Friday, March 20, 2020

If You Could Hire a Screenwriter from Hollywood Whom to Steer Clear of

If You Could Hire a Screenwriter from Hollywood Whom to Steer Clear of If You Could Hire a Screenwriter from Hollywood: Whom to Steer Clear of? Imagine you are in a film school and have an idea for a movie so you want to hire a screenwriter from Hollywood to write your movie. You have always dreamed of directing a film and premià ¨ring in the Sundance festival. Which Hollywood screenwriter would you pick? We have compiled a list of 4 Hollywood screenwriters who we would avoid and why. Although these screenwriters are popular and accomplished, each has their own idiosyncrasies or over the top qualities that make them the wrong fit for your film. 1. Kevin Smith To the innumerable mob of followers, Kevin Smith is known and loved for his matchless style of lowbrow humor, bathroom jokes and obsession with comic books. Perhaps he is so popular because so many teenage boys can relate to him, pot heads feel validated by his films, or no deep thinking is needed to have a laugh at one of his movies. There is something to be said for making things very simple and easy to access, it is a formula that works. But, unless your dream film involves cheesy, try-hard antics and copious sex jokes, perhaps you should pass on Smith as your Hollywood dream screenwriter. 2. David Lynch David Lynch has a trademark style that is all his own. He is a great screenwriter, but having him write your screenplay would be like taking Michael Jackson’s moonwalk and passing it off on your own. Lynch has a great style, it’s just that it belongs to him alone. His technique involves mystery, oddities and at times, an element of the psychopath.   His films and shows sometimes contain open endings leaving the viewer free to make their own interpretations. 3. Quentin Tarantino Trarantino films leave us feeling disturbed, entertained, thoughtful and nostalgic all at the same time. Tarantino films often indulge in and glorify graphic violence that distracts from the film. The brutality leaves an impression, but, it is not favorable. Despite that Tarantino has another trademark quality. The dialog between characters in his films is hypnotizing. He makes the most banal subject read like poetry. It really is magic. But very few people can make this type of dialog work, so its best left to Tarantino. 4. Slavoj iÃ… ¾ek iÃ… ¾ek is a psychoanalytic  philosopher, Marxist, critic of  capitalism  and  neoliberalism, political radical and a film critic to name a few of the hats he wears. His views philosophy and beliefs are all over the place. While he is expressive and charismatic, his talk and ideas can be incoherent leaving the viewer, or reader overwhelmed. He utter opinions about psychological traits of films without offering references, and he descends into monologues without trying to be understood, and invents symbolism where none actually exists. You might look for a more coherent screenwriter if you want your movie to be well received. So, let us know what you think. Which Hollywood screenwriter would you choose, or pass on, and why?

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Initialisms and Acronyms

Initialisms and Acronyms Initialisms and Acronyms Initialisms and Acronyms By Mark Nichol Most people know what an acronym is. But few are as familiar with term initialism, or of an important distinction between the two. An acronym is an initial abbreviation that can be pronounced as a word, such as NASA or WASP. This term is also used to refer to a series of initials pronounced individually, such as FBI or TGIF, but the technical term is initialism. What’s the BFD (â€Å"big, fat deal,† though another word starting with f is sometimes used)? The answer is the. Because acronyms like NASA are pronounced as words (â€Å"na-suh,† in this case), there’s no need to precede them with the definite article: You wouldn’t write â€Å"Budget cutbacks hit the NASA hard.† (Though the is essential if NASA is used as an adjective, as in â€Å"Budget cutbacks hit the NASA project hard.†) But initialisms require the: â€Å"The FBI announced his capture several hours later.† That’s because the term is pronounced letter by letter: â€Å"eff-bee-eye.† (The only usage that omits the definite article is in a headline: â€Å"FBI Announces Suspect’s Capture.†) And when do you use an acronym or an initialism, when do you spell it out, and when do you do both? In more formal writing, the standard approach is to introduce an agency, organization, or some other entity that uses such an abbreviation, or abbreviations of terminology, by spelling out the name on first reference. If a subsequent reference (called, in publishing, the second reference, no matter how many times it is repeated) appears in proximity say, the same paragraph and few, if any, other abbreviations appear in the interim, simply use the abbreviation thereafter. However, if the next usage is farther away, it’s best to insert the abbreviation in parentheses immediately after the spelled-out reference to establish an association in the reader’s mind when it’s not supported by proximal use of the abbreviation. If the abbreviation is not mentioned again for some time, or it appears only up to a handful of times, spelling it out again (perhaps every time) is a good idea. Depending on the term and the publication, however, the hand-holding parenthesis may be unnecessary. Many specialized publishers maintain a list of abbreviations familiar to readers of their publications that specifies whether each one requires abbreviation accompanying the spelled-out first reference, or needs to be spelled out at all. For example, an astronomy magazine is likely to note in its house style guide that NASA does not need to be spelled out, and many other publications do likewise because of the familiarity of the agency’s name in our society. By contrast, less common abbreviations like OEM (original equipment manufacturer) should be spelled out except in a manufacturing-industry publication. As with many usage prescriptions, it’s all about the context. Oh, and one more point, so to speak: Notice that no acronym or initialism in this post includes periods. They’re generally considered outdated and superfluous. Even two-letter forms like AM and PM, MD and RN, and BC and AD go without, though US stubbornly retains them in many publications. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Greek Words You Should Know8 Proofreading Tips And Techniques5 Ways to Reduce Use of Prepositions