How Godzilla and Sinbad were lost, and other tales

July 7, 2008 12:28 PM

After a lengthy hiatus, Terry Rossio is once again writing columns on screenwriting and other aspects of the film trade for Wordplayer (previously). New articles include a dissertation on the use of dramatic irony, a fascinating story about a single vacation photo and the strange twists of life, and an insider's look into how good stories get killed, and which battles are worth fighting.

Terry Rossio is one half of a writing team with partner Ted Elliott. They are the team behind Alladin, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Shrek, but also, as they will sadly admit, behind Godzilla, Treasure Planet, and The Puppet Masters. Rossio's stories of dealing with both successes and failures are compulsively readable and enlightening as to what goes into making a film from the ground up, and how it can so easily fall apart.

posted by Navelgazer (18 comments total)

These are some really good columns. Thanks for the find.
posted by never used baby shoes at 1:02 PM on July 7

airways, I'm having the same problem with every single link when using IE 6, FF 2.0 with NoScript enabled, and FF 2.0 with NoScript turned off.

No, I shall not email mail them the BLUE INFO and jump through hoops ("Try another ISP"?? WTF??) to see their site. What they hell do they have on their server that they have such a rickety, paranoid setup?
posted by maudlin at 1:18 PM on July 7

I get 404s on everything.
posted by dobbs at 1:20 PM on July 7

Wordplay is fantastic; I haven't visited in more than a year, so thanks for the reminder!
posted by Mister_A at 1:27 PM on July 7

excellent, thanks.
posted by bonaldi at 1:45 PM on July 7

works ok over here...FF 2.0

Thanks for the post!
posted by marxchivist at 1:56 PM on July 7

copying and pasting the link into a new browser seems to work. referral blocking?
posted by destro at 2:04 PM on July 7

(IN THE PICTURE IN THE PICTURE IN THE PICTURE IN THE PICTURE)

Love him or hate him, Stephen King definitely had an impact on the culture.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 2:07 PM on July 7

His is essay on trying to get a real Heinlein movie made is classic, I think of it every time I see a bad adaptation.
posted by beowulf573 at 2:18 PM on July 7

destro, I copied and pasted into IE and FF. Still didn't work. Maybe they just hate Torontonians.

The content sounds good, though. *presses face against the glass*
posted by maudlin at 2:30 PM on July 7

The article on there called "Never Wait" (sorry for the lack of a link; i can't access the site from work...) is one of the few things I've ever read that has actually helped me get my artistic butt out of the chair. In fact, Ive read it about 10 times. Clearly my butt needs a lot of inspiration.
But really, it's an awesome article.
posted by Ziggurat at 2:42 PM on July 7 [1 favorite]

Everything seems to be working now.
posted by mathowie at 3:17 PM on July 7

Thanks for posting this. I haven't checked his site in a few years but I remember reading it exhaustively after I first discovered it up until the point that the updates slowed. I often recall his "brain cloud" column when watching trailers for new movies.
posted by camcgee at 4:59 PM on July 7

This is by far the best resource on screenwriting anywhere, and I include all websites, all books, and the contents of the WGA library (at least of what I've seen). It's really a remarkable resource.
posted by kcalder at 7:27 PM on July 7

I read this site years ago and then one day I couldn't access it any longer - and still can't. Is it blocked outside the U.S.? What gives?
posted by crossoverman at 7:36 PM on July 7

Can't access it here either (Japan, Firefox).
posted by theyexpectresults at 8:15 PM on July 7

No access (Taiwan, Firefox).
posted by Poagao at 12:43 AM on July 8

For people having trouble accessing the site, I found this comment apparently from the site's webmaster:

Wordplay Webmaster [07-04-08]

Hi! Well, I might as well jump right in seeing as how this thread’s revived again:) First off, PLEASE do not use our IP address because doing so complicates troubleshooting. And now, here are a couple of access-related thoughts/tips… (#1.) Most people who have trouble accessing us see a special, private page with info and instructions. If that’s you, please read/heed the entire page, thanks! (#2.) A few people see, well, nothing. If that’s you, please e-mail me directly. (Chances are you’re in Australasia and the problem is related to firewalls and such between your ISP and ours.) If you can’t reach me via [ webmaster at wordplayer dot com ], please use [ k86469tp7ry at networksolutionsprivateregistration dot com ]. Finally, to everyone, PLEASE simply e-me rather than post here so I can help you directly and privately. Thanks! -Annie (who is just passing through)

posted by camcgee at 10:20 AM on July 8