Shanee Edwards

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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 176 results

A Lesson on Writing Less from The Invisible Man Writer/Director

The H. G. Wells novel, The Invisible Man, was published way back in 1897. Since then, it’s been made into numerous films, both scary and comedic: each a reflection of the time and culture in which it was made. Writer/director Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man is no different, taking inspiration from our current collective fears. We ...

Writer/Producer Chris Henchy Shares his Surprising Path to Directing Impractical Jokers: The Movie

While Chris Henchy isn’t a household name, his comedy films, TV shows and website Funny or Die are substantial comedy touchstones. Entourage, Eastbound and Down, Spin City, Between Two Ferns with Zack Galifianakis, and Life with Bonnie are all shows he either created, wrote, produced or all three. His sitcom I’m with Her was inspired by ...

‘Jumangi: The Next Level’ Writers Find Soul of the Sequel

For those of us who grew up watching the original Jumanji (1995), it's hard not to feel nostalgia around the reboot that trades in a magical board game for a video game. In the original film, Robin Williams is at his peak as an actor, bringing epic humanity and humor to his work. Now the torch has lovingly been passed to Dwayne Johnson, Jack ...

Oscar-winner Charles Randolph on Writing Complex Characters in ‘Bombshell’

The amazing ripped-from-the-headlines film Bombshell tells the story of the women of took down Fox News CEO Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), specifically Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) and Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), after gross accusations of sexual harassment and assault. Margot Robbie plays Kayla, a fictional character that’s an amalgam ...

‘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 ...

‘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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.

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.

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.

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.
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