My movie shame: 20 beloved movies I have never seen
Movies have always been my Great Refuge. I went to the best film school in the world, for years I was employed by a center for motion picture study actually called the The…
London Screenwriters Festival, sequences & me
The London Screenwriters Festival may well be the biggest and best conference for screenwriters on Earth right now. There used to be a plethora of L.A.-based writerfests - I've been…
X-Women and Hollow Men
In 2001, I wrote the below piece, "X-Women and Hollow Men", for The Hollywood Reporter, about the explosion of female action heroes at the turn of the 21st century. I…
The Valley Of Gwangi (1969), The Dinosaur Is The Father Of The Man
(article originally written for Mark Deniz’s “Monster Appreciation Month”) I first saw The Valley Of Gwangi in 1973 or 1974, well after its 1969 release. I was about 5 or…
A Tale Of Two Star Warses, or Why The Phantom Menace Gives Us A Bad Feeling
(this article originally appeared at screenwriting website Twelvepoint.com, July 2010) I stepped out of Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999) onto the sidewalk in front of Mann's…
Full Spectrum Story Dominance
I'm on my way now to the third and final day of the Transmedia Next Training For Media Professionals, where the Pickfords, Chaplins, Fairbankses and Griffithses of the 21st century…
Martin (1977)
(article originally appeared on Mark Deniz's "Vampire Appreciation Month" site as "George Romero’s Martin: Portrait Of An Honest Vampire”) My first exposure to George A. Romero's Martin (1977) came via…
Introduction To Sequence Structure
(this article originally appeared at screenwriting website Twelvepoint.com, March 2010) I always pat myself on the back for having written a great scene, but writing a great scene doesn’t help…
Escape From L.A., Pt. 2
(this article originally appeared at screenwriting website Twelvepoint.com, Jan. 2010) - Read Part 1 of "Escape From L.A." - And so, with growing dread, I came to understand that this…
Click to watch the Avatar trailer
Avatar (2009)
Saw James Cameron's "Avatar" (2009) yesterday afternoon in 3D at the Shepherd's Bush VUE Cinemas in London. Went with my Dad who has seen more movies than I am ever…