A Chat with Author Ted Baehr

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A chat with author Dr. Ted Baehr Kevin Thompson here. We sit on the Florida front porch, rocking away “in all kinds of weather,” as the song We are the Boys of Old Florida states. And it’s true. We are the “pollen state” right now. Mow your yard, and you look like a bad impression of Pig Pen from Peanuts. Everything is yellow, and we haven’t had any significant rain in over a month. Without further delay, I want to introduce a gentleman who has been working to transform the minds and hearts of moviegoers with the message of God’s…

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Stories, Parables & Movie Scripts Basic screenplay writing excerpted from HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL) Part V The Premise

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A great story goes somewhere. It tells us something. That something is a premise. A poor story wanders about, gets lost and bores an audience. In a baseball game, the team with the most runs wins. You watch the game to see if the team that you like can get the most runs and win the game. Imagine how boring baseball would be if there was nothing to win: if “games” were like practice sessions where players just hit and fielded balls without a clear purpose. No one would want to pay to watch. A premise says, “To win, I…

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Stories, Parables & Movie Scripts Basic screenplay writing in the context of HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL) Part IV Where do you begin scriptwriting?

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Where do you begin scriptwriting? Fifty years ago 20th Century Fox released Rogers and Hammerstein’s THE SOUND OF MUSIC. It remains a favorite of millions of moviegoers. Rodgers and Hammerstein ate, slept and dreamt their craft. It drove them. Both saw their work as something they had to devote their life to. It was their passion. Both demanded of themselves exemplary work. In a world filled with would-best they succeeded because they were creative, innovative and persistent. Before their big success with OKLAHOMA there were years of study, struggle, rejections, failures, disappointments and growth. Their passion drove them through many…

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Stories, Parables & Movie Scripts — Basic screenplay writing excerpted from HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL) — Part III — For Better or for Worse

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Stories, Parables & Movie Scripts Basic screenplay writing excerpted from HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL) Part III For Better or for Worse Communicating effectively requires learning and applying the basic principles of language, grammar, rhetoric, technique, and general rules that govern each genre and medium. There are three levels of such principles: general principles (which apply to most communications), genre specific principles, and media specific principles. There are also several steps involved in producing powerful communications, including movies and television programs. Here is a brief outline of the most important foundational steps in preparing your communication….

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Stories, Parables & Movie Scripts Basic screenplay writing excerpted from HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL) Part II

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Communication is an important part of the uniqueness of humankind. The human drive to communicate through a variety of forms, formats and media is remarkable. In the garden of Eden, God tasked Adam with naming all the animals. That desire to name, to create, and to communicate is still one of the most essential human traits, lasting from infancy through adulthood. Christians and Jews have long been known as people of “The Book.” Since the Bible is full of stories and Christians are called by Jesus to communicate the Good news, which He did through Parables, Christians are a storytelling…

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Stories, Parables & Movie Scripts: Part I – Basic screenplay writing excerpted from HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL)  

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Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and He would not speak anything to them without a parable, so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: I will open My mouth in parables; I will declare things kept secret from the foundation of the world. –Matthew 13:34–35 One day more than 70 years ago, two literary giants in England stood talking about language, stories, and religion. In the middle of the conversation, the taller gentleman blurted to his slightly balding companion, “ Here’s my point: Just as a word is an invention about an object…

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Tips from the Pros: Dr. Ted Baehr

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California! Today I have the honor of interviewing Dr. Ted Baehr. Not only has Dr. Baehr penned many books, but he is the founder of the popular and influential Movieguide® review service, which is having a surprisingly positive effect on Hollywood. Check out the statistics in the final question below! Ted, how did you get into writing? When I was the president of the company that produced THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE for CBS Television in 1979 and 1980 that had 37 million viewers and won an Emmy Award, Roy Carlisle from Harper…

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