So we found out this week that the endgame to studios taking down all of the screenplay websites online was thay that they want to sell annotated scripts as ebooks filled with extras now. WB got the ball rolling this week with Inside the Script, offering annotated screenplay ebooks of classic films like Casablanca and An American in Paris.
I'm fine with that, but here is my problem: they claim that the screenplays are "authentically formatted", but they're not (at least not on the Nook samples). They retain no page structure and only some of the formatting. It's straight bullshit, and that's emphatically not what screenplay fans wanted.
I'm sure the extras are worth the money alone (the Casablanca extras are), but most aspiring writers and screenplay fans just want a formatted PDF that retains the original page and breakdown structure. That's all. So much of the craft of screenwriting (and filming screenplays) is based on pages, right down to eighths of a page. That's why PDF reigns in the screenplay world. I honestly have no idea why WB doesn't know this.
News, links, etc:
-You've no doubt heard by now that Beastie Boys and Oscilloscope Laboratories co-founder Adam Yach died of salivary cancer. It's a big blow, maybe more to the film world than the music world if Oscilloscope doesn't keep up with their excellent release history. Check out his top 10 from Criterion. It's a good list. Walkabout would be on mine too. (Criterion)
-China is at it again, threatening and censoring another filmmaker, this time Ying Liang, whose digital short for the Jeonju Digital Project (an annual collection of ~20 minute shorts by important directors sponsored by the Jeonju Film Festival in South Korea) about Yang Jia, who China executed after he went on a rampage at a police station, did not sit well with the government. (Edmund Yeo)
-Speaking of Chinese censorship, in case you weren't convinced that James Cameron was a total douche, you could read this Q&A: Q, "Did you talk to other filmmakers – your peers – about Chinese censorship?" A, "No. I’m not interested in their reality." (NY Times)
-Could Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity be this year's The Tree of Life or should we be tempering our expectations? (/Film)
-Here's a long read interview with Chris Chaney, the man who hacked Scarlet Johansson and Jessica Alba last year. (GQ)
-I can't help but think that all of the run up appearances to The Dictator are going to end up funnier than the actual movie, like with Bruno. This is hysterical though. Rough week for A.O. Scott. (Deadline)
-Take a ride on the 1940s IRT with Stanley Kubrick. (Museum of the City of NY Blog)
-We should be seeing Kick Ass II sometime next spring, and perhaps Kick Ass III if Chloe Moretz's genes cooperate growth spurt-wise. I don't know why that's an issue, but I never read Millar's original comic. (IFC)
-More of Emma Watson from Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring. Hermoine would not approve. (@EmWatson)
-Drew Struzan fan? The production of Drew: The Man Behind the Poster has run out of cash and is trying to raise $8k to get going again. It's a good cause if you could throw a few bucks their way. (IndieGoGo)
-Here's an interview with composer Philip Glass where he talks about scoring the Qatsi trilogy. (Fader)
-If this is true it certainly bodes well for Wreck-It-Ralph. (IFC)
-John Cusack's five favorite films are kind of disappointing. (Rotten Tomatoes)
-These reimagined posters are mostly boring but the Battleship and Prometheus ones are pretty good. (Next Film)
-We've (okay, I've) fallen in love with Mia Hansen-Love's work big time lately, and she announces her next film -- about the French house music scene in the 90s -- as well as her wonderful new film, Goodbye First Love (available now on VOD), and equally wonderful previous film, Father of My Children (available on Netflix Instant), in this interview. (The Observer)
-After almost a decade of talking and whinging about it, the Oldboy remake has a shoot in October, with Josh Brolin in the Oh Dae-su role. (/Film)
-Federico Fellini was a strange guy, and it seems like all strange guys will eventually get a biopic. (The Playlist)
-Cannes added 7 more films to their line up, though none are in competition. Familiarize yourself with Maniac (as its being remade) and Get the Loot (as it sounds pretty damn good). (Movieline)
-Are Jerry Jerry Dingleberry and LD doing another project together? (@jerryseinfeld)
-New worries about sensationalized moments in All the President's Men... from Ben Bradlee. (Daily Beast)
-Congrats to Winter Park kid Spencer Locke who was cast as Jane alongside Kellan Lutz's Tarzan this week, even if it is a mo-cap cgi film. (Deadline)
Trailers, posters, etc:
-The new trailer for the Sundance winning Beasts of the Southern Wild. (Apple)
-You may remember me whining about how boring the previous Amazing Spider-man posters were. This is more like it. (First Showing)
-Some photos of Emily Blunt and JGL from Looper. (The Playlist)
-The poster for the Linda Lovelace biopic with Amanda Seyfried (who replaced Lindsay Lohan). I still don't want to see it. (Coming Soon)
-A longer trailer for Sorkin's The Newsroom, coming soon to HBO. (YouTube)
-Disney XD's Tron: Uprising (aka Tron the Animated Series) trailer. (YouTube)
-The poster for The Possession is incredibly gross. (Orlando Weekly)
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