Media Arts: Screenwriting

This week we will be working on our first screenplay so each day at the beginning of class we'll take a look at a screenwriter and learn a bit about how they work.  Today we'll be looking at Rob Reiner who began his career as an actor winning an Emmy on  All in the Family then started Castle Rock producing, directing, and writing films like  Stand by Me, When Harry Met Sally..., The Princess Bride, This Is Spinal Tap and A Few Good Men.  Here's an interview I did with Rob this summer: Tim Needles interview with Rob Reiner.

Tomorrow we'll be looking at Tales from the Script a documentary about screenwriting featuring clips from Frank Darabont and William Goldman among others.

Media Arts: Screenwriting

We are beginning our screenwriting unit in media arts class and here's a short interview with Oscar winner Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash, Letters from Iwo Jima) that gives some perspective on the process and the realities of screenwriting.  We are also going to take a look at the SKYPE in the Classroom talk that our media arts students had with screenwriter and Smithtown East alumni Kevin Bisch earlier this year, below is a short clip from the talk.