Screenwriting

Area 51? Or Paranormal Activity II...With Aliens

Jim Rohner — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:26:45 -0500

For those of you who saw and enjoyed Paranormal Activity, how does the sound of a Paranormal Activity II sound? Not so bad, right? Well apparently you're going to get just that, in Oren Peli's upcoming film, Area 51.

Based on the top-secret military Naval Base in Nevada, the movie plays off the idea that Area 51 personnel have been harboring extraterrestrial life behind all those securely locked doors. That doesn't sound so bad either, right?

Tricks and Treats From Zoom In Online

Jim Rohner — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:01:00 -0400

"Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange? Come with us and you will see, this our town of Halloween."

Arrested Development Writers Develop a Movie

Jim Rohner — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:14:09 -0400

This blog has been contributed by Film & TV Channel assistant Kristen Berke.

It's actually happening. Arrested Development is being made into a movie. When I first heard about the contingent plans 2—or was it 3—years ago, I got down on my knees and prayed. Please, please, please God, if it happens, let it be good.

Well after eons hearing it was going to happen and then not going to happen, the final confirmation feels a bit anticlimactic. The series creator Mitchell Hurwitz has finally started writing the screenplay, along with co-executive producer James Vallely. Hurwitz will also direct. Apparently, the two men have been brainstorming ideas for the film ever since their popular Fox show ended in 2006.

Antichrist (Film Review)

Jim Rohner — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:33:46 -0400

Jim Rohner.

Antichrist film review.

Wait, what? What kind of jerk would I be to put just my name - myself - first and foremost before the product I was about to create? What would it say about my ego? While it's true that films by well-known and artistically-lauded directors are often released with declarations of "a film by such and such" or "so and so presents," such credits seem to imply pride, as in, "this director is proud to present to you his or her film," more so than arrogance, as in, "this director is gracing you with his or her film." Yet by eliminating that simple "a film by" or "presents" credit and presenting just a director's name before his or her film begins - or, indeed, specifically preceding the film's own loaded title - I can't help but pick up on a message, whether intentional or not, about a massive ego behind what I'm about to see.

Melissa Silverstein on 'Jennifer's Body'

Jim Rohner — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:00:50 -0400

This blog has been contributed by Melissa Silverstein of Women & Hollywood.

Jennifer’s Body written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama is exactly what I expected. It’s a campy, women centric look at the atrocities of being a teenage girl. For some of us who have been there, the first line of the film “Hell is a teenage girl” seems just right. Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried play two best friends who have grown apart. Jennifer (Fox) is the nasty sex pot and Seyfriend plays Anita (Needy) the nerdy girl with the cute boyfriend who has become Jennifer’s lapdog.

Sundance Film Festival Tries to One Up Slamdance

Jim Rohner — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:34:33 -0400

Since its inception in 1995 at the top of Main Street, the main artery of all things Sundance, the Slamdance Film Festival has simultaneously been an affront to the ever-increasing mainstream leanings of the Sundance Film Festival and a celebration of what that festival used to preach: true independent filmmaking fueled by unique voices with a passion that greatly outweighed their budgets. Maybe Robert Redford is getting nostalgic in his old age or maybe he wants to show he's filmmaker friendly during the recession, but either way, America's premiere indepdent film festival is taking steps, albeit baby steps, to get back to its roots and out-Slamdance Slamdance by introducing the "Next" section during the 2010 festival, which will feature six to eight films from the world of low- and no-budget filmmaking.

Digging a Little Deeper: Mad Men and Women Writers

Jim Rohner — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:17:09 -0400

This blog was contributed by Melissa Silverstein of Women & Hollywood.

Last week the Wall Street Journal published a piece The Women Behind Mad Men hailing basically hailing the show as being dominated by women writers.

I’m a big fan of Mad Men and am looking forward to the new season starting this Sunday. But, one of the things I have learned since I started writing this site is to play close attention to titles because they mean a lot in Hollywood. So while I give props to Matthew Weiner the creator, showrunner and dominant writer and voice on the show for hiring women (cause there are shows out there that don’t have any women writers like Conan O’Brien and David Letterman), it is important to keep straight the roles these women play in the Hollywood writer food chain.

Is Michael Moore Quitting Documentaries?

Jim Rohner — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:42:35 -0400

This blog post was contributed by Julie Chung, ZIO editorial assistant.

Michael Moore, the man known for his controversial perspective on some of America's biggest and overlooked problems, is said to be thinking of ending his career as a documentarian. Slashfilm.com reports that this year may just be the last year we see Moore's name plastered across the big screen with his upcoming work titled Capitalism: A Love Story, which debuts in theaters in October.

"Orphan" Movie Offends Adoption and Child-Welfare Groups

Jim Rohner — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:29:02 -0400

This blog post was contributed by Julie Chung, ZIO editorial assistant.

Scheduled to open in theaters next week, the upcoming horror movie, Orphan, is raising concerns with its taglines and underlying messages. With Warner Bros. giving approval to lines such as "It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own," the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute has expressed concerns with the production company, providing a letter co-signed by leaders of 11 different adoption and child-welfare groups for Warner Bros. Chief Executive Barry Meyer to consider. The letter mostly tells of the high numbers of children who are circulating in the U.S. foster-care system, as well as the millions of children around the world who also are waiting to be adopted.

Melissa Silverstein Interviews Lynn Shelton, Director of 'Humpday'

Jim Rohner — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:19:43 -0400

This blog has been contributed by Melissa Silverstein of Women and Hollywood.

Humpday, written and directed by Lynn Shelton, was one of those movies that came out of Sundance this year with a lot of buzz. The premise sounded funny but stupid: two old college friends, Ben and Andrew played by Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard — straight guys — decide to make a porn flick together. My first thought was another stupid bromance.

This movie (which opens Friday) is anything but stupid. Shelton takes on some of the biggest taboo issues in a way that really makes you think. She takes of sexuality — male sexuality — and while the idea of making the film might have started as a joke in a drunken haze it takes on a lot of loaded issues which I found brilliant. These guys ask themselves if they could really have sex with each other and if they are even thinking about it does that mean they could be gay? The film layers on other life issues like, am I on the right path? Did I just settle? And the ultimate question, do I know who I am? The third player in the film is Ben’s wife Anna (Alycia Delmore), a woman who thought she knew her husband but when she finds out about the film is forced to look at her husband and herself differently.