Hossein Amin wrote the screenplay (based on the book by James Sallis) with such sophistication that it actually appears very simple, while director Nicolas Winding Refn’s long takes and unique aesthetic provide such a cinematic breath of fresh air. Anyway, here’s my four-line review in the form of a poem:
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Drive was uniquely deliberate;
Sporadically violent, too.
David S. Goyer, the writer of so many great projects (and some not-so-great movies), talks extensively about how he got into the industry and how he progressed as an artist — evolving from the screenwriter of a Van Damme B-movie (Death Warrant) to one of the architects of one of the most successful and critically acclaimed film franchises in recent history (Batman Begins).
There are some writers (“hacks!”…ahem) who pen their stories based on other people’s work. You know who they are, the scribes whose work seems derivative of other people’s movies, TV shows, novels, video games, or comics because…well…they are derivatives. Unoriginal. Hackneyed.
And then there are real writers who pen stories based on reality. On human experiences. Or in the case of sci-fi writers, on real science. Damon Lindelof has done that. He co-created TV’s Lost, produced the recent reboot of Star Trek, and has written the upcoming Alien prequel Prometheus.
It’s no surprise then that he interviews Ray Kurzweil, well known futurist, about the flaws of Hollywood sci-fi movies and other real-world aspects all writers should know about. Check it out:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/risky-business/sxsw-2012-damon-lindelof-ray-kurzweil-297218
Director Alexander Payne and his co-writers Jim Rash and Nat Faxon won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, a feat that wasn’t that much of a surprise considering all the buzz for The Descendants. Or was it?
Did you expect it to win? Who among the nominees did you think or want to win? Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin for Moneyball? John Logan for Hugo?
Ehren Kruger (writer of The Ring films and the Scream and Transformer sequels) recently scored a deal with Disney to write the screenplay that was originally based on the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland.
Apparently now it’s going to be a much broader adventure movie. That’s great news, considering any movie based on a concept as limited as an amusement park ride usually turns out poorly (see Eddie Murphy’s The Haunted Mansion) — The Pirates of the Caribbean notwithstanding, of course.
So what’s your take on the deal?
From a writer’s perspective, I think this is great for Ehren. He’s a strong writer I’ve admired since Arlington Road. And though I refuse to recognize the Transformers sequels and I consider them abominations that have ruined my childhood love for the toyline, I know he had to appease many more corporate heads than just director Michael Bay. And I really enjoyed Ehren’s Imposter, even though it didn’t get much play at the box office or with critics.
Check out the full story at http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-matterhorn-ehren-kruger-brian-beletic-293843.