Table of Contents
PEOPLE & NEWS
The Buzz -
People making movies: LA’s Alpha 60 filmmaking cooperative, Jerry Lewis, and a 14-year-old’s smash hit:Purgatory House.
Anatomy of a Spec Sale -
Josh Cagan’s double dip, two sales in two weeks: Will and Gotta Dance.
Lost Scenes -
We’ve got the yeyo on what film influenced Oliver Stone the most when he was writing his Scarface remake.
Production Co. Spotlight -
Nine companies and what they’re looking for.
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People -
Angela Robinson, Ben Trebilcook
The Code -
Remember when…
Why I Write -
Richard Linklater’s films explore his own hopes and fears. And one of his fears was that he would never become a writer.
Breaking In-
Marc Wolff, Benjamin Brand, Mark O’ Rowe
COMING SOON…
Spider-Man 2-
The script’s changing on a daily basis, but here’s our snapshot on the pros and cons of the production draft.
The Village-
We called and M. Night refused to answer—so we decided to do a script review of this auteur’s latest and seemingly laziest work.
BY JEFF GOLDSMITH
A Home at the End of the World-
Michael Cunningham’s debut foray into screenwriting is an adaptation of his acclaimed novel—the results are mixed.
BY PETER N. CHUMO II
The Manchurian Candidate-
Sick to death of remakes? Good thing Daniel Pyne respected the original and wrote a very smart and reverent adaptation.
BY PETER GOLDSMITH
Bright Young Things -
Stephen Fry’s film is the story of another generation on a different continent. So why does it hit so uncomfortably close to home?
BY NANCY HENDRICKSON
Alien vs. Predator-
Shane Salerno hopes to deliver an action/horror film that will please the masses, as well as the die-hard Internet denizens.
BY DAVID KONOW
We Don’t Live Here Anymore-
Larry Gross walked away with the 2004 Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for a screenplay over twenty years in the making.
BY JEFF GOLDSMITH
Maria Full of Grace-
Joshua Marston used his love of travel as a source of inspiration for his award-winning first film.
BY JOSE MARTINEZ
COLUMNS
The Busine$$ of Screenwriting-
How Not to Take A MeetingDon’t fool yourself: every meeting in the film business is a pitch meeting.
BY RON SUPPA
Writer Beware!-
Big Dollars, Little Sense Producer’s reps make big promises, but they may ask for big money first…
BY STEVE RYFLE
Agent’s Hot Sheet-
The Big Money (Part 2) There’s still plenty of money to be made out there…but the hoops you have to jump through are now further apart.
BY JIM CIRILE
Belly of the Beast-
What’s the State of Our Art? Industry standard script format is steeped in Hollywood tradition and evolves ever so slowly. Here’s the latest.
BY MICHAEL LENT
Our Craft-
Teach Yourself—MoreHow do your favorite movies handle Conflict, Theme, and Exposition?
BY JEFF NEWMAN
The Contest Beat-
Going For ExposureThree competitions that put their winners in front of some major Hollywood players.
BY PATRICIA B. SMITH
Spec and Pitch Sales-
BY JAMES P. MERCURIO
The Final Scene-
CollateralBY STUART BEATTIE
FEATURES
Collateral: Stuart Beattie’s is half character drama, half thriller. Stuart Beattie initially intended his story to be a small, independent film set in New York City. But that was before Michael Mann signed on to direct, and Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx were cast as the stars…
BY DAVID GOLDSMITH
The Craft of Selling Your Spec Script-
A cross section of Hollywood has been assembled to give you great tips on how to sell your spec. Writers, Execs, Vps—they all agree an one thing: you gotta have a solid story and characters over a snappy idea. So stop trying to outwit the market and check out this month’s Craft Of!
BY JEFF GOLDSMITH
The Cable Telefilm Market -
With so many cable networks competing for your attention, original telefilms are a proven market for writers to establish themselves and carve out a niche on the airwaves. They’re also an alternative market for screenwriters burned out by the studio creative process who want to actually see one of their films made.
BY DAVID MICHAEL WHARTON
Writing for the DVD Market-
DVD’s have blossomed into a $3 billion a year business, but not all releases come from the big studios. Mini/micro-studios supplying the DVD market actually welcome certain kinds of unsolicited scripts.
BY JOHN STRYSIK
The Christian Market-
Thanks to the overwhelming success of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, the market for films that have Christian-based content is the biggest and fastest-growing trend since the advent of special effects. But not all Christian films are based on Bible stories—learn the surprising ins and outs of writing for his audience.
BY CATHERINE CLINCH
The Canadian Screnwriting Market-
When the climate forces you to spend most of your time indoors, you can either create children or create art. Creating children is beyond the scope of this magazine; if, however, you write screenplays or teleplays in Canada, this article will give you some idea of how to start your professional career.
BY IRA NAYMAN
