“He [Mark Webb] is very savvy, technically, he's shot so many videos, he knows how to get what he wants. The surprise, of course, is that he's also an extremely humanistic story-teller. He's obsessed with story and character, and not just making it look right, which is a double-thred that's rare in directors.” KnowsWantLooksCharacterStoriesCoursesKnow HowDirectorsShotsMarkSurpriseVideoObsessedSavvyHumanistic Author:Joseph Gordon-Levitt
“Pearl Harbor is a two-hour movie squeezed into three hours, about how on December 7, 1941, the Japanese staged a surprise attack on an American love triangle. Its centerpiece is 40 minutes of redundant special effects, surrounded by a love story of stunning banality. The film has been directed without grace, vision, or originality, and although you may walk out quoting lines of dialog, it will not be because you admire them.” MayHas BeensTwoStoriesFilmThreeHoursLinesWalksVisionGraceMinutesSpecialEffectsSurpriseLove StoryAdmireOriginalityPearlsHarborsDecemberStunningSpecial EffectsTrianglesBanalityLove TriangleQuotingRedundantCenterpiecesSurprise AttacksDecember 7December 7 1941 Author:Roger Ebert
“I see this with experienced writers, too: They worry so much about the plot that they lose sight of the characters. They lose sight of why they are telling the story. They don't let the characters actually speak. Characters will start to dictate the story in sometimes surprising, emotional, and funny ways. If the writers are not open to those surprises, they're going to strangle the life, spark, or spirit out of their work.” IfsWayBookSometimesCharacterStoriesSpiritSpeakLosesWorryEmotionalSightSurpriseComicPlotSparksSurprisingComic Book Author:Brian Michael Bendis
“The only place where you can really surprise or shock the reader, or make someone laugh, is on the lower righthand corner - the very last panel - so as you turn the page, the payoff is in the upper lefthand panel. To pace every story so that there's a setup and a payoff at the page turn was a huge challenge; it's a part of the medium and you really have to learn what can be done in the medium.” DoneStoriesLastsTurnsChallengesLaughingHugeReaderPagesSurpriseCornersMediumsShockPacePayoffSetupsMake Someone Laugh Author:Chuck Palahniuk