David Seltzer

David Seltzer

"So much of dialogue shouldn't be spoken. It's one of the mistakes that new writers make. They think anything they think of should be spoken"

David Seltzer knows Hollywood. He knows the business, the tricks of the trade and all the hidden truths. He's got the stories from working with Jacques Cousteau, penning the horror classic The Omen and adapting Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In addition to writing Dragonfly and My Giant, Seltzer also wrote and directed the coming-of-age story Lucas and Punchline. He can tell you why writing is like love-making and why there is no such thing as fiction. His advice about directing? Wear comfortable shoes. In this interview, you'll learn that and more, including what recent screenplay is the most elegant he has ever heard spoken on-screen and why you don't win arguments with movie stars.

78 Minutes

Letterbox

$8.95
TD-DS7-2
Writer's Tip #41

"Anything that's ever been made that we were fans of, we've read the screenplay and learned a lot."

DVDS FEATURING DAVID SELTZER
DVD CHAPTERS
  1. Intro
  2. How Many Pieces Are in a Pizza?
  3. The Devil Could Wind Up in the White House
  4. There Are Not Three Acts in a Screenplay
  5. The Nobility of the Loser
  6. Kids Are Scary
  7. Each One is Its Own Animal
  8. There's Always Hollywood
  9. There's More in the Lasagna
  10. Absolutely Demonic and Diabolical
  11. The Band Does Not Have Fun There
  12. Just Let Me Feel The Damn Thing
  13. Every Minute of Every Day
  14. Wear Comfortable Shoes
  15. Writing is Like Love-Making