THE STORY SPOT

Last night, Anvil! The Story of Anvil won Best Documentary at the 25th Independent Spirit Awards here in downtown Los Angeles. If you haven’t seen it, do. You will witness — and be a part of — lives profoundly changing right before your eyes.

Anvil is Robb Reiner, Steve 'Lips' Kudlow,
and Glenn 'G5" Gyorffy

Congratulations Sacha Gervasi, Jeff Renfroe, Andrew Dickler, Chris Soos, and Rebecca Yeldham. And much respect to you Lips, Robb, and G5 for just being you. I’m honoured to have witnessed and shared this journey with all of you.

This, people, is how you change the world: vision, honesty, and killer filmmaking.

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The 25th Independent Spirit Awards
Anvil! The Story of Anvil – Official Film Site (signed DVDs and posters available)
anvilmetal.com – Official Site of Anvil

Ok. Maybe this post isn’t exactly about the differences between independent feature scripts and studio scripts, per se, but it is about the plain divide that I’ve personally observed on a regular basis when reading screenplays of all kinds.

I recently made the comment that it is consistently remarkable that a script that’s in the development or production stream at a studio reads differently from page one than does the average script on the same track at an independent/smaller production company. There’s no real reason for this yet it seems to be so. I gave the matter a wee bit o’ thought and am tossing it out here for you all to chew on and toss back. I’d love to hear what you think out there in writer/editor land.
Read on »

Franco Sacchi tells the story of how, against all odds, Nigeria created the world’s 3rd largest film industry. Producing 40 to 50 independent films per week, Nollywood exists largely without foreign investment nor government aid. Many films are made within a matter of days for less than $10,000 and are the filmmakers’ primary means of supporting themselves and their families.

Filmmakers produce “stories about our people from our people” carrying on a tradition that is as old as communication itself. As Sacchi says, “The key to a healthy society is a thriving community of storytellers. The Nigerian community has proven this.”

Franco Sacchi: Welcome to Nollywood on TED.com

It’s funtime in the snow once again. If you’re new to THE STORY SPOT, be sure to send a quick hello using the form on the right and/or sign up for the not-so-frequent feed. Remember to mention that you found out about us at Sundance! Happy new year, all.

Good reading and writing (and end of striking) in 2008!