Perspectives on screenplays

The Facts Behind Great Fiction

Lisa Rosenberg    Oct 4, 2011    
The path to authentic storytelling lies in research.
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  • Avoiding Turbulence Leads to Plot Trouble

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Jul 19, 2011

    Note to screenwriters: Don’t defeat the promise of your story by pulling your punches.

  • Bold Moves, Peril Define Great Third Acts

    Lisa Rosenberg
    May 10, 2011

    The best advice for creating the perfect Act III? Surprise yourself.

  • Poetry in Motion: Working in Action

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Mar 1, 2011

    Build an action picture with a poor script? At your own risk.

  • Writing Screenplays Is not Painting by Numbers

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Nov 30, 2010

    When structuring a screenplay, sometimes you need to leave the "advice" behind.

  • Subtext: Catching the Drift Beneath the Dialogue

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Aug 3, 2010

    Memorable lines of dialogue are like the tips of icebergs, floating above vast, submerged mountains of character history, and more.

  • Childhood's Richness on Film

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Mar 23, 2010

    When a child assumes center stage on film, the potential for both thematic richness and unexpected plot directions increases exponentially.

  • Carmen Madden on Watching People, Writing Characters

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Nov 16, 2009

    Writer/director Carmen Madden's writing reflects just how intimately she comes to see and know a screenplay's world and the characters that inhabit it.

  • The Importance of Supporting Characters

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Oct 13, 2009

    Beyond Words: The people who back up the main character are often key sources of revelation, unmasking aspects of personality, motivation and backstory.

  • Understanding Backstory

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Aug 25, 2009

    Behind any narrative for the screen is the story that came before it—the life that shaped the central character, who arrives fully formed as your story opens

  • Beyond Words: Comedy That Sticks

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Jul 7, 2009

    What's the key to writing comedy that sticks with us, despite perhaps an overblown story line or how lost and low-down the characters seem at the time?

  • The Hero, Deconstructed

    Lisa Rosenberg
    May 18, 2009

    Beyond Words: Linda Rosenberg explores the transformation of the contemporary film hero in Doubt and In Bruges .

  • Character, Stripped to the Bone

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Apr 7, 2009

    Chop Shop , and Frozen River , present challenges in the building of character: attention to details of behavior and shifts in the character's world signal a hero's journey both profound and deeply internal.

  • The Alchemy of Adaptation

    Lisa Rosenberg
    Feb 19, 2009

    Beyond Words: To pull off an adaptation, you must translate the unwieldy bulk of the original story into a breathing and transformative tale on screen.

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  • Nov 3, 2011
    Thursday

    Shoot Online: "Bodega Goes Bicoastal, Opens San Francisco Office Under Exec Producer/Partner Clint Goldman"

    "Bodega, a New York-based content creation/production company, has extended its reach Westward with the opening of a San Francisco shop headed by executive producer/partner Clint Goldman." More at shootonline.com.

  • Nov 1, 2011
    Tuesday

    Napa Register: "Napa Goes Big Right out of Film Fest"

    "After whetting local appetites through a successful soft launch last year, 91 films are now listed in the 2011 Napa Valley Film Festival program guide. Those films—many of them short—will be played on 12 screens throughout the Napa Valley, including screenings in Calistoga, Yountville, St. Helena and the city of Napa." More at napavalleyregister.com.

  • Nov 1, 2011
    Tuesday

    Daily News: "Animator John Lasseter to Recieve Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame"

    "John Lasseter, the chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, will receive the 2,453rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today," reports Daily News Wire Services. More at dailynews.com.

  • Oct 27, 2011
    Thursday

    Balboa Theatre Saved: SFNTF Partners With Gary Meyer to Keep Theatre Open

    Press release: The San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation announced today that it is partnering with Gary Meyer to keep the City’s historic Balboa Theatre (1926) open and to develop a sustainable long-term plan for the theater. The Theater Foundation also announced it has reached an agreement to lease the theater through 2024—securing the future of one of San Francisco’s oldest operating cinemas. More at sfntf.org.

  • Oct 24, 2011
    Monday

    San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Announces New Executive Director

    Press release: The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival announced its new Executive Director: Lexi Leban, who begins working with the festival November 7, 2011. A longtime member of the Bay Area film community, Lexi has worked in all aspects of film, from production to distribution. She’s also worked with numerous film festivals, including the Mill Valley Film Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival, and the Global Social Change Film Festival in Bali. Lexi is currently Academic Director of the Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program at the Art Institute of California, where she built the department from its inception. Her most recent feature documentary, Girl Trouble, which follows young girls in San Francisco’s juvenile justice system, aired on PBS’s acclaimed series Independent Lens in January of 2006, and won Best Bay Area Documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival. More at sfjff.org.


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Good Government<br />Producer Hilary Armstrong and director Sascha Rice were at San Francisco Film Society |... Artist in Residence<br />Uruguayan director Federico Veiroj, who arrived in San Francisco for a two week residen... Bienvenuti<br />Bingham Ray, executive director of SF Film Society, Fabrizio Marcelli, consul general o... Lolz<br />Guest programmer Jay Wertzler presented 'Anthropomorphlolz,' a collection of weird-cent... Opening Night Glitch<br />Director Eric Leiser used a canny hybrid live action/animation approach in ‘Glitch in t... A Guitar, a Drum and a Bat<br />One of the highlights of Cinema By the Bay was the live performance of a new score for ... Revealing the Price of Sex<br />Editor Stephanie Challberg, director Mimi Chakarova and cinematographer Adam Keker were... Sci-Fi Stuff<br />Director Sam Burbank, with SFFS programmer Audrey Chang, screened his debut narrative f... Filmmakers Feted<br />SFFS and San Francisco Film Commission hosted the Cinema By the Bay Filmmaker Services ... Let It Rain<br />Joshua Moore’s feature film directorial debut, 'I Think It’s Raining,' featuring a mesm... Vive La France<br />Denis Bisson, French cultural attaché, Rachel Rosen, San Francisco Film Society directo... Right On<br />Ling Woo Liu, director of the Korematsu Institute; Emil De Guzman of the San Francisco ... Pro-Labor, Pro-Pluto<br />Director Travis Wilkerson, right, with Sean Uyehara of San Francisco Film Society, was ... Under Suspicion<br />Reporters from the Center for Investigative Reporting presented video, audio and animat... Counting Crows<br />Kim Aubry of ZAP Zoetrope Aubry Productions and codirectors Kris Samuelson and John Hap... Legacy of Rin Tin Tin<br />Korey, a three-year-old German Shepard and his handler, Dez Murray, coordinator of dog ... The Awesome Eye<br />Local filmmaker Soumyaa Kapil Behrens (left) screened a compilation of films about ways... Docfest Turns Ten<br />Docfest celebrates its tenth year as one of the city's top independent film festivals a... Teachers Answer Back<br />Codirector/editor Brian McGinn (left) and producers Ninive Calegari and Dave Eggers off... Berlin is Back<br />Sophoan Sorn, festival director, and Sabine Erlenwein, festival president, presided at ...
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