Particularity of plot.

There’s a concept in script-writing I’ve heard in television circles. Jane Espenson has touched on it in her blog, as has Alex Epstein. I’m sure it’s been described by others as well. That concept is to write to the show’s premise. In my head I started calling it the particularity of [...]

First thoughts on “True Blood.”

There was something to be said in favor of the first-person point of view in Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire series. The supernatural romance-mysteries are all told through the eyes and experiences of Sookie Stackhouse. She knows a lot about her community — being a “freak,” a telepath with little control over her ability, [...]

Alex Epstein explains it to me.

Thank you, Alex Epstein. Now I know why I won’t waste my time watching Fringe.
For those of you who don’t know, Alex Epstein is a writer. Not only does he write screenplays for both television and the big screen, he writes about writing. His books — Crafty Screenwriting and Crafty TV Writing — [...]

Not the hero, not the villain, but the furniture.

I have a confession; in all the many many times I’ve read the Lord of the Rings, I almost always skipped all the parts with Frodo and Sam off on their own. I read, instead, the tales of Gandalf and Pip, of Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Merry. Rohan and Minas Tirith.
There is a moment in [...]

Andrew Fleming’s Hamlet 2

I just saw Hamlet 2. This is one of the most skillfully crafted, well-acted, thoughtful movies I have seen in 2008.
Hamlet 2 is written and directed by Andrew Fleming. Andrew Fleming, it turns out, is the man behind one of my favorite dvd commentary tracks ever — he’s the writer, director, and dvd-commentator [...]