The Sunday papers

I don't keep up with the Sunday papers like I should--it's reading, therefore, it's Research--but a couple of stories in today's Trib made the effort worthwhile. One is a keeper, an article about the growing problem of heroin addiction in the suburbs that stood out because of the writing and the photographs. The writer, John Keilman, wrote primarily about one family's struggle with two addicted children. His descriptions of addiction itself and the effect on friends and family--yes, it's been written before, but I still think this article was well done.

The other article, by Jessica Reaves, discusses author David Kipen's contention that screenwriters, not directors,"are the geniuses behind the best films ever made." Kipen is a fan of the great screenplay, and he discusses a few, including those he believes were ruined by the director. I also liked what little was mentioned concerning the second-class citizen status of the screenwriter, including this observation:

"Look, they're complicit in their own marginalization, but it certainly wasn't their idea. Maybe if they could be prevailed upon to think less cynically of their own gifts, things might start to change."


I may get this book just so I can indulge my Hollywood history jones.

Registration required.

The Sunday papers

I don't keep up with the Sunday papers like I should--it's reading, therefore, it's Research--but a couple of stories in today's Trib made the effort worthwhile. One is a keeper, an article about the growing problem of heroin addiction in the suburbs that stood out because of the writing and the photographs. The writer, John Keilman, wrote primarily about one family's struggle with two addicted children. His descriptions of addiction itself and the effect on friends and family--yes, it's been written before, but I still think this article was well done.

The other article, by Jessica Reaves, discusses author David Kipen's contention that screenwriters, not directors,"are the geniuses behind the best films ever made." Kipen is a fan of the great screenplay, and he discusses a few, including those he believes were ruined by the director. I also liked what little was mentioned concerning the second-class citizen status of the screenwriter, including this observation:

"Look, they're complicit in their own marginalization, but it certainly wasn't their idea. Maybe if they could be prevailed upon to think less cynically of their own gifts, things might start to change."


I may get this book just so I can indulge my Hollywood history jones.

Registration required.