Comments on: How Godzilla and Sinbad were lost, and other tales

How Godzilla and Sinbad were lost, and other tales

Navelgazer — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:28:19 -0800

After a lengthy hiatus, Terry Rossio is once again writing columns on screenwriting and other aspects of the film trade for Wordplayer (previ ously). 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.

By: never used baby shoes

never used baby shoes — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:02:13 -0800

These are some really good columns. Thanks for the find.

By: maudlin

maudlin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:18:35 -0800

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?

By: dobbs

dobbs — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:20:32 -0800

I get 404s on everything.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:27:33 -0800

Wordplay is fantastic; I haven't visited in more than a year, so thanks for the reminder!

By: bonaldi

bonaldi — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:45:21 -0800

excellent, thanks.

By: marxchivist

marxchivist — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:56:48 -0800

works ok over here...FF 2.0 Thanks for the post!

By: destro

destro — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:04:01 -0800

copying and pasting the link into a new browser seems to work. referral blocking?

By: stupidsexyFlanders

stupidsexyFlanders — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:07:48 -0800

(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.

By: beowulf573

beowulf573 — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:18:01 -0800

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.

By: maudlin

maudlin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:30:42 -0800

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*

By: Ziggurat

Ziggurat — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:42:01 -0800

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.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:17:40 -0800

Everything seems to be working now.

By: camcgee

camcgee — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:59:57 -0800

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.

By: kcalder

kcalder — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:27:34 -0800

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.

By: crossoverman

crossoverman — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:36:29 -0800

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?

By: theyexpectresults

theyexpectresults — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:15:57 -0800

Can't access it here either (Japan, Firefox).

By: Poagao

Poagao — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:43:43 -0800

No access (Taiwan, Firefox).

By: camcgee

camcgee — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:20:12 -0800

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)