Shanee Edwards

Shanee Edwards graduated from UCLA Film School with an MFA in Screenwriting and is currently the film critic for SheKnows.com. She recently won the Next MacGyver television writing competition to create a TV show about a female engineer. Her pilot, Ada and the Machine, is currently in development with America Ferrera's Take Fountain Productions. You can follow her on Twitter: @ShaneeEdwards

Posts by Shanee Edwards 148 results

‘Playing with Fire’ writer shares his crazy 14-year journey from idea to screen

The new movie Playing with Fire is an adorable family comedy that stars John Cena, John Leguizamo and Keegan-Michael Key as a crew of rugged firefighters who meet their match when attempting to rescue three rambunctious kids. The movie is funny, heartfelt and features some of the best comedic talents around. I sat down with writer Dan Ewen ...

November 7, 2019

‘Greener Grass’ writers create a surreal comedy from painful identity

Greener Grass is a surreal comedy of manners, set in a pastel-tinted suburbia where best friends Jill (Jocelyn DeBoer) and Lisa (Dawn Luebbe) do social acrobatics to passive-aggressively impress each other. When Jill notices that Lisa likes her baby Madison, Jill gifts the baby to Lisa who renames her Paige. Later, Lisa becomes ...

October 25, 2019

Lucy in the Sky writers compare writing to surfing and talk about the missing diaper

You might remember a news story back in 2007 where NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak drove from Houston to Orlando, wearing a diaper, with the alleged intent of kidnapping an Air Force Captain involved in a love triangle. This bizarre story was the launching pad for the new film Lucy in the Sky. In the film, Lucy (Natalie Portman) plays a NASA ...

October 4, 2019

7 Insider Tips for Getting Into the Sundance Screenwriters Lab

The adorable new indie comedy Before You Know It stars Hannah Pearl Utt and Jen Tullock as sisters who find out their mother, played by Judith Light, isn’t dead, but alive and acting on a popular soap opera. The two women must overcome their biggest flaws and fears to rebuild their fractured family. Utt directs with a script by Utt and ...

September 2, 2019

Good Boys writers reveal the secret to making a great comedy

Good Boys is a hilarious comedy about three sixth grade boys who ditch school and embark on an journey to return their father’s precious drone after it’s stolen by some teenage girls. Part Stand by Me, part Ferris Bueller’s Dayoff, it’s probably the funniest movie of the summer.

August 16, 2019

Writer/director of ‘The Kitchen’ says go for that ‘bold, crazy idea’

The Kitchen, written and directed by Andrea Berloff, is based on the gritty, violent graphic novel by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle. We’ve seen many comic books get adapted into movies, but none like this. Set in the 1970s in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, three Irish mob wives, played by Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Hadish and Elisabeth Moss, decide to take over their husband’s operations when all three husbands are sent to prison.

August 9, 2019

Casey Affleck on writing and directing his mythic tale ‘Light of My Life’

Light of My Life is both a tender and terrifying film about a father (Casey Affleck) and his daughter called Rag (Anna Pniowsky) that is set in a post-apocalyptic America where a mysterious plague has killed off nearly all women. Rag is now 11 and to keep her safe, her father dresses her as a boy. It’s a good idea for now, but soon may be impossible as she gets older.

August 5, 2019

10 ‘Crazy Screenwriting Secrets’ for Writing for the Chinese Film Market

The new book Crazy Screenwriting Secrets: How to Capture a Global Audience by Weiko Lin does double duty. The first half of the book goes into detail about how 3-act film structure works, how to craft dynamic characters and how to break into the business.

July 17, 2019

Murder Mystery writer keeps the comedy grounded while channeling Hemingway

After writing such great action films like Zodiac (directed by David Fincher) Independence Day: Resurgence, and The Amazing Spiderman James Vanderbilt ventures into action-comedy in his recent Netflix film, Murder Mystery, with great success.

July 10, 2019

Attn Romcom Writers: New Streaming Platform Passionflix Focuses Solely on Sweet Romance

Tosca Musk has made a career of writing, directing and producing romantic films. But when it comes to the digital frontier, she’s also as tech-savvy and forward-thinking as any tech guru in Silicon Valley. It’s no secret streaming platform Netflix has forever changed the television industry. But Netflix’s vision of aggressively creating new content to please the masses may leave many niche TV viewers, particularly fans of the romance genre, in the dark.

June 18, 2019

Booksmart writer turns high school into a hilarious war zone

Booksmart isn’t your typical high school party movie. Writer Katie Silberman and actress-turned-director Olivia Wilde intended it to be Clueless for Gen Z and embrace the risk-averse attitude of a generation raised on iPhones. While the lead characters may be snowflakes, the movie is full of so much heart and humor you’ll want to see it again -- it’s that good.

May 27, 2019

Pokémon Detective Pikachu writers share secret to cracking huge, franchise-based screenplay

The Pokémon franchise has been around for over two decades. Trading cards and videogames featuring over 800 adorable “pocket monsters” as they’re called in Japan (the birthplace of Pokémon), have enchanted both kids and adults. More recently the augmented reality game Pokémon GO, played on a smart phone, has captivated the world and continues to increase in popularity.

May 18, 2019