“The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.” — John Steinbeck

Matrix reste un souvenir marquant de cinéphile. Il y a déjà 27 ans aujourd’hui !

From the making of LADY IN THE CEMENT (1968): Frank Sinatra and Raquel Welch moments before “Action!” 📸 Terry O’Neill.

Harry Belafonte in his suite in the Hotel Raphael in Paris, 1958. 📸 Russell Melcher.

"An idea for a film is, in my opinion, nothing. For me, there must be a sort of illumination of something that will crystallize in me. It's a sort of vague question I'm asking myself. Normally, I start stupid and the film makes me ask the question more and more intelligently." — Claire Denis

“Every billion-dollar movie has tapped into something personal.” 🔥 Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) & Joe Forte (The Man Who Saved Ben-Hur) join 5AM StoryTalk to talk craft and collaboration, mining personal "lava" & if "the screenwriting life" is still worth it in 2026. 🎧 Listen: pod.link/1807437928/e...

A very interesting take on storytelling in The Matrix (best film ever 😉🤩). You could even take this narrative and apply it for storytelling in an academic talk

THE MATRIX was released 27 years ago today (March 31, 1999). If you’re a storyteller, the first eight pages of its screenplay is a masterclass on how to introduce a complicated world. I’m constantly encouraging people to study them…which is probably why I wrote this article about them.

Original Thai poster for TRON (1982).

We're trapped in a bad political satire.

Epidemiologist DR. ANNE RIMOIN (UCLA) offers a chilling appraisal of our preparedness for the next pandemic. 🚨🦠 From the looming threat of H5N1 (avian flu) to the hard lessons we refused to learn from COVID. Listen to the entire 5AM StoryTalk episode at the links in the first comment. 🎧

Robert Plant in New York City, 1974. 📸 Bob Gruen.

“No passion in the world, no love or hate, is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft.” — H.G. Wells

Sen. Fatima Payman became one of the youngest people ever elected to Australia's parliament in 2022, but two years later she resigned from the Labor Party she once believed in with all her heart. Why? 🔗 Watch/listen to the full 5AM StoryTalk feature at the links in the first comment or my bio!

Keira Knightley in Edinburgh, Scotland, 2005. 📸 Marc Hom.

“I'm not a great writer. I'm a great rewriter.” — Paddy Chayefsky

Every week at 5AM StoryTalk, its community discusses a single question. This week, we're sharing the last piece of art that shattered each of us. Click on the link to join in! colehaddon.substack.com/p/weekly-que...

Want to sell a script to Netflix (or any other streamer) in 2026? 🎬 Oscar-nominee and 'The Screenwriting Life' co-host MEG LeFAUVE ('Inside Out') reveals why "90s high concept" is back and the "poster test" your story must pass. Full 5AM StoryTalk conversation in the first comment! 🎙️

T.S. Eliot sitting on Love Beach, New Providence Island while on his honeymoon in the Bahamas, 1957. 📸 Slim Aarons.

“If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.”
— Elmore Leonard

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Is the screenwriting life still worth it in 2026 given all the threats to it? Oscar-nominated screenwriter and co-host of ‘The Screenwriting Life’ MEG LeFAUVE (‘Inside Out’) and filmmaker JOE FORTE ('Firewall') answer this question and discuss so much more in the latest ep of 5AM STORYTALK!

“There was a moment when I changed from an amateur to a professional. I assumed the burden of a profession, which is to write even when you don’t want to, don’t much like what you’re writing, and aren’t writing particularly well.” – Agatha Christie

You would think all this war would’ve brought stability to the Middle East by now. It’s almost as if…gasp…there’s more money to be made from conflict. Art by Terminal Lance, who adapted Dave Gibbons’ art from WATCHMEN for the purpose.

I love this independent poster for KILL BILL: VOL. 1 so much. What do you think of it? Art by Dave Merrell.

“Every billion-dollar movie has tapped into something personal.” 🔥 Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) & Joe Forte (The Man Who Saved Ben-Hur) join 5AM StoryTalk to talk craft and collaboration, mining personal "lava" & if "the screenwriting life" is still worth it in 2026. 🎧 Listen: pod.link/1807437928/e...

“Nobody knows anything. Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s a guess and, if you’re lucky, an educated one.” — William Goldman

The most magical play in Melbourne for cinephiles? (Spoiler: The answer is yes.)

Today is Opening Day for @mlb.com’s 2026 season (Mar. 25). That makes it a great time to reshare this essay I wrote about baseball and cinema. Between 1984 and 1994, the baseball genre became one of the biggest draws at the U.S. box office before suddenly going all but extinct. So, what happened?

Screenwriters, if your characters are just vomiting information into each other’s ears to help the audience keep up, you aren’t writing a scene – you’re writing a Wikipedia page summary. Let's talk about how to - and how not to - fix it with the help of one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

Elizabeth Taylor as "Cleopatra", Rome, 1962. 📸 Bert Stern.

“If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn.”
— Charlie Parker

Whitney Houston, 2000. 📸 David LaChapelle.

“Write what should not be forgotten.” — Isabel Allende

Brand-new old-school poster for FRIDAY THE 13TH PART II (1981). Art by Video Candyland.

DR. KEVIN HAND, the NASA JPL’s Ocean Worlds Lab Director, explains why "educated optimism" isn't a feeling - it's a discipline necessary to change the world, whether through science or your art. 🎧 Listen to the full 5AM StoryTalk episode here: pod.link/1807437928/e...

James Stewart, Henry Fonda, and Gene Kelly messing around on the set of THE CHEYENNE SOCIAL CLUB (1970). 📸 Unknown.

'Union Hotel, Manchester', 1974. Photograph by Martin Parr (British).

Tanya Tucker in Malibu, 1979. 📸 Lynn Goldsmith.

“Most of my life has been spent in the dark watching movies. Movies have been the literature of my life.” — Steven Spielberg

Are you confused why 'Sinners' didn’t walk away with the Oscars’ biggest prizes? 🏆 The reason is twofold and people aren't talking about either the way they should be to truly understand what happened. I get into it - and much more - on the latest ep of 5AM StoryTalk.

From the making of BATMAN FOREVER (1995): Storyboards for an unused ending from the Joel Schumacher-directed film. This finale was meant to directly link to the end of Tim Burton’s BATMAN (1989), in which Batman stands on a similar gargoyle overlooking Gotham City. 1/2

Spoiler: The fix suggested in this article isn't something as obvious as heavily taxing billionaires or, far more necessary, a mass uprising that shuts the country down. It's making your life worse.

Disney will never pass up an opportunity to use the trades to attack women of color they hired. They do it so consistently, you’d be justified in thinking the company has a secret policy to use racism and sexism to deflect from its own failures and business operations.

Paul Newman reading a script during the filming of THE LEFT HANDED GUN (1958). 📸 John R. Hamilton.

“We’re supposed to be uncomfortable when we read something. That’s how we learn.” — Judy Blume

Where I'm writing today: Holgate Brewhouse Taproom (Woodend, Victoria - Australia). I went with the Dunkel Lager and I'm loving every sip. The wide-open vibe of the space, with sun pouring in, makes for a nice environment to lean into my work.

Just another day in the life of a writer in 2026…

“People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

Writer-director @justinsimien.bsky.social ('Dear White People') breaks down why 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY remains the "gold standard" of filmmaking. Why do some films only get richer — and truer — the longer they exist? Listen to the full 5AM StoryTalk bonus ep: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...