Rules for writing fiction

Today I found this great page on the website of The Guardian. It's a collection of writers' 10 tips for writing fiction. Some are serious, some less so, but it's interesting for sure. It's not always relevant for screenwriters, but first of all, many screenwriters write other things too. And besides, screenwriting is still not too far from fiction writing, in some senses. Neil Gaiman had one great tip, I think it's the one I liked most:

Write.

Where the wild things are - the movie

I want to begin with the conclusion here. WTWTA is a good movie.

Many doubted the possibility of adapting a 100-words-book into a full length feature film, and the (earlier?) draft of the script received a hard criticism from its reader, but the end result is stunning.

I think the problem of most people with the movie was the lack of action, or, perhaps, the lack of conflict. Also in the book, the kid just closes his eyes and solves his anger in his dream. And in the dream when he misses home he simply returns. But, and this is a very important issue here, this film isn't about big conflicts in the outer world. Like the book, Max has some problems at home, but the main conflict of him is how does he make sense of it, how does he deal with his problems, and not how he solves them. To deal with it means to understand it, and all Max needs to do is to better understand his life, perhaps to get some more control over it.

So we go with Max to where the wild things are, and it's a fantastic hypnotic story, that works on the mind the same ways the book does. Little words, loads of feel.

Way to go, brave brave Spike Jonze.

All Oscar 2010 guesses

Oscars are coming, and the best part of the ceremony is the speculations on the winners of this year's golden man. Myself I have my hopes and fears, but here are the biggest name on the business making theirs:

Oscar 2010 speculation list
Roger Ebert will be probably right in most Oscar categories. Pretty much the sane version of the Oscar Bingo. He even admits it by saying:

I can't remember a year when it seemed easier to predict the Oscars.

My guess is that he means Avatar. Money remains the key to Hollywood Hysteria.
Other lists that look pretty much like Ebert's is this and this.
A slightly different approach is apperent on that list of The Daily Tar Heel. Only the main categories are included here, and no word about Avatar.
Another surprising list is the one of OscarFrenzy.
The voice of the people: the forum of Rotten Tomatoes shows that the crowd is not very single-minded on the 2010 Oscar wins.
But the really interesting fight this year is the one on the Best Animated Feature. It has been a year full of superb animation movies, some will include Avatar as well in that list. The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Up, Coraline. the Village voice talks about one film that should not be left out, in an article entitled: The Illuminating Power of Oscar Nominee.

And when you just can't have any more of the Oscars, The Envelop brings you even more.