FrankenScript :: Lee Gabel's Screenwriting Journal/Blog

I resisted this film for a long time solely on the basis that it just didn’t look right to me. A technical marvel for its time, the emotion of the characters just didn’t come through. But after seeing it with my young son, I finally saw what I had been missing. This is a magical [...]

Wow. I didn’t think I would like this film, but it really got me involved. The story centers on Penny Chenery Tweedy, played brilliantly by Diane Lane, and her training staff. Her family plays a smaller, less developed part, and that’s okay since this is about Penny and Secretariat. Even though we know the outcome [...]

Sheer creative brilliance shines in this Hayao Miyazaki classic. This is an example of a writer-director who truly understands the mind of a child, how they act and what fascinates them. The detail is astounding, with every frame existing as fine art in its own right. The story is touching as well, and easy for [...]

This is what grassroots film making is all about. Josh Fox didn’t know what he was getting himself into when he started to document his findings. The end result is undeniably important. As he travelled across the United States, he encountered more and more people affected by natural gas fracturing. A story emerged, one of [...]

Other than with Starblazers when I was a child, I have never been a fan of Japanese animation (anime). I don’t think it was because the visual style, but lack of exposure. I never sought it out. After watching this, my whole view has changed. Spirited Away is one of the most magical and unique [...]

Not 10 minutes into this film, my six year old son identifies Inigo Montoya, played brilliantly by Mandy Patinkin, as a good guy even though what he is doing is bad. “I like that guy,” he said. That is the sign of a great story and well defined characters. Good guys and bad guys and [...]