Directing
Screenwriter Scott Rosenberg -- whose credits include Gone in 60 Seconds and the BAFTA-nominated High Fidelity -- shares his methods, experiences, insights and secrets about writing for Hollywood in this revealing interview. "The Dialogue" is a series of in-depth discussions with top screenwriters, hosted by industry veteran and film fanatic Mike De Luca.
Screenwriter Jose Rivera -- whose Motorcycle Diaries screenplay earned an Oscar nomination and whose credits include many TV series -- shares his methods, experiences, insights and secrets about writing for Hollywood in this revealing interview. "The Dialogue" is a series of in-depth discussions with top screenwriters, hosted by industry veteran and film fanatic Mike De Luca.
Callie Khouri's seminal, Oscar-winning® screenplay for Thelma & Louise, released in 1991, gave voice to a profound cultural moment and became one of the most provocative cinematic landmarks of the '90s. It was the Kentucky native's first attempt at a screenplay. In this enlightening interview, Khouri describes how spending years doing music video production in the '80s inspired her not only to write, but to write with a purpose. A passionate activist with a resume that includes Something to Talk About and her adaptation of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which she also directed, Khouri discusses in detail the pressure of living up to such early acclaim, what it's like to be a woman in the industry, and how the state of the world around you fuels and shapes your creative mindset. Also a frequent script doctor and former Writers Guild of America board member, Khouri delves into the ongoing issues facing the WGA, its membership, and its much-maligned arbitration process.
In this insightful interview, veteran dramatist Nick Kazan shares his know-how about handling studio script notes, integrating changes without sacrificing the material and developing screenwriting chops. The Oscar-nominated writer of the films Reversal of Fortune (1990), Frances (1982), At Close Range (1986) and Patty Hearst (1988) also explains why he doesn't "do lunch" and why he views life as a comedy.
With over 23 years in the business, Bruce Joel Rubin has done it all. From his Oscar-winning screenplay for the romantic-comedy-drama Ghost, to the psychological thriller Jacob's Ladder, the family-friendly adventure Stuart Little 2, and the tearjerker My Life, which he also directed. In this in-depth interview, Rubin delivers some insightful stuff: his carpet-laying theory about writing, the story behind the Jacob's Ladder gut-wrenching opening scene, and which of his screenplays came about thanks to a burrito that didn't digest well.
Ed Solomon, screenwriter for blockbusters such as Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Men in Black, sits down for an in-depth interview about life in the Hollywood fast lane, from breaking into the business to having a script produced. Entertaining, informative and candid, Solomon reveals what the life of a working industry screenwriter is really like in both television and film.
Peter and Bobby Farrelly have single, or rather double-handedly reinvented the comedy. Their films Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary, Shallow Hal and Me, Myself & Irene combined shocking-but-hilarious gross-out humor with a sweet love story, and became blockbuster hits in the process. And in this interview, you'll learn why their writing methods of painting themselves into a corner and not wanting to know where a screenplay is going, can seem as unconventional as their comedy.
NIA VARDALOS was nominated for the Academy Award® and the Writers Guild Award in 2003 for her breakthrough screenplay My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which was based on her one-woman play. The film became the highest-grossing independent feature and turned her in to an overnight success, spawning a follow-up sitcom and a cemented spot among Hollywood s elite writers. Listen as she talks candidly about her favorite laugh, tapping into her inner guy, and why her take on the hardest part of screenwriting just might make you blush.
David Seltzer knows Hollywood. He knows the business, the tricks of the trade and all the hidden truths. He's got the stories from working with Jacques Cousteau, penning the horror classic The Omen and adapting Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. He can tell you why writing is like love-making and why there is no such thing as fiction. His advice about directing? Wear comfortable shoes. In this interview, you'll learn that and more, including what recent screenplay is the most elegant he has ever heard spoken on-screen and why you don't win arguments with movie stars.
Jeff Nathanson is easily among the A-list of Hollywood screenwriters, His script for Catch Me If You Can earned him much critical praise, as well as the devotion of Steven Spielberg, who also brought him to work on his next movie, The Terminal. Nathanson has also collaborated with Jan de Bont on Twister and Speed 2: Cruise Control and with Brett Ratner on the Rush Hour films. In this interview, learn more about why he dreads pitching, never speaks during a notes meeting, and finds he can do almost all his research with the Internet and old Playboys.
Few screenwriters can concentrate for more than a few hours, let alone sustain a career in Hollywood for over 30 years. But the blockbuster comedy writing team of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel has been making television and film audiences laugh for decades. In the early '70s, Ganz was writing for The Odd Couple while Mandel was receiving his first paychecks for work on M*A*S*H and Busting Loose. In total, Ganz and Mandel have written an astonishing 18 produced feature screenplays, including City Slickers, A League of Their Own, Mr. Saturday Night, Forget Paris, Where the Heart Is, Robots, and Fever Pitch, while also maintaining a "secret career" of un-credited rewrites on studio comedies.
Simon Kinberg recently burst onto the scene with his script for XXX: State of the Union, and has since worked on comic-to-film adaptations for Elektra and Fantastic Four and penned the third film in the X-Men series, X-Men: The Last Stand. Kinberg's breakthrough hit, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, began as a script that he wrote in college and became one of the top grossing movies of 2005.
After ditching his law career, Jonathan Hensleigh (Die Hard: with a Vengeance, Armageddon) went on to become a widely respected and successful action-adventure screenwriter. In this candid interview, he reveals his approach to his craft. With unwavering honesty, he talks about developing action series, discloses his real feelings on screenwriting classes and discusses how being an attorney has influenced his writing process.
Poised to become one of the most successful screenwriting teams in Hollywood, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are certainly in striking position. A team who became just that after meeting in high school, they have frequently collaborated with writer-director J.J. Abrams and director Michael Bay. As a team their screenwriting credits include The Island, The Legend of Zorro, Mission: Impossible III and the upcoming Star Trek XI.
Susannah Grant received an Oscar nomination for her screenplay for Erin Brockovich, an inspirational story based on the life of a working-class heroine. After her nomination, she went on to adapt In Her Shoes and Charlotte's Web, as well as write and direct Catch and Release. Here, Grant goes into the midwife vs. mother role of novel adaptations, the importance of finding your voice and why sometimes you just have to be able to really, really suck.
Hamburg wrote and directed the crime comedy Safe Men, which played at Sundance and spawned a devoted cult following. A sure-thing comedy closer, the New York City native built hilarious set pieces and character work into Meet the Parents, Zoolander, and Meet the Fockers that not only helped lift them to huge box office but also pushed a few new catchphrases into the American lexicon. A veteran of the uncredited production rewrite, Hamburg also wrote and directed the romantic comedy Along Came Polly in 2004. In this amusing interview, Hamburg discusses how he developed his talent for writing actor-hooking dialogue in the humorous monologues he performed in college, why he'd do a thousand test screenings if he could, and what it's like to hand a new scene to Robert De Niro and stand there waiting to see if he likes it.
