Having a fancy title at an elite film school, and also a reputation for providing nifty sound bites, during my decades as a professor in Westwood I was often approached by the press, especially on slow news days, for commentary regarding or another aspect of the media. A question I’ve been asked multiple times is: […]
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My sister and her husband are actors. A couple of decades ago, while living in Los Angeles, they went to New York for an extended stay in order to star together on Broadway in Neil Simon’s then-new play: Rumors. Upon their arrival in Gotham a huge party was held in their honor, welcoming them to the city. […]
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After more than forty years teaching in UCLA’s screenwriting program, I have retired. At a research institution like the University of California, however, not teaching but ‘research’ or, in the arts, ‘creative activity’ is a professor’s first obligation. Before anything else, therefore, I am a writer. Writers never retire. The last meeting of my (some say legendary) Film/TV 434 section occurred […]
Comments Off on SCREENWRITING TIPS NEWSLETTER: MY LAST CLASS
I first came to California in August of 1966 for what I thought would be a three week visit. Instead of returning to New York, however, on a whim I fell into film school at USC and never looked back. Sometimes I think I ought to give it another half century and if it still […]
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Steve Cuden, author of Beating Hollywood: Tips for Creating Unforgettable Screenplays (December, 2015), has written teleplays for many familiar TV series, such as X-Men, The Batman, Iron Man, Xiaolin Showdown, Loonatics Unleashed, The Mask, Goof Troop, Bonkers, Quack Pack, Gargoyles, Beetlejuice, Pink Panther, RoboCop, Extreme Ghostbusters, Stargate Infinity, ExoSquad, and Mummies Alive. Steve directed and […]
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In a new story published by WalletHub, writer John S Kiernan shares: “The film industry has come a long way from the days of black and white, yet as the outcry over the 2016 Academy Award nominations illustrate, equality remains a work in progress in the minds of many. But between the amazing films that were […]
Comments Off on WalletHub Interviews Richard Walter for “2016 Oscars By The Numbers”
Approximately thirty-five years ago I got an idea for a screenplay called Film School. I like to consider the script an ‘homage’ to Billy Wilder and his Oscar winning Sunset Boulevard. Another way to put it is: I stole the idea from Billy Wilder. If you’re going to steal, steal from Wilder. Sunset Boulevard opens with an oppressed, […]
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Comments Off on How Does A Writer Know They Are Good Enough? Film Courage Interview with UCLA Professor Richard Walter
In a recent issue of The New York Times – you’ll find a published letter to the editor by Richard Walter (Chair of the MFA Screenwriting Program at UCLA) in which he shares: “Judging even from Joe Nocera’s criticism of the film ‘Steve Jobs,’ it is clear that the screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin, fulfilled his charge most […]
Comments Off on A Letter to The New York Times on ‘Capturing Steve Jobs’
A privilege I have enjoyed now over several decades is to travel the world lecturing, teaching master classes, and consulting on film and screenwriting issues to international audiences. I’ve taught and advised and counseled writers and producers and studio executives and national film development corporation officials all across North America and also in London, Paris, […]
Comments Off on Lost in Translation: Killing In Beijing
