just my two cents...

BTW, I usually find myself on the other side of this argument, so I totally know where you're coming from. I just felt I had to stand up for Marty today

I actually asked the guys the same thing this past week. Apparently, if they're listed as "buyers" it is implying that either it is their funds, or the territories they are taking it in to. I also noticed most of the prod co buyers they are referencing do also finance in some capacity.

Thanks for the reply, TB Red. IMO, it's still weird to make grandiose pronouncements about scripts gaining momentum/heat when studios or major financiers aren't involved.

Fiscal budgets and spending power when it comes to buying scripts late in the year. And you just don't go out between Thanksgiving and Feb cuz town is essentially shut for holidays then slow to roll until after Sundance.

That said -- if they REALLY want it -- they'll find a way to buy it.

Conventional wisdom also says that August is dead because everyone's on vacation, but this August was the biggest spec sales month in years (according to Jason Scoggins). Go figure.

Haven't heard of it. S&M porn fetish video, huh?

PTA is, and always has been, GOD.

He's one of the greats.