✍🏼 New Akira Anime. Lulu Wang's New Groove
RELATIONscript ADVICE: How Novelists Can Too Become Screenwriters
✍️ Writer’s Quotes to Live By
“I think about the audience in the sense that I serve as my own audience. I have to please myself that way, if I saw the movie in theatre, I would be pleased. Do I think about catering to an audience? No.”
– Shane Black
✍🏼 Lulu Wang Steps Aboard ‘Children Of The New World’
Writer-director Lulu Wang is coming off of rave reviews for her second film The Farewell and she has set up her next project, a science-fiction movie titled Children of the New World. Plot details for the new project are under wraps, but Wang has signed on to write and direct an adaptation of Alexander Weinstein‘s short story collection Children of the New World.
Going from the indie drama territory of The Farewell to a sci-fi flick seems like a big jump, and that’s exciting.
It’s great to see a new prominent writer director on the scene who is telling original stories.
Lulu’s The Farewell opens July 12th.
✍🏾 Akira anime is coming to TV
Legendary manga artist, comic writer, screenwriter and animation director Katsuhiro Otomo, notoriously known for his selectiveness updated his fans on what’s to come.
The short of it: a new feature film, Orbital Era; a 4k Remastering of Akira the 1988 cyberpunk classic; and a new incarnation of his best-known creation, Akira.
In May, Warner Bros. slotted “Akira” for a May 21, 2021 release date The live-action “Akira” movie will be directed by Waititi and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.
As well as remastering the original anime, Otomo will begin work on a sprawling TV adaptation of the original manga series. The new project will not feel the need to condense the entire story from the books into a single hour episode, and will be expansive innaturee.
Otomo also announced a new science fiction film titled “Orbital Era,” and follows a group of young space colonists as they live in one of humanity’s earliest attempts to live among the stars.
Sunrise and Otomo released a series of short teasers in relation with the two new projects at the Anime Expo. Here is a first glimpse at the “Akira” 4K remaster:
And the first official teaser for “Orbital Era”:
🚨RELATIONscript ADVICE🚨:
How Novelists Can Too Become Screenwriters
American novelist Fred Waitzkin ( Author of Searching For Bobby Fischer & Deep Water Blues) described the pains of writing a screenplay. He went into detail on how he attempted to take an idea for a screenplay based on rave culture, and adapt it to screenplay format.
After many failed attempts he realized he wasn’t crafting a screenplay, but a glamorized book filled with flashbacks and exposition.
(*Pro tip: Authors love flashbacks)
Fred approached a film producer who liked his idea, and so began his career as a screenwriter. After a solid draft he sent it to his producer friend, Alex Twersky, who said he wrote a compelling story, but it wasn’t a screenplay.
More like a story or short novel.
He learned that his script was weight down too much with exposition, something we appreciate greatly in books, but dread in films.
He drafted notes from screenwriter and coach, Laura Cahill.
In summary Laura hit him with the amazing notes:
Got to keep the the story moving ahead, Laura explained. Moviegoers are impatient with flashbacks.
No long stage directions, she coached. Actors and directors don’t like them. Very short sentences. Again and again she crossed out Alex’s beautiful descriptions.
Keep the story rolling forward or you’ll lose your audience.
Don’t drown a terrific story in descriptive writing. Keep it taut and moving ahead like a riveting film.
I honestly think if you apply these notes to your upcoming draft they’ll gel more cohesively. As of this moment Fred is currently shopping around the script with his producer Alex, the learning curves for novelists jumping into screenwriting is deep.
You can read the entire journey here:
And so “The Rave” went through a second, third and fourth draft… Until Alex finally agreed we had a screenplay and it was time to start shopping it to studios.
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