Michael Caine talks about five of his movies

Actor Michael Caine reminisces about making five of his most popular movies: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Alfie (1966), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Sleuth (1972).

History of Misheard Lyrics

Here CDZA provide a live-performed montage of favorite misheard lyrics throughout 70 years. Featuring Ryan Melia and Loralee Gayer on Misheard Lyrical Activity.

Michael is playing a bass from NS Design (http://www.thinkns.com)
Evan Shinners on Piano.
Allan Mednard on Drums.
Michael T on Bass.
Research by friends of cdza and kissthisguy.com.

The Official Screenwriting Podcast

Adam Levenberg is a former production company executive, a script consultant, and the author of The Starter Screenplay. He is also the host of the Official Screenwriting Podcast.

Back when I was commuting to and from the office every day, I would have loved the podcast approach. These days I prefer a paperback, which I can dog-ear and highlight and, when appropriate, hurl across the room. At the same time, I am increasingly the innocent victim of middle-aged spread. This is clearly a genetic defect, with some environmental factors contributing, but everyone is telling me to get more exercise. Harrumph!

So I've embraced stationary cycling. Yes, the exercise bike. Half an hour of vigorous pedaling increases my rate of respiration, meaning my body converts more oxygen to carbon dioxide, meaning I am single-handedly boosting global warming. (Not as much as Al Gore's private jet, but to some degree nonetheless.) Still, it's worth it, just to not have to listen to so much well-intentioned advice. Instead, I listen to podcasts. Like Adam's.

He releases a new episode every two weeks or so. Some of his early ones were less polished than they are now. They were recorded in a single take, and lack music and clever editing. I like them. Adam doesn't. The thing I like is that they reveal the man thinking on his feet. And, in the end, the way his mind works is his greatest asset.

There are endless books and articles dealing with all and any aspect of screenwriting/ filmmaking. This blog links to more than eighty other screenwriting/filmmaking blogs, and I could expand that by quite a few more if I wanted to be comprehensive. The bulk of those are published by screenwriters. How many come from former production company executives?

The point is, those people think differently to most of the rest of us. They are so well drilled in the Hollywood success formula that they think along different paths. You might not like those paths, you probably despise executives, but they play a big part in the overall scene. They also have insights into how scripts work that are worth considering. At the absolute minimum, you can get to know your enemy.

Try starting with the current episode: Character Introductions & Pitchfest Wrapup. (You can find it through that link, or on his website or on iTunes.) This is the episode Adam made after he moderated the Great American Pitchfest panel with Ryan Engle, Shane Black, and Alvaro Rodriguez, all people who know a bit about storytelling.

Or you could start with one of the early podcasts, such as Writing Great Loglines. (You can find it through that link, or on his website or on iTunes). That's one of the untidy episodes, but I got a lot out of it.

You have an opportunity to learn a little about how an executive thinks, for free. Why wouldn't you take advantage of that?

Why Are There So Many Super Hero Movies?

The last fifteen years have seen a lot of super hero movies released on an unsuspecting world. What's been going on? Are the studios lazy or bereft of new ideas? Or is something else going on? Superheroes are authority figures who put their worlds in order. They are also products of the culture from which they originate. Watch this episode from PBS Idea Channel to learn more.

Sympathetic doesn't have to mean likeable

Yes, we've heard all this before.

Your protagonist does not have to be likeable. ~Bill Froug

Characters don’t have to be nice to be likeable. Nice is boring. But they do have to be entertaining. ~Nigel Cole

I don’t care if people like a character or not; we don’t always like everybody. But you have to be able to understand them. ~Julianne Moore

It doesn’t matter if your lead character is good or bad. He just has to be interesting, and good at what he does. ~Justin Zackham

Jennine Lanouette, who made this video clip, believes that characters need to be vulnerable. Her point is made with examples from movies. 

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The Wes Anderson Collection, chapter 2

Matt Zoller Seitz wrote a book called The Wes Anderson Collection, that deconstructs each one of Anderson’s films, from the cinematography to the set design. It is essentially a “book-long interview” with Anderson about everything that has to do with him as an artist, his evolution, his inspiration, and history.
     Then Seitz did the Wes Anderson fans of the world a huge solid by adapting parts of the book into videos. Here is the second in the series.

Bobby Womack: 1944-2014

Bobby Womack was born and raised in Cleveland, the third of five brothers. Their mother played organ in the church; their father was a minister and musician. One night, eight-year-old Bobby, who often played his father's guitar when he wasn't around, broke a guitar string. After his father replaced the string with a shoelace, he let Bobby play the guitar for him. The man was shocked by his son's talents as well as the talents of his other sons. Soon afterwards, he bought Bobby his own guitar and they formed The Womack Brothers. The group toured the gospel circuit with their parents.

He started his career as the lead singer of The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist. Womack's career spanned more than 50 years and included a repertoire in the styles of R&B, soul, rock and roll, doo-wop, gospel, and country.

Womack wrote and originally recorded the Rolling Stones' first UK No. 1 hit, "It's All Over Now" and New Birth's "I Can Understand It" among other songs. As a singer he is most notable for the hits "Lookin' For a Love", "That's The Way I Feel About Cha", "Woman's Gotta Have It", "Harry Hippie", "Across 110th Street" and his 1980s hit "If You Think You're Lonely Now".

Here are a few tracks.











And if you've got time, here's a BBC documentary about his life.