Captivated by Movies
Last year, we launched a yearlong Screenwriting Incubator designed to guide writers from conception to completion of a first draft of a full-length screenplay. Screenwriting invites a different approach to storytelling, so we were curious where these writers are finding inspiration to bring their characters and stories to life on the screen?
What are they reading, listening to, watching, eating?
January 2021:
What we’re reading …
Instructor Lizbeth Finn is reading Bullet Proof: Writing Scripts that Don’t Get Shot Down, by David Diamond and David Weissman. “We’ve made it part of PWN’s mission to not just help our writers improve artistic excellence and craft but to understand how to create commercially viable projects that will attract ‘yeses’ from readers, agents, producers, directors, and actors. As I prep to teach our second Screenplay Incubator class, I’m excited to integrate these lessons and pass this advice on to our students.”
Listening to …
Janette Mackay has been listening to Mariah Carey’s audiobook The Meaning of Mariah Carey. “Some of it is a little dramatic and pretentious perhaps, but it is nice to learn about people and their journey. I like autobiographies because I almost always find things that are parallel to my own life.”
Watching …
Ray Brunt watched the film Paterson, a Jim Jarmusch film, on Netflix this past week. “The film is definitely one for literary types as the protagonist is a bus driver in Paterson, N.J., who is also a poet named Paterson. The movie keeps coming back to me every day. A scene will pop into my head and make me rethink what I got from the movie. That’s when I know there is something deeper there. The duality of our existence keeps popping into my head when thinking about it. The film won’t release me.”
Eating …
Ken Toglia and Nancy Dillon have been exploring a wide variety of food. “I’m a pescatarian,” said Ken. “I’ve been really into lentil shepherd’s pie. I also made Bahamian conch fritters recently with canned scungilli and mayo ketchup lime juice hot sauce dipping sauce, which were really good!” Nancy says she’s had a thing for duck and roasted vegetables. Oh and they have two chickens in their garden, so they are eating fresh eggs constantly.
Miscellaneous …
Michael Etra says he’s been “playing my guitar, serenading the 75-pound pit bull, Sadie, we are dogsitting. So far she likes my version of ‘Gypsy Woman,’ but she snorted at my slow version of Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark.’ Singing is good for the soul. Strumming a guitar is highly recommended. Hoping for a reaction from a dog? Not gonna happen.”
Feel free to share any comments or writing inspired by our Captivated column with us at info@projectwritenow.org.
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