Five Things I'm Loving Right Now

I've decided that along with Shop of the Week, this is going to be a regular blog spot. The reasons for this are twofold: firstly because the things I am loving right now are notoriously transient and won't justify a whole individual post, and secondly because I know the majority of blog readers are lazy buggers and have the attention span of goldfish. This means that they can't get to the end of my long and beautifully crafted posts without losing the will to live. This I conclude from the lack of comments. Thanks.

So, here for your delectation and delight are five pithyly crafted lovlies:

1) Dog Noses:

Mother Nature has all the best designs and in creating these she really did do herself proud. Part fly eye, part Henry Moore sculpure, dog noses are one of the most beautiful things in the world to me. And if you think I'm just weird, be assured that this is a fetish mainstream enough to warrant its own photo stream on Flickr. And they smell good, too...

Above image and title image via Your Dog Nose
on Flickr

2) Whigby:

I would have been more than happy to nominate Whigby for my Shop of the Week slot but they only ship to the US and Canada (Boo) so they have been relegated to the still rather hallowed slot of Things I am Loving Right Now.

The brainchild of Todd Temporale and Frank Viva, two lovely Canadian chaps, I first came across Whigby when my house appreared on Design Sponge's Sneak Peeks. Frank's beyond gorgeous house was another featured domicile and so a lifelong association was formed. Well, not really, but Frank was wonderful enough to make an exception to Whigby's shipping policy and send me one of their fantastic George Orwell screenprints.

Specialising in print and pattern, Whigby also promise to hand deliver all orders totalling one million dollars or more. You can't say fairer than that.

via Whigby

3) Blog Widgets:

Someone came to visit me from Canberra, Australia last night....not literally of course, but thanks to my rather wonderful widget I can now see where all my blog visitors are coming from. It's all abit Big Brother, I suppose, but it's nice to know that the interboogle continues to make the world a smaller and more friendlier place. Other visitors have hailed from Canada, Italy, Finland and of course, good old Blighty. If I haven't scared you all away please continue to come and keep me company and leave a message inbetween watching your telly programmes. If you can be bothered.

via Google Images

4) Family Guy

The TV show. This is just how we are. Enough said.

via Google Images

5) The Upper Room

I''ve got this Brighton based band's one and only album, Other People's Problems on repeat at the moment. It takes me back to my uni days of jangly guitar based bands and smoky nightclubs. Not as self-referential as some of the shoegazers from that day, The Upper Room manage to write feel-good tunes about feel-bad situations. Sadly, they split in 2006 but thankfully their music lives on...

via Amazon

The Upper Room TV on MUZU.

Scriptwriter Goes Cyber

Why are good British scriptwriting resources so scarce? I've been a subscriber to Scriptwriter magazine since its inception; read it, loved it and stashed it under the bed for future reference but the print version has now been withdrawn in favour of an online resource.
Rebranded as TwelvePoint.com you can now get your fix of news, views, interviews and fantastically informative articles 24/7. Now before you get too excited I should say that the site, like the magazine which preceded it, is a subscription service, BUT non-members can still access a wealth of what's on offer absolutely free...
Current subscription rates are #29 per annum and for this you get exclusive access to:

• TwelvePoint Buzz - a regular roundup of UK film and television industry news, together with opportunities for screenwriters.
  
• Contracts - advice on negotiating, including template option and deal memos.
  
• Ask the Expert - industry professionals answer your questions.
  
• Beginners' Guides - 'How to write a screenplay' and 'How to write a novel and have it published'.
  
• Calendar of events compiled by Robin Kelly.
  
• Links to dozens of useful screenwriting resources.
  
• The Forum - a discussion zone where you can network and trade knowledge, tips and banter.
  
• Scripts wanted - a new lead every week from InkTip.
  
• Weekly email newsletter - pointing out new information on the website and what's happening in the world of scriptwriting.

There's also the opportunity to upload your own writing projects for feedback from other members, start your own blog and loads more. For the cost equivalent of three or four paperbacks I reckon this is more than worth the price of admission.

Oh, and Twelve Point also has some very influential readers...

The Script, The Script, The Script...

So said Billy Wilder when asked what the three most important elements of any film were. I can't disagree, although as a writer, I'm probably biased. However, it never fails to amaze me how many would be authors, screen or otherwise, don't actually read. It's a pretty important requirement when you think about it, and not just the good stuff, either. Infact it's often the worst writing that's given me the best education.

As a jumping off point, I wanted to mention some of the screenplays that a) inspired me to become a writer in the first place and b)remind me why it's worth the pretty appalling lifestyle trade-off in terms of pay, conditions and general lack of friends and social life.

Not surprisingly, most of these scripts became some of my all time favourite films. With their emphasis on character as plot and strong subtext they have informed and mirrored my writing preferences. I recommend that you head on over to the excellent Drew's Script-O-Rama RIGHT NOW and download some of these beauties. Most are available in final shooting script format but where earlier drafts of the script also exist I recommend that you study these, too, to see the evolution from draft to draft and to form your own opinions about whether the right editorial changes were made from earlier versions. Oh, and did I mention that Drew's also has a wealth of TV scripts too? Read them at your leisure, but DO read them.



The following list is in no order of preference...

• Memento – Screenplay by Christopher Nolan, based on the short story "Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan


• Harold and Maude - Written by Colin Higgins


• Adaptation - Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman, based on the book "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean


• Raging Bull - Screenplay by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin, based on the book by Jake La Motta with Joseph Carter and Peter Savage


• Thelma and Louise - Written by Callie Khouri


• 12 Angry Men –Reginald Rose


• Dog Day Afternoon - Screenplay by Frank Pierson, based on a magazine article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore


• Annie Hall –Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman


• All the President’s Men - Screenplay by William Goldman, based on the book by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward


• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - Screenplay by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey


• Taxi Driver - Written by Paul Schrader


• American Beauty - Written by Alan Ball


• The Usual Suspects - Written by Christopher McQuarrie


• The Sweet Smell of Success - Screenplay by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman, from a novelette by Ernest Lehman


• The Third Man - Screenplay by Graham Greene, story by Graham Greene, based on the short story by Graham Greene


• Fargo - Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen


• Magnolia – Paul Thomas Anderson


• The Odd Couple – Neil Simon


• The Wizard of Oz - Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf, adaptation by Noel Langley, based on the novel by L. Frank Baum


• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth


• To Kill A Mockingbird - Screenplay by Horton Foote, based on the novel by Harper Lee


• The Apartment - Written by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond


• The Graduate - Screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, based on the novel by Charles Webb


• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Written by William Goldman

Film Poster Images via FilmPosters.com