When I was a very young writer people told me I was talented. I thought that meant I was basically done and all I had to do was write. Eventually, I figured out that is not how things work and began to educate myself...
With a current score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes – a rare feat for a rom/com – screenwriters Adele Lim (TV’s Lethal Weapon, Reign) and Peter Chiarelli (Now You See Me 2, The Proposal) tackled a mountain of characters from a trilogy of books to write Crazy Rich Asians. Chiarelli says the process was painstaking.
But as more summer blockbusters get made, and as audiences get more savvy, writing a screenplay that will feel satisfying on screen becomes more difficult. Luckily, I was able to sit down with all three of The Meg’s writers to talk about the challenges of both meeting and subverting the audience’s expectations.
It might surprise you to know that movies like Saturday Night Fever, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Adaptation, Boogie Nights and The Fast and the Furiouswere all based on newspaper or magazine articles. Sometimes art can imitate life and lead to big box office.
The Spy Who Dumped Me is an action/comedy film, one of the most difficult genres to get right. I sat down with writer/director Susanna Fogel to discuss the challenges of adding thrills and kills to the laughs.
