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“Find Your Way Into The Story” Says Rob Reiner
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Actor-writer-director-producer-activist Robert Reiner has no problem being a multi-hyphenate. Reiner first came to fame as a two-time Emmy Award-winning actor on the landmark television series All In the Family. He decided he had many more filmmaking mountains to climb and dabbled in all of them.
“If you have some abilities in many areas, you don’t have to be great at anything. I’m not the best writer in the world, but I write. I’m not the best actor in the world, but I act. (The Emmy nomination committee disagreed).” When all these creative elements come together through a unified vision, the sum is greater than the parts. Reiner isn’t worried about spreading himself too thin by focusing on so many areas of filmmaking. They all lead to the same destination.
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Subtext – The Beauty Of What’s Left Unsaid (Or Unwritten) In Your Screenplay
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A problem I frequently come across as a screenwriting consultant and instructor is the tendency of writers to overwrite and to include too much on-the-nose exposition. This can quickly mark as a screenplay as amateurish, whereas its opposite—effective use of subtext— almost instantly conveys a more sophisticated and polished level of screenwriting.
So, before I go any further, let’s define the term. Webster’s defines subtext as:
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+ “Create Your Own Opportunities” Matt Eskandari Talks ’12 Feet Deep’, ‘Trauma Center’, and ‘The Long Night’ - “As a filmmaker, the best way to learn is by doing,” stated filmmaker Matt Eskandari. “Making shorts is a way of learning how to tell a story, how to shoot, or how to create characters. I wanted to learn the process, so writing shorts is like an athlete practicing 100 free throws, so they’ve prepared for the game.”
The writer-director also said that simply getting the work off of the page changes the way a screenwriter hears and sees the work. If bad dialogue hides on the page, it will come to the light in the table read or while filming. “It’s not until you do it that you realize your strengths and weakness as a writer.”
+ Biopics May Be Oscar Bait But Getting Them Right Is Tricky - As soon as the trailer dropped for Judy, the new biopic about Judy Garland, Renée Zellweger became the front-runner for this year’s Best Actress Oscar. The physical resemblance was uncanny, as was the actress’s ability to channel the legend’s voice and mannerisms. Playing the famous is catnip for actors, and if done properly, it can lead to glory. Just ask last year’s Academy Award winners Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Olivia Colman (The Favourite) who both won for playing famous British royalty. Still, biopics aren’t as easy to get right as one might think, and they present all kinds of unique storytelling challenges.
+ Noble Intentions Hamper the History of “Harriet” - Harriet director Kasi Lemmons is an award-winning filmmaker. Star Cynthia Erivo is one of the most enthralling actresses working today. And the exciting story of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman certainly deserves a big-screen treatment. So, why does this new biopic feel so stiff and formulaic? Tubman’s story is a fascinating one, but those tasked with telling it here ended up treating her narrative with far too much reverence. They’ve also squeezed too many chapters of her biography into its 125-minute running time. Thus, this Harriet stands as a noble effort, albeit one that buckles under the strain of its deference and weight.
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Final Deadline: November 7th
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