The inaugural episode of the STORY MAPS SCREENWRITING PODCAST is here!
[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/storymapspodcast/Episode_One_-_Batman_Begins_Podcast.mp3]
Jamie Nash is a working screenwriter who lives in Maryland and primarily writes genre films — horror, supernatural, fantasy, etc. He has a strong working relationship with Eduardo Sánchez, co-director of The Blair Witch Project — they have collaborated on a number of projects — the films Altered, Seventh Moon and Exists, and the comedy web series ParaAbnormal.
Jamie and Ed’s latest film is Lovely Molly, an intense horror thriller about the possession of a young woman told via a mix of standard narrative and “found” footage. The film is currently in theaters in a limited release, after playing the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and South by Southwest film festival. There is a wider release planned for the UK and it will go to VOD and DVD in August. Read more
Chris Parnell is a veteran comedic actor who honed his skills in The Groundlings and on Saturday Night Live, before moving to films like Anchorman and Hot Rod. Lately, he’s appeared in 21 Jump Street, The Five-Year Engagement and he’s a regular cast member on the sitcoms Suburgatory and Archer. Those two shows had already finished for the season when Parnell popped up on the season finale of Saturday Night Live (Kristen Wiig’s final episode) in the sequel to one of the great viral videos of all time, Lazy Sunday 2. Read more
In anticipation of The Dark Knight Rises opening in theaters on July 20, I’ve been analyzing Christopher Nolan’s films, especially the first two chapters in his Batman trilogy, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. I’ve found myself buried so deep into Nolan’s complex story structures that it’s been impossible for me to watch the trailers and not start mapping the story in my head. It’s been keeping me up at night. Even before this latest one, The Dark Knight Rises – Official Trailer #3 [HD], I started to write a Full Story Map for The Dark Knight Rises, sight unseen, based solely on the limited clips and information available on the web.
There’s a lot of speculation online as to the story, but no one has attempted to break down the entire film.
Until now. Read more
Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge, huge, huge fan of Mad Men. After each episode, I comb the web for any and all Mad Men-related material, and since there’s many other nutjobs out there who are also mad for Mad Men, the blogosphere never disappoints.
But most high-profile sites only feature one still photo from each episode, and since I’m on the AMC press list and have access to various publicity materials, I decided I’d work harder to bring you guys more images for your scrapbooks, including ones you might not see anywhere else yet (like the pic above). Read more
I’m almost done reading The Hunger Games trilogy of books on my trusty Kindle and I’m seeing the movie in a few hours (as it unleashes a Quarter Quell on the box-office in its opening weekend), so until I can offer an analysis of the screenplay or movie, I thought I’d share one of my first impressions of the story when I read the book. Read more
I came across this TED talk by writer/director Andrew Stanton, whose credits include Toy Story 1-3, Finding Nemo, Wall-E and the upcoming John Carter. He’s got some really interesting things to say about the emotional connection between screenwriter (storyteller) and audience (listener), touching on WHY we love a great story, what we expect and how the storyteller should meet these expectations. Read more
Looking for someone to convert your book and get it online so all of those Kindle and iPad readers can buy it?
You’ve spent so much time writing your book, do you really have the energy and technical acumen to master your text file into multiple formats and launch an online marketing campaign tailored to your unique content and target audience?
When I finished the first draft of my e-book, Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay, in Microsoft Word, I made the decision to learn the entire process for converting it to an e-book and selling it online. I can tell you honestly that I had no idea how much work was involved! If only I had a dollar for every time I wished I had just paid someone to do it for me (I would have about 500 bucks). The learning curve on this process is quite large, and there are many different applications and websites to master before you can reach the largest audience on the web. By the time I got around to my next full-length book, Story Maps: TV Drama, currently my best selling title, the process was much easier.
I currently have multiple e-books for sale in different formats on the most highly trafficked e-commerce sites on the web, and they are selling well. I’m turning a very good profit, and I can teach you how to do the same…or I can just do it all for you.
Firstly, just to show you that I’m legit and how complicated this can all be, here’s several links to show you my web presence for my book and marketing efforts:
My book on Kindle (Amazon)
My book on BarnesandNoble.com
My blog
Book review on Script Magazine
My Book Facebook Page
My Youtube Channel
All of those links represent A LOT of work.
Here are the services I can provide:
Copy-editing, layout and project supervision of the cheapest and most efficient way to get a professional designed book cover.
1. Edit and convert your manuscript into the various e-book formats:
2. Distribute your e-book files to the most popular e-commerce sites, including:
3. Design your Social Media footprint:
4. Train you on how to implement your social media campaign:
Please feel free to CONTACT me with any questions and we’ll get the conversation going. I hope I can help you achieve your publishing goals.
Sincerely,
Daniel Calvisi
A few months back, I was preparing a proposal that listed the box-office performance of several films, including The King’s Speech. I knew that the film did quite well, but I was shocked to learn that it grossed a whopping $440 million worldwide! To put that into perspective, this quiet, character-driven period drama with stuffy British accents outgrossed Tron: Legacy, Star Trek (2009) and The Adventures of TinTin! Read more
What’s in the box?!
Seven, written by Andrew Kevin Walker and directed by David Fincher, is one of the great thrillers of the 1990s, a decade with several exceptional thrillers. Walker’s screenplay for Seven shot him to the Script Doctor A-list, establishing him as a hot writer of dark material on spec, like 1999’s 8mm, as well as garnering him uncredited rewrites on films such as Fight Club, The Game (also Fincher-directed films) and Stir of Echoes (directed by Walker’s mentor, David Koepp). Read more
The 2011 Black List is here! Congratulations to all of the writers who made the list.
For those who don’t know, the Black List compiles the “most liked” unproduced (as of voting time) screenplays of the year, as voted on by studio, agency and production company executives in Hollywood. What began as an underground project has become a major announcement for the development community that is reported on by sources such as The Hollywood Reporter.
Past winners like Juno and The Social Network have proven the list as a prescient judge of quality film storytelling. Read more
The major studios are once again posting their “For Consideration” screenplays online for Academy Award season. Some of these titles may become Oscar nominated screenplays, for Best Original Screenplay or Best Adapted Screenplay. So far, we’ve got free pdf script downloads from Universal, Fox Searchlight, Focus and Lionsgate. Read more
This behind-the-scenes video on the set of The Hobbit in New Zealand is a must-see for 3D lovers and haters, alike. If you’re doubting the need for 3D (like Roger Ebert) or if you’re a Tolkien purist who thinks the two-part Hobbit saga is a calculated cash grab, I ask you to watch this video because it really shows how much the dedicated filmmakers behind films like this are melding artistry and brilliant technology to create a truly unique cinematic experience.
If Roger Ebert thought his letter from Walter Murch (see the link above) closed the case against 3D, I’d say this video tears the letter and the envelope it came in to shreds. Read more
"What's an iPhone?"
It seems like I can’t turn around lately without seeing an article about how the spec screenplay market in Hollywood is at its highest level in 5 years!
October 2011 saw 18 sales, [correction: 20 sales!] the biggest month for sales in years, including three from relative newcomers. Read more
Gladiator (screenplay by David Franzoni and John Logan and William Nicholson; story by David Franzoni) is a true Hollywood epic that breathed new life into the swords-and-sandals genre, made Russel Crowe a star and gave director Ridley Scott another opportunity to make a brilliant, large scale Hollywood masterpiece.
The film runs at just under 2.5 hours but the story never slows, due to a rock-solid structure that’s focused on a hard-charging throughline and an ever-present controlling theme. Read more
Story Maps: How to Write a Screenplay has received another glowing review, from best-selling author Joan Reeves on her site, Slingwords.com. Here’s some excerpts from the review…
-Joan Reeves
Keep reading, and, by the end of the book, it’s as if you absorbed the structure. There’s a harmonic resonance between the story map structure and your writer’s consciousness.
Read more
I’m more interested in being a part of an entire piece that I think is brilliant, even if it’s a small part to play.
Dexter season six premieres on Sunday, October 2 on Showtime. Once again, we will get the opportunity to watch some strong dramatic writing at work. Dexter has always been a good example of the use of a dynamic character and the technique of dramatic inevitability. Both devices contribute to dramatic character and plot arcs over the course of a season. Read more
Are you writing a “script” or a “screenplay?” Is there a difference between the terms script and screenplay?
Screenplay vs. script. Which is it?
Exhibit A: “Script”
Exhibit B:”Screenplay”
