Film
Recent News Events That Parallel Movie Plots

In the motion picture industry, many plots are inspired by true events–Dick Wolf made a career out of making plots of Law & Order “ripped from the headlines.” But there are times when the saying “life imitates art” is true. A number of times in the past year or so, news events have happened that […]
Movie Critiques
Battle of the Airbenders: TV Series vs Film

Avatar: The Last Airbender is an animated series that Nickelodeon aired from 2005 to 2008 that draws heavily from Asian mythology and Anime style. It’s easy to dismiss this as another Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh! or just another goofy Japanese import for little kids. While definitely in that vein, it is an American production that […]
Other Oddities
2012 in Review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: 4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 19,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 4 Film Festivals Click here to see the complete report.
Polls & Quizzes
FilmVerse Summer ’12 Theatre of Shame – Finalists

Polls are now closed. Check out the winner! We’re down to the last round in the FilmVerse Summer 2012 Theatre of Shame, the contest where voters determine the worst of the worst in motion pictures. The Semi-Finalists came down to the Dynamic Duo Batman & Robin vs. a double-dose of Adam Sandler in Jack and […]
Screenwriting
Basics of Screenplay Format

This article was originally published at screenwritersdaily.com on April 24, 2012. This may be obvious, but the purpose of screenwriting is to end up with a motion picture. This basic yet essential fact is why the screenplay format is so important. Much like plays require a format agreed upon by those who put on stage […]
TV
The Twilight Zone Quiz

Rod Serling’s innovative anthology show The Twilight Zone had more influence on our society than perhaps any other scripted series. Its episodes illuminated themes of society and the human condition that television networks were afraid to tackle during that time by wrapping its messages in stories of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Known for its […]
More Articles

Actor Teams We Need to See
Chemistry between actors on screen is an elusive thing. When it works, the teaming of actors transcends sometimes mediocre movies (exactly how many road movies did Bob Hope and Bing Crosby do together?) and can elevate good films to greatness (imagine Ghostbusters without any of the cast members intact). Bad chemistry can be painful to […]

Oscar Quiz: John Williams
……………….. This article was originally published at showwatcher.com on May 1, 2012. John Williams is one of the most prolific film composers of all time and is responsible for some of the most memorable movie music for such films as Jaws, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, […]

Star Lord of the Potter Rings Wars
Ask anyone who has seen Avatar and wants to be snarky about it, the plot of James Cameron’s epic Science Fiction adventure bears a strong resemblance to Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, and Fern Gully. The similarities between Forrest Gump, Big Fish, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has already been explored. Now let’s take […]

Poll: What Sequels Do You Wish Were Never Made?
Despite the fact that everyone seems to bemoan sequels, excitement grows when it is announced that a follow-up is in the works for a popular movie. The Avengers has not even been in American theaters a week, and yet Disney has already announced plans for a part 2–and it’s unlikely that many people are protesting […]

Oscar Quiz: Best Cinematography
This article was originally published on showwatcher.com on 4/20/12. It seems that the Academy Award categories that everyone cares about is Best Picture, Best Director, and the acting awards. However, when you think of the films that are worthy of taking home the little golden man, what you picture is largely the amazing visuals from […]

Not Quite the Avengers
I would actually pay to see this movie…though something tells me it won’t have the same impact as the Joss Whedon film. copyright © 2012 FilmVerse

James Cameron Quiz
The self-proclaimed King of the World directed movies that have made more money than any other filmmaker except for Steven Spielberg–managing to do this with only eight movies. James Cameron‘s last two efforts have fought for the distinction of being the highest-grossing movie of all time. He has led the way for the 3D revolution, […]

Billion Dollar Grossing Directors Who Are Not “Brand Names”
According to Box Office Mojo, there are 87 directors whose collective films have earned over a billion dollars worldwide, yet many of these directors live in obscurity while others have become celebrities thanks to their film careers. The so-called “brand name” filmmakers have a large following and are generally household names: Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, […]

M*A*S*H Quiz
M*A*S*H is one of the best television series of all time and was one of the first shows to cross comedy with drama, mixing hilarious hi-jinx with the horrors of war. The series lasted eleven years, eight more than the actual Korean War in which it was set, and most of those years it was […]