From The USC School of Cinema-Television: In his commencement address to USC's graduating film students, veteran screenwriter Frank (Cat Ballou, Dog Day Afternoon) Pierson laments the corporatization of Hollywood and rallies the troops: "We need writers with ideas and passion, who write with force and conviction . . . . They must be centered in their feelings and ideas in the culture and society, not in comparing grosses and applauding computer-generated ballets of violence."

Sunday, June 29, 2003

 

From Time: What makes Larry (Gelbart) run? The veteran screenwriter and playwright (M*A*S*H, Tootsie, City of Angels) says he's learned the hard way to keep multiple projects on the go: "Each one is sort of a fire escape to the next."

 

From The Independent: It's hard to tell what British playwright Tanika Gupta is most irritated about, in this bracing (and good-humored) interview: working in television, being pigeon-holed as an Asian writer, or plays with too many men in them.

 

From The Boston Globe: We wish we shared Ed Siegel's faith in the academy. The Boston Globe critic recaps a season rich in new plays, finds it -- not surprisingly -- a bit uneven, and concludes that more university playwriting programs are the solution. Give us, as they say, a break. How about accepting that, when it comes to new play development, failure is just another part of the process -- and makes the successes all the sweeter?

 

From The Kansas City Star: Screenwriter Alex Garland revives the zombie genre in 28 Days Later: "Whether you call it a homage or just ripping off is all semantics to me."

 

From Breakpoint.org: Charles Colson (who those of you of a certain age will remember as one of the "stars" of Watergate) argues persuasively that Hollywood almost always portrays Christians as sick and twisted.

 

From The Associated Press (via The Arizona Republic): Playwright and screenwriter George (The Seven Year Itch, The Manchurian Candidate) Axelrod, R.I.P.: "I had a small and narrow but very, very sharp talent, and inside it, I'm as good as it gets."