I was very sorry to hear of the passing of Robert Carradine. He took his own life after years of battling bipolar disorder . My friend and I once saw him out at an L.A. restaurant. For whatever reason we introduced ourselves—we’re fans—and I remember him sweetly saying, “I’m Bobby” and shaking hands. He played the ultimate, iconic nerd in the Revenge of the Nerds films, but it was a total performance—I remember in person being struck at how cool and un-nerdy he seemed. The o

I like Christopher Nolan’s films, although I don’t spend days and weeks trying to figure them out. (I think even Nolan said Tenet is not supposed to make sense.) But this video on Inception does seem to provide the most conclusive interpretation about the ending: Well done, nerd!

I caught up with One Battle After Another and enjoyed it. It was a reminder how powerful it is when something is shot with real people on real locations. I’m sure there was VFX, out of necessity, but it was subtle. Nothing is more real than reality, especially when it comes to how cars, bullets and people obey the laws of physics.

What an outstanding cliffhanger on Pluribus last night! Now I am annoyed I have to wait over a week for the next episode. Meanwhile, Stranger Things season 5 premieres later today, in which the kids schedule their first colonoscopies.

I am enjoying The Chair Company as it approaches its season finale next Sunday. I admire that it’s one of those things that’s so execution dependent that even describing it doesn’t make much sense. It’s a domestic drama, character study, a conspiracy thriller, and an absurd comedy—with surrealist Lynchian flourishes. Good work! It’s also a reminder that you can kind of make anything work as long as it’s grounded in humanity. Make the feelings relatable and you can get away w

Pluribus by Vince Gilligan on AppleTV is an instant favorite for me. But watching the third episode last night, it feels like there is another shoe that has to drop. (Mild spoilers ahead—but not really.) The Borg on Star Trek: The Next Generation were such an awesome villain because they were so completely uncaring, monolithic and unstoppable. But the writers quickly found that writing a hive mind for a villain became boring. When the adversary is incapable of change as its

I only now watched The Hateful Eight (on Netflix) and after a slow start—yeah, I get it. I remember when Pulp Fiction was brand new. I...

The media landscape is so fragmented now I didn’t even know that the writer of Mare of Easttown (which I loved) has a new show on HBO...

I just want to say one thing about Alien: Earth . It’s a beautifully produced show. There’s a ton of cool stuff. But there’s one thing...

I rewatched 2010: The Year We Make Contact . I always liked this movie. It might be Peter Hyams’ best. Great cast, spectacular VFX, very...

I’ve been making daily posts on LinkedIn on screenwriting, because most people who read my blog here are my film music peeps. I sort of...

Anybody watching this? I feel it’s premature for me to share any thoughts. Post in the comments?

I rewatched The Firm and it holds up as a handsome suspense-thriller. But it’s a potent reminder that smartphones have killed the genre....

Is there anybody out there experienced with Wordpress who can help me finesse and expand a screenwriting related website I’ve started ?...

I trawl the Black List website from time to time looking for what might be good or trending. I like to see what’s out there, and find it...

Now that we’re done with the FSM 35th anniversary Kickstarter things have settled down and I can catch up with some of the press that...

Andor seems to be having a moment culturally, although it’s hard for me to tell if it’s real or just my social feeds serving up my pro-...

I was thinking this morning about how expensive Andor is. The reported budget for both seasons is $645 million . It is, thankfully, all...

Andor season two has been worth the wait. I watched the last of the available episodes, “Welcome to the Rebellion,” it’s a masterpiece....

The screenwriting website Coverfly announced they are shutting down later this year. This is on the heels of a bunch of their sister...