– By James Powers – It’s finals week here at JPCatholic, and that means yours truly is doing a fluff piece. To start, here’s a little bit of wholesome memery to lighten up your Thursday: I stumbled upon this the other day, and it got me thinking – what is it about Keanu Reeves that …
Dear Bob and Ted: An Open Letter from a Pro-Life Movie Lover
– By James Powers – To Bob Iger and Ted Sarandos, I’m writing you today as someone who is both thankful for and intimidated by your respective contributions to the American pop-culture landscape. As leaders at two studios that are titanic forces in their respective fields, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that …
8 Tips for Staying Motivated as a Screenwriter
– By Christina Mercaldo – “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” -Milton Berle The year after graduating with my MBA was probably the toughest of my life. It’s true that life after graduation is no joke, regardless of your major. But for writers, it’s even more of a challenge, because we continually are up …
The War on the Canvas: Art vs. Propaganda
– By Christina Mercaldo – When I asked my absolutely brilliant writing mentor why she writes, she could have responded in a gorgeous, poetic oration that would leave any listener drooling and questioning why they were even attempting to take up the craft, when geniuses such as her had already discovered every secret of the …
Everything You Need to Know About the MCU Before ‘Avengers: Endgame’
– By Joe Campbell – The following contains spoilers for the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With 22 movies, eleven years, and dozens of heroes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) may seem like a daunting task to anyone wanting to dip their toes into the massive superhero saga today. But with Avengers: Endgame bringing …
‘The Twilight Zone’ 60 Years Later: Timeless Fables of Human Nature
–By Sam Hendrian– “You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension—a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into: THE TWILIGHT ZONE.” This opening narration of Rod …
The Trouble with Dragon Eggs: A Producer’s Journal (Part 1)
– By James Powers – I have to get something off my chest, dear readers. Although I love movies – watching them, talking about them, picking them apart – they also really scare me. Specifically, the process of making them really scares me. And this is extremely relevant for me at the moment, because somehow …
How Roger Ebert Taught Me – And Probably You – How To Watch Movies
– By James Powers – Today, as I’m writing this, it’s April 3. Tomorrow, April 4 (by which point I will have hopefully finished this thing) is the sixth anniversary of the death of Roger Ebert, a man who almost single-handedly sculpted America’s relationship to movies. He is one of my favorite writers, obviously one …
Why Amazon’s ‘Second Age’ is a Brilliant Move – And What We Can Expect To See
– By Joe Houde – Amazon’s recent tease that their upcoming Lord of the Rings series will actually focus on the Second Age of Middle-earth has a lot of Tolkien nerds (myself included) abuzz with excitement and speculation. Since the show’s announcement in November 2017, details have been rolled out at a snail’s pace. Shortly …