Elmore Leonard

Show Don't Tell

Nice little instance here of how much you can tell by showing. This is from an Elmore Leonard novel called Swag, about two armed robbers who devise a list of ten rules to successful armed robbery, but start breaking those rules and shit gets real. This here is the introduction of the cop who's on their tail when the proverbial shit is really getting real. From the character taking a simple sip of coffee we learn where he works, the type of office he has, and that he likes coffee.

It's not a long description, it's short, punchy and to the point, delivering the essential information snugly wrapped around the action of drinking coffee.

Elmore Leonard is a don of crime fiction, for seedy but sumptuous characters, dazzling dialogue, and unexpected story turns, he smacks it every time. Tarantino owes him big - his flair for dialogue, as well as Jackie Brown outright, and Pulp Fiction watches like three short stories written by Elmore Leonard. This isn't to take anything away from Tarantino obvs, it's just interesting to know where the masters got their influence from.

The Symmetry of Wes Anderson

Kogonada's doing his thing again, this time highlighting Wes Anderson's penchant for symmetry. It's just one of the elements that contributes to the auteur's cinematic style but the neat little montage shows how perfectly balanced his compositions are. Initially, this approach seems to go against the rule of thirds - the guideline to composing visual images that are naturally pleasing to the eye - however it's only vertically that Wes Anderson's symmetry eschews the rule, horizontally it often still adheres to it.

Wes Anderson // Centered from kogonada on Vimeo.

Kogonada's videos are wonderful gems that typically focus on demonstrating directors' thematic style, including the sound of Darren Aronofsky, Stanley Kubrick's one point perspective and Tarantino from below. They're all worth watching and here's to hoping he makes more.

The Bitter Script Reader

The Bitter Script Reader, AKA Zuul the Gatekeeper, has been reading scripts in Hollywood for nearly a decade and he's here to help you avoid the common mistakes. His blog's a great resource but it's his YouTube channel where the real fried gold lies. It's a veritable cornucopia of script writing advice, the short videos are rarely longer than a few minutes so you can have a quick binge while at work, or waiting for a bus, or having a pooh. And the '12 Step Screenwriting' strand provides a structured plan, that if adhered to, you'll have a first draft of your script finished in 3 months.

Using a puppet helps personify the tips and information and puts a face to the amusingly grumpy and irreverent tone. The BSR also interviews industry pros, from writers and showrunners, to producers and directors, and provides advice on breaking into the market, covering the LA scene as much as the value of pitch fests and networking. I've spent a lot of time watching and reading his great content, now if I just spend the same amount of time working on my script, maybe I'll actually finish it.