Apart from unnecessary remakes, the one thing absolutely and positively guaranteed to grind the gears of a horror fan, is the news that an upcoming event movie has been cut to achieve a PG-13 rating (NB: 12, 12A, or 15 are the equivalents for us UK folk). The idea that mature content and/or spectacular death scenes in a scary movie have been trimmed or censored, so that studios can ensure a maximum audience and profit, feels like a proper smack in the face for those that care about artistic integrity or the process of filmmaking itself. And let’s be blunt, we all crave a splatter epic, a movie that doesn’t speak down to us, or one that isn’t weirdly bereft of people yelling F-bombs as they f
The subject of writer’s block comes up fairly frequently at writing panels and conferences, which suggests it’s a pretty big concern for a lot of writers. There is some debate about exactly what it is, or even if it actually exists. My position is that if you think you can’t write because of some kind of mental block, then by definition you have writer’s block. I think writer’s block can come in many forms and have many sources. I’ve certainly experienced that feeling of being stuck, that I don’t know what to do next on a particular story or script. But I’ve also developed a writing process and techniques to get past that. I can’t remember the last time writer’s block held me up for a sig
