StoryLink > Articles > eZines > July 2009
StoryLink eZine - July 2009
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This month's featured screenwriter is Simon Kinberg, who has written everything from original specs to highly anticipated adaptations. In August, Larry Doyle - who wrote both the novel and screenplay I Love You, Beth Cooper - will answer questions from the StoryLink Community. In our Learn section, storytelling expert Jimmy Palmiotti offers his take on Writing for Multiple Media, while award-winning video game writer Haden Blackman of LucasArts Entertainment shares his experience in Ask the Expert. This issue also features many exciting events, including Fade In Magazine's 13th Annual Hollywood Pitch Festival(TM) and a new Writers University session. StoryLink would like to take this moment to draw attention to Create Now, an organization that works to transform the lives of high-risk youth through creative arts mentoring. Create Now is in great need of donations to continue helping adolescents that may otherwise become lost in the system. We encourage you to attend one of their fundraising opportunities (details below) or donate now to help support their important work. Remember - even the seemingly smallest amount counts. Keep your dream alive. Keep writing! Debra Eckerling |
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Simon Kinberg's gift for action, graphic novels, and genre films has kept him one of the busiest - and most prolific - screenwriters in Hollywood. The screenwriter of films such as X-Men: The Last Stand and Jumper, among others, wrote the original script Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie) as his final thesis project for Columbia University's Film School. While still in film school, Kinberg sold an original pitch to Warner Brothers, and went on to write scripts for Disney, Sony, and Dreamworks, working with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Jonathan Mostow, Stephen Sommers, and McG. This year, Kinberg has Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr., opening Christmas Day. Plus, he co-wrote Date Night, starring Steve Carrell and Tina Fey, and is producing the prequel X-Men: First Class. Kinberg believes that building good habits as a writer is a key element in the path to success. "Set times, set spaces, make hard rules about staying off the internet or taking calls," he says. "Just be disciplined. I really do think that's one of the biggest challenges of being a writer: discipline." Kinberg shares more of his experience and techniques, answering questions from the StoryLink Community. Those whose questions were chosen will receive The Dialogue: Learning from the Masters DVD (Winner's Choice) from The Writers Store. Read the article... |
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It wouldn't be summer without a teen "coming-of-age" comedy. StoryLink's August Featured Screenwriter is Larry Doyle, who wrote the film: I Love You, Beth Cooper, as well as the novel, which won the 2008 Thurber Prize for American Humor. I Love You, Beth Cooper is about a nerdy valedictorian who proclaims his love for the most popular girl in school - Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere) - during his graduation speech. His proclamation leads to the best night of his life. In addition to screenwriting, the multi-faceted Doyle's writing experience includes news reporting, creating comic strips, editing magazines (including Spy), and writing for The Simpsons, for which he won two Emmy Awards. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker, and has written for Esquire and GQ. I Love You, Beth Cooper opens July 10. Post a Question for Larry Doyle in the StoryLink Forum by July 24. If your question is chosen, receive The Dialogue: Learning from the Masters DVD (Winner's Choice) from The Writers Store. Post your question today! |
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Award-winning character-creator Jimmy Palmiotti has worked in nearly every creative -and writing - medium: advertising, production, editorial, screenwriting, development, production, media presentation, and video-game development. Clients have included Nike, Nickelodeon, Disney, Warner Brothers, Lion's Gate, Vidmark, Starz, Fox Atomic, Alliance films, New Line 2kgames, Activision, and THQ games. He is co-founder of such companies as Event Comics, Black Bull Media, Marvel Knights, a division of Marvel Comics, and currently Paperfilms, where he is partners with Amanda Conner and Justin Gray. A jack-of-all-trade, Palmiotti's writer's journey started in comic books, which led to numerous opportunities. He shares his experiences, as well as thoughts on additional mediums screenwriters can pursue to get on the path to their dreams. Continue reading... |
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Fade In Magazine presents the 13th Annual Hollywood Pitch Festival(TM) on Saturday August 1st and Sunday August 2nd at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. The original Pitch Fest, established in 1994, features more than 200 of the Motion Picture and Television industries' most prominent studio, development and creative executives, producers, literary & talent agents & managers and casting directors. The 13th Annual Hollywood Pitch Festival(TM) is a unique opportunity to: - Meet one-on-one with the entertainment industry... - Pitch your projects to these professionals and even... - Sell your material/Land an acting role... - Land new representation with major & boutique literary agencies... - Hone your pitching skills with an in-depth course... - Network with these pros at a catered cocktail party! For more information, check out the event listing. Register today. |
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Making it Big in Shorts - Writing a Short vs. a Feature Conducted by: Kim Adelman When: July 11th - 11:00am-12:00pm Location: The Writers Store Cost: Free Basics & Beyond: Screenwriting presented by Writers University Conducted by: Mario Moreno When: July 11th - 2:00pm-4:00pm Location: The Writers Store Cost: $49.95 Write On! Creating an Online Identity Conducted by: Debra Eckerling When: July 11th - 1:30pm-3:30pm Location: The Learning Garden Cost: $25.00 Television Pitch and Pilot Seminar Conducted by: Jen Grisanti When: July 18th - 1:00pm-5:00pm Location: UCLA Cost: Free |
Basics & Beyond: Final Draft Training Conducted by: Mario Moreno When: July 18th - 2:00pm-4:00pm Location: The Writers Store Cost: $49.95 Learn How to Avoid Screenplay Theft Conducted by: Reed Martin When: July 25th - 11:00am-12:00pm Location: The Writers Store Cost: Free Basics & Beyond: FrameForge 3D Studio 2 Training Conducted by: Jeff Stoltzfus When: July 25th - 2:00pm-4:00pm Location: The Writers Store Cost: $39.95 13th Annual Hollywood Pitch Festival Conducted by: Fade In Magazine When: August 1st & 2nd Location: Intercontinental Hotel, Los Angeles Cost: $425.00 |
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StoryLink congratulates our good friend Thomas Sawyer on the publication of his latest novel, No Place to Run, a page-turning thriller with a conspiracy theory twist. Want to learn the secrets of becoming a successful writer directly from the man himself? Then check out Sawyer's Writers University course, Storytelling: How To Write Stories That Will Grab And Hold Your Audience, where he'll give you a practical, take-it-to-the-bank approach to the writing process. Along the way, you'll acquire a mindset that'll help you turn that idea or incomplete manuscript into a gripping story that you'll finish and sell! A new session starts on July 13. Visit WritersUniversity.com for more information and to enroll. |
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Beginning Television Writing with William Rabkin Conducted by: Writers University When: July 13th - August 7th Location: Online Cost: $149.95 Screenwriting Basics Conducted by: Writers University When: July 13th - August 7th Location: Online Cost: $49.95 How to Sell your Script with Evan Smith Conducted by: Writers University When: July 13th - August 7th Location: Online Cost: $149.95 |
Storytelling: How To Write Stories That Will Grab And Hold Your Audience Conducted by: Writers University When: July 13th - August 7th Location: Online Cost: $249.95 Writing Dialogue for Emotional Impact: Crafting Fresh Dialogue That Snaps, Crackles and Pops Off the Page Conducted by: Writers University When: July 13th - August 7th Location: Online Cost: $199.95 Writing the Screenplay Treatment Conducted by: Writers University When: July 13th - August 7th Location: Online Cost: $149.00 |
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Award-winning video-game writer Haden Blackman has spent the last 12 years as director/producer at LucasArts Entertainment, where he currently leads three separate teams of designers, engineers, and artists in telling new interactive stories. Last year, Blackman received awards for outstanding videogame writing from both the WGA and Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences for his work on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. He has also written dozens of comic books for Dark Horse Comics, numerous videogame stories and scripts, and several books for Random House and Del Rey. Blackman offers insight into video-game writing, answering these questions: "How has the video game industry changed? What advice can you offer to people who want to write video games?" Read the article... |
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Horror Screenplay Contest Deadline July 20th, 2009 Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest Deadline July 31st, 2009 2009 Eerie Horror Fest Screenplay Competition Deadline August 1st, 2009 |
Champion Screenwriting Competition Deadline August 3rd, 2009 Terror Film Festival 2009 (Films & Screenplays) Deadline August 21st, 2009 2009 Great Lakes Film Festival Deadline August 29th, 2009 |
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Create Now helps transform the lives of high-risk and at-risk youth through creative arts mentoring, education, resources, and opportunities. These programs and services allow adolescents the opportunity to heal and explore their own unique creative self-expression and passions. You can help support Create Now so that they may continue their important work. On Sunday July 12, from 1 pm - 7 pm, dine at Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill in Pasadena or Brentwood, California, and they will donate 20% of every purchase to help Create Now transform lives through creative arts. Not local to the Los Angeles area? You can still support this worthy organization by submitting a tax deductible donation. For more information on Create Now, please visit: http://www.createnow.org/. |