The Script Podcast

"It doesn't think. It doesn't feel. It doesn't give up." This week on The Script Podcast, "It Follows" -- the sophomore effort from auteur David Robert Mitchell represents a movement towards more intelligent, modern horror films. "It Follows" is also Mitchell's love letter to classic horror, but does he represent Detroit? What does a strong female protagonist in a modern horror film need beside a scream and a great body? Two words, “super power." Do we get that in Maika Monroe's ingenue? How does 'anxiety horror' compare to traditional 'jump out' or 'gross out' horror? Also we talk Monster taxonomy, is ‘the follower’ a demon, a ghost, or ambiguous supernatural power? "It Follows" doesn't offer much in advice for safe sex, but our script doctors don't mind giving some.

LISTEN to THE SCRIPT Podcast: “It Follows” here on iTUNES

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- Need a Blake Snyder Beat Sheet Explanation? 

- Fan mail, complaints, questions, wedding proposals can be sent to [email protected]

SCRIPT DOCTORS

Jeremy Engdahl-Johnson, Kristina Leath-Malin, David Negrin, Jordan Rosengarten

PRODUCERS, The Script

Jordan Rosengarten, David NegrinNYC Screenwriters Collective

www.ScreenwritersCollective.org

“Why did you build me to die maker?" The Script Podcast is back! CHAPPIE is the latest dystopian sci-fi allegory from South African auteur Neill Blomkamp. On this episode of The Script we discuss the self-aware robot movie sub-genre, how all great stories employ surrogate family dynamics, and also how to spell anthropomorphize.  Does this film suffer from “protagonist confusion” ?  Is this a low end sci-fi thriller or a fancy coming of age drama?  Will David cut Corey’s microphone on his first podcast appearance? Chappie’s got a bigger heart than Robocop— but not a bigger gun.

LISTEN to THE SCRIPT Podcast: “Chappie” here on iTUNES

(If you enjoy The Script podcast PLEASE POST A STAR REVIEW on iTunes)

- Need a Blake Snyder Beat Sheet Explanation? 

- Fan mail, complaints, questions, wedding proposals can be sent to [email protected]

SCRIPT DOCTORS

David Negrin, Corey Resnick, Jordan Rosengarten

PRODUCERS, The Script

Jordan Rosengarten, David NegrinNYC Screenwriters Collective

www.ScreenwritersCollective.org

- Fan mail, complaints, questions, wedding proposals can be sent to [email protected]

David Negrin, Christopher Theokas

David Negrin, Jordan Rosengarten

NYC Screenwriters Collective

www.ScreenwritersCollective.org

- Fan mail, complaints, questions, wedding proposals can be sent to [email protected]

David Negrin, Talaiya Safdar, Christopher Theokas

David Negrin, Jordan Rosengarten

NYC Screenwriters Collective

www.ScreenwritersCollective.org

"We... are... Groot." Guardians of the Galaxy is Marvel Studios' first attempt at a tentpole Action/Comedy and if you look at the box office results, it appears to be a risk that has really paid off. Our script doctors David Negrin, Chris Durham, and Keith Miller analyze whether Marvel's foray into the extended Marvel Galactic Universe also paid off on the story level. Did the film succeed due to Chris Pratt's comedy chops, well honed on Parks & Recreation? Was it due to director James Gunn's "Avengers like" balance of his ensemble cast where everyone shines but none too bright? (then adding relentless cameos including one of our favorite ducks of all time) Or is it something deeper, something systemic, something 'shiny'-- is it Whedonism? We try to decipher the secret sauce Marvel has been feeding us that's turning the whole world into comic book fans.

LISTEN to THE SCRIPT BSE: "Guardians Of The Galaxy" here on iTunes.

(If you enjoy The Script podcast PLEASE POST A STAR REVIEW on iTunes)

- Watch The Script BSE: Guardians of the Galaxy as a VIDEO PODCAST on Google Hangouts!

- Need a Blake Snyder Beat Sheet Explanation?

- Fan mail, complaints, questions, wedding proposals can be sent to [email protected]

Script Doctors

David Negrin, Chris Durham, Keith Miller

Producers, The Script

David Negrin, Chris Durham

NYC Screenwriters Collective

www.ScreenwritersCollective.org

"We are only here briefly, and in this moment I want to allow myself joy."  -- This week on THE SCRIPT, the Collective's organizer David Negrin and its spec script Czar Mike De Luca analyze "Her," the beautiful, innovative romance from the imagination of Spike Jonze.  Also Talaiya Safdar and Denise Papas focus their newly branded Between The Sheets with Talaiya & Denise segment on the theme "Woman Where Art Thou? The current state of female characters in screenwriting."  Mike also gives us a Tracking-Board update on the latest spec script buzz and sales this winter. Then from the Baron's Corner, a review of "Frances Ha," a thoughtful meditation on a notion not completely unfamiliar to the Baron, that of being 'undateable.'How does Spike Jonze's meticulous, unwinding narrative neutralize the disadvantage of Her's female romantic lead never appearing on screen? How does the film's futurism and Neo-1930's aesthetic elevate a story that uses all the classic conventions of a romance but manage to re-invent them for our time?  Also, who are the 3 HERs? Next Denise and Talaiya deal out an empirical smack down on how under-represented, under-written female characters in scripts are both financially foolish and just plain bull shit. Listen and learn precisely how female characters who pass the Bechdel test make for better scripts and better box office receipts.  Lastly, the Baron gently strokes the narrative of "Frances Ha" with a wonderful review-- as close to Greta Gerwig as he's ever gonna get. LISTEN to THE SCRIPT: Episode 10 here on iTUNES.- Read the screenplay for "Her" by Spike Jonze- Fan mail, comments, questions, wedding proposals and proclamations can be sent to [email protected] DoctorsDavid Negrin, Mike De Luca, Talaiya Safdar, Denise Papas, Patrick PentaProducers, The ScriptTawny Foskett, David Negrin, Chris DurhamNYC Screenwriters Collectivehttp://www.meetup.com/NYC-Screenwriters-Collective/

BULLSHIT-- It's not bullshit, I read it in an article. The following podcast is the true story of two different loosely based true stories told by two storytellers in two different ways but both inspired by one real life event.  Probably.  David and Jeremy analyze the evolution of the film "American Hustle" by David O. Russel from the acclaimed Blacklisted script "American Bullshit" by screenwriter Eric Warren Singer. How does Singer employ and innovate the conventions of the Heist/Con Artist film genre?  What were the positive effects of David O. Russel re-working all the major relationships from the original script?  What were the effects of leaving out so much of the original dialog? And what does every heist film need at the end of the story? THEN-- our dynamic duo of lady script doctors analyze the biggest flops of 2013. Denise and Talaiya run down the checklist of screenwriter mistakes you'll want to avoid to keep your script ending up like "The Big Wedding", "Trance", and "Paranoia," our biggest misses of the year.

LISTEN to THE SCRIPT: Episode 9 here on iTUNES.

- Read the original script here : "American Bullshit" by Eric Warren Singer.

- Fan mail, comments, questions, wedding proposals and proclamations can be sent to [email protected]

- Technical Note: Apologies for some audio issues on this recording, we'll do better next time.

Script Doctors

David Negrin, Jeremy Engdahl-Johnson, Talaiya Safdar, Denise Papas

Producers, The Script

Tawny Foskett, Chris Durham, David Negrin

NYC Screenwriters Collective

BULLSHIT-- It's not bullshit, I read it in an article. The following podcast is the true story of two different loosely based true stories told by two storytellers in two different ways but both inspired by one real life event.  Probably.  David and Jeremy analyze the evolution of the film "American Hustle" by David O. Russel from the acclaimed Blacklisted script "American Bullshit" by screenwriter Eric Warren Singer. How does Singer employ and innovate the conventions of the Heist/Con Artist film genre?  What were the positive effects of David O. Russel re-working all the major relationships from the original script?  What were the effects of leaving out so much of the original dialog? And what does every heist film need at the end of the story? THEN-- our dynamic duo of lady script doctors analyze the biggest flops of 2013. Denise and Talaiya run down the checklist of screenwriter mistakes you'll want to avoid to keep your script ending up like "The Big Wedding", "Trance", and "Paranoia," our biggest misses of the year.

LISTEN to THE SCRIPT: Episode 9 here on iTUNES.

- Read the original script here : "American Bullshit" by Eric Warren Singer.
- Fan mail, comments, questions, wedding proposals and proclamations can be sent to [email protected]
- Technical Note: Apologies for some audio issues on this recording, we'll do better next time.

Script Doctors
David Negrin, Jeremy Engdahl-Johnson, Talaiya Safdar, Denise Papas

Producers, The Script
Tawny Foskett, Chris Durham, David Negrin
NYC Screenwriters Collective

CHINS

UP, SMILES ON! It's time for our quixotic quorum on the quarter quell.

This week on the The Script, the founders of the Collective try to shoot

arrows at Catching Fire, our armchair psychologist script doctors

analyze dysfunctional family holiday flicks with deviant structures, we

get a Tracking-Board update on all the buzz and spec sales this fall,

and a great review of a new indie from Brazilian auteur Bruno Barreto,

"Reaching For The Moon" by Tawny herself-- as The Baron was tied up for

the moment. How do the stakes in the 3rd Act of Catching Fire

compare to the original Hunger Games finale? Can Katniss replicate the

strength and dramatic depth of Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone?

Aren't you glad you're not spending your Holidays with the Royal

Tenenbaums? Why "Reaching for the Moon" is the must see lesbian romance

alternative to that Blue movie. And no Baron, you cannot have another

cookie-- eat your rodent porridge, wrap up your shackles, and back to the

dungeon for you. LISTEN to THE SCRIPT: Episode 8 here on iTUNES.- Fan mail, comments, questions, wedding proposals and proclamations can be sent to [email protected] DoctorsDavid Negrin, Yamil Lopera, Talaiya Safdar, Denise Papas, Tawny FoskettProducers, The ScriptTawny Foskett, Chris Durham, David NegrinNYC Screenwriters Collective

TRICK OR TREAT!  Live from the Baron's Haunted Castle on Halloween, The Baron and his butler review the new CARRIE, our Zombie mistresses list off the TOP 10 ZOMBIE KILLS of all time, and our regular host, who's been locked in the dungeon, analyzes the 'MONSTERS OF BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA' from his putrid, rodent infested cell.  Does the new Carrie earn her justification for unbridled revenge?  How effective is the new treatment of Carrie's mother? What are the grossest, most vicious, most spectacular Zombie Kills across movies and TV from all eras?  How come so many Monsters pop up over and over in John Carpenter's Kung Fu Cult Classic "Big Trouble in Little China"? Remember, this Halloween, "When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the

back of your favorite head up against a wall, and looks you

crooked in the eye and asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare

that big sucker right back in the eye, and remember what ol' Jack

Burton  says at a time like that:

"Yessir, the check is in the mail."

LISTEN to THE SCRIPT: Episode 7 here on iTUNES.

- Read the script for "Big Trouble In Little China" on our website at NYC Screenwriters Collective.

- Fan mail, comments, questions, wedding proposals and proclamations can be sent to [email protected]

Script Doctors

Patrick Penta, Alex Kipp, Talaiya Safdar, Denise Papas, David Negrin

Producers, The Script

Tawny Foskett, Chris Durham, David Negrin

NYC Screenwriters Collective