Private Detective Visser (V.O.): The world is full o' complainers. An' the fact is, nothin' comes with a guarantee. Now I don't care if you're the pope of Rome, President of the United States or Man of the Year; somethin' can all go wrong. Now go on ahead, y'know, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help, 'n watch him fly. Now, in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else... that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas, an' down here... you're on your own.
Visser (M. Emmet Walsh), Blood Simple (1984), written and directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
The Daily Dialogue theme this week is notable voiceover, suggested by Jeff. Blood Simple suggested by Lee Matthias.
I've been a screenwriter since 1987 when Universal Studios bought and produced K-9, a spec script I co-wrote. Other movie credits: Alaska (1996), starring Thora Birch, and Trojan War (1997), starring Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Currently, I'm an Executive Producer with Distillery Pictures. In my spare time, I teach screenwriting at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and online through UCLA Extension, receiving the Writer's Program's Outstanding Instructor of the Year award in 2005.
Awhile back the night before I started writing my next screenplay, on a whim I asked my three-year-old son if he had any advice. He looked at me with his huge blue eyes and without hesitation said, "Go into the story, and find the animals." I laughed -- pretty funny. Over time, however, I've discovered wisdom in my son's words. As writers, we do, indeed, go into the stories we create. And the animals? How about characters, plot, theme, dialogue, subtext, and all those other mysterious, magical creatures prowling in the jungle of our imaginations?
I've been an online instructor through UCLA Extension Writer's Program since 2002. This blog is largely in response to students who wanted to continue our conversations about the creative process. I offer it as a resource to them and any other aspiring writer, especially those interested in screenwriting and the magic of movies.
So let's go into the story... and find the animals!
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