Writing the Science Fiction Film by Robert Grant

Robert Grant. Writing the Science Fiction Film. Saline, MI.: McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., 2013.

Science fiction requires that science be in the story. The science does not have to be real. Fantasy films are different as they do not rely on science.

Some types of science fiction films involve time travel, space travel, post-apocalyptic worlds, alternative histories, alien beings, alien worlds, robots, superpowers, transformation, and mutation

Cyberpunk stories are about future, high tech societies, with evil corporations and corrupt governments in control with a hero or groups of heroes rising to help the “have nots” of society.

Steampunk are circa Victorian era stories with far advanced innovations.

Alien stories include first contact stories, alien invasions, and monsters.

Apocalyptic event stories, or disaster movies, have Earth falling apart. Some are set in a post-apocalyptic future, after global disaster divides people into “haves” and “have nots”. Dystopian future stories are grim Utopian future sotires often appear happy but with grim undertones.

Space Westerns and Space Operas often have good and bad guys similar to Westerns. It is advised to avoid re-telling old tales and avoid relying on Western movie cliches.

The Military Science Fiction stories are like most other combat stories except wiwth aliens, robots, and high tech weapons.

Superhero and Superpower stories have a hero fighting for justice using supernatural powers.

Mundane Science Fiction deals with real science.

When considering story ideas consider “What if...?”. Consider what is taking place, including new future, with shows things with which people may identify, or the far future which allows greater creativity. Consider known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown un-knows

Know your story’s hero and what the hero brings to the story.

The author believes sidekicks are duplicative and not necessary. What is useful in a story is a hero’s buddy, best friend, or assistant. This second character can provide Muscle to the hero’s intelligence, or can provide comic relief. This second character should have a reason for being there, should not distract, have knowledge or a skill the hero lacks, and should have a contrasting personality.

Consider character to character relations to each other and what to which factions they belong, what factions exist, and whether they are friends or foes.

Consider why a villain exists, what made the villain villainous, how the villain related to the hero, what drives the villain, and what does the villain fear.

Characters with human characteristics and should not be stereotyped.  Common hunan heroes are Alpha Males, the Nerdy Guy, the Al Action Girl, the Best FriendGirl, the Sassy Best Friend, and the Nice Normal Guy

Character names should reflect their personalities and roles, be age (era) appropriate, be usual and unusual, not be similar, and if alien, should not be Earth names. Avoid names that end with an “s” as they are difficult to read.

Consider how similar and dissimilar to humans are the alien characters. GIve them a purpose for being in the story. Consider the universal laws of physics and of organic bodies where each structure of their bodies have purposes.

Consider whose point of view is telling the story.

Develop an exciting plot. It should have rising conflict. The ending should be satisfying. The story should be strong, have lots of conflicts, should aoid being delayed with too many characters, and should constantly move foward.

The story should have a central question or establishing theme. Do not use cliches.

Choose a setting for the story. Consider how the setting changes as the story advances.

The author advises having alien worlds with multiple cultures. An alien world should have consistency, be natural, obey the laws of physics, and should be authentic.

A good technological advance should look like magic. Thus write the magic to make the viewer believe the science fiction. Don’t write contradictory facts. Try for the Right Science. Avoid the Lazy Science of unbelievable plots.

Robot stories are actually about what we identify in being human.

Traveling through space affects the human body in numerous ways. Realism will note these changes.

In reality, one sees where a laser beam hits but not the beam itself.

There is no air pressure outside a spacecraft, There also is no sound in space.

Dialogue should be how people speak. Most people speak informally. Where appropriate, street slang can be used.

When creating an alien language, consider how ti should sound. Use the same lexicon throughout.

Exposition can be hidden Exposition can also be disguised and Exposition can be made into Dramatic Turns.

Flashback s a cheat for lazy exposition is bad. Yet flashback can work when telling an important part of the story.

Montage can use flashes through time, either flashbacks or flashforwards.

Avoid using adverbs that end in -ly.

A script can began in numerous ways, including a normal day, the starting point, with a foreshadowing event, with a dramatic irony, with a montage, or least preferable but still sometimes useful, a voiceover.

The first 10 pages of the script should inform of the the genre, create the setting, establish the tone, present the main and key characters, often present the villain, show the status quo benchmarks, present the main character;s flaws, show the themes, and establish the drama.

In re-writing, eliminate unnecessary words, create a style, don’t overdo details, eep the story interesting by having the main character active and moving the story forward. The motivations and stakes must be clear. The character must be interesting and original rather than obvious. The pace should vary.

The viewer should not be baffled with little known jargon, being expected to be experts in what is presented, not able to understand what they need to know, and not being deluged with technical aspects.

A character voice should consider the character’s personalities, attitudes, pre-occupations, intelligence, profession, and lifestyle.

Avoid expositional writing. Use subtext in dialogue.

Voiceover can add to a movie if done carefully.

The Visual Story by Bruce Block

Bruce Block. The Visual Story: Seeing the Structure of Film, TV, and New Media. Boston: Focal Press, 2001.

Sergie Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovlan, and Alexander Dovchenko developed some initial film theories circa 1928. They presented montage theories. Slavko Vorkapich expanded these theories and included theories on movement and editing in the 1950s. In addition, Lester Novros used fine art theories and applied them to motion picture visual aspects. These visual principles are important in understanding film production.

The building blocks of visual characters are 1. the Script, 2. the Music 3. the Sound, and 4. the Visuals. The basic visual components are 1. space, 2. line, 3. shape 4. tone, 5. color, 6. movement, and 7. rhythm.

Space is what physically exists in front of a filming camera. It is what we watch.

Line is what we perceive but isn’t real. Shape is constructed from lines and appears when an object is a silhouette. Tone is what appears along a black and white and gray scale. Color is seen visually. Movement is key to capture one’s visual attention. Rhythm is what is heard.

Music can cue audiences what to expect. Color can also communicate cues if so defined. A recurring event associated with color can provide a color cue.

A “screen” is one for viewing pictures. The “real world is the environment. Images shwon on a screen create a “screen world”. The changing structure creates a “visual progression”. this is framed by the “picture plane”.

Many great films create visual progressions that build intensity. A point expanded into a line than a plane, and then having volume added shows that simplicity turns into complexity, whether doing so visually or in music or in story structure.

“Contrast” refers to differences. “Affinity” refers to similarity. Visual intensity can help create emotional reactions. It can be either simple, or full of affinities, or complex, full of contrast, or what is better, a combination of affinities and contrasts.

“Deep space” is what two dimensional screen shows as a three dimensional illusion. This uses “depth cues” where a viewer perceived depth, which is a “perspective”.

A one-point perspective can turn parallel lines and show they are no longer parallel and they could meet on a vanishing point. A two point perspective can have two vanishing points. Additional vanishing points create illusions of depth. The audience is drawn to a vanishing point presented on screen.

Depth that is presented from changing texture and color details is textual difference.

The illusion of depth can be created by object movement, if the object moves parallel or perpendicular to the picture plane. Relative movement is depth illusion created by multiple objects in motion parallel to the picture plane.

Camera movement can create a feeling of depth. Dolly in creates more depth. Dolly out will make actors look smaller. Dolly left and right are tracking shots.

Aerial diffusion uses air particles to obscure distance. This requires a previous presentation of an unobscured view.

Shape change of an object can create depth.

With tonal separation, a brighter object often appears closer.

Warm colors (red, orange, and yellow) appear closer. Cooler colors (blue and green) appear further away.

Overlay creates depth illusion.

Things higher in a frame are often perceived as farther away than things in the lower frame.

Things closer to a horizon appear father away than objects further away from the horizon.

Depth cues are lost when one loses focus.

The average TV screen of 19 inches (circa 2001) is too small to affectively show some size differences, tonal separation, color separation, and textual diffusion.

Flat space emphasizes the two dimensions. Objects are presented parallel to the picture plane. Things that create depth, such as textural diffusion, are generally avoided. Walking parallel produces flat space. A camera pan, with all objects remaining in position, produces flat space.A camera tilt, up or down on its vertical axis, creates flat space.

A zoom presents flat space. Relative sizes don’t change. It may not appear well. Depth decreases and appears blurry.

Keeping all tones to one third of the gray scale creates flat space.

Flatness can be reduced with showing all warm or all cool colors.

Since overlap creates depth, it should not e used for flat space.

Depth cues can be reversed to create opposing depth perceptions.

Flat space frontal planes can produce deep space longitudinal plans in limited space

Objects in limited space will not show depth by moving towards or away from a camera in limited space.

Ambiguous space, where the viewer can not determine space, results form 1. lack of movement, 2. unfamiliar shapes, 3. camouflage of tonal and texture patterns, 4, mirrors and reflections, 5 using objects whose size is unknown and using camera angles that are disorienting. This is difficult to continue for long as the audience usually finds enough data to comprehend cues where an object is.

To use deep space, shoot with an emphasis on longitudinal plane, have movement towards or away from the camera (i.e. perpendicular to the picture plane), use tonal separation depth cue, move the camera with a dolly, dolly track or crane and use a wide-angle lens.

To shoot with flat space cues, remove longitudinal planes perspective and use frontal planes, place actors parallel to the picture plane with movement parallel to the picture plane (i,e, “flat staging”), use condensed gray scale lighting, use a tripod and zoom lens and possibly a telephoto lens and blue backgrounds.

The ration of a frame;s width to height is the aspect ratio. Standard 35 mm fils is about 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Standard NTSC TC and many computer screens have about a 1.33:1 aspect ration. Most U.S. theater screens have a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. 70 mm films have a 2.2:1 aspect ratio.

A 1.85:1 film can be shown on TV letterboxes, Larger aspect ratio films are often presented so only part of the film’s films is shown on TV.

Anything dividing a frame into smaller areas is a surface divider. Surface divisions can be used to show similar or show differences between objects, to divert emphasis in attention to an area, change the aspect ratio, or add visual rhythms to surface divisions.

Rotating a camera’s lens on an axis can create a visual space.

The linear motif considers the basic lines in a shot.

A straight line often represents aggressive strong, direct, honest, order, industrial, adult, or rigid.

A curved line often represents passive, childlike indirect, nature, romantic, soft, safe, organic, or flexible

The angle of a line in motion is direction. A shot moving objects in the same direction creates maximum affinity.

The inherent intensity of a line is its orientation. The most intense are diagonal lines, followed by vertical lines, with horizontal lines as least intense.

The basic three dimensional shapes are the sphere, cube, and the three sided pyramid.

The circle and the triangle have the most two dimensional contrast. The sphere and the three sided pyramid have the most three dimensional contrast.

An object’s silhouette, rather than the object by itself, should be considered in controlling shape.

Tone considers the brightness range of objects in a shot A viewer is dran to the brightest object. Darkness usually represents tragedy. Brightness usually represents happiness or comedy.

Films often use complimentary hues, often orangish blush.

Using a pair of almost complementary hues is split complementary hues.

A three way split uses any three hues. A four way split uses four hues, such as magna and green for evil and orange and blue-cyan for good.

Audiences have poor recollections of color.

Camera filters can remove specific colors. Lighting can use filters. Note that colors photographed may vary form observable colors. The ASA of a film determines its sensitivity to light, with lower ASAs more prone to color saturation.

Flashing, or exposing film to light twice, may desaturate color and reduce contrast.

Developing film longer, or force developing or pushing, desaturates color.

Various chemicals and film processing techniques change color.

Labs can color correct, or time, film which changes brightness/darkness of black and white film.

Digital uses could provide much color flexibility.

Actual movement is reality. Showing motion of different non-moving objects is apparent movement.

Individual movement occurs when a moving objects makes a stationary object appear to move.

Relative movement is when the motion of an object is observed relative to a stationary object.

Simple moves are horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or circular.

A camera move’s length of travel is scale.

Camera motions can occur at slow, medium, and fast speeds.

When the audience looks is the point of attention. A camera that doesn’t move creates the most contrast. A camera that moves and stops creates visual contrast.Three dimensional moves are needed to create relative movement. Pan/track creates visual affinity. Tilt/crane is often less intense. Dolly lens/dolly with wide lens changes changes objects in frame at the same rate except when a snap zoom quickly zooms.

A tripod or dolly-in mounted camera, or level/un-level, usually creates more affinity compared to a hand-held camera move.

Greater visual intensity usually occurs with a larger camera move, or scale of movement.

The less intense object/camera movement is when the object and camera are stationary The most intense is when both move.

Over-cranking, or slow motion, and under-cranking, or fast motion change an object’s speed.

A smooth cut, with affinity of continuum of movement, is usually not noticed by a viewer.

A contrast of continuum of motion may appear harsh.

Audiences should not observe edits. Shots should appear continuous. The “Lubitsch Touch” of Ernest Lubitsch had affinity of continuum of movement.

The alteration between sound and silence produces rhythm. White sound is continuous and has no rhythm. Visual rhythm is produced by objects that are stationary, that move, and by additional cutting.

“Positive space” refers to a frame’s accented areas. Unaccented areas are “negative space”.

Primary visual rhythm enters and exits a frame, moves behind or in front of something else, starts and stops, or changes direction.

A second rhythm is when an object in primary rhythm has part of it creating a different rhythm.

Editorial repetition happens by the beat of each edit or cut. Pictorial repetition occurs when the same shots are intercut multiple times. Editorial tempo has fast rhyth with quick cuts or slow rhythm with less cuts.

An event is a single action, scene, or group of scenes.

There are no camera cuts in a continuous event. A fragmented event has separate shots.

A fragmented sequence has emphasis when it follows a continuous scene.

The director may change the affinity or contrast.

A script and what works best determines using fragmented or continuous techniques.

Faster tempos usually indicate excitement, happiness, or comedy. Slower tempos indicate calm, tragedy, or sadness.

Fragmentation permits using jump cuts.

A story begins with exposition, has a middle of conflict and climax, and ends with resolution.

Visual intensity is shown through basic visual components.

Choose various components that are best for a film.

Keeping the lens optical center in an axis directly in frton of a pan and tilt moving the camera is nodal point panning and tilting.

Standards lenses, or spherical or flat lenses, photograph 1.33: 1.66, and 1.85 films. Cinemascope deliberately distorts images.

Creative Screenwriting by Tony Bacat and Tony Macnabb

Tony Bicat and Tony Macnabb. Creative Screenwriting: A Practical Guide. Ramsbury, Marlborough, United Kingdom, 2012.

Screenwriters should tap into their imaginations and experiences when telling their creative stories. The limitations of screenplays must be recognized, for the degree of introspection found in novels will not fit into a screenplay. A screenwriters must be creative.

Screenwriters should observe people and events around them. They should create fantasies. They should write their stories, Remember that something has to be told in order for an audience to realize it. They have to be told orally and usually presented with drama.

Courier New 12 is the proper screenwriting font.

A log line can not be longer than 28 words. It may include an overriding theme, set the scene, tell of characters, and present the film’s atmosphere.

A story should appear real. The characters must have conflicts and troubles A plot should cover the why, how, and what of the story.

The character’s mannerisms should be presented upon initial introduction.

Character names should reflect the story’s theme.

Dialogue should reflect how people naturally speak. The dialogue should reflect the character’s nature.

A scene usually should not be more than three pages.

Subtext uses previous information to let an audience know a character is saying one thing yet thinking something different.

Conflict is crucial to the story. The conflict must reflect the different desires of characters There usually should be a moral side to the conflict.The story must test the values, social mores,and taboos that exist.

The throughline, which is the main character’s objectives in the story, guide the plot. The structures draw out the conflicts. Aristotle and Gustav Freytay observed that stories often have a five act structure: 1.) exposition / diegesis, 2.) inciting incident, 3.) climax. 4.) move to conclusion, and 5.) denouement.

Syd Field sees screenplays having a three act structure. Act 1 establishes the story, has an inciting incident, problems emerge leading to a first conflict and then to a climax. Act 2 increases the tension, creates a turning point, reaches a climax, and increasing actions leading to more turning points. Act III sees a reversal, crisis leading to a climax, denouement, and resolution.

A story should conclude with order restored. A character arc should occur. The three act structure does not require a restoration conclusion.

Imagination can be anarchic and a story may be dynamic such hat it does not fit into a formal structure.

Voice overs should also show a picture during the voice over.

An interview voice over, showing character’s thoughts, should increase the visual.

A back story should be presented only if it is important to the story. It will take time away from the current story.

A flashback shows the past.

The “story point of view” shows what viewpoint the story presents.

A movie ending should have closure.

Most films have a climax, denouement, post-climax resultion, finale, and coda.

Climax generates energy for a satisfying conclusion.

Denouement un-knots the story’s threads.

The post-climax resolution creates a psychological resolution for characters.

The finale celebrates the story.

the coda is a grace note that is what one wants audiences to learn.

Some stories do not end happily. An audience has to appreciate how a film ends.

A film’s ending should unite and conclude a story. Often a character finds salvation, achieves a victory,, or obtains redemption. A moral can be involved.

Endings that conclude with despair or damnation could include an extreme irony, the character’s extinction, the character left in a life of hell, or an amoral Satanic apothesis.

Films fit a genre. A formal story often has cliches specific to that genre.

The European Union copyright last 75 years from the writer’s death, This is designed to extend to the lives of grandchildren.

The Writers Guild of Great Britain registers scripts for free

There is no standard contract for screenwriters in the United Kingdom, An agent usually receives 2% of the budge which often ranges from 1% to 3%.

A Paper Life by Tatum O'Neal

Tatum O’Neal. A Paper Life. New York: HaperCollins Publishers, 2004.

Tatum O’Neal filmed the movie “Paper Moon at age 8 and became the youngest person to win an Academy Award. She had met the director Peter Bogdanovich at her father Ryan O’Neal’s home. Ryan was starring in “A Paper Moon”. Bogdanovich thought Tatum’s “scrappy attitude” was what the role demanded. Ryan O’Neal has admitted he was a poor father and stated he hoped Tatum’s performing in the movie “would give her something she never had enough of --- love.” O’Neal discovered that memorizing lines at age 8 was difficult. She ad-libbed some things, such as when she was given water by a minister, she poured the water out, as she felt that was what her character would do.

“A Paper Moon” didn’t bring her love, she states She grew up abused, married a husband who had tantrums, became depressed and developed chemical dependencies.

Tatum’s parents were both actors They divorced after a tabloid told of Ryan’s affair with Barbara Perkins. Tatum lived with her mother. Her mother had her own problems and would take young Tatum to bars. Her mother often neglected Tatum and her brother Griffin. Ryan finally took Tatum away away with him but left Griffin with the mother,

Tatum O’Neal seldom went to school and could barely read at age 8. She found it difficult to memorize lines as she had trouble reading them. She claimed she didn’t like to rehearse so shoe would get “slate”, a statement that surprised Ryan and made him wonder where she learned that.

Tatum understood her part and identified with her character in “Paper Moon”. Her character smoked, yet they used lettuce rather than tobacco.

A line was changed from “Dentyne” to “Juicy Fruit gum” when it was realized Dentyne did exist in the 1930s, when the movie took place It took about 24 shots until 4 am for Tatum to get the new line correctly.

On Oscar night, Tatum’s grandparents took her. Ryan remained in England. Only Madeline Kahn, who was also nominated, attended from the movie “Paper Moon”. There was no celebratory party after her Oscar win. She di not hear from her mother and felt abandoned.

Tatum was next cast in “The Bad News Bears”. Tatum had earned $16,0000 making “Paper Moon” which grossed about $50 million. For “The Bad News Bears she was paid a record amount for a child actor of $350,000 plus a profit percentage, She learned how to pitch a baseball as she played a pitcher in the movie. She pitched daily for three months.

New laws required a tutor on the set, which she did not like.


When “Bad News Bears” drew more of an audience that did “Barry Lyndon”, which Ryan O’Neal starred in, Ryan got up and punched Tatum.

Sue Menger was Tatum’s agent. Tatum attended many of Menger’s parties where she met many actors and observed some of their drug usage.

Tatum appeared on Cher’s TV show Tatum finagled her way into staying with Cher for a few weeks.

Tatum became friends with 18 year old Melanie Griffin. She felt betrayed when her father started having sex with Melanie Griffin. Her father eventually kicked Melanie Griffin out and told Griffin to take Tatum with her. Tatum believes she stayed with Griffin for awhile because Griffin didn’t know what else to do with Tatum. Tatum eventually left and flew home on her own.

Tatum was glad to be cast in the movie “International Velvet” as it was filmed in England and she could be away from her father. She enjoyed filming the movie as the cast got along. She lost her virginity to a stuntman shortly after getting her first period. Tatum was upset that her father attended the movie premiere with a man she had told her father had molested her when she was younger.

Tatum next filmed the movie “Little Darlings”. She didn’t make any friendships on the set and mostly stayed in her room in-between takes.

When Tatum was hospitalized six weeks after a car accident where she had several skin grafts, the only “loving visit” she had was actor Walter Matthau. Her father did not visit. While hearing at home, she writes her father through her a script with the comment “You could do this piece of shit movie.” She did It was “Circe of Two” with Richard Burton. She felt “forced” to film a nude scene and was limping from her accident through the shoots. Richard Burton was nice but would get crude after drinking too much.

Her father left her, at age 16m with her 15 year old brother to move in with his girlfriend actor Farrah Fawcett. Her father even stated in “Vanity Fair” that “I had to make a choice  between Tatum and this girl, and I chose Farrah. Tatum made me choose. I said that’s a bad idea. I sleep with this girl, Tatum, I don’t sleep with you.”

Tatum was in the move “A Certain Fury” directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal. Her father came on the set and attempted to direct her, which she found embarrassing. She insisted her father be taken from the set.

Tatum had two children with her husband John McEnroe, a professional tennis player. She didn’t appear in a move for three and a half years. She studied acting under Sandra Seacast to regain her confidence about acting. She tried for several movies but did not get them. She did an independent movie “Little Noises”. She then took more acting classes under Sandra Seacast.

Tatum starred in a TV miniseries “Woman on the Run”. Her father told her “you’re a terrible actor” which upset her greatly. It was the highest rated show on TV when it ran. She won for Best Actress at the Monaco Film Festival for this role.

Tatum struggled with drugs. She required several visits to rehab centers.

Then Again by Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton. Then Again. New York: Random House, 2011.

The author writes how she believe she inwardly felt that marriage meant surrendering her dreams. Although she did try to press Warren Beatty into marriage. In her youth, she was driven to audition for every play and talent show she could. That drive to act remained her dream even after it became reality.

In high school, Keaton thought she was unattractive and that boys didn’t like her. She threw herself into high school plays. She enjoyed the applause and excitement of appearing on stage.

Keaton went to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. Her teacher sandy Meisner taught her “acting was about reproducing honest emotional reaction.” He taught actors to respond spontaneously on stage. Students would speak to each other and respond with differing emotions. She learned to instantly create an emotion After two years of study, Keaton was disappointed when no agent signed her.

Keaton found a job with the Woodstock Playhouse. She was able to join Actors’ Equity. Her bane of Diane Hall was already taken so she used her other’s maiden name and became Diane Keaton.

Keaton was cast in the Broadway show “Hair”. She filled in for the lead female role when the lead filmed a TV episode. The producer stated she could keep the lead roe if she lost weight. he took $50 vitamin shots to lose ten pounds to keep the role. She then learned from another actress about purging. This made her hypoglycemic. She became bulimic. Her bulimia took priority over dating, which she feared her then boyfriend Woody Allen would find out about.

Keaton appeared in a low budget film as well as working as a book editor and at a store She then appeared in the play “Play It Again, Sam” with Woody Allen. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Tony Award.

Keaton appeared in an episode of a TV show “Mannix”. She was struck with terror and stated she couldn’t do it. The show’s star Mike Connors then went through the scene with her until her fear disappeared. She then appeared in the movie “The Godfather”, then in “Sleeper” with Woody Allen, then in “Godfather: Part II”, and then in “Annie Hall” with Woody Allen.

Keaten writes that appearing in “Annie Hall” was effortless as Woody Allen would rewrite the script while shooting. Gordon Willis was the cinematographer who knew how to work with Woody Allen, who directed, wrote, and starred in “Annie Hall”, Willis often used master shots to increase the scene’s impact, which was something rarely done before in comedy movies. The movie also used shadows and lights well. Allen directed the movie without marks for where actors should stand and move. Allen wanted the actors to walk around normally. Actors were allowed to wear what they wanted. Keaton borrowed a hat from a friend that became identified with her character. Keaton credits Woody Allen’s screenwriting as the strength of the movies he writes and directs.

Keaton starred with Woody Allen in “Annie Hall”even though they had stopped dating two years prior. She observes they still clicked together when acting. She won the Oscar forBest Actress in “Annie Hall”.

Keaton then filmed “Looking for Mr. Goodbar”. She began dating actor Warren Beatty. She notes Beatty hated commitments. Dustin Hoffman once observed ‘If Warren had stayed a virgin, he’d be known as the best director in the world.”

Keaton observed actor Geraldine Page did not follow director’s directions. Keaton observed Maureen Stapleton acted “effortlessly”.

Keaton did not like the character she portrayed in “Reds”, which took a year to film Warren Beatty directed it and would sometimes have 40 takes per set up. Keaton did not like Beatty’s directing, which may have also been a growing personal disregard for Beatty. She had admired Beatty before meeting him. She realized her problem was I wanted to be Warren Beatty, not love him.” It took about 65 shots before she produced what Beatty wanted in one scene. Keaton views “Reds” as a movie about “imperfect love” rather than how Beatty saw it as placing ideals over life. Keaton was nominated for an Oscar bot ost.

Keaton appeared in a series of films that were not financial successes.

Keaton made a documentary “Heaven” that received many bad critical reviews. Still, Keaton says she “lived every clip and every interview” and is happy with it.

Keaton filmed “Baby Boom” which was a success. She dated Al Pacino, which included a break-up, a reunion, and another break-up.

While Keaton filmed “Godfather III”, francis Coppola was more distant in his director than he had in the previous two Godfather movies. Winona Ryder collapsed during filming and was replaced with Coppola’s daughter Sofia. Paramount exectuives did not want Sofia in the role

Keaton filmed “First Wives Club” which was an “unexpected hit”. She filmed “Something’s Gotta Give” in amazement that Jack Nicholson had agreed to appear in a “chick flick”. She was stunned that Jack Nicholson gave her a back end percent of his earnings in the movie. Keaton stated this is her favorite films, especially realizing she could film a hit movie at age 57.

The Phenomenon of the Soviet Cinema by Yuri Vorontntsov and Igor Rachuk

Yuri Vorontntsov and Igor Rachuk. “The Phenomenon of the Soviet Cinema”. Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1980.

This book argues that much of 20th century Russian art, including cinema, as deeply intertwined with the Soviet Revolution where “hitherto unknown paths led to a creation of a fundamentally innovative, revolutionary art.” The authors see much of the 1920s Soviet movies as masterpieces, These movies contained special meanings to uplift the masses.

Russian film began as fairground tent entertainment. Permanent cinema theaters were established first in Moscow and Petersburg These theaters first showed foreign films. A few years later, Russians produced films. The authors blame the capitalist system for not allowing political and social documentary films. The authors do credit camera operators who filmed parts of the Russian Revolution as it occurred. These films, though, were seized by police and are missing.

“Stenka Ravin and the Princess” , also known as A Free Cossack State in Lower Reaches of the Volga”, made by A, Drankow in 1908, is considered the first Russian cinema movie. A musical score was presented to be played during its showing The movie quality was poor, even for its times, yet the novelty of being a Russian made film drew Russian audiences.

The success of the first Russian film attracted others. Aleksandr Khanz was among early Russian feature film producers. The authors argue these films ignored the era’s social and political events. Social themes would be explored beginning with Soviet filmmakers in the 1920s.

Pyotr Chardynin was an early Russian film director who was noted for working well with actors. Famous actors would apply to be in his movies.

The authors argue many early Russian filmmakers had an “underlying cause” to “disorient the mass audience on the eve of social conflicts.” The authors view their fimls as having “a superficial understanding of life and a total lack of realism.”

There were stage actors who felt appearing in a film was undignified. Others saw film as a means to present audiences with more realism.

The authors view the movie “Late Blooming Flowers” directed by Boris Suskevich as a very good early Russian film for its realism and interesting plot.

The authors note many patriotic films were amateurishly made as propaganda for the Tsarist government The authors view these films as “artistically impoverished.”

George Sadoval, a French film historian, notes the rise of Soviet films helped push movies worldwide more towards the working class. Lenin argued art “should be understood and loved by these masses.”

The first Russian film companies were privately owned yet operated under the government’s “ideological and economic control.”  Newsreel and feature movies were made “for propaganda purposes”. Noted writers such as Maxim Gorky, Alexi Tolstoy, and Kornie Chukovsky were hired to write themes for movies. These films met resistance from some movie theater owners and some cinematographers. Some private film producers made films that were “melancholy, pessimistic, and despairing.” Many of these private filmmakers moved to other countries.

The Soviet photographic and cinematographic trade and industry was nationalized by Lenin of August 27, 1919. Lenin wanted to remove movies from “crude speculators who produced movies about murder, sex, perversion, and pathologies that “often perverts the masses for profit at any price.”

1920s Soviet films were noted for their realisms and for “appropriate images of unity and fraternity between working people.” Some Soviet movies were adapted from classic Russian literature. Lenin supported embracing Russia’s “cultural inheritance.”

The Soviet film of the literary classic “Polikastika” was considered one of the best films of 1924 in the United States.

Dziga Vertoz combined newsreel footage with newly shot footage to enhance his films. He also used slow motion accelerated motion, and the stop-camera method for effects.

Agitational films, a.k.a agit-films, began being produced in 1918. These movies told stories of the Soviet Red Army. Critics noted some of these films were simplistic and “too straight forward”. These films were parts of the steps filmmakers used in moving towards full length fictional movies.

A State Film School was created.

Soviet movies were required by the state to have “ideological purposiveness.”

Sergie Eisenstein was an early leader in producing artistic films. Eisenstein’s “Battleship Potemkin” won the American Academy of Cinema’s award as Best Film in 1926.

The Soviet filmmakers lacked the technological skills of American filmmakers who made their movies for profit.

Aleksandr Dovzhenko created the film “Arsenal” to criticize counter-revolutionaries in Ukraine. He showed “the bright glow of historical battles.”

There was much examination of Soviet filmmaking in the 1920. “Socialist realism” was a dominate artistic method used.

Sergei Gerasimas was a film writer and director who had themes of love and future hopes that appealed to audiences. He presented strong women characters that showed that being feminine did not mean being weak.

Soviet comedy movies became popular popular in the 1930s.These movies used “comedy to confirm what was new in socialist society.” Soviet comedies made jokes about “greed, egotism, and injustice rather than traditional comedies that show buffoons.”

Patriotic these were found in many 1930s Soviet movies. Several historical films were made about the October Revolution and the previous Civil War. Some films had anti-fascist presentations. Lenin was the subject of several movies.

(As an aside, there is no mention of what movies presented about fascism during the times the Soviet Union had a treaty with Nazi Germany.)

There were 10 historical Soviet movies released during World War II. These showed the public how previous Russians fought foreign invaders. These movies has strong patriotic themes. Several movies were then made about World War II.

In 1961, the Soviet Party Programme declared that “artistic depiction of line goes hand in hand with the cultivation and development of the progressive traditions of world culture”. Movies depicted collective farming, depicted Soviet military heros, and showed the strength of the Soviet people.

The Union of Soviet Cinematographers was designed to adhere to work as determined by the Communist Party. The Communist Party set moral values.

Soviet realism continued as a major theme in their movies in the 1960s and 1970s.

Rosing of the Petersburg Technological Institute invented electronic television. The
average U.S.family (circa 1980) viewed TV six hours a day while the average Soviet viewed TV two to two and a half hours per day.

Studies showed the productivity of TV viewers who support a winning sports team are 20% to 25% more productive than TV viewers whose sports team lost.

The authors note increased TV viewership led to decreased movie and theatre attendance within the Soviet Union. Some feared TV may “dull the audience’s aesthetic taste leading to a decline in cultural standards” Others observed TV show varied programming from documentaries to serials. Large screen movies offer an attraction that TV can’t. Soviet TV viewers went to the movies one to two times monthly. They also watched movies on TV two to three times weekly. Thus TV increased total viewership of movies.


TV can use “subliminal techniques” that viewers see brief images that implant into the brain.

Parts of the Soviet Union did not receive TV until 1965 through the 1970s. 40% f viewers (in both urban areas and rural areas) watched TV, 40% went to the movies, and 40% read fiction. Over half of those who watched TV watched it daily.

Studies indicated that watching movies on TV did not lessen how often the viewers went to the cinema. Yet is was noticed that cinema attendance decreased as TV viewing increased.

A study by the authors found 20% of TV viewers had a preference for fiction films, 18% had a preference for documentaries, and 48% liked both about the same. They also found 54% prefer watching documentaries on TV rather than in the cinema while 12% preferred watching in the cinema over TV.

A survey found 56% of Soviets preferred TV over the cinema during work days. (The percentage that preferred the cinema was not given.) During days off, 46% preferred the cinema and 42% preferred TV. On holidays, 38% preferred TV and 30% preferred the cinema.

American TV entertained, which the authors noted that an American TV company President called “the lowest common denominator.” The authors argued that when TV is a business it does not serve society.

Soviet TV was designed for news programs, popular literature presentations, theatre, and “the diffusion of knowledge and standards.”

The Soviet audience had “outstanding traits according to the authors, because they received Communist ideals and values. This, the authors believed, improved the Soviet social milieu.

52.5% of Soviets were interested in fictional movies based on actual events. 6.8% preferred movies based on imaginary events. 12% of Soviet audiences preferred “exotic surroundings, unusual characters, and extraordinary events.”

40% of Soviets preferred movies “as life is”, 47.1% allowed for “a bit of intervention”, and 3.6% preferred totally invented films.

Some 1970s movies used allegories, background music, and other artistic means that created discussions yet were accepted by many viewers.

The authors note foreign audiences liked Soviet films. They were different from Western films centered around sex, neuroses and perversion.” Soviet films displayed responsibilities to people.

The authors concluded that “Soviet movies reflected Soviet society: the path of labor, struggle for its ideals, and accomplishments for the good of the people.”

Radio, Television, and Society by Charles A. Sipeman

Charles A, Sipeman. Radio, Television, and Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 1950.

Radio and TV rapidly changed human relations, according to the author. More people obtained the same information instantly than before the days of radio and TV. The author raised questions as to what information should be provided that people need and who gains from providing information as well as whether their interests are good or bad.

KDKA bega broadcasting to a few listeners in 1920. By 1922, there were 600 radio stations. There were no government regulations. Thus, some stations interfered with others’ broadcasts. This problem was so bad that Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover believed something should be done. Hoover invited the parties involved to a conference. Yet the parties involved in the radio industry could not agree what should be done. In 1923, Hoover, lacking the legal authority to do so, stepped in and assigned frequencies to nearly all station. In 1926, the courts determined Hoover lacked the ability to issue these frequencies and these assignments were nullified. A resulting mess led Congress to create the Federal Radio Commission.

Early radio do not have advertisements. The radio stations existed to sell radios. Over time, these companies realized there were continuing costs of maintaining broadcasts. David Sarnoff, the General Manager of RCA, sought endorsements for radio programs similar to those provided to other cultural institutions. Sarnoff saw radio as a nonprofit entity financed by 2% of sales of RCA, General Electric, and Westinghouse radios and radio equipment.

WNYC researched selling subscriptions to its listeners.

Some broadcast had sponsors beginning with WEAF in 1922. The idea of sponsored programs met with resistance that included Secretary Hoover. Hoover opposed radio becoming “drowned in advertising matter.” Even shows that were sponsored mentioned the sponsor only at the beginning of a show and sometimes at the end.

The Radio Act of 1027 brought Federal government restrictions on the radio industry. The National Association of Broadcasters affirmed that radio should devote broadcasting time for purposes of education, religion, and agriculture.

The Federal Radio Commission moved to restrict advertising. It denied renewing the license of WERW because it mainly used advertising for income.

RCA formed two National Broadcasting networks, the Red and the Blue. It was forced to sell the Blue network in 1942. The Columbia Broadcasting System began in 1927. THe Mutual Broadcasting System began in 1934. Local independent stations gave part of their offerings to a network. Network shows often had sponsors.

Congress passed the Communications Act of 1934 with the stated purpose of protecting the public interest. They created a permanent Federal Communications Commission. The Commissioners were to have no financial stake in the radio industry, have no foreign influence, and were to be non-political. The Commission would control the use of channel transmissions. Thus it was determined air wave lengths were public property. The Commission decided who could use them and had disciplinary powers if regulations were violated. Aliens and foreign governments could not have a radio station. No one could monopolize communications or radio apparatus sales, Political candidates were to receive fair play.

Congress recommended that a quarter of frequencies be given to cultural broadcasters, including colleges, schools, and churches. The Commission decided instead that commercial broadcasters would provide part of the programming for cultural purposes.

The Federal Communications Commission was limited in acting due to its small staff of 1,327 as of September 1949. The FCC regularly monitored that broadcasts were at the proper wavelengths. It searched for illegal broadcasts. The author notes “whatever the cause, the fact is irrefutable that, since its inception in 1934, the FCC used its powers with a discretion that, except in rare occasions, has pleased the industry, as it has provoked the dismay and indignation of radio’s most exacting critics.”

The FCC has the power to revoke or suspend a license. Two licenses had been revoked (as of circa 1950). Neither case concerned programming issues.

The FCC regulates to prevent monopoly. The author in 1950 saw the industry as moving  “toward semi-monopolistic controls.” The Justice Department had failed to act on several “good prima facie cases” that NBC and CBS had controlling interest” and “restrictive” agreements with their affiliates, according to the author. RCA held thousands of patents and its two NCB networks “resisted competition.”

The Mutual Broadcasting System had more stations yet many of their stations has low power that reached fewer customers than did NBC and CBS.

Networks then insisted on territorial exclusivity. If an affiliate declined to carry a network program, that program could not be broadcast by another station in that same broadcast territory. Networks also had the option of placing network programming over local programming time with 28 days notice.

The FCC in 1946 issued a report on Public Service Responsibility of Broadcast Licenses, which was known as the Blue Book.

As of January 1945, 19.7% of broadcast time was for li e and wire service programmig.

A mid-1940s survey found 50% knew government regulated radio stations. 34% did not know this, and 16% believe government had no radio regulations. 22% were aware England had another system. 32% liked program advertising, 31% did not like advertising, and 35% “don’t particularly mind them.”

The author notes Kate Smith’s 1943 8 am to 2 am marathon appeal to buy War Bonds was successful because the public believed Kate Smith had good virtues. Yet she was reading from scripts written by others. The author notes the government’s main impetus on selling the bonds to combat inflation was never mentioned.

Soap operas attracted 20 million regular mostly female listeners. Some stated they enjoyed them for “emotional release” or for “wishful thinking”. These shows provided fictional guidance on what proper behavior was like whereby listeners’ faults were transformed to a “perfect efficient woman who possesses power and prestige” as portrayed by soap opera characters, according to the author.

People in England, Sweden, and the USA were found to have similar programming tastes despite their cultural differences.

The government controlled radio programming in the Soviet Union and Denmark. The government participate without controlling programming in Sweden. England and France had monopolistic radio systems without government determination of programming. The US operated on private enterprise with less government regulations Canada, Australia, and New Zealand had a government station along with commercial stations.

The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) egistered as a private commercial company in 1922. It derived revenues from radio set purchase royalties, It was licensed by the Post Office. Advertising on broadcasts was not permitted although program sponsorship was allowed. In 1927 the government bought out the shareholders. The BBC became a public corporation under a Royal Charter. The Postmaster General had the authority to halt any improper broadcasting. This has happened only once in 1932 when a broadcast of a World War I German submarine commanders and a British officer who had held him prisoner was prevented from airing.

The BBC had a Board of Directors of up to seven members appointed by the Prime Minister, although official appointed by the King. The appointees were nonpolitical. The appointees were mostly public school graduates. The author sees the most bias was from their public school backgrounds.

British radio set owners obtained an annual license from the Post Office. This cost one pound circa 1950. 85% of these fees were given to the BBC. The BBC received supplemental income from selling a weekly publication “Radio Times”. This publication had 7 million circulation in 1948. The publication raised about $1 million pounds annually. BBC operated on about $10 million pounds annually. By comparison, US stations raised ten times this from advertising.

England had the problem of congestion of frequencies from nearly countries. It had an advantage over the USA in that it could have a minimum of stations available to reach 95% of its population

England allowed its five regional stations to offer regional programming in place of BBC programming. The BBC presented more educational, serious drama, and classical music programming than existed in the USA.

In Canada, a radio station was first licensed by the Department of Marine in 1922. Since 80% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border,  listening to US stations slowed the creation of new Canadian stations. The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission began in 1932 and was replaced in 1936 bu the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Canadians paid $2.50 annual license fees for their radios which produced $5,135,375 in Fiscal Year 1948-9. By comparison, American advertising raised $400 million.

Circa 1950, the CBC owned 18 stations. The Trans-Canada Networks consisted of 14 CBS and 26 private stations the Dominion Network was 1 CBC and 37 private sttions. The French network in Quebec consisted of 3 CBC and 8 private stations.

In Fiscal Year 1948-9, the CBC raised $2,217, 130 from advertising. This represented about 30% of its total income.

The CBC could reach 96% of Canadian families, 80% of programming was produced in Canada. Several American shows were broadcast as well as British and French shows.

The CBC both broadcast and regulated the radio industry. A Minister issued licenses. The CBC could suspect licenses for up to three months. It could buy out or even seize stations in considered redundant.

The concentration of radio station ownership posed a danger of mass communication exploitation of a few delivering messages to many, warned the author.

In 1941, the FCC issued its “Mayflower Decision” in stating the Mayflower Broadcasting Corporation in Boston could not advocate for candidates while not allowing opponents to use its facilities. The FCC sated a license was a public interest and not public property to be used to “advocate”. In 1949, the FCC stated that a station could editorialize so long as an opposing side was similarly treated.

In 1949, there was 103 educational college and university stations. Most broadcast at ten watts to local listeners.

There were 6 TV stations in 1945 and 98 in January, 1950 within the US. In 1945 there were 7,000 TV sets and in 1950 there were over four million TV sets. There were 29 TV set manufacturers in 1947 and there were 100 in 1950.

The FCC briefly stopped approving new TV licenses in 1948 due to interference problems and a backlog in applications As of March 1950 there were 330 applications for TV stations before the FCC

Coaxial cable and microwave relay existed in 1950 between Boston to Richmond and the East Coast to St. Louis. A microwave system existed between New York and Chicago. This helped speed creating TV network programming.

England and France required a better TV picture quality than did the US in 1950.

Airborne television transmission was under consideration in 1950. 33 planes could circle a 20 mile radium at 20,000 to 25,000 feet and transmissions could reach 98.9$ of the US population. There were fears that whoever controlled this Stratovision service could have too much control.

In 1950, some sought to create a system of scrambled images that could be viewed with a corrective electronic signal over a phone wire to the TV that could b purchased, This would be added to the monthly phone bill.

In 1950, it cost about $20,000 to create a one time drama TV show. It cost about $15,000 to create a vaudeville how with bout half paid to the show’s star. The TV rights to broadcast the World Series then cost $140,000.

TV had 23,000 advertisers during January 1950. By comparison there were 1,141 advertisers at the end of 1940 and 236 advertisers in September 1948.

66% of those surveyed stated that watching TV was bringing families together more. 92% stated family members had watched TV together.