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Amazon Storybuilder beta puts your screenplay ideas in the cloud
Aspiring screenwriters don't have many great choices for simple, purpose-built apps: What exists is frequently expensive, overkill or both. Amazon may shake things up with its new Storybuilder beta, though. The free web app lets auteurs outline movie and TV screenplays using a virtual corkboard accessible from any device with a modern browser; if you think of a clever plot twist while on your phone, you can drop it in. Writers can add images, notes and tags, and they can invite critiques from other readers. Storybuilder won't replace a full set of scriptwriting tools, but it and the existing Storyteller app may get the ball rolling on your next big drama.
Shadow of the Colossus movie picks up 'Hanna' writer
The film adaptation of Shadow of the Colossus is still chuggin' right along, edging ever closer to becoming either the best or worst thing ever, as is the expected fate of all video game movie projects.The production has added Seth Lochhead to its staff, according to The Hollywood Reporter, who will be responsible for Colossus' story and/or screenplay. Lochhead's previous writing accomplishments include Hanna, the 2011 action thriller that starred Saoirse Ronan, Galadriel and The Incredible Hulk.Script production will be overseen by director Josh Trank with Lochhead starting on a fresh adaptation rather than elaborating on the initial draft penned by Justin Marks, the same scribe behind 2009's disastrous Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. We're not complaining.
Interphase's Penveu interactive display system highlights its strengths (video)
If you've ever been on the receiving end of "death by PowerPoint," you'll know just how tiresome a passive presentation can be. Interphase hopes its new Penveu (pronounced Pen-View) portable interactive display system can maybe help spice things up a little. The hand-held unit is about the size of a mouse, and has a corresponding wireless receiver that plugs into anything with a VGA connection. Using "invisible targets" based on missile technology, you can digitally draw on whatever screen you are using it with, altering pen color and thickness as you go. You can also flip it into mouse-mode for regular navigation, aided along by a number of gyroscopes and an accelerometer. The kicker is the price, with Penveu costing $700 ($500 for educational institutions) which the makers claim is a fraction of more conventional systems. Is the writing on the wall for interactive whiteboards? Head on past the break for the promo video to find out.
Just Cause film optioned, screenwriter attached
Eric Eisner's L+E Productions has optioned the rights to a Just Cause movie script written by Michael Ross, reports Variety. Producer Adrian Askarieh is helping the production company flesh out the project "before shopping it to the studios." L+E Productions' first project, Hamlet 2, was picked up by Focus Features for a reported $10 million in 2008, giving some hope to the possibility of Just Cause actually appearing in theaters at some point in the future. Askarieh also helped to get the Hitman film out the door, to which a sequel is currently in production. The Just Cause film will apparently focus on the story of Rico "The Scorpion" Rodriguez as he takes on "deadly missions for the US government that come in the form of creating chaos and destrabalizing rogue nations from within and turning the bad guys against each other." Sound familiar? Let's just hope the adaptation doesn't take any of that ... questionable NPC chatter along for the ride. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
WoW movie still needs a writer, Blizzard's CGI team won't be involved
When you've just released an expansion pack that sold more copies than most major stand-alone releases, all in less than 24 hours, you know you're sitting on a goldmine of a franchise. Blizzard, of course, is aware of this, what with World of Warcraft getting a licensed miniature game and a coming feature film adaptation.And speaking of the feature film adaptation, we have some elusive news about that. MTV's Multiplayer blog had a chat with Blizzard's Frank Pearce about the project. The scoop is that the studio, Legendary Pictures, is still looking for a screenwriter and director. Obviously, that means the movie is very early in development.MTV also asked Pearce if Blizzard's own world-renowned CGI animators would be involved in producing the special effects for the movie. Pearce said that the suggestion has "come up in discussions but it's not something we've really considered because it takes so long to generate just the brief amount of footage that we create for the game."
David Hayter needs your help to write Metal Gear Solid movie
Don't misinterpret that headline -- David Hayter, who has voiced the role of Solid Snake since ... well, since Solid Snake could speak, doesn't need you to submit your fan fiction to help piece together the plot of the supposedly upcoming Metal Gear Solid movie (though we're sure he would find your homemade Otacon/Sniper Wolf erotic literature wildly fascinating). According to a recent IMDB post from Hayter himself, he needs fans of his work and of Kojima's epic series to email a certain Sony Pictures rep and politely suggest that Hayter be the one to pen the film's script. He's got the credentials to do so, having written screenplays for the first two X-Men movies and the upcoming adaptation of Alan Moore's Watchmen. We can also assume that he's played the game he would be adapting, giving him a significant edge over most screenwriters of ludologically-inspired films.
DV Guru reviews Montage - Mac screenwriting software
Our pal Ajit Anhony at our sister blog DV Guru has reviewed Montage, a new screenwriting app from Mariner Software, makers of the popular MacJournal. Overall Ajit is satisfied with Montage and sees a bright future for this app in a (finally) growing industry of Final Draft competitors. However, Ajit can't help but compare Montage to his personal favorite, Celtx, especially since Celtx's price of $0 and innovative feature set make it hard to beat.Check out Ajit's review for in-depth details on what this new screenwriting app can offer.
