20 Questions Film » Biographical

Inspiration: Coppola’s Meticulous Preparation For ‘The Godfather’

Mads Black — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 20:50:33 +0000

You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone arguing that The Godfather is a masterpiece. But what makes it so? The story, perhaps. The characters, surely. The drama, the performances, the cinematography… But the source, if you will, of all of these things, may very well be found in the way Francis Ford Coppola prepared himself for his massive undertaking – and more specifically, in his ‘Godfather notebook.’

In case you missed it, check out the breakdown of Coppola’s notes for The Godfather on No Film School. It’s truly an inspiration to see how meticulously Coppola prepared his script by breaking down every single page of the source material; analyzing, jotting down ideas, dissecting each and every beat of each and every scene.

Did you do this on your last shoot?

For a mildly OCD person like myself, it’s incredible to see how strict methodology can inform the creative process.

Learn From Hollywood’s Golden Age

Mads Black — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 19:57:02 +0000

Veteran talent agent Budd Moss has one or two stories to share from his 55-year (and counting) career working for and with some of the biggest stars of Hollywood. In his new book – Hollywood: Sometimes the Reality is Better than the Dream – he dishes up anecdotes from the Golden Age of cinema, but it’s not all celebrity gossip; there’s a lesson to be learned from looking at the past.

To promote his book, Budd Moss (coincidentally the agent of Constance Towers; one of The Storyteller‘s cast members) guested Larry King Now, which you can see below. He recounts how stars were made by passionate people with a vision, and he acknowledges how embarrassingly (his word) hard it is for today’s actors to even get considered for a bit part in a TV show.

So what’s the take-away from this? In my opinion, that they’re still out there. The good guys. The people who wants you to succeed and who wants to see movies made because of the magic, not because of the YouTube views. And that’s a comforting thought for young filmmakers.

WATCH: From Acting to Screenwriting – And Why It’s Important To Create Your Own Stuff

Mads Black — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 17:39:16 +0000

If you’re not entirely creatively fulfilled in what you’re doing, why not take matters into your own hands?

That seems to be the mantra that led actress Nicole Duport to sit down and take a stab at writing. The result, the series BURNS, is a hilarious look at a trainwreck of a girl who just wants to be her own goddamn awesome self.

BURNS is not yet available for your viewing pleasure, but instead Nicole was kind enough to talk with us about the process of creating her own show and what she’s learned.

Check out Nicole’s credits and be sure to check back for more videos soon. May we suggest subscribing to our newsletter?

WATCH: Finding The Job You Love As A Filmmaker

Mads Black — Sat, 30 May 2015 02:09:05 +0000

We’ve yet again had the immense pleasure of talking to a talented and insightful filmmaker as part of our 20 Questions Film video interview series. This time we’re talking to Actor/Director/Screenwriter – and occasional 20 Questions Film contributor – Rachel Noll about how to figure out exactly what it is you love to do in a creative business as diverse as film.

Rachel is an independent filmmaker, screenwriter and actress living in Los Angeles. Her feature film, Don’t Pass Me By, is available worldwide, and her short film, Paramnesia, just won BEST SHORT at the LA Thriller Fest and is available as part of the acclaimed collection Fun Size Horror on all the major streaming platforms. She’s currently in development on several independent features and scripts, so keep a watchful eye.

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The Joe Crump Story

Joe Crump — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 03:42:38 +0000

Joe Crump graduated from Film School in 1981 from Columbia College in Chicago. Moving from Chicago to Los Angeles, he worked in the movie industry for the next 6 years as a Grip, an Educational and Industrial Film scriptwriter, and as part of a camera crew for CNN Chicago Bureau.

Joe joined the now defunct NABET union and over that 5 year period, he wrote 12 feature length screenplays. An executive at 20th Century Fox saw one of Joe’s scripts, gave him a call and ultimately, put the script in development. However, after about a year of development and rewrites and deals that didn’t quite happen, it finally sputtered and died.

Deciding to make enough money to make his own movie, Joe got sidetracked for about 20 years and ended up building a successful real estate investment business. This has afforded him the financial stability to begin investing in his own projects, opening up a world of creative possibility.

Joe recently co-directed the Emmy Nominated, PBS aired documentary “Children of Internment” with his sister Kristina Wagner. He has launched the production company “20 Questions Film” and founded a filmmaker blog by that same name. He and his company are working on a slate of feature films that will be going into production in the next 12 months.

Download the free e-books Joe has written. These “rather lengthy” articles will teach you the lessons learned from building businesses and making money and how it relates to filmmaking.

How To Pay For Your Film
- How to get enough money to make a film without begging or losing control of your project.
You can get this e-book here.

How I Built An Opt-In Email List Of 50,000+ Followers
You can get this e-book here.

You only have to opt-in once to get both free e-books.