Sometimes you just need to up the cute.
Thank god for this movie. I loved the first one, and I love this one too. I’m far removed from high school, and cannot even relate to a massive public school, (Catholic all-girls school here), but this brings me back to all those good fuzzy feelings without any of the ‘oh god I hate this place’ feelings that I got from my actual high school.
Continue reading ➞ Gremlin Watches: To All The Boys: PS. I Still Love You
God, I was looking for a podcast and ended up on one that was recapping the oscars (Ringer’s ‘The Big Picture’), and then one of them said that Endgame was a good movie, and I just had to turn it off.
Am I wrong? I don’t really understand how someone can call Endgame a good movie. It was up for best SFX, but even those were just flash. It had an infinite budget, but there was nothing original or interesting about their effects at all.
And the story sucked; it was completely out of character for each protagonist, it was filled with weird callbacks for the audience that didn’t hit nearly as well as they could’ve if they were well written, and the entire time travel thing was poorly executed at best.
I used to be a real MCU fan, but I literally just dropped it after Endgame. That’s the sign of a bad movie if nothing else. I’m still mad about it because I was invested in those characters and those stories and the payout was just trash. I’m still a big Captain America fan, but really only the fandom version of him now; his ending was completely ruined.
God even the costuming and hair/makeup wasn’t good or in-character. I just can’t.
Honestly, I’m of the opinion of ‘take it or leave it’ when it comes to the Oscars. The Academy isn’t out of touch per se, but as a female screenwriter, I feel left out to say the least. Obviously the dream is to win an oscar; that’s the American film industry thing, but there’s a part of me that’s convinced I may never get there because of the way women and POC have been snubbed in the past. This year was no different of course, but there were a few great flashes.
And because I like fashion, I’m starting off with fashion. Because fashion is fun.
What happens when a chemical imbalance affects an average girl?
Horse Girl is a journey into the world of psychotic depression from a relatable standpoint. Alison Brie’s detached character Sarah is pretty freaking normal; then something not so normal happens to her.
This show sucks. This show sucks so bad; don’t watch it.
That’s it, that’s the review.
Okay, no it’s not it, but that’s really all there is to it. Going over the writing, characters/characterization, and acting (and literally every other metric you can conceive) we’ll delve deep into the suckiness of this show.
Something I am guilty of doing in my screenplays and have to actively fix in later drafts of work is over-directing the actors. Adding too many ‘umm’s and notes. Not the worst no-no in screenwriting etiquette, but not a great look for anyone. It’s a habit that makes sense; you know how the scene is supposed to play out in your head, and writing it with every pause and tone clearly marked is comfortable and safe. Arguably it’s great for a first draft! There is no misinterpreting your words and meaning. Except that’s the problem, isn’t it?
(Betsy the Gremlin is a self-appointed Dialogue Doctor. Everyone says she’s good at writing dialogue and by gum she wants you to be good at it too! This post may contain affiliate links; I earn a small commission that helps support this blog when you purchase through these links at no cost to you.)
Continue reading ➞ Leave the actors alone! Writing scripts that actors love!
(Betsy the Gremlin is a self-appointed Dialogue Doctor. Everyone says she’s good at writing dialogue and by gum she wants you to be good at it too!)
Something I am guilty of doing in my screenplays and have to actively fix in later drafts of work is over-directing the actors. Adding too many ‘umm’s and notes. Not the worst no-no in screenwriting etiquette, but not a great look for anyone. It’s a habit that makes sense; you know how the scene is supposed to play out in your head, and writing it with every pause and tone clearly marked is comfortable and safe. Arguably it’s great for a first draft! There is no misinterpreting your words and meaning. Except that’s the problem, isn’t it?
Continue reading ➞ The Dialogue Doctor; Leave the Actors Alone
I’m struggling a lot with what I want to write for my Nicholl Fellowship screenplay. I don’t feel confident enough in my old stuff to work from those, but I literally am having no ideas as to what to write for something new.
The early submission date is in 32 days. (I can wait longer and do regular or late submission, but it costs more).
As of right now, my brain is bouncing three subpar ideas around in my head;
That’s it. I don’t hate any of them, but they’re not giving me the passion I once had with writing, ya know? But maybe I just don’t have that passion anymore because I’m older and wiser and jaded. And I’m feeling a little gun-shy because the response I got back from my AFF coverage, while good, said it wasn’t the most original story. So now I’m wracking my brains trying to come up with something original.
Either way, writing is still hard. To win the Nicholl Fellowship would be a huge deal, and the fact is the story idea itself needs to be original, plus the dialogue and writing needs to be perfect. Even then it’s a long shot. I don’t anticipate this is going to be my year, but I want to submit nonetheless — this is my career, this is what I’d have to do to get noticed in my field.
Back to the drawing board.
I just finished the second season of the knockout hit, Shrill, and boy howdy am I happy about it. The first season was kind of life changing for me, and for a lot of the fat community; Lindy West’s creation and Aidy Bryant’s brilliant performance was the first time I’ve ever seen someone like myself on screen.
This is the first installment of my very not-finished Potter Project, where I go through each chapter of the first Harry Potter book and try to find a way to translate it into a decent screenplay scene. This article focuses on chapter one and starting the proposed film at a different point than with the Dursleys.
If we break this down, one third of this project is light academia — looking at a text and interpreting it — while another third is practical; practicing for the sake of practicing — taking that interpretation and making it a viable screenplay scene as a thought exercise.
The final third is that I’m a nerd with some free time.
Betsy the Gremlin
Part two will be posted eventually, but for now, check it out here. ↙️
Betsy the Gremlin 