We fiddle with “The Banshees of Inisherin” and discuss: Story & Writing, clear stakes, script vs film; Performances, playing the space between the lines; Metaphors, and distracting ourselves from the inevitable; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The literal meaning of life is whatever you’re doing that prevents you from killing yourself.“ – […]

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We jackhammer Monica Barbaro’s “One Night Only” and discuss: Story & Writing, humor as a plot device, physical comedy, script vs the movie; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Nobody knows anything… Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s […]

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We ping Duncan Jones’ “Moon” and discuss: Story & Writing; Production Design; Directing; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I believe that Gandhi’s views were the most enlightened of all the political men in our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence in fighting for our […]

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We swing through Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and discuss: Story & Writing, prologues in series, identity crisis; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experience.“ – James Baldwin Notes & References: Supports us on […]

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We call on Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite” and discuss: Cinematography, composing for energy; Story & Writing, structure, setups, clear characters; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “What is perfection, anyway? It’s the death of creativity, that’s what I think, while change on the other hand, is the cornerstone of new ideas. God knows […]

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We tour Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and discuss: Story & Writing, Zeus’ Law; Performances, dialog; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “You’ve got to put everything into the one movie and just try and make a great movie because you may not get this chance again.“ – Christopher Nolan Notes & References: Supports […]

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We party with Sofia Coppola’s “The Virgin Suicides” and discuss: Story & Writing, metaphors, rule of repeats; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “It’s always more intriguing to imagine what’s happening, as opposed to seeing everything, because then you can use your imagination. I always wanted to be at a distance.“ – Sofia […]

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We play Pixar’s “Toy Story 5” and discuss: Story & Writing, thematic cohesion, subplots, play; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.“ – Mr. Rogers Notes […]

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