Adam Levenberg

Accidental resort developer. Novelty Hunter. Author of THE STARTER SCREENPLAY.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

Spielberg produced The Money Pit and I think we can all agree it's been mostly downhill since then. I'll see his alien movie tho.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@ChrisCillizza Pratt showed Democrats how to step it up. His ads were better than the antiquated, trash that D consultants churn out. The AI fan videos captured millions of views. He showed up on debate stage and performed. D's need to transform their politics--we can learn from him.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@TheatreofZen This has nothing to do with the actor. The film got good reviews, tons of marketing, and sold (literally) 1/10th as many tickets to kids as R rated Backrooms did opening weekend. There was zero appetite for this project.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@cinemaxwell I was at a party yesterday and someone who is a theater fan but not in entertainment pulled out his phone and showed me pictures of Lost Boys stage. He'd made drawings to show how the elevators worked...also talked about jump scares and fun effects. Made me want to see it.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@leftwick20 @demsocsean you should definitely go watch some clips of Frank Rizzo. He was trying to make a comeback when he dropped dead.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@edwardbrgr "He fell off after his first movie". lol.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@GraceWalkerrr Nobody is proud of every terrible thing they ever said and did. That guy used his power to harass, humiliate and abuse people, constantly, for decades.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@GraceWalkerrr The most important thing to remember about any article is those insane behaviors are the ones the journalist could confirm through multiple sources. But they were not greatest hits from a career of awfulness. It was more like worst examples from any given month.

[one dozen rats at a keyboard @PanasonicDX4500]

I’ll never forget the time an interviewer asked Johnny Knoxville about the homoerotic subtext in Jackass and he got mad at them for calling it subtext.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@DannyDrinksWine I'd bet if the bus had a bomb on it, people would get super chatty with each other.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@RifewithKatie I'd love to hear your thoughts on why artists and creators stay focused on this stuff when we should be celebrating that He-Man finally made it to theaters and (fun fact) the director's father is the owner and founder of Nike. What were you saying?

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

He-Man sold only 4% of tickets to 12 and under this weekend. That means R-rated Backrooms sold 10x as many tickets to that demo during first 3 days. It's comically low but noticing the under 12 numbers are anemic overall. Is it just too expensive to take kids to movies?

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@thehdroom @TheWrap He-Man only sold 4% of all tickets to 12 and under...I'll spare you the math but R-rated Backrooms sold TEN TIMES as many tickets to kids during the first three days as family friendly, heavily promoted, well reviewed, PG-13 rated He-Man.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@admcrlsn Steyer and Porter are best examples of voters having a good long look at two candidates and saying "no thanks." Trust that. Blaming one for the other's loss is not helpful.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@DrPopCultureUSA F. Murray Abraham did same thing on Bonfire of the Vanities.

[Stuart Hooper @HoopStuart]

In our micro budget world, the ‘pro’ crew on the show gets a day rate and the folks linked to the project more personally and for years might forgo any salary and take points. This often means a writer/director makes less on their feature than a short term hire.

[DepressedBergman @DannyDrinksWine]

The first test screening of "Ghostbusters" (1984) was done only 3 weeks after the filming was completed. There were about 200 university students who were raucous. Reitman felt the screening without special effects would reveal if the story and the humour really worked. In the scene where Sigourney Weaver opens the refrigerator, it only displayed "Scene Missing" and had grease pencil marks all over it. The audience groaned during the scenes but they also had a good time. The movie had 90% audience approval even without the special effects.

("Ghostbusters: An Oral History", Jeff Labrecque, Entertainment Weekly, 2014 & "Ivan Reitman Recalls The Wild First Screening Of Ghostbusters And The One Character He Wasn’t Sure Would Work", Mike Reyes, Cinemablend, 2021)

P.S: On this day, 42 years ago, Ivan Reitman's "Ghostbusters" (1984) premiered in Westwood, California, USA.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

He-Man was ultimate 1980s masculine power fantasy. Power fantasy for kids and teens isn't something that has gone away--but its massively shifted. I'm certain the film addresses this but you can't market that. Super curious to figure out why Barbie worked and He Man collapsed

[Vashi Nedomansky, ACE @vashikoo]

THE OMEN and BLACK SWAN both used an actor standing on a dolly as it moves toward a vertical "floor" to give the illusion of falling through space. A simple yet effective in-camera practical effect that turned gravity sideways.

[Adam Levenberg @StarterScript]

@CoreyAtad Let's say you're a screenwriter. You have an idea or a finished script. There are now 5 potential buyers. One of them is Netflix. You look at this like a bidding war. Those are rare. It's more like "you can make it at Netflix or not work at all"