“Marvel’s Inhumans” is a marvel of missed opportunities.

Marvel has had an incredible track record on both the big screen and small, but the new ABC-TV series “Marvel’s Inhumans” really misses the mark. Adapted from the 1965 comic by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this mutant story feels all too familiar. Borrowing heavily from “X-Men”, “Game of Thrones”, and “Thor”, almost every character, superpower, and narrative detail in this show feels derivative. It also is surprisingly hokey, from its heavy-handed expositional dialogue to its skimpy special effects. The potential is there for a meaningful story about diversity, but so far, this show is anything but marvelous. 

EXCERPT FROM THE PODCAST:

"... as writers we can feel terrified. We have a blank page and it looks like the entire world is available, but if you start to put limitations on what you can do, you can create something bigger, because you focus in on what you really want to do and then you can make that one focused idea big...You want to just get all of it down, get it out, what is it this inner story is trying to say, let it be free, let it be big.

Web Series writing is about what you can do right now, right this second. Don’t let limitations stop you from making this, don’t let lack of money stop you from making this.

When we think about traditional television series, there are certain confines of the narrative structure. We have to be able to sustain a half-hour or an hour every week. But one of the things that I think is really exciting about Web Series is, because Web Series are so short, you can kind of blow the roof off the house...you have the freedom to do it your way."

"Kingsman: The Golden Circle" misses the brass ring.

The edgy action spy comedy “Kingsman: The Secret Service” was a worldwide hit in 2014, so it’s not surprising that a sequel was inevitable. Unfortunately, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” moves too far away from the charms of the first one. The main character of Eggsy (Taron Egerton) is given short shrift to make room for a host of American spies played by stars like Channing Bridges and Halle Berry. Julianne Moore’s villain is too cartoonish, almost like an “Austin Powers” baddie. And the whole shebang goes on 30 minutes too long. It does have wicked wit, clever action sequences, and the elegant Colin Firth, but it’s too big and bloated to be golden.

This is a podcast recording of the ISA's Facebook Live broadcast of Wine Wednesdays. Please note that some promotions offered during the live broadcast are not offered to the participants listening to the recording. We can, however, assist you if you wish to find out more information regarding ISA events, contests, or consulting offers. Just reach out to info@networkisa.org and we will be happy to help.

Join ISA staffers Max Timm and Felicity Wren for our regular Wine Wednesdays Facebook Live broadcast sponsored by the Nickelodeon Writing Program. We'll talk screenwriting and take your questions about the ISA and the art, craft, and business of writing screenplays, all while enjoying a nice glass (or two) of wine.

Subjects and themes change from week to week, so stay tuned for the live broadcasts that occur on most Wednesday evening at 7:00pm Los Angeles time. For a specific schedule and set of announcements, "Like" the ISA Facebook page and keep up to date.

This is a podcast recording of the ISA's Facebook Live broadcast of Wine Wednesdays. Please note that some promotions offered during the live broadcast are not offered to the participants listening to the recording. We can, however, assist you if you wish to find out more information regarding ISA events, contests, or consulting offers. Just reach out to info@networkisa.org and we will be happy to help.

Join ISA staffers Max Timm and Felicity Wren for our regular Wine Wednesdays Facebook Live broadcast sponsored by the Nickelodeon Writing Program. We'll talk screenwriting and take your questions about the ISA and the art, craft, and business of writing screenplays, all while enjoying a nice glass (or two) of wine.

Subjects and themes change from week to week, so stay tuned for the live broadcasts that occur on most Wednesday evening at 7:00pm Los Angeles time. For a specific schedule and set of announcements, "Like" the ISA Facebook page and keep up to date.

This is a podcast recording of the ISA's Facebook Live broadcast of Wine Wednesdays. Please note that some promotions offered during the live broadcast are not offered to the participants listening to the recording. We can, however, assist you if you wish to find out more information regarding ISA events, contests, or consulting offers. Just reach out to info@networkisa.org and we will be happy to help.

Join ISA staffers Max Timm and Felicity Wren for our regular Wine Wednesdays Facebook Live broadcast sponsored by the Nickelodeon Writing Program. We'll talk screenwriting and take your questions about the ISA and the art, craft, and business of writing screenplays, all while enjoying a nice glass (or two) of wine.

Subjects and themes change from week to week, so stay tuned for the live broadcasts that occur on most Wednesday evening at 7:00pm Los Angeles time. For a specific schedule and set of announcements, "Like" the ISA Facebook page and keep up to date.

This is a podcast recording of the ISA's Facebook Live broadcast of Wine Wednesdays. Please note that some promotions offered during the live broadcast are not offered to the participants listening to the recording. We can, however, assist you if you wish to find out more information regarding ISA events, contests, or consulting offers. Just reach out to info@networkisa.org and we will be happy to help.

Join ISA staffers Max Timm and Felicity Wren for our regular Wine Wednesdays Facebook Live broadcast sponsored by the Nickelodeon Writing Program. We'll talk screenwriting and take your questions about the ISA and the art, craft, and business of writing screenplays, all while enjoying a nice glass (or two) of wine.

Subjects and themes change from week to week, so stay tuned for the live broadcasts that occur on most Wednesday evening at 7:00pm Los Angeles time. For a specific schedule and set of announcements, "Like" the ISA Facebook page and keep up to date.

“Mother!” is too much allegory and not enough story.

Director Darren Aronofsky has a great track record making dark character studies (“The Wrestler”, “Black Swan”), but the characters populating his latest film are more symbolic than human. His script for “Mother!” may seem to be telling a story about a young woman whose tranquil life with her husband is disrupted by a mysterious couple, but it’s supposed to be a biblical allegory about the torment of Mother Earth. The movie’s first half plays like a horror movie, but the preachy pretentions of the second half ruin the scary fun and make for the most confounding film of the year so far.

“It” is a runaway hit, but it should have been truer to Stephen King.

Did “Stranger Things” help pique interest in the similarly-themed “It” and make this new Stephen King adaptation a runaway hit? Perhaps, but the film stands on its own merits with sharp performances by its young cast, a ton of creepy set pieces, and a clever exploitation of an audience’s fear of clowns. Still, this big screen version of the 1986 bestseller could’ve been better. It makes some basic horror movie mistakes – why do characters always get separated after they vow not too? – and moving the time period up three decades destroys some of its naiveté. Yet, its theme about conquering fears is a winner, no matter what year. And you know its eventual sequel, when the adult versions of the children return to battle the clown again, is sure make a killing too.

“Twin Peaks” ends with a confounding but fitting finale.

Anyone who was looking for straight-forward storytelling from Showtime’s revival of “Twin Peaks” should have looked elsewhere. Filmmaker David Lynch loves complex dream worlds and his series finale was equally astounding and confounding. Since they wrote the original series together back in the early 90’s, Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost have defied many conventions of screen narrative. This revival was no different, mixing tones, leaving plot strands dangling, and leaving lots of room for interpretation. “Twin Peaks” was more than just the odyssey of FBI agent Dale Cooper (a never better Kyle MacLachlan), it was an interactive television experience requiring its viewers to make their own conclusions.

Did “Game of Thrones” finish season 7 with more craft than cunning?

“Game of Thrones” is a worldwide phenomenon and that’s due to its involving storylines, superb cast, and state-of-the-art production values. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have done an incredible job in their adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s sprawling novels even if this season lost a bit of the magic. The battle scenes and acting remained enthralling, but some of the characters seemed to lose their cunning. Worse, the show’s plotting often strayed towards the convenient and hastily expedited as it gears up for its eighth and final season. Still, this epic series puts most television and film fare to shame. And its commentary on power, abuses of it, and what truly are the spoils awaiting the victor always give fans a lot to talk about. No wonder it averages 2 million Tweets per episode!

EXCERPT FROM THE PODCAST:

"...For all its many structural problems, Atomic Blonde does succeed in its extraordinary fight sequences for the same reason that Iron Man succeeds: because the writer knows that guns are no fun.

If Iron Man is going to work, you’ve got to get him out of the all-powerful suit. And if Atomic Blonde is going to work, you’ve got to get the guns out of the hands of both the good guys and the bad guys. Because the guns are just too darn easy to use-- too darn easy to kill with-- if they’re used properly.

Exciting action sequences don’t come from having the all-powerful weapon-- but from having the challenging weapon; having the knife, having the high heel, having the hand to hand combat, having the object that isn't meant to be fought with.

So if you want to write a great action sequence you’ve got to make the most of every location and every object inside that location.

Look at the location of your scene and ask yourself; what are all the objects that are available to you? What are all the objects that have never before been used in a fight sequence? And how can you use those objects in the wrong way? How can you surprise the expectations of the characters?

How can you force the character to show who they are, to show their own ingenuity, to show their own badass-ness?

You almost need to think of each of these challenging locations like a video game set--where each location comes with its own unique challenges, own unique pitfalls, many, many exciting ways to die-- and where everything is either an aid or an obstacle to the character getting what they want. Where every object gets used in the wrong way in order to create the most exciting action sequences possible..."

Something clearly was lost in translation adapting “The Glass Castle”

Sometimes sprawling novels covering decades of time are too gargantuan to be contained in a two-hour film. Such is the case with “The Glass Castle.” While the film adaptation of Jeanette Walls’ 2005 memoir about her tempestuous childhood means well, and contains strong work from Woody Harrelson and Brie Larson, it fails to adequately portray the complexities of her dysfunctional family. What was expansive and detailed on the page gets lost in translation with too many unanswered questions about characters’ pasts. Additionally, three actresses playing Jeanette at various stages makes it difficult to connect with her, and too many flashbacks sink the momentum of the story. It’s a noble try, but confounding in all that’s missing.

20th anniversary of “L.A. Confidential” proves the neo-noir stands with the best.

“L.A. Confidential” garnered great reviews when it opened in 1997 and 20 years later, its place among the top tier of film noir is unquestioned. Filmmaker Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland adapted James Ellroy’s sprawling 496 pages and turned it into a shrewd 138-minute film. Their Oscar-winning screenplay truncates the 1950’s story, but never shortchanges character or suspense. Aided by a superb cast, including Kevin Spacey, Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe, a topnotch Jerry Goldsmith score, and A+ production values, the film daringly tackled issues of race, corruption and police brutality. It’s as relevant today as it was in the pre-Civil Rights 1950’s or the post- O.J. 1990’s.

SYS Ep 180 - Tom Hines

Tom Hines talks about his years working with director Garry Marshall.

SYS Ep 179 - Bob Shultz

Bob Schultz talks about two of his latest projects and how he got the scripts produced.

SYS Ep 178 - Lee Jessup

Lee Jessup talks about her new book, Breaking In, and offers advice to writers who are trying to break into the business.

“Episodes” is premium cable comedy that bites the Hollywood hand that feeds it.

Hollywood is all too easy to satirize with its egos, greed, and test audience malarkey, but the sitcom “Episodes” turns it into an art form. Creators David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik know the crazy world of show biz all too well and never miss an opportunity to rip the studio system a new one. They also know how to write hilarious characters, witty and wicked banter, and sublime running gags. Plus, they gave Matt LeBlanc his best role yet – that of Matt LeBlanc, albeit a ribald riff on the veteran “Friends” actor. About to start its fifth and final season, this co-production from Showtime and BBC 2 is one of television’s meanest and funniest shows ever.

The ISA's Max Timm hosts a series of interviews with board members from NYWIFTV, discussing all elements of the entertainment industry from producing to screenwriting, to marketing and content creation for the digital space. The ISA is thankful to New York Women In Film and Television for granting us time with their board members in order to provide insight and education for all creatives within the ISA membership.

We look forward to more collaboration with NYWIFTV in the future, and if you would like to learn more, click the link below:

www.nywiftv.org

Read More About Casper Wong:

S. Casper Wong is a New York based filmmaker, technology lawyer, social entrepreneur, activist and Founder/CEO of OO Media. Her documentary feature debut, The LuLu Sessions, has won 10 international awards and nominations in every major category, including Audience Award, Best Feature Documentary and Best Director. Its US broadcast premiered on PBS’s World Channel as part of the America ReFramed Documentary Series. She received a Humanitarian Award from the SASS Foundation for Medical Research along with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in recognition for her film’s social impact on the complexities of breast cancer. She is the Founder and Creator of the Peace Pod Project, a multi-media, multi-platform dedicated space for facilitating peace and reconciliation between 2 people.  She has directed and produced co-productions in China since 2005 and most recently, serving as the studio executive for Roger Corman's first co-productions.

Casper’s work has been screened on the international film festival circuit.  In the US, her work has been broadcast on PBS, the Independent Film Channel, Syfy Channel and as part of Tribeca Film Institute’s curated Reframe Collection. She is a two time winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Screenwriting Grants; a New York State Council on the Arts Grantee; a Creative Capital Artist Summer Institute Fellow; Sloan Fellow at the Hampton’s International Film Festival Screenwriter’s Lab; a nominee for the Directors Guild of America’s Best Student Film; the winner of the Special Jury Award of the Golden Horse at the Taipei Film Festival; as well as a frequent panelist and moderator for film conferences ranging from science in film, diversity in film, to co-productions with China.

Prior to receiving her MFA in Film Directing from NYU, Tisch School of the Arts, Casper was Senior Attorney for IBM General Counsel in Silicon Valley, specializing in international intellectual property and antitrust law. Casper also holds a J.D. from New York Law School, and is the first woman to receive a B.S. in Bio-medical Engineering from Columbia University. She had been counsel for the IBM's corporate diversity initiative, is the Founder and Chair of Asian American Women Media Makers, and is currently on the Board of Directors at New York Women in Film and Television.

The ISA's Max Timm hosts a series of interviews with board members from NYWIFTV, discussing all elements of the entertainment industry from producing to screenwriting, to marketing and content creation for the digital space. The ISA is thankful to New York Women In Film and Television for granting us time with their board members in order to provide insight and education for all creatives within the ISA membership.

We look forward to more collaboration with NYWIFTV in the future, and if you would like to learn more, click the link below:

www.nywiftv.org

Read More About Rosalind Murphy:

Rosalind Murphy is a Producer and Media Consultant for film, television, theater and art organizations. She specializes in Audience Development, Branded Entertainment and Partnership Development. Rosalind is on the board of New York Women in Film and TV and Vice President of Programming Committee.

Rosalind co-produced SimonSays Entertainment Theater Workshop “Good Bread Alley’, film feature “Dope Fiend”, short fIlm “In Black and White" and marketing consultant on TV Pilot “Black Rose”. Rosalind received the Microsoft Diversity Inclusion Award for developing the innovative “Women Executive Passion Forum" for Fortune 500 Executives.

The ISA's Max Timm hosts a series of interviews with board members from NYWIFTV, discussing all elements of the entertainment industry from producing to screenwriting, to marketing and content creation for the digital space. The ISA is thankful to New York Women In Film and Television for granting us time with their board members in order to provide insight and education for all creatives within the ISA membership.

We look forward to more collaboration with NYWIFTV in the future, and if you would like to learn more, click the link below:

www.nywiftv.org

Read More About Kathryn O'Kane:

Kathryn O’Kane is a director and producer with over 15 years of diverse experience in television, advertising, and web media. She has produced shows for ABC primetime, Discovery Channel, ESPN, The Sundance Channel, and USA Network and provided content for such distinguished clients as NASA, IBM, Gucci, The Rockwell Group, Ford Motor Company, Nike, Gillette, Budlight, and Grey Goose Vodka.

Kathryn’s strength is telling character-driven stories working with both verité and interview-driven approaches. She has crafted narratives as diverse as “Mission Juno” documenting NASA’s probe to Jupiter, the award-winning “Oprah presents Master Class” the flagship series for OWN, and “Talking Dead” the hit show for AMC. Recent commercial projects include assignments for United Airlines, SAP, and the Carolinas Healthcare System.

Having started her career supporting democratic initiatives in Latin America, Kathryn first learned the power of messaging while organizing election observations in the Dominican Republic with President Jimmy Carter. She now seeks to bridge cultural differences through art and storytelling.

Kathryn is honored to serve on the board of directors of New York Women in Film and Television to support the careers of women in the entertainment industry. Her commercial reel is part of #FreetheBid, which advocates on behalf of women directors for equal opportunities to bid on commercial jobs in the global advertising industry.  She is also a member of the Emmy Television Academy.

EXCERPT FROM THE PODCAST:

“...This week, we’re going to be talking about a whole bunch of movies, but they all have one thing in common. They all have more than one main character.

There’s a lot of debate about the question of whether new screenwriters should even attempt to write scripts with multiple main characters. 

There are even some famous gurus who say that “multiplot” structures are just plain bad and that nobody should ever write them.

It’s a good thing nobody ever gave Robert Altman that advice or we would have missed out on a whole chapter of film history! 

We’d also have missed out on a lot of other hugely successful movies, The Squid & The Whale, Little Miss Sunshine, Crash, The Shawshank Redemption, The Usual Suspects, The Godfather, Dead Poets Society, American Beauty, True Detective and the entire library of Quentin Tarantino.

And at the same time, there are genuine risks when we break point-of-view and start telling a story from the point-of-view of multiple main characters..."

“Annabelle: Creation” fails to conjure a great story or enough scares.

Ostensibly the fourth installment in “The Conjuring” horror franchise, “Annabelle: Creation” tells the origins story of the scary doll from ghost hunters Ed & Lorraine Warren’s showroom. This outing has some decent scares, but it doesn’t have a great deal else to recommend it. While the previous three films created strong characters and unsettling dread, this one feels too paint-by-numbers. The characters are underdeveloped, most of the frights are predictable, and the story even loses faith in the demonic Annabelle. When the evil spirit moves on to a crippled girl, a nun, and even a scarecrow, you know this frightener is toying with its premise as well as its audience.

The raucous and raunchy “Girls Trip” shows surprising heart and depth.

R-rated films like “The Hangover” and “Bridesmaids” set the standard for modern comedy raunch, and “Girls Trip” proudly displays its outrageous comic ribaldry. What’s surprising is how much heart this film has as well. The script concerning four college friends reconnecting on a girls’ trip to New Orleans is written by women and it shows. All of the main characters are complex, they’re in their 40’s, and each has a unique arc. And the story doesn’t blanch from confronting issues of infidelity, fertility and faith. It is a surprisingly rich and deep film, especially for one that does such naughty things with a grapefruit and banana.