After the holidays here are the last few posts that i really liked at the end of the year.

Teasers in movies by Alex Epstein

Is it really necessary to have a sequence just to tease the rest of the movie?

Screenwriting structure part 8: Structure vs. Genre by The Unknown Screenwriter

Don´t mistake genre with structure, while a movie most of the time works in some kind of frame within the genre, that does not mean that almost every movie in that genre should be the same.

The solution to talkiness isn´t less talk by Alex Epstein

When someone tells you that your script is too “talky” it doesn´t necessarily mean that there is too much dialogue in it.

Anatomy of a Press Kit — TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES by The TVAddict

FOX really knows how to promote a new series, a great idea for a press kit.

Verbs by Alex Epstein

A great post on how to use active words in screenplays. I really like this theory, if you direct a movie you should also communicate with active verbs, so this method also works for screenplays. If you want to read more about this approach i would heavily recommend the two books from Judith Weston: Directing Actors and The Film Director’s Intuition: Script Analysis and Rehearsal Techniques.

The future, AMPTP style by Alex Epstein

Another interesting post about why screenwriters are on strike.

At the gates of Paramount by John August

There is a reason why writers became writers, this is a great speech John August held at the gates of Paramount.

An Open Letter To The Film Industry by Clive

2008 could probably be the year for indie filmmakers, it´s quite about time, and as much as the studios suffer from the writers strike this could also be a benefit for independent moviemakers.

Screenwriting structure part 9: Your first 10 pages by The Unkkown Screenwriter

This topic is probably one of the first advices for aspiring screenwriters, get the reader within the first 10 pages.

Don´t write at starbucks by Ken Levine

To sum this year up a really funny post about writers vs. posers.

Well, this pretty much was 2007, enjoy the last days of the year and spare some energy for the new one. 2008 is promising for me, a lot should happen and a lot could happen, i´m looking forward and i hope you are as well!

As The One Ring just states “The Hobbit” will go into production with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh as Executive Producers.

I´ve been waiting for this announcement since the beginning of the LOTR trilogy, and i really hoped that Peter Jackson would be in charge again, the trilogy is a cinematic experience that probably can only be topped by “The Hobbit”.

I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world.

So the shooting should begin in 2009 and the first of the two Hobbit films will be released in 2010, and two years are not that far away.

I´m very eager to watch the development process of these movies.

Sunday evening season 2 of Dexter was wrapped up with the ingenious episode “British Invasion”.

In my opinion Dexter is one of the most exceptional and outstanding series ever, the characters are so well constructed, deep and disrupted. Almost everyone has to deal with tremendous personal flaws and weaknesses, and like in no other series the character development is overwhelming.

In the first season Dexter found out who he is, why he became this unique person, his origin. In the second season Dexter was confronted with who he is, his dark side and he even found a person who he can talk to, who understands him.

To quote the TV Addict, the last episode
was an incredibly satisfying finale filled with TiVo-worthy character moments for virtually every one of our favorite Miama cops.

I´m really curious what the next season will be about, i decided not to order the books because i don´t want to spoil the experience of watching the third season.