James Scott Bell

Reflections on one of the greatest moments I've ever experienced, and what it means for writers. https://killzoneblog.com//write-a-big-moment-for-all-its-w

I miss crowds. I miss a packed Dodger Stadium in the bottom of the ninth, the fans on their feet, stomping and screaming and willing a hit. Or the Hollywood Bowl on a summer evening, be it jazz or Beethoven, as long as I’m there with my wife, a bottle of wine, and lots of people.... How about a Broadway theater? Nothing like being front row, center, for a hit like Chicago with the legendary Gwen Verdon (as I was one night long ago.) Heck, give me Langer’s Deli at lunchtime as I munch their famous #19 pastrami on rye, with the chatter of random conversation all around me. I miss the bustle of the streets in downtown L.A. and midtown Manhattan. Now those places look like something out of I Am Legend. Will crowds ever come back? Will people ever rub shoulders again without masks or hypochondria? READ MORE: https://killzoneblog.com//the-creative-energy-of-crowds.ht

We’ve all been there. We’re driving home from a party where we were engaged in robust conversation. Someone said something boneheaded and we thought, That was a boneheaded thing to say. But not wishing to hammer that very obvious nail, we did not reply. Now, halfway home, it comes to us. The perfect comeback! Witty, wise, pithy. If only we could go back in time! We’d be like the legendary members of the Algonquin round table. (He and I had an office so tiny, that an inch sma...ller and it would have been adultery. Dorothy Parker.) This fate does not have to befall your characters, for you have the luxury of time and reflection to give them wit on the spot... https://tinyurl.com/yyyoasqm

40 years ago, today, I saw a vision that changed my life. The story is here: https://killzoneblog.com///the-vision-on-the-stairway.html

Masterpiece definitely describes Touch of Evil (1958). It was considered by Universal to be a nice little crime movie for Charlton Heston (pre-Ben Hur). No one thought of the material as anything earth shattering. It was based on the novel Badge of Evil by Whit Masterson, the pseudonym of crime fiction duo Bob Wade and H. Bill Miller. Welles was cast as the villain, corrupt police captain Hank Quinlan. This is when the merciful fates of film stepped in. During a phone call ...between Heston and the producers, Heston suggested that Welles might also direct. Universal asked Welles if he’d like to helm the picture, and Welles said yes, provided he got to re-write the script. Again, considering Welles’s reputation the time, that Universal acceded to the request makes it seem those movie fates were working overtime. Touch of Evil, in can be argued, is the last true film noir...MORE HERE: https://tinyurl.com/y77kjld9