“Presence” Screenwriter David Koepp on Writing a Ghost Story Told by the Ghost
One of the unwritten rules of screenwriting is you don’t put camera direction in the script. It’s about the worst possible move for a writer, a serious no-no in Hollywood, and the number one way to guarantee your work never gets produced. But in the case of Presence, a new, propulsively effective haunted-house movie with a twist, it was possible for the screenwriter David Koepp to put such objections aside and embrace the visual possibilities because the camera,
Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence” Sells Big at Sundance 35 Years After Iconic “sex, lies, & videotape”
Thirty-five years ago, in January of 1989, Steven Soderbergh brought an edgy drama to Sundance that ended up changing the film business. His now iconic sex, lies, & videotape was sold for $1 million and went on to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and ultimately grossed $25 million at the box office. It is the movie that has a credible claim for lighting a fire under the independent film community, turning it into a real business and its filmmakers into future stars.
