Brendan Davis

Paris-based American writer-producer-director. Stonecutter. Deist, like the Founders. Anti-fascist, like my relatives who fought in WW2. ATL-LAX-PEK-CDG.

[Brendan Davis @VeritasInLux]

Welcome to my childhood - “this kinda football”, not “me as Oliver Twist”, thankfully.

[Super 70s Sports @Super70sSports]

This motherfucker looks like he walked straight from invading Normandy to the game, drinks his water with a ladle, and there’s a goddamn hobo and a 19th century teenager behind him. Don’t tell me football’s better now.

[Dr. Abdul El-Sayed @AbdulElSayed]

Jan 6 terrorist Jake Lang tried to crash our canvass launch. Here’s how real Americans responded:

[savannah brown @savannahbrown]

it is okay to annoy people. it is okay to say stuff that makes other people really uncomfortable. you do not need to exist in a constant state of hypervigilance around managing the emotional state of the other. it robs the other of their autonomy and is keeping you from true connection

[Fara Kaufman @justfara]

BREAKING: French Senator Claude Malhuret TORCHES Trump and his alcoholic, drug-addicted administration on the floor of the Luxembourg Palace: "Every time the Epstein affair resurfaces, bombs explode somewhere in the world and cause a distraction!"

This might be the greatest MAGA takedown of all time. Nobody was spared...

"A year ago, here in France, I compared Trump's presidency to Nero's Court. I was wrong. It's the miracle court. An anti-vaxxer, former heroin addict as Minister of Health," he said, referring to RFK Jr.

Malhuret's comparison to the mad Emperor Nero is fitting. It's said that he fiddled while Rome burned. In Trump's case, he's building a ballroom while the entire world goes up in flames.

"A climate-skeptic Minister of Economy. An alcoholic TV host, Minister of the Armed Forces," Malhuret continued, referring to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

"An old Qatar agent, Minister of Justice. A groupie of Putin, Minister of National Security," Malhuret went on, referring to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Bondi previously worked for the Ballard Partners firm which raked in $115,000 a month by lobbying on behalf of Qatar.

"A Turkish proverb says 'When a clown settles in a palace, he does not become king, it is the palace that becomes a circus," said Malhuret. "His fine team has decided to create a competitor to the UN. Since the creation of the Board of Peace, Trump has triggered more military strikes than Biden during his entire term."

"Every time the Epstein affair resurfaces, bombs explode somewhere in the world and cause a distraction," he continued. "Bomb more to win more."

This is how the world now sees the American president: as a pedophile desperately exploiting his role as commander-in-chief to obscure the fact that he preyed on children with his long-time pal Jeffrey Epstein.

"There isn't a single country where Trump did not take advantage of the situation to enrich himself without ever forgetting his family. A Boeing plane offered by Qatar," he said, referring to the $400 million jet that Qatar "gifted" to Trump. "Investment in all Gulf projects or elsewhere. Stock market manipulation that only a few insiders benefit from."

"Any one of these conflicts of interest would have caused an immediate procedure of impeachment here," Malhuret. "But we are not here. We are in MAGA's America where public business is conducted in favor of private interests."

Rarely have we heard such an exhaustive yet succinct distillation of the Trump administration's rampant criminality and incompetence. By focusing on individual Cabinet members and what makes them uniquely unfit for office and then expanding the aperture to the broader patterns of corruption and malignancy, Malhuret delivered a master class in political messaging.

Every mainstream outlet in the U.S. should be running this speech to show Americans what the world thinks of our leaders.

Since they won't, please make sure to like and share to spread this far and wide!

[Brendan Davis @VeritasInLux]

That’s linked here if anyone is curious. But as an exercise, and a validation of “Just do it, with what you have and what you wrangle”, it’s proving to be gold. Link: https://t.co/AEDwoLvThr

[Brendan Davis @VeritasInLux]

To your Q, for me: I’m a writer-director by schooling, real-world training, and attraction to the industry, who became a producer - first out of necessity, then remained one by default; both out of both opportunity and self-defense. In brief, my best advice syncs with yours:

[Jeremiah Lewis @fringeblog]

Writers who’ve started producing: what surprised you most about crossing that line? What would you tell the version of yourself still waiting for the perfect break?

Tag someone grinding who needs to hear this.

[Brendan Davis @VeritasInLux]

Your advice re “how” doesn’t need my two cents worth added, as I think you nailed it (along with the rest). Just sharing this as a “Yes, and…” since this is what’s worked - so far - for me. My proof-of-concept short “The Unwinding” - a 25-minute drama - is Exhibit A for me.

[Jeremiah Lewis @fringeblog]

Inside Hollywood, they don’t hire writers anymore. They hire problems-solvers who write.

[Jeremiah Lewis @fringeblog]

Hollywood isn’t dying. But it is shrinking into a high-stakes casino where the house still wins most hands. Franchises, IP, and safe bets rule the floor (until they fail against the scrappy upstart, see Mandalorian & Grogu vs. Obsession).

[Brendan Davis @VeritasInLux]

@LombardiHimself Richard Pryor’s third album title sums it up. As a cracker I can’t say it, but…

[Brendan Davis @VeritasInLux]

@BBCWorld Crazy that the ban happened when he was out with Joe Wong. I knew Joe in Beijing, did some mics and shows there myself before the pandemic. The old scene has disappeared as I understand it.

[Jonathan Lemire @JonLemire]

“The thing I’ve learned about Paris is the city is completely capable of handling winter and rain; it cannot handle any sort of summer at all”

“France buckles under heat.” https://t.co/qR7fvrhV3o

[Brendan Davis @VeritasInLux]

SO great I’ve gotta post it to save it! - An Absolutely DISGUSTING Guitar Solo https://t.co/2HW6NwoXTQ via @YouTube

[Brendan Davis @VeritasInLux]

@softboywin @citizenkawala That’s my default response.

[Jamie Nash @Jamie_Nash]

Writing a great movie is the dream.

Writing a script that gets attention, survives development, and does enough right to get greenlit is the job.

That movie may still suck.

But doing that over and over again? That's what makes you a pro.

[Lily @lily_choudhury_]

William Zinsser taught writing at Yale, then wrote the book that has fixed more bad writing than every English class combined.

Here are 10 cuts from "On Writing Well" that instantly make your writing twice as strong.

1) Delete every word doing no work

[KL Martin @Codename_LEON]

I’m going to explain something I’ve told my screenwriting students and anyone willing to listen as a filmmaker or aspiring filmmaker, regardless of age:

The industry you think exists doesn’t exist anymore. 🧵

[Brendan Davis @VeritasInLux]

@benjaminluk Don’t drop the soap.

[Brendan Davis @VeritasInLux]

This is a much more fun framing than “vomit draft” - adopting this as of now, thanks!