Free Republic

This week’s Fun Fact comes courtesy of Rep. Adam Schiff, who shared in his New Yorker profile that not only is he a movie buff (and often quotes “The Big Lebowski”), but also he writes screenplays on the side. There seemed to be more than a tinge of regret in the California congressman’s voice when he recalled the story of his first screenplay, a pre-Holocaust story called “Remnant.” “I had an agent at William Morris tell me it was good but no one would want to see it — too depressing,” he explained. “Then ‘Schindler’s List’ came out, and I...

If you’ve gone to the movies recently, you may have felt a strangely familiar feeling: You’ve seen this movie before. Not this exact movie, but some of these exact story beats: the hero dressed down by his mentor in the first 15 minutes (Star Trek Into Darkness, Battleship); the villain who gets caught on purpose (The Dark Knight, The Avengers, Skyfall, Star Trek Into Darkness); the moment of hopelessness and disarray a half-hour before the movie ends (Olympus Has Fallen, Oblivion, 21 Jump Street, Fast & Furious 6).

"The Little Contest with Big Hollywood Connections." MONTEREY, CA - Valuable Hollywood contacts are being offered in the 9th annual Monterey County Film Commission "Hollywood Connections 2004 Screenwriting Competition." A nationally recognized jury of film industry professionals will judge the final selections in the contest. Three winning scripts will be read by leading film industry professionals including Joel Freeman (producer, Shaft) and Michael Hertzberg (producer, Entrapment). Each of the top screenwriters gets the opportunity to meet with at least two of the judges in Los Angeles, and receives valuable film industry exposure for their screenplay. Other awards offered in the...