Writer Unboxed

You missed me, admit it. But I’ve been busy digging out from a snowstorm that stole our power for 12 hours and recovering from some blasted croupy-cough thing. When the lights finally came back, I learned about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Ironically, the feeling foremost in my mind and today’s blog post focus are [...]

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Finally, it was my turn for a movie in my family’s Netflix queue, and good luck that my movie arrived over the holiday weekend. I’d been wanting to see Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette for some time. Turns out I could’ve kept waiting. For historical film buffs like me, it was something of a mixed bag. [...]

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This past Saturday marked the 216th birth-versary of musical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Recently, I watched the special edition director’s cut of one of my favorite flicks – the fantastical, academy award winning movie Amadeus. With 20 extra minutes of never-before-released footage and a 2nd disc dedicated to interviews on the making of the movie, [...]

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At WU, we feel it’s never too early to begin planning where you’re going to spend your 2007 moviegoing dollar. So many decisions. Do you wait until the film comes out on DVD, or do you bite the bullet, say goodbye to a $20 bill (factoring in snacks), and hit the theatre? Fortunately MSN News [...]

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Yesterday Therese and I dished about the totalitarian-themed film V for Vendetta (just a short scroll down). Our talk yesterday examined the role of the two protagonists Evey and V. Today we move our analysis to the way the filmmakers handled the controversial theme, which is that one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter. [...]

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One of the films of 2006 that Therese and I wanted to analyze for WU was V for Vendetta. Based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, the film version was produced under the guidance of Matrix-creators, the Wachowski Brothers, and directed by one of their acolytes, James McTeigue. Before release it [...]

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It doesn’t seem right to be doing a movie analysis without the intrepid Therese tossing her trenchant observations into the fray, but I’ve just seen the latest offering in the ultimate boxed franchise movie, James Bond, and I wanted to share my thoughts while they’re still fresh. Casino Royale could have been a royale dud. Instead, the [...]

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I still remember the day, years ago now, when I sat with some critique partners and one of them said, “The little voices came to me last night. I was sitting there, eating dinner, when all of a sudden some chick inside my mind started talking about her problems.” I was fascinated and a little [...]

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Writer Unboxed had the honor recently of interviewing one of the motion-picture industry’s best advisors, Michael Hauge. Not only is Michael a consultant for most of the top film studios in Hollywood, he’s also a highly sought-after speaker and author with plenty to offer screenwriters and novelists alike. His new book, Selling your Story in [...]

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The Michael Hauge interview has definitely amped up my interest in secrets of successful screenwriters. One thing Kath and I have been chatting a little about is the logline or “one-line” as it’s sometimes called in Hollywood. This line is important whether you’re a screenwriter or a novelist, because when an agent or editor – [...]

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If you missed part 1 of the Michael Hauge interview, do yourself a favor and click here right now, then come on back. Not only is Michael Hauge a script consultant for some of the major film houses in Hollywood and a respected and well-traveled lecturer, he consults with attorneys, psychologists, corporations and individuals on [...]

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What can I tell you about Michael Hauge?  First you should know the man is worth his weight in Hollywood gold. He is a script consultant, author and lecturer who works with filmmakers and executives on their screenplays, film projects and development skills. He has coached writers or consulted on projects for Warner Bros., Paramount, [...]

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