Doing a major reinstall on my Mac today, so normal Friday service...isn't.

"Sinners" is #53 in my movies of 2025, smack dab in the middle of my rankings and between "A House Of Dynamite" and "Death Of Unicorn". Sorry, folks. Just don't get the adoration for it.

One of my favourite goofy Terry O'Neill shots of Sean Connery (from the set of "Goldfinger".)

For every working screenwriter who's ever taken their current opus down to a coffee shop to work on, and stared wistfully at a unit shoot and thought "Why isn't this mine?" (and for those emerging writers who've yet to experience that.) #filmsky #scriptsky

Two career girls from different sides of the tracks both fall in love with the same robot...and when a frisky xenomorph gets involved, wacky hijinx ensue! The feel-good movie of 2012, from the director of "A Good Year", and the writer of "Nash Bridges", all in rib-tickling (and exploding!) 3-D!

Trade Ad from back in the day. Announcing Frank Sinatra in..."Dirty Harry"! Directed by Irvin Kershner. There's a wacky parallel universe out there, somewhere... #filmsky

First Season of Sesame Street, Oscar The Grouch was Orange. Later Seasons, he turned green. Parents: an advisory to your kids about what will happen if they sit in garbage cans.

My favourite special effect in "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind": the tiny wisp of smoke from the temperature gauge in Roy Neary's truck when the UFO burns it out.

Although this picture's been colorized, it's an actual shot of Nico and Andy Warhol. Real fun, in the pre-A.I. age.

Everyone seems to be losing their mind over the "28" "Bone Temple". Honestly, I thought Boyle's previous instalment was better, and I wasn't crazy about that. But at least Fiennes looked like he was having a blast filming it. Eh.

A U.S. one-sheet for "School For Scoundrels" (one of my favourite films) was by Tom Jung...who also did the one-sheets for "Star Wars" and "Empire Strikes Back"...two more of my favourite films!

Wrap Party Invite from the earlier BBC (not the Hammer movie!) TV serialisation of "Quatermass And The Pit". If you're British, you'll be agog that this was drawn by Tony Hart (of BBC "Vision On" and "Take Hart" fame...which gave us Morph and Nick Park stop-motion, before Aardman was even a thing.)

This Reebok ad from 2017 always makes me chuckle.

Ron Cobb, 1968

I've many thousands of film scores and often fantasized about how cool it'd be to hire several composers just to one movie, because - let's face it - some are better at certain mood aspects than others. And Tony Gilroy's done it with "Behemoth!" Very envious. www.worldofreel.com/blog/2026/1/...

"Who's maxxgoonish? The jester, or the goon who rugjests him?"

Friday, folks. Another week of insanity, where just when we can't think it'll get crazier, the loons running the asylum prove us wrong. Kick back. Have a drink. Watch a movie. You deserve it. It's...

If you're a bit down-in-the-dumps and want to watch a nice movie about human goodness, see "Goodrich" (even though it deals with parent-child emotional gulfs, marital separation, and business failure - so, if you're experiencing that, give it a miss.). Michael Keaton's on top loveable form. #filmsky

I knew I'd heard this future-lingo before...

Happy #LetterboxdFriday! Time to post your #LastFourWatched 👼 • Anemone • Airport 77 • In A Lonely Place • The Man Who Wasn't There #filmsky

"What does your soul look like?"

Somebody sent a link to an interview from years ago, talking about how I helped set up the "Highlander" TV show, only to get royally screwed over by Producers Bill Panzer and Peter Davis. And how I enjoyed needing Panzer when Miramax years later hired me to write a "Highlander" movie... #filmsky

My #BookSky "bedtime reads" for January (ish). @nicholasmeyer.bsky.social "Sherlock Holmes And The Real Thing" @brianneve.bsky.social "The Many Lives Of Cy Endfield" @crobertcargill.bsky.social "Day Zero" @crobertcargill.bsky.social "Sea Of Rust"

20 years ago, I walked into the Beverly Hills Four Seasons hotel bar. Early evening, empty. Aside from Dennis Hopper. And Robert Duvall. Seated at adjacent tables, feet away. Facing away, not speaking. Apocalypse Now. Months in the jungle together. WHY WERE THEY COLD TO EACH OTHER?! RIP, Duvall.

Loved "Marty Supreme". #5 for '25. 20 minutes too long, great direction, ditto Khondji's cinematography (shot on film. Yay!) Good script (like Levinson, Scorsese in a blender.) Music felt like a Michael Mann movie. Bizarre credit for Safdie (below). Doesn't anyone grammar-check? (below) #filmsky

Happy #LetterboxdFriday! Time to post your #LastFourWatched 👩‍💻 Cause For Alarm! The Smashing Machine Neighborhood Watch Zootopia 2 #Filmsky

Kazu Hiro's prosthetics on Johnson in "The Smashing Machine" are jaw-dropping. That look - the physique, voice, mannerism...is the closest I've seen to a book-accurate Conan the Barbarian onscreen. With a Frazetta wig, if Johnson would spend the time in makeup again, it could be something epic.

Every time I see a working Pro screenwriter hold forth on social media about how it's fine for new screenwriters to break the rules when starting out, I can't help but wonder if they're deliberately trying to sabotage the labor pool to keep the odds of being employed higher. #scriptsky

Watched "The Smashing Machine". I don't much care for boxing or wrestling (or most spectator sports), so the fight scenes left me cold. But Safdie's naturalistic direction approach is great (I'd love to see him do an "Alien" movie), and the cast are terrific across the board. #filmsky

"What movie moment made you exclaim… “THIS IS CINEMA” 🖤" The Mothership is definitely one of them. But this was my first. Age 3.

Sounds great! #booksky

The magazines of my childhood/young adulthood: Starlog Starburst Cinefex Fantastic Films Cinefantastique Fangoria Premiere Movieline Empire SciFi Universe Cinescape Cinemagic Future (Life) And many more. (Some had ladies in them. I'm not going to apologise.) Comics not included. Obviously.

Dear God, Warners are pushing Wuthering Heights... Cookie time. #filmsky

"Eva Green phones."

Watched "Pillion". I was definitely not the audience for that movie. #88 for 2025. Watched "Ella McCay". It's cute and bubblegum, but feels a dated, fluffy 80s/90s artifact (although in this day and age, that's not necessarily a bad thing.) A movie for a cup of cocoa and a duvet. #74 for 2025.

I completely missed John Williams' birthday. I'm just gratified that Lego John Williams is so understanding. For the Soundtrack of our lives, John.

Goddamn, but Mangold's "A Complete Unknown" is a good film, and I'm not even really a Dylan fan. Great cast, especially Ed Norton's Pete Seeger. Phedon Papamichael is a cat who really knows how to light and frame a shot and move a camera. Loved it. Straight in at #4 for 2024.

New "Minions" movie. Had me from the Cthulhu book... #filmsky Minions & Monsters | Official Trailer youtu.be/drr0on3W0K8?... via @YouTube

Had a nice time with "Rental Family". Fun and touching. Odd Fraser performance: for a guy playing an actor, his character didn't improv much, standing around awkwardly. And the plot lent itself to a ton of lawsuits waiting to happen. Good character twist towards the end. #13 for 2025. #filmsky

Watched "Hamnet". I've a Jessie Buckley crush, so will watch her in anything. Not a Mescal fan, but he's fine. Couldn't get over the bland cinematography. Bonus marks for an accurate representation of Writer's Block. #57 for 2025 so far. Would rather watch Emmerich's 2011 "Anonymous" again. #filmsky

Wait. There was a Season 2 of "I Am Groot", and I didn't see it? Well, that's TV-watching at dinner tonight sorted...

George Lucas is "in" the Epstein Files. Which is hilarious, as Lucas famously spent years NOT dating over being broken-hearted about his break-up from Linda Ronstadt. As I understand it, publicist Peggy Siegal mentioned him in an email (probably as he'd just made billions from Disney.) Parasites.

Two episodes into Marvel's Wonder Man, and I'm waiting for the show everyone's raving about. It's cute, but it's not blowing my socks off so far.

Happy #LetterboxdFriday! Time to post your #LastFourWatched 📲 Die My Love The Roses Happy Gilmore 2 Anaconda One was pointless - shouldn't have been made; one was depressing and boring; one was WAY more entertaining than it should have been; and one was better than I was given to believe. #Filmsky

Was this week any worse than last? It all just seems to be turning into a mush of white noise. But I have my movies lined-up for the weekend! Self employed, so no 9 to 5 for me...still working. But determined to do SOMETHING fun this weekend. Even if it's on my own. (Ladies...come rescue me.)

What are your Top 5 Tom Baker Doctor Who Stories (at this point in time, until you can change your mind!)? MIne: • Genesis Of The Daleks • The Seeds Of Doom • Talons Of Weng Chiang • The Ark In Space • The Pyramids Of Mars

Watched the 1987 "A Month In The Country", which from a #scriptsky point of view is an oddity. Being about observation and healing rather than drama and conflict, it confounds a lot of screenwriting rules. Mostly, it's just wild seeing Firth and Branagh as amoebae from 39 years ago. #filmsky

Well! Robin Gregory, an emerging writer I helped with her project, I mentioned previously had placed at Cannes. She just won AGAIN with New Line! A reminder you #screenwriters can find me to help you, either by getting in touch with me directly (recommended), or via scriptreaderpro.com. #scriptsky

Current Pet Hate that makes me growl: Netizens using "Casted" when talking about actors. #filmsky

Hi, #Scriptsky. I'm Peter Briggs: I sold my first spec to Fox in '92. I'm credited co-writer on the 2004 movie "Hellboy"; past 30 years I've been hired-by or sold specs to all the major studios. My side hustle: I provide consultancy to emerging screenwriters serious about their craft. Links above!