With close to 30 years experience in the business, Nick Kazan knows a few things about screenwriting. He has mastered research skills to write scripts based on true events like Frances, At Close Range, Patty Hearst and Reversal of Fortune, which earned him an Oscar nomination. He has the knowledge of handling life after the nomination and how to manage studio notes and incorporate changes without weakening the script. He has the expertise of directing his own script, Dream Lover and writing with a partner, including a collaboration with his wife Robin Swicord on the adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic, Matilda. And on top of all that, this seasoned professional offers insight as to why he doesn’t do lunches, what it takes to develop screenwriting muscles and why life is always a comedy. This is an excerpt from the full interview, available on DVD at TheDialogueSeries.com .
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Complete video at: fora.tv Dustin Lance Black, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of “Milk,”cites the influence of Harvey Milk on his decision to come out as an openly gay man. —– While in college in the mid-90’s, Dustin Lance Black first viewed Rob Epstein’s documentary The Times of Harvey Milk. He thought, “I just want to do something with this, why hasn’t someone done something with this?” A chance introduction to the late supervisor’s former aide and disciple Cleve Jones brought Black into the circle of Milk’s political family where he met with another of Milk’s former aides, Anne Kronenberg, as well as former San Francisco Mayor, Art Agnos. It was then he began to write a feature film screenplay encompassing the events of Milk’s life. Mr. Black grew up in a Mormon household in San Antonio, Texas. In 2000, he wrote and directed The Journey of Jared Price, a romance film, and Something Close to Heaven, a coming-of-age short film. In 2001, he directed and was a subject in the documentary On the Bus about a Nevada road trip taken by six gay men. In 2006 he was hired as the only Mormon writer on the HBO drama series Big Love which is set in Salt Lake City and explores the life of a Mormon polygamous family – Grace Cathedral Dustin Lance Black is a screenwriter, director, and film and television producer best known for his work on the television series Big Love and the 2008 film Milk. He is the recipient of the 2009 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Milk.
Video Rating: 4 / 5