The same tactics and approach can create totally dissimilar strengths and weaknesses, problems and opportunities because the two characters view the world so differently.
New Book With A Powerful Backstory
“I pressed the button on the phone and the first sound I heard in the headset was a child sobbing. She was barely able to speak, kept saying the same thing over and over…”I just want it to stop.” It was Monday morning 7.30 am. My very first call as a ChildLine volunteer counselor.
Ugly Betty – 2008 Premiere Disappointment
The show premiered only marginally up from its low of last season. Here’s what I believe went wrong with the season premiere (and what danger signs it sends for the rest of season three).
Raising the Bar – Not Bochco at His Best
The audience needs to be actively concerned about a character’s sanity, safety or soul to be truly engaged.
Antidote to Bad News
People who want a rich full life might be better off pursing play rather than wealth to get all that will make them happy.
#WritingAdviceWednesday – Coming of Age Films and Power of Idealism
#WritingAdviceWednesday – Coming of Age films, as I define them, are Power of Idealism films.
Second Hand Wedding
As a frequent flyer on Air New Zealand I have the opportunity to see regional films that don’t ever make it to the US in wide distribution. My favorite film this trip was the delightful and heartwarming Second Hand Wedding. It’s everything one would want in comedy.
Values at Stake – Film
The obstacles in a film or television series should create the kind of risk, peril or danger that pushes the character to take actions that define what is most fundamentally important or true in a character’s life.
Values at Stake – Televison
A character should be forced to make a stark, definitive and active choice. As one value is ultimately chosen, the character finally negates or surrenders the other contrasting value. What price is paid for the character’s choice?
The Invitation
When I was in my Master’s Program at the UCLA Film School I got a handout with a copy of a wonderful poem, A Passion for the Possible. For me, the poem definitively sums up what the audience is looking for in a character.