Film School

I'm the King of the World! This week, we dive into James Cameron's epic-in-the-classic-movie-sense love story. It made both Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet a star, and it features one of the most …

Josh and Ira take a deep dive into the Action Story Genre. What makes an Action Story? And how similar is it to the Hero's Journey...or perhaps even the SAME THING? We go deep, this week on the Cutti…

1960s counterculture gets its definitive film in '69's "Easy Rider." It was a breakout film for Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, and written and directed by Dennis Hopper...at least that's what Hopper wo…

Genre. It's the absolute #1 MOST IMPORTANT THING you can ever decide for your story. It informs eevveerrryyyything else. So...what IS genre, then? And WHY is it the most important thing for storytell…

You can't'a fool me. There ain't no Sanity Clause! The Marx Brothers kick off their tenure of pictures at MGM with this zany musical comedy that features such classic scenes as the Stateroom Cabin, a…

This week, Josh and Ira discuss the tools and techniques they use to find new ideas, and how they keep their inspiration going during the day-to-day grind. Where do you get your best ideas?!

Tom Berenger IS reality, folks. At least he is in Oliver Stone's intense, over the top, disturbing take on Vietnam which was released in 1986. The 80s, man; where more was more and the cocaine and st…

How can that person have done that thing we can't do? And, at such an early age?! We've all been there. Comparing ourselves to others can be so toxic...but then again, how can we improve ourselves wi…

Jury duty: it's the nightmare for every working man and woman in America. But, what if it's also the pillar of our entire justice system? Henry Fonda offers a gripping story centered around the latte…

Ya boys share their love of both reading books in audio form, and of the amazing writer Phillip K. Dick and his classic short novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Audio is a GREAT way to read, …

Leopards, and loons, and lunatics, oh my! Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant star in this truly, breathlessly fast "screwball" comedy. It's all pratfalls, bits, and vaudeville; an era and a style of co…

If time travel is to ever be invented, at least the time travel we imagine in our stories...would we know about it? Ira shares an epiphany he had on the subject, and Josh talks about how he's always …

He sees dead people. ALL THE TIME! This week, the AFI Top 100 list brings us our first entry that could be classified as an out-and-out horror. It's M. Knight Shyamalan's classic "The Sixth Sense" st…

Old movies feel like Disneyland. This, and many, many epiphanies are brought to you by the black and white classic romance Swing Time with the lanky, debonaire Fred Astaire and the drop dead gorgeous…

Journaling, blogging, a diary; however you want to classify it, both Josh and Ira have found sitting down at the end of every day and taking a few minutes to write down their thoughts and feelings fo…

Meryl Streep is the eponymous Nazi death camp-survivor in Sophie's Choice. It's not a good choice; spoiler alert. It never is when Nazis are involved. If you want voice over, secrets, very young Kevi…

We're funny? FUNNY HOW?! Martin Scorsese is in the house, dropping what could arguably be considered the greatest mob/gangster movie ever made. Joe Pesci took home an Oscar for his role as Tommy, whi…

New York Detective "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) and his partner (Roy Scheider) chase a French heroin smuggler. And believe us, it's *a lot* of chasing! Can the Hack-man and the Roy-boy get the baddi…

“Write every day!” We’ve all heard the advice. How many of us have tried it and failed? How many of us are feeling shame RIGHT NOW because we have (or are currently) neglected the project we're worki…

BIG. KAHUNA. BURGER. Pulp Fiction is one of the most iconic, impactful, most-quotable movies ever made. Like few other films in history, it inspired a generation of filmmakers and screenwriters. The …