Mark Voelpel

If you're looking for a place to start, consider this: Every single story you've ever loved is all about a protagonist (one or more) who wants something they don't have, and they want it more than anything, and they do everything they can to get it. Start with that and see what happens.

Mixed metaphors are a double-edged sword that can blow up in your face

starting is the perfect condition for starting (please read that again)

@transjgballard That was the intention

i hate this movie so fucking much

@tnyfrontrow If there is one director who I cannot figure out why people like his work it’s Wes Anderson. All I see is the emperor’s new clothes. I have attempted to watch Budapest five times and cannot get past 10 mins. Love Godard tho!

I find his later, more artificial films to be the closest thing to late Godard in the density of details, symbols, and associations—but in the guise of popular movies and with the self-aware speed of the home video era (in action and ideas); need to see many times to see it once.

Wes Anderson's films are underappreciated because many critics worry that criticism isn't a serious-enough activity and therefore reject his comedic (albeit complex, substantial, even philosophical) approach to his films' truly serious matters. Dourness is taken for importance.

“Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry.” — Richard P. Feynman

@filmcourage But… what exactly IS a story???

A Chronic Problem For #Screenwriters Is Failing To Tell A #Story - Jill Chamberlain buff.ly/bIZCpWU #writers #scriptwriting

The secret to being a competent writer is just being a terrible writer for about 20 years.

@BadFilmTakes1 Good art speaks for itself; artists make art because the choose NOT to explain things. If they wanted to explain things they would be journalists or write how to books.

I actually think PTA did a pretty good job discussing what his movie is about in that clip. The Variety headline makes it sound like he actively avoided the question.

@Less_HumbleTeej All of PTA's movies are impulsive, sloppy, and kind of gross, but they are all ambitious and somewhat fascinating to watch in a car crash sort of way (and when DDL stars in one it's pretty great).

I love PTA and I love One Battle After Another, but every time I watch the first 20 minutes, I feel more and more repulsed. I really enjoy Teyana’s performance, but yuck at the entire concept of that character.

“The first draft of anything is shit.” — Ernest Hemingway

@spiketeejoint It's the best-made film fomr 2025. I'm not sure it's the "best film" though

Silently the best film of 2025.

@21Naija And that summation should tell you who is going to win

I feel like this is the most tense Twitter has been before an Oscar night. If Sinners wins white nationalist twitter & cinephile twitter will crash out If One Battle wins black twitter & conservative twitter will crash out. If Chalamet wins the internet will crash out

@kevinkoljack Sure, but in a court of law, registration is not a bad thing to have.

Just a reminder for #screenwriting: In America, copyright is automatically granted upon a writing. You do not need to take any additional steps (like registering) to copyright your work. You have the copyright the moment you write something. Save your money.

@missedtheheart what preparation for the conversation do you think is required?

scorsese’s best film is “after hours” but no one’s ready for that conversation yet

@deanhaspiel Great article

Where I answer 25 questions about art and promote my comix fundamentals workshop at the Art Students League in NYC come late April... asllinea.org/interview-dean…

@JosephKahn It’s about the quality of the music. Madonna was an “icon” and a social force, but sadly a mediocre singer who made mediocre music that has little staying power (relative to the other bands you cite).

Old gays are telling me I failed as a dad. They're so mean, and I love it haha.

My 14-year-old daughter does not know who Madonna is, yet she knows who Prince, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson are. There are a couple ways to look at this, but I'm going to single out my main theory - her audience that made her the biggest star in the world at her prime were two main groups: Girls and Gays. These two groups have the fastest generational turnovers. Every group revamps itself and sets up new icons, but girls switch teams with higher frequency. They dropped Elvis for the Beatles, the Beatles for the Stones, Bieber for Billie Eilish. They will decide someone is now old or not relevant while guys still listen to their Metallica Master of Puppets album. There are also internal dynamics where a girl does not want to listen to her mother's music but a boy thinks his father's music is cool. As to the Gays, pop culture is their Super Bowl and they're always looking for the next thing. Obviously I'm talking in generalities in every single person is their own snowflake, but that's my overall read on it. This group can ramp up heat on an artist and then in an instant move on to the next. For the record I love Madonna and she's a huge influence on my work. New generations will rediscover her eventually.

@camaropharaoh @TonyDaDome Is Slick Rick's The Art of Storytelling ground zero?

@TonyDaDome Da Art of Storytelling Pt 1 with Slick Rick

What is your “go to” rap song? Please only share one song. Mine is “Lyrics to Go” by A Tribe Called Quest.🔥

@clairpharos Best overall film craft for sure

and literally no one talked about, every single lead is fucking incredible, the movie is such a cool take on the conspiracy theory bs thats going on rn, the score is fucking phenomenal, really cool cinematography, like this movie was so fucking good

@ChadCyThe1st @bizlet7 It's a terrible film with one of the three leads giving an excruciatingly unwatchable performance. It should never have won anything (except for more opportunities for the director to make more films)

@bizlet7 From Dusk Till Dawn should've at LEAST won for cinematography, because that scene that acts as an introduction to the inside of the bar is one I've used for a long time to tune new TV screens for a long time now. At least since the early 2000s.

Imagine how ridiculous it would be if Dusk Till Dawn won 11 Oscars including Best Picture in 1996. It would be a national scandal. Like Congress would be holding hearings about Hollywood corruption.

@_microbudgetpod Three things to focus on: 1. POV, 2. POV, 3. POV