Behind the Scenes

One of Hollywood's favorite pastimes is to gossip and tell tales about past projects. This impulse translates to the online world as well, where film industry personnel flock to share stories, even scores, build recognition, and offer glimpses into their "glamorous" lives.

Scribbling ScribblersScriptwriter Blogs

Not surprisingly, most blogs about Hollywood are created by screenwriters. They are the most consistent at recording their journeys through Hollywood.

The Blank Page

http://www.theblankpage.us/

Jacob W and Craig Mazin started this blog about the scriptwriting process. It features interviews and earnest opinion pieces about storytelling and scriptwriting.

Complications Ensue: Crafty TV and Scriptwriting Blog

http://complicationsensue.blogspot.com

Alex Epstein offers newbies advice from his book Crafty Screenwriting and publicly answers questions emailed by novice screenwriters.

Disc/ontent

http://www.d2dvd.blogspot.com/

Producer and scriptwriter Bill Cunningham explains Direct-to-DVD filmmaking for you at Disc/ontent.

Hollywood Hack, subtitled "Being the Anecdotes and Adventures of a Young Screenwriter Trying to Survive and Thrive in the Industry"

http://hollywoodhack.blogspot.com/

The name pretty much says it all about this diary of an anonymous screenwriter in Los Angeles struggling to produce several scripts simultaneously and keep an eye out for information that will get him future assignments.

Inkslinger: Blathers of a Recovered Television Writer

http://paulguyot.blogs.com/

As one would expect of a blog written by a TV writer, Paul Guyot's blog is entertaining and often wise. Guyot, whose credits include "Snoops", "Felicity," "Judging Amy," and "Level 9", gives an insider perspective on creating and maintaining a network television series.

John August

http://johnaugust.com/

The prolific and successful scriptwriter of films such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory answers reader-submitted questions on his daily blog and shares details about scriptwriting for feature films.

John Oak Dalton's Blog

http://www.johnoakdalton.blogspot.com/

An inspiring blog written by John Oak Dalton who lives in the Midwest and doesn't let that fact prevent him from writing screenplays that he hopes to sell someday.

Kung Fu Monkey

http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/

The Kung Fu Monkey blog by screenwriter and former physics student John Rogers is an amusing mix of sci fi geekery, scriptwriting tricks of the trade, and movie industry rants.

Tantalizing Tidbit

Rogers maintains an evolving thread about his efforts to develop and distribute a cancelled television pilot called "Global Frequency" that has become a big hit on the Internet: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/06/its-global-frequency-now.html.

Man Bytes Hollywood

http://www.davidanaxagoras.com/

If you are planning to go to film school, don't miss UCLA MFA screenwriting student David Anaxagoras's blog. David shares tips and observations about film school and insight into how to break into Hollywood.

Query Letters We Love

http://www.queryletters.blogspot.com/

An accidentally hilarious blog by an anonymous manager who posts sublimely ridiculous film story letters he receives each week in his job in Los Angeles.

Shouting Into the Wind

http://shoutingintothewind.blogspot.com/

Shawna Benson, an aspiring screenwriter, struggles with her day job as she works to complete spec scripts and compete for writing fellowships in Los Angeles.

Scriptwriting By Blog

http://keylight.blogspot.com/

David C Daniel blogs about his efforts to write and sell screenplays in Los Angeles.

Thinking Writer

http://thinkingwriter.com/

Thinking Writer focuses on breaking into the screenwriting trade.

Word Play

http://www.wordplayer.com/

This blog/website offers professional scriptwriter advice and columns from industry veterans Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio.

Good News For Filmmakers With Blogs

In a report released in August 2005, conScore Media Metrix found that blog visitors are 11% more likely to have access to the Internet via a broadband connection. That means bloggers can show their work to visitors and build a new distribution mechanism for multimedia material.

Production Crew Blogs

On film sets, the crew is usually the first to know about the best gossip making its way through the entertainment business. Luckily, some crew members have blogs and are willing to share tidbits with the rest of us.

The Assistant\Atlas: Hollywood's Young Shoulders

http://assistantatlas.blogspot.com/

"Atlas" shares her wisdom on navigating Hollywood's corridors as an agent's assistant. Often posts entries that are hilariously scary.

BLOG of DM

http://dmburrows.blogspot.com

Follow the life of a Dallas filmmaker/producer. This blog is updated on weekdays and offers valuable insights, information, movie news, celebrity sightings, and sarcastic humor.

MyLife As I Know It

http://kylafilmgirl.blogspot.com/

This blog features the musings of an aspiring film student in Canada.

Some Have Hats

http://somehavehats.typepad.com/about.html

At Some Have Hats, former "Moonlighting" producer and TV writer Karen Hall explores her Catholic faith and efforts to produce quality television in Los Angeles.

Totally Unauthorized

http://filmhacks.blogspot.com/

"Peggy Archer" (a pen name) writes the Totally Unauthorized blog, a journal documenting her life as a film production tech.

Production Diaries

These blogs are written as marketing vehicles for specific projects but reveal unfiltered views on the filmmaking process.

A Postcard From Farmland

http://reelpie.blogspot.com/

Who says that filmmaking can occur only in New York or California? Indiana filmmakers Terry Coffey and Jeffery Crone prove that you can make films anywhere as they chronicle their efforts to produce and sell a reality TV show composed of vignettes created by volunteers in three different towns in Indiana.

The Brothers Moser

http://www.moserbrothers.com/

The Brothers Moser blog is the brainchild of directors Joel and Tom Moser and documents their filmmaking activities and observations.

Elizabethtown Production Journal

http://www.cameroncrowe.com:8080/blojsom/blog/default

Director/writer Cameron Crowe posts a journal while making his latest film, Elizabethtown.

Our Favorite Entertainment Industry Blog: Bob Baker's Artist Empowerment Blog

http://bob-baker.blogspot.com/

Author Bob Baker's blog provides self-promotion ideas for artists, musicians, and other creative types. The site is a terrific resource for finding other entertainment industry business blogs and websites. The best thing about this site are Baker's motivational pep talks, telling us that it's the best time ever to realize our potential for self-expression.

Garden State Blog

http://gardenstate.typepad.com/

Actor and director Zach Branff blogs about his experiences directing and promoting his first film Garden State.

The Gene Generation

http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=arkgoth

Pearry Tao blogs about the production of his independent film, The Gene Generation. The blog is a good resource for learning what it's like to be a journeyman director in Los Angeles.

House of D Blog

http://lionsgatedirectors.com/duchovny/index_flash.html

David Duchovny blogs about his experiences writing, directing, and promoting his film The House of D.

King Kong Blog

http://www.kongisking.net/index.shtml

Filmmaker Peter Jackson documents his efforts making King Kong with a video diary of his days in preproduction, production, and postproduction. The blog also features stories about the upcoming film and previews.

Matthew McConaughey

http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/features/s/sahara_airstream_050218/

This blog is the diary that actor Matthew McConaughey kept while driving across the country in an RV to promote the film Sahara.

Morgan Spurlock

http://blogs.indiewire.com/morganspurlock/

The Super Size Me filmmaker and producer of the new TV series "30 Days" blogs about his adventures in the world of moviemaking and how he comes up with crazy ideas to explore and experience.

Project: Cambodia

http://machinesforliving.org/cambodia/

This earnest blog documents the efforts of a group of young filmmakers to make a documentary film about the effects of globalization in Cambodia and other countries.

Roger Avery Blog

http://www.avary.com/rogeravary/journal/journal.php

Roger Avery, film producer, director, and cowriter of Pulp Fiction, has his own blog, which documents his film productions.

Superman Returns Blog

http://www.bluetights.net

The director of Superman Returns, Bryan Singer, is also blogging his production experiences with a video diary of his efforts to revive the legend's franchise.

Hollywood ShuffleDiaries of Wannabe Actors

The following blogs reveal the mundane truths about a profession that is perceived as glamorous. The common refrain found in blogs by actors is hustle, hustle, hustle.

The Actress: Chandni Devi

http://devi.rediffblogs.com

This blog is a fictional account of an overpaid, overindulgent Bollywood actress in India.

The LA Chronicles

http://thelachronicles.blogspot.com/

The LA Chronicles is a blog by a former actor. The blog is no longer updated, but its archived entries provide a fascinating glimpse into the world of actors trying to catch a break in Hollywood.

Marisa's American Idol Audition Training Blog

http://americanidolauditiontraining.blogs.com/marisa/

Singer Marisa Olson blogged about her experiences auditioning for "American Idol." She maintained a diary of her training for an open call audition in San Francisco scheduled for October 5, 2004. Her blog efforts attracted a lot of media attention, and she made it through several rounds of auditions before ultimately being rejected for the 2005 season of the series.

Menta Bella

http://www.mentebella.com/

Menta Bella is a website maintained by a working actress in Los Angeles who shares her stories about being in the biz.

Perry Shen

http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=ParryShen

Perry Shen, featured in Better Luck Tomorrow and First Daughter, blogs about the day-to-day details of being a working actor in Los Angeles. Perry provides a lot of helpful and detailed advice on establishing one's career as an actor in Los Angeles.

Robie's Chronicles

http://www.livejournal.com/users/rkentspeth/

Robie, an actress living in Texas, keeps sane by keeping a journal about the highs and lows of her profession as she earns a living doing voiceover work and acting jobs.

Scratching Surfaces

http://andreallewis.blogspot.com/

Andrea Lewis is a male singer and performer living in Dallas, TX, who shares his thoughts about politics and the singer's life on his blog.

The Business Side of Hollywood Blogs

The entertainment business requires access to the right information at the right time. Blogs help newcomers overcome these obstacles by collecting and publishing most of the information coming out of Hollywood in one location.

Done Deal Script Sales

http://www.scriptsales.com/DDScriptSales.htm

Not a blog in the technical sense, this website updates information on the latest script sales with bloglike daily entries. An excellent tool for scriptwriters interested in knowing what the Hollywood market is buying at any given moment.

The Hot Button

http://www.thehotbutton.com/today/hot.button/index.html

Movie City News site's editor, David Poland, maintains two offshoot blogs called Hot Button, which provide Poland's musings about a hot topic in the entertainment business on a daily basis.

Always be aware that information shared on the Internet may not be that truthful. Entertainment industry players and their publicists are notorious for planting rumors or lies to throw people off. If you act on information obtained from any of these sites, always make sure that you verify the information with a reliable source or reference book.

The Hollywood Economist

http://www.slate.com/id/2124078/

For film fans fascinated by the business of filmed entertainment, Edward Jay Epstein's column on Slate.com is a must-read each week. The author of The Big Picture: The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood, Epstein explains what the box office figures and numbers really mean in easy-to-understand prose.

Microcinema Scene

http://www.microcinemascene.com/artman/publish/cat_index_5.php

This blog collects information about low-budget films and ways to distribute them.

Movie City News

http://www.moviecitynews.com/

A good example of how a blog can be structured to be a 'zine, this news site is devoted to movie production news and film reviews.

Screenplay Europe

http://the-script.blogspot.com/

Anglophone journalist and scriptwriter, Michael Leahy, is the international coordinator for 101 Scénaristes/101 Scriptwriters, a program at Cannes 2005. Mr. Leahy keeps a blog that collects English language news about the European filmmaking world.

Screenplays Wanted

http://screenplayswanted.blogspot.com/

This is a blog that acts as a classified ad service for producers looking for scriptwriters.