Zack Morrison
@ZackMorrison18
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TV Writer/Director: #CanusaStreet , Everything’s Fine. Staff Writer: @PetaPixel . Prev: ContractTK, Buzzfeed, Fallon, SNL, LNSM. @ColumbiaFilm MFA. Rutgers.
Los Angeles / New Jersey
Joined January 2012
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No joke, I teach this movie in my screenwriting class. Structurally it’s perfect. Every joke has a second shoe. All 8 sequences have clear breaks. How do you not cry at the end?
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Show of hands ✋🏻 who here has quit a toxic job? Let’s normalize this shit. It’s never worth it, and it’s way different than paying your dues.
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No actor should be making this much when writers assistants and script coordinators are making $17-20/hour.
Robert Downey Jr. is making "significantly more" than $80 million to play Doctor Doom in two "Avengers" movies, sources say.
Downey's deal is also filled with perks that include private jet travel, dedicated security and a whole “trailer encampment.”
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You guys suck. The Binge TV streaming model has ruined audience’s appreciation of the beauty of long 24 episode seasons, full of weird one-shot episodes where the writers room spins out incredibly creative stuff. Not every episode worth telling needs to be series A Story.
The ‘Lost’ episodes you can safely ignore during your Netflix rewatch, as they lack character growth, mythology, plot development, or supernatural activity.
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Are we ready for a film school lesson? A ‘Directing 101’ that’s on full display in
#AnyoneButYou
in the best way possible?
First, a visual filmic callback to the opening. 🤌🏻🤌🏻very gabagool.
Second: when they’re being playful/platonic, we’re across the table from them…
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I don’t think Gen Z will understand how influential this film was for me:
-A surprise trailer in ‘07 Transformers.
-No title.
-A meta found footage premise.
-JJ/Bad Robot mystery was HUGE.
-All happening when the web was 1.0
Cloverfield is my Blair Witch. It’s House Of Leaves.
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I appreciate all the love for A Knight’s Tale. Here’s a breakdown for all my writers that are structure nerds like me.
What timeless under-appreciated classic from Zack’s Favorite Films should I discuss next week?
-The Princess Bride
-My Cousin Vinny
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@dominicknero
I forget whose joke this was, but someone on here mentioned how he stands like a centaur that lost its back legs, and that's all I see now.
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All this is to say that, filmmakers: don’t EVER let someone tell you that romcoms can’t be beautifully-crafted pieces of cinema. It’s the small choices we make as artists that define us, not the large bombastic ones.
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Remember how you all hated the final season of Game Of Thrones? Yea that’s why tv shows need writers rooms.
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WE BREAK THE 180 LINE! The camera crosses the axis. It’s a quintessential directing choice because the emotional beat changes. Therefore, the filmic language needs to change.
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I’m sorry, but you’re not a “filmmaker” if AI is making your film.
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Without full season orders:
-Joey never wears too many clothes.
-Dwight never starts a fire in The Office.
-Buffy never loses her voice.
-Liz never learns about the Teamsters' sandwich shop.
-Jack & Teal'c never get caught in the time loop.
-We never see Big Block of Cheese Day.
I love how writers are like we want 22 episode seasons and actors are like 22 episode seasons are awesome and the crew is like please give us longer seasons so we aren’t unemployed 4 times a year and audiences are pleaseeee give us more episodes and execs are like .. how about 6
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Fucking Christ let people sit down over the course of a 12 hour day. I hate that this is a conversation.
Bradley Cooper says "there's no chairs" on set when he directs: "I’ve always hated chairs on sets; your energy dips the minute you sit down in a chair. There's no video village."
He's also adopted Christian Bale's acting method: "I had heard stories about Daniel Day-Lewis. I
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This subtle change in camera position is a beautiful “yes, and” to good writing and good performances. It’s the little choice that a director can make to articulate a change in narrative and emotional beats while also relaying that feeling to the audience.
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My Cousin Vinny is a perfect movie. It’s a masterclass in comedy w/ Joe Pesci and OSCAR WINNER Marisa Tomei. Yet—it hasn’t had a recent BluRay release, it’s not taught in film school (s/o to Jeff Cox in Screenwriting II), it’s not streaming. Let’s talk about it.
#ZacksMovieClub
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Everything about Sheridan’s perspective is antithetical to the craft. Television is a collaborative medium. If you want to be an auteur, go be a playwright.
Being a leader means knowing how to communicate your ideas to others and find creative compromises. That’s filmmaking 101.
Taylor Sheridan says he might quit TV if the WGA
#WritersStrike
compels studios to staff shows with a minimum number of writers: “The freedom of the artist to create must be unfettered…”
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STOP 👏 MAKING 👏 THIS 👏 ABOUT 👏 I.P. OWNERSHIP 👏👏👏
If Warner Bros. Discovery talks to merge with Paramount prove successful, WBD could gain access to top Paramount IP including:
-Terminator
-Transformers
-Mission Impossible
-A Quiet Place
-Star Trek
-Smile
-Scream
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
-Top Gun
-Paranormal Activity
-The
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Can we both talk about how RR has been on a roll of boosting his costars and clapping up their hard work and good personness; and also normalize this behavior up and down the line for the rest of us? Filmmaking is a team sport.
This Jen Garner person. She has a black belt in kindness but has inside her: an unblinking hurricane of vengeance™️.
I’ve worked with Jen twice now. She brings a completely different scope of skills to each movie but can’t hide one detail: I don’t care how talented someone is…
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Our visual axis is across the table to them. We respect the 180 degree rule because in this moment, we’re all experiencing the same beat. Cute. Fun. Playful.
BUT!!!!!! BUT. Watch what happens when we switch from “fake” to “real” — (next tweet)
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Another piece of strong comedy directing: cutting away to Gata and the koala is funny, but keeping them in frame is fantastic.
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Well, this blew up. Maybe I’ll do more of these.
Here’s a fun bonus: with camera blocking, you often want to consider access. Who do we have access to? Why are we giving that access?
In the first setup, we are observers. In the second, when the beat changes, we are with them.
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The AI bros really don’t like it when you tell them that it takes years of practice to get good at something.
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Where’s the Blumhouse of Comedy? Where the company rolling the dice on low budget projects from relatively undiscovered comedy voices?
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When I was a freshman at Rutgers, Spike Lee spoke to us—"Get a $100 camera from Best Buy, shoot something, and upload it to Youtube tomorrow." The first iPhones were still new and hadn't replaced low-end cameras yet. Here are some first-camera suggestions for filmmakers in 2024:
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We’re about to find out that the Santa Monica houses have been a 20 year viral marketing stunt for
#Barbenheimer
.
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People had to move out of LA because of this asshole. Fuck Zaslav and everything he's done at WB.
David Zaslav Admits Striking Writers Were "Right About Almost Everything"
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I briefly worked as an EA to a Netflix creator/showrunner, & after getting pissed at me for leaving my desk to walk across the street for a salad at lunch, he asked me to join him and his wife on a writing retreat to Calabases to cook for them. I declined the offer and was fired.
What experience in the workplace radicalized you?
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But for real though this drives me up the fucking wall. There are hundreds & hundreds of projects out there that are READY TO GO from all the talented writers on here scratching for a shot at something—meanwhile all the studios act as if it’s a mystery why streamers are failing.
Millennials and Gen-Z Want Original Movies and TV, Not Remakes, New Streaming Survey Says
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Rob Reiner deserves way more love from the cinema bros than he gets. This is Spielberg-level greatness.
Rob Reiner did the following films in succession: Stand By Me. Princess Bride. When Harry Met Sally. Misery. A Few Good Men. There is no better 5 movie run.
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Ok Screenwriting Twitter: I see your *bolded* sluglines, your Fade Ins, and your "Beats;" and let me raise you: A QR code inside the title page of a musical pilot to provide a sample soundtrack to listen to while reading.
Let the chaos begin.
Writer friends! I just uploaded a new project to
@Coverfly
: a musical hour-long drama, ASBURY PARK. Give it a look, especially if you're a fan of—you know.
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“Funny thing happening in the background” is one of my favorite visual jokes. Here’s a similar bit in
#CanusaStreet
where a character starts choking in the middle of a normal shot/reverse shot conversation in the Chief’s office.
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Hear me out, what if you just greenlit less expensive films...?
"We are very focused on AI. The biggest problem with making films today is the expense." Sony CEO Tony Vinciquerra is weighing in on their future use of artificial intelligence:
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That feeling when you book a script coordinator job on a super cool show! 🙏🙏🙏
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After two years of screenplay competitions, film festivals, and rewrites;
#CanusaStreet
starts production this week. What a journey it’s been.
Any reps looking for a comedy writer with a produced pilot to add to their roster? I’m a free agent!
@Coverfly
@theblcklst
@NetworkISA
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Thinking today about Cmdr. Adama's line re why we separate the military and the police:
"One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people."
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There’s a special place in hell waiting for people who create fake movie trailer thumbnails that always fool my mom…mainly cause she sends them to me every day.
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I saw someone call out a popular show for having “filler episodes” that don’t have major series arc beats. This is the worst part of streaming’s binge model: a lack of tolerance for anything not pure A-story.
Some of the best hours of TV would be called filler by this standard.
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Here are upcoming Zack’s Movie Club picks. Bring a drink & I’ll discuss what makes my favorite films objectively great, from beat structure to character breakdowns. Fridays after
#pipelinewriters
!
10/21 - My Cousin Vinny
10/28 - Bedknobs and Broomsticks
11/4 - The Princess Bride
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While we’re on the topic of Save The Cat, I’m a huge structure nerd. In my writing class at Rutgers last week, I walked my students through 3 Act / 8 Sequence, using Raiders of the Lost Ark as an example.
Not gonna do a whole thread, but maybe this is helpful?
#ZacksMovieClub
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But...this isn't anything.
I'm all for the democratization of filmmaking as much as the next guy. What the 5D Mark II did for all of us revolutionized everything. But like in 2009 where every indie film suddenly had a bunch of lens flare and bullshit, what story are you telling?
People aren't taking the "everyone will be filmmakers" seriously enough.
I made this 20s trailer in 15mins with an OpenAI Sora clip, David Attenborough's voice on Eleven Labs, and sampling some nature music from Youtube on iMovie
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Generative AI video makes no sense to me from a business perspective. How many millions and billions are being spent to develop a technology in the attempt to replace a single human's paycheck?
Isn't it exponentially cheaper to just hire an animator? A cinematographer? Actors?
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I think this year’s Halloween costume worked out pretty well… 🖖🏻
#StarTrek
@ansonmount
@StarTrekOnPPlus
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@FallonTonight
not quite sure how to start this Monday off...oh the decisions.
http://t.co/OwHSqeX2lO
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Plane reading. Let’s see how many screenwriters hate-dunk on this tweet…
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I want to open a coffee shop that turns into a bar at 5pm for happy hour. One stop shop for writers & mobile editors.
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Negotiations should be over immediately because of this outfit. AMPTP lost the high ground here.
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What do you call a ghost that leaves a ton of pasta in the woods in New Jersey?
The Gaba-Ghoul! 🤌🤌
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When accepting the award for Best Editing,
@ThatKevinSmith
asked me to scissor him. I happily obliged.
(Get it? Scissoring—cutting—editing?)
#SmodcastleFilmFestival
🫵👍
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Bunch of people are calling me “boomer who yells at clouds” etc re the longer TV seasons pre-Netflix, and I truly have to ask: is our current system, as an audience member, actually better?
When you think about “the best shows of all time,” how many episodes do those shows have?
This is the equivalent of a boomer trying to reclaim their lost youth.
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Working on a new script. This one might be my first feature. Excluding Bruce Almighty, are there been any faith-based comedies out there?
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Can’t wait until Studio Executive Barbie kills this squad’s project for a tax write off…
Barbie is launching a ‘Women in Film’ doll collection:
• Film Director Barbie
• Cinematographer Barbie
• Movie Star Barbie
• Studio Executive Barbie
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Some of the people in the comments act like they’re not perpetually watching and rewatching the 201 episodes of The Office 😉
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Trolls: "You chose a shit profession." "You made a mistake." "Film is a worthless degree."
Me: How many hours of Netflix did you watch today?
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@FallonTonight
For the first time ever, we are now scared of the people NOT wearing masks.
#NewHalloweenTraditions
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JOB OPP: A-List Hollywood executive assistant. Minimum wage, part time pay, with optional full time hours. Seeking a “team player.”
Candidate must have a car, car insurance, 5+ years of experience, alternative sources of income, Master’s degree, and zero aspirations.
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So I’m leaving for the airport in 12 hours to go shoot my first comedy pilot. I’m up. I’m wired. I’m anxious. AMA!
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It was so much fun finding a variety of looks for
@Grind3h
’s froggy plush Kickstarter. Which one is your favorite?!
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Guys I'm directing my first pilot in two months and it still hasn't hit me yet. WHAT?!
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Can we just say that, once again, whether it’s how you thought it was gonna end or not; HBO’s Sunday night event show dominated TV the last four seasons. Writing did that. Storytellers did that. Masters of their craft made this show.
Zaslav can, to quote Logan Roy, fuck off.
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Literally Hulu. That’s why they first made Hulu.
Paramount+ and Peacock are reportedly in talks to merge into a single streaming service.
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When my relatives ask me how “the movie business” is going?
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In fairness, this is a job he never wanted in the first place. I bet he’s over it.
In 2016, when I was the writers’ intern at Seth Meyers, I dug up casting calls for a “new conservative news network” that we suspected was Trump TV. (1/2)
Dude looks clinically depressed. If your grandpa walked into a room like this you’d ask if he needs a trip to the store for some candy.
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Remember kids: never tell your college cinema studies professor that you have dreams of being a filmmaker beyond the walls of criticism and academia. They may hold a 10 year grudge against you and talk about it on Facebook.
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So CANUSA STREET won Best Comedy Screenplay!!! So grateful for the actors who brought their artistic and creative energy to the table read. I’m on cloud nine. Duluth, we will we back! Thank you
@catalystories
!
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1. You can’t remake this movie. I mean, you “can,” but you can’t capture the mythos that surrounded it when it released. So…you can’t remake it. You’re just making another found footage film.
2. Since you’re just making another found footage film, why not make something new?
At the 2024 Lionsgate
#CinemaCon
panel, the studio announced it will partner with Blumhouse on a remake of 'The Blair Witch Project'
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A feature film story chart, overlaying 3 Act Structure, 8 Sequences, and Save The Cat beats. Sometimes it’s helpful to reinforce the basics…
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Am I the only one on this bird site that loves episodic, story-of-the-week television that has big episodes, small ones, bottle shows, season arcs, stand-alone stories, character pieces, and mid-season two parters?
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Overjoyed. A six-year journey from ideation in film school to writing during the pandemic to networking at festivals to raising money to production in MN to post in NJ/NY to premiere in LA.
THANK YOU to everyone who supported me on this journey.
@danceswithfilms
#CanusaStreet
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I shit you not, some upper west side bro literally stood up at an outdoor restaurant, cursed out a homeless person walking past, and yelled “do you know who my father is?”
He has now spent several min defending his outburst for others.
Comedy writers: swing by 86th & Amsterdam.
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Screenwriting Twitter: we’re alive, we’re telling our stories, and we’re sharing it with whoever will listen. Celebrate every damn win.
I’ll clap you on 👏👏👏👏
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Hey friends. Screw it. I'm looking for work (I know we all are, but I am too).
I'm a comedy writer-director from NJ w/ credits in network, cable, and digital; wrapping up a film festival tour with my produced television pilot.
See something here you like? Call/DM me!
#HireZack
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Ok so if my next script happened to be a reboot of the best Disney/Sherman Bros film no one ever saw…would you all read it?
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Well since we’re all here, I’m a comedy writer/director. I do musicals too. I have script samples and I’m available for staffing. Here’s to the dream jobs!
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Overwhelmingly disagree.
As a comedy writer, I need to set the tone for the reader. Since we don’t have the magic of watching actors yet, where writing in something like “Kenan reacts” would always get a laugh—you bet your ass I’m gonna go for chuckles in the stage direction.
Pet Peeve
#398
: Please stop putting jokes or asides in your scene descriptions. Save your sense of humor for what we can actually see and hear onscreen. Every time I'm aware of you, the oh-so-clever writer chuckling at your keyboard, is a moment I'm not immersed in your story
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I got asked on Bumble about outfit recommendations for a Springsteen-themed party. I don’t think she was prepared for the Bruce Fashion history lesson that was about to occur:
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*SCRIPT TO SCREEN* Writers: here's how I go about taking a screenplay and putting on my director's hat.
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@natums
Don’t let anyone mock you for your film preferences. I was the weirdo at Columbia U’s MFA program that loved Marvel, musicals, comedy; and I referenced A Knight’s Tale in my application interview. This movie rocks.
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You know AMPTP is fucked when the AI they want to replace us with won’t cross the picket line either.
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