More than EVER, we need good storytellers. Put a human face on The Other. Shed light on a Deeper Truth. Engender Empathy. Fan the flames of Hope. Motivate people to Act. Make us Laugh. Make us Cry. Make us Thrilled. Make us Think. But mostly, make us feel our Shared Humanity.

Remember when everyone could agree Nazis and Pedophiles were bad? I miss those times

Go Into The Story Interview: My conversation with Geoff LaTulippe whose original screenplay "Going the Distance" made the 2008 Black List and was produced in 2010 starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long. medium.com/go-into-the-story… #movies #screenwriting

Claudia Cardinale reading a screenplay. #movies #screenwriting

In 1970 Stanley Kubrick sent a letter to James Aubrey at MGM threatening to stick a femur bone up his ass if he dared fuck with Kubrick's masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey. I have no doubt he was 100% serious. Kubrick was certainly one of the directors--and maybe the GOAT. What the great directors, and all great artists, have in common is this: they care more abut their art than life itself. They will inflict pain, they will maim, and they will put their lives and the lives of others at risk. AND (I suspect) they'll even kill. But that's why they're top-tier. Because very few people have this sort of love and compulsion for their work. It's not like they can turn it off. They're compelled to create at ANY cost. You may say (in job interview for example) that you're "passionate" about your work. And you may say you're "dedicated". But you're not passionate dedicated like Kubrick. And you're not going to make a movie as good as his movies, because you don't have that passion. This is probably for the best. These people (despite their carefully crafted public personas) generally aren't happy or well-adjusted and you probably have a shot at a normal fulfilling life. So take the easy route man. But if you have that compulsion for greatness, then you'll know. When your art is threatened you'll act like a mama bear protecting her cubs--or a femur wielding Stanley Kubrick. To outsiders this looks like insanity. And it IS insanity. But it's funny how the public forgives insanity in service of art. Early in my career I had the pleasure of working with one of the all time great cinematographers (aka a "DP" or Director of Photography). He did huge movies, had a fist full of Oscars, and was very nice and decent person--that is until somebody fucked with his art. If something wasn't perfect, like a lighting stand peeking in the corner of the shot, he'd scream (in his Mexican accent) "YOU RUIN MY ART!" and storm off set. One day we were shooting a house exterior. There was a power line running into the house from the utility pole on the street. It connected right at the peak of the roof, and it was fucking up the DP's composition. He asked the producers to get it removed, but they said no for budget reasons. So this guy took a pair of bolt cutters from the grip truck, then fired up the Condor (a boom lift), and went up to cut a live power line. Me and the crew are on the ground. We're all screaming variations of "DON'T DO IT YOU'LL DIE!" And he's shouting back "YOU RUIN MY ART I'LL FUCKING DO IT YOU RUIN MY ART!" This wasn't a bluff. We knew he was serious. He was willing to take his own life to get a perfect shot. He had to do it. Because that's what being an artist means. Again, this guy was The Best. He was the GOAT. He was GOATED not because of some drive to succeed, but because he couldn't help himself. He couldn't NOT put his life at risk for his art. Everything he made had to be perfect, no matter what the cost. The producers knew he was serious too. So (at great expense) they delayed production by a few days, got the power line removed, and eventually he was able to get his perfect shot. This is a good lesson if you ever find yourself working with serious artists. They don't like it when someone fucks with their art. In fact, they can't HELP but not like it. And they'll do seemingly crazy things to protect it. That's how you know that they're serious about their work. And if you aren't serious about helping them protect the art, then maybe you should find another profession. But whatever you do--no matter what--don't fuck with their art. Because you might get a femur shoved up your ass.

If you want to better understand the journey the Democratic Republic of Congo took to get here, I had the pleasure of writing about it in Vanity Fair a few weeks ago... vanityfair.com/culture/story…

Page One: "The War of the Roses" (1989), screenplay by Michael Leeson, novel by Warren Adler

Rob Meyer: “It’s easy to spend a lot of time worrying about how other people are doing, why you’re not succeeding. That stuff’s a real enemy to making it.” #screenwriting

Jim Tully: “You will either write or you will not—and the only way to find out whether you will or not is to try.” #writing

2025 was a great year for two graduates from my screenwriting program: The Quest. Greg Wayne made the Black List for the 2nd time. Brandon Cohen sold 2 spec scripts. If you're serious about screenwriting, check out The Quest. gointothestory.blcklst.com/t… #screenwriting #writing

40 professional screenwriters, best-selling novelists, and academics endorsed The Protagonist’s Journey. "An essential read." - Brad Ingelsby. "A masterclass." - David Guggenheim. "A gem." - Meg Gardiner. "A special book." - Shane Salerno. tinyurl.com/4ewysjyw #screenwriting

Bernard Malamud: “First drafts are for learning what your story is about.” medium.com/go-into-the-story… #writing #screenwriting

I love WC matches like this. Against all odds, underdog manages a tactical 0-0 draw. Some Americans are like, "But nothing happened. What's the point?" The point *is* the point! It's a lesson our country needs to learn: Sometimes a tie is a win.

books are so cool because there are NO FUCKING ADS IN THEM

Curry Barker’s advice for studios trying to cater to Gen Z: “I wish they understood that we’re tired of slop. We want good movies back. People are still hungry for movies that are original without some big IP, as long as the story is good.”

I couldn’t find a current, comprehensive visual map of who owns Hollywood in 2026, so I made a cheat sheet.

Page One: "Under the Bed" (2017), teleplay by Daniel Myrick, story by Richard Halpern

Rob Meyer: “Even in an indie film it’s important to have a logline that 70 to 90 percent of people are going to perk up, and say, ‘That sounds kind of cool.’ Indie films are as much at the mercy of having stuff that sounds good in a pitch.” #screenwriting

🌃 Chicago skyline tonight

The funny thing about this is that Genesis 9:12-16 is about how the rainbow represents God’s covenant with ALL LIVING CREATURES OF EVERY KIND ON THE EARTH. If anything, they’re emphasizing their Christian God’s love for the LGBTQIA community without even realizing it.