Michael T. Starks

Category: Movies

  • Subtext

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    When I re-read a partial draft of a screenplay I worked on a few years ago, I was struck by several scenes that lacked subtext. Of course, I also noticed that most scenes were more wordy than I would like. Part of making characters believable is to prevent them from saying what they mean. Real…

  • Screenwriting

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    I’ve decided that my next project is going to be working on another script. I’m not sure why I’m so interested in writing screenplays at the moment, but I’m not going to question it. If writing screenplays can fuel my creative life these days, I’m fine with that. Storytelling has always been important to me.…

  • The Impact of Movies

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    While our experience of watching a movie is subjective, certain elements of movie-making are objective. If some of the dialogue fades in and out because the boom operator wasn’t paying attention, the movie is objectively worse than it could have been with an awesome boom operator. If an actor speaks in a monotone when trying…

  • No Payoff

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    I watched an okay movie last night. The trailer was great. The premise was fine. The setup was excellent. Unfortunately, I lost interest somewhere in the middle. Although I kept watching it, the ending left me feeling “blah”. There was no payoff. I’m not going to name the movie. There are far too many movies…

  • Love on the Rocks

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    When I was a kid, I watched a movie called The Jazz Singer. It featured the unlikely combination of Laurence Olivier and Neil Diamond. I remember the struggle of a Jewish son trying to break free of the religious traditions of his strict father. But I also remember the creative struggle depicted. Some fool tried…

  • “You start writing the next one.”

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    There’s this amazing scene in the movie tick, tick… BOOM! that I had to watch again. It happens after Jonathon Larson has his big presentation of a new musical that nobody on Broadway wants to produce. He says, “So what am I supposed to do now?” Rosa Stevens says, “You start writing the next one.…

  • Filmmaking

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    Film is a visual storytelling medium. Most movies that get awards at film festivals are “cinematic”. The cinematography is gorgeous, and the visuals go a long way toward telling the story. This is certainly true of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a movie I just saw. It’s hard to imagine seeing this story on…

  • Musical Movies

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    I love musicals! Recently, I took the time to watch In the Heights and Tick, Tick… Boom! again. Both of these are excellent movies. Here are a few reasons why each of them speaks to me. The energy that courses through In the Heights is contagious. I love the characters, locations, and situations. I particularly…

  • Too Many Movies

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    I keep a list of movies and TV shows that I would like to see. I also keep a list of books I would like to read (or listen to). Others may keep lists of podcasts, songs, museums to visit, etc. My rate of consumption is less than my rate of adding content to these…

  • Surprise Party

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    It’s been just over two years since we released our most recent short movie. Today, I am every bit as proud of the work everyone did as when we initially released it. Having said this, I did run out of steam with the project. I chose not to submit the movie to several film festivals,…