Comic book writer Greg Pak began a thread on Twitter about his process for writing comic books. The thread, still live as I write this, exploded over the next few hours. Pak detailed many, many steps of how he puts together a story. For aspiring writers of sequential entertainment, the thread is a must-read as it demystifies a little of the process.
Unlike film or theatre, comic books don’t have a lot of written-in-stone standards for how they are put together. Notable authors like Alan Moore sometimes simply write prose and let other people handle the breakdown into a script. Additionally, if you take a look at scripts from different writers, they all vary in style. Scripts and Scribes offer up some sample scripts from a variety of writers.
Also, writer and creator of 8-Bit Theater and Atomic Robo, Brian Clevinger, chimed in with his thoughts:
Even veteran writers found some useful advice in the thread. Indie creator and writer-for-hire, Ken Lowery, who is credited with writing dozens of books found something important in the thread:
A comic book store in St. Louis got in on the fun by stating what every aspiring comic book writer should do:
Greg Pak details A LOT more steps along the way, including:
Greg also provides a friendly reminder about the writing process, and perhaps, the creative process as a whole:
Follow @GregPak to read the entire thread.
As a very rookie comics writer, I can tell you that this was an insightful read. The process to write film, television, theatre, or comics books is different for each of us. However, understanding what others do may demystify some of the process and provide new ways to tell an even better story.
Are there any aspiring writers out there who would like to share their own process? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Add CBS to the growing number of networks who are reviving classic shows.
Not only is Murphy Brown coming back, it’s original creator Diane English and star Candice Bergen are returning as well!
According to Deadline, Bergen will reprise her role as the famous investigative journalist and TV anchor at the FYI network, as Murphy Brown returns to a world of cable news, social media, fake news and a very different political and cultural climate. The first season will consist of 13 episodes.
The show originally aired on CBS for 10 seasons from 1988-1998. It garnered 62 Emmy nominations winning 18 of them. Known for its political jokes, conversations about a revival began during the 2012 election year and restarted when Donald Trump became president.
No word on when filming will began. Are you looking forward to this revival? Let us know in the comments!
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that third Bill & Ted movie, Bill & Ted Face the Music, is still trying to happen. Three decades (give or take) after Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey, the Wyld Stallyns will hopefully return in an all new adventure written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon.
While the third film was announced a few years ago, news and buzz surrounding the project has waned to the point where most people forgot it was happening. It isn’t greenlit just yet, but it sounds like Ed Solomon and everyone involved is ready to go. This week, Solomon spoke to Digital Spy about the process, and he gave some detailed information about the story and the production itself:
“We have been working for almost 10 years to get this thing made; Alex Winter, Keanu Reeves, Chris Matheson, me… we have a director – Dean Parisot, who did Galaxy Quest– Steven Soderbergh is one of our producers. We have a wonderful assembly of people.
We have a script that we really are proud of, that we worked very hard on, that we’ve done many iterations of – and we did it on spec, meaning we spent years working on it because we wanted to get it right, creatively.”
Whoa whoa wait! Steven Soderbergh is on board as a producer? And Galaxy Quest director Dean Parisot is at the helm? Now, you have my attention.
The article gives a brief description of the story, saying Bill & Ted Face the Music “will see Winter and Reeves play middle-aged versions of Bill and Ted, who are now family men rather than young aspiring musicians.” That makes perfect sense, but this whole thing still seems so bizarre.
“We are having issues raising money for it,” Solomon said, “getting it financed, because what we get all the time – all the time – is people wanting to reboot it… but what we wanna do is the story of Bill and Ted as middle-aged men, and tell what we think could be a really funny, and actually really moving, story about their lives and where they are now – their families, their kids…”
It could work, and it looks to have a great creative team behind it, but Bill & Ted Face the Music still has an uphill climb to find funding. Let’s hope it works out, because who wouldn’t want to see this?
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is the Big Bang Theory of movies with its mass appeal and shallow cinematic depth, but the film is a box office beast raking in $771 million from a $90 million budget.
All this box office magic was done while competing against Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which is more than impressive.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Thomas Rothman the Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment would like battle Disney and Star Wars Universe again in 2019. The studio is looking to release Jumangi 2 during the Christmas Holiday in 2019, Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20, 2019.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was directed by Jake Kasdan from a screenplay by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Scott Rosenberg, and Jeff Pinkner. The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan.
No word on cast and crew for the sequel. Are you a fan of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle? Comment below.
Mission: Impossible 6 has had a few hiccups during filming. There was Henry Cavill having to film Justice League reshoots with his mustache (more an issue for Warner Bros., not Paramount), and there was Tom Cruise breaking his ankle in a stunt.
Despite any setbacks, Christopher McQuarrie’s second film in the franchise never left its July 27 release date. Now, we have an official title, and a super vague synopsis for M:I6, courtesy of Tom Cruise’s Instagram:
There is it. Now Mission: Impossible 6 is (*intense whisper voice*) Mission: Impossible – Fallout. If you thought that was vague, check out the synopsis McQuarrie and Paramount released:
The best intentions often come back to haunt you. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong. Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm.
That is literally the plot of every Mission: Impossible movie. Interchange names, and it fits for all five previous films. No big deal, we don’t really need a detailed layout of the plot. Just give us the kickass stunt work.
XYZ Films released a new trailer for I Kill Giants based on the Image Comics series by Joe Kelly and J. M. Ken Niimura, and oh boy, does the film look sweet.
Check out the Yahoo trailer below.
About the I Kill Giants: Barbara Thorson is your new hero. A quick-witted, sharp-tongued middle-schooler who isn’t afraid of anything. As the only girl in school carrying an ancient Norse Warhammer in her purse and killing giants for a living, why wouldn’t she be? I Kill Giants is the sweeping, bittersweet story of a young girl struggling to conquer monsters both real and imagined as her world crumbles at the feet of giants bigger than any one child can handle.
The film is directed by Anders Walter from a screenplay by Kelly and stars Zoe Saldana, Madison Wolfe, and Imogen Poots.
In 2014, Walter won an Oscar for his short film Helium, which is a compelling tale along the same lines as I Kill Giants. Kim Magnusson as producer of Helium shares the Oscar win with Walter. Magnusson won another Oscar as a producer in 1999 for Valgaften, and overall his short films have been nominated six times by the Academy. Magnusson will give producer magic touch to I Kill Giants as well.
I Kill Giants hits theaters and On Demand March 23.
What do you think of the trailer, are you excited for I Kill Giants? Comment below.
Geoff Johns definitely knew how to leave an audience wanting more. After their arrival on the DC Earth, Ozymandias and Rorschach split up to speak to the two greatest minds on Earth: Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor. Rorschach went to Wayne Manor and inadvertently stumbled upon the Batcave. Meanwhile, Ozymandias breaks into Lexcorp to talk to Luthor, which is a fascinating conversation to be sure. Before either Watchmen gains any leeway on their mission, both are interrupted. In the case of Rorschach, it’s Batman, returning from his nightly patrol. For Ozymandias, the interruption comes in the form of The Comedian, alive and well.
**Some Spoilers Below**
Story:
This issue follows the three paths the Watchmen characters have taken. Ozymandias takes on the Comedian, who reveals Dr. Manhattan saved him before his demise in the original Watchmen series. The villains Marionette and Mime get into a bloody brawl at the Joker’s bar, with the intent of taking on the Clown Prince. We also have Rorschach explaining his situation to Batman, as well as learn more about our new ink-blotted hero.
There is a lot to love about this issue. Readers get answers to some of the questions laid out in the first two issues as well as new questions to leave us guessing. We learn how the Comedian survived, but now ask what is the involvement of the JSA. We finally get clues on the background of Rorschach, but now wonder what will happen when the villainous couple face down the Joker. It’s questions and exciting setups like this that keep readers coming back and theorizing about the future of the series. This is written masterfully by Johns and harkens back to the original Watchmen series.
My favorite story to follow was actually the trouble Mime and Marionette got into. While it wasn’t the emotionally impactful story between Batman and Rorschach, their story turned out fun. Watching the pair of them tear through the Joker gang, especially with the reveal that Mime’s imaginary weapons are real, made me want to watch them. You’ll now have to wait a month for their next big fight with the Clown Prince of Crime.
Art:
Gary Frank brings his A-Game as usual, with Brad Anderson’s fantastic colors complimenting the illustrations. The biggest take away from the art is how there are clever transitions to each story. A prime example is when Rorschach is handing his predecessor’s journal to Batman, and the next page is Marionette and Mime taking each other’s hands. They are in the same position as the vigilantes, creating an interesting and creative transition between the stories.
Conclusion:
The series continues to raise intrigue with its expanding mystery. We have more questions along with answers to old ones and a pair of genuinely amazing fight scenes. The art team continues to impress with the imaginative transition between stories being the highlight of the issue. If you aren’t on board already, best jump on this story as soon as you can.
The title says it all as this is not a game, but an experience. You will be able to engage with your augmented reality environment, but you will not play it, like you would a video game. The project was revealed at Sundance Film Festival and will link up on the Oculus Gear VR headset.
The graphic novel was released in July of 2017 by Marvel. It’s a futuristic zombie-apocalypse thriller that ‘mixes L.A. gang culture, B-boy-ism and Egyptology’. The story tells a heroic tale of a hip-hop group, led by Zulu-X, from East L.A., which must battle an ancient alien god that was sent to Earth to continue a ‘Black Curse’ of turning drug dealers and gangsters into zombies. The book is meant to deliver a ‘powerful social allegory in the form of a new movement’.
Check out Will.I.Am.’s interview from Sundance on the project via TechCrunch.
The project was initially announced back in late October of 2017. For more on that, check out this article by Entertainment Weekly.
Filmworker is the story of Leon Vitali, the right-hand man of legendary filmmaker Stanely Kubrick who spent 30 years helping to create iconic films. If the idea of a documentary about a director’s assistant doesn’t sound appealing, then you’d probably be right in 99% of cases. However, Filmworker is about Stanley Kubrick, and nothing related to Kubrick is ever uninteresting. Rest assured, the story behind Filmworker is fascinating from start to finish and will only add to the mystique behind one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema.
“I always thought of Leon as a moth that was attracted to the flame. Stanley Kubrick was an incredibly bright light.”
Above any other form of entertainment, a major film production involves a lot of moving parts. Managing and leading those productions are directors, but few had the perfectionist vision of Stanley Kubrick. In 1968, young actor Leon Vitali fell in love with a film called 2001. Many film and TV roles kept Leon busy over the next three years before he watched another brilliant movie, A Clockwork Orange. Leon focused on getting an opportunity to work with Kubrick.
In 1975, after more successful work in TV and on film, Leon got a small role in Kubrick’s next film, Barry Lyndon. As the production went on, Kubrick took a liking to Leon. And Leon was enamored by the level at which Kubrick wanted to operate. By the end of production, Leon’s role as Lord Bullingdon had grown from minor supporting part to vital player. But it would also be the last major role Leon would ever play.
In the industry, Leon is known as a film-worker, or someone
who will do anything and everything for a production.
Over the course of his career, Leon learned the ins and outs of filmmaking. In the industry, Leon is known as a film-worker, or someone who will do anything and everything for a production. No task is too small or unimportant. It all functions to serve the whole.
After Barry Lyndon, Leon dedicated himself to being that film-worker for Kubrick. Over the next 30 years, Leon spent just about every waking, working minute with Kubrick. Leon was on set, preparing scenes, and also spent energy making sure that copies and dubs of the films were to Kubrick’s exact specifications. Leon served as an extension of Kubrick’s vision from production to distribution.
With a great skill all his own, director Tony Zierra guides viewers through the life of Leon Vitali. From a young actor with great talent and a promising career in front of the camera to the man who helped Kubrick create The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and Eyes Wide Shut. Leon’s dedication to the master filmmaker is both beautiful and supremely rare. In a world of egos, especially in Hollywood, Leon put his aside because he knew Kubrick’s work was the most important work.
Filmworker is a portrait of absolute dedication.
Through the documentary, we learn the parts about Kubrick we already knew. Kubrick’s obsession with detail, lack of patience for anyone that’s not 100% dedicated to the craft, and his tyrannical nature. However, Leon, above anyone else aside from perhaps Kubrick’s immediate family, knew the director best. The multitalented film-worker paints a more intimate picture of the renowned filmmaker.
Filmworker is a portrait of absolute dedication. Even after Kubrick’s death, Leon played a vital role in making sure that all of the director’s films were preserved to perfection. And we should all be thankful that. There is only so much time and attention to give people. Kubrick sucked up 99.9% of it. People like Vitali eschewed ego for art. In our cynical world, it may sound pretentious, but it’s that sort of dedication that truly makes the world go round. And with Filmworker, Zierra is highlighting that truth and, in turn, Vitali is getting the attention he so deserves.
We all remember the first-person shooter adaptation of Doom that came out in 2005, starring both Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Karl Urban. We feel like it deserved at least a sequel. The first-person camera sequence before the final battle between Johnson and Urban was epic!
Well, we could be in for more of that awesomeness, as WWE superstar and actor John Cena is in talks to portray Duke Nukem in a live-action film.
The professional wrestler is no stranger to the action-flick genre, having taken on starring roles in films like, The Marine and 12 Rounds, but has also taken on numerous roles in comedy. Namely, the Daddy’s Home franchise, from Paramount, which is at the forefront of a possible Nukem film, in conjunction with Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes studio. He is also tabbed to appear in its Bumblebee film, a spinoff of the Transformers franchise.
The video game franchise, whose rights belong to Gearbox, last released Duke Nukem Forever in 2011, but celebrated its 20th anniversary in October of 2016 with Duke Nukem 3D World Tour. The game follows military hero, Duke Nukem, as he seeks to save Earth from alien invasions. The title is best known for its graphic, gory gameplay and Nukem’s, “It’s time to kick ass and chew bubblegum … and I’m all out of gum.”, which is an homage to ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper’s character in John Carpenter’s They Live. The gaming studio is also responsible for popular shooters like Halo: Combat Evolved and Borderlands.
Reports claim the film is in the ‘early production stages’ as no director, producers or cast have been announced yet. It is unclear when the studio will get the ball rolling on the project.
If you are possibly new to FPS games or have never played this title, then we feel bad for you, but check out TehNevs play Duke Nukem Forever in a 4-part YouTube series below.
Helping the thread along was Kelly Sue Deconnick, the writer of Pretty Deadly and Bitch Planet (Image).
