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finding direction
I’m off to Dublin today for the Give Me Direction screenwriting conference. On Saturday the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild is having its AGM, and I’ll be attending that as well. It’s Thursday, so here is my weekly pico-prose: In the Tube, crushed, Lin watches the Bronté Waterfall on the vid-strip, hears splash and spray via her earbuds, and inside, space clears. Brevity is the soul of those pressed for time.
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get some direction, quick
Before I inflict my weekly tiny piece of prose upon the web I’ll mention a couple of items that might be of interest to some of my readers. First off while perusing the films appearing in the forthcoming Spanish and Latin American Film Season at the IFI in Dublin I noticed that on Monday May 11th it’s showing a Mexican science fiction film called Sleep Dealer. We don’t often get opportunities to see sf films from other countries in Ireland, and it looks like it will be at least entertaining. Also, I’ve posted an entry over on the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild’s Blog about a new screenwriting conference, called…
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something for the weekend
Another Thursday, another piece of micro-fiction in under 140 characters: The rooms of this great house are as familiar as the chambers of my dead heart. I walk in echoes, stir dust, and pine for the key’s rattle. Last week was busy, but very enjoyable. The question and answer session on “Writing Horror” last Thursday with Kim Newman, for the benefit of IPSG members, went well. I provided Kim with enough prompts to keep the discussion of the history and development of horror cinema going for well over an hour (not that Kim needed much encouragement), and the members’ queries kept us there for another hour. The audience was fuelled…
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FrightFest 2008 Roundup
Another year, another FrightFest. Here are a number of horror movie clichés I could do without in the future: A blood-covered girl being chased in the woods as a hook to start a film A woman being captured, locked up, and tortured Stating at the beginning “Based on actual events” Yuppies being menaced by psycho assailants Creepy mirror scenes that aren’t scary enough Comedy horror flicks that have more gore and rubbery intestines than story or funny lines Oh gosh, the bad guys are kids! The countryside is occupied only by crazies – even if you escape, you can be guaranteed you’ll fall back into their clutches just as you…
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learning from a master
This blog has been quiet lately, and not because I didn’t have anything to say, but because I didn’t have the time to write it. I was very occupied with the Galway Film Fleadh, and those who keep up with babblogue will know that I blogged extensively about the Fleadh and the films and events I attended. I didn’t discuss the Paul Schrader masterclass on babblogue as I figured that was a subject for this journal. In the morning of the masterclass there was a screening of Taxi Driver (1976), which Schrader introduced. As we subsequently discovered in the afternoon, Schrader has a phobia about watching his work, so he…
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a new month, and the end of the year approaches
This week is insane. Today I finished my film treatment, and handed it in–ten minutes before deadline. I wouldn’t have cut it so close but for the fact I was sick last week, and on Saturday I woke up with the idea for a totally new screenplay. I plotted the film that day, and on Sunday I spent the day in front of the computer and completed the entire step-outline. Since I had classes Monday and Tuesday, that didn’t leave me with much time to write up the treatment for the new film by the deadline today. But, you’ve got to strike when the inspiration is hot. In the past…
