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Screenwriting Blogs

HOW TO WRITE FOR ANIMATION NOW AVAILABLE FOR KINDLE

Emmy-winning writer Jeffrey Scott’s acclaimed book, How To Write For Animation, has just been released for the Kindle and other eBook formats

Blogs

Encounter with Peru Part 3: Non-human Storytellers

Nature’s unsurpassed poetic, imaginative, intricate and glorious artistic ingenunity, the range of infinite design resources through which it is able to express its ideas and experimentation, are never captured visualized as magnificently as in astoundingly delicate designs Nature never seems to run out of, be shy about, or short on alternate renditions of its explorations, all in its perpetual strive for utter perfection.

Blogs

We think of many things as being artistic but are they all art?

So, can we discuss art without having a clear definition of what it is?Certainly, I’m doing it now. Think of all the opinions you've heard and consider how many other diverse views there must be - then try to fashion one that works for you. This is the fun part. Try to create a definition that supports your idea that film or moving images should be considered art as much as a painting or a piece of pottery.

Blogs

Take The "Four C" Challenge

By Lisa Kaye | Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 11:16am

When it comes to figuring out what makes sense for you in how you handle your career, there are a few basic principles that might help. It does not matter whether you are starting out or have been at this job thing for a while now. What matters is how you arrive at your destination and what are the values you bring along with you to work everyday.

Blogs

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012) (***1/2)

What do you expect from a horror movie titled THE CABIN IN THE WOODS? A pretty young virgin? A handsome jock? A dumb blonde bimbo? The token nice guy? The stoner goof-off? Director/writer Drew Goddard and writer Joss Whedon provide all of these slasher movie clichés. You might expect the characters to be picked off one by one by, say, zombie rednecks. And you wouldn't be all that off. And yet Goddard and Whedon turn the tropes on their ear and provide us with a new meta, modern myth.

The movie doesn't start with the tried-and-true character types mentioned above, but begins in a very sterile-looking government facility. Sitterson (Richard Jenkins, THE VISITOR) and Hadley (Bradley Whitford, TV's THE WEST WING) chat about their top-secret project like it is a routine event. We wonder how their work project will affect the college students heading out to a remote cabin in the forest. Why is this agency watching these kids?

Blogs

OSLO, AUGUST 31 (2012) (***1/2)

Time and place really matter in this dark drama. The film begins in a documentary style of shots from Oslo with voiceover of people describing their experiences moving and living there. Then we meet Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie, REPRISE) as he is walking through the woods. He comes upon a lake, weighs himself down with rocks and walks into the water to his impending death. This is the start of this original story about a recovering drug addict.

As you might expect Anders does not die in his attempt to end his life. He is finishing up a long stay at a drug rehabilitation center. His counselor speaks positively about his job interview that day. It's his chance to start his life over. Anders gets in a taxi and goes back to Oslo where all the demons of his old life live.

Blogs

FROM KOSOVO TO SERBIA: Not As Simple As It Seems

When I last left you I was on a bus from Pristina, Kosovo headed to Belgrade, Serbia where I was planning to meet my old friend Rastko Ciric and attend the first edition of the Festival of European Student Animation that he had organized.  It was supposed to be a six hour trip.   I knew that Serbia did not recognize Kosovo as a country and people travelling on a Kosovo passport could not cross this border but I had been assured that I would not have a problem since I was travelling on a United States passport.

As the bus approached the border crossing which was in the middle of nowhere, a Kosovo border guard collected our passports and then we waited while the guard disappeared into a small building with them.  I always have a bit of a sinking feeling whenever I see my passport vanish into an official building, but after a few minutes the guard reboarded our bus, passports in hand.

Blogs

THE GREY (2012) (***1/2)

Joe Carnahan's thriller is not your typical popcorn fare. It's main character is somber and suicidal. Then it strands that man in the cold Alaskan wilderness where wolves try to hunt him down. Whether or not the film is completely accurate about wolf behavior doesn't matter because it made me believe it was real.

The suicidal man Ottway (Liam Neeson, SCHINDLER'S LIST) is a survivalist who works for the oil companies to hunt down wolves in order to protect the workers from attacks. He boards a plane out of the remote region of the oil fields to head back to Anchorage. When the plane goes down he is forced to think on his feet and continue his job of protecting the workers in a far more extreme arena.

Blogs

CHRONICLE (2012) (***1/2)

One could put this fill in the superhero genre, but this is not a tale of men in masks. The premise is simple – what would really happen if a group of teens one day gained superpowers? It takes three common character types of high school boys and looks at how they handle gaining telekinesis. Remember the mantra of teenaged superhero Spider-Man — with great power comes great responsibility. But not all teens are responsible.

Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan, LAWLESS) is an outcast who hides behind his video camera. Between the bullies at school and his alcoholic father at home, he can't cut a break. No wonder he's bitter and angst filled. His cousin Matt Garetty (Alex Russell, BAIT) tries to include him. And one night when he finds a giant hole in the woods, he brings Andrew along to film them investigating it. The next day they, along with the school's "Mr. Perfect" Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan, HARDBALL), find out they can lift things with their minds.

Blogs

ANIFEST ROZAFA 2012 AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Anifest  Rozafa is an international animation festival of films by and for children held yearly in Shkoda, Albania.  As well as screening animation, the festival conducts seminars and workshops.

The 2012 Anifest Rozaka Children’Jury and the Adult International Jury gave following awards:

“ ROZAFA ANIFEST ” AWARDS 2012
Shkoder, september 29th 2012
The members of the International Jury
Mrs. Céline Ravenel (FRANCE) , Mrs. Francie Liebschner (GERMANY) , Mr. Artur Dauti (ALBANIA ), Mr. Robert Turlo(POLONI) , Mr. Sytki Brahimi (ALBANIA) .
BEST ANIMATED FILM of Rozafa Anifest : LUMINARIS / Argentina / Juan Pablo Zaramella
Best animated short film for children : THE STORY OF LITTLE PAOLO / France – Belgium / Nicolas Liguori
Best animated short film from students : GALLERY / Poland / Robert Proch
Best animated short film for adults : DOVE SEI, AMOR MIO / Croatia / Veljko Popovic
Special mention : NULLARBOR / Australia / Alister Lockhart and Patrick Sarell
Special mention for an Albanian film : The meaning of life / Jani and Irida Zhonga
AWARDS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVE SECTION ( Animated Films made by Children)
BEST ANIMATED FILM of “Rozafa Anifest 2012” by children “ Granny Fly Swatter ” / Croatia / Filmmakers :Jakov Skok 12 years , Anja Kundid 11 years
First prize : goes to animated film made by children “Snub-nosed Elf” – “ Qerratai mosperfilles ”/ Hong Kong / Filmmakers : Ling Fung SHEK , Ngo Yin IP , Chi Keung WONG , Man Ho WAN , Ki YUEN TSANG
Second prize : goes to animated film made by children “ The Ball from Space ” – “ Topi nga hapesira “ / Germany / Filmmakers : Team “ Jugendfilm e.V.”
Third Prize : goes to animated film made by children “ The Lost Moon ” / Albania & Greece / Filmmakers : Joan Kamberaj
BEST ANIMATED FILM of “ Rozafa Anifest 2012” , by augjenca TRING DIGITAL TV “ The Meaning of Life ” – “ Esenca e Jetes ” / Greece & Albania / Jani and Irida Zhonga .

Hollywood History Blogs

WHAT DO MOE HOWARD, 3-D COMICS AND ANIMATION HAVE IN COMMON?

Everybody knows that Moe Howard, as well as his cohorts Curly, Shemp and Larry, were creative geniuses. But not so many know that Moe’s son-in-law, Norman Maurer, was a genius in his own right. 

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